Archive for category: Training

Parts Management Training

February 25, 2015/in Parts, Training/by learningwithoutscars

Our Parts Management training series begins March 9th, 2015 in Dallas, Texas. This is a 3 course series, beginning with “What it looks like when it’s right.”

This course is ideal for Parts Leads, Instore Sales Leads, Supervisors, Managers, Executives.

Attendees will learn:

The Principles of Management
Introduction to Finance and Accounting for Parts Personnel
The Operational and Process Foundation
Customer Service Excellence

Please be sure to register for this first part of the Parts Management Training Series.

https://learningwithoutscars.org/classes/parts-management/what-it-looks-like/

Membership

January 3, 2015/in Business Services, Marketing, Parts, Product Support Selling, Service, Training, Twenty Groups/by learningwithoutscars

American Express coined the phrase “Membership has its privileges.” This is entirely true. Most of us have professional memberships to various organizations: the Associated Equipment Distributors, the National Trailer Distributor’s Association, the National Groundwater Association, the National Trailer Equipment Association, just to name a few.

We are inviting you to become members of our own group, Learning Without Scars, because we want to recognize individuals and businesses that want to participate in their personal and professional growth. We discussed doing this by means of special promotions and loyalty programs, amongst many difference alternatives.

We settled on the membership approach.

By joining Learning Without Scars at the nominal cost of $35,00 per year, we have found that we can offer more to you for less.

All members receive a price reduction of 30% on all LWS learning products. That means that all webinars, self study programs, and classroom programs will be offered at a 30% price reduction to our members. For those of you who know me, please note that this is NOT a discount! I still hate discounts.

So, what are you waiting for? Spend $35.00 and start saving.

The time is now…

Pricing Power

January 1, 2015/in Training/by learningwithoutscars

Webinars come in a wide variety of forms and flavors. Some are offered for free as a means to whet your appetite and get you to buy other services. Others represent a transference of information en masse. Then, there are many options in between. We have already told you about our new dynamic. Now we are putting our money where our mouth is.

Learning Without Scars represents our teaching business for the next twenty years. Perhaps it will morph again, who knows, but our intent is to continue to stay current and hopefully at the front of the pack.

In 2015 we want to change the dynamic of learning with webinars and we are making a one year price change to make a difference for our clients.

Effective immediately, our webinars will be priced at $100.00. If you are a Learning Without Scars member that price becomes $70.00.

So now it is up to you. We have done our bit and dropped the member price dramatically. Do you want to take advantage of this stunningly low price for an hour of quality learning?

The time is now…

Capital Goods Webinars – The New Dynamic

December 31, 2014/in Parts, Product Support Selling, Service, Training/by learningwithoutscars

I began my career as an educator. There was nothing I enjoyed more than seeing the light go on for a student – unless, of course, it was shocking them with my unorthodox methods.

Today, the landscape of education has shifted. We have moved from the traditional classroom to the world wide web. Webinars have become one of the most convenient and cost-effective learning tools for continuing education, and even mainstream university programs.

A webinar is typically a static process.

We are throwing that idea out the window.

We use a projector at a 16:10 aspect ratio, and a high definition camera. Instead of our students watching Power Point slides go by, we present information, and then switch to conference format. I move in front of the camera, and our webinar turns into a classroom discussion.

There is no better way for you to receive the training you need to advance personally, and advance your company, than to try one of our webinars.

I have pooled the knowledge of the past 45 years of my experience, as well as incorporating the latest, cutting edge theory and practice across the industry, to help the light go on for all of you.

Move forward in this New Year.

The time is now…

Content is King…Capital Goods Training

December 30, 2014/in Parts, Product Support Selling, Service, Training/by learningwithoutscars

What sets you apart?

It is all too easy to recognize the similarities among service departments, parts departments, and product support salespeople. In order to stand out amongst the crowd, your training helps you make your mark. Your training teaches you what your work looks like when it is right.

I have been working in the capital goods industry for 45 years. I have implemented new systems, and worked in nearly every product support position within the dealership. With this knowledge under my belt, I have moved into the newest teaching module: the webinar.

Webinars enable students to take a course in a brief format, from the comfort of their own office or home. By and large, webinars are becoming the preferred method for training across industries. The trick is in finding the right program, with the right instructor.

Without any exaggeration, I can tell you that there is no one in our industry doing what we do. There is no other place for you to learn WHAT we can teach you, in the WAY we teach it.

That is what sets us apart.

At Learning Without Scars, we don’t want you to passively receive information.

We’ve ramped up the webinar into a truly interactive, multi-media event. Our webinars take not only my 45 years of background and knowledge, but present the material in an “internet conference.” As a student, you will see, hear, and be able to actively participate in each webinar.

In 2015, why don’t you join us? Set yourself apart, professionally, and start one of our series of webinars.

For more information on the 40 different webinars we will be offering, please visit https://learningwithoutscars.org/webinars/

The time is now…

A thank you for the AED

December 19, 2014/in Business Services, Consulting Services, Management, Training, Twenty Groups/by learningwithoutscars

Today I had the opportunity to read December’s issue of CED magazine. This is the last month I will be a contributing writer to the magazine, and I am touched and thankful for the tribute the Associated Equipment Distributors wrote in their magazine. We have had a wonderful professional relationship over these many years, and I wish you the best in your new endeavors.

December 2014_AED Article

The time is now…

Parts Management – Purchasing & Expediting

November 26, 2014/in Management, Parts, Training/by learningwithoutscars

The part you DON’T have in stock is what sets you apart from the competition.

This Tuesday, December 2, 2014 at 12:00 p.m. PST, Learning Without Scars will be presenting a one hour webinar on Purchasing & Expediting for your parts business.

learn about expediting with a purpose
Rule #1: before going home, every part must be either supplied or located to be supplied to the customer
Purchasing – what to do when your supply chain doesn’t have the part you need

This webinar will give a fresh perspective, and fresh methods, for providing parts to customers and mechanics on the same day they need them. These solutions will make your Parts Business stand above the rest in your field.

Before you go home every night, remember Rule #1.

To register for this webinar, please follow the link: https://learningwithoutscars.org/webinars/parts-management/purchasing-expediting/

The time is now…

Parts Management – Instore Merchandising

November 25, 2014/in Management, Parts, Training/by learningwithoutscars

How can we create a successful and interesting retail store in our Parts Businesses?

Next week, on December 2, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. PST you can find out in a one hour webinar from Learning Without Scars.

You will learn:

– how our walk-in business has changed over the years

– other examples of successful merchandising from companies like Harley Davidson, Ski Doo, and Arctic Cat

– what an appealing layout looks like

– how to keep your retail area fresh and vital

– how to increase revenues through the instore merchandise available to walk-in customers

Our retail space is an often overlooked area in our Parts Businesses. By merchandising our brand, we can drive traffic back into the Parts Business, and improve our visibility among our customer base while expanding that base.

Please sign up to join us for this informative session by using the following link:

https://learningwithoutscars.org/webinars/parts-management/instore-merchandising/

The time is now…

Parts Management Training

October 27, 2014/in Parts, Training/by learningwithoutscars

Upcoming Webinar Notice

October 28^th and October 29^th

Don’t miss any of the four webinars being offered on Parts Operations.

TeleSelling: learn how to grow your parts business. From market segmentation to using the phone as a customer service tool this webinar has it all.
Basic Inventory Control: the more we know about managing the parts inventory asset the better off we all are. This webinar takes the mysteries away and deals with methods to employ to improve performance for both your customers and your investors.
Warehousing: that big room out back is one of the most important customer service tools you have available to you. How to layout the facility, how to design the facility and much more are exposed in this webinar. The cost of labor is critical in parts operations and without a proper layout and design the costs will be out of control.
Parts Pricing: profitability and competitiveness are the results obtained with proper pricing programs. We explore the various theories and applications of pricing algorithms in a manner that is understandable. The price point you choose is a marketing statement learn how with this important webinar.

For more details please go to www.learningwithoutscars.org and review the webinars available.

Don’t forget to purchase your membership and receive a 30% price reduction on all of our learning offerings for a full fifteen months.

The time is now…

Service Management Webinars – 10/22/14

October 21, 2014/in Management, Service, Training/by learningwithoutscars

A quick update for our readers:

Tomorrow we offer two Service Management webinars!

10/22/14 9:00 a.m. PST – Labor Rates

10/22/14 12:00 p.m. PST – Service Organization

These webinars offer a streamlined, convenient, transmission of information to managers, supervisors, and staff within the Service Department across the Capital Goods industry.

Please visit www.learningwithoutscars.org to register for your webinar spot for tomorrow!

We look forward to “seeing” you online.

The time is now…

TESTIMONIALS

The last post we made was on December 25th, 2018. I hope each of you had a joyous holiday season and I wish you, and yours, all the best for 2019.

The Biggest Challenge you Face

I was struck recently at the population growth rates across various age demographics.

I found that data to be quite surprising. I understand what has been happening as a direct result of my situation. My grandfather who emigrated to Canada in the 1920’s was physically finished, his body was spent, in his 50s. My father was spent in his 60s. By extension then, barring disease, my body should be spent in my 70s. But the type of work we have done over these three generations has changed. It started as quite physical and has morphed gradually to be more sedentary. Rather than that decreasing our life expectancy it has increased it. I am now in my 70s and see no reason to believe that I should not be spent until at least my 80s and perhaps even my 90s.

In an article published in Scientific American in 2011 the authors Rachel Caspari and Sang-Hee Lee, noted in the “evolution of our grandparents” that mankind marked for the first time in human history that three generations might have coexisted.

This is an extremely significant change.

People are living way beyond their typical retirement age of 65 years of age. This change is putting extreme pressure on retirement incomes and medical program costs. It is also putting pressure on the leadership of organizations. At the same time the “education sector” is no longer delivering “work ready employees” as they have in the past.

The major challenge, in my view, for at least the past ten years, has been “find and retain” talented employees. I further believe that this problem is going to get much more significant.
As a result of these truths we need to look at the workforce in different ways. Let me put forward three things that I believe should be discussed, debated and addressed in the coming five years.
1. We need to engage potential workers at a much younger age, when they are in high school. We need to offer part time work that can be done after school and on Saturdays. This will perform two valuable functions. The Employers can evaluate the potential employees and the Employees can evaluate the Employers.

2. We need to become much more serious about continually upgrading the knowledge of the current workforce. Different societies and different countries have taken differing approaches over the years. I suggest for soft skill work that two weeks of learning is required each year. For work involving technology that time should increase to four weeks. For leadership there are organizations in South America that require a one-year sabbatical every five years for the executive and senior management team.

3. We need to recognize that the “older” workers need to be retained for a longer period of time. The retirement age of 65 should be changed. It should be dependent on the decisions of the Company and the Employee. As an example, I am still working today.

4. We need to explore offering part time work for differing circumstances. Europe provides a very different approach to parental leave. Both parents, father and mother have, in some cases, six months leave with their job protected upon their return. There are many job functions that could be performed for two or three days each week, or even two or four hours each day, by older workers. This work can even be done from the employee’s home.

We are all aware of our own personal biases and societal impressions of differing generations: from baby boomers to millennials. We need to stop making these generalizations and look at each of the people as individuals. We are all the same with the same needs and wants. What I see with the “younger worker” is someone who is much better educated than I was and much more technologically savvy than I was. My granddaughter, and her friends, are a good example of another item. She text communicates much more than she telephone communicates. Don’t judge whether that is right or wrong, that is a fact. That is different than my generation. My generation looks askance at that fact. WE have to get over it. She is what she is and that is how she operates. We have to adapt. There are many other similar examples.

So, I truly believe this will be your biggest change over most of your remaining life. Finding and Retaining talented people. Think it over and make some decisions. If you don’t adapt and adjust you will be left on the side of the road.

The TIME is NOW.

January 28, 2019

What happened to the days of mentoring new employees? Have you mentored anyone? How about career development? How about being a model for your team? Somehow we seem to have strayed from what works.

Management is a privilege. It is also a burden. As a manager you have the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives. To help them realize their potential. That is not a light load to carry. Leadership is not a characteristic that is present in all managers; some are purely functionaries from the French School of Governance. Nearly every politician in France came through the same higher education. Perhaps that explains a lot of how their government and businesses work. In America there is much more diversity in educational and cultural backgrounds.

Trust is one of the other hallmarks of a good leader and good manager. Lou Holtz had three things that were important to him.

Do your best

Do what is right

Honor the Golden Rule

And he had additional thoughts for us.

Can I trust you?

Are you committed to excellence?

Do you care about me?

There is a large body of books that can give us good insight. One of them to is “My Years with General Motors” by Alfred Sloan. He was probably the best business manager in the 20^th Century. I wonder what he would think of the current management. It seems we have lost our way pushing more for short term gain and self-interest that the health of the work force and long term thinking. The time is now.

August 11, 2012