Archive for category: Training

Parts Management: The Return of the Webinars

September 11, 2015/in Management, Parts, Training/by learningwithoutscars

It’s that time of year again. Our Parts Management Webinars return next week, beginning on Tuesday, September 15.

What is Parts Management? What are the key management areas in which we can increase our profitability? How can we implement systems and training to make more money?

Be sure to join us for a refresher, or few new training, to get this unique, interactive, conference style training geared at profitability, productivity, and systems within the Parts Department at your Dealership.

For a complete description of each webinar, and to register, please visit our Parts Management Webinars page on our website.

Fall brings with it the return of our training offerings, and the opportunity to continue to develop in your pursuit of excellence.

The time is now.

Upcoming Events: All About Webinars

June 3, 2015/in Marketing, Parts, Product Support Selling, Service, Training/by learningwithoutscars

It’s that time again, here at Learning Without Scars. It is time for a new post on our upcoming events and this week it is all about webinars.

Next week, beginning on Monday, June 8, 2015, we are continuing our Product Support Selling and Parts & Service Marketing Program.

We will be hosting webinars on Monday through Thursday, at 9:00 a.m. PST and 11:00 a.m. PST. All Product Support Selling webinars are at 9:00 a.m. PST, while the Parts & Service Marketing are at 11:00 a.m. PST.

In Product Support, we will have a one hour webinar on each of the following: Presentation, Overcoming Objections, Customer Retention, and Territory Potential.

In Parts & Service Marketing, we will offer a one hour webinar on each of the following: Market Coverage, Customer Retention, Compensation Programs, and Territory Management.

This will wrap up the spring webinar series in its entirety. We will return in the fall of 2015.

Don’t miss your opportunity to finish your coursework with us!

The time is now.

Training Tidbit v2015-3

May 21, 2015/in Training/by learningwithoutscars

As you can see, we haven’t yet written many of these this year, as this is Training Tidbit v2015-3.

The first of the spring webinar series is just about completed. We have conducted 58 webinars, with another 8 before July 1, 2015. 64 in total. I am extremely pleased with the attendance. We are averaging over ten for each webinar.

I am also pleased at the response from Industry associations and software providers who are starting to promote our webinar products. This will be a long process as we work towards bringing high quality, low cost training to the Industry.

The participants are also indicating on which subjects they want to receive more training and we have so far determined another 11 webinar subjects we will create before the start of 2016.

We are also in the process of responding to the participants. We offer two webinars a day for four consecutive days this year. People would like more flexibility. They like the content and the delivery but would like to be able to control the schedule more. We are in the process of putting all of the webinars up on the internet. That way you purchase a time slot the webinar and then you can schedule when you want to take it. This will be in place prior to the start of 2016.

There are still miles to go before we rest.

The time is now.

Product Support Selling – Preparation

May 13, 2015/in Product Support Selling, Training/by learningwithoutscars

Product Support Selling – Preparation

Everyone everywhere sells. That is a truth that is little understood. We sell ideas at work and we sell manners at home. There are many things that we sell over the course of our lives. Sales personnel sell for a living, and the skills that they have as individuals are enhanced when they know the proper tools and methods involved in being a professional salesman.

All of the various steps in selling are discussed in this webinar which is the first of two parts. This part deals with the set-up of the selling process: the research, the objectives, and the questions that need to be asked. There is a lot of work that goes into being a professional salesman and it starts with research. This is not dramatic or exciting work, but it is necessary. What the research needs to cover is discussed in detail. With each and every customer there needs to be objectives. These goals and objectives will take on many forms: from calls to parts business, to service business, to profitability. Finally, in selling everyone knows about the “talking” aspect of selling but more important is the “listening” part of it. In order to get the customer talking, the professional salesman must know what type of question to ask and how to ask it.

Selling is much more a science than an art and this first part covers the first three elements necessary in becoming a professional salesman.

The time is now.

Parts & Service Marketing – Basic Marketing

May 12, 2015/in Marketing, Parts, Service, Training/by learningwithoutscars

Parts & Service Marketing – Basic Marketing

Our Parts & Service Marketing series of webinars begins this Thursday, May 14, 2015, with the introductory course: Basic Marketing.

Marketing is a broadly misunderstood sector of business. It is much more than mailings, promotions, and tradeshows. It is all of the aspects involved in influencing the customer to purchase your products or services.

Marketing is the science of choosing target markets through the use of market analysis and segmentation. This webinar exposes all aspects of marketing: Relationship Marketing, Business Marketing, Social Marketing and Internal Marketing. In Relationship Marketing, we focus on suppliers and customers, and the goal is to build loyalty. The Business Marketing is all aspects of the traditional marketing functions: advertising, promotion and communications. Social Marketing looks at everything that impacts society. For instance, the impact on the environment from the use of clean engine technology. Internal Marketing, is the broad communications to all employees of everything that we are doing in the business.

This webinar covers all the basics of marketing: from the four P’s to the more current addition of SIVA. We cover it all. Without creating the environment where your product or service is understood, you make the job of selling much more difficult. This webinar aims to provide you with the tools to use to make selling more successful.

Parts Management – Delivery Systems

May 12, 2015/in Parts, Training/by learningwithoutscars

Parts Management – Delivery Systems

In the parts business we communicate with the marketplace in a variety of methods. With the telephone, with people walking into your store, some customers will send orders by mail, or via a fax, and some use the internet. But the variations of the work don’t stop there: we also have to contend with a variety of “delivery” systems as well. These are not transportation systems. This is a customer service delivery system.

We process sales orders for our customers and we all know that not all customers are created equal. Some customers spend a lot of money with you and deserve to get special treatment. Well, we also have some processes that are cost intensive but also some that are very efficient. These are the customer service delivery systems.

From the customer who does not know the part numbers that they need, to the customer that can order parts from an electronic catalogue on the internet, there are wide ranges of differences. Each of the delivery systems has a different cost component, and that can lead us to provide differentiated services dependent on the delivery system that is chosen by the customer. We explore all aspects of the delivery systems we offer to the market in this important webinar.

Service Management – Maintenance Programs

May 11, 2015/in Service, Training/by learningwithoutscars

Service Management – Maintenance Programs

Everyone knows about the repair and rebuild business. That is where the excitement is for technical people. In the product support business, we have two major goals: reduce the owning and operating costs for the machine owner, and protect the residual value of the machine. The first step to understanding how to reduce owning and operating costs is to understand the importance of the maintenance service recommended by the OEM. Most customers view maintenance as the necessary evil of changing fluids and filters. There is much more to it than that. How to develop a maintenance program to reduce those operating costs is the theme in this webinar.

There is a fundamental conflict that has to be dealt with in the labor management group. Maintenance is boring, anyone can do it. In fact the OEM dealer has less than 6.5% of the maintenance market. Nearly 90% of the maintenance is done by a customer mechanic. Yet survey data indicates that nearly 90% of the customers would give the maintenance business to the dealership if their price was less than what the customer currently pays.

This webinar will discuss the methods and processes to follow in order to be able to meet that price and performance need.

Parts Management – Basic Finance

May 11, 2015/in Parts, Training/by learningwithoutscars

Parts Management – Basic Finance

Before we can be of any value to anyone else we have to be of value to ourselves. That is an old adage, but it still rings true. Ignorance is not knowing what to do. How can we know what to do if we don’t understand basic finance?

Here we will expose and explain all aspects of the operating statement, the balance sheet, and the cash flow forecast. These are the three major documents in the world of finance. We will define and describe all of the terms that accountants use. There will be no mystery to basic finance when we are finished. We will explain cost of sales and what it consists of, as well as all of the various expense elements. Personnel Expenses, Operating Expenses, and Fixed Expenses are discussed so that everyone will be able to understand and accept how and why money is spent and how we make it.

The fundamentals of basic finance have been a mystery for too many people for far too long. This webinar gets past that so that the employees in a parts business will understand the effect of each of their decisions.

Learn How To Make It Matter!

May 10, 2015/in Parts, Service, Training/by learningwithoutscars

On Tuesday, 5/12/2015, we are presenting our two “Make It Matter” webinars.

At 9:00 a.m. PST we have PTS-WE-U13: our Parts Management – Make It Matter program.

At 11:00 a.m. PST we have SER-WE-U13: our Service Management – Make It Matter program.

These webinars address the two most important questions we must answer in our Capital Goods Business: What do you provide? What do you do? The answers are not as simple as they appear to be. Everything we do has a profound impact on our customers, suppliers, coworkers, and other stakeholders. This webinar will present information on how to differentiate yourself within your business, and for your customers.

In other news, we have just released our second Self-Study program, this time for Service Management. Please learn more about these programs under the Self-Study tab on our website. The Foundation is now available for both Parts Management and Service Management.

The time is now.

Leveraging Assets – SER-WE-U12

May 6, 2015/in Service, Training/by learningwithoutscars

Leveraging Assets – SER-WE-U12

The service department is known to provide repairs, rebuilds, and maintenance services. We manage the labor function to have the highest possible labor efficiency and quality. High performance in a Service Department must maximize efficiency, maximize quality, and satisfy customers. The first step to understanding and accepting what we have to do is to understand the assets at our disposal. From the technical skills of the mechanics, to the bays and vehicles we work from, and the specialized tooling there is a lot to consider. How to leverage these assets is the theme in this webinar.

Individual employees want to do a good job and they want to be able to provide the highest level of skill possible. We have a responsibility to maintain those skills with professional training programs. From the OEM’s, to specific training within the dealership we will explore all that training entails. It starts with the skills set inventory for each technician, and then a training plan for each person can be developed. We are expected to make money on our labor. What is less understood is that we are intended to be able to recover our costs on all of the tools and technology we use. In this webinar we uncover methods to be able to recover these department costs in a manner that is fair to customers and the company.

Each employee can show off their skills and knowledge especially well if we provide them with the comprehensive training and tools necessary to deliver world class service. We must provide leverage on these assets. This webinar is an important piece of their learning.

The time is now.

TESTIMONIALS

Slow to Hire, Quick to Fire… BS.

This post is a reprint of the article by the same name by Rich Cruz.

Antiquated Hiring Philosophy May Hamper Growth

Recently, I applied and interviewed for an open executive position at a well-established company in the construction industry. Despite its success and expansion, my experience with their hiring process raised serious concerns. After nearly two months of waiting for my first interview and being told the hiring decision wouldn’t be made for at least two more months in the future, I underwent three interviews and was asked to produce a detailed 30, 60, and 90-day plan. Excited to move to the next level, I submitted a high-level outline of a plan via email, explaining that I cannot deliver a full plan without knowing more about the company through examining and analyzing data. The hiring manager insisted on a full PowerPoint presentation, and he coupled his request with the statement, “I am slow to hire and quick to fire.” This led me to withdraw from the process. This phrase, often touted in business owner coaching or peer-group circles, prompted me to delve into why it might have some fundamental flaws.

The Myth of “Slow to Hire, Quick to Fire”

The phrase “slow to hire, quick to fire” has its roots in the belief that thorough hiring processes ensure better employee fit and swift terminations minimize the impact of poor hires. Proponents argue that this approach leads to a more productive and harmonious workplace. Indeed, some literature supports this philosophy, such as articles from Harvard Business Review and Forbes. However, from an Industrial-Organizational Psychology perspective, this approach can pose a detrimental threat to both individual and organizational performance. While hiring for fit for a position with a company should involve rigor, too many assessments, interviews, work samples, or other forms of evaluation can reduce the pool of candidates and pose risks to the organization.

The Downside of “Slow to Hire”

An unbalanced approach that does not emphasize timely and efficient hiring processes can create detriments for both employees and organizations. Some drawbacks include:

Talent Drain: Lengthy hiring processes can lead to the loss of top talent. High-caliber candidates often have multiple opportunities and may not wait months for a decision. As Peter Drucker famously noted, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Creating a future with top talent requires swift, decisive action.

Increased Costs: Prolonged vacancies can result in significant costs in terms of lost productivity and the expenses associated with extended recruitment efforts. According to Kouzes and Posner, effective leadership creates a vision and rallies people around it. Delays in hiring disrupt this vision and impede progress.

Negative Candidate Experience: A cumbersome hiring process can damage an organization’s reputation. Candidates talk, and word spreads quickly about companies with inefficient recruitment practices. This can lead to a tarnished employer brand, making it harder to attract top talent in the future.

The Pitfalls of “Quick to Fire”

Similarly, organizations that fail to invest in their employees and nurture organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) with on-the-job training, coaching, rewards, and other reinforcement can suffer consequences such as:

Cultural Impact: Frequent terminations can create a culture of fear and uncertainty. Locke and Latham’s Goal Setting Theory emphasizes the importance of clear, attainable goals for employee motivation. A “quick to fire” approach undermines this by fostering instability and mistrust.

Loss of Investment: Hiring and onboarding can cost as much as 1.5 times a worker’s salary. Quick terminations mean the organization loses its recruitment, training, and development investment. Additionally, the constant churn can disrupt team dynamics and hinder long-term projects.

Erosion of Employee Morale: The psychological contract between employer and employee has its foundation in mutual trust and respect. When employees see their peers seemingly indiscriminately terminated, it can lead to decreased morale, engagement, and loyalty. Positive Organizational Behavior (POB) framework – which highlights the importance of hope, confidence, and resilience in fostering a productive workforce – supports the consequences of broken psychological contracts.

Evidence from Experts

The literature from scholarly resources and best-selling authors offers insight into better ways to attract and retain top talent.

Peter Drucker: Drucker emphasized the importance of nurturing talent and creating a culture of continuous improvement. His writings suggest that a balanced approach to hiring and firing, focusing on development and fit, provides a more sustainable workplace than extreme practices.

Kouzes and Posner: In their works on leadership, Kouzes and Posner highlight the significance of fostering an inclusive, supportive environment. Leaders should focus on building relationships and empowering employees rather than relying on punitive measures.

Locke and Latham: Their Goal Setting Theory underscores the need for achievable goals for individuals and work groups tied to organizational objectives. A hasty firing approach disrupts goal alignment and diminishes the sense of purpose within the organization.

Angela Duckworth and Carol Dweck: Their research on grit and growth mindset, respectively, points to the importance of perseverance and learning from mistakes. Quick terminations deprive both the employee and the organization of the opportunity to grow and improve.

While “slow to hire, quick to fire” might appear as a catchy mantra, it falls short when scrutinized through the lens of Industrial-Organizational Psychology and leadership theory. A more balanced approach, emphasizing timely yet thorough hiring processes and supportive, development-focused retention strategies, is key to fostering a thriving organizational culture. My recent experience underscores the importance of evaluating not just the processes but potential employers’ underlying values and culture. Ultimately, businesses that invest in their people by balancing rigor with empathy possess a better chance to succeed in the long run.

References

Harvard Business Review Article on “Hire Slow, Fire Fast”

Forbes Article on “Hire Slow and Fire Fast”

Forbes Contributor on “Hire Slow, Fire Fast: Possibly the Worst Advice Ever Given”

Academy Leadership Article

LinkedIn Pulse Article

Fast Company Article

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August 14, 2024

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April 6, 2024