Putting People Before Profits
This model has been hugely successful for
decades and continues to work as long as transmis- sions fail and customers come in.
establishing a need and overcoming objections. This model has been hugely successful for decades and continues to work as long as transmissions fail and customers come in. But now there are more choices
for consumers. With the availability of reman transmissions, today’s consum- ers can go to their local general repair shops for transmission work. And then you have the problem of transmissions lasting longer. These two factors result in fewer phone calls to Maarco. The answer? Sell more stuff. Enter:
Maarco Complete Car Care. Now there are more reasons for consumers to call and a whole range of other services to sell. It’s kind of like a fishing tackle shop expanding into hunting rifles and camping gear. The business model is the same, there’s just more to sell. So, in this case, expanding into
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general repair was a good move for Maarco: It allowed them to continue using their business model and increase sales.
Now let’s look at another fiction-
al example: Aaction Transmissions in Oklahoma City. They’ve been around for about 20 years and have a good reputation in town. In their heyday they had remarkable sales, but about five years ago their sales began to drop, and now they’re pretty much stagnant. Fred, the owner, has struggled to
keep the doors open and he cites his problems as a result of remans and the fact that transmissions last longer. He’s increased the size of his Yellow Pages ad and about a year ago opened a web site.
Still, he’s lucky to get about three
major jobs per week. He knows how to sell but his problem is the phone doesn’t ring. He’s considering expand- ing into general repair, or at least some additional repair to supplement what little transmission work he has. Fred’s situation is an example
where adding more services may only delay the inevitable. Fred’s problem isn’t that he doesn’t know how to fix cars or sell his work at a profit; it’s that he doesn’t have an adequate customer base and no real way to increase it. A Generation II model requires a constant flow of new customers. Its success isn’t based on repeat customers, although it’s
nice if you can get them. If you think I’m being colorful
here consider this: Take your car into one of the “Big Box” automotive ser- vice centers and experience the Gen II sales routine for yourself. Go in for an oil change, then see how you feel when the service writer shows you a list of hoses, wiper blades, fan belts, shocks, etc. that you need to replace now, for safety’s sake. Once you go through this a few times you’ll understand why a customer’s backside puckers up after one of these sessions. Consider the reality they go through
when a $50 oil change turns into a $750 repair. Then ask yourself whether you think they’d like to go through this all over again in 3,000 miles. I doubt it. Now let’s look at a Generation
III model: Chuck owns Reliable Transmissions in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He, too, has been in business for about 20 years and admits that business is dif- ferent than it was when he first opened. Chuck has stayed true to the idea
of only working on transmissions, and he does most everything in house. He’s never taken a class on sales but always seems to have enough work. He belongs to a few social clubs in town and enjoys going to some of the school sports events. He also sponsors several of them: You can see the trophies and plaques from them all over his waiting area.
GEARS March 2012
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