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Are You Embarrassed to Be Called a PDR Technician? PM79

'Why didn’t you become/marry a doctor or lawyer?'
A cliche for sure, but are we secretly embarrassed to call ourselves technicians?
Some are.
Once had this conversation with a young man in the hail business earning 6 figures: “Are you proud of what you’ve accomplished?”
"I am, but most of my friends went to college, and though I make more, they still look down on me."

Rivers Cuomo, the lead singer of the band Weezer went back to college (twice) after finding music success.

• What makes us want more status?
• How can we get it, or better yet, how can we make the switch internally?
• Should we be so quick to turn over important jobs to others?
• The big secret about high earning “boutique” jobs

Links Mentioned in this Episode:
Power of No in your Paintless Business

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Ron Kronon - How to Get Wholesale PDR Accounts PM78

“Have you guys ever burned out pushing dents?”
"No, I haven’t”
This was my answer to Ron Kronon in this episode’s interview.
But I was not completely honest. Burn out just might be why I stopped the paintless dealer work in 2003.
What I felt was the hopeless futility of doing dealer work.
They tried to hire one of my employees to compete with me. They set the prices. They dictated my earnings.
The only way to win the game was not to play.
If you do dealer work and this bothers you, sorry. It still bothers me.

Looking back now, I see most of my beliefs about doing dealer work were internal nonsense.
I think there is a right way to do it. Stay in charge. Keep your sanity. Not feel backed into a corner.
The “I gotta do this unfixable car or I’ll lose the account” nonsense that seems to rule the PDR vendors belief system.
Derek and I have worked hard to overcome this.
Its worked out well, both in income and emotional well being.
But here’s the reality.
A good business setup for any paintless tech is going to be a balanced mix of retail and wholesale.
How we choose to do business is not right for all and we know this.
What does a dealer used car manager or recon manager think of you as a vendor? What mistakes does he see you making when you try to get his work?
To find out, we interviewed Ron Kronon, a 30 year vet of wholesale PDR. He also grew up around dealerships.
In this episode you’ll discover:

• Why some PDR techs give up too soon on dealer accounts
• A better way to give a price so you don’t lose the gravy part of the repair
• Why selective quality may be a necessary evil when doing dealer work

Related Episode:
Work Wholesale the Right Way

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Get the Benefits of Social Media Without the Time Suck - PM77

Social Media can make your paintless business grow. But its a lot of work. To get traction, you have to post a minimum of once a day.
Not only can this be a lot of work, its a huge distraction which can take you away from making money pushing dents.
Is there a way to control the timesuck?
More and more sites are allowing you to schedule out your posts. Sit down once a week and set up your posting in advance and you’re done. Sort of.
Once you make a post, its a flash in someone’s timeline or feed. They might miss it.
Today, there are tools which allow you to build a library of posts which can be recirculated over time. Listen to hear our thoughts on these tools.

Links mentioned in this episode:
Buffer App
IFTT (If This Then That)
Zapier
Meet Edgar
Smarter Queue

Tool Reviews:
Druztoolz Carbon Fiber Rod 
Ti-Tack Tip

Also in this episode:

• How to identify where your customer is in the sales timeline
• A quick tip to get better search engine rankings with just one tweak to your site

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PDR Employees - Is Your Business Ready to Hire? PM76

As you apply good marketing strategies to your business, you will feel growth pains. You might consider adding a tech or two to the paintless team.
Be warned: hiring is fraught with danger in any business. Paintless dent repair companies have issues totally unique in managing new hires.

• What are the dangers and how can you protect your company?
• What is the best type person to hire, and how would you even know if they are a fit?
• How will you pay them? Fixed wage vs. commission?

Don’t worry, if you are still working as an employee yourself, you’ll find some tips on how to apply good marketing in your own job
Also in this episode - why you should hire on purpose.

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How to Avoid Overwhelm in PDR - PM75

I have this strange fear of cave diving. Those scuba tank and flipper wearing adventurers have my admiration. Yet, just thinking about them doing it can send me into a sitting panic.
Irrational? Yes, I know its true. But the feeling is overwhelming.
Therein lies the topic of today's podcast. Avoiding overwhelm is an inside job, meaning our conscious thought.
Can you train your way out of overwhelm? We think so and I’ll bet the scuba cave diving school could teach me a thing or two. Maybe even calm me down.
Listen for some helpful tidbits to train your way out of overwhelm in these key areas:

• Hail
• Dings
• When you’re busy
• Even when you’re slow

Also:

• pomodoro method
• how do you switch modes when a customer walks in
• how to conquer an overwhelming task

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Are You Leaving Hail Money on the Table? PM74

What really happens when you bid a hail job for a body shop and say, “I’ll do it for X”? Is it possible to sell your future on just one job? A hail season’s worth?
I once felt that, hey, I’m just one guy. How I price doesn’t matter, right? Except it does.
You and I and every PDR tech good enough to work for body shops are now part of a big machine. Like it or not we drive the paintless division of the collision industry.
Think about it. For years it was body, frame, paint and mechanical. Now throw in paintless.
Listen and see how and why you price for hail and dents at collision shops makes a big impact.

• You say charge like a pro, aren’t you just being greedy?
• Why dropping your price is the greediest tactic of all
• Some of the most important real estate in your business (all have it many never use it)
• Get a good photo of flayed out car for estimating without stealing it

Links mentioned in this episode:
Overhead view of car for esimates
Gotprint.com for business cards
Appsumo for deals on stock photos

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The Value of One PDR Customer - PM73

Please a customer and they will tell 10 others. Its a tired old axiom, but it only scratches the surface of what’s really going on in your paintless business.
Is it possible that one client could become a “super” customer?
This is the person who loves you and your PDR service so much, they tell everyone about you. They repeat the story over and over to any who will listen.
They will not forget you.

• How do you recognize this kind of client?
• What should you do when you find one?
• What can you do to create an experience so great they can’t help but talk about you?
• How to fix your customer’s dented ego

links mentioned in this episode:

PDR Review Getting System
Are You Choosing the Right Customer?
How to make a Customer feel indebted to you
Edge Jack hem tool

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Moving Day - PM 72

All the excitement of getting a new shop or house is too often snuffed out by the labor of packing and moving.
We've been throwing stuff in corners and cubbies, never to touch it again for years. Now its all in our face. Take the nostalgia walk with us and discover why some of our current setup won’t be going with us.
Also in this episode:

• Elimadent Glue gun review
• Shocking, but even your best customer is going to other shops, here’s what you need to do now
• Is it really possible to have too many lights?

Links mentioned in this episode:
Put Your PDR Business at the Top of the Mountain