Archive for category: Words of Wisdom

A Personal Note

March 10, 2012/in Filosophy, Words of Wisdom/by learningwithoutscars

It is Saturday and one of my favorite events is what I call a “Man Date.” This is when my grandson and I go and have our haircuts. It started when my daughter began to have trouble getting him to sit still for his haircut. So off we went for his first trip to the barbershop.

My barber is a terrific man, his name is Joe. He has run the typical old barbershop for many years. He is also a musician and entertains across the valley. He also leads the Scouts. He does a lot of things as well as providing a pretty mean haircut.

So there we are and my grandson is about four or so and he is going to have his first Barbershop haircut. He is not happy to hear the clippers or to see his mother and grandparents taking pictures of him crying. Joe you see has a grip on his head like it is bowling ball without the three holes. That is where it started. So for a number of years the two of us have gone off on a regular basis to have our “man date” at Joe’s.

This morning was our date and now it is a rather enjoyable time. The little guy sits in the chair – no booster required anymore – and has a chat with Joe. It is a fun and amusing watching the two of them talking about all kinds of weird and wonderful things. He has learned how to use the gels now – his grandfather (me) hasn’t got enough hair to use a gel and I am convinced that is Joe rubbing it in by teaching the little guy how to apply it and clean up afterwards. But it is a great haircut and I had one at the same time. So there we are – two “men” sharing time on a date getting our hair cut. You have to love it. The time is now.

Words of Wisdom #2

March 8, 2012/in Words of Wisdom/by learningwithoutscars

I started working – an actual on a daily basis job when I was fifteen years old. Yes I did a bunch of stuff before that but I don’t count it. Sometime in those early years I took on this Sleeism #2. It has been heard by anyone who has ever worked with me or suffered a discussion with me or in one manner or another spent time with me – which leads to me two short stories. Remember me? I tell stories as a means of ensuring that people understand my strange mannerisms in communications.

Story #1: It is 1983 and my family and I have moved to Denver, CO. I was working for a computer software company, EBS. The VP of Sales was a gentleman named Bill McManes. He was one of the best sales people I have ever seen from a selling technique perspective. He was awesome in action. Well my family was invited to join Bill and his family for Thanksgiving Dinner. It was a wonderful gesture. We were new in town and we didn’t know that many people so it was appreciated. We sat down for the dinner and Caroline my daughter was sitting to Bill’s left and Marlene, my wife, and I were down at the other end of the table. Bill looks to Caroline and asks innocently “Caroline have you heard about your father’s three strikes rule?” Caroline is an extremely wonderful person and she has a rather scary attribute – she is extremely intelligent. I know that is a father talking but I promise if anything I understate it. Well without missing a beat Caroline, who was somewhere around 8 years old at the time, said “Yes Bill I have one strike how many do you have?” Bill in amazement looked down the table and said “You do this to your kid???”

Story #2: It is about 2009 and my daughter Caroline is going through her student teaching assignments. She was in a rather rough school in an underprivileged area. Well Caroline is a small woman somewhere around 100 pounds soaking wet and about 5”3. She also is a runner so she is incredibly fit. She calls me after school one day and relates the following story.

One of the students was causing trouble. This was a grade 5 class and the students are always trying to be the center of attention. After politely attempting to get control of the room there was this one young man who continued on being a disturber. He wouldn’t stop. So what did my daughter do? She asked him to stand up and while he was standing, being watched by everyone in the room, she walked slowly up to him and get very close. She held up one finger and said to this astonished your person in the appropriate tone “That Is One” – she turned didn’t say anything else and walked away. When she turned around to face the class she told him that he could now sit down. He never caused trouble again. She said to me on the phone “Dad does that ever work.” And I asked her why she thought it worked. She said – and I love it – he didn’t know what #2 was going to be.

So there are two stories to explain Sleeism #2 here it is:-

Sleeism # 2

Once is happenstance; Twice is circumstance; Third time is Enemy Action

Words of Wisdom #1

March 8, 2012/in Words of Wisdom/by learningwithoutscars

Over the years I have come up with a series of thoughts – either unique or in some cases I am sure repeats of someone much more sensible than I. These comments have started taking on the name of a Sleeism.

Of course there is no such word and at the risk of appearing to be more arrogant than I am sure I seem to be I have adopted this “moniker” for these words of wisdom.

Sleeism # 1

From my youth – It is NEVER too early to start winning. It is ALWAYS too early to start losing.

TESTIMONIALS

How to Avoid Losing At-Risk Customers

Guest writer Debbie Frakes returns with practical, step-by-step guidance in "How to Avoid Losing At-Risk Customers."

How to Avoid Losing at Risk Customers: Recognize the Warning Signs

At-risk customers are the ones that you are in danger of losing to the competition. These are current customers who start purchasing less and less from you and eventually go somewhere else to get what they need. Preventing at-risk customers from leaving you requires two steps: first, you must identify who they are, and second, you must fix whatever is driving them away. In this article, we’ll cover how to do both.

Understand the key metrics for your business.

The only way to identify who your at-risk customers are is to look at the key metrics. In particular, you want to look at their purchase frequency. If the interval between purchases is longer than usual for a specific customer, it may indicate that they are beginning to work with a competitor instead of you.

If you recognize that a customer’s purchase frequency is consistently decreasing, then you want your sales team to contact them. Most people will not tell you if your company is not meeting their needs. They will just leave you after a certain amount of time. Knowing their purchasing behavior will give you important insights into what they are feeling and how things are going.

Monitoring key metrics like purchase frequency is critical for preventing the loss of customers who are at risk.

Customer satisfaction surveys are critical.

Once you understand which customers are thinking of leaving, you can take the necessary action to keep them working with your company. The best way to boost customer retention and ensure people stay with you is by conducting customer satisfaction surveys. They help you recognize any issues that people are having with your company before they turn into bigger problems. If you catch the issue early and fix it, then you are showing at risk customers that you care about them, and the odds are that they will stay with you.

Retaining customers is important, because acquiring new ones can cost up to five times more than working with current ones. Immediate profits and long-term growth depend on avoiding the loss of at-risk customers.

Listen to what your customers have to say.

Once you find out who your at-risk customers are and determine what the issues are that are driving them away, you need to act on that information. When you receive feedback from an unsatisfied customer, you'll have the chance to contact them and make things right by addressing their concerns. Nothing tells customers you care like giving them your time and attention.

If you actually listen to what your at-risk customers are saying and take the time and effort to fix what they tell you is wrong, then they typically will no longer be at risk. In fact, these formerly at-risk customers tend to become your most loyal and dependable customers going forward.

If you want to know who your at-risk customers are by reviewing your key metrics, so you can prevent them from leaving, you need to begin conducting customer satisfaction surveys. Contact our partner, Winsby Inc. They will conduct effective surveys on your behalf and arm you with the information you need to retain more customers.

Contact Winsby Today

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October 3, 2023

Skilled Labor Jobs Provide Great Opportunities for Students

Guest writer Steve Johnson shares a blog post this week on a topic that has been of great interest to our industry: Skilled Labor Jobs Provide Great Opportunities for Students.

The need for more workers in the skilled trades is not a new topic. I have been writing about this subject for at least twenty years. There has been some progress in recruiting more young people for these great job opportunities. That being said, Kristin Altus reports in FoxBusiness.com on August 4, 2023, “Job expert pushes back on cultural ‘stigma’ having a ‘disturbing’ impact on skilled work, generational handoff.” Also that, “Blue collar jobs see double-digit demand as industries try to integrate US supply chain.” The need for workers in the skilled trades remains a big issue.

In talking with my industry contacts, I still hear much the same. The dealer recruitment needs for highly-qualified technicians in automotive, construction equipment, agriculture equipment and heavy truck remain unfulfilled. It’s still a challenge to interest students to explore these jobs and make the commitment to attend a high-quality two-year program in equipment technology.

Obstacles to becoming an equipment technician are not what you might think. Consider this:

Technician demand is still high, and has been for a number of years. In talking with school instructors, many new technician graduates have multiple job offers. These offers typically come from companies in a student’s local area, where studies have shown they prefer to be employed.

Gaining the necessary education isn’t the obstacle one might think. Career and technical colleges are looking for graduating high school students with good communication and speaking skills who have done well in mathematics and science classes. Finding those schools is not difficult. Well-established trade organizations such as The AED Foundation (Associated Equipment Distributors) provide search tools for excellent academic institutions. Other local technical school options are easily searched on the internet.

College scholarships and loans are available in the equipment industry. Many equipment dealers provide this type of assistance to help the students go from college student to dealer employed technician as quickly as possible. Tools scholarships and/or financial assistance from dealers and manufacturers are common. It’s not uncommon for those studying equipment technology to graduate debt free. Trade organizations such as IEDA, The Independent Equipment Dealers Association, also provide scholarship opportunities. Individual association members can also provide much information and welcome the opportunity to talk with students about careers in their industry.

Looking online, the issue is not pay. I have observed that many newly graduated technicians from two-year technician programs start with a salary in the range of $35,000 - $45,000. Looking online, salary.com shows that the average salary for a Heavy Equipment Field Service Technician in the US in $66,000, with a range from $45,749 to $91,791. With overtime, pay can be even higher. With many dealers, the benefits are also excellent.

So, what’s the largest obstacle when it comes to increasing the supply of qualified technicians? Ms. Altus at Fox Business hit the nail on the head when she states, “A cultural stigma around traditional “blue collar” jobs runs alive and well.” In that article, she cites Mr. Andrew Crapuchettes, CEO of RedBalloon who speaks about this stigma. "Unfortunately, we have this cultural issue where a lot of the baby boomers, which are one of the wealthiest generations ever, is they've passed (this stigma) down to the next generation, they said, ‘I worked really hard in a factory, or I worked really hard early on, and then I was able to build a career, and I don't want that for my kids or my grandkids,’" the CEO explained. "And so there's this cultural stigma associated with those blue-collar, mixed-collar jobs," he added. "There are lots of opportunities to work hard, not build $200,000 of school debt, and still be able to support a family and live a really good life. But there's a stigma associated with this."

Unfortunately, the old stereotype image of the “grease monkey” lingers; despite the fact that technicians today are highly skilled and are working on highly sophisticated, computer controlled heavy equipment. This includes not only many parents, but also decision influencers like high school and college career counselors. To meet today’s demand for technicians, the equipment industry, and other industries that depend on skilled trade workers, need to focus even more on getting the word out as to the great job opportunities that are available in the skilled trades.

Connect with your local college and high school career counselors. Introduce yourself to faculty and staff at middle schools and high schools. Ask for opportunities to visit with groups of students and introduce the technician career. Tailor you presentations to the different age groups you address. Explain to them how technicians today are working with advanced technology in industries that are literally building the future. Show them the variety of career possibilities from the standpoint of salaries, benefits, career growth and career stability.

For those schools with technical programs, also ask faculty how you can support those programs and become active on their Advisory Boards. Provide them with technical information, as well as equipment and parts needed for instruction. Have your technicians provide information to students, and provide learning opportunities for faculty. Participate in career day events. Perhaps you can start a diesel club at your local high school. Develop the long-term relationships that will benefit you in your future recruiting efforts.

Develop informational materials that will help show decision-influencers the great career opportunity you can offer students. These can be brochures, videos and information about technical college programs. Look for opportunities to meet with students and their parents. I have always said that workforce development is local. For example, career days at your dealership offer an opportunity for decision-influencers and students to see the “iron” and have individual conversations about career options. Provide opportunities for students to visit and follow a technician for a day, and see firsthand what the job is. Be sure to talk about how you can help students as they prepare for a technician career with assistance in buying tools, summer employment, work-study, scholarships, loans and career advice.

Successful recruitment strategy is a long-term commitment to developing a sustainable technician “pipeline” that meets your needs as your company grows. Take time to lay out a strategy for working with middle schools, high schools and technical colleges and review that plan annually. Talk to the schools and get their ideas for action items to include. Build a strategy that connects with your decision-influencers multiple times during the year. Some people at dealers will say recruitment is the job of the high schools and colleges. Trust me, as a dealership your success in recruiting is up to you.

August 29, 2023