It's a tough climate for smash repairers. The industry as a whole is hurting. The margins and workflow you once had through your workshop as standard are drying up. Sarah-Beth Cleaves, exit strategist and business coach from D & C Coaching, looks at three things to remember when times are tough.
Much is happening in your industry and the economy that, as business owners, you have no control over. You do, however, have a choice about how you respond to current circumstances. It's never too late to take a new path. If you don't like the results from yesterday then you need to do something different today.
I have come up with three key areas to remember when times are tough.
1. Hope is not a strategy
It is a drug. A good drug, but an easily abused one as well. The same as any physical medication, it can be useful when you are feeling pain. And too much of it will end up causing you harm. The question remains, how do you know when you have reached your 'prescribed hopeium level'?
I know what it feels like to cling to hope. When I first started coaching I built my portfolio by cold calling from the yellow pages. For seven months straight, five days a week, five hours a day. No database of names, no names at all. Just a business name and number.
It broke me, then built me up.
I would never have made it through that process without hope. I would, however, still be in that process if I had lived solely on hope.
The first few months were torture before
I realised I was doing things the wrong way round and sought help to guide me in the right direction.
If you are currently hoping that things will turn around of their own accord then you are dangerously close to your hope maximum level. Insurance companies will continue to look for ways to increase their margins. If you want to turn things around for your business then you need a new growth strategy.
2. If you can't change the people then you have to change the people
I read this quote somewhere a few years ago and I absolutely love it! Although the first time I saw it I had to read it three times before I understood what it was really saying.
It's Australian to want to give people a fair go. In an industry with skill shortages like the smash repair game this saying seems especially relevant. So when does a 'fair go' become a business problem?
Internal growth strategies rely just as much on new leads and business as it does on increasing productivity rates with current staff. Is everyone on your team performing at the level they should be? Have you analysed your numbers to see what an increase in productivity rates within current staff would mean for your bottom line?
With so much control being taken out of your hands as business owners by the insurance companies it is imperative you take ownership for the things that are happening inside your business still within your control. The right KPI's and productivity levels over a consistent time period could make a huge difference to your net profit at the end of the year.
3. Change is inevitable
This is true for any industry or business. If you are running a smash repair business today, in 10 years things are going to look vastly different. The manufacturers are producing safer cars - there will be less crashes. Where do you see your business in these industry conditions?
Change is like strong water current. You won't get very far trying to swim against it so you are better off swimming with it. Making solid business plans or exit plans regarding your business is important to ensuring you are where you want to be in 10 years' time.
You need to consider what you want from your business in the long term and how realistic and achievable that is. Consolidation or diversification strategies seem almost certain for anyone that still wants to be in this game in 10 years' time. If that isn't the dream for you then you need to start evaluating what you have and what you need from an exit planning or selling standpoint.The bulk of your industry is doing it tough at the moment and will continue to do so. Remember, "If you keep doing what you have always done, you will get what you have always got".
Take the initiative and a step forward towards planning what your business will look like in the future. The vision you come up with may just be the thing you need most
right now.