I forgot to tell you about last week's brilliant podcast and now we have this week's brilliant podcast. There's so much information to extract from these free audible gold mines.
In last week's podcast we hear from a very progressive repairer over in New Zealand. As Ben says, he's a real mover and shaker. In only three years, Mark Le Grove bought a collision repair business, doubled volume, increased profitability and opened a second site.
The man from Collision Collect in Hamilton NZ had no intention of buying the business until his boss asked him; but he took to ownership like a duck to water. Mark is a great example of what can be achieved from a standing start if you open your mind and listen. He also gave some great advice on how to build the right team and how to brand yourself in today’s rapidly changing marketplace.
In this week’s episode you will learn:
- How to rebrand your business
- How best to handle insurance companies
- How it only took 8 months for Mark to detach himself from the day-to-day running of the business
- What you need to do to successfully run a business without any prior experience
- How to build the right team and how to look after their personalities
- The importance of a dedicated marketing function
- Why it can be better to hire people who are already employed elsewhere
- The benefits of culture statements
- Why you need engagement surveys
- How to stay on top of your KPIs
A Hunger for Knowledge Leads to Excellence with Glenn O'Donnell
This week we speak to someone who Ben described as “one of the most forward-thinking men in the industry”. Glenn O’Donnell is the Co-owner and Managing Director at Macarthur Prestige Body Shop and North Shore BMW Body Shop, and a multiple winner of our very own Paint & Panel Awards.
He’s built up a total of six body shops, and he makes it his business to be up with the latest technological trends in the industry. Even more importantly, he knows how to empower his team to get up to speed with him. His results speak for themselves, but thankfully he’s speaking to us to tell us how he does it.
In this week’s episode you will learn:
- Why you shouldn’t get too hung up on volume of repairs
- The benefits of a fixed-price model
- The ethos behind a state-of-the-art workshop
- How to understand prestige car brands
- The level of training required to stay on top of new cars
- How different departments should interact with each other
- The importance of master techs
- Why you need EV-specific technicians
- The future of service departments