The 6-Figure Service Advisor:
10 Explosive Habits to Turn You Into a Service Advisor All-Star!
This blog series will release one or two habits per week, so stay tuned for all 10 over the next few weeks so you can try and change the game!
Do you like football? If not, let me tell you, football is an amazing game. The strategy, the use of time, and the way the team communicates remind me of the way the drive-thru operates daily in many ways.
This career more or less landed in my lap, just like many people have their paths put before them without intentionally looking for it. I have never gone to a service advisor university or taken any courses before my on-the-job training. Before life happened I was going to University to become a marine biologist.
However, where I ended up today, I feel is a much better place. And, I am grateful for it every day. Every day, for me, is “Game Day.” Every day is different, exciting, and offers a new set of opportunities. But, if you are looking for consistency, the only consistency you will find as a service advisor is an inconsistency. And that is another thing I like about it. No one wants to get bored after all.
Being a service advisor takes some special talents. You have to be motivated, well organized, and great at communication. You need to have a drive to succeed, a need to connect with the people you are serving, and a desire to do better than you did yesterday.
So really, you don’t need anything different than any other person trying to do an excellent job at whatever they have decided to do with their lives. The good news: all of the skills that I just listed can be learned, and conditioned by anyone willing to put forth the effort it will take to do so. The only thing you need to bring is ambition, patience with yourself, and a willingness to learn. I know, because once, I was the opposite of every character trait I just listed as well.
It has been said that it takes 10000 hours of practicing something to become an expert at it.
Before you become a Tiger Woods, or a Tom Brady, you need to practice, morning, noon, and night. That little bit of trivia has always made me wonder if that is why they call a doctor a general practitioner if they do not have a specialty. They say, “He/She is ‘practicing’ medicine.” Are they still practicing? On me? Yikes!
Any pro athlete that has made it to the big league has years and years of practice, mostly starting since they were a child, doing whatever sport they do before they “make it.” Nothing was given to them and nothing was easy.
How many practices did they attend when they were learning? How many times a week do they still go to practice? Are they ever done practicing? No! And neither are we. I practice every day. As people have run out of challenges for me, I have set new ones of my own.
If you talk to any of those who have “made it”, you will learn what they had to do to get where they are. You will know about the sacrifices they made and you will learn about the people that helped them along the way.
I hope to be one of those people for you. A coach, a mentor, and most of all a teacher. So, for those who have decided, or ended up being a service advisor by chance, for me, you have ended up in the best job possible for someone who does not want to spend 4 to 5 years in school accumulating debt before making 6 figures yearly. The only thing you need that cannot be taught is a willingness to learn.
I have been a service advisor since 1989. I have been a 6-figure earner since 2001. The year I decided to do this job as a "career" was 1999, I decided to do it like a professional, and apply myself in every aspect of the job. Keyword “decided.” 2 years later I was a 6 figure earner. Of course, back then, the shop rates were only $119.00/hour. Now there are some shops in California that charge $300.00/hour. So being a 6 figure earner should be a starting point nowadays.
We all know that with the small percentages we earn on each work order, volume is the name of the game, but not at the expense of quality. At the moment, I write between 15-30 work orders a day during the week when there is a full staff of advisors in the drive-thru. Usually, 35-40 on a Saturday when I am working by myself. Volume is the key!
I am not saying go to work tomorrow and write that many, you will crash. You need to work your way up to that amount and the only way to do that is consistent practice, and major diligence in time management and organization.
So, there are several things I consciously had to CHOOSE to do DAILY. Things that you do daily are things that become a habit. And if you choose to apply yourself and commit to it you too can have the same success.
Let’s do some math and see how many hours I have been “practicing”.
I have been doing this job from 1989 until 2001 with a 2-year break as a waitress. So that is 10 years doing the job from the time I started, and knew NOTHING about cars nor the industry, working an average of 50 hours per week, with 2 weeks vacation. That is 50 weeks of work at 50 hours per week.
2500 hours a year and for 10 years that is 25000 hours of practicing to do this job before I was making a 6-figure income and over. I am telling you this because it takes time to get there, nothing happens overnight for most.
If you speak with anyone in this industry that knows me, they will tell you I am dedicated, loyal, and downright fierce in my opinions on how the customer should be treated and I am not afraid to tell anyone why. They will tell you my ideas on processes are a good idea to listen to and adopt for the good of the bottom line and the long-term relationship with the customer.
They will also tell you that when I speak about an issue impeding the delivery of great service to the customer, they will choose to listen. Because above all, I am a service professional with an opinion that matters and a process that gets results fast.
I am not going to tell you that all you have to do is just say this in your head, “I am going to make 6-figures this year!” That is not going to cut it.
Yes, you should visualize it and repeat it to yourself until it is not so scary, but it will take a lot more than that. It might seem like a far-away goal but if you do it in steps you will become the THANOS of the service department... INEVITABLE.
(Marvel reference for anyone scratching their head at the moment)
You need to start with where you are at. If you are making $35000 per year, you want to aim for $40000, break down your hours per work order and how many work orders you are writing, and see what you have to get to make it to $40000.
If you are making below $50000, I know, you are thinking, “OMG, I could never get to $100000”, I used to think the same when I was making $65000 per year, it seemed like such a far reach. But you can get there too. Again these things take time. But you can do it.
When I finally made it to the 6-figure level, I told myself, “Well, that is it, that is all I can do with this job, I will have to settle for that I guess.” Because at the time there were not many making that much as an advisor. The shop rates were also much lower than they are now, which made it even harder. But my husband is the kind of guy that keeps pushing for more. And he has been pushing me too. To reach for more, do more, and be more. He kept telling me “ You can do it!” And he was right.
You have to be patient and realistic with the reaching of your goals. If you don’t reach them, be persistent in trying it next year. Never give up, and you will reach them. If you didn’t make it, look at the areas where you did not give it your all and hone the process some more. Look for ways to improve by the minute, by the hour, by the day, by the week, by the month, and by the year.
If you need some inspiration on this, I highly suggest reading the book "The Slight Edge" by Jeff Olsen.
So here are the most important habits to develop and apply consistently, which I feel changed the game for me back in about 1999 that helped me get over the 6-figure hump in 2001.
1. Wake up…. Early
I like many, used to love to get as much sleep as possible. The snooze button on my alarm was worn out. Then I would drag my ass to the shower, and sit in it for 25-35 minutes to try and wake up before I even touched the soap.
But, just like any football great to ever make it to the hall of fame, if you want to be a service advisor all-star, you have to treat every day like “Game Day” and wake up early to prepare yourself mentally. Not many make it to the hall of fame by sleeping in late on the regular. So I started getting up earlier.
If you are not a morning person, become one. Period. This job requires you to be there 30 min before the doors open until they close. Yes, there are always exceptions to this, childcare is one of them. Also, there are shifts, some come in later, some leave earlier, but if you are truly committed to “Explosive Habits” that take you to the next level, that cannot be you.
If you are not there, you cannot write work orders. If you don’t write enough work orders, you will not make it to the level you are wanting to reach.
If you are saying to yourself right now, “No way am I giving up even 2 minutes of sleep for this job.” You are not ready for explosive habits. 'Nuff said.
If you are not a morning person and want to become one, this will take time, you will need to condition yourself to get up a little earlier each week. Start at 8, then 7, then 6:30, then 6, then 5:30 and so on and so on, until all the things you consider to be part of your “morning ritual” are done and you are leaving the house to get you to work 30 minutes before the doors open. Or 45 minutes if you are really hungry for success.
If 30-minute increments are too much for you, start with 15-minute increments instead. Pace yourself at a steady rate of increase that works for you. If this takes you 1 month or 2 that is ok, but this is the thing you need to work on first. Remember, the only way to fail at this change is to quit. Eventually, you will start to wake up at this time naturally. I wake up before my alarm every day.
If you have kids to get ready as well, and you are a single parent, this will be a difficult thing to accomplish. When my kids were little, I only had enough time to get everyone ready and out the door, drop them at the daycare just as the daycare workers were opening the door, and get to work just as the drive-thru doors were opening. And it was reversed on the way home. I got there just as they were locking the doors. It was exhausting, stressful, and very difficult. If I was late for some reason at work, it was also very expensive.
This challenge, if you share it, will require you to come up with different solutions. Family members, different sources of childcare and even moving closer to your job if you live farther away.
If you have no other options, don’t despair, and do not throw in the towel. I still did it. You have to do what you can and when you can. There are other areas you can focus on once you get to work. Stay tuned to the following blogs for the other 9 habits.
For those that don’t think you can do it, my husband loves to sleep. He says he needs more than me because his head is bigger but I think it is because when he was younger, he never got any, and he loves it so much for that reason.
When he was younger he worked hard to try and support his family. At the time, his father had lost his job. He was 12. So, he used to get ready for school, early! Go to school, and then come home, change, and hit the streets of his town selling whatever he could to make some extra money. Or he worked in factories making cement blocks to build houses there. His hands would be bleeding, he would get back home sometimes at 2 in the morning and do it all again the next day.
Because he is Cuban, a lot of people think he has always been on “Cuban Time” but I can tell you when he was younger he worked hard, he loves to be busy even now. And when he was living this life back in the '90s the transportation there was a nightmare. So it is not like he got up, and got a ride to school. He got up and went to wait for the horse-drawn school carriage to pick up all the kids and take them there. This added an hour to his morning easily.
Later, when I met him, he owned his own business as a barber there, he could wake up when he wanted, get ready and start working when he was ready. So his body got into a different rhythm.
But now, because I make him coffee every morning at 430 am, he also is getting used to it. It has taken 10 years but he is doing it! Now he exercises in the morning and gets ready for work too.
We all need to remember that there are only so many hours in the day and we need as many as possible to generate as many quality work orders as possible. And by quality, I do not mean, look for all the old cars to write up as they drive in. That is just being lazy. YOU are the person that makes them quality. Every conversation, every interaction, every follow-up, and every review is what makes it “quality.”
To make this easier you need to plan your day from the moment your feet hit the floor. Have your clothes ready to go, your lunch packed, and ready to grab or put together within a few moments.
I prepare meals on Sunday for Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, I make them for the following days, etc. A little forethought takes you a long way. Allow time for exercise if that is your morning thing. Whatever it is that you need to do.
Currently, I wake up at 3-3:30 am to allow myself 10 minutes to let the dog out, and make coffee. 20 - 30 minutes of writing. Then take care of the morning “business” for 20-30 minutes on the exercise bike while I listen to whatever audiobook I have going at the time, and then get ready, grab my premade lunch out of the fridge, and go. I like to arrive 60 minutes before the doors open. Which, at the moment, is 6:30 am, so I get there at 5:30.
How much more prepared do you feel when you get to work 30 minutes early, turn on your computer, boot the email, and the 40 or so programs that you need to use to do your job? You then write up your night drops, send a “Good morning” text to your customers and then review the history and prepare a list of things that the vehicle may be due for based on their current mileage and age.
Versus walking in the door 3 minutes before the bay doors open, and barely getting the computer on before you are helping your first customer.
Most of you are reading this saying, “gross.” I know. But are you over the 6-figure hump yet? And, I am not trying to be rude here, I am just here to give you a little “bitch slap” if you want to do better at the job you are doing.
Some of you, the ones determined to get over that hump, are asking, “What do you do during that time?” This leads me to habit 2.
Stay tuned for the unveiling of habit 2 next week!
If you are ready to take it to the next level, and you think you would benefit from one on one coaching, real-time in your own environment, message me at: adviseme@goldstandardservicetraining.com
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