Going Digital is Going Places Never Thought Possible

• $100k increase in revenue per staff member in 36 months

• ARO increase from $209 to $592 in 24 months with the same car count

• Weekly revenue increased by 83% with the same staff in 24 months

Too good to be true? These are actual results achieved by shop teams, who went digital. Don’t the following two things strike you unusual about these stats?

1. The increases seem to be so out of this world that you would think “these shops must have special powers or a lot of luck” and “how did they do it?”
2. The time to achieve the results is more than 6 months.

Many auto repair businesses, which went digital, have achieved awesome results, and are proud of those achievements. Moreover, they are now asking themselves “What is next on the journey?”.

Below are the patterns successful auto repair shops have in common:

• They know that the shop owner has to own the process going Digital.
  • Delegating this ownership to a staff member typically slows down the process and in some cases, has made it impossible to get beyond only moderate increases.
• They know that they have to adjust the process and team culture in the shop to be outstandingly successful.
  • Changing habits is incredibly hard, but done properly pays off tremendously. It is often said that “fix the engine while flying the airplane”, is the best analogy, and I couldn’t agree more.
• They know that reviewing data regularly creates a culture of accountability.
  • Data reviews are often done during weekly shop meetings (not shop beatings). Instead, team key performance indicators (KPIs) like inspection rates and picture edit rates are shared with the team and the team sets goals for the upcoming week together.
• They know that they have an AutoVitals trainer they can rely on when things are not clear.
  • Many of our trainers and advisors are former shop managers and service advisors, who have used digital tools in their shops before joining AutoVitals part or full time.
• They know that things will likely go worse before they get better.
  • As with all changes, depending on the dedication and preparation, the phase when inspections take longer and the ARO is not increasing right away might be a little longer than anticipated.

This list could be extended by 50 more important tips, tricks, best practices, and insights. I think we have a better way of getting this highly valuable set of instructions to you. Introducing The Digital Shop Talk Radio Series “Going Digital is Going Places…”

 

Starting on May 6, Tom and I will dedicate 10 episodes of The Digital Shop Talk Radio to the journey of a virtual shop going digital. Panelists are shop owners, who have achieved outstanding results already, will share their approach in the first 30 minutes of the hour, and AutoVitals Trainers will join in the second half and get to the nitty-gritty of how to implement the Digital Standard Operating Procedure (DSOP).

May 6: The Technician Buy-In

May 13: The Service Advisor Buy -In

May 20: The Digital Inspection Sheet is definitely different

May 27: Changes in the Inspection Process create Quick Wins

June 3: Educating the Motorist for Higher Approval

June 10: Managing Motorist’s expectations

June 17: Scoring higher ARO

June 24: Doing more in less time, the Amazon Rule on Steroids

July 1: Why digital Service Advisors need a gym membership

July 8: Why are production and task managers the key to success

Register Now and Take Home Quick Wins

What can you expect from the podcast series and what will not be covered?

1. First-hand experience from shop owners, who have made the transition and would never go back
2. Interviews with successful Service Advisors and Techs, who can’t let go of the tablets anymore
3. Panelists representing industry partners joining in on the transition to The Digital Shop®
4. Candid and deep insights of challenges and recipes to overcome them
5. Detailed instructions on best practices during the transition
6. Takeaways to apply in your shop, no matter whether you are an AutoVitals client or not
7. This is not a training session for the tablet or web portal unless it is related to a best practice

I’ll see you there!