Mark Clark Archives - BodyShop Business
Inventory Management: Clips, Fasteners and Paint and Materials

Those pesky clips and fasteners are typically less than 1% of the total RO dollars but are absolutely an essential part of a correct and timely repair.

50 Years and Counting: A Look Back at My Collision Career

After 50 years, I’ve learned that collision repairers are a resilient bunch who can overcome any challenge.

Close Rate: Getting Customers to Choose Your Body Shop

Before you start worrying about labor efficiency and how much paint and material you’re selling, worry about the people who let you write an estimate and didn’t have their vehicle fixed in your shop.

Measuring P&M Sales and Expenses in Your Body Shop

In this column, I’ll share my benchmarks and my math for the one management number that every body shop spends at least some math time on – paint and material (P&M) sales and costs.

Start Small When It Comes to Tracking the Financials in Your Body Shop

I know this industry doesn’t attract many math or finance majors as shop owners. But I implore you to start tracking your financials because, if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

Doctor Gun, I Presume?

One man who is still around who taught me about both spray guns and selling PBE products with enthusiasm was Doctor Gun.

The Evolution of Spray Guns

Both spray gun technology and the cost of spray guns have increased dramatically since I first wrote about them in the September 1991 issue of BodyShop Business.

The Essential Craftsman

I’ve been a car guy forever. I drew cartoon Bucket T’s with flat-head V-8s, velocity stacks, headers and flames on my grade school notebooks.

The Next Blizzard of Collision Industry Acronyms

Each of the changes in car construction, finish quality, environmental regulations and passenger safety were all ushered in on a tsunami of scary acronyms: SAI, HSS, BC/CC, HAPS, HVLP, ABS and now SDV. But what do they mean?

Stop Putting Out Fires and Attend a Meeting

I’ve spent some discussion time recently with both collision shop owners and paint, body and equipment (PBE) wholesalers, and I’m discouraged again that many small business principals don’t have time to attend a learning event that will make their lives easier.

Why Are Body Shops Still Not Safe?

My recent foray to the front lines of collision repair, where it smells like thinner and you can hear the pulling chains groan, told me that technician safety was less comprehensive than I had expected.

What’s the Buzz in the Collision Industry?

What I heard out in the real world was that things are pretty good on the collision repair front these days. If we could just get the insurance companies to send the work to our shop and pay us for all the necessary repairs…