Learning Without Scars provides comprehensive online learning programs for professionals starting with an individualized skills assessment. These assessments allow us to then create a personalized employee development program. From their assessed skills, the employee is asked to select from classes designed for their skill level, thus allowing them to address the gaps in their knowledge. Employees can move through four categories of progress: Developing, Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced.

LWS: Selling Territory Management (ENG)

One of the true challenges in the parts and service business is to determine the successful penetration of the market: the market capture rates. This is another term used to represent your “market share.” How well you are looking after the needs of the customer is the real question at this point.

With this class, we develop a “market potential” model which can be used to determine the purchase potential of each machine. With this tool, an overall potential can be developed for each customer. This is a tool that can be used by management and the sales force to develop strategies to improve performance. We deal with the creation of the model and all the variables within in this comprehensive program.

It all starts with the machine population. That is the list of equipment owned by each customer, and the work application and hours worked each year. With this and the statistics available from the OEM’s and their mean time between failure facts, a reasonable degree of precision can be developed. The major components can be managed in this manner: engines, transmissions, and hydraulic systems.  The wear rates of ground engaging tools and undercarriage can assist in the life of these wear parts. Finally, we have maintenance as the last element. Don’t miss this market potential class.

LWS: Selling Market Coverage (ENG)

Once we have completed the market segmentation course and understand the role of marketing, we have to start separating customers to establish market coverage strategies. We have already touched on this in the program on Tele-Selling. This approach will be the “deep dive” approach to establishing territories to assign to salesmen.

From our segmentation study, we will review the various approaches: machine ownership, customer relationship for parts, and customer relationship for service. We will then group the segments in a manner that leads to effective use of a Product Support salesman’s time in the field with the customers, or the In-Store sales force using the telephone. We will also touch on the role that the internet market coverage will play in both of them.

Territory assignments have to take into consideration the mileage expectation, the total travel time, the total number of machines, the total sales volumes for both parts and service, and historical relationships. This again will discuss the calculation of the potential for each customer based on the actual use of the machine, as well as the hours it works per year. All of this is used in the approach we cover in this program to establish market coverage – to establish a sales territory.

LWS: Selling Market Coverage WDC (ENG)

Once we have completed the market segmentation course and understand the role of marketing, we have to start separating customers to establish market coverage strategies. We have already touched on this in the program on Tele-Selling. This approach will be the “deep dive” approach to establishing territories to assign to salesmen.

From our segmentation study, we will review the various approaches: machine ownership, customer relationship for parts, and customer relationship for service. We will then group the segments in a manner that leads to effective use of a Product Support salesman’s time in the field with the customers, or the In-Store sales force using the telephone. We will also touch on the role that the internet market coverage will play in both of them.

Territory assignments have to take into consideration the mileage expectation, the total travel time, the total number of machines, the total sales volumes for both parts and service, and historical relationships. This again will discuss the calculation of the potential for each customer based on the actual use of the machine, as well as the hours it works per year. All of this is used in the approach we cover in this program to establish market coverage – to establish a sales territory.

LWS: Parts Balanced Scorecard WDC (ENG)

In the parts business we communicate with the marketplace in a variety of methods. We deal with various systems, manually and technologically. We have a responsibility to serve and retain customers while at the same time we have to make money for the business. This is a complicated business.

To assist us in managing the business and help us implement our company strategy we use a business tool that is called the “Balanced Scorecard.” The Balanced Scorecard was developed in the 1990s, designed for use in the planning and implementation of a company’s strategy. The scorecard looks at your business from four directions; finance, internal, innovation and customer. From this vantage point the company can develop a strategy as part of their operating plan.  These plans are meant to help a company achieve its goals.  If a plan cannot be agreed upon and effectively executed, a business cannot effectively reach its goals.

In this class, you will learn the ins and outs of this valuable tool, and the costs we pay in our business when we fail to execute our plans for success in our market.

LWS: Parts & Service Marketing CSA (ENG)

With the distribution networks supporting construction equipment becoming even more dependent on absorption and contribution margins we have recognized the critical nature of comprehensive and current marketing information. The Dealer Management Systems now offer comprehensive call reporting, machine population and all of the attendant reporting structures on market potential and market capture. The Sales Function requires very strong parts and service marketing.

The comprehensive skills assessment covers all of the topics and subject matter required in the course of performing the parts and service marketing job function. In assessing this position, we have taken all of the classes involved in selling and marketing and created a skills assessment. We have taken the 900 questions, from the pretest and final assessment, from all of the classes offered for Marketing and Selling. We have taken all of these questions and boiled them down to ninety essential questions. Each question has an answer within a multiple-choice selection.

The results from the CSA, Comprehensive Skills Assessment, categorize the skills and knowledge of the individual being assessed, into one of our four levels of accomplishment: Developing, Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced.

These assessments can be used, in conjunction with background checks and interviews, to screen applicants before they are hired. They should also be used in the annual performance review with each employee. They can even be used as a foundation piece of information related to the wages and salaries paid to the employees. Finally, and this is the genesis of the creation of the comprehensive assessment skills, the assessment has been developed to be used to create a specific employee development program for each employee in the parts and service business teams.

LWS: Electrical Auditor CSA (ENG)

The men and women in the electrical audit team are routinely confronted by on-the-job challenges due to a myriad of complexities and safety considerations involved. These ever-changing challenges have reached a point where the skills and knowledge of employees now make a critical difference in developing and maintaining electrical systems. The challenges electrical auditors face includes, but are not limited to: ensuring safety, accessing areas, identifying hidden issues, interpreting technical data, timing constraints, effectively communicating and documenting workflow, and keeping abreast of new technologies.

To address these challenges, the Comprehensive Skills Assessment or CSA covers all electrical subject matter required in the course of performing an electrical audit. In assessing this position, we have taken all of the classes involved in the electrical business and created a job assessment questionnaire. More than 900 questions from the pretest and final assessment of all classes were boiled down to one-hundred essential multiple-choice, true/false, and yes/no questions comprising the CSA.

The results from the CSA categorize the skills and knowledge of the individual being assessed into one of our four levels of accomplishment: Developing, Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced. These assessments can be used, in conjunction with background checks and interviews, to screen applicants before they are hired.

The genesis of the CSA has been to enable employers to create a specific employee development program for each employee in the electrical audit team. In addition, it can be used in the annual performance review for each employee. It can even be used as a foundation piece of information related to wages and salaries for the electrical systems audit team.

LWS: Shop Floor Scheduling WDC (ENG)

Our customers all want predictable, consistent, high quality service work. But, equally important to them is a completion date for the work you are doing for them. You need to be able to provide a completion date, and you need to meet that date. To do that requires very specific activities and deliveries. Parts, labor, supplies, and outside purchases all are involved. This program will help you learn how to establish and manage shop schedules. To date, in most surveys on customer attitudes, customers indicate that they want “honesty” in the top five. That should tell us that completion dates, which are rarely met, is an area that needs a lot of attention.

This program leads to the items that are required in developing a schedule that can be met for all customers and internal departments. The typical rationales used to explain away why completion dates are rarely met are exposed and dealt with in a manner that allows acceptance of the need to change approach.

Each day, each technician needs to be given eight hours of labor, but no more than eight hours of labor. This requires that each job have work elements that are never more than eight hours in length, so that the answer to the question “will you complete everything I gave you to do today?” will be either yes or no. If yes, then the schedule is intact. If the answer is no – that will be dealt with in this program.

LWS: Service Work Order Process WDC (ENG)

The core function within every Service Department is the work order process. Despite that, little attention seems to have been given to this most important function. During this program we will take you through the complete process from the “Service Request” up to and including the Invoicing of the finished job. The process is not complicated, but there are a lot of details which, if mishandled, will not satisfy either the customer or the dealership.

The only group within an equipment dealership that allows a business to differentiate itself from the competition in the market is the Service Department. Yet the typical dealership leaves the Service Department and the dealer business system to establish the methods to be used. This program addresses the complete process from labor posting to outside purchases, from ordering parts to returning them, from introducing the structure of the job to the scheduling of work. We will address them all.

The individual elements will be covered in complete detail in further programs but the basic structure to employ will be detailed in this session. You will be able to return to your work and review how your structure relates to these “Best Practices,” and begin the transformation of the department from a place where repairs and maintenance are performed to a productive, high quality, and safe service shop. This is the type of work order process that attracts talented people to work within it, and retains the customers who use it.

LWS: Service Work Order Process (ENG)

The core function within every Service Department is the work order process. Despite that, little attention seems to have been given to this most important function. During this program we will take you through the complete process from the “Service Request” up to and including the Invoicing of the finished job. The process is not complicated, but there are a lot of details which, if mishandled, will not satisfy either the customer or the dealership.

The only group within an equipment dealership that allows a business to differentiate itself from the competition in the market is the Service Department. Yet the typical dealership leaves the Service Department and the dealer business system to establish the methods to be used. This program addresses the complete process from labor posting to outside purchases, from ordering parts to returning them, from introducing the structure of the job to the scheduling of work. We will address them all.

The individual elements will be covered in complete detail in further programs but the basic structure to employ will be detailed in this session. You will be able to return to your work and review how your structure relates to these “Best Practices,” and begin the transformation of the department from a place where repairs and maintenance are performed to a productive, high quality, and safe service shop. This is the type of work order process that attracts talented people to work within it, and retains the customers who use it.

LWS: Service What’s Your Why WDC (ENG)

It is of critical importance to be able to communicate effectively. In order to be able to communicate effectively means being clear. Clarity is all about understanding and acceptance of what it is that we do and the context within the Company. Many people can tell us what they do. Some people can even tell us how they do it. But people struggle with telling us why they do it.

The answer to the question “what do you do,” is not simply the same as describing your job function. It is much more than that. This also takes into consideration the culture of the business. Each of us has to be clear on the direction of the market, of your company within the market, and how each of us can impact that. This program explores how we can have more clarity in our communications with each other in the course of our day job.

The “What you do” question is the key point here. This class discusses the who we serve in our jobs, why we do it, and significantly what we create in performing our important work. What value do you bring to your work?