Maximum Value in Technical Capacity

April 27, 2021

Well... It finally happened. I have seen more than a couple of stores with more revenue in the shop than from sales of units. Wow, huh!?

I’ve spent a lot of time mouthing words into dealers’ ears that they don’t have enough technical capacity; that is, too few techs. Not having enough techs can cause a whole raft of issues. I regularly hear complaints from dealers who don’t want to invest more in technical capacity. Who’d have thought that the point would be made by the lack of sales in the recent downturn?

The gripes usually come during the season when the shop is backlogged and the sales department has to pressure the shop to get the deliveries ready. But it’s not just about the sales side and those pressures. The thing that’s always bothered me is the money you leave on the table during those times.

We don’t spend nearly enough effort selling things that every customer needs to protect their investment. Just think about the roof inspections that need to be done. Doesn’t it make you feel a little guilty when a customer who bought from you and has had regular service visits with you has major water damage from a leaky roof? It would sure make me feel bad. Just think of all the “gravy” work your shop could have done.

Sell the gravy. Try to procrastinate on the grief. There’s a whole discussion on selling gravy work versus grief work. I’ll try to do that in a future column. For now, suffice it to say we leave huge amounts of money on the table, alienate present customers and miss opportunities to make new customers from relationships we could build with service customers.

One dealer we know actually refuses to work on any unit he didn’t sell. That’s even if it is a warranty customer from out of town. What he has failed to see is all the money left on the table. Classic, isn’t it? Can’t see the opportunity because all he can see is the problems.

Some stores are afraid to hire enough techs for the selling season because they will have to lay them off during the off-season. There are some creative ways to address that. The best way is to sell more of that capacity during the season and do the work during the off-season.

You need to sell service all year long, not just in off-season when you are scrambling to keep techs busy. One of the problems is that the writers stop selling. They stop because they can’t get the work thru the shop. Again, this is because there simply isn’t enough technical capacity. Since they quit selling during the season, they develop the mind-set that they deserve a break in the off-season and don’t sell then either. Just because you sell the work doesn’t mean you have to do it when it is sold. Defer some of the bigger jobs. Let the customer enjoy camping for the time of the season but schedule them back during the off-season. That helps them and evens out your workload.

Think about what it means for sales when there exists a sufficient amount of capacity to handle any load placed on the shop by the sales of rolling stock. Where would that place you as a competitor in your market? What if your sales force actually viewed the techs as allies? Think about what it might mean to have customers suddenly beating the proverbial path to your door?

Isn’t it time we stopped seeing the shop as a problem or a necessity and viewed it as the opportunity it is?