Smart Start: Strategies for Opening a Shop
Once upon a time in the body shop industry, all you needed to start a shop was a garage, a couple pieces of used equipment and a good work ethic. These days, however, that formula no longer adds up to success. The advent of direct-repair programs (DRPs), the increased influence of insurance companies in determining
You Could Put An Eye Out with That
I’m going to tell you about things that could hinder your business.
Examining Insurer-Owned Shops in the UK
Although the phenomenon of insurers owning repair shops is still in its infancy in the States, it’s well-established in the United Kingdom – giving you the rare opportunity to see what could be your future.
Glass Work: Profitability
Because of the complications involved – hiring, organizing production, insurer involvement and discounts, etc. – most shops opt to outsource glass work. But is this willingness to give it away a detriment to profitability and to achieving a competitive edge?
You Want a Piece of Me: Sectioning
The term sectioning makes some of us regress into our memories to a time when we lived to cut and splice automobile bodies to such an extent that they became unrecognizable as to their original make or model. Come on, admit it, at least half of you are looking back, somewhat reverently, thinking about the
Market Pricing: Examining the Forces Behind It
independently of recessions and bear markets? Some industry leaders would say yes, they do. The reality is that body shop sales tend to follow meteorological trends rather than economic indicators. Hail storms and the shellacking of ice that some cities get in the winter do more to drive markets for body work than does the
Mastering the Mig
When I was faced with writing about MIG welding, it brought back memories of a friend who has long since passed on to the other side. What my friend Bernie lacked in luck (hence his early demise from an untimely car accident), he made up for with good intentions.
Damaged Goods
Fact: Consumers won’t pay as much for a vehicle that’s been wrecked and repaired as they will for a vehicle that’s never been in an accident. This market condition – or stigma as some like to call it – diminishes the vehicle in value, regardless of how expertly repaired it may have been.
Advertisers
ABW Tracker by Norgate Technologies Inc. 954 Coxwell Ave. Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4C 3G3 Tel: (800) 689-0905 Fax: (416) 424-4140 e-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.abwtracker.com Contact: Gus Dimakis AutoBody Works Tracker management system with job costing and tracking functions ADP 2010 Crow Canyon Pl. San Ramon, Calif. 94583 Tel: (800) LINK-ADP Fax: (925) 866-8238 Web
No Fear: Developing New Business by Asking
Learn the right way to ask for business, and you’ll not only lessen your chances of being shot down, but you’ll increase shop profits, too.