Ep 114 - Turnkey Marketing Call #1 | The $84,000 Mistake Hiding in Your Shop
Now playing — Confessions of a Shop Owner
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Keep shop management, payments, marketing (all the things) all in one place with Tekmetric. It will CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Click HEREASTA is coming up September…
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Ep 113 - Saurav Kumar & Kamran Rahman | Why Generic Social Media Is Killing Your Shop
Tekmetric opened my eyes to just how much a good SMS will do for a shop. Their software is top of the line, and with them, so is my shop. Try them for yourself HEREASTA is coming up September 24-26 in Raleigh. Be there or be square, dog! Register now and use code Confess25 for $25.00 off your registration. Sign up HEREMy marketing before and after signing up with Turnkey Marketing is pretty scary. In a good way. Get your marketing right today HERETired of your shop’s social media looking like every other repair shop on the internet? Stand out with 47 Consulting. Learn more HERE Make your techs happier with Detect Auto. They'll stop getting "check noise" or "check vibration" from advisors with the customer concern tool. It will CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Book a demo HERESend your service advisor to hands down the BEST service advisor training in the industry (even other coaching companies agree). It's Elite Worldwide's Masters Program. The next one is happening in Dallas Texas, September 10-12. Learn more HEREMike Allen sits down with Saurav Kumar and Kamran Rahman from 47C to talk about what actually makes social media work for an auto repair shop—and why going viral might be the wrong goal entirely. They break down the difference between generic content and real brand-building, why local relevance matters more than raw views, how shops can create trust before a customer ever needs a repair, and why the right audience is more valuable than a huge one. Mike also admits one of his shops is now charging for diag, gets on a soapbox about technician pay and training, and somehow turns a discussion about marketing into another story about his pants coming off.Timestamps:00:00 Generic Social Media Is Everywhere00:59 Was This the Worst Recording Day Ever?01:27 What It’s Really Like Filming Inside a Repair Shop03:00 Can Shop Owners Mix Their Own Content With Professional Content?04:00 Mike’s First Impression of 47C05:53 Why Saurav Never Carries His ID08:08 Mike Admits He Didn’t Understand 47C at First09:47 The Confessions Lounge and Studio12:00 The Story Behind Mike’s Throne13:51 Meet 47C17:10 Why They Chose the Automotive Industry18:33 Are Repair Shops Actually Bad at Business?20:05 Why Automotive Attracts Private Equity21:56 What 47C Actually Does for Repair Shops25:19 Why Customers Want to Feel Like They Belong26:45 Mike Finally Buys Into Social Media Brand Building28:52 Are Repair Shops Still Early to Short-Form Video?30:11 Why Mike Doesn’t Want to Be the First Early Adopter31:05 Landscape vs. Portrait Video34:24 Mike Is Now Charging for Diag at One Shop35:58 Learning Dynamic Pricing From an Ice Cream Truck37:36 Technician Pay, Training and Labor Rates41:18 The Reality of Entrepreneurship43:22 No Booze, No Cocaine While We’re Working44:46 You Can Run a Good Business and Still Have Fun45:52 Why 47C Limits How Many Clients It Takes49:55 The Biggest Problems Facing Repair Shops52:55 Focus on What You’re Good At and Hire Out the Rest54:00 Why Generic Social Media Isn’t a Strategy55:00 Are Viral Shop Videos Actually Useful?56:00 Mike’s Million-View Video Reached the Wrong Audience58:40 Mike Learns What Kind of Content His Audience Really Wants59:09 Closing Thoughts
Ep 112 - Coaching Call #20 | Mike is Going to Charge for Diag??
Tekmetric transformed my shop. Plain and simple. Want that for yours? Touch HEREASTA is coming up September 24-26 in Raleigh. Be there or be square, dog! Register now and use code confess25 for $25.00 off your registration. Sign up HERETurnkey Marketing takes the stress of doing something I'm not good at off my plate. And gives it to someone who is. Click HERE for more.Tired of your shop’s social media looking like every other repair shop on the internet? Stand out with 47 Consulting. Learn more HERESend your service advisor to hands down the BEST service advisor training in the industry (even other coaching companies agree). It's Elite Worldwide's Masters Program. The next one is happening in Dallas Texas, September 10-12. Learn more HEREWhen I used the maintenance tool for the fist time with Detect Auto, my mind was blown. My advisors had the same reaction - and then SO MUCH MORE TIME. Learn more about Detect Auto and book a free demo now!Mike Allen sits down with Matt Lofton for another open-book coaching session, digging into the real numbers behind one of Mike’s shops and figuring out what has to change to push it past 20% net profit. They break down car count, closing ratio, effective labor rate, gross profit per billed hour, staffing capacity, revenue per employee, and why a shop can look busy while still leaving a lot of money on the table. The conversation eventually forces Mike to reconsider one of his favorite controversial strategies—free diagnostics—and whether qualifying customers and charging for testing could actually improve the shop. As usual, there’s plenty of math, sarcasm, questionable financial decisions, and Mike reluctantly admitting that Matt may have a point.Timestamps00:00 Mike Forgot the Most Important Podcast Preparation: A Drink01:21 A $734 Power Bill vs. Matt’s Accidental Backyard Rainforest04:25 Growing the Business Just Creates New Problems07:35 Are Shop Owners Bad at Celebrating Wins?11:33 Opening the Books: $115K Revenue, $530 ARO & 24% Closing14:40 The Shop’s Best Month of the Year15:18 Building a 20%+ Net Profit Goal18:18 How to Calculate the Revenue Your Shop Actually Needs20:41 Can the Current Team Produce Enough Hours?25:45 “I Have No Excuse Not to Put $25K–$30K in the Bank”27:04 Could This Be a 30% Net Profit Shop?27:45 The Gross Profit Per Billed Hour Every Shop Needs to Know30:21 The Problem With a 24% Closing Ratio31:47 Your Loss Leader Doesn’t Have to Be for Everybody34:29 23 Cars Out of 110 Generated $034:57 “We’re Not Hospice for Cars”35:19 Should Repair Shops Have an Age Limit on Vehicles?36:32 Mike Admits He’s About to Make a Bad G-Wagon Decision39:58 Matt Sees Mike’s Effective Labor Rate and Gets Sad41:12 Mike Calls Capacity Calculators “Mental Masturbation”42:02 Should Mike Finally Start Charging for Diagnostic Testing?43:15 What McDonald’s Can Teach Repair Shops About Pricing44:04 Qualifying Customers Before Giving Them Something Free46:25 Mike Promises to Rage-Bait Matt Again46:54 Raising Effective Labor Rate Could Add $500K in Capacity49:11 What Should the Entry-Level Diagnostic Fee Be?51:41 The Revenue-per-Employee Hiring Benchmark55:05 Is It Already Time to Hire Another Technician?55:49 Why Your Shop Can’t Operate at Redline Forever57:17 “Good Dude Is Not a Qualifier for Employment”59:42 Mike Prepares to Admit He Was Wrong About Free Diag
Ep 111 - Mike and Bryan | Technicians Want More Money… But Won’t Do the Work
Tekmetric transformed my shop. Plain and simple. Want that for yours? Touch HEREASTA is coming up September 24-26 in Raleigh. Be there or be square, dog! Register now and use code confess25 for $25.00 off your registration. Sign up HEREIf you're like me and aren't good at marketing, don't do it on your own. Let the experts handle it. Touch HERE for more on Turnkey Marketing.Tired of your shop’s social media looking like every other repair shop on the internet? Stand out with 47 Consulting. Learn more HERESend your service advisor to hands down the BEST service advisor training in the industry (even other coaching companies agree). It's Elite Worldwide's Masters Program. The next one is happening in Dallas Texas, September 10-12. Learn more HERE When I used the maintenance tool for the fist time with Detect Auto, my mind was blown. My advisors had the same reaction - and then SO MUCH MORE TIME. Learn more about Detect Auto and book a free demo now!In this episode of Confessions of a Shop Owner, Mike Allen and Bryan Pollock get into technician pay, work ethic, training, shop culture, and whether today’s owners are expecting too much from the modern workforce. Bryan questions whether the self-motivated technician is disappearing, while Mike pushes back on the idea that someone should receive six-figure pay before developing a six-figure skill set. They also get into government regulation and price-gouging enforcement, bad repair shops, Mike’s anonymous Facebook trolling, and why sometimes the industry’s problems feel impossible to fix. And because this is Confessions, Mike also explains how he managed to injure himself playing kickball on the beach.Timestamps:00:00 Mike’s Casino Decisions & Bryan’s Corvette Disaster04:54 Mike Gets a Letter From the Attorney General07:34 Fraud Alert…Live During the Podcast08:05 Mike’s Fake Career as a Professional Blimp Folder12:23 Confession: Mike Has Been Trolling Shop Owners Anonymously17:17 Why There’s More Than One Right Way to Run a Shop19:37 Three Shop Owners With Completely Different Business Models21:44 David Roman Wants Absolutely Nothing to Do With Mike24:19 Cheap Labor Rates & Buying Failed Shops’ Equipment25:07 Is Bryan Becoming a Cranky Old Shop Owner?27:05 Are Technicians Becoming Too Dependent on Shop Owners?29:22 Bryan’s Crash Course Into Becoming a Technician32:26 Is the Self-Motivated Technician Disappearing?33:23 Should You Make $100K Before You Have $100K Skills?35:31 What Happens When Newer Cars Get Even More Complicated?35:58 “I Want to Learn”…But Won’t Use Free Training37:10 Technicians Who Say Training Is “Too Basic”39:18 Bryan’s Government Intervention Rant Begins41:00 Price Gouging vs. Shops That Can’t Fix Cars43:43 Who Gets to Decide What an Auto Repair Shop Should Charge?47:01 Why Government Regulation Won’t Fix the Real Problem48:10 Should Shops Call Out Bad Repairs From Other Shops?52:44 Mike Adds Four Employees to His Shops55:10 Mike’s Most Embarrassing Kickball Story57:02 Mike Defends His Sumo Wrestling Record58:25 Why You Need to Be at ASTA Expo
BONUS AUDIO ONLY EPISODE: Lauren Langston & Jared Haleck | The Auto Repair Industry Earned Its Bad Reputation
Keep shop management, payments, marketing (all the things) all in one place with Tekmetric. It will CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Click HEREASTA is coming up September 24-26 in Raleigh. Be there or be square, dog! Register now and use code confess25 for $25.00 off your registration. Sign up HERETurnkey Marketing has made my life SOOO much simpler, AND they've helped keep the phone ringing. Do you need these two things too? Learn more HERETired of your shop’s social media looking like every other repair shop on the internet? Stand out with 47 Consulting. Learn more HEREWhen I used the maintenance tool for the fist time with Detect Auto, my mind was blown. My advisors had the same reaction - and then SO MUCH MORE TIME. Learn more about Detect Auto and book a free demo now!Elite Worldwide's Ignite 2027 is coming up in February and NOW is the time to sign up. It's happening in Vegas February 4-6 and it will be the best 3 days of your shops year when you attend. Learn now HEREIn this bonus audio-only episode, Mike Allen sits down at Tektonic 2026 with Tekmetric President Lauren Langston and Chief Product Officer Jared Haleck for a conversation that starts spicy and quickly heads into the future of automotive repair. They discuss whether industry coaches can remain relevant after years away from shop ownership, why repair shops have earned some of the public’s mistrust, and what real-world data says about the massive impact of consistent DVIs. Mike also gets an inside look at SmartDVI, automated estimating, integrated phone systems, AI call assistants, and other technology that could dramatically change how service advisors and technicians work.Timestamps00:00 The Coaching Question That Made the Panel Spicy01:01 Can Coaches Stay Relevant After 10 Years Away From Shop Ownership?03:23 Why Tektonic Stands Out From Other Industry Events04:26 Tekmetric Digital Ads & Why Google Maps Matters08:08 The DVI Numbers That Should Shock Shop Owners09:00 Longer DVIs = Nearly $200 More ARO?09:32 SmartDVI: Using AI to Build Better Inspections Faster13:48 Can AI Understand Your Technician’s Accent?15:27 Building New Features vs. Fixing What Customers Already Use19:15 We’re 20 Minutes In…Maybe We Should Introduce the Guests22:41 Every Shop Owner Thinks They’ve Built the Next Great AI Tool24:35 What Happens When Software Companies Build Your Integration’s Feature?27:06 SmartDVI, Meta Glasses & Hands-Free Inspections30:24 How Close Are We to Fully Automated Estimates?34:17 Let Service Advisors Build Relationships—Not Estimates35:53 Personalized Service Plans & Eliminating Customer Surprises37:21 Has Auto Repair Earned Its Bad Reputation?41:24 Does Showing Future Repair Pricing Encourage Price Shopping?46:06 Tekmetric Phones & the Next Big Integration49:12 AI Call Assistants Listening in Real Time53:11 Mike Announces Tekmetric’s Entire Future Roadmap…Without Permission