To our valued customers, With the coronavirus (COVID-19) affecting communities, families, and people around the world, this is a difficult time for all of us. Our hearts go out to all those who have been affected. At Car-Part.com, our priority is the health and well-being of our employees and customers. We have taken several steps … Read more Covid 19 Relief
Let’s look at current practices in place at the Salvage Auctions we attend. Vehicles are put up for auction on the sale date. Now, these auctions are live, online-only. You can, of course, preview these vehicles before the sale, but you have a limited amount of time to do so. Who are the buyers at … Read more SOLD to the Highest Bidder…Maybe!
The COVID-19 Pandemic will surely go down as the biggest crisis in our lifetime. We all remember the housing crisis in 2008 and 911 in 2001. Most people are not aware, but we had a banking crisis in Rhode Island during the early 90s where the Governor closed forty-five credit unions and banks creating runs … Read more Crisis and Opportunity: Your Time to Shine — Leadership in Good & Bad Times
Ever since I came to work at Car-Part.com, I have had this debate at least once a week with a recycler. The recycler tells me the MANY reasons they can’t or won’t put prices online. Trust me, I have heard them all! Let me tell you an example that I use in one of the … Read more $CALL = NO Call: Should YOU put Your Prices Online?
I know many of you are reeling from the current crisis caused by Coronavirus. I hope that you have taken these two steps: Apply for your PPP Loan through your bank This is quite easy and I have spoken to many operators who have already gotten checks. Apply for your SBA Disaster Assistance loan … Read more Coronavirus — Is it Going to Put You Out of Business?
I am working on this article in March in the midst of the Coronavirus outbreak. I hope that by the time this reaches you, things have gotten better. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your families as they always are, and as such, I promised to give an electric car update in the … Read more Electric Vehicle Update
For the past several months, America has been experiencing eye-opening financial burdens because of a virus threat they can’t see. During strange and unnerving times such as these, Americans always step up to trudge forward. We’re resilient no matter what comes our way. That brings me to what my friend within another industry requested from … Read more Don’t Panic, Be Prudent
What your company needs the most is optimistic leadership. As the owner or manager your staff are looking for someone to provide them with direction. There is so much negative thought in the mainstream media and on social media that positive words need to be spoken into your staff. This negativity is deadly on the … Read more Sales Counters That Pay Are Critical in a Time Such as This
A Historical Perspective Nearly thirty years ago I started my career as a Customer Service Representative at Putman Investments in Boston. The Gulf War was in full swing. Like life in the time of COVID-19, the world was on shifting sand. In handling calls, we were trained to calm investors’ fears and remind them that … Read more Converter Recycling: Playing the Long Game
ClearSpan Structures has quickly adjusted their manufacturing facility to provide governments, medical centers and communities with rapidly deployable disaster response structures and medical buildings. ClearSpan is now able to ship these buildings in fewer than 24 hours, and because of this quick turn around, the company already has buildings being used to respond to the … Read more ClearSpan Reacts to COVID-19 with Disaster Response Structures
The first article in this series listed more than 25 tactics to increase your business success, all of them based on my experience. I started with nothing and didn’t get to college, so I know you can achieve maximum success, regardless of your education. E-mail me to get the first article (or any of the … Read more Ask for the Sale
Last week, I had two recyclers, who read this column, go online, and order the book, How Money Works, Stop Being a Sucker, which was written by Steve Siebold and Tom Mathews. Though small, the book is great, packed with valuable information for all ages, and an easy read. They paid $16.99 for each book, … Read more How Money Works
The good news for our Auto Scrap and Shredder customers is that they are not encumbered with “parts inventory” issues. Vehicles arrive at your facility and trigger a very systematic process to minimize labor while maximizing profit on the vehicles journey to the baler or shredder. Our Takata Airbag Recovery Program fits best at the … Read more Be a Lifesaver
Close the knowledge gap: get your salespeople to qualify customers more effectively to improve close rates and generate more sales revenue. Having trained hundreds of salespeople in the recycling industry, and after listening to thousands of hours of recorded sales interactions, I’ve encountered a symptom that is as prevalent with new salespeople as it is … Read more Make Sure Your Sales Team Knows Why They Are Qualifying
Conventional or traditional advertising for most recyclers, including print and direct mail, has declined in value and ceded ground to the web for most recyclers. The other advertising mistake I see businesses, including recyclers, making is trying to build a brand or just making sure that prospects are seeing their name out in the marketplace. … Read more The Ability to Build a Brand is Dead. START SELLING!
I recently attended a research study on reuse and recycling of batteries in electric vehicles on November 7th and 8th at Argonne National Laboratories in Lemont, Illinois. Delanne Bernier and I were there to make a presentation and represent ARA at this event, which was called the “Recell” Conference. This was a well-attended event by … Read more HEV BATTERIES: A Shock to the System
NEW “RECALL CART” SIMILAR TO COREPRO WITHOUT CORES Our Technology Department here at RAS deserves a lot of credit for the success of the Recall Program. Kudos to Dave, Don, Tom, Deb, and Michael for all that they do. You don’t see their faces at the trade shows, but their knowledge and expertise are visible … Read more Maximizing Bounty for Full Service Recyclers
Many industries and associations help students with scholarships, but I am happy to report that the caring folks at URG are not surpassed by other industries. In 2020, URG will be awarding $40,000 dollars’ worth of scholarships. You heard me right! $40,000 in 2020. Other associations that I’ve been a part of will offer much … Read more URG is Awarding $40,000 in Scholarships
We live in a time with access to more inventory, information and options to products than ever before. The Recycled Original Equipment space is no different. The impact has been felt across all areas of our business from the acquisition of inventory to pricing or listing to efficiently fulfilling demand. Because of this phenomenon, many … Read more Becoming Indispensable
What is a successful leader? My definition, which is likely different from those of many others, is one that is well liked by all his stakeholders in his business world and loved by those in his personal world. He or she has proven the ability, maybe even multiple times, to “bring home the bacon”, build … Read more 13 Traits of the Best Successful Leaders
Look at the title of this article. How Money Works will be the title of my talks for 2020. I’m already booked for the upcoming URG training conference in St. Louis at the Arch. For that conference, which is being held at the Hyatt Regency, you should bring your team to experience this premier event … Read more How Money Works
You are Rock Stars. When I write these monthly columns, I know my audience. I realize you are recyclers who mainly sell parts and steel. But in the past 10 years something truly amazing has happened. You have become some of the savviest business people I know. You are not sitting at the parts counter … Read more What do Flash Boys, Wall Street, and Cat Sales have in Common?
The Takata Airbag Recall has presented challenges and opportunities to Auto Recyclers. In the beginning, most Recyclers were not eager to jump in. Anytime you introduce a new concept, it takes time to formulate procedures, educate people, and identify the “Why” of the program. The “Why” is different for everyone. Many Recyclers see the opportunity … Read more VIN Expansion
As life continues to evolve and technology becomes a part of our everyday lives, so too is the Salvage Yard industry changing and evolving. With this change comes great fear of the unknown and the notion that the old ways are better than the new. Gone are the days of traveling across the country to … Read more Out With the Old, in With the New
It’s easy to say, but harder to execute. Twenty years have passed since I wrote my first consulting article, but I see it over and over: folks who are trying to get rich fast. If you are young and are reading this article, you really do have a lot of time, but you need to … Read more Get Rich Slowly: It Doesn’t Happen by Accident
I recently received a book as a Christmas gift from Mike James of James Environmental and eComply. Every year without fail, Mike uses a book at his annual employee retreat. In the past, he used the book, Who Moved My Cheese. Phenomenal book. This year he chose a book by Eric Harvey, Leadership Secrets of … Read more Leadership Skills That Santa Believes In
Holidays are indeed a time of reflection and gratitude. Here at RAS, we are humbled by the efforts of the industry to rally behind #YANKTHATBAG and produce our best results ever! We are all blessed to be part of such a great industry where our competitors are also partners. Relationships stand the test of time, … Read more 2019 Air Bag Recall Wrap-Up
Greetings, friends! As we get ready to start 2020 (yikes!) I wanted to share something I learned in 2019 that might help you in the new year. It wasn’t a big, impactful event, but I think it can teach us all about how we can react in business and in life. I traveled quite a … Read more The Power of Action
I know that a lot of you are going to think that I am crazy when I tell you my top five tips for January 2020. Some of them are so simple, YOU may not believe that other people are not doing these simple steps. On the other hand, I have been to some businesses … Read more Back to The Basics
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