The Autobody.net Training Team provides management training, consultation, and systems development for the automotive industry throughout North America.  Our approach has always been to provide our clients with measurable, results-oriented strategies aimed at improving organization and profitability.

Bodyshop managers are often caught in the conflict of dealing with pressing day-to-day matters while more meaningful planning and productive tasks are left unattended.  Our training programs provide the opportunity for managers and key personnel to focus on the major issues of operating a successful bodyshop in today’s world.

Training benefits your company by providing qualified employees who are better able to handle the demands of today’s autobody industry. Your clients will appreciate in-house training programs and the increased quality of workmanship that training often brings to their projects.

Training also benefits your employees by helping them to succeed at their chosen profession. Trained employees have higher morale, lower absentee rates and are more loyal to the company providing the training. Potential employees often seek out companies providing training when seeking employment.

Who Can Benefit

Our training is primarily aimed at shop personnel in management roles, but any person involved in the autobody industry will benefit.  So whether you are a parts & service director, dealer principle, office manager, estimator, independent owner, paint shop manager, jobber sales person, insurance adjuster, production manager, or even a repair technician who wants to further their education in the industry, our programs will help you succeed.

How and Where is the Training Conducted?

We offer several options for training.  Our research has shown that one of the most popular locations to train is right here at our offices in Santa Maria, California.  Our training room caters to groups of up to 16 students, and we also enjoy the benefit of training from within an actual, “real-world” collision center where many of the methods that we teach can be seen in daily operation. We can conduct intensive one-on-one training at your facility or ours.  We can also train groups of five or fifty in a workshop environment.  These groups may consist of your own staff or a collection of others like yourself.  Every program can be custom tailored to suit your needs.

Training Curriculum

We offer our training in a logical format conducive to today’s collision repair industry.  A brief list of our most common categories include:

Front Office Administration

• Key Steps in Orgainization
• The Daily Release Meeting
• Administration of the Production Department
• Communication & Delegation
• Developing Standardized Systems & Procedures
• Staffing Requirements & Accountabilities
• Documentation, Filing, & Paper Flow
• Step-by-Step “Processing an Order”
• Scheduling Work
• Parts Procedures that Work
• Managing Supplements
• Creating Solid Job Descriptions & Accountabilities

Production Management

• Productivity versus Profitability
• The Cost of Quality
• Delegation & Effective Management
• Management Related Roadblocks
• Job Planning
• Systems & Procedures
• Labor Efficiency
• The Impact of Parts
• Supplements – How & Why?
• Staffing Density
• Determining Facility Potential

Sales & Customer Service

• Building a Total Sales Attitude
• Recruiting an Effective Sales Person
• Pre-Qualifying the Customer
• Developing Sales Scripts
• Sample Closing Techniques
• “Where’s the money?” Finding the Best Opportunities
• The Estimate, “The Blueprint for the Repairs”
• Judgement Times – How to Validate Your Estimate
• The “P” Pages – Learn the Language
• Negotiating an Agreed Price
• Upselling the Job
• Winning Customers for Life

Financial Management

• Establishing Standards & Benchmarks
• The Influence of Parts and Labor Ratios
• Determining Your Breakeven Point
• Understanding Direct Costs
• The Influence of Operating Expenses
• Job Costing Fundamentals
• Knowing What to Charge
• Understanding Gross Profit per Hour
• Maximizing Profitability

Damage Appraisal & Estimating

• Strengthening Relationships
• Application of P-Page Logic
• Objective 3rd Party Criteria
• The Forgettables
• Influences on Production Throughput
• Improving Cycle Time
• Customer/Policy Holder Retention
• Building a Technically Correct Estimate
• Negotiating an Agreed Price

Personnel Management

• The Shrinking Labor Pool
• Recruiting Staff
• Various Pay Methods
• What Employees Really Want
• Choosing the Right Staff
• Understanding Incentive Plans
• Boost Production Through Team Incentives
• Quantifying & Measuring Employees
• Pay Plans that Work

Marketing & Business Development

• Evaluating DRP Relationships
• Building Consumer Preference
• Developing Competitive Immunity
• Outsell Your Competition

 

Summary

Our services are designed to address many areas of an organization from executive-level decision-making to production process management.  Whether it is in Sales, Production, or Administration, we can help identify the opportunities and implement proven strategies to maximize your company’s potential.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss your needs further, please contact us.

Autobody.net
1104 West Betteravia Road
Santa Maria, CA 93455

805 631-5536
805 349-2575 fax

info@autobody.net

Our business hours are Monday – Friday, 8am – 5pm PST.