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Other Added - Is this A Good Time To Sell Your Body Shop Business?
The Truck Driver’s Responsibility – Trucking Safety, First And AlwaysLet's talk about what exactly the truck driver is responsible for when it comes to hauling freight. To be on the safe side let's assume that the driver is responsible for absolutely everything unless I specifically say otherwise.And I probably won't say otherwise.A typical story you'll hear a truck driver tell after his truck has tipped over is, “I was going around the curve on the offramp and the load shifted causing the truck to tip.” And I believe every word of this story almost every time because that's exactly what usually happened, except they left out a couple of details....what they should have said was, “I was going too fast around the curve on the offramp and the load,
To clear up any confusion about what kind of buyers we are talking about, lets break the buyers up into categories. The first category is the consolidators. There are two large ones in Southern California but they are not the whole market. I have talked to out of state consolidators that have inquired ab
Inaccurate information can cause problems that range from the minor - misspelled names on billing statements - to the disastrous - late deliveries that cause the customer to lose business. Take the time on every phone call to make sure the information you get is clear and accurate.Here are some tips to help you get accurate information from customers on the telephone:1. Speak slowly and clearlyStudies show that people on the phone unconsciously match the tone and pacing of their speech to that of the other person on the line. By speaking slowly and clearly, you will set the stage for customers to speak that way too - which prevents mistakes and misunderstandings.2. Concentrate on this call aloneIf you are thinking of something else while the customer is talking, you could easily miss important information. Whatever else you have to do on any given day
Of course that answer doesn’t tell you anything that you can get your teeth into. So! Let me clarify my answer. Since I have been selling body shops for nearly 5 years, I have seen many changes in the body shop industry. One thing that hasn’t changed is that there have always been an abundance of both sellers and buyers. The buyers have always been, and still are picky about what they were looking for.
The perfect shop in the eyes to the buyers is (A) one that has a customer base and a revenue stream that is reliable and isn’t dependent on the owner being there to retain each individual customer, and. (B) doing a volume of at least $100,000 per month, but really much more. Large volume sellers think that if they have a DRP (Direct Repair Program. This is where the insurance companies set up a relationship with the body shop to do all their clients business. Much like an HMO in health insurance) contract, they have what the buyers want.
This may be true but the contracts are not automatically transferable, and a buyer will be very unhappy if the DRP leaves after paying money for this “reliable revenue stream.” Smaller volume sellers, on the other-hand, not having corporate accounts, dealerships or other contracts still have hopes of getting lot of money for their shops. The average shop I run across is only doing about $300,000-$500,000 annual gross income. So what we have is a situation where a lot of buyers are looking to buy a shop, but there are not a lot of shops available, that fit what they are interested in.
This year, one change has occurred. There are fewer shops available than at any time in my career. Not fewer of the large volume shops for sale, that is fairly stable, but fewer of the small mom and pop repair shops that have not been in heavy demand. The reason, I believe this has happened is because of the booming economy. Low volume shops are doing better than they have in years. They are making money, and do not feel as much pressure to close down. They still would like to get out, but when they find out that their 5,000 sq. foot shop which is making them a $100,000 net profit, is only worth $100,000 on the open market they decide to keep on working.
As always, the shops doing $1 Million to $3 Million per year gross income is still in demand. The price alone still is the main factor, in determining if these shops will sell. A good example of this is what is happening in lower Orange County. There are currently a couple of shops in Lower Orange County that are for sale, by the owners. They appear to be very profitable but the asking price is too high and the buyers all know it. Even the fact that these are the only shops available for sale in this prime area has not changed the fact that buyers just refuse to over pay.
Last year I was marketing a high volume shop, in Ventura County. The buyers refused to pay the asking price, even though the volume was there. Why? The profit wasn’t. In this situation, the buyers would not pay for the volume and stability of income unless the net profits were there. They didn’t assume that they would make a profit where the current owner was not. It appears that buyers of today are very careful. I believe they do not trust their own ability to get business and are too careful.
To clear up any confusion about what kind of buyers we are talking about, lets break the buyers up into categories. The first category is the consolidators. There are two large ones in Southern California but they are not the whole market. I have talked to out of state consolidators that have inquired abo
Working in the service industry, it's all about the customer relations. Who among us does not love our wonderful customers? Now, how can we ever have enough ways to show our customers just how special they are? The more that your business puts across the idea that they care about the customer, the more that customer will return. Whether to your restaurant, bar, hotel, catering service, or any hospitality business at all.The simplest way to make a customer feel important is to greet them as soon as you see them. They need to know that you are there, that you are willing to help and that you are available to serve them. If you have a repeat customer, learn their name and use it as soon as possible. I've seen people who had hardly any skill thrive in the hospitality industry simply because they were excellent at remembering names instantly.Listen to them very carefully and pay full attentio
This may be true but the contracts are not automatically transferable, and a buyer will be very unhappy if the DRP leaves after paying money for this “reliable revenue stream.” Smaller volume sellers, on the other-hand, not having corporate accounts, dealerships or other contracts still have hopes of getting lot of money for their shops. The average shop I run across is only doing about $300,000-$500,000 annual gross income. So what we have is a situation where a lot of buyers are looking to buy a shop, but there are not a lot of shops available, that fit what they are interested in.
This year, one change has occurred. There are fewer shops available than at any time in my career. Not fewer of the large volume shops for sale, that is fairly stable, but fewer of the small mom and pop repair shops that have not been in heavy demand. The reason, I believe this has happened is because of the booming economy. Low volume shops are doing better than they have in years. They are making money, and do not feel as much pressure to close down. They still would like to get out, but when they find out that their 5,000 sq. foot shop which is making them a $100,000 net profit, is only worth $100,000 on the open market they decide to keep on working.
As always, the shops doing $1 Million to $3 Million per year gross income is still in demand. The price alone still is the main factor, in determining if these shops will sell. A good example of this is what is happening in lower Orange County. There are currently a couple of shops in Lower Orange County that are for sale, by the owners. They appear to be very profitable but the asking price is too high and the buyers all know it. Even the fact that these are the only shops available for sale in this prime area has not changed the fact that buyers just refuse to over pay.
Last year I was marketing a high volume shop, in Ventura County. The buyers refused to pay the asking price, even though the volume was there. Why? The profit wasn’t. In this situation, the buyers would not pay for the volume and stability of income unless the net profits were there. They didn’t assume that they would make a profit where the current owner was not. It appears that buyers of today are very careful. I believe they do not trust their own ability to get business and are too careful.
To clear up any confusion about what kind of buyers we are talking about, lets break the buyers up into categories. The first category is the consolidators. There are two large ones in Southern California but they are not the whole market. I have talked to out of state consolidators that have inquired ab
There seems to be loopholes in the advertising laws in the United States and first let me say I am not an advocate of more rules and regulations on advertising or marketing, there are way too many already. However, I have discovered an interesting cross promotion strategy that resembles unspoken price collusion that we see in marketing all the time.First let me point out how gas stations, hotels and other such business check to see what the competition is doing every day and when one raises their price the others raise theirs as well only hold it just slightly under the highest price, thus creating an upward biased in pricing. It is a mild form of price collusion, which generally cannot be enforced and indeed it appears it is so commonplace in the market place that if cannot be stopped. Indeed proving someone was engaged in such common practice cannot even be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt.<
This year, one change has occurred. There are fewer shops available than at any time in my career. Not fewer of the large volume shops for sale, that is fairly stable, but fewer of the small mom and pop repair shops that have not been in heavy demand. The reason, I believe this has happened is because of the booming economy. Low volume shops are doing better than they have in years. They are making money, and do not feel as much pressure to close down. They still would like to get out, but when they find out that their 5,000 sq. foot shop which is making them a $100,000 net profit, is only worth $100,000 on the open market they decide to keep on working.
As always, the shops doing $1 Million to $3 Million per year gross income is still in demand. The price alone still is the main factor, in determining if these shops will sell. A good example of this is what is happening in lower Orange County. There are currently a couple of shops in Lower Orange County that are for sale, by the owners. They appear to be very profitable but the asking price is too high and the buyers all know it. Even the fact that these are the only shops available for sale in this prime area has not changed the fact that buyers just refuse to over pay.
Last year I was marketing a high volume shop, in Ventura County. The buyers refused to pay the asking price, even though the volume was there. Why? The profit wasn’t. In this situation, the buyers would not pay for the volume and stability of income unless the net profits were there. They didn’t assume that they would make a profit where the current owner was not. It appears that buyers of today are very careful. I believe they do not trust their own ability to get business and are too careful.
To clear up any confusion about what kind of buyers we are talking about, lets break the buyers up into categories. The first category is the consolidators. There are two large ones in Southern California but they are not the whole market. I have talked to out of state consolidators that have inquired ab
One of the most important management tools a franchised company needs is a great computer system. The system must integrate with all the franchised outlets and also be able to interface with the Corporate HQ computer system. There are many companies which have already set up specialty IT systems for franchisors, but much of an off the shelf system will need modification. Be sure when talking with software vendors that you make sure that you get what you want and do not simply fall for the sales approach of them telling you what you need? After all, how on earth would they know that? Designing and/or securing a computer system will require some pre planning thought on your part.Below is pre-planning exercise I went thru in an outline form to help you determine your own needs. Each company is different and you need to determine what you want, what you may want in the future and make your system s
As always, the shops doing $1 Million to $3 Million per year gross income is still in demand. The price alone still is the main factor, in determining if these shops will sell. A good example of this is what is happening in lower Orange County. There are currently a couple of shops in Lower Orange County that are for sale, by the owners. They appear to be very profitable but the asking price is too high and the buyers all know it. Even the fact that these are the only shops available for sale in this prime area has not changed the fact that buyers just refuse to over pay.
Last year I was marketing a high volume shop, in Ventura County. The buyers refused to pay the asking price, even though the volume was there. Why? The profit wasn’t. In this situation, the buyers would not pay for the volume and stability of income unless the net profits were there. They didn’t assume that they would make a profit where the current owner was not. It appears that buyers of today are very careful. I believe they do not trust their own ability to get business and are too careful.
To clear up any confusion about what kind of buyers we are talking about, lets break the buyers up into categories. The first category is the consolidators. There are two large ones in Southern California but they are not the whole market. I have talked to out of state consolidators that have inquired ab
Advertising is the most visible form of marketing. It is one the most effective marketing tools you can use to build a share of the prospect’s mind. If you know exactly what you want to gain from your advertising, where to direct your message, and how to say what you want your audience to know, your advertising will be effective.Unfortunately advertising is also one the most misunderstood forms of marketing. Many ads you see today are full of catchy slogans, an endorsing celebrity, or the ultimate in graphic design and animation. The ads tell people how great and wonderful the business is. They are designed to keep the compnay's name in front of the prospects, and ultimately fail.If your advertising is going to be successful you have to understand that people don’t care how great your business is. All they care about is what unique benefit your product or service offers them that others
To clear up any confusion about what kind of buyers we are talking about, lets break the buyers up into categories. The first category is the consolidators. There are two large ones in Southern California but they are not the whole market. I have talked to out of state consolidators that have inquired about moving in to the So California market. Consolidators want shops that fit their model. That model sometimes changes but basically they will buy a shop if it fits their model.
If it doesn’t, they will not touch it. The price by itself doesn’t turn their interest on or off. We do not have enough space to discuss what this group will buy, in this article. It is enough to say, “ If your shop fits their criteria they would have contacted you and expressed interest. If they haven’t contacted you, they are not interested.” Period! They know their market place and who is in it.
By the way, if I owned a shop that a consolidator wanted, I would never sell to them. Being a professional negotiator for 20 years, I find the requested seller financing terms totally unacceptable. When I have found out about these sales, after the fact, I am amazed. I had buyers for the same money, or more, without the seller being at risk, but no one asked me.
The second category is the multiple location shop owners. Usually with one or more DRP contracts shop that wants to expand into more areas. They are very interested in the sq. footage of the shop, and its ability to handle over $2. Million Gross Income per year. This buyer only looks in limited areas. The areas being where they have been offered a DRP contract. When they are looking, they need it now, while the window of opportunity is open to them. If they can’t find it quick, they will not need it at all. Recently I had a multiple shop buyer who had made an offer and was negotiating a shop in West Los Angeles. By the time we finished the negotiations, the DRP contract was gone and so was the buyer.
The third category is the buyers who have worked in the industry before, but do not currently own a shop. Also in this group are the buyers who have family in the industry, and money is no problem. This buyer believes “ If it doesn’t have a DRP, forget it. If it has a DRP and isn’t making much money, also forget it”. If it has a DRP, and it is making money, they are interested but only at what they consider is a fair price (In their eyes). This group I have successfully changed their mind at how they analyze what a good shop looks like and on occasion have bought shops with “a steady reliable income”, other than insurance contracts.
The fourth category is the person that just wants a shop. They will do what they have to, to afford a shop that will work for them. This group is the working body man or auto repair shop mechanic. Because of their limited funds, this buyer will only pay what he or she feels the equipment is worth. They will pay nothing for goodwill because they believe that the seller’s customers are not stable and will leave when the ownership changes. Are they wrong?
In Conclusion: There are a lot of buyers out there. My database has over 250 current names of body shop buyers. There is currently a shortage of shops for sale but mostly in the properly priced category. Most days I feel like a marriage broker with a lot of plain brides and a few beauties. The dowry for the beauties is more than most good-looking boys will pay. The balance of the girls may not be pretty, but some of them can
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