In the tire and auto service industry, profit margins are relatively small and business is still highly driven by on-demand services. That means one day can be busy and the next day can be slow. 

Today, your salespeople and technicians must be trained to educate the customer and build trust quickly. Why? Because most of the time, difficult customers are created by you and/or your people. And you may not even realize it. 

There will be 3.6 million high school graduates in the United States this year. We don’t need them all. But we do need thousands of them as automotive technicians. The questions are where do we need them, how do we recruit them and how do we train them?  

In their 1964 hit, The Beatles sang about “Eight days a week.” For the last several years, Dale Donovan, the owner of Donovan’s Auto & Tire Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, has been singing the praises of being open five days a week.

Nothing happens without the oversight of your service manager, who can make or break a customer experience and both your short-term and long-term profitability.

There’s nothing more important to any relationship than promises. On a daily basis, your customers learn what to expect from your organization and its brand through the promises you make and keep. 

As investment bankers, we are often called upon to act as advisors on things like market timing. In other words, when is a business ready to go to market and what kind of reception will the business get once there? 

In 2022, professional training is a critical must. As an industry, we don’t train nearly enough. To retain good employees, they need to know that they are being paid fairly and have been given the tools to do the job right. 

Our recent conversations with tire dealers leave us with the view that retail sell-out trends are climbing on a year-over-year basis.

Running an independent tire dealership is not for the faint of heart. Stress comes with the territory. From staffing and other business challenges to dealing with industry-wide disruptions, tire dealers manage constant stress on both macro and micro scales. 

You don't have to carry the weight of your business on your back. Here's how you can regain your work-life balance, according to Bill Ford, president of SESCO Management Consultants. 

Books about “leadership” are a dime a dozen. Some are good. Some are just OK. I happen to enjoy books about leadership that have been written by - or about - independent tire dealers. 

A historic number of small businesses - 50% - raised employee compensation last month, according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses. And 27% of small businesses plan to hike wages within the next three months.

Hilltop Tire Service, a family-owned and operated dealership, is celebrating 95 years of business in 2022. Leonard Holt, the great-grandfather of present owners Wes Holt and Loren Holt, founded the company in 1927.

"We’re going to see a lot of legislation on both the state and federal levels” during 2022 that will impact independent tire dealers, notes Roy Littlefield IV, director of government affairs for the Tire Industry Association.

Have you Googled your business lately? I hope so, because for a tire dealership, reputation is everything. If you give customers great service they can trust, they will stay fiercely loyal to you and tell their friends. If you don’t, watch out!  

Andreoli & Associates Inc., which does business as Andreoli Software, has a new owner, David Andreoli, who has taken the helm of the point-of-sale software provider from its founder, Mike Andreoli.

Two of the most frustrating things to hear in our industry are “I’m too busy to go out looking for techs” and “Well, it’s been slow, so I don’t think I can afford another tech right now.” As an industry, we need to go out looking for people who aren’t looking for us.

Recent conversations with tire dealers leave us with the view that retail sell-out trends are climbing on a year-over-year basis versus the same period last year.

Inventory, equipment, personnel, rent, insurance, taxes — the costs associated with running your business are not declining. What’s your plan to combat this?

Do you know a tire dealer like Chip Wood who is worthy of being named MTD's Tire Dealer of the Year? Let MTD know today!

Do you know an independent tire dealer who excels in the following areas - business success, marketing skills, management skills, industry knowledge and community involvement? Let Modern Tire Dealer know!