Branding #MondayBlogs

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In our Industry, we can identify a brand with a logo, a color, a certain type of visible air filter on a piece of equipment.

But how often do we stop to realize that we are our own brand?  Who we are and what we do, the ways in which we do our work, reflect our individual brand.

Your brand matters.  It matters to your customers, to your team, and to your store.

For this week’s Socrates Says, we are sharing some words of wisdom on your own brand in the video below.

The time is now.

 

Labor Day Wishes #MondayBlogs

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Labor Day is a day set aside in appreciation of the working people here in the US, and in Canada.  Other nations celebrate Labor Day as well, although at a different time of year.

We are proud of the work we do in helping you to become the best version of yourself, and give you the satisfaction of knowing that you are doing your job extremely well.

So, today, on Labor Day, we at Learning Without Scars want to offer our heartfelt thanks to all of you.

The time is now.

Where Should We Begin? #MondayBlogs

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I often say that life is simple, and people make it complicated.

The same is true of our processes and procedures – they can be simple, unless we make it complicated.

Let’s first review one thing I know to be true: everyone wants to do a good job.  No one wakes up in the morning, excited to go to work and do a terrible job.  Everyone wants to succeed and do a good job.

But one key to doing a good job, is KNOWING what we need to do.  This crucial piece applies across ALL industries, it applies to our professional lives and, frankly, it applies to our personal lives as well.  In order to succeed, we need to know what has to be done.

When it comes to repairs for our customers, our Work Order Process has a series of simple steps for us to use to determine what must take place in order to meet the needs of our customer base.

I hope you enjoy this small video tutorial on the beginning of the Work Order Process.

The time is now.

Let’s Get Serious About Our Employees #MarketingMonday

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Some thoughts for your consideration:

You have seen over the past two to three weeks a change in the approach to the blog. We have been exposing Vimeo based film clips. You have seen our promotional trailer, the animation of Socrates, an introduction to the company and a video clip on market segmentation. I want today to present a situation and then pose some questions in the Socratic Manner. Socratic teaching forces people to come to their own conclusions.

Employees transition through three or four stages in their career:

  • Enthusiastic Beginner
  • Disillusioned Learner
  • Capable but Cautious Performer
  • Self-Reliant Achiever

 

Unfortunately, it is their immediate supervisor that has a direct impact on this transition. Too often we get stuck at the Disillusioned Learner as a result of the style of the boss or the lack of any interest from the boss in the employee.

 

As individuals as we move from school to work we have to overcome a series of things that I will call “personal obstacles.” These things come from our families, our friends and peers and our schools. I have often said we are taught to be obedient in our developmental years and when we get to the workforce we are asked to think on our own.

 

These obstacles normally are

 

  • We are told everything we want to do is impossible
  • We are afraid of hurting those we love by pursuing our own dreams
  • We are afraid we will fail in pursuit of our dreams.
  • We are afraid to succeed.

 

One of the important questions we need to ask of ourselves is “what would I do if I wasn’t afraid?”

 

In our training approach, we are developing an employee development program that will take each employee in the parts and service groups from the enthusiastic beginner to a self-reliant achiever. My question is “how do you achieve that today?

 

The time is now.

Why Backorders Happen #MondayBlogs

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Sometimes, a part won’t be available within your store, or your chain of stores, or from your supplier, OEM.  When a backorder takes place, you can never forget to conduct an analysis of WHY this has happened.

If our customers tell us what they want, shouldn’t we give it to them?

This means providing them with parts and service beyond compare.  To do that, you have to know what is going on in your inventory management.

The time is now.

 

A Good Start #MondayBlogs

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What a great day it is today. Happy Monday to all of you.

There is a great new world out there. In the period following the economic disruptions of 2008, caused in part by government overreach and a lot of greed in the banking Industry, I followed behind the financial management company PIMCO with their “New Normal” program with our “New Reality.” This new reality was a rebirth of the operational aspects of the parts and service businesses within the Capital Goods Industries.

We have made some good progress on many fronts.

In the late 1990’s business guru Peter Drucker mused that adult education was going to become one of the larger needs for business. He further suggested that there would be extremely large growth in the education workforce. We see this with activities such as Khan Academy, with a stated objective of providing world class education to anyone anywhere, and all of their content is free. Then there are other efforts such as EdX, a free education site provided by MIT, and Harvard, Berkeley, and University of Texas, as well as others and CorpU, which aims to unlock the collective genius of an enterprise.

This is where we are making our modest entry with Learning Without Scars.

There is a huge opportunity.

Today, the jobs report gave further evidence of the effects of the recent government regulatory efforts to reduce the burden that has been eating away at businesses everywhere.

Unemployment in the US is 4.4%, which on the face is a good number. But the participation rate, the percentage of the working age population that is in fact working, sits at 62.8%. Stated another way means that 37.1% of the working age population is NOT working. (Note: the participation rate in 2007 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics was 66.4%) The REAL problem here is that there are currently in excess of 6,000,000 jobs that are open in America that have not been filled. According to a recent CNBC survey 46% of Company Presidents and CFO’s believe that “the workforce is not receiving the proper skills training businesses require.” Further, 63% reported having had difficulty in filling skilled positions in the past 12 months.

That is the backdrop against we have created Learning Without Scars, and our new training.  We’ve all experienced great disruption to our “normal,” and in this New Reality we have our greatest opportunity: to learn and provide opportunities for learning to our employees.  You’ve heard me say it time and again – your employees are your “heroes.”  They’ve invested themselves into your business, and they deserve to have your business invest in their knowledge and expertise.

We can create a healthier economic and professional reality together.  It all begins with education.

The time is now.

The Unveiling! #MondayBlogs

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Last week, I mentioned that we have been working with Xfinigen Media Productions here, and filming numerous videos to add into our classes.

Today, I’m thrilled to present to you our very first video: the Learning Without Scars Promo Trailer.

The video below will tell you a little more about who we are and what we do, along with my own background.

Please enjoy the following trailer, and feel free to contact me with any feedback.

The time is now.

 

LWS Promo Trailer

 

Friday Filosophy: Socrates

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Most of what we know about Socrates we have learned from his students, especially Plato.  We know he was a Greek philosopher and a teacher.  From his teachings, we developed the Socratic Method: a style of teaching that involves the asking of multiple, open-ended questions of the students.

It was Socrates who told us, “I cannot teach anyone anything.  I can only make them think.”

As we have learned in the many centuries since then, thinking is the foundation of all learning.

From this Greek Socrates, we have named our Learning Without Scars “mascot.”

lws-owl-logo

We felt that the owl was apt, as owls symbolize wisdom.  And naming him Socrates took our commitment to continuing education into the perfect symbol.

At Learning Without Scars, we are dedicated to continuous improvement for people: managers, supervisors, salespeople, counter people, and every individual working to make your dealership a profitable and effective business in today’s market.

Let us show you what happens when you have highly trained staff who are confident in the job that must be done.

Join us in 21st century, online employee development.  You won’t be disappointed.

The time is now.

Parts Management: The Return of the Webinars

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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

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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.