Follow these six processes to improve your repair facility immediately

You've heard the old adage about doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. It's the definition of insanity. So why are you doing it? With effort and creativity, you not only can survive in a down economy, you can thrive in it.

Some of the most successful companies were started during recessions. Apple Computer is one. While repairing cars and building computers are different, the principles that apply to big businesses are the same in our industry. Consider some steps you can take to get your shop back on track to profitability and success.

The key to working through any problem is to break it down into digestible chunks. Follow these six key processes to improve your facility almost immediately:

• embrace change;
• enhance services;
• invest in training;
• reorganize;
• tighten quality control; and
• market your shop.

Embrace change

Many of us don't deal with change well. But change isn't going away. Challenge your thinking in every area of the business. Stand back and look at your entire operation. What can you do better? Understand that just because you've always operated your shop a certain way, doesn't mean it's the best way. Be open-minded and consider all possible ways something can be done.

You always may have enough work just walking to your door without knowing why. That's poor management in any economy, and that type of thinking won't work in a challenging economy that's always changing. Become an advocate for change, and live it.

Enhance services

What draws customers to you over a competitor? Are you better at fixing cars than the shop down the road? Is that shop better equipped than yours? In general, most modern and well-equipped collision repair facilities do quality repairs.

To differentiate yourself from other shops, add to your list of services. Difficult economic times provide an opportunity. Adding services such as paintless dent repair, glass repair or quick repairs to your repertoire can increase income. Most of your potential customers are feeling the pinch of the economy, so it might be too expensive for some of them to consider conventional repair of smaller dents or areas of damage on a drivable vehicle.

Offering an alternative repair methodology will keep a potential customer from leaving when they receive an estimate that's too expensive. Quick repairs have become popular recently, and most paint companies offer a system that will allow your shop to compete with mobile repair companies.

Ask your supplier about the programs it offers. Most will provide a complete system along with all training needed to start a program. It can be extremely lucrative because it involves mostly labor sales, and usually these types of operations can be performed by a lower-level technician. Make sure you make the consumer and your insurance partners aware you offer these services.

Invest in training

Our economy is always in flux. When the bad times are gone, it's a sound idea to be prepared for the good times. When it's slow, it's the best time to invest in training for you and your staff. Take business classes, join an industry group or get up to speed on your I-CAR training. Knowledge is power in any economy.

Find time to send top employees to school if they need to go. When it's busy, no time is ever right, so take advantage of a slow time to accomplish needed training. You might even want to consider hosting classes in your shop. It's a great way to get to know other owners and technicians in your area.

Explore new software and equipment options. Enhancements in these areas will help you run a leaner, more efficient operation.

Reorganize your shop

If you run your shop by the seat of your pants, start operating it like a business. Do you know your metrics – close ratio, cycle time, average RO? If you don't, you're on the road to failure. Even if your shop started to measure its performance long ago, start fine-tuning. Shops and operators who measure their performance and use those measurements to improve operations will come out of a down economy much stronger than those who don't.

Track performance by using a shop management system. In the past, start-up costs, training and software expense put many systems out of reach for the average shop. But the advent of Internet-based systems has made these systems affordable for everyone.

If you're using an Internet-based system, look at how it is being used. Is it simply a data warehouse, or are you using it to its full potential? If you're not, you could be throwing away money daily. These systems can help you run your shop much more efficiently, but only if they're used properly. If you have a system or are installing one, take a training class from the systems vendor. These systems are powerful tools if you know how to use them.

Look at your workflow process. Are you using your shop's available floor space effectively? Is there a seamless process from vehicle dropoff to completion? If not, use the slower times to gain efficiency in your process. Any time you can do something with greater efficiency, your profit will increase. Some of these ideas can be daunting tasks, and some shop owners and managers don't know where to start. That's OK. Always remember that your paint supplier is a valuable source for help. All major companies have experts on staff, or have outside sources that can help with shop layout, and process training. It is in their best interest for you to be successful – they want to sell you more paint! Don't be shy about using them.

Tighten quality control

Look at your repair process in stages. Can an area be improved? Top quality always sells and doesn't cost extra to achieve. It takes effort and a willingness to improve constantly. Take on this demeanor and demand it of your people and product. It's easy to slack off in this area when your shop is slow.

Don't just look at the quality of your repairs, look at the quality of your service, estimates, follow-up, collection efforts ... everything is on the table. You can't afford to become complacent in collections. Cash flow is king, especially when there's less cash. Look closely for waste in all areas, and cut wherever you can.

Market yourself

A common mistake during slow economic times is to cut back on marketing, and the added expense of doing so effectively. That's wrong. It's more important than ever to make sure your shop is at the top of every potential customer's, agent's or insurance companies' mind.

You don't have to have expensive radio or TV ads to market your shop effectively, but it takes planning and effort. Look at your mix of work. Where's it coming from? If you don't know, you need to learn. One effective and easy way is to make sure you ask every customer who comes into your shop how he found out about you and document it. If you have a management system that will track it internally, do so immediately. If you don't, create a spread sheet to track it. Once you know where your work is coming from, you can effectively market to the sources who don't send you work and thank the ones who do.

Be creative. I recently worked with a shop to create an innovative customer referral program. It wasn't expensive to create, and it's working well generating new business. Do you have a website? Are you available on Facebook and any of the other social networking sites? If not, you should be. In the April 2010 issue of ABRN, I offer several low-cost marketing techniques you can use to increase your opportunities. See them at http://abrn.com/mehok.

Grab anything that comes to your door. Make it a point to watch your close ratio. Instill a "get the keys mentality" in all your front-line people. It's not just business as usual. To thrive in a sluggish economy, be your best. Be innovative, creative and willing to challenge yourself and your staff to embrace change. If you do so, you'll not only survive the bad times, you'll grow in them and become a better, more well-run shop that has the potential to accomplish amazing things when the economy improves. Who doesn't like that idea?