Selling the Fourth Visit

Why the Most Profitable Repair Order is the One Your Customer Hasn’t Scheduled Yet

While a commitment to the financial side of the business is crucial, it can sometimes lead us to the wrong conclusion. When we look at key performance indicators like ARO (average repair order dollar), sales, and gross profit, we know that, on average, each vehicle must achieve certain dollar amounts. However, no sale is in isolation from another important factor: future sales. This concept is especially true with first-time customers.

Perhaps the term “customer” when referring to a first-time visit is incorrect. A customer is someone who knows you and trusts you. A consumer who is testing the waters with one or two visits is not yet a true customer. Over time, if the relationship is strong enough, those consumers can turn into legacy customers. It takes time to develop a solid relationship with your clientele, and every effort should be made to get first-time customers to return at least 4 times. After that, you can begin to establish a legacy relationship.

In this article, I will discuss ways to build your customer base, grow, and maintain car counts, and reach your financial goals by focusing on customers’ future visits rather than just today’s.

The Lifetime Value of Each Customer

Regarding customer tenure, it is clear that future visits drive sales and profits exponentially. There are many ways to calculate the total customer value, but let’s use a conservative example. The average ARO among all types of auto repair shop models is around $700. The average yearly visit is conservatively 2.5 times. The average family has two vehicles. That equals an average of $3,500 in dollar value for that customer per year. The average customer tenure at a typical shop is 4 to 12 years, depending on the survey source. If we take a medium average of 8 years, that equals $3,500 per year, multiplied by 8, for a total of $28,000 per customer.

However, what we should be looking at is the first-time customer loss rate. How many customers do not return after their first visit? Survey estimates put that number at a staggering 40-50%! That means if you are spending money on advertising each month to get new customers, nearly half of them never return. For example, you bring in 25 first-time customers this month, but 12 of them do not return. Using our calculation from above, that is a loss of $336,000 on future sales! It is truly in your best interest to do all you can to get your customers to return for future visits.

Auto Repair Shops are Built on Relationships

As mentioned above, the independent auto repair shop model is a relationship-based enterprise. It’s more about the Relationship than Salesmanship. However, you do need to identify your target customer and target vehicles. Trying to be all things to all people is not a sustainable strategy. In fact, it will lead to struggles and eventual failure.

Once you have identified your target customer profile and vehicles, align your marketing plan to attract more customers like them. This strategy will help ensure you build your company around your business model, providing services and repairs aligned with it, leading to stronger sales and profitability.   

Each customer visit is an opportunity to strengthen the relationship. Spend time with each customer. Learn about them, engage in conversation, and not just the needs of maintaining their vehicles. Make notes in your business software, under each customer profile, which are specific to that customer.

Make it a process that, during the customer write-up, the service advisor reviews previously made notes and refers back to them. For example, if a customer mentions at the last visit that her son is in a Little League championship game, make a note of it. At the next visit, months later, ask, “How did your son make out with his championship game?” Talk about making an emotional connection? This process is one of the most powerful relationship-building strategies. And you can literally take that to the bank. 

Lastly, on this topic, you must provide a 5-Star level experience. That customer experience begins and ends with the people you hire, your culture of caring, and the customer experience training you must provide for all employees. Your employees, all of them, are part of your internal marketing team. As I have said so often in other articles and in my presentations, “Three months down the road, your customer will not remember the emissions vent valve you so expertly diagnosed and replaced. But she will remember how you made her feel!”

The Four Visits

Below is an outline of what happens during the first 4 visits. Every effort must be made to get them to return. Remember, it must not be a one-and-done experience.

Visit One – Earn Confidence
The customer is taking a chance on you. They are evaluating everything: friendliness, communication, professionalism, the look and feel of your facility, and whether they feel respected.

Visit Two – Prove Consistency
Anyone can have one great day. The second visit tells the customer whether your first experience was luck or your standard. Are you and your team consistent in the service you provide? Are you living up to the expectations you have set? These things are important to the customer. One thing to keep in mind: most unhappy customers will leave without telling you. Do everything you can to engage the customer, meet expectations, and deliver a world-class experience.

Visit Three – Build Trust
Now the customer is beginning to believe in your company, your employees, and the recommendations made. If done properly, they know your inspections are thorough, and your advice is based on what’s best for them.

Visit Four – You’ve Earned Loyalty
By the fourth visit, you’ve likely become “their shop.” They stop shopping around, recommend you to friends, and approve work with confidence.

I’ve heard all the Excuses. Do it, book the Next Appointment!

One of the best ways to get a first-time customer to return is simple: book the next appointment at vehicle delivery. I know, I know, you have tried it, it doesn’t work, your customers don’t want to book the future appointment, it’s too hard to manage, on and on and on. I have heard all the excuses over the years, and honestly, it’s all bull.

If those excuses were true, then why do so many other industries do it? Dentists, doctors, pet groomers, nail salons, hair salons, chimney cleaners, HAVAC companies, and other companies all book the next appointment. Why are they successful at it? They have the right mindset and don’t make excuses.

Here’s the bottom line: unless that first-time customer standing in front of you is selling her car tomorrow, she will need future services and repairs. That means someone will get that work. The key thing is, who will get to perform those future services and repairs? Again, the customer is right in front of you.

Speak with the customer, explain their future car care needs. Let them know when their next scheduled service is due or when a deferred repair is due, and put it in your calendar. And then set up a process to remind the customer about the upcoming service or repair. If you need help managing it from a CRM marketing company, get it. But do it. It’s not today’s visit that’s only important. It’s the next 4 visits too.

Conclusion

If you are an auto repair shop owner seeking innovative ways to strengthen and grow your business, Elite Worldwide can help. At Elite, our experienced, world-class coaches truly understand the auto repair industry. They have lived in the trenches, built highly successful companies, and know firsthand what it takes to achieve long-term success.

In addition to one-on-one coaching, Elite offers comprehensive sales and management training, along with peer groups that provide accountability, insight, and shared learning from other high-performing shop owners.

Whether you are launching a startup, scaling your business for growth, or planning your exit strategy, Elite Worldwide provides the guidance, tools, and support to help you reach your goals and build a stronger, more profitable, and more successful business.