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Joe Marconi discusses the importance of team collaboration, efficiency, and continuous training in the automotive industry. He highlights the need for effective leadership, a positive company culture, and sound systems and procedures to guide technicians and improve productivity. The conversation also covers the significance of accurate estimating and effective labor rates, the rising costs in various industries, and the importance of a positive and growth mindset in business. Joe Marconi, Executive Council Member, Elite Worldwide. Auto Shop Owner. Joe’s Episodes HERE. Show Notes: The importance of teamwork (00:03:31) Discussion on the complexity of cars and the need for a team effort in improving technician production and shop efficiency. The role of leadership and company culture (00:05:13) Emphasis on the importance of leadership and creating the right company culture to promote technician productivity and efficiency. The significance of training and procedures (00:06:12) Highlighting the value of both external and in-house training, as well as the need for clear procedures and policies to enhance shop production and technician efficiency. The importance of team meetings (00:09:03) Discussing the value of team meetings and how they can improve shop production and encourage innovative ideas. Empowering employees to make decisions (00:11:01) Highlighting the importance of allowing employees to think on their own and make decisions, and the benefits it brings to the growth of the company. Assigning work based on technician strengths (00:12:21) Exploring the strategy of assigning jobs to technicians based on their strengths and expertise, and the impact it has on efficiency and productivity. Labor Rates and Effective Labor Rate (00:15:55) Discussion on the increase in labor rates and the importance of calculating the effective labor rate. Raising Rates and Cost of Fast Food (00:17:05) Conversation about raising rates and the comparison of fast food prices to labor rates. Culture, Leadership, and Productivity (00:19:22) Exploration of the impact of culture, leadership, and workplace satisfaction on productivity and efficiency. Continuous improvement in business (00:24:24) Emphasizing the importance of making incremental improvements in business every day, with the analogy of a lifelong commitment and the absence of a destination in business growth. Thanks to our Partner, Dorman Training. Training technicians today for the challenges of tomorrow! https://www.dormantraininglive.com/ Connect with the Podcast: -Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RemarkableResultsRadioPodcast/ -Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/carmcapriotto -Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmcapriotto/ -Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/remarkableresultsradiopodcast/ -Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RResultsBiz -Visit the Website: https://remarkableresults.biz/ -Join our Insider List: https://remarkableresults.biz/insider -All books mentioned on our podcasts: https://remarkableresults.biz/books -Our Classroom page for personal or team learning: https://remarkableresults.biz/classroom -Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/carm -The Aftermarket Radio Network: https://aftermarketradionetwork.com -Special episode collections: https://remarkableresults.biz/collections Click to go to the Podcast on Remarkable Results Radio

Ever wondered what makes a leader truly great? Joe Marconi discusses the value of being approachable. Connecting with your employees on a personal level, asking about their life outside work, genuinely caring – it all contributes to a positive work environment. Remember, leadership is a constant learning process. Let's nurture empathy, be open to self-reflection and keep the balance between old school values and new school flexibility. Joe Marconi, Executive Council Member, Elite Worldwide. Auto Shop Owner. Joe’s Episodes HERE. Show Notes: Don't Expect Your Employees to Leave Their Problems at Home (00:04:11) Discussion on the importance of understanding and empathizing with employees' personal problems and how it can affect their work performance. Approachability and Building Relationships (00:08:38) Importance of getting to know employees on a personal level and being approachable as a leader. Leadership and Empathy (00:09:30) Learning to have empathy and be a sounding board for employees, and the importance of self-reflection as a leader. Blending Old School with New School (00:12:05) The need to blend old school values, such as punctuality and accountability, with new school flexibility. Honesty and Integrity (00:16:09) Discussion on the importance of honesty, integrity, and ethics in leadership and business culture. Leadership and Responsibility (00:17:05) Exploration of the role of leadership in setting an example and taking responsibility for oneself and the team. Redefining A-Rated Technicians (00:18:49) Conversation about the need to redefine the qualifications and specializations for A-rated technicians in the modern automotive industry. Retention and Career Path (00:24:18) Discussion on the importance of retention and providing a clear career path for employees. Selling Your Business (00:28:11) Advice on preparing a business for sale and the importance of having everything in place. Four Day Work Week (00:30:40) Discussion on the four day work week and its suitability for different businesses. Considering the ability of employees to handle responsibilities in the owner's absence (00:33:09) Joe discusses the importance of having capable employees who can effectively manage the business when the owner is not present. Thanks to our Partner, Dorman Products. Dorman gives people greater freedom to fix vehicles by constantly developing new repair solutions that put owners and technicians first. Take the Dorman Virtual Tour at www.DormanProducts.com/Tour Connect with the Podcast: -Join our Insider List: https://remarkableresults.biz/insider -All books mentioned on our podcasts: https://remarkableresults.biz/books -Our Classroom page for personal or team learning: https://remarkableresults.biz/classroom -Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/carm -The Aftermarket Radio Network: https://aftermarketradionetwork.com -Special episode collections: https://remarkableresults.biz/collections Click to go to the Podcast on Remarkable Results Radio

How do you create an amazing customer experience in your business? Guess what? No one is born with those skills, but your employees are can turn talent into a skill with proper training. Joe Marconi, Executive Council Member, Elite Worldwide. Auto Shop Owner. Joe’s Episodes HERE. @Joe Marconi Show Notes: https://www.autoshopowner.com/ It's never too early in business to prepare for the unexpected and your eventual exit. Life can throw you a curveball, and we have all heard the stories of a shop owner that had a life-changing illness or worse. As a shop owner, are you prepared for life's curve balls? And what about your family? In addition, the primary responsibility of the business owner is to create an exit strategy. It's not that you are selling tomorrow, but preparing for an exit strategy grows a successful business and is worth more. Curveballs and Exit strategies go hand in hand. Build your business as a home; build it to sell in the future THA 316 surviving health scare Delivering an amazing customer experience is taught, not assumed Amazing customer service is lacking these days, and so is creating a world-class customer experience. By the way, customer service and customer experience are different. All too often, we blame the employees, especially younger people, for not having the people skills to create an amazing customer experience. Well, no one is born with those skills, and just like the skill of playing the piano or shooting a basketball, having the talent is one thing, but to hone that talent into a skill takes training. What is great customer service? What does it look like? Do you have in-house training in place for everyone in the business? Be prepared for customers- lower their anxiety. Get into the hearts and minds of the individual- personalize it, make notes Talent comes first, develop the skills comes second Thanks to our Partner, Dorman Products. Dorman gives people greater freedom to fix vehicles by constantly developing new repair solutions that put owners and technicians first. Take the Dorman Virtual Tour at www.DormanProducts.com/Tour Connect with the Podcast: -Join our Insider List: https://remarkableresults.biz/insider -All books mentioned on our podcasts: https://remarkableresults.biz/books -Our Classroom page for personal or team learning: https://remarkableresults.biz/classroom -Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/carm -The Aftermarket Radio Network: https://aftermarketradionetwork.com -Special episode collections: https://remarkableresults.biz/collections Check out today's partner: Click to go to the Podcast on Remarkable Results Radio

A topic that I’ve become more and more interested in is the future of our industry, specifically when it comes to Technicians. I returned from the Spring Leadership Days in Orlando by Auto Care Association with an entirely new outlook, continuously reminding myself: What can I do to help strengthen our future? As I scroll through my Facebook feed, reading through various forums and private group comments, I constantly hear about the Technician shortage and have been over the past few years. Does that raise any concern that we’re still talking about this after several years? As I read through the comments in hopes to find solutions, regrettably the majority of the comments are not solutions to the problem. So, my hope is to find a solution and identify what action I can personally take to help strengthen our future and do my part. I don’t want to spend anymore time talking about what we already know (tech shortage), and watch our industry reduce to rubble in the years ahead. Not on my watch… and I know a lot of you are with me! Days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months and months turn into years. Let’s not wait! As I visit shops around the country, which is my favorite thing to do, I notice a common pattern in the workflow. Nearly 70% of the shops that I have visited in the past year have empty bays. For example, a shop in the Bay Area I visited recently had 8 bays, but 4 were empty. They had 2 Technicians, who both told me they’re extremely busy and this has become the “norm” until they hire more Technicians. Of course, the owners have “tried everything”, but what does that mean? Have they really tried “everything”, or are they looking for a band-aid to fix the short-term problem and not thinking about a long-term solution and preparing for the future? Shops are busy right now and business is booming for most. So even though they have the Tech shortage issue on their minds, it’s less of a priority right now because they’re busy! It reminds me of what one of my favorite industry coaches (and friend) told me one time about “Panic Marketing”. Business slows down, then we expect our marketing company to step up some SEO or Ads and get cars in today, when in reality you have to plan out your marketing 6-months or a year in advance. So what do we do when we have empty bays and a Tech shortage? Many will simply place an Ad on Indeed, cross their fingers and hope for immediate applicants! That quick-fix strategy will never work. But what will? There are shops out there with effective strategies that actually work well. Look at what they’re doing and get some ideas. Joe Marconi has some awesome tips on hiring great people. Having worked directly with Joe, I’ve seen the success firsthand. But for me personally, I’m more interested in the long-term and getting the “younger generation” interested in our trade. I think this will help shape our future. But how do we do this? Someone once told me, if every shop ran an Apprenticeship program, this would help solve the problem. Is that the silver bullet? If not, what is?