How to Recruit and Manage Good Service Advisors

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Welcome to Service Drive Revolution. The drive by. I'm Chris Collins and this is Chris Joan Lafferty. Because for generations, the Lafferty family has been making people chuckle.

Yes, humorists we are. Hello, everyone.

It's deep in his genetics.

That's right.

Genetic malfunction.

Oh, like blue eyes.

No, blue eyes would be an asset. A genetic, like asset.

Oh, blue eyes was a deformity.

No, people want blue eyes. Haven't you ever heard anybody say, like, oh, do you see the beautiful blue eyes?

Morgan Wallet says that a lot. He loves blue eyed girls.

What is in the. Really quick, before we get to the question, by the way, if you have a question that you would like Christian and I to answer on the show, get ready because after this question, I'm going to tell you the phone number. So get a pen, a paper. I don't know, write it on your arm. It doesn't matter. Open up your phone. You can put it in your notes. But you're going to want to write this number down. But what are you listening to right now? So you made the Morgan Wyland reference. You know, I bought tickets to Morgan Wyland here in the pit. I got them early.

So they're worth a lot more than what I bought them from.

I'm gold right now.

But I'll be giving a keynote speech in Texas when he's here.

And I called him, I said, morgan, I can't make the show. Could you move it? And he said that they wouldn't let him move it.

Yeah, it was nice of you to.

Ask, but what are you listening to?

So definitely a little bit of Morgan and probably more than anything, new Post Malone.

Yeah, that new Post Malone's incredible. What do you think about the new Beyonce?

I haven't heard it. Oh, I probably won't when you do.

Oh, no. Don't you ever want to listen to that sort of stuff just to understand why people like.

Why.

Why people like it?

No, I think if it's super popular, even though maybe we don't like it, don't you want to understand why people like it?

I think it's just. It's catchy and poppy, and that will always be something that people are attracted to. Pop music makes people feel good.

It's not poppy, though.

I think of her as Malone.

One is poppy.

It's poppy, but it's got angst in.

It, which I really. The new Post Malone is incredible. Somebody broke his heart, clearly. But it's great. Okay, let's get to. Oh, the phone number is 8 3, 3, 3 Ask SDR 8333 Ask SDR. And if your question is played on the big show and we answer it, we'll send you some swag.

Super swag.

Okay, let's go to the first question.

How do you draw talented service advisors? In our area, there's a huge shortage of service advisors, period.

But we have a very difficult time drawing them in. We have a very good pay plan. I feel I was on the pay plan as a service advisor and I was well in the six figures at a Korean import store.

And I am definitely finding it hard to get highly qualified, experienced service advisors in our area.

Let's reverse engineer this. When I was a service advisor, what would have definitely got me there was free pizza and cocktails at my desk because I never took a lunch. Yeah, I like it.

I would have been attracted to an advertisement that said something about six figure income. But the pizza thing, I understand where you're going with that.

Okay, so we really appreciate the question. And I'm not saying what I'm about to say in jest, but you like your pay plan, but I'm pretty sure it's not any good. I'm pretty sure you're paying them on gross.

I'm pretty sure it's seven pages long and it's some chart escalating thing that like if you only go to the bathroom three times, you get another.25%. But if you this, you that and it's like what's that show with the. The American Ninja or whatever where they're jumping over stuff.

Oh yeah. Where they're like hardcore parkour swinging at.

Him, trying to kill. That's probably what the pay plans like.

I would highly suggest a pay plan where the advisors are paid on sales.

Not gross. And then it's really simple. It's just like, you know, 50% of their pay is on their commission, which is of sales, parts and labor. Don't you. We only pay on labor. Pay them on parts and labor and pay them the same percentage for everything. Don't pay a different percentage for internal. All of those shenanigans.

Not good. Not good at all. And then I would, I would have an element of CSI and then some like bonus on something. But for the most part the bulk of their pay is going to just be on percentage of sales.

Pretty sure you could call back and tell us, but I'm pretty sure that's not what you're doing then. The second thing is it surprises me that somebody from the great state of Florida would Be calling, asking how to get people. Because.

I'm in California and everybody's leaving here to go there. And I'm sure one or two of them is an advisor.

Maybe one.

People are. People are. What is the stat that you always quote? Like somebody moves to Florida. Every, every minute.

Half.

Every minute and a half somebody moves to Florida. So you could run ads and relocate people to Florida. But I don't, I've, I've. Yet. This is becoming more and more of a common question, but I've yet to be in a scenario where I can't in a market, get the best advisors. So if, if you and I were sitting together having.

An adult beverage of some sort, what do you think, listening to this question, what kind of adult beverage would you have?

Beer.

Beer. So you're having a beer. I'm not having a beer, but I'll have a tequila. We're sitting there talking and I go, hey.

So that store three miles away with 10 advisors, who's the top advisor over there? And you'd probably say Chet. Well, you take a drink of your beer.

Yeah, it's like a Sandy logger.

I don't know.

And then I would know that. So I like to figure out where the top advisors are in the market. And then I just keep taking them to lunch and keep talking about how other stores change pay plans and don't treat top performing advisors well and don't value them.

Don't you know, how would it feel if you worked at a place where your boss said he loved you every day?

That's pretty good, right? Do you want a boss that's going to give you a hug when you come into work?

But I mean, if you really want to get ahead of whatever shortage of advisors there are, every tech you interview, every advisor you interview, you should be asking them, who are the top advisors over there where you're working? How many techs are following you? But the best advisors follow the best techs and the best techs follow the best advisors. And so if you pry a couple top advisors loose, you'll.

You'Ll get texts. And then, you know, sometimes we work advisors for a year and alls it takes, alls it takes is for the place they're working to either sell.

Or change their pay plan because you planted.

All those beautiful seeds.

Yeah, but I just call them, I leave a voicemail. I'm like, hey, this is a Christian, and call me on my cell. I'd love to talk to you. I don't leave. You know, sometimes people are listening to phone Calls of their employees.

Just a. Hey, give me a buzz.

Yeah, hey, give me a buzz. I would love to. Love to tell you a joke. Hey, top advisor over there at Ford. I have a joke to two podiatrists walk into a bar, but then he's got to call me to get the punchline.

Oh, there you go.

That would work for you.

Yeah, for sure.

I was thinking I was walking to work. A lot of your jokes start with I was walking to work.

Yeah, I've had to change that up a little bit because I'm not walking as much anymore.

Okay, so pay. I'm pretty sure the pay plan he has isn't good because I've yet to see it be good anywhere ever.

When did we make pay plans so weird and complicated?

As long as I can remember, pay.

Plans are an incredible recruiting tool for advisors. We like to sit there and go on the numbers you're doing now at the place you're working. What would you make on our pay plan? And then they got to go through the pay plan and giving away all our secrets.

Then do some research. You can relocate people. People are moving there all the time.

Yeah, I don't. I don't think it's that hard.

No, I've got one to add to that, which is piggybacking off of what you're saying. Remember that old Henry Ford say thank you.

If you. If. Let me think about this for a second. If you stand in the rain. That one.

Yep, that's the one. It says if you stand in the rain, whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right.

Oh, that's not the one I was thinking.

So might be a little bit of cross signals there on that. But the way that you open this up, caller, is that you said that.

It'S funny that that was pretending like.

We'Re on a live radio show.

Totally. It's funny that I wasn't trying to be funny there. But you thought that was funny.

You started that whole thing out with I heard the. And I don't know, maybe it's just because I've heard it so much over the years. You gave us the my market's different speech and that it's hard to find tax. And then you told us you're from St. Petersburg, Florida, which is a beautiful place right on the Gulf of Mexico that I'm pretty sure a lot of people would like to live in. But yeah, because, you know, the one.

Thing service advisors don't like is fishing.

They don't like fishing.

They don't like the outdoors. They don't like affordable housing. They certainly don't like having their own boat.

Right.

And then fishing on their boat, parking it in their driveway of their house.

On an amazing pay plan.

All those things.

Because they would rather stay in California and not have a boat, not fish, not make a lot of money and not afford a house and pay taxes. That's the other thing. Service advisors love high taxes.

Right. And the state of Florida has no state income tax.

We clearly love high taxes. We're still here in California.

So my point.

Building here.

Ready?

This is what it's like when I interrupt. Kind of. But at the end of the day, you have to start to think that it's possible to do it. If you start to, then you create your own reality. Yes.

That's what you're trying to say.

It's exactly. What I'm trying to say is that you have to start to believe that it's possible and then it'll happen.

And then you tell your competition it's impossible.

Oh, yeah, you carry that story on.

How do you get advisors? It's impossible.

They already know you as the guy that says, we can't find the stuff. So just change your mindset, but don't change your verbiage. You'll have everyone fooled for years.

Home run.

I love it.

Thanks for the question.

My question is, as a service manager for our auto group, I'm working 80 hours a week. I'm obviously responsible for growing the business and service, but also building maintenance, hanging signs up for the general manager when the sales team hits achievements. And I'm not sure how to pull myself back from doing everything and everybody coming to me for that and actually be able to manage them versus enable them to not think for theirselves.

So how many days a week do you think a normal service manager works?

Six.

Six. Right. So if you work 80 hours a week, that means that you work roughly 13.3 hours per day, six days a week.

Is it possible that he feels like he works 80 hours a week? Yeah, maybe the hours he's working are so hard that they like one hour feels like two hours.

All I know is 80 hours is a lot, whether you feel like it or you're working it. He's got to be, I would guess Sunday. All he does is sleep. Or maybe he works Sunday too. I don't know. But that's a lot of hours. That's like 7am to 8pm every day, six days a week. Yeah, I'm sorry, caller.

He's Committed.

Yeah. No, no lack of drive in that one.

This is. So we unpack the hours, but should we unpack the question?

Yeah. Well, I think at the end of the day, they.

So I want you to do me a favor.

And get a pen and a piece of paper. I want you to write something down.

He's ready.

He's ready. Okay, write this down. Man who rowboat. So man who rowboat.

Is rowboat one word or two?

Doesn't matter. Can't rock boat.

And like rock. I mean, like.

Rock. We can't rock the boat. Like heavy metal thunder.

Man who rowboat. Can't rock boat.

So what we're going to. We're going to go into something a little more advanced here. But you're asking the question, so I'm assuming you want. You want a real answer that's going to get you real results.

If you have clear goals and your boss understands what your goals are and you're committed to those goals, people aren't going to be asking you to fix a toilet if you're constantly. You got to learn how to manage up. If you're telling your boss, like, hey, I'm, you know, I need to hit 35 grand a day in labor. I need to hire three techs and some advisors. I need to recruit. This is what I got going on. I'm super busy. And you're doing those things, and you're doing the things that are going to get you the biggest result.

They won't ask you to do the toilet. The reason why they're asking you to do the toilet is they don't think you're doing anything or what you're doing isn't important. You need to raise the perception of the value of the things you're doing by clarity. You got to have clarity about what your goals are and share it with everybody. Be committed to it. Preach it from the rooftop, in a sense. But I. I've yet to be in a store where the managers have very clear goals and the. The leadership above them is.

At least understands what their goals are and they're asking them to do other stuff.

But when they perceive you don't have goals or you're just a necessary evil, or you're there because you're a warm body or a placeholder or whatever, then, yeah, they're gonna ask you to fix the toilet in the showroom.

One of you're there 80 hours a week.

And then I would say the other thing is too, is like some of this has to do with your perception of yourself. The Way you're carrying yourself and what you feel about yourself, your self esteem is projecting something that makes people think that you should be doing menial tasks.

And it's making his people less interested in following him.

Yeah. So think about this for a second.

If I show up every day wearing a suit and tie and you know, you know how I have a.

I.

Don'T know, a like for fashion. So I'm not saying just any suit and tie. I'm saying like, I show up and I look like you. You're like, is he the president? Did the president grow a beard? Like I look the part?

Yes.

Do you think somebody would ask me to.

Fix a toilet?

Never.

No.

I remember in. Johnny, if you're listening, I remember years after a fellow service advisor who now is the manager where I worked, we went to dinner and he said, I used to think you were a douche when you wore a suit to work every day as an advisor. But now I get it.

I've done, I've done this to many people. I did it to scuba.

Did you?

Our coach, who, who handles elite. I. We were talking about his goals for a year and whatever. And I said, man, sounds like you guys should start wearing suits because like, you guys are in the, like they were in the big leagues, right? Like, I don't know how many stores are there that are the size of what they were doing and performing at that level. And they started wearing suits and how people treated them, how they felt about themselves, all of it changed dramatically because of what they were projecting. So maybe you need to put on a different costume, even if it's just because you feel different when you look in the mirror. I don't know. But there is an element, whether you want to admit it or not, that has to do with how you feel about yourself, is how people are treating you. And so.

Get clear on what you're trying to do. Share that with everybody, get their buy in and, you know, have some lofty goals, like some real goals, which I'm sure you, you do. You're asking this question. So my sense is you care about performing and getting better. But the other part would be like, start showing up looking the part. I showed up dressed like I was going to be the owner, and then I ended up owning a dealership.

That's not a coincidence. Good stuff.

And you know what's funny is I was shopping at the outlet mall. Like, I didn't have a lot of money.

Yeah, but most people don't know.

But it was about. No, but you know, it Was more about what I was trying to do not. You know, I figured it out. Even if I was wearing the same two suits in rotation. Right.

I never thought about the whole if you're wearing a suit, nobody asks you to unclog a toilet. That's so smart.

Now, I don't know. In the part of the country he's in that you want to.

Might want to be a linen suit.

Oh, my gosh. Yeah.

But I don't know. There's people down there wearing suits. It always blows me away. When you're in the south because of.

Miami, are well dressed. Yep.

So thanks for the question. I. None of that. Do I say in jest, like I'm being serious? If you. If you're asking the question and you want a real answer, that's a real answer. You want to add anything to it, Funny man?

No, I think.

Lafferty, you did a good job.

No, you don't have the. Hey, I was walking to work and I was thinking about clogging a toilet.

Yeah. It's unfortunate. I've got. I've got jokes, but I know they.

Won'T make you guys. You guys should hear the jokes that I have to screen out on your behalf.

Yeah.

Because they're inappropriate. Not. Because they're not. They're funny.

You get to make a case that some of those cutting room.

What's funny is you come in. You come in and you're like, hey, you tell me the joke. And you're like, we could tell that one. Right. But you know that you can't. You just want to make me say that you can't tell that inappropriate joke.

Yep, I totally do.

Yeah. Okay. Thanks, you guys. That was really fun. Remember, 8333 ask SDR man who rowboat can't rock boat. Clear defined purpose Solves a lot of problems. A lot of problems. Thank you, and we'll see you next time on service Drive Revolution. Thanks for watching this week's Drive By. I hope we gave you something to think about over the weekend. We're uploading new stuff every day, so make sure you subscribe and click the bell icon so you don't miss out. If you have a question you'd like us to answer on the show, call 8333 Ask SDR and we'll answer your question on the show. That's 8333 Ask SDR. For special deals on our books and training, head over to offers.chris collinsinc.com now that's offers.com. chriscollinsinc.com I'm Chris Collins, and I'll see you in the next video.