In this very informative and eye-opening episode, Raleigh Wilkins, Founder and CEO of Sales Platoon and a Marine Corp Veteran, shares with us the story behind Sales Platoon, Christian shares his most eye-roll inducing "dad joke" in his arsenal, and Chris compares the automotive industry's high technician turnover to high veteran turnover in the civilian workforce. Raleigh brings to light how military veterans are thrown into the deep end of the civilian world without a life jacket, so he has made it his life mission to help close that gap by getting them out of the unemployment line and into the world of sales.   

Along with ending the stigma around the word "sales", Raleigh and Chris talk about the overlap in characteristics between veterans and successful sales people, like dedication, consistency, attention to detail, and respect. Military veterans give up a huge portion of their lives to protect our country, so it's time for us to start prioritizing their well-being once they transition out of the military, and to help put their unmatched skill sets to use in a powerful way. This, and so much more on this weeks’ Service Drive Revoluuuuutioooonnn!

  To find out more about the impactful work Raleigh is leading, please visit https://www.mysalesplatoon.com/

On this week’s episode, Coach Christian Lafferty reports back from his last visit in store, in Michigan, where he learned something shocking about his predecessor. He and Chris are joined by Customer Experience Manager at Subaru, Jaimie Morris. Jaimie came to the show by way of LinkedIn, through a post that particularly caught our eye with the subject of the post and piqued our curiosity even more with the responses.

Listen in as Chris and Coach Christian Lafferty pick-apart a few of Jaimie’s posts about ways to positively impact retention in the Service Drive, identify ways managers can get a lot more out of their team, and how the new generation coming in to work at the dealership have very different ways of being motivated. One key? It’s not the 70-hour work weeks many in management wear as a badge of honor. That, and much much more on Service Drive Revoluuuuuuutiooooon!

On this week’s episode, Chris talks with Coach Christian Lafferty about a letter he got from #NADA inviting him to speak at #NADA2022. Chris talks about his past experience speaking at NADA and the way he’s seen many NADA 20 groups run. He talks about the differences between the message he presents and what other industry experts are sharing and presenting about. See what he has to say about how he is sometimes perceived and the three workshops you won’t be registering for at #NADA2022.

Also in this episode, Chris and Coach Christian Lafferty answer listener questions about motivating employees who seem impossible to motivate, calculate if an offer a technician has to move to an advisor role makes sense, and give an advisor some priceless advice to becoming #1. All this, and a joke or two, this week on Service Drive. Revolution!

Once again, something in the automotive world has been turned on its head. Never in the history of transportation, have technicians been so in-demand and so incredibly valuable in the marketplace. The question we hear most in service departments these days is, ”How do I hire technicians?” Well, I have an answer for that, and much more on today’s Service Drive Revolution!

Listen in as Memphis Resident, and Certified Ford Tech, Kayce Morris, joins me, Chris Collins, and Tik-Tok Star Mia Griggs, to tell us all about how an unlikely incident created the perfect opportunity for her to learn her value as a technician and eventually, a new home at a Ford store as a Master Tech working on transmissions, just like she wanted to do! Her story is a wake-up call to owners, managers, and other technicians who wonder what the true value of a technician is!

Many consumers these days choose online for all their shopping needs! It’s not unusual to hear people say, “If I can’t get it online, I don’t want it!” Well, companies like Carvana heard their cry and paved a way for buyers to purchase used cars, with more peace of mind than buying from an unknown person, while also avoiding the hassle and prices at dealerships. In 2020, Covid really helped set fire to the used car industry. With quarantine across the world and the chip shortage in full bloom, the new car market slowed down, and the used car market exploded.

 

On today’s episode, Chris and special guest Mia Griggs talk with Arron Bratcher, a Service Manager at a Chevy store in Indiana who is learning to appreciate the online used car dealers, but for a very interesting reason. Listen in as he reads a very sweet, very poignant letter to Carvana about the experience they provide their customers. It took us by surprise! Listen in on this week’s episode of Service Drive Revolutioooooooooon! 

Shortages in the trucking industry are worse than they were a year ago. Whether you know it or not, you are feeling its impact every day. There’s currently a shortage of drivers that is almost insurmountable. Just like other industries, trucking has felt the effects of the workforce going on unemployment, leaving to take care of loved ones, and a change in education that has pushed many towards higher education and not into many hard working industries including technician training and driver school. Each one of these reasons hold blame for making a situation that was already on a downward trend, that much worse.

Listen in as Chryssa Hunluck, District Parts Manager at Daimler Trucks North America, shares with Chris and Coach Christian Lafferty how the OEM is partnering with the dealerships to help get trucks, drivers, and their loads back onto the road quicker and safer than ever. Chryssa’s passion for her job, and the impact trucking has on society are to be admired. She highlights what specifically needs to be fixed if we want to correct the issue and the best approaches she sees inside service and parts departments in dealerships today.

Got a question? Call us at 1-833-3-ASK-SDR

Check out our Best-Sellers: Your 90-Day roadmap to your best Fixed-Ops month ever starts here: http://bit.ly/ISM_yt Millionaire Service Advisor also includes our 11-step Circle of Trust System: http://bit.ly/MSA_yt

Learn more about our OnDemand Training - http://bit.ly/SDROnDemandTrainingyt

Strategy specialists and training available, just click the links below:

1. Get access to two free training videos by opting in on our website: http://bit.ly/Chriscollinsinc

2. Schedule a 15-minute call with our strategy specialist to accelerate your results and start seeing increased profit right away! http://bit.ly/CCIschedule

Join our Facebook Groups: For Fixed Ops -- http://bit.ly/YTfixedopsgroup For Independent Shop Owners -- http://bit.ly/YTRSOSgroup

Even though car buyers are changing every day, the car buying experience isn't changing fast enough to give them what they want! It won't be long before brick and mortar dealerships are forced to change, or risk going extinct. But what exactly does this change look like? Join in as service department coaches Chris and Christian, talk about the future of automation in the dealership and whether or not it's really necessary.

Got a question? Call us at 1-833-3-ASK-SDR

Check out our Best-Sellers: Your 90-Day roadmap to your best Fixed-Ops month ever starts here: http://bit.ly/ISM_yt Millionaire Service Advisor also includes our 11-step Circle of Trust System: http://bit.ly/MSA_yt

Learn more about our OnDemand Training - http://bit.ly/SDROnDemandTrainingyt Strategy specialists and training available, just click the links below:

1. Get access to two free training videos by opting in on our website: http://bit.ly/Chriscollinsinc

2. Schedule a 15-minute call with our strategy specialist to accelerate your results and start seeing increased profit right away! http://bit.ly/CCIschedule

Join our Facebook Groups: For Fixed Ops -- http://bit.ly/YTfixedopsgroup For Independent Shop Owners -- http://bit.ly/YTRSOSgroup

Technicians are the backbone of every car dealership. Yet they’re becoming harder and harder to find and keep! Why is it that so many dealerships can’t recruit techs? In this video, Steve Hamre discusses the phenomenon and reveals a surprisingly obvious answer that the majority of dealerships don't realize...

Join in as Chris Collins and Coach Christian talk with Steve Hamre, the National Automotive Technician Recruiting Manager for Lithia Motors, Inc. about the secrets of hiring technicians learned from years out in the field.

Got a question? Call us at 1-833-3-ASK-SDR

Tire sales have been a loss leader since day one. They are often an overlooked product for dealerships, yet the potential for profits in the tire business is staggering. But how can dealerships take advantage of this missed opportunity when after-market competitors have already taken it all for themselves?

Join us, as Chris Collins and Coach Christian talk with Scott Rea, the Senior Vice President at Tire Profile, about the missed opportunity in profit with tire sales. What the future of the service drive will look like when electric vehicles take over and how better informing your customers on the best tires will build better trust and retention.

Got a question? Call us at 1-833-3-ASK-SDR

Check out our Best-Sellers:
Your 90-Day roadmap to your best Fixed-Ops month ever starts here: http://bit.ly/ISM_yt
Millionaire Service Advisor also includes our 11-step Circle of Trust System: http://bit.ly/MSA_yt

Learn more about our On Demand Training - http://bit.ly/SDROnDemandTrainingyt

Strategy specialists and training available, just click the links below:
1. Get access to two free training videos by opting in on our website: http://bit.ly/Chriscollinsinc

2. Schedule a 15-minute call with our strategy specialist to accelerate your results and start seeing increased profit right away!
http://bit.ly/CCIschedule

Join our Facebook Groups:
For Fixed Ops -- http://bit.ly/YTfixedopsgroup
For Independent Shop Owners -- http://bit.ly/YTRSOSgroup

How do managers motivate and incentivize millennials in a day and age when they care more about quality of life and less about money? How do prospective workers determine if the company they’re interested in is a good fit for them from their interviewer?

Join in, As Chris Collins talks with the Director of Strategic Learning and Organizational Experience at Cal Poly Pomona, Michelle Elrod, to answer these listener questions and talk about the ins and outs of what it means to have a strong work culture as well as what to look out for at a new company.