Forget Me Not: Neglected Equipment
What equipment is most often neglected when it comes to maintenance? Check out this quick list.
Jumping on the E-Commerce Bandwagon
Though the dotcoms have had a rough few years, doing business over the Internet isn’t a bust. Quite the contrary. Though it’s wise to look before you leap, repairers who take advantage early will claim a huge share of the market and reduce their costs. Repairers who refuse to get on and stand in the way of progress may simply get run over.<
Keep the Cash Flowing
Profitability and cash flow aren’t the same thing: You may have a backlog of profitable jobs scheduled, but no money to pay the bills. How do you overcome this? Learn to manage three things: owner’s extras, accounts receivable and accounts payable.
Ignorance Isn’t Bliss: Training is Cheap
Think you don’t have the time or money to train your administrative and management employees? When you see what training does for your office’s productivity, training is cheap compared to what ignorance costs you.
Log On to Learn: Internet/satellite Training
Technology is making training for collision repairers easier, faster and cheaper than ever before.
5 Secrets for Successful Structural Repairs
Yesterday’s strategy for repairing vehicle frames: Pull really hard. Today’s strategy for repairing vehicle frames: Analyze the damage, hold, block, pressure monitor and stress relieve.
Profiting From Plastics
There is money to be made repairing plastics.
Building a Case for Industrialization
When your competition industrializes their operations, their production efficiency will improve dramatically – possibly 37 to 50 percent in a single shift. With such fierce competition, can you afford to continue doing something because “that’s the way we’ve always done it”?
Partnerships that Drive Your Business
Forming industry relationships can shift your shop into high gear by boosting your bottom line and giving you credibility with consumers.
Blending 201 – The Next Course
Gone are the days of vinyl tops, so quarter panels and roofs must form a continuous panel to blend. This means the clear should be applied over the entire area (if you use the method explained in Blending 101). It also means there’s an area for debate and disagreement between insurers and repairers.
Reader Question
Is a company legitimate if it’s willing to refer work at a 5 percent commission taken from the customer’s deductible?
Off With the Gloves: Learn How to Negotiate!
If your “negotiations” involve yelling, pumping out your chest and clenching your fists, you have a better chance of being cast in Rocky VI than of convincing your opponent to give you what you want. Negotiating is a form of mental sparring, so quit trying to intimidate and use your head instead.
