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BY JAY SICHT
3M™ Clean Sanding System
Introducing the Less Dust. More Efficiency.
The 3M™ Clean Sanding System is a complete sanding solution:
Designed to reduce dust in the air from sanding for a cleaner workspace.
Helps shops boost productivity and efficiency by helping to reduce rework and cleanup time.
Compact and mobile. Designed for easy, flexible use around the shop.
Compatible with pneumatic and/or electric sanders.
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For more information, visit 3M.com/CleanSandingSystem .
IN TIMES OF NEED, CIF ANSWERS THE CALL
The Collision Industry Foundation works to assist those affected by natural disasters and other events.
RECOVERY EFFORTS were still underway after Hurricane Helene’s destructive wide swath across the southeast U.S. Less than two weeks later, the news was abuzz of reports of Hurricane Milton reaching Category 5 with predictions of it causing mass destruction once it made landfall in Florida. My thoughts turned to who I knew who could be in harm’s way, particularly those in our industry.
FenderBender monthly columnist Drew Bryant in Orlando was one, and not just because he was on deadline. I somewhat sheepishly reached out to him to see if he would still be able to turn in his column on time. Given the circumstances of the preparation I assumed he’d need for not only himself and family but for his business, my expectations were low. So, I offered to run a substitution. He replied that locals were chasing down water bottles and toilet paper, but he’d deliver his column as expected. I suggested he might even write about his experience, as other shop owners would likely find it helpful, and he took me up on that. Check it out!
Although our collision repair industry is not exactly small, it’s also still a bit of a close fraternity. And when one shop suffers, we all do. The Collision Industry Foundation (CIF) charity was established in 2001 to collect tax-deductible contributions and distribute them to collision repair professionals in the industry who have suffered losses from natural disasters or other events, including these two recent hurricanes. “We answer the call” is its trademarked slogan.
Recently, when a collision repair technician at Louisville Collision Center had a bad car wreck and missed months of work, the Foundation wrote him a $10,000 check to assist with hospital expenses. CIF donors
include MSOs, major paint companies, paint distributors, parts distributors, equipment manufacturers and distributors, consultants, and individuals.
And as part of our annual FenderBender Award, presented to a collision repair shop owner or operator, we write a check to a charity of the winner’s choice. I’m pleased to share here that our winner for this year, Amber Alley, manager of Barsotti’s Body & Fender in San Rafael, California, selected CIF to receive $4,550.
You can continue CIF’s good work by making a tax-deductible donation at collisionindustryfoundation.org. Call or text CIF to 734-366-4990. And if you are a collision repair industry professional who either needs help from the recent storms or another catastrophe or knows someone who does, please contact CIF. There is a form on the site you can fill out to request assistance. CIF will be there to answer the call.
JAY SICHT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF jsicht@endeavorb2b.com
EDITORIAL
Chris Jones Group Editorial Director
Jay Sicht Editor-in-Chief
Abdulla Gaafarelkhalifa Associate Editor
Kacey Frederick Assistant Editor
Emily Kline Special Projects Editor
Leah Marxhausen Special Projects Editor
Drew Bryant Contributing Writer
Tiffany Menefee Contributing Writer
Greg Lobsiger Contributing Writer
Noah Brown Contributing Writer
Lindsey Gainer Contributing Writer
Todd Kortemeier Contributing Writer
Steve Trapp Contributing Writer
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Jordan Beshears Steve’s Auto Body
Sheryl Driggers Collision Advice
Frank Rinaudo Industry Consultant
Jason Mundy Mundy’s Collision Center
Stan Medina Certified Collision Works
SALES
Chris Messer VP/Market Leader - Vehicle Repair Group
Opinions expressed in FenderBender are not necessarily those of Endeavor Business Media, and Endeavor Business Media does not accept responsibility for advertising content.
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Motor Age Training
MAJORITY OF SHOPS ACKNOWLEDGE NEED FOR POST-CRASH SAFETY INSPECTIONS
ABOUT HALF (49%) of the 476 shops answering a question about post-crash safety inspections said they perform them at least the majority of the time, according to results of the recent “Who Pays for What?” survey conducted by Collision Advice and Crash Network.
But when asked why the inspections aren’t performed in all cases, the largest group (33 percent) said it’s not clear what is “required” versus what is “recommended.” The survey results also reveal that many shops feel the automakers are not doing enough to improve the situation.
“Please make the requirements for inspections very clear,” the owner of a shop in South Carolina pleaded with the OEMs when responding to the survey.
“We need clearer procedures,” said an estimator at a large MSO location in Ohio.
When asked what they want automakers to know when it comes to safety inspection procedures, the most common feedback, perhaps not surprisingly, revolved around two words: “recommended” and “required.”
“Please make safety inspection procedures ‘required’ instead of ‘recommended,’ and specify which are required in which events (i.e. airbag deployment vs. seatbelt deployment vs. location/nature of damage vs. structural and non-structural repair),” said the manager of an independent shop in Illinois.
“OEMs have to be more vocal about the necessity, and the repercussions of not doing them,” said the manager of a highvolume independent shop in Florida.
“More manufacturers need to require, not recommend,” an Idaho shop owner said. “And more definition of a ‘collision’ would be helpful also.” Visit FenderBender.com/news for daily updates from around the collision repair industry.
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DRIVEN BRANDS HONORS ITS BRANDS
Education, networking, and celebration in Dallas.
By ABDULLA GAAFARELKHALIFA
Photos: JAMES ROETLING, ARANCO PRODUCTIONS
THE 2024 DRIVEN BRANDS Collision Group U.S. collision repair conference, themed “Limitless 2024,” brought together Abra, CARSTAR, and Fix Auto USA franchise partners, along with vendors, industry leaders, and Driven Brands team members for three days of education, networking, and celebration at the Omni Dallas Hotel.
The conference began with a Texas Two Step charity walk, raising over $6,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Five Dallas families received NABC Recycled Rides vehicles, donated by GEICO and refurbished by CARSTAR shops, with support from Abra and Fix Auto USA shops.
Sabrina Thring, brand president of Driven Brands collision group, opened the conference with an executive update for the industry.
“As we move forward and strategize for the future, and consider how we’re thinking about our business in 2025, I believe we need to reach a point where we regionalize our support model to be stronger and provide better support for our franchise partners,” Thring said in an interview with FenderBender after her speech.
The conference featured presentations from industry leaders, including Damien Reyna, U.S. collision chief operating officer, keynote speaker Jon McNeill, CEO
Driven Brands’ Gala Shop owners from across the country celebrate their achievements at the Driven Brands gala.
and co-founder of DVx Ventures, and many others. Breakout sessions covered topics such as leveraging technology and driving volume with CCC’s latest tools.
Gary Bagwell, director of MSO operations and training for Driven Brands, led a session on how to engage with customers after they submit an estimation-related photo of their damaged vehicle. “They need to recognize and respond quickly, and ensure the response is engaging for the customer, whether it’s through text or email,” he told FenderBender after the session.
The awards gala honored franchise partners for their achievements. The franchisees of the year included Jeremy and Matthew Buller (owners of Abra Auto Body Bismarck, Abra Auto Body Mandan, and Abra Auto Body Minot), Heath Harris (owner of CARSTAR Arnold), and Selvi Rizk (owner of Fix Auto Brea, Fix Auto Chino, and Fix Auto Moreno Valley).
BREAKDOWN
THIS SMART CITY WANTS TO BE A CORNERSTONE IN COLLISION REPAIR
Learn how this city is helping develop ADAS and V2X.
By ABDULLA GAAFARELKHALIFA
PEOPLE GENERALLY UNDERSTAND how crash tests work. Many people consider them one of the last steps before a car hits the market, or when karma finally catches up with Rob Lowe’s character near the end of “Tommy Boy” (1995).
With advancing technology making cars smarter, the industry needs more than a test ground. It requires a test city. That’s where cities like Peachtree Corners, Georgia, play a crucial role in the automotive industry.
Peachtree Corners is gaining prominence in the collision repair industry, notably through a recent Collision Industry
Electronic Commerce Association (CIECA) webinar, in which the city showcased its potential to serve the collision industry.
Seth Yurman, assistant city manager for Peachtree Corners, presented the information.
“The main goal of the presentation to the collision repair industry is to reach people working with ADAS, the vulnerable road user, or V2X technology, and explore applications and opportunities for collaboration at the lab,” Yurman said in an email to FenderBender. “We have been working lately with some OEMs and want to get more involved in that space.”
Curiosity Lab and Peachtree Corners Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners is a cutting-edge, 5G-enabled autonomous vehicle and smart city living laboratory. It’s also publicly funded.
The lab features a three-mile autonomous vehicle test track and smart city infrastructure within a 500-acre technology park. This unique environment allows thousands of people and vehicles to interact daily with the test track and smart city technology.
Curiosity Lab serves as a proving ground for emerging technologies in the Internet of Things (IoT), mobility, and smart city sectors. It provides resources and infrastructure for both startups and established companies. The lab’s centerpiece is its public autonomous vehicle roadway, which leverages cellular vehicleto-everything (C-V2X) technologies. This setup enables companies to test, demonstrate, and deploy new concepts in a realworld environment.
Curiosity Lab aims to foster innovation and support the development of new technologies.
By offering a real-world testing environment, the lab helps companies validate their technologies and scale them for broader deployment. This initiative has positioned Peachtree Corners as a hub for technological advancement and a soft landing pad for international companies looking to enter the United States and North American markets.
The Smart City’s Old History
Peachtree Corners, Georgia, has an interesting history that began as a rural community called Turkey Gizzard in the early 1800s and then later known as Pinckneyville. The city’s modern transformation started in the late 1960s with the vision of businessman Paul Duke, who aimed to create a planned community that combined residential, commercial, and recreational spaces.
Incorporated on July 1, 2012, Peachtree Corners is the newest and largest city in
Gwinnett County, with over 45,000 residents. The city’s incorporation was driven by the desire for local control over zoning and development decisions, as well as to provide better services to the community.
“We’re kind of technology-agnostic,” Yurman said in an August CIECA webinar. “We’re not saying we have a specific problem we want to solve. We’re saying anybody who wants to play in our sandbox is welcome to come. We’ve created an ecosystem of different technology, whether it’s dug into the ground or hung on light poles.”
Curiosity Lab is designed to advance next-generation intelligent mobility and smart city technology. It offers a unique testing ground for companies to develop and refine their innovations in a real-world setting. The lab’s infrastructure includes smart city technology, such as connected traffic signals, streetlights, and pedestrian
crossings, all of which interact with the autonomous vehicles on the test track.
The lab has attracted partnerships with major companies and institutions, including UPS, T-Mobile, Georgia Tech, and others to fuel 5G innovation and explore new possibilities in autonomous vehicle technology. This collaboration aims to create a hub for cutting-edge research and development, positioning Peachtree Corners as a leader in smart city technology.
A Stepping Stone
Brodmann17, an Israeli-based company specializing in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), joined the 5G Open Innovation Lab (5GOILab) after successfully testing its technology in Peachtree Corners, according to a 2022 press release.
The 5G Open Innovation Lab (5GOILab) is a global ecosystem that brings together
developers, startups, enterprises, academia, and government institutions to foster innovation in 5G and 5G-enabled technologies. It aims to fuel the development of new capabilities and market categories that will transform various industries. The lab, founded in early 2020 with initial partners including Intel, NASA, and T-Mobile, operates as a collaborative platform. It provides resources, mentorship, and advanced access to technology for startups to develop, test, and bring new 5G applications to market.
The company tested its software-only perception technology, which saves 95% of computing power, using Curiosity Lab’s Level 3 autonomous test vehicle.
V2X
In 2023, Peachtree Corners collaborated with Audi of America Inc. to advance the deployment of cellular vehicle-to-every-
thing (C-V2X) technology. This partnership aimed to enhance communication between vehicles and city-owned infrastructure, such as streets, traffic signals, and crosswalks, as well as with vulnerable road users (VRUs).
Audi received a waiver from the Federal Communications Commission to deploy this advanced technology, and both parties plan to refine strategies to improve roadway safety and traffic efficiency.
“We are honored that Audi selected us to define how automakers and cities can together unlock the future in the world’s most unique smart city environment,” said Brian Johnson, city manager of Peachtree Corners.
Since 2020, Audi has been working with various partners to improve C-V2X technologies and protect VRUs. The automaker has collaborated with public authorities to en-
hance the safety of construction workers and with companies to connect cars with school buses for improved child safety.
“Peachtree Corners’ smart city leadership makes it the perfect environment for us to confirm how the public and private sectors can work together for the safety and other advantages that ready-to-deploy C-V2X technology can deliver,” said Brad Stertz, director of Audi Government Affairs.
Plans
Peachtree Corners continues its campaign to attract more attention from the collision repair industry.
In fact, Yurman might have given us a sneak peek of what the city and CIECA have in store for industry members next year.
“I have been working with CIECA on a webinar and potentially bringing the 2025 conference to Peachtree Corners,” Yurman said.
LIGHT HITS
AUTO ADDITIVE FORMS ADVISORY COUNCIL TO DRIVE 3D PRINTING IN COLLISION REPAIR
Auto Additive announced the formation of an Advisory Council to advance 3D printing technology in collision repair at the CIECA CONNEX 2024 conference in September.
The council will develop a roadmap for integrating 3D printing into repair processes, focusing on standardization and OEM-compatible parts.
By collaborating with insurance companies, training bodies, OEMs, and repair shops, Auto Additive aims to streamline repairs, reduce costs, and maintain high safety and quality standards. They also promote location-based printing for low-volume parts, ensuring IP protection with blockchain technology.
Innovations include weldable polypropylene donor repair tabs for headlights, reducing waste and environmental impact. Auto Additive has joined the Additive Manufacturing Green Trade Association to explore sustainability benefits in collision repair.
AASP NATIONAL ANNOUNCES ITS DISSOLUTION
The Alliance of Automotive Service Providers (AASP) board of directors has come to the difficult decision to “wind down” the operations of the national association at year’s end, according to a news release.
The board cited diminished affiliate numbers and other challenges as the reason why.
The association is contributing $100,000 (equivalent to 5 years of its current financial support) to ensure that this valuable industry resource continues to thrive and benefit the industry.
The remaining assets will be distributed equally among current
affiliates in good standing who, in turn, can utilize those funds to enhance their work, serving the industry at the local level. Those affiliates include AASP Illinois, AASP Massachusetts, AASP Minnesota, AASP New Jersey, AASP Pennsylvania, Automotive Service & Tire Alliance North Carolina, and New York State Association of Service Stations and Repair Shops.
The group plans to maintain an informal communication network for state affiliate representatives. Its final meeting will take place in November, in conjunction with the SEMA and AAPEX shows.
EVERCOAT PARTNERS WITH ASE EDUCATION FOUNDATION TO SUPPORT TECHNICIAN TRAINING
Evercoat has partnered with the ASE Education Foundation to donate over 1,000 gallons of premium body filler to ASE-accredited schools, according to a news release.
Instructors will use the product in their collision repair classes during the 2024-25 academic year.
Evercoat specializes in the automotive aftermarket industry, offering a range of
products and services for collision repair, custom building, and DIY projects. Their product line includes body fillers, glazes, putties, adhesives, and coatings designed for rust repair and panel replacement.
Evercoat also provides training and support from technical experts to help customers achieve optimal results and improve productivity.
Mike Coley, ASE Education Foundation president, gave his thanks to the business in the press release.
WIN LAUNCHES ITS PAY IT FORWARD CAMPAIGN
The Women’s Industry Network (WIN) has launched its annual WIN Pay It Forward campaign to support women in the collision repair industry. The campaign allows WIN members and sponsors to share the benefits of WIN by offering a limited number of one-year memberships at no cost.
Participants can contribute $95 to designate a recipient or donate to the “WIN Pick” fund. Eligible recipients include newcomers to the industry, those seeking employment, collision repair program instructors, and first-time applicants without company sponsorship.
WIN provides education, mentoring, and leadership development opportunities through conferences, webinars, and networking events. The campaign underscores WIN’s commitment to empowering women in a male-dominated field.
ABRA BISMARCK’S ANNUAL EVENT BRINGS BISMARCK TOGETHER FOR A GOOD CAUSE
The Bismarck, North Dakota, community united for Abra Bismarck’s annual event, supporting the Fit 4 Victory charity, which provides fitness and training to individuals with mental health struggles. “At Abra Bismarck, we host Community Days to foster a thriving and connected community. These events reflect our dedication to uniting people, celebrating local spirit, and supporting important causes,” said Jeremy Buller, owner of Abra Bismarck, Abra Mandan, and Abra Minot. “It’s about more than just collision repair; it’s about coming together to make a meaningful impact in Bismarck and beyond our shop.”
The free event featured a vendor show, car show, kids’ activities, and food options. Damien Reyna, US COO of Driven Brands Collision, highlighted their commitment to uplifting the community and driving positive change.
JOE HUDSON’S COLLISION CENTER REACHES MAJOR MILESTONE
Joe Hudson’s Collision Center announced the acquisition of three new locations, according to a press release:
• Gold’s Auto Body in Kerrville, Texas
• Charlie’s Paint and Body in Albany, Georgia
• Body Works Collision in Lake Charles, Louisiana
With these acquisitions, Joe Hudson’s now operates 240 locations across 18 states.
CREF ANNOUNCES DECEMBER CAREER FAIR DATES
The Collision Repair Education Foundation (CREF) fall 2024 High School and College Transportation Student Career Fairs
aim to connect future collision repair professionals with businesses looking to hire them.
For December, CREF will be present in:
• December 5: Fort Hayes Career Center (Columbus, Ohio)
• December 6: Ohio Technical College (Cleveland)
Organizations interested in participating or scheduling an event can contact Tiffany Bulak, the CREF program manager, at Tiffany.Bulak@ ed-foundation.org. Companies can also support students by sponsoring work uniforms, with options to provide branded technician shirts and work pants.
FIRE AT TWO OMAHA AUTO BUSINESSES STOPPED BY FIRE CREW
A fire struck two auto repair businesses in Omaha, Nebraska, according to a Facebook post from the Omaha Fire Department.
The Omaha Fire Department’s C-Shift crews responded to a structure fire near 84th and Blondo on the morning of Thursday, September 18. Dispatched at 9:56 a.m., the crews declared a working fire upon arrival. A second alarm was called, and the fire was brought under control by 10:57 a.m.
According to photos shared on Facebook, two businesses appeared to be affected. One was Iggy’s Auto Body Shop, and next door to it is J & J Automotive. The fire was determined to be accidental, originating from an engine compartment fire in a vehicle. No injuries were reported.
There is a GoFundMe page set up after the fire for J&J Automotive to rebuild. It has a goal set for $100,000.
I-CAR RECEIVES NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP HUB RECOGNITION TO AID COLLISION REPAIR INDUSTRY
I-CAR has been designated as a Registered Apprenticeship Hub and received over $7 million from the Department of Labor’s Apprenticeship Building America grant.
This funding will support the expansion of Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) in the collision repair industry over four years. I-CAR aims to establish new RAPs, engage repair centers, and develop an ecosystem for RAPs, elevating collision repair to the level of other trades.
The grant will help address the skills shortage, create job opportunities, and boost economic health by increasing workforce efficiency. I-CAR will also develop advanced training programs to keep pace with evolving automotive technology.
NUMBERS
DO YOU PERFORM ALUMINUM REPAIRS?
AS VEHICLES HAVE GROWN in complexity and have added lightweight materials, so have the number of shops that are equipped to repair them. The recent CCC Crash Course report shows the average number of replacement parts on a repair order increased from 10.6 in 2019 to 13.2 in 2022, while labor hours have increased from 23.9 to 27.3 in the same time frame. The number of shops reporting in the 2024 FenderBender Industry Survey they can repair aluminum components has increased by three percent compared to the previous year.
DOES YOUR BUSINESS HAVE THE CAPABILITY AND EQUIPMENT TO REPAIR ALUMINUM COMPONENTS?
SO, YOU WANT TO BE AN INSTRUCTOR?
See what this instructor says about going from the shop to the lab.
By ABDULLA GAAFARELKHALIFA
AT FENDERBENDER, we’re used to bringing you news and perspectives that help you make money, save money, and work smarter in your collision repair operations. We thought it would be interesting to get a glimpse into those helping students become tomorrow’s technicians.
We spoke with Brian Pierce, the head of the collision repair program at Rosedale Technical College in Pittsburgh. He shares
his insight into being an instructor and his experience in becoming an instructor.
CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND AND HOW YOU GOT INTO TEACHING?
In the ‘90s and early 2000s, Pierce worked at several body shops. “I had always been into cars. I was a little nontraditional,” he emphasized. “Then I went to school and got my teaching degree. Then I went into
teaching collision repair, and I’ve been teaching since roughly 2003.”
Pierce taught at Wyoming Technical Institute before going to Rosedale Technical College.
“It was interesting from my perspective,” he said, “watching them adapt or do that switch, if you will, from painting a car to teaching how to paint the car.”
With ADAS and EVs still being so new, and many collision instructors not being directly involved in the industry, has that been a challenge, in your opinion?
“Yep,” he said bluntly. “As far as EVs and ADAS, it’s obviously out there. I do find it a little difficult to try and stay up with the industry because, of course, everything also costs money. So, to try and stay up on the technology, it’s not easy.”
Where you teach can also be a factor in whether the difficulty is alleviated or not.
“I’m rather fortunate the school that I teach at also has an automotive program. So, for a lot of what needs to be taken care of as far as EV and ADAS, we can kind of piggyback off each other and help each other out to get to that goal. Whereas I know, unfortunately, there are other educational institutions that don’t have that ability, and it’s even harder for them to get training or the equipment to even teach their students to have a taste of it. So, yeah, I think that definitely is the challenge in the education side of collision repair. So much technology is changing, and the expense of trying to keep up with it is a challenge.”
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT FOR SOMEONE TO HAVE INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE BEFORE BECOMING AN INSTRUCTOR?
“I would highly recommend getting as much experience as possible, not rushing into teaching,” he advised.
He also has the same advice for students who want to open their business right after they graduate.
“I try to tell them that you might want to learn the ropes and learn how the flow of an auto body shop works,” he said. “I try and tell them to just hold off on that and you’re getting the carriage in front of the horse. I would highly recommend getting some years of experience first.”
WHAT SURPRISED YOU THE MOST WHEN YOU STARTED TEACHING?
He shared that teaching is more than just standing in front of a bunch of learners and sharing information. You need to make sure they retain what you shared as well.
“I was a little bit guilty of this, but I’ve seen a lot of guys who have come in from industry just tell students how to sand a car or whatever. And then did they see if they absorbed [knowledge], or did they just look at you and nod their head?” Pierce asked. “It’s important that you do follow up on everything.”
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT BEING AN INSTRUCTOR?
“It’s rewarding when you have a student who could barely weld two pieces of metal together at first and had never picked up a paint gun before. It doesn’t happen right away, but years later, you might run into them or come across their work on social media, and they’re doing things better than you could. They’re creating award-winning projects, buying huge houses, getting married, having kids, and finding great success in life. That’s fantastic.
“They put in the effort and the work, and to sit back and think, just for a second, that maybe, just maybe, you had a little something to do with it. Obviously, it was their ambition and hard work, but perhaps you played a small part. That thought makes me happy and motivates me to get up and do it again the next day.”
How Entrepreneurs Can Understand Their P&L
A visual exercise can make even a complex problem easier to understand.
It’s interesting how the public school system’s core subjects are English, math, science, social studies and maybe a foreign language or PE. These five core subjects teach our kids that getting good grades is important. In middle and high school, good grades are necessary to get accepted into a good college. Once in college, good grades are needed to land a good job in their desired career. The trouble with this thinking, in my opinion, is once hired, they are likely working for a company and not themselves. The icing on the cake is once working, they are told they should contribute to their 401(k) for the next 40 years, retire, and then eventually die! Hopefully, I haven’t stepped on any toes. I am stating what I have observed over my lifetime. If I had my way, the public school systems could continue with the five core subjects, of course, but create more classes on entrepreneurship and personal finance. The latter two are crucial to ensuring capitalism, free market, and private ownership will continue into America’s future.
There is a common thread found when entrepreneurial multi-millionaires have been surveyed. The average GPA for this high-net-worth group runs around 2.9. Breaking that out, 21% of self-made millionaires were “A” students, 41% were “B” students, and 29% were “C” students. That’s right; there were more “C” student millionaires than “A” students! I have a friend from elementary school who was a “C” student throughout school and is now a billionaire. He didn’t excel in math or any other subject. One thing is for sure: he knew if he bought something for $1 and sold it for $2, he just made 50% gross profit. Basic math skills, drive, and having an entrepreneurial spirit are really all that are needed for a millionaire mindset.
So, will basic math skills alone work to run a highly profitable collision shop? Of course! Nearly two decades ago, I was taught a very simple and powerful way to look at a collision shop’s profit and loss statement. It’s called the Ten Dimes.
Let’s look at one dollar of revenue in a collision shop. Each dollar brought in is made up of 10 dimes, or 100 pennies. Simple enough, right? We are go-
ing to do some easy math here, so here we go! The first three dimes, or 30 cents, would go to pay for parts, paint, and sublet. The next two dimes or 20 cents would go to pay for technician labor. The next dime, or 10 cents, would go to pay for administrative wages. The next two dimes, or 20 cents, go to pay for overhead costs (rent, utilities, insurance, etc.). Now we only have 20 cents, or two dimes left. These are for the business’ net profit!
What does this really look like when one dime = 0? Here we go: 000 = parts, paint, and sublet, 00 = tech wages, 0 = admin wages, 00 = overhead, and 00 = net profit. I challenge you to take a whiteboard, draw 10 large circles on it, and then fill in these percentages for a nice visual of what this looks like. Then, grab your shop’s P&L , make 10 more large circles, and compare your percentages to the prior ten circle percentages.
I know already some of you are saying, “I only have a 10% or one dime net profit left at the end,” or, “Just my PPS costs are 40%+ or more.” If this is your case, you can obviously try to negotiate better discounts with your vendors, but deeper discounts are likely not the issue. The problem will likely lie in poor estimating. Every shop owner in the USA should know what their monthly average estimate hours are, trending on a graph. If you don’t know where you are for your shop, it’s time to find out. If you have a management system, it’s time to start using it! If you don’ t, then look at every job you delivered over the last three months and put the repair hours in Excel. (Hint: Leave out any jobs less than three hours,the junk). With the complexity of repairs for late model cars, and say your average R.O. is below say 35 hours, you’re likely leaving money on the table. It’s time to take some estimating classes. If your technician costs exclude vacations and payroll taxes, you need to be in the 15%-16% range. Let’s say your admin. costs are over 14%, then you need to produce more cars with the same admin staff or let some admin. folks go.
When we make our P&L visual, it becomes easy to understand, and it will almost speak to you on areas to work on!
GREG LOBSIGER
Greg Lobsiger has owned Loren’s Body Shop in Bluffton, Indiana, for over 23 years. He has been a member of Mike Anderson’s groups for ten years and had extensive lean manufacturing training.
EMAIL: greg@lorensbodyshop.com
ARCHIVE: fenderbender.com/lobsiger
By JAY SICHT / DEWITZ PHOTOGRAPHY
hether you’re planning retirement or thinking of buying the shop you’re managing, succession planning can help build a roadmap to get there.
Nearly 50 percent of respondents to FenderBender’s annual industry survey this year reported they have no plans to retire, which is down from 55 percent last year. But nearly 35 percent of all respondents reported they have no succession plan. About 18 percent plan to sell to a private buyer, about 6 percent plan to sell to a consolidator, and over 21 percent plan to leave the business to family or a business partner.
Siblings Luke Salter and Amy Wolfe, owners of Trubilt Collision Center in Eau Claire and Altoona, Wisconsin, didn’t set out to become collision repair shop owners. In fact, both were midway through college before they decided to remain working for their father, Jerry Salter, who’d built up the business at the original location in Eau Claire after buying it in 1997 with their mother, Lynn. It was in 2015 that the duo began to realize their desire to buy the business, a plan they fulfilled three years ago.
“Our father took a step back and kind of removed himself from the business,” CEO Luke Salter says, “and we essentially ran it for him. At that point, we realized it was on our radar that we wanted to own the business.”
Wolfe, president of the company, had originally gone to college for finance. At the same time she changed direction to study marketing and business, she started working at the shop part-time. What she planned to be a two-year commitment has turned into 15.
“My biggest driving factor after those two years was that we were really able to see some of our father's goals come to fruition. He trusted us with the vision he had for this place to continue to allow it to grow, so that was a fuel for my fire in terms of, ‘All right, maybe going back to school and completely changing industries isn't what I want to do. I'm enjoying this. I'm having fun with my dad. I'm having fun with my brother. Let's give it a go.’ And it has just kind of kept snowballing in a really great way.”
Walking the Path to Ownership Together
Siblings Amy Wolfe and Luke Salter bought Trubilt Collision Center, with locations in Eau Claire (shown) and Altoona, Wisconsin, three years ago from their father, Jerry.
A Look in the Distance
Matt DiFrancesco, owner of High Lift Financial, is a certified exit planner who specializes in assisting collision repair shop businesses. He has not advised the Salters and Wolfe on their sale or any aspect of their business. But just as they planned for several years, he advises shop owners to plan far in advance, as much as five years before they plan to exit the business. The first step, to develop a plan, takes from 30 to 90 days, and implementing the plan can take from six months to two years, depending on how fast and responsive the client is.
“Too many shop owners come to me at 65 or 68 years old, and they're burned out and just want to get out,” he says. “Then we start looking at the numbers, and they're just not going to be able to achieve the lifestyle that they want because they haven't built enough value in the business to be able to exit it on their terms.”
The First Step
Salter and Wolfe were able to ease into ownership when the trio formed a holding company to buy what was known at the time as Happy Days Auto Body in nearby Altoona, Wisconsin, in 2018, with each holding one-third ownership in the acquisition. In 2021, the siblings bought Jerry Salter’s shares in both locations. The two locations are just a few miles apart, which might beg the question “Aren’t you going to cannibalize sales from your first location?” But Wolfe says the markets are “completely different,” and the town has been growing substantially. It's also where she lives and where her children go to school.
“We weren’t getting many repairs from that market,” Luke Salter says. “We knew the Altoona community does most of its business in Altoona, so we wanted to be a part of that.”
To confirm their impression, they used GMAP Analytics, provided by Axalta, to analyze their repair orders and plot the customers’ addresses on a map to see from where their repairs have been coming.
“It can also pull data showing there’s 57,000 Subarus within a 30-mile radius, or 94,000 within 100. So, they can give us that data that helps with expansion and growth.”
Setting a Value
So, how does a family business set a price that’s fair to all parties? Wolfe says the oftrepeated method of using earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) is what’s typical of MSOs, such as those that had approached them in the past about selling. Instead, the family used the business’ accountant to do a valuation in 2021, with the state of sales and revenue from the time Wolfe and Salter took over most daily operations factored in the valuation.
“Because this is family, we didn’t want to get super in the weeds. But we all wanted to be protected and to ensure nobody was taking a financial hit. It was more just raw conversations with the three of us and our mom on what this looks like. Are they going to be taken care of? Can they maintain their quality of living and things like that? So, we were fortunate that we’re not spending a bunch of money to hire outside resources.”
Salter says it was a conversation Wolfe and he first had with their father in 2015.
“We knew we wanted to buy it at some point. But if we kept on growing the business, we would just increase the value that we would have to pay back to my father. He said, ‘I'll be fair with you guys. I understand that you are putting the work in to grow the place.’ So he gave us a value early on of what it would be when we got to that sellout point.”
From there, once they were ready to buy, Salter and Wolfe used the same bank their father and mother used in 1997. They still had to go through the same approvals and reviews of books, taxes, budgeting, and pro forma projections.
“But it was nothing abnormal or crazy that they wanted on their end,” Wolfe says.
Maintaining Healthy Family Relationships in Negotiations
From the time each of them was involved in the business, Salter and Wolfe say, their mother has served as the mediator and glue to make sure the family dynamics were not endangered.
“Our mom was kind of that impartial third party: ‘Hey, hold on. Our family comes first,’”
Wolfe says. “If at any time the business is getting in the way of or jeopardizing what we have as a family, she's thrown in the red challenge flag. And we've had several really difficult moments family internally in the business. ‘I don't like you as my brother right now,’ and ‘I don't like you as my dad right now.’ And ‘I don't like you as my sister.’ Looking back, those were really trying times. But at the same time coming out on the other side of it, it has made us a lot stronger and allowed us to buy a second location, to be able to work together and buy out our father and still go home. His wife is my best friend, and my husband is his best friend. We were able to have those things in the past that have really kind of laid a solid foundation for what our future looks like.”
Diminished Valuation
DiFrancesco says with family business successions, what is called a diminished value is often used to allow the buyers, typically the children, to build equity more quickly.
“So at some point when the owner, the mom or dad, wants to fully exit, the buyer can now go out and get either SBA financing or a bank loan or something like that to get the remaining amount. But because they use the diminished value, they’ve built much more equity, which puts them in a better position to get the funds that they need.”
Likening his role to that of a coach, DiFrancesco says it’s a team effort, and he does not provide tax or legal advice; he enlists the aid of a CPA and attorney.
“I still handle the financial planning, such as any asset management and those type of things, but I'm coaching through the whole process to build the plan for them and walking them through the steps of the plan. When we need to, I bring in the outside professional, and I can speak the outside professionals language better than the owner.”
Another mistake owners commonly make, DiFrancesco says, is not considering the tax implications of an “internal sale.”
“It’s not about what you get for the business; it’s what you keep for the business. And even on third-party sales, you have to structure those deals properly to minimize tax liability as much as possible.”
it to family or a business partner
The percentage of participants reporting they have no plan to retire in the near future is 50%, down from 55% in 2023. The portion of those surveyed saying they don’t have a succession plan has not changed significantly since the previous year. 18%
21%
Growing the Business
Since buying the Altoona location, Salter and Wolfe transitioned the shop to move away from a mix of restoration and collision repair work to focus on collision repair and to be process-oriented. The result is they’ve taken the 8,500-square-foot facility from about $800,000 in annual sales to $2.4 million. They just refurbished its paint department in October 2023. And in the time Wolfe joined the company, Eau Claire has grown from $1.3-$1.4 million to its current projected $6 million this year. An expansion completed in June has grown it to 20,000 square feet, which made room for the ADAS calibration center and additional body technician space. The Altoona location has 10 employees, and there are 22 at Eau Claire. The calibration center and towing company serve both locations as sublet vendors.
“We’re done spending money for a while,” Wolfe says with a smile. “We’ve gotta pay some bills now.”
Looking Down the Road
Although Salter and Wolfe have a long time before reaching the typical retirement age, they have given some thought to what their own succession plan would look like.
“I have two girls and Luke has two girls,” she says. “Right now, they really enjoy being in our TV commercials.”
As the oldest is just 14, the girls have a lot of time to consider their career paths.
“There are more key employees who are stepping into management leadership roles who would probably want the helm of that ship before our children. At this time, that makes the most sense.”
Wolfe says she wouldn’t be opposed to her daughters taking over, but she remains
realistic, and both Salter and she realize plans can always change.
As part of her participation in a Wisconsin 20 group, she’s had several conversations in the last 12 to 18 months with owners who have been bought out. Whether it’s a family member or a key person who takes over the business, she cautions there is more to consider than having worked in the business and having the necessary financing.
“If I didn't have Luke, there's no way I'd be able to do this by myself. I feel fortunate that there are two of us.”
Each shop’s situation is different, she notes, from the size of the shop to the number of employees who might be wearing different hats to make the business run smoothly.
“They think, ‘Yeah, I'd like to own my shop.’ Well, what does that look like? And have you really thought that out and what the all the layers that entails? There's so much more that goes into it that I think people just don't think about really the meat and potatoes of it.”
It’s working on the weekends at monthend and taking calls from customers, technicians, and other staff at every hour of the day, they say, that others don't often consider.
“Your mind doesn’t really shut off at all,” Salter says. “You’re always thinking about what’s next: ‘What can I be doing better?’ ‘What do we need to improve on?’”
If someone is working in the business as the owner approaches retirement, Wolfe advises him or her to start preparing now.
“You're not just going to be ready for it tomorrow. What does it look like from a savings aspect? How much cash do you have? What does your credit look like? Do you have a good accountant that you trust?
Do you have a good attorney that you trust? Who is in your corner who will help you succeed when you have the opportunity to take a shop over?
“Not to get the carriage in front of the horse, but if it was one of my store managers who came and said, ‘Hey, I'm in this role. I know you guys are 10 or 12 years out from retiring. I just want to let you know that I'm saving. I've met with my accountant. I'd be like, ‘Hell, yeah. I'm really proud of you that you're thinking about this more than just, ‘Yeah, I'd like to run a body shop.’”
Planning for a Contingency
Regardless of what a business owner originally has in mind when he or she begins planning an exit, DiFrancesco says it’s crucial to consider all options and to plan for a contingency.
“It’s amazing to me how many shop owners tell me, ‘I want to transition, but I don’t have any kids who are interested in the business. I don’t have any key employees. I want to sell to a third party.’ But as I start putting them through the process, we start to realize that ‘Oh, you know what? My name remaining on the business is important. I like the legacy I’ve created for my community.’ Or ‘I want to take care of my employees.’ So a lot of times, what we’ll start doing is transitioning them to become more of what I call an incidental or absentee owner, where the business can function without them. And the interesting thing about that is not only does that free them up to be able to do other things that they want to do with their life, they maintain the (as I call it) cash cow, the business. But it also raises the value because the less dependent a shop is on the owner, the more value it has in it.”
Little touches can make a big difference when handing back the keys.
YOU ONLY GET ONE CHANCE to make a first impression, goes the saying, but what about making a lasting impression? You really only get one chance at that, too, and it comes when you’re delivering a car back to a customer. And that lasting impression could be even more valuable when it comes to seeing return business down the road.
There are, of course, some things that you won’t be able to solve with a dynamite delivery. If your shop did a poor job communicating, made a major mistake, or simply did a poor job on the repair, customers won’t even remember the small details. So before you dive into those, be sure your processes are rock solid.
“The delivery process is really set up by our communication and QC process,” says Brandon Van Eck, COO of Michigan-based Car Center. “So by the time we get to delivery, hopefully we’ve done an outstanding job setting appropriate expectations and following through on those expectations.”
as told to TODD KORTEMEIER
Establish Expectations for Pickup
When we go through our release meeting and discuss the cars that are set to go today and the cars that are set to go tomorrow, all those customers get a call with what our expectations are as far as delivery expectations, and then also any barriers that that may set us off. “So, hey we’re planning on having your vehicle done tomorrow afternoon, it does still need an alignment, or a calibration, or both,” or, “We’re still waiting for a belt molding to come in,” but we do expect to be able to handle those barriers. So then we ask, “Hey, are you able to pick up tomorrow, if we get it done?” And then we call them back once we get those barriers crossed.
Think of Everything
We have a bunch of processes laid out. We always have key fob batteries on site that we’ll replace for people if they’re getting low. We have what’s called a Car Center delivery, that’s what we call it, where we’ll kind of tag-team when the CSR or the estimator, whoever’s doing the checkout of the customer, collecting payment and going through things, somebody else will see that. Grab the keys, grab a bottle of water,
“BY THE TIME WE GET TO DELIVERY, HOPEFULLY WE’VE DONE AN OUTSTANDING JOB SETTING APPROPRIATE EXPECTATIONS AND FOLLOWING THROUGH ON THOSE EXPECTATIONS.”
—Brandon Van Eck, COO, Car Center
go pull the vehicle right up, back it up to the front door. And then, depending on the type of season, if it’s cold outside, we’ll keep it running to get it warm, and then when that person who’s doing the checkout for the customer is done, they will walk them out, and the car’s pulled right up to the front door, backed in, to go over the repairs. It’s a nice little touch.
Empower Employees to Make a Difference
We empower employees to listen and to make decisions. So, as they’re getting to know the customer, and they hear that their son is starting college, or they’re going on a road trip after they pick the car up from us. That was one that just happened last week; one of our CSRs figured out that the person was going on a road trip. So we empower people to, within a certain dollar amount, go put together a basket, or put a card together or whatever. And in this case, she put together a little road trip basket with snacks and stuff, and that was sitting in the front seat with a little note.
We’ve talked about having ready-to-go gifts. It happens fairly often where somebody’s got a wedding that they’re going to, or, hopefully not, maybe a funeral that they’re going to. And can we pre-make gifts or cards or something that are ready to go, ready to deploy?
A Follow-up is Always Appreciated
If there are issues, we have processes that deal with those issues. But we do have a process where we do a follow-up if the vehicle is a certain type of repair. If there’s suspension work or anything like that, we’ll always say, “Hey, it feels like it’s driving straight to me, but you’re the one who owns this; let us know.” If it’s a heavy structural repair or something like that, we’ll usually follow up in a day. Our goal is worst-case scenario, 48 hours. But bestcase is 24 hours, follow up and make sure that everything’s OK.
Remember What Business
You’re in
Our owner, Nick Edwards, always says that our business is the customer experience. Our commodity, what we do, is collision repair. So that’s what we strive to be, and I would encourage any other shop out there, or any other business, really, if you don’t have top industry-level service, it’s going to be tough to compete with your surroundings. My message to my team is, there’s a lot of really good body shops around us, a lot of them. And we have great quality. We have great speed. We follow OEM procedures. We have OEM certifications. We have great technicians. We have all those things. But I can throw a stone and hit 10 other shops that have all those things, and what really sets us apart is how the customer feels about us. And for any shops out there that don’t have that focus, I would encourage them to flip and start to have that focus.
HOW TO FIND YOUR NEXT HOME-RUN HIRE
It’s never been harder to find good talent. Learn how to set your shop up to increase your chances of finding it.
By NOAH BROWN
ADOBE STOCK 289656070
IN A LOT OF WAYS, finding, recruiting and hiring employees is very similar to batting in major league baseball. Both require intense dedication and study to get better, there isn’t necessarily one “right” way to go about it, and even the best are going to fail more often than they succeed.
Ty Cobb, the legendary center fielder and player/manager for the Detroit Tigers, has the highest batting average of anybody in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Over the course of 24 seasons, he recorded a .366 batting average. Or, more plainly, the greatest contact hitter in the history of Major League Baseball made an out just over 63 percent of the time he came to the plate.
Christy Jones, certified business coach and owner at Clarity Business Coaching and collision industry veteran, says that no matter how good a hiring manager is, they’re never going to have a perfect batting average. A lot of the time, their average is going to look similar to Ty Cobb’s.
“No business is immune to hiring that wrong person. I could probably walk into any body shop today, and there will be at least one ‘wrong’ person,” Jones says. “We’re in this economic society where there are too many jobs and not enough people, and we’ve been
programmed to hire someone who walks in the door just because they’re breathing.”
Hiring is challenging, and creating an environment where people want to work is even more so. However, Jones says making sure your shop has very a clear mission, vision and values is the best way to keep good talent, which in turn will attract more good talent.
The Problem
While the tech shortage is still a big problem facing the collision industry, Jones says that has become a far-too-common scapegoat for collision shops’ hiring woes.
“We’ve been programmed to believe there’s a shortage, because there is, but there are body shops out there where people don’t want to work,” she says. “They’re not applying to those businesses. We’re seeing this community of technicians and employees who are saying ‘No, I’m going to be choosy about where I work.”
Some shops are handicapping themselves from the get-go – trying to bring in talented people with a good attitude when your shop’s
culture doesn’t foster that internally is like trying to hit a 95-mile-per-hour fastball with a plastic Wiffle Ball bat.
“If you’re not a strong body shop with a good culture and healthy environment with good pay, you’re not getting the good technicians,” Jones says. “That’s where you’re seeing some of those bad hires.”
The Solution
As a collision repair shop owner, rooting yourself and your team in a strong foundation is key to good hiring. Jones says each shop is going to have a different approach, but having your shop’s fundamentals rooted in a strong mission, vision, and values is essential to a healthy culture.
“Culture doesn’t just exist in the shop. What is that shop doing outside your own four walls? That’s how you can entice future employees. Are you participating in community events? Are you sponsoring events?” Jones says. “That really speaks to the value for a potential employee, showing them that you’re not just concerned
about your shop, but that you’re concerned about your community as well. To them, that shows that you’ll probably care about them more, too.”
A strong culture goes a long way. Jones says no amount of top-line equipment or flashy gear can save your shop from a toxic atmosphere. It doesn’t take much to create that toxic environment, either; one bad apple can spoil the bunch.
Jones says prioritizing keeping good employees and finding ways to get rid of bad ones is the best way to not only improve the morale of your current employees but to also attract new employees.
“Technicians talk, and they know where the toxic shops and employees are,” she says. “Once you’ve got that mentality of not having toxic people in your shop, you’re going to have people knocking down your door to come work for you.”
The Aftermath
Creating a good culture isn’t easy, especially if you’re starting from scratch. Jones says a culture shift and becoming a place where em-
ployees want to work takes a lot of time and effort, and it requires some radical thinking on the part of the owner.
“When you think that you’d rather prioritize a positive atmosphere over making money at all costs, that’s radical,” she says. “The rewards are going to be so much better. It may not happen as quickly as you want it, but it’s going to be so much better.”
It may sound counterintuitive, but Jones says the best way to create a positive atmosphere and help build your roster of good talent is to start by cutting the problematic employees.
When she ran her own shop, Jones says having a “hire slow, fire fast” mentality helped her weed out bad employees who were causing problems. Very quickly, the other employees became more productive and had new, creative ideas to help improve the shop.
The lack of having to deal with a bad employee also gave her time to focus on finding good employees to refill her bench.
When going through the hiring process, Jones says it’s essential to look for soft skills and personality type in addition to the standard technical skills. Bringing in your employees to help with the interview process will also help with making sure that a candidate gels with your team.
Jones says it will take longer to fill vacancies with that process, but it will ultimately serve your shop better in the long run.
“I’d rather have a shop with fewer techs and a slightly slower service rate that does good work and has happy employees than to have a high production rate and a negative culture in my shop,” Jones says.
The Takeaway
A strong culture is the No. 1 asset your shop can have when hiring new people. Good people want to work for good companies, and Jones says your shop has to be a destination employees are clamoring to work for to be competitive.
“It starts at the top. Expectations have to be clear,” she says. “The ripple effect is huge. If you have a healthy technician who enjoys their job, they’re going to go home and they’re going to be healthy at home. If they’re healthy at home, they’re healthy out in the community. It’s so much more powerful.”
BUILD YOUR SALES CULTURE: THE BENEFIT OF UPSELLING
Grow your sales and gross profit without processing more vehicles through the door by refining the selling and service skills of your CSR and estimator team.
By STEVE TRAPP ADOBE STOCK 249301718
LAST MONTH, we began a series on building a sales culture after hearing repairers are slowing down and backlogs have declined from weeks to days. The idea is to provide thoughts on implementing a sales culture within the repair centers to grow additional volume. This article will center on the benefit or value of upselling additional repairs to your current customers.
Let’s Start with Some Numbers
During the phone survey we did with 20 repairers, we found that 18 of them DO NOT actively solicit upsells beyond a simple ding or dent surrounding the damage related to the claim. The two who do upsell try periodically, but weren’t formally working on a project to enhance the upsell strategy. But fully 50% said they would be interested, given the market conditions.
Is There Opportunity to Add Value and Upsell the Vehicles for Which We Provide Collision Repairs?
A quick search on the internet yielded several independent studies reporting a range of 50-75% of vehicles on the road today have minor cosmetic damage requiring PDR or paint repair. Detail studies show that 35% of consumers would pay for a “deep clean detail” if it were convenient. So, your current customers’ vehicles have opportunities to repair beyond the collision repair if you properly approach the topic.
Ryan Taylor of Body Shop Booster recently did a survey for Toyota. They found 41% of the vehicles in the service drive have legitimate minor cosmetic damage which could be repaired. Could you use an estimating platform like Tractable or CCC Jumpstart to write a basic estimate, and then use AI from Body Shop Booster (or similar) to solicit the sale on these repairs? It could add quite a bit of volume from dealer accounts.
Why Would a Customer Pay to Have Minor Cosmetic Repairs, PDR or Detailing Completed?
In the case of a collision repair, these repairs to dings and dents “add-value” to the vehicle. When I queried the couple of shops who did have success with upselling, they got reassurance by discussing the topic with a friendly new or used car manager
and asking them about the improvement of vehicle value for various types of repairs. This affirmation can really improve your confidence and credibility when having these conversations.
Example: A three-year-old Toyota Highlander with scuffs and paint pitting on both bumpers might be worth $17,000. But with those areas repaired, the same vehicle might be worth $18,700, a $1,700 premium with a $600 (for example) cost to repair. That’s $1,100 net added value! So, when asking the customer if they would like you to offer a price to repair these things, they can often confidently say, “If you’re considering trading the vehicle, repairing these things will definitely add value to your vehicle. Generally, the additional vehicle value is significantly more than you will invest to complete the repairs.”
What Additional Benefits Might You Use to Sell This to the Customer?
Depending upon the vehicle and the owner’s view on the value or image of a vehicle, some customers take pride in a clean, well-maintained vehicle. Therefore, they are willing to either invest money in their current vehicle, or they begin looking for a replacement vehicle. If we can make them feel good again about the vehicle they own and drive by “deep-clean-detailing it” or repairing the cosmetic damage, then they save quite a bit of money by NOT buying a replacement vehicle at this time. AI from Body Shop Booster can ask for the sale even after the vehicle is scheduled in for repairs; you may want to consider using it to assist your sales efforts. In a sense, the repairs and a deep-clean detailing make them fall in love with their vehicle again.
What Types of Services Might You Offer?
There are endless possibilities for what to
potentially upsell, but here are a few of the most common options:
1. Offer to have your PDR sublet provider attempt to remove dings and dents.
2. Repair minor dings, dents and scratches.
3. Restore headlamps which have hazed or faded.
4. Offer a “deep-clean” detail of interior (and in some cases engine bay/trunk); special tools (generally low cost) can really aid in this effort.
5. Additional accessories can also be sold, such as ceramic coatings, bed liners, clear film, custom floor mats, and more.
They Will Seek a “Deal”
These repairs are most often customerpaid, and we know that many of these customers are somewhat price-sensitive. Therefore, they want to perceive they are getting a “deal.” There are a couple ways to convey your pricing flexibility:
1. Writing at a higher customer paid rate (for example $85) and then offering to discount back to the insurance rate (for example $60, a 41% discount) is a solid way to entice them.
2. Reinforcing the fact that having these items repaired “while you’re here” saves the shop administrative and shop time; therefore, you can offer a X% discount at the time of the collision repair. If you came for just these repairs, the cost would be $500, but if we can complete them “While you’re here,” we can complete them for $300.
Why Might You Offer a Discount for Completing These Repairs “While You’re Here”?
Nobody wants to discount, but we all realize that the costs and expenses are less for vehicles repaired “while you’re here” versus coming in for a dedicated upsell repair. Why?
1. The RO file is already set-up
2. The appointment is confirmed
3. Vehicle is checked in
4. Vehicle is already in repair planning
5. Vehicle is already in the body stall for repairs
6. Vehicle must go through the paint flow line (it’s taking up a booth cycle)
7. Vehicle will be in reassembly and will need to be washed and vacuum-detailed either way
Therefore, upsold repairs generate additional labor hours and labor gross margin with very little marginal cost. Examples:
1. PDR – we will make our mark-up for these repairs and the prompt-pay discount – Example: 27%.
2. Body or paint upsells – we will make 60-65% on the labor gross.
3. Detailing – We generally pay the detailer hourly, so any sales are 100% profit. Some repairers pay the detailer 10-20% for customer-paid detail jobs to incentivize them to do it well and get it done to not slow deliveries.
What Incentive Do the Technicians Have to Complete These Repairs?
I know it sounds odd, but it’s easier to have upsold the ding and dent repair and fix it properly, then to try to work around them. The technicians can perform a proper repair on blend panels and painters don’t have to paint over a chip which will look bad and may someday be a point of warranty failure. Further, as mentioned previously, the body and paint teams will get paid flat rate hours for those additional repair hours or your hourlypaid staff will get credit for completing the hours towards their hourly incentive (if you offer one).
What Incentive Does the CSR / Estimator Team Have to Upsell?
Beyond feeling good when returning the
vehicle to the customer with the addedvalue completed properly, completing the repairs generate additional margin dollars, some of which can be paid to the estimator to incentivize them to ask for and earn the added-value upsells.
The challenge is, our estimators are very busy people, meeting customers to understand their needs, performing advanced inspections, checking in vehicles, performing OEM research, documenting the repair plan, ordering parts from multiple sources, handling supplement requests, communicating with the customer, delivering the job, closing ROs, and even collecting money. They work hard to earn their wage based on workload and gross margin incentives they may be earning. The shops we interviewed agreed that a (for example) 10% straight commission for dollars sold would be a fair way to compensate the estimator for completing these sales.
A simple way to track these sales is to create a simple form for them to log the RO, the item upsold, and the dollar amount of the additional customer-paid lines on the estimates they have sold. These lines need to be noted on the final bill and referenced in the notes screen per file. At the end of the pay period, take the value-added upsell gross sales growth multiplied by, say, 10%. If they sold $2,000 in added value upsells, then they would have $200 added to their paycheck for that period.
Simple Sales Process for Addedvalue Upselling
The process is quite simple:
1. When you first meet the customer, ask them how long they have owned the vehicle and if they plan on trading it in the next year. This gives you insight into their plan for the vehicle.
2. As you inspect the vehicle, ask for them to opt-in to allow you to offer them a price for completing repairs for unrelated prior damage or a deepclean detail.
3. As you sit and create the advanced inspection report and document the price for the added value upsells, explain how you think what they invest in repairs will be more than offset in the added-value the vehicle might have at trade-in or sale.
4. Present the “package” for just the collision repair and then the incremental costs for the added value upsell repairs “while you’re here.”
5. And then ask for the sale by saying “which package would you be interested in scheduling for repair with us today”?
6. Log the sale.
7. Complete the sale.
8. Collect the additional sales.
9. Pay the incentives to your staff and enjoy the financial fruits of their labor!
Summary
Implementing a sales culture within the company continues to refine the selling and service skills of the CSR and estimator team within your repair center. The suggestion is to refine the rapport-building skills to include learning about the longterm plan for the vehicle, then asking permission to inspect areas which have minor cosmetic damage or opportunities to “deep clean.” Role-play examples of how they could price a “while you’re here” repair versus a standard repair. Then, in periodic meetings role play the explaining the upsold repairs and the added value and then asking for the sale. Doing this added value upsell process could result in you growing your sales and gross profit, without processing more vehicles through the door!
BUILD YOUR ONLINE MARKETING MACHINE NOW TO SEE FUTURE PAYOFF
Acquiring customers through online efforts takes time and consistency.
By LINDSEY GAINER
WHEN PEOPLE DRIVE BY your shop, what do they see? A large sign out front with your name and phone number? Perhaps a banner advertising this month’s specials?
In much the same way that you draw attention to your physical shop, you can (and should) do the same online.
“Imagine your shop located on a busy street,” says Daniel Burkholder, founder of Body Shop Marketing, a digital marketing company dedicated solely to the collision industry. “You want to make sure people driving
by see it, know it’s the best place to go when they need collision repairs, and have an easy way to stop in. Online marketing is like putting up a big, bright sign that says, ‘We fix cars perfectly! Come in today!’ But instead of doing this on a physical street, you’re doing it on the internet where thousands of potential customers are passing by every day.”
Here’s how to catch the attention of those online passersby.
Digital Marketing 101
Every business owner is familiar with marketing, using tactics like ads, radio spots, and TV commercials to bring awareness to your shop and brand with the ultimate goal of winning new customers.
Digital marketing is the same exact thing, but on the internet…it’s a way to ensure people find you online when they’re searching for a collision repair shop. And trust us, they’re looking. Some polls estimate as many as 75% of people are now searching for businesses online and looking at reviews before deciding where to go.
That means it’s more important than ever for shops to put their best digital foot forward and focus resources on their online presence and digital marketing.
If You Build It, They Will Come
Your website, Google Business Profile (what appears to someone when they search for your business on Google), social media channels (like Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn), pay-per-click campaigns (those online ads that appear at the top of search pages), and geofencing campaigns (advertising targeted to people in a specific geographic area), all fall under the digital marketing umbrella.
In basic terms, when you search a business online, the information you find about them is their online presence, Burkholder says. And if they are optimizing and building that online presence, then they’re utilizing online — or digital — marketing.
The fantastic thing about digital marketing, he adds, is that you have the opportunity to meet potential customers in their exact moment of need. After all, people don’t usu-
ally search for collision shops unless they’ve just been in an accident or need body work done in the immediate future.
“Not only does a strong online presence help build trust, but it’s also a way to help combat the ‘steering’ that shops face from insurance companies. It can also be a great way to beat the MSOs or big competitors you’re facing, too.”
But just remember…Rome wasn’t built in a day; your online presence won’t be, either. It takes time and consistency to see results. A brand-new website, for instance, can take around six months to be “noticed” and ranked organically by Google (meaning your website shows up in search results without a paid ad).
“The harsh truth is this: if you want incredible SEO results today, you should have started (at least) six to 12 months ago,” Burkholder warns. “Don’t be like those who regret not starting sooner. The second-best time to start is today!”
Getting Started
Every shop should have the following at a minimum, says Burkholder: 1) an optimized website, 2) an optimized Google Business Profile, 3) cohesive shop information syndicated across different online directories, and 4) a social media presence.
Start by focusing on your website and Google Business Profile, he advises, as those will serve as the foundation for any additional digital marketing efforts you undertake.
You want to be sure that your shop’s website is optimized for search in three places:
• On-page, i.e. making sure the actual text that people see on your website is optimized with the proper headings, keyword phrases (the phrases people in your area are searching when looking for a collision shop), links, etc.
• Technically, i.e. optimizing things on the back end of the site, like the coding, accessibility, load speed, etc.
• Off-page, i.e. content not on your website that signals to Google you’re trustworthy and should be ranked in searches. Social media content and links from other websites to yours are examples of off-page SEO signals.
As for your Google Business Profile, use the different functionalities and features it offers to add Q&As, posts (similar to a Facebook post, but directly on your Google Business Profile), respond to reviews, and add photos. Be sure to do this at least three times per week, says Burkholder, to show that you’re active on your listing.
Online business directories, on the other hand, are like the Yellow Pages of the digital age: they provide a place where people can find an aggregate of different businesses’ contact information in one place. Find the directories most relevant to the collision industry and ensure your business information is submitted and correct.
Should You Outsource?
Business owners with the desire to tackle digital marketing on their own can complete courses like those available on www.digitalmarketer.com/, says Burkholder, but many shop owners and operators find that it’s an extremely worthwhile investment to outsource their online presence and digital marketing to a professional agency.
“Shop owners don’t have the time to be an expert in every area of their business,” he says. “When you hire a digital marketing professional, you’re hiring years of experience and knowledge, a partner to help grow your business and create a plan to reach your long-term goals, and access to tools and software that can make all the difference in your success.”
The Bottom Line
Digital marketing is too important to ignore, says Burkholder, so if you’re too busy or don’t have the interest in doing it yourself, hire help.
“Don’t wait till your shop is slow to start marketing. Online marketing needs to be done consistently. Keep building your shop’s online presence one day, one month, one year at a time, and know that you don’t have to go it alone. Choose a marketing agency partner that understands the collision industry and knows how to support your shop’s long-term goals.”
Driving Business in Challenging Conditions
During a slowdown, this is how we capture multiple repair orders from vehicles already in our shop.
Let’s be honest: the economy has been volatile this year. Body shop owners across the country are feeling the impact, and shop owners are reporting significant slowdowns. My shop had its best year ever last year, but as we all know, the nature of business is cyclical. There are peaks and troughs, and this year we’re definitely in a trough. Despite our robust marketing efforts, we’ve seen a 25% decline in activity.
One of the major factors contributing to this downturn is the behavior of insurance companies. They are increasingly totaling vehicles at much lower damage thresholds, recognizing they can recover more money by selling them at auction than by financing repairs. This trend has profound implications for our industry. Additionally, many customers are opting to cash their insurance checks and continue driving their damaged vehicles simply because they need immediate funds. This not only leads to fewer repair orders but also creates an environment where people are prioritizing cash flow over vehicle safety.
This combination creates a perfect storm for repair shops: a weakening economy, insurance companies declaring vehicles total losses, and customers choosing not to repair their cars. So, what can we do to drive business in such challenging conditions? For us, part of the answer lies in securing multiple repair orders from the vehicles already in our shop. Historically, we’ve been relatively good at identifying additional body repairs when customers bring their vehicles in. However, in light of the current slowdown, we’re now doubling down on how we capitalize on the vehicles already in our shop. We’ve refined our approach to capturing repairs for unrelated prior damage and expanded our assessment of what we can propose to customers.
In the past, when a customer dropped off their vehicle, we would ask if there were any other issues they wanted us to address. While we captured some repairs this way, we realized we were missing out on numerous opportunities to enhance our service offerings. Now, when a car is dropped off, we ensure to provide a same-day update, unless the drop-off occurs late in the day. Our protocol now dictates that we reach out to customers the same day as their dropoff, to inform them that the damages on the vehicle
have been disassembled, parts have been ordered, and additional needed repairs have been submitted to the insurance company for approval. By reaching out on the same day, we’ve significantly improved our close ratio for additional repair orders, demonstrating our commitment to customer service.
But we didn’t stop there. We’ve also broadened our inspection process. Beyond just assessing the body of the vehicle, we now evaluate the suspension, brake, and exhaust systems, along with offering basic maintenance services such as oil changes and wiper blade replacements. While we don’t want to transform into a full-service mechanic shop, these minor services can be easily performed while the customer’s vehicle is with us, providing added convenience and value. Our strategy serves two key purposes: increasing the number of repair orders we process and establishing our shop as the go-to for all automotive inquiries. By positioning ourselves as a resource for all things automotive, we are not only fostering customer loyalty but also encouraging repeat business. We’ve started to receive calls from customers seeking minor maintenance or advice, and while we may refer some work to specialized mechanics, the goal is to remain topof-mind for any automotive needs.
Furthermore, we’ve also embraced digital marketing strategies to reach our customers more effectively. By leveraging social media platforms and our website, we can share tips on vehicle maintenance, showcase our repair work, and promote our additional services. This not only helps in generating new leads but also reinforces our position as trusted experts in the field.
As we navigate these uncertain times, our commitment to customer service and our proactive approach to identifying additional repair opportunities will be essential to our success. By engaging our customers and expanding our service offerings, we’re not just weathering the storm; we’re positioning ourselves for long-term success in a challenging environment.
While the current economic landscape presents challenges, it also offers opportunities for growth and adaptation. By refining our strategies and expanding our services, we aim not only to survive but to thrive in the automotive repair industry.
ARCHIVE: fenderbender.com/menefee TIFFANY
EMAIL: tiffanykaymenefee@gmail.com
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Navigating Through the Uncontrollable
A guide for shop owners’ preparedness
Natural disasters, such as the recent hurricanes in Florida, can strike with little warning, leaving a trail of devastation that impacts everyone in their path. For collision repair shop owners, hurricanes Milton and Helene are a stark reminder of the vulnerability businesses face in the wake of such events. It’s essential to not only focus on immediate recovery but also on proactive planning to ensure business continuity and employee support.
The Impact of Hurricanes Milton and Helene
Hurricanes Milton and Helene hit Florida hard, disrupting lives and business operations. For collision repair shops, the aftermath involves more than physical damage; it encompasses operational disruptions, financial strain, and the challenge of supporting employees during difficult times.
Potential Effects on Collision Repair Shops
1. Physical Damage: Infrastructure damage can halt operations.
2. Supply Chain Disruptions: Delays in receiving parts and materials can lead to backlogs.
3. Financial Strain: Loss of income during closures and potential repairs add financial pressure.
4. Employee Challenges: Staff may face personal and professional hardships requiring additional support.
Proactive vs. Reactive Approaches
When it comes to natural disasters, the difference between proactive and reactive strategies can make or break a business. A proactive approach involves planning and preparation, focusing on minimizing the impact on both teams and clients during disasters.
Importance of Proactive Planning
1. Minimizing Operational Disruption: Ensure that your business can resume quickly after a storm.
2. Maintaining Client Relationships: Transparent communication about timelines and expectations can preserve client trust.
3. Supporting Employees: Ensuring your team’s well-being is crucial for morale and retention.
Emergency Preparation Plans
Do you have an emergency preparation and shutdown plan? If not, it’s time to develop one. Consider the procedures necessary for a smooth reopening post-disaster.
Key Components of a Plan
1. Risk Assessment: Identify vulnerabilities in your business structure and supply chain.
2. Communication Strategy: Establish a system for updating employees and clients.
3. Resource Allocation: Ensure you have the necessary resources available for a quick recovery.
Financial Safety Nets for Employees
Creating a budget for employee assistance is crucial, especially when natural disasters affect their livelihoods. Consider implementing plans for compensation during closures to help your team during hard times.
Employee Support Strategies
1. Emergency Funds: Allocate funds specifically for employee aid.
2. Flexible Leave Policies: Allow for personal time to address emergency-related issues.
3. Clear Communication: Keep employees informed about what support they can expect.
Historical Context and Lessons Learned
Reflecting on past events, like COVID-19 and previous natural disasters, can provide valuable lessons. These events highlight the importance of having written plans to handle unexpected situations effectively.
Learning from the Past
1. Adaptability: Businesses that adapted quickly during the pandemic fared better.
2. Documentation: Written plans provide clear guidance and accountability.
Common Oversights in Disaster Preparedness
As business owners, we often overlook key areas during stressful times. It’s crucial to consider all aspects of operation and employee welfare.
Avoiding Common Mistakes
1. Inadequate Insurance Coverage: Ensure you have comprehensive insurance that covers all potential risks.
2. Lack of Training: Regularly train staff on emergency procedures.
3. Ignoring Employee Well-being: Consider mental and emotional support as part of disaster preparedness.
Conclusion and Call to Action
Investing time in developing comprehensive plans is not just a business strategy — it’s a commitment to safeguarding your operations and your team. Take proactive steps today to protect your business and employees from future storms.
Action Items:
1. Develop an emergency preparation and shutdown plan.
2. Create a budget for employee assistance.
3. Establish a compensation strategy for production losses during closures.
4. Write a comprehensive disaster response plan.
5. Regularly review and update preparedness plans to address common oversights.
Remember, preparation is not just about surviving the storm but thriving in its aftermath. By taking these steps, you position your collision repair shop as a resilient and reliable partner to your clients and a supportive employer to your team.
At LKQ, the “R” in P.A.R.T. stands for Recycled OEM parts. LKQ first began 25 years ago through the acquisition of several auto salvage yards, and through the years, LKQ has grown to become the largest recycler of vehicles in the industry. LKQ now operates more than 125 auto recycling yards across North America. Through its state-of-the-art processes, LKQ recycles or re-sells more than 90% of the materials from end-of-life vehicles that would otherwise end up in landfills.
