I LIKE THIS BUSINESS

[Music] oh no nothing doing well if we don't give them 150 we'll lose the sale look here george i'm paying you to sell cars not to buy them but city motors offered them i don't care what anybody offered them that's his story all i have to say is this have you spent as much time selling customers as they do selling you we might get somewhere my car ready what oh yeah she's over there i thought you greased this car we sure did yeah it sounds like it well what about this door or isn't it a part of the car i'll have that fixed in a minute there you are all fixed marvelous is my nephew around he's in the office i guess why if if you weren't my nephew i'd never come in that place back there that you call a service department it's one thing to sell people cars but there's something more important than that and that's to keep them sold and the way that service department is run there's nothing the matter with our service we've got darn good mechanics you may have good mechanics but that's only one part of the service every time i come in back there all the service end of this business is always a headache there's no money in it just a lot of grief i've got other things to worry about now what i'd really like to do is to expand my selling activities expand you talk to me of expansion listen son you show that you can make some real profit in the business as it is then we'll talk about expansion now but you don't understand this business is different i've heard that before too now look ned you have the makings of a fine business here you have as good a car as there is on the market well i'm selling them oh yes you're selling them but you should be selling more of them you show some profit but not enough for the overhead you're carrying well you eat up so much of the profits on trade-ins and trying to unload them then you've got to service every car yourself so you've got to keep up a service department and that costs you money and when you get all through there's damn little left every business has its problems and it's up to you to find ways of licking them now when i had my business yes i know i know when you had your business you knew all the answers but things are different today oh poppycock things are no different today than they ever were so far as the principles of business are concerned how much repeat business do you do well i don't know exactly but you can't figure repeat business with automobiles the way you can with any other business why can't you well people buy a new car every two or three years and some some of the people drive their cars until they fall apart oh so you just sell people a car and then forget about it sort of a once over proposition is that it no no no we give them the regular 90-day service and we sell some of the people a new model every couple of years how many of you actually resell well i can't say exactly but i guess i guess we resell about one out of four of our customers at some time or another is that all you ought to do better than that better yes well i consider one out of four darn good we haven't got the only car on the market you know another dealers are calling on the same people selling them as hard as we are well that's one thing you've got to learn to lick how to keep people sold what do you do about getting new prospects what everybody else does call on people send out some direct mail once in a while and tried to sell the people who come into the showroom well there ought to be a lot of other ways than that to get more prospects oh yeah now you're talking like all the pep boys that come in here and tell you how to run your own business they all have the same pet phrases make more contacts see more prospects hell i get tired of listening to that bunk there's only 24 hours in the day and the only way i can see to make more contacts is to increase my selling expense oh there must be other ways than that oh is that so well suppose you tell me what they are well i i can't exactly do that but if i was in this business i bet i'd find them well that's easy to say i'm not nearly so worried about the sales as i am about making a profit on what i do sell because anytime i have the money to put out for more salesmen i can increase my sales is this business of overhead and used cars and the cost of keeping up a service department that bothers me well why don't you put the service department on a profit basis i never heard of one that was well can't you sell people the idea to come in here for their service oh they come in for their service all right for the first 90 days when it's free after that we're like small parts of them you see these new cars don't need much in the way of repairs and if you use a good oil when a good gasoline keep them well lubricated what they'll probably go for a couple of years without service that's an idea lubrication why don't you get them coming in for that regularly we tried that but it's generally easier for them to go somewhere nearer their own home well you certainly ought to be able to sell them the idea that you know the car and can do a better job yeah that's all true but the average car owner is just too lazy to get well i don't know you seem to have all the answers but the wrong kind now when i had my business yeah i know when you had your business you solved everything no i didn't but i took a mighty good stab at it you know ned i retired about two years ago seems like 50. i'm sort of fed up with hanging around doing nothing i'd like to get back into harness again now you have several problems that i think can be licked and i'd like to try licking them if i find out you're right i'll give you what you need to do business your way but if i find out what i think is so you'll have to do it my way what do you say you mean you want to come in here as a partner not as a partner no as the boss you to have charge of the selling end but i'm to run the business my way at the end of six months if i fail to show a bigger profit than you've ever shown then you don't owe me a cent and i go on about my business why you know i'd be tickled to death to have you but oh wait a minute there's one point i want understood you are to stick to the selling and i run all the rest okay when do you start tomorrow oh but you won't be seeing me for a couple of weeks i'm going hunting kind of out of season for that isn't it not the kind of hunting i'm going to do i'm going to try and bag a couple of successful dealers and find the answer to a couple of riddles i'll be seeing you okay uncle jim [Music] no we haven't exactly licked the used car problem but let me tell you this we've gotten rid of plenty of used cars right at the lubrication list at don little expense we sell every new customer that they'll get more carefree miles if they bring their cars in here regularly and let us keep them in the pink we go after them too and see that they do come in here we keep our customers our lubrication service keeps us in steady touch with a whole flock of car owners it's the best speeder we have for new car sales our service department carries 70 to 80 of our overhead bringing them in regularly for lubrication helps us to sell bulbs batteries radios clocks heaters and a lot of other accessories to say nothing of the service jobs it gets us we always felt we knew how to sell cars but when we decided to go into the lubrication business that was something else so we called in saucony vacuum they're specialists in that field did they help you set it up did they help and how they not only helped to set it up but they told us just how to merchandise it too get in touch with them they'll be tickled to death to tell you all they know about well make it snappy because we're in a hurry yes well if it is an uncle jim hello nick i thought you were never coming back well how's the hunting bag anything one look at this place and it's no wonder customers stay away well what's the matter with it after what i saw plenty still all it needs is a real good scrubbing a couple of dozen buckets of paint some good equipment and all and where's all the money coming from well don't cost so much besides that's my end of the business you stick your selling you know mcbride if it wasn't for the fact that some of the dealers i visited told me about what sirconi vacuum has done for them well it would be awful hard for me to swallow some of the things you've been telling me well i'm glad you've had a chance to see the proof for yourself now if you really work on it this plan will put your service department where it'll carry most of the overhead of your entire setup and we'll do everything we can to help you build up a really big lubrication business whoa just a minute i don't like that word big sounds as if you're figuring on a great big expensive layout for me no on the contrary we're not interested in selling equipment oh no selling oils and greases is our business we'd rather see you start easy with a layout that's geared to your present business but at the same time set up so that you can add to it as your business builds up without tearing the place apart well now you're talking that's the way i like to operate now as i said before we're more than anxious to help you in every way we can naturally we have a selfish interest because the more lubrication jobs and the more oil you sell the more business we get on the other hand here's what a real lubrication setup means to you first every car needs chassis lubrication and needs it regularly about 12 times a year so a good lubrication department would bring in 15 to 20 car owners for every one that might come in for repairs that means that you'd be making 15 to 20 times the number of contacts that you're making now and making them regularly now lubrication business is profitable in itself but the plus profits are even more interesting for while your men are lubricating a car they get a chance to check and inspect every part of the car that might need repairs or replacement they might find a broken spring leaf any one of a dozen things they uncover needs for service jobs that might otherwise never be done or that might go to some other repair shop that means this lubrication inspection which is really a service to your customer will give you a nice increase in service work in the sale of genuine parts more than that during the checkup they get a chance to sell all kinds of equipment and accessories from wiper blades to radios batteries heaters anything else you might sell add those profits to the profits you make from lubrication jobs and crankcase changes you'll find you'll be running your service department on a nice profit instead of a loss it does give the boys a swell chance to sell things i noticed that in several of the places i visited now on top of all that don't overlook the opportunities that these lubrication contacts give you in the sale of new and used cars here you have hundreds of contacts coming in 10 or 12 times a year figure what that means in the way of new and used car prospects and you've got them coming right into your place where you have the best chance to sell them without costing you a cent by the time you turn over the leads to the salesman the prospects are have sold now you'll find everything i've been telling you in this book and we just don't hand it to you and say here it is if you want we'll come right into your shop and work with you first we'll study your setup socorre vacuum has spent a lot of time on car dealers problems our technicians have worked with car manufacturers our engineers have designed and have helped set up thousands of service departments we'll be glad to give you the benefit of what we know and we can work out an efficient and attractive layout for you that'll operate on the lowest possible cost we'll be glad to recommend equipment that will fit your needs next we'll put in a line of oil and lubricants that people know and respect now i don't have to sell you on saccone vacuum products there are no better made so when using mobile oils and mobile greases your customers know that you're giving them the best we'll work with your boys we'll tell them all we know about the efficient lubrication of a car we'll show them the opportunities for added sales that lubrication opens up for them how to clinch those sales and service jobs how to keep people interested in the car you sell how to work up leads and get prospects for new and used car sales we'll do everything we can to help put your service department on a good profit basis when your equipment's installed and your men set we'll analyze your territory help you to set up an efficient system for getting customers in and bringing them back now we don't just give you some ordinary sales promotion to get them in we have material available for you that has been made especially for the car you sell these pieces sell your car and your service at the same time they sell your lubrication and your checkup service they prove to your customers why you can do a better job on the car you sell than any neighborhood service they can get they tell about your factory trained men who not only lubricate a car expertly but also check every point on the car to assure a safer and better performance we know they'll bring people in for lubrication and if handled properly we know you bring them back bring them back regularly so that you'll have every chance you need to sell them their next car ah but what's all this going to set me back not so much as you think i'll figure it out for you right now [Music] bill never mind that come over here this is more important now it's true that on a great many cars you know every lubrication point without consulting this chart but aside from the effect that it has on the customer using this chart actually saves you steps because as you see is split up into six groups each group at one part of the car first group number one the oil side then group number two the battery side and the transmission and the differential then these other groups three four five and six each covering one section of the car now that's the quickest way to work and two it's laid out so that you can inspect and maybe suggest something to the customer while you're working on the job then in lubricating a car seeing how quick he can work and throwing grease guns around isn't the way to do it lubrication and lubricants are a lot different today than they were a few years ago lubricants that used to work in a car can't stand up and do a job under the high speed and the increase in power in today's cars why it's got so that wheel bearings pass temperatures as high as 200 degrees fahrenheit crankcase oil temperatures as high as 300 degrees and gear tooth loads top 300 000 pounds per square inch and no one lubricant can do the whole job on any one car to lubricate a car today you need the right lubricant the right amount in the right place now take apart like the water pump that needs a special grease that won't dissolve in hot water let me show you something now there's what happens to the grease you were using when you put it in the water pump worse than just washing out it emulsifies just like soap and water gets into the radiator with the usual result that it clogs up the radiator and raises hell with the car now let's take a look at our special water pump grease mobile grease number six now you can hold this under hot water just as long as you please and a lubricating film will still remain it's specially made to withstand water now there's example of the right lubricant in the right place because when you use mobile grease number six in the water pump it won't emulsify it will stay in the water pump and do a job now we didn't work out all these different lubricants just to make it tougher for ourselves and for you we worked them out so that we'd have exactly the right lubricant to properly lubricate every part of the car it means that you're giving your customer a superior job and that kind of service pays dividends and when you have the customer watching you show him that you're putting in special lubricants where they're needed and put in with special equipment just to give him the best bloomin job possible to make sure his car runs smooth as soap if you use the equipment if you follow these charts if you'll try and get every customer to watch you work you'll soon build up a reputation here that'll have those customers coming back to you regularly it'll have them sending in their friends that'll build permanent business and real profits for you now if you want i'll be glad to take off my coat and go to it with it we'll hold you to that max great [Music] so yes but we have the most modern equipment here everything to keep your car in perfect running condition and the big point is your car will be handled by expert mechanics factory trained men who know automobiles know how to keep them running sweetly and what's more you'll be sure of safe driving because we inspect every part of the car well thanks very much [Music] are you watching thank you are you sure you'll have that model in gray by next week there's one coming in tuesday for sure you can depend on a delivery wednesday morning that'll be fine thank you for your order mr burns i hope you'll be very happy with your choice i'm sure i shall don't forget bring the new car around for regular service particularly the first few months we want to keep it running in tip-top shape you bet i will thanks goodbye goodbye good day well i see you landed him all right yes sir and the big model of that that makes the fourth sale this week not bad eh you you sort of talk as if you made them all yourself isn't this one of littles i'd see his name on the sheet oh sure that's one of george's i just closed it for him as a matter of fact two out of four have been his i guess he must be running in a streak of love you don't suppose that a little selling might have had something to do with it oh sure sure i'll give him credit for some good selling but what gets me is i never thought much of him as a salesman i was on the verge of letting him out and suddenly bingo he comes through with a few orders i want to show you something what come with me yeah i thought you said i couldn't come into the service department it's okay now i've got things running now so you can't spoil them come on what was the name of those people you sold that big coupe to henry burns what burns here we are henry burns 436 pine drive 1932 sedan first came in for service uh let me see five months ago now here's how it works out each time burns came in we did a little selling on our new car the last time he came in about two weeks ago here's what happened you see your car has this old type transmission there have to get noisy that's one thing i like about our new models they have a transmission that's a honey well in fact all the way down the line it's just about the sweetest job i ever saw that's a good looking model you have in the window yes it is at that well they're all good looking but better yet they'll give you great performance for just about as many thousand miles as you'll ever drive them well maybe i'll be turning the old boat in pretty soon i look over that new model of yours fine well there's some pictures of the new models on that table there are there each time a man comes in we build up our car a bit then when he's about ready to buy the boys tab him like this this is where george little got those leads oh so that's it there isn't a morning that he doesn't come hounding me for leads because he knows if they come from here they're half sold i wondered how george got those leads well ask george he'll tell you and here's something else we're keeping after everyone who's driving one of our cars getting them in for regular service and eight of them have bought new cars since we started this plan and seven out of the eight have re-bought from us what did you do hypnotize them easier than that now if that customer was driving one of our cars bill would say something like don't you find she's running sweeter since we've been lubricating a regular yes he's running fine and seems to ride better too you got a great piece of machinery there just give it a little attention and you'll get a lot of good going on it's a good call all right have you seen the new model sweetest job i ever saw can't see how they can sell it for so little money just some little conversation like that every time a customer comes in keeps him sold on the fact that he's driving the best car on the market there's only one thing better that's a new one and what's more i'm going to have one of our new models standing over there where the customers can look it over that's an idea you know you used to get sore every time i said something about making more contact but look here here are dozens and dozens of contacts we're getting every week and they're coming right into our shop where we have the best chance to sell them and they're paying us a profit at the same time and did the coney vacuum help you set this all up yep is that why you loaded up on all their products and threw the rest out that may have had something to do with it but the real reason was that they do have better products by concentrating on one line we have less money invested besides when people know that you sell mobile oils and mobile greases they know that you're selling them the best and giving them the best job that brings them back well maybe you're right you don't seem to be doing so badly but outside of having a better looking shop is there any real difference between the way we used to handle the jobs and the way you're doing it now all the difference in the world just watch this there you are it's all ready shall i drive it out for you yes please yes that may look like only a little courtesy but it symbolizes our whole attitude of friendly service there is no service or courtesy too good for our customers and customers notice it too just watch harry handle this customer how do you do i hear you foes do a great job of greasing you think you can get the squeaks out of this whole rattle trap i'm sure we can if you have the time i'd like to have you stay and see what a real job we do you sure the price you charge our price is really low for the kind of a job we do i'm sure you'll feel that way about it yourself i'd like to stay and see it done but i'm pretty busy today and you let me have it by four yes sir i'm sorry you can't stay and see what a thorough job we do because we not only give you a swell lubrication job with mobile oils and mobile greases but we inspect your car from stem to stern uh-huh and try to sell me the works no but if there's something you need we tell you about it sure it might be something we sell supposing we find a spring leaf program or something else that may give you trouble on the road wouldn't you want us to tell you about it yes if you put it that way or if your oil needs changing or your filter is plugged don't you think it's better for us to tell you about it than to let you take a chance on a scored cylinder or a burnt out bearing yes there is something to that shall i check your oil while you're here if it needs changing we can save you some time by doing it while your car is on the lift all right go ahead yes sir nice work it's an oil change to the job just like that he did plenty more than that ned when he found out that the customer couldn't stay he did a good job of convincing him that we do more than just a greasing job but we're really interested in his car and keeping it running smooth the biggest mistake a dealer can make is to do a cut price job why the whole idea of our system is to do a better job and make the customers realize that everything they buy from us is the best from a wiper blade to a new car that's darn good stuff you know it's so logical i wonder we haven't thought of doing it before but tell me would he have treated that customer differently if he had stayed oh yes the covers would have gone on just the same that shows the customer that we're going to take good care of this property what do you just put the car on the lift without saying anything about an inspection or an oil change oh i see suppose that customer had stayed when the car was on the lift harry would show the chart to the customer and explain how it guides us to exactly the right lubricant the right amount in the right place but why the chalk the boys must know him by heart well the chart may be old stuff to us but it's brand new to the customer and it's the first step in convincing him that we're going to give him a thorough job after he's lubricated the body hardware he lifts the hood checks the oil letting the customer see the bayonet he doesn't say a word to the customer just hesitates a second and nine times out of ten this is what happens how does it look well looks a deceiving the only way you can tell if an oil is really clean is to put it under a microscope but after a thousand miles any oil is sure to have dirt and grit and tiny bits of metal in it and all those things going through your burnings are liable to cause some real damage you know a scored cylinder or burned out bearings are mighty expensive that's why it's always best to place safe and change your oil every thousand miles besides a good clean oil will give you a smoother running actually save your money in the long run well i guess you better change it yes sir i see let the customer bring it up himself so it doesn't look as though you were trying to sell them exactly yeah but what do you do when you run into the fella who doesn't say a word when you shown the bayonet if the customer doesn't say anything we don't say anything either but later on after we've had a chance to get the customer interested in lubrication and we've won his confidence here's how you get into it you see the point of our service is to send you out of here in a car that's mechanically safe this mobile grease number five is a specially made grease that won't melt and run out of your bearing no matter how hot your brakes get yet it won't stiffen up in cold weather either it sure pays to use the best grease you can buy and the same is true about oil it pays to use good oil and to change it regularly at least every thousand miles because you need the very best all you can get to protect your engine during that thousand miles that's insurance but even the best oil will collect dirt and grit and little bits of metal from the engine that's why it's important to change your oil regularly well i suppose you're right maybe you better change it now while it's on the lift you bet we missed very few drain flush and refills around here using that method and yet handling it as we do the customer doesn't feel that we're using barber shop selling and that's important if you want them to keep coming back oh that's smart because there's nothing i object to myself worse than one of those places that sell you to that and it's the same way through the whole job we inspect the car while we're lubricating it then we check on this tag for anything that the car may need and when the owner or the customer calls around for his car here's how we handle it yes sir oh my god ready all ready for you oh uh your stoplight is burnt out shall i put a new one in for you i have it right here okay go ahead these inspection tags are a swell idea they show the customer that you have inspected his car and whether it's a bulb or a battery or any one of a dozen things you sell it to him just by mentioning that he needs it and what's more all through the job we build up a quality story that's why we don't have any trouble selling genuine parts and quality work and that's why our service department is operating on a profit basis if it's all as easy as you seem to make it why don't other dealers do the same thing the progressive ones do and there's nothing very complicated about it because basically here's all there is to it one an attractive and efficient layout two friendly service three a good development plan that brings people in for a quality job with mobile oils and mobile greases that brings them back and five a system of working that uncovers accessory needs and service jobs that's simple enough and make sense well and here's what it's doing for us first we're making money on straight lubrication and oil changes second we're building a service an accessory business that pays us a profit and carries a good part of our total overhead i never realized that you could do that much with service but still i don't get the angle on helping us to sell used cars oh well that's easy ned every week we type up a card like this listing our used cards and don't forget that the service man knows cars the customer looks up to him as an expert after he's lubricated a man's car a few times and has gotten rather close to him he may say something like this if you want sure enough proof that good lubrication pays you out to see some of the used cars we take in here sometimes we get one that's really taken care of and although it's run maybe more miles than some of the others it's still in fine shape a real sleeper that's a bargain like these two they're a good buy on anybody's money yet we can't price them any different than some of the clucks we get in if you happen to have a friend looking for a used car there's a couple of honest cars going cheap handling it that way we're really letting the customer in on a bargain and he's very apt to pass the word along well i'll be done say i'll be coming in here for those new colleagues myself from now on or am i still in the doghouse yeah as a matter of fact that's what i came in to talk to you about my six months are up you know that's right i had forgotten all about that you know i've begun to regard you as a permanent fixture around here but what gets me is how you worked all those things out just use some horse scents i didn't work them out i did what any good businessman would do i went to some specialists who worked out this problem for thousands of other dealers i laid my problems right in their lap and followed their advice you mean saucony vacuum nobody else they not only set us up but they've been on the job right along checking to see that we don't go wrong uncle jim about this six months business well you were right and i was wrong i admit it and i'm tickled to death too but but now that we are going places what are you gonna do walk out on me that's what i was gonna talk to you about would you mind very much if i sort of hang around will you really come in here and help me out once in a while well you don't exactly need me anymore the saucony vacuum fellas will keep you straight if you let them but the point is i like this business foreign