The biggest selling tool in the Bodyshop
Who is responsible for getting the work into your Bodyshop and who sees everyone that visits your Bodyshop? Of course it is your Estimator.
Your Estimator must obviously be well versed in technical skills in order to conduct the estimate, but, and it is a VERY BIG but, is your Estimator also well versed in sales skills.
Arguably, the selling skills of your Estimator are more important than his technical skills!
You can have a very competitive estimate but your customer does not like you, or you are unable to close that sale, then you will lose the business.
Within your Bodyshop, the biggest selling tool that you have at your disposal is the estimate. It puts you face-to-face with your customers at a time when you know that they are going to buy. It’s every salespersons dream!
Technical ability is only a pre-requisite not an outright qualification for an Estimator. In fact, one of the very best Estimators that I know is not a Technical man at all; he maximises the opportunity for what it really is…a selling opportunity!
Think again about the way you deal with your estimates. Are they a necessary evil or wonderful selling opportunities in disguise?
If your Estimator has not yet received any sales training then get it organised, but before you do so, make sure that he is the right person for the job in the first place! Don’t fall into the trap of making someone an Estimator just because they are good at estimating, it is critical that they are good at selling too.
I’ve met some Estimators who just do not like dealing with people, sounds crazy doesn’t it? They may well be technically brilliant, but how do you think they will perform in the role of an Estimator?
So how do you know if your Estimator is doing a good job for you? Essentially, there are two main measures here, of which one is technical and the other is selling skills.
1. The “technical” measure is to have a look at your Productivity %. If your technicians are reasonably competent, and your Estimator knows what he’s doing, then you should be achieving a Productivity level of somewhere in the region of 135% and above.
2. The “selling” measure is really down to your observation. How is your Estimator with your customers; does he like dealing with them? Does he begin with a smile and a handshake when greeting your customers because that’s what we do when we meet with a friend, don’t we?
Another car ran into the back of my car last year, which meant that I needed to have a new colour coded bumper (fender) fitted. I went along to my local Bodyshop to ask for an estimate. They asked for my name but never used it when they addressed me! Also there focus was on fixing my car and not resolving my problem. Needless to say that they failed to impress me and I took my car elsewhere to be fixed. They were probably technically brilliant, but the Estimator left me cold!
The real measure to ascertain whether you have the right balance between your technical expertise and your selling skills is to check out your Estimate conversion ratio, ideally, this should be greater than 75%. (See The KPI Book page 149)
Make sure that you know your strengths and weaknesses in both technical and selling skills because it is the harmony and balance between the two that will deliver your business more sales and more profit.
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