Five income-generating ideas for your collision repair facility
Column by VENESSA DI VITO
It’s crazy to think that every big brand that exists today—including Coca Cola, Ford, and McDonalds—first started out as a small business. Each entity once found itself in the exact same position as many of us to begin with; and yet, by adhering to the right strategies and partnering with the right people, they’ve succeeded in growing into the massive entities they are today. If they were able to do it, why can’t you?
I’m not suggesting that everyone should revise their company goals to duplicate this kind of success, but I do believe that opportunities for generating additional income—and for growing your brand’s sales, profits, and relationships—are directly tied to the effort put in, both by you and the supporters of your brand.
As a small business owner, myself, I was curious about how these big companies managed to get so big and to stay that way. In the last five years, I’ve spent a lot of time studying their stories to understand their secrets, and today I’m going to share my findings with you. As you wait for me to let you in on what they did to experience exponential growth in size and profitability, you’re probably wondering: why would this matter to a smaller-sized collision repair facility? And how could these tips impact my collision repair facility’s ability to generate additional income?
Surprisingly, I found no obvious magic pill or explanation as to how these large and in-charge companies got that way. Their ability to build credibility, secure financial support, and experience almost unlimited success appears to have been the result of just a few key strategies they put in place.
And that is the real goal of this article. I want to inspire and motivate those in the collision repair industry, helping them to see how out-of-the-box thinking can and will give rise to exciting opportunities and increased profitability.
So, how can a smaller size (or even larger size) business grow sales and profits in 2022? What tactics can your business implement— immediately—to start seeing powerful results?
Additional income opportunities
Let’s look at some concrete suggestions for generating additional income. First, though—a word of advice. This might sound familiar to anyone who has tried to implement additional income strategies with limited success:
ADDITIONAL INCOME WILL NOT COME EASILY UNLESS YOU’RE WILLING TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX, DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY, AND PUT IN THE NECESSARY TIME, EFFORT, AND HARD WORK TO SUCCEED.
Ready to change things up? Without further ado, here are some strategies that big brands use to increase sales, profits, and loyalty within their markets, and within your local market too:
THE BIG PLAYERS FOCUS ON STABILITY
Corporations focus on keeping their business financially stable while looking at potential opportunities to grow. So, what does this mean for you? Are your estimates stable and consistent? Do you make sure that on every file, your estimators are doing everything possible to fix the car safely and to the highest standards? Are you making sure you’re getting paid for what you’re doing? I am not talking about the line items that we all know insurance companies just won’t pay for. I am talking about the line items you are doing that the insurance company WILL pay for—but you’re just not charging them for it.
THEY BUILD PARTNERSHIPS
Big corporations understand the power of solidifying strong partnerships with other businesses. So, what are you doing to establish strategic partnerships with dealerships or others in your local community? Lasting partnerships require much more—including shared goals, a clear strategy and ongoing communication—for all parties to win.
BIG PLAYERS THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
Corporations understand that they must do things different than their competitors for them to differentiate themselves and grow. For a collision repair facility, additional services like glass, mechanical, accessories, products, calibrations, and film protection all generate value, profits, and loyalty to your bottom line. So, which additional services do you offer to your customers?
THEY LISTEN TO THE CUSTOMER
Businesses like Amazon have led to a cohort of customers that are unwilling to be inconvenienced in the least. They really value having everything looked after under one roof. Why can’t your facility be that one-stop shop? Even if you don’t do the actual work yourself, are there things you can do for your customers to make servicing their vehicles more convenient?
THEY FOCUS ON THEIR KPIs AND ADJUST AS NEEDED
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Do you measure your financials monthly? Do you track your performance and specific KPIs to know why you’re doing well in some areas—and falling short in others? To experience growth in income, profits, and loyalty, you need to see continuous improvement reflected in those numbers. If your KPIs are stagnant, perhaps it’s time to make some changes.
Let’s focus as an industry on the things we can control, beginning by forging strong relationships within our local communities. I promise you; this is an untapped area that you need to explore—one that has the potential to open new streams of sales, profits and loyalty.
The time to get started is now! And the person is you. You are the only one that can take the necessary steps to achieve the unlimited growth and success you envision and become the “big brand corporation” you’ve always desired.
VENESSA DI VITO is the owner and founder of Auto+ Performance, a full-service automotive marketing and solutions company specializing in generating growth in sales, traffic, and customer retention for a collision repair, dealership or auto repair facility within their local communities. For almost 20 years Venessa has been helping automotive businesses across North America with business best practices and will continue to find ways to support and grow this ever evolving, yet incredibly exciting, industry. You can learn more about Venessa at www.autoplusperformance.com or send her an email at info@autoplusperformance.com.
One Response
Excellent points all across. Simple and effective.