“You can't run the company from 30,000 feet unless you have put together a first-class management team.”

family businesses. We can do business on a more per- sonal level.” Cash N Carry, one of two yards that the Grainger family owned (they sold the late model yard to LKQ in 2000) is fortunate to have an ideal location on Staley Ave., in the middle of the city with easy access from main highways. Small business and light industrial occupy most of Staley Ave., but the surrounding neigh- borhood in close proximity is residential and fits the ideal demographic for a self-service auto parts business. The yard’s location gives the business the best of both worlds – a solid local customer base and drive-ability for outlying customers. Since 1985, the Grainger fam- ily has built Cash N Carry into the go-to you-pull-it oper- ation within 50 miles of Savannah. But that doesn’t mean it’s been easy to reach this level of success. Although self-service is not as complex as a late-model business, it is not an easy business model that has owners “stumbling over piles of money,” Grainger notes.

For an owner who understands the salvage business and is passionate about self-service, he believes it can represent an opportunity for financial success if the owner has the work habits to be successful. Grainger shares what his family considers some of those essen- tial best practices.

Surround Yourself with Great People “You can’t run the company from 30,000 feet unless

you have put together a first-class management team,” Grainger says. To have a company performing at a high level, he adds, most owners need to be in the middle of their operation daily.

The Grainger family strives to hire the best talent at all levels of the company, from management on down. To attract and retain quality team members, the com- pany pays for performance in operations and for tow truck drivers. Operations personnel are required to set daily, weekly, and monthly performance goals and track their daily progress against those goals. Sales representatives at Cash N Carry also work on a pay-for-performance basis. Compared to most late- model yards that have their sales people on 100 per- cent commission and competing on an individual level, “self-service is more about a team effort,” Grainger explains. “I do think you must pay commis- sion to drive sales, but you also have to cultivate a team atmosphere to achieve your goals.”

With this emphasis on teamwork, the family strives to hire sales people who understand and fit into the team approach to sales and goal-setting. A weak team member will reflect in the bottom line, Grainger notes. He expects every team member to be accountable to

March-April 2015 | Automotive Recycling 63