You will harvest what you sow. The thing about a business, a field or a garden is that to get what you want to grow there you have to do quite a bit of work. At this time of the year you most likely are doing a review of how this year went. You have … Read more What You Plant Now, You Will Harvest Later
Car-Part.com received CIECA’s Company of the Year award during the 2019 Collision Industry Red Carpet Awards held in conjunction with SEMA. This is the second year that we have received this award, and we’re honored to be recognized for our ongoing commitment to the collision repair sector! Click here to read more from Collision Repair Magazine. … Read more Car-Part.com Awarded CIECA Company of the Year 2019
If any of you have ever been to a trade show or conference where I was selling raffle tickets, you are probably tired of me asking you for money! Haha! You may not realize the reason I do that. I sell raffle tickets to raise money for the scholarship foundations and groups that provide scholarships … Read more Scholarships & Your Employees’ Children
In last month’s issue, we discussed how creating content can increase traffic, the psychology of how users interact with your website, and how to grab their attention, leading them to take a specific action. In this issue, we’re going to discuss how you convert this newly acquired traffic into leads and ultimately new revenue for … Read more Converting Your New Website Traffic Into Cash
After 22 months of saying #yankthatbag, we finally have a reason to say, “Don’t Yank These Bags”. Of course, we are referring to Deployed Airbags. Maybe you haven’t heard?? Shortly after we released our YAPP (Yard Airbag App) for removing Takata airbags from vehicles, we pursued the idea of using our YAPP to process Deployed … Read more Don’t Yank These Bags
You sell them out the door for a cash price. You inventory each unit and grade them or send them out for bid using an app. You bring in three companies and have them bid on your lot. You send them to a processor who assays the lot and sells the metal for you. The … Read more Catalytic Converters on Assay: It’s What’s Inside
Yes! It was the best ARA convention ever. You’ve probably heard me say that it was the best before which makes one ask why I’m saying it now. How did they surpass previous years? What really made it better this year? Well, since Jim Counts, Mike James and yours truly were given awards, it was … Read more ARA 2019 Award Winners
What does managing social media in our industry mean? For some companies it can be simply posting pictures of their inventory and then leaving it there for the world to see. Other companies post memes with the hopes of building traffic to their page. But before we go into that we need to understand what … Read more Managing Social Media
LAS VEGAS, NV— At the opening of the 2019 APPEX show, A&A Midwest, a 70-year-old company that supplies cores and new engine parts to the engine and transmission remanufacturing industry, announced we are reorganizing our assets and will be two companies as of December 31, 2019. In the rapidly changing business and automotive environment we … Read more A&A Midwest Rebuilders Suppliers Inc. Announces Corporate Reorganization
THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: SURVEYS, REVIEWS & FEEDBACK In previous articles, we covered Sales Basics, Employees, Inventory, Procedures and Processes. All of these areas revolve around the three Ps, which are People, Process, and Product. We will tie all of this together with the importance of Customer Service and the perceptions that are created for individual … Read more Focus on Fundamentals Part 5
Ever been inside a courtroom while in session? Even though each case is different, there’s commonality. Each case has an assigned a court stenographer. When a court stenographer captures what’s said in the court room, there’s no way he or she can report on the way things were said, because they are only authorized to … Read more My View of ARNE
We have reached a milestone in the recovery of Defective Takata Airbags; The successful recovery and destruction of 500K airbags. We don’t know how many of that amount could have resulted in death or serious injury. More importantly, it recognizes the efforts our industry has put forth to ensure the driving public that Auto Recyclers … Read more Auto Recyclers Save Lives
To many of us, succession planning has a direct application to our family-owned companies. For example, we need to resolve how we address ownership considerations versus management and operating considerations. Situations in which ownership and operations or management responsibilities are vested in the same people can be devastating to a family or closely held corporation … Read more Navigating the Transition — In Family-Owned Business
Of course, we only have a limited amount of time; it’s not something we can get more of, so we better learn to do more with the time we have. In the business world, there are two main reasons to hone the skill of valuing and managing your time: Lower Stress and Better Quality of … Read more The Advantages of Doing More in Less Time
The calendar is clicking off the months and we find that fall is in the air. Fall means a lot of different things to people. From a business standpoint, this is the time of the year that our thought process needs to start looking towards the coming year. October starts the 4th and final quarter … Read more Operating Budgets
Who are you really doing business with? Corruption. Bribery. Fraud. Money laundering. Illegal financing or activities (e.g., funding terrorism). Companies of all sizes and in all industries, including automotive recycling, can benefit from knowing your customer or client and avoid working with untrustworthy or illegal companies. Every article I write is committed to educating you … Read more Know Your Customer (KYC) in Converter Recycling
The Importance of Consistency in your Process In previous articles, we covered sales basics, employees, and inventory. We will now talk about your procedures and processes and how doing these things properly can lead to a quality product and top-notch customer service. First, ask yourself this question: Which people in your company are involved in … Read more Quality is Job One
Most everyone remembers Dave Thomas who was the Founder of Wendy’s. We see his successful fast-food stores everywhere. However, some people do not know the complete story of Dave Thomas. Dave Thomas may have become a wealthy man, but he was born an orphan and was adopted at 6 weeks of age. This gracious man, … Read more How to get an MBA
Throughout Paul’s amazing 29 years in the automotive recycling industry, he has never seen issues concerning labor become as prominent as today. During our travels, we are constantly hearing the same mantra “It’s hard to attract and retain good employees.” This shortage of labor not only affects larger recyclers, but also the Mom & Pop … Read more Boost Airbag Bounty Revenue with External Labor
Hiring new employees can be a daunting task. We know it’s difficult to hire … time consuming and costly. Where do you need to begin? Do you need to hire another salesperson? Or perhaps a dismantler because you are busy buying but you are missing engine and transmission sales because you are bottle necked in … Read more Recruiting & Hiring: Understanding and Supporting Your Hiring Needs
The important thing to remember here is that sales and revenue are a by-product of your inventory and your process. Purchasing When I was new to the business, a wise person told me, “Always remember, you make your money when you buy the car.” He also said, “The parts that come off of these cars … Read more Your Inventory; What You Buy, How Your Show It, and How You Price It
Are You A Survivor? Or Are You Going Out Of Business? Not all businesses whose sales are going down go out of business. But all businesses that go out of business had sales going down. Think about it. Who is most at risk of closing? Yards with annual sales of less than $500,000 are almost … Read more If Your Sales Aren’t Going Up Then They Are Going Down
On May 7th, 2019, stem cells were injected into my right leg. I had been living with severe pain for two to three years and consulted with eleven doctors from various ends of the healthcare market in the last 16 months. To my chagrin, I’ve seen more doctors than some people see in a lifetime. … Read more Live Your Life & Forget Your Age
YMM System based on Year, Make Model — Focus on BMW, Dodge/Chrysler, VW/Audi The RAS Bounty program for defective Takata Airbags is based on VIN verification of vehicles by the Recycler. We provide the tools and software to verify those VIN’s against our recall buyback database. The industry is to be applauded for a significant … Read more Announcement: Non-Bounty NHTSA Alerts
When a recycler does not identify the Hollander Interchange part number for a wheel, often that wheel ends up underpriced. Instead of being sold to a remanufacturer, a specialty wholesaler, or on eBay for $30-50, it’s sold as scrap for a meager $18. The problem is that identifying the Hollander Interchange part number for a … Read more Get A Higher Price For Your Wheels
Converter Processor, Smelter, and Refiner? Does It Matter To Me? Our mantra at United Catalyst Corporation is Getting You the Most from Your Converters with A Process You Can Trust. It is more than a slogan. It is our mission. It is our brand promise. It is what gives our work meaning. Every article I … Read more Continuing Your Education
Is your tenured sales staff continually looking for new sales opportunities? Are they working to grow their book of customers? They need to be! After having spoken with dozens of sales managers and yard owners, an area that frequently gets “back-burnered” by a seasoned sales team is outbound calling. Here are three calls they need … Read more 3 Sales Calls Your Team Should Be Making
The economics of running a scrap yard have been less than ideal with the drops in demand driven by political and nonpolitical issues. What is ideal however, is the value of the licensed land to conduct metal recycling operations. Many of our clients are finding they can make just as much money leasing their properties … Read more Making Money in Your Sleep…With Metals?
Perhaps, after finishing book #40 by my favorite author, I would find it less desirable than the other 39. Not so! I’m still enamored with his writings and must admit that Max Lucado is still my favorite author with #40, Unshakable Hope. Purchased by my daughter, it was presented for Father’s Day. Not only is … Read more My Favorite Author
At 3:30 on Sunday, July 7, I was ready to leave after working all day. At this moment, I saw on my server screen what turned out to be one of my worst nightmares. It said all of my files had been encrypted. After making a few calls, one of them being to the person … Read more Ransomware: Hacked & Jacked
Even as steel continues to dip another 3.4% over the last two weeks or 27% since peaking in late March, scrap catalytic converter values continue to rise with the strength of the Platinum Group Metals (PGMs). Palladium itself up over $200 since last month rising for a fifth straight week as of the writing of … Read more Steel May Be Depressed
A&A Midwest is celebrating our 70th anniversary throughout 2019. Started by Aaron and Alex Stolberg in 1949 from very humble beginnings. Today A&A is the industry leader in Engine and Transmission core supply as well as OEM type replacement parts and automotive recycling. A&A started out with a narrow focus of selling engines to engine … Read more Celebrating 70 Years!
Nothing is more valuable that a good employee. They show up on time, they do what is expected of them, and they solve more problems than they create. Good employees are eager to improve and are willing to make the effort to learn. They are respected and trusted not only by their employer, but also … Read more The Good Employee
Everyone thinks I never forget or miss anything. Boy, do I have them fooled. I have a terrible memory. In the earlier days, I propped it up with a pocket notepad. Today, it’s my iPhone. I send myself an email every time I think of something that needs a look, an action, or a follow … Read more My Memory Trick
In the 1960’s song “Summertime Blues”, a son laments about all the things he wants to do over the Summer like going on a date, taking out the family car for a Sunday ride, or taking a fun vacation. Each time he is chastised for either not working hard enough, being too young to vote, … Read more Ain’t no Cure for the Summertime Blues
While this will show up on any Balance Sheet or Financial Statement as an expense, your company’s most valuable asset is your people. They represent your company and project an image of who you are and what you do. This image and perception can be either positive or negative. The employees in your company make … Read more Employees — A Company’s Best Asset
As it happened this time a year ago, summer has started again. With every summer, banners with graduation notices and well-wishes can be seen at entrances to subdivisions. As with most years, I can truly say I attended multiple graduations for children of my good friends and family. This year alone, I attended two kindergarten … Read more Summertime Projects
If you search for “automotive recycler” in your zip code area, what would show up? There are two spaces that you want. The first is the one to the right side of the screen that shows the name of a company, its location, hours, link to directions and its website. The second is on the … Read more Owning the Space by Creating Value
Last month while attending URG, you probably heard Michael Clay, the speaker that did a presentation on how to use social media correctly to make money. There aren’t many guru’s comparable to Mike because he’s an expert in SEO, “on-web” design, and digital marketing plans. Others may feel they measure up to his ability…but they … Read more Yes, I Smile at Strangers
At our company, United Catalyst Corporation, we have a mantra, it is Getting the Most from Your Converters with A Process You Can Trust. It is as simple as four Ps; a Process you can trust; a Program you can trust; a Partner you can trust; and the Power of education. A Process You Can … Read more The 4 Ps of Converter Recycling Profitability
Focusing on the customer is almost always the right place to start. Whenever you are thinking about changes in strategy, marketing, or other policies that could affect the customer, try to error on the side of doing what benefits your customers. When the customer wins, you will likely win. In 1978, when I opened, we … Read more Focus on the Customer
In my role with ARA as a mentor, I created some basic instructions for Recyclers that I am mentoring. After looking at this first one, I said to myself, “This is something that is relevant and of use to all recyclers, myself included.” I think that we all from time to time need to focus … Read more Focus on Fundamentals: Core Competencies
I have attended many Trade Shows, User Conferences, Association Meetings, Conventions, and Auto Recycling gatherings since my entry into the industry in 1990. I’m not sure how much it has cost me in time and my company in dollars and cents. I will be the first person to tell you that they didn’t cost me … Read more $100,000* Given Away at Recycler Trade Shows! Did You Get any?
Customer Experience — Outperform the Competition How sensitive or aware are your customers to the price of your parts? Most of us have the experience of looking at the costs of a product and its impact on our buying decisions. This is especially true on our first purchase with a vendor. But my experience and … Read more How to Grow your Automotive Recycling Business
I’m back at work here after attending the ARA Legislative Summit and Hill Day, and this got me to thinking about our association, its history, where it is now, and where it is going. 75 years is indeed a long time for an association to have survived. Even back in the earliest days of automobiles, … Read more Your ARA Past, Present & Future
For nearly thirty years the automotive industry has been talking about hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cells without producing a very large market to date. Emission standards across the globe are becoming increasingly stricter. What does this mean for converter, hybrid battery, and fuel cell recycling? The Future is More Complex The tightening emission standards … Read more The Future of Auto Catalyst, Hybrid Batteries & Fuel Cells
After blocking and tackling (another in this series), you have to think out of the box to stay ahead of the competition and the industry in general. Here are a few ways to stimulate your out-of-the-box thinking: Read, read, and then read more. Your competitors aren’t doing it, so they don’t know what they don’t … Read more Thinking Out of the Box
Ford is the 1st Automaker to Pay for Deployed/Missing Airbags Top 5 Reasons to Switch to our Mobile Yard Airbag App (YAPP): No more VIN barcode printouts Allows for Mobile Scanning of VIN’s at check in or intake Allows for complete airbag recovery and validation at the vehicle Allows recyclers to invoice from the cart … Read more Major Announcement — Recyclers Get Paid For Deployed and Missing Airbags
Having come back from Northlake Auto Recyclers in Hammond, Indiana, I bet you’re wondering if it snowed while I was there. I was prepared for it, but thank God, it didn’t. Here’s what I discovered. Northlake Auto Recyclers is run by Marty Hollingshead, the new Secretary on the board of ARA. In the past, Marty … Read more Do You Have What it Takes?
Sales managers already know that salespeople in the auto recycling industry love an easy sale. Shooting fish in a barrel usually takes precedence over a sale that might require a little bit more effort. In-stock part sales are easy to make so brokered sales are some of the first that fall by the wayside. Here … Read more Make Sure Your Sales Team is Capturing Brokered Sales Opportunities