00:00:00:00 – 00:00:21:20
Today, I’m going to unpack what I call the accelerated growth model, the thing that you need to be
thinking about in order to really accelerate your growth on the seven marketing channels that you must
be tapping into to maximize your lead flow, and then five lead conversion leaks that can be slowing your
growth or, really killing your return on investment and what you can do, really to position yourself as the
best known auto repair shop in your market.

00:00:21:25 – 00:00:42:01
So real quick, you know, who am I? Why should you listen? I am the CEO of Advanced Digital Automotive
Group and our company is a Google Certified Partner. I’m the author of two books, The ultimate SEO
guide for Automotive Service Businesses, How to triple your Sales and Record Time and triple Your Sales
and Grow Your Business. The Ultimate internet marketing guide to grow your business online.

00:00:42:06 – 00:00:58:08
We have some great resources for you. One of them is Top Shop Podcast, where we interview industry
leaders in the automotive repair space, which is what, you know, most other podcasters do, but we do
something a little different. We look for auto repair shop owners that have been in business for ten years
or more and interview them. Why?

00:00:58:12 – 00:01:16:20
Because research shows that 80% of shops fail within their first five years, and another 80% of those
shops fail within the second five years. So an auto repair shop owner has been in business for over ten
years, has proven to us that they are successful by standing the test of time, and their insights and
experience are extremely beneficial to other shop owners.

00:01:16:23 – 00:01:39:27
If there’s anyone here that’s been in business over ten years, I would encourage you to apply to be a
guest. Just go to Top Shop Podcasts with Nasscom and apply. We are also the issue over the Golden
Wrench Award, recognizing people who have contributed greatly to the automotive industry. We look
closely at the industry, and we saw that there are many individuals that have really dedicated their life to
this industry, and they’ve contributed significantly.

00:01:40:03 – 00:01:58:23
And therefore, we provide the Golden Wrench Award to select individuals that meet our criteria and
make it through our selection process. If you or somebody you know has made significant contributions
to the automotive industry, I urge you to go to the golden wrench. Broadcom. I’ll toss you that link in the
chat right now. And you can nominate them to receive this prestigious award.

00:01:58:24 – 00:02:18:00
A lot of times people work really hard in their careers. There are authors executive directors of the
presidents of associations or trade groups, and they really appreciate the acknowledgment of their
contributions. This is a great way for us to contribute back to the automotive community. I am on a
mission right now to help 500 auto repair shops double their sales by getting their internet marketing
right.

00:02:18:05 – 00:02:34:21
That’s why I’m here. That’s why I’m sharing this information. Why is this even important? Well, first of all,
your marketing will make or break your business, right? Now, I don’t have to tell you guys that you can
have the best technicians in the world. You can have the best equipment in the world. You can have the
best CSR in the world.

00:02:34:22 – 00:02:55:11
But the reality is, if your phone’s not ringing, you’re not the known auto repair shop in your market.
None of that matters, right? Your marketing will make or break your business. The other reason I think
it’s important is that you guys make a major investment in marketing, right? Over the years, historically,
you spent tens of thousands of dollars on, Yellow Pages.

00:02:55:14 – 00:03:14:20
If you’ve been around that long, you guys all spent thousands or tens of thousands of dollars on SEO, pay
per click social media and the various other tools and so more. You can be on the cutting edge of what’s
happening with marketing. The more you can understand where things are headed. The better return on
investment you can get from those marketing dollars.

00:03:14:22 – 00:03:33:07
But I think the biggest reason this session is mission critical right now, the biggest reason you want to
know what the future of marketing is, is the cost of empty lifts or having plenty of work. But not the
most profitable work. I think most of you guys would say you’re the big challenge for me. Isn’t getting my
phone ringing it and getting sales.

00:03:33:07 – 00:03:52:01
It’s finding quality technicians. It’s getting those techs trained. And so if the marketing paradigm shifts,
right, if the strategy starts to change and you’re not changing with it, what if you wind up with a couple
of really great technicians and you spend all this time energy and money recruiting and training and
getting ready only to have not enough work for them?

00:03:52:04 – 00:04:14:19
That’s exactly what we don’t want. That’s why we’re consistently looking at where the puck is going and
not where it is. Right. That’s where we’re going to invest some time thinking about the future of
marketing. Really, the reality is, if you can’t get this dialed in, if you can’t remain on the cutting edge of
your marketing, you won’t keep the phones ringing, the lives filled, and the business booming.

00:04:14:21 – 00:04:32:03
So let’s dive into it. I want to unpack this model, and this is where you guys can open your workbooks to
page two. I created these workbooks for you. I’ll drop it in the chat right now. I want you to have
something to track along with me. Download the workbook we put in the chat and open it to page two.

00:04:32:09 – 00:04:53:05
This is the accelerated growth model. Hopefully you guys will be able to see this, at least at some level.
Really? There’s, three key things when it comes to your marketing. The first is we’ve got to drive leads,
right? We have to have people raising their hand. We have to have people scheduling, and we have to
have people finding us and entering into our world.

00:04:53:07 – 00:05:16:17
Second to that, we have to maximize conversion. We don’t just generate the leads. We need those leads
to converting the book jobs. We need to drive those leads into revenue. And then from there, we’ve got
to optimize return on investment. So these are the three key pillars that we have as our accelerators. So
driving leads there’s organic there’s paid and then there’s database.

00:05:16:19 – 00:05:36:29
Organic is showing up in your organic listings on Google Maps and Google PageRank. The customers
organically coming to you. We want to constantly be thinking about how do we drive better organic
results. Then there’s paid. That’s your Google ads, your local service ads, maybe Facebook ads, YouTube
advertising, and just any, any paid advertising that you do.

00:05:37:05 – 00:05:57:29
And then there’s database. And I think most auto repair shops, they’re really focused on the organic and
the paid, but they’re not as focused on database. That’s your existing customers referring you to their
friends. It’s your prospect. Submitted a request but didn’t convert right then and there. And then as I
think about the future of marketing, I think about where things are headed.

00:05:58:01 – 00:06:17:17
The ability to engage with your customers using SMS properly, utilizing its full potential, will be the
biggest game changer. I want you guys to put a little, traffic light on the bottom right hand corner of your
workbook. You want to write yourself red, yellow or green? You know where the problems are. If it’s
yellow or red, you know, this is an area for improvement.

00:06:17:17 – 00:06:37:05
And you can set the goal to get to get it green. Remember, what gets measured, gets done. Are you
coming up in your organic? Are you dominant in your local market? If you are, then that’s a green. Is
your paid ads dialed in? Are you in control of your PPC? Do you feel like you’ve got a lever that you can
easily ratchet up the leads if the phones are slow?

00:06:37:06 – 00:06:58:19
Is your return on investment from your paid advertising is great, then that’s a green. If it’s not, maybe it’s
a yellow. Maybe it’s a red. And then over here in database, are you sending a follow up after every
service? Are you sending a monthly newsletter? Do you have a mechanism to turn your one time
customer into a repeat buyer that comes to you again and again?

00:06:58:22 – 00:07:16:18
If not, and again, looking into the future, I think you guys can be on the cutting edge if you really focus
on this. So just a couple of seconds to rate yourself in those areas. All right. The next is we want to
maximize conversion. We’re driving traffic to our website. We’re driving inbound leads creating the
opportunity for them to convert.

00:07:16:19 – 00:07:39:14
Happens in three places. Your website where people land reputation is a major point. And then the third
is automation. I’ll talk about that in a minute. So why do I say website? Here’s the reality. Regardless of
what marketing you’re doing, whether it’s SEO, PPC, YouTube, radio, billboards, fliers, customers are
going to wind up on your website at some portion in that journey.

00:07:39:17 – 00:07:58:13
And then your conversion rate, once they get to that specific landing page, is going to be higher because
it was exactly what they were looking for. You send them to a great page that’s got zero resistance.
Remember you’re going to need a custom landing page for each one of those, keyword groups. And so as
you look at page search, if you didn’t run it that way in the past, and if you didn’t have it dialed in and
that way I would suggest take another look, because it really can be very, very effective.

00:36:09:24 – 00:36:30:27
It can be very, very profitable for you. But the biggest mistake that we see with DIYers is they send their
pay per click traffic back to that home page. There’s so many things that a potential customer can do
from that home page. There’s so many different avenues, so many different things that they can click on
while landing pages so important the landing page only has on it what we want them to do.

00:36:30:29 – 00:36:51:24
We see a dramatic change in companies PPC campaigns just by implementing these basics. Simple tactics
that I’m revealing to you here. A good question is what’s a good conversion rate for pay per click? We
look for 25 to 30%, 3 to 5% is the industry norm. That’s what we optimize for. You know, we don’t get it,
you know, in every market.

00:36:51:24 – 00:37:12:05
But certain markets it’s a bit lower. But if it’s at least 20%, we feel there’s room for improvement. And
remember 3 to 5% is the industry standard. If you’re doing between 3 and 5% of your PPC ads, you’re
doing well on your conversion rate. The next question here is are you active on social media like
Facebook, Google profile, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok?

00:37:12:09 – 00:37:29:25
Do you have these profiles set up? Are you active on them? And most times when I talk with auto repair
shops about social media and ask, you know, and I ask, are you leveraging or tapping into social media,
most respond with, how is that going to help me? Well, well, you know, why would anybody want to
follow me on social media?

00:37:29:29 – 00:37:50:24
They ask, you know, and there’s some truth to that. You know, the relevance of social media for auto
repair services. You know, it’s much different than the relevance in restaurants. There’s a much different
play there. With that said, we definitely should be tapping into social media as a mechanism to build
authority, to build community awareness and to ultimately drive more repeat referral business.

00:37:50:26 – 00:38:10:15
If we can get our potential customers to like us on social media to connect with us on social media, we’re
going to remain top of mind with them. So when it comes time for them to need our services, which
often isn’t too long with automobile repair, we want to be the ones that they think of. Posting content
for the sake of posting content does no good whatsoever.

00:38:10:16 – 00:38:34:01
I want to be clear on that. It’s only when people like and interact with the post posts must be authentic
with authentic content. These type of posts are going to go much further. If you’re videoing yourself or
your technicians are trained to video themselves and you post that on social media, that will be much
more effective to become the best known auto repair shop in your market.

00:38:34:01 – 00:38:52:11
That’s what you want to do. Like, you want to shift from generic social media content to really creating
custom content that makes you stand out from the competition, you know, takes it takes a lot of energy.
I think the best way to do it is to get your superstar tech, and we’ve always got that one tech that likes to
be in the limelight, right?

00:38:52:14 – 00:39:11:24
Well, empower that guy, have him start taking selfies, have him start interviewing the customers, you
know. How was it, why did you choose us? Would you recommend this to your friends? If you would do
that, you’re going to start. You’re going to stand out from your competition. And, maybe a couple of your
techs want to step into that role.

00:39:11:27 – 00:39:28:07
The other piece is, email marketing. I think this is a big opportunity that most auto repair service
companies are not taking advantage of. You also want to be sending out a newsletter at least once a
month to your customer base. This is something super simple. As long as you do it consistently. It’s one
of the first that we set up.

00:39:28:07 – 00:39:48:11
Among many things, when we take on a new client, it’s important to keep your brand fresh in customers
minds. So sending them a really valuable piece of information that can help them about their
automobile maintenance, you know, every single month without trying to sell them anything is a
fantastic way to do that. This is low hanging fruit. How much does it cost you to send out an email blast?

00:39:48:18 – 00:40:17:27
Nothing, right? We want to be sure that we’re remaining top of the mind with our current customer
base. They’re hearing from us again and again so that they remember us the next time they need that
service, and they refer you to their friends. I know some shops, regardless of whether they booked a job
or whether they were, just an inquiry or they customer gets added to their email database and they
started putting out, monthly newsletter just to conversational, you know, you know, checking newsletter.

00:40:18:04 – 00:40:44:06
They said that that was one of the key pillars that helped them to remain top of mind to get more
business and grow other companies. A lot of you guys know that success is hard work. So the more
things that that you’re doing that your competitors isn’t, it gives you that edge and all these little edges
add up to huge profits and your competitors standing around twiddling their thumbs, wondering why
you’re getting so much business or how you got so lucky.

00:40:44:08 – 00:41:05:16
Are you taking advantage of email marketing? If not, get it started. You already have a customer
database. You can easily send out a newsletter out and you you can put that in place tomorrow. So are
we active on social media? Are we using that to create better relationships with our customers? Are you
getting engagement on social media and are you updating your profiles on a consistent basis?

00:41:05:19 – 00:41:23:14
Like do you have somebody that’s that’s your job? Have you, signed that superstar tech that can shoot 1
to 2 videos per week for you to really stand out in your marketplace? I really think the future for those
auto repair shops is leveraging lead automation follow ups offer. These are the shops that will definitely
stay ahead of the pack.

00:41:23:16 – 00:41:48:06
I think this is one of the biggest challenges facing automotive service companies, is following up with
leads within three minutes or less. It’s not about generating more leads most. A lot of the times you guys
have an abundance of leads in your market, right? There’s plenty of ways that you can generate leads
and get the phones ringing. I think most auto repair shops aren’t converting leads at a high enough level,
and the main reason they don’t is what I call speed lead.

00:41:48:09 – 00:42:07:25
Research shows that you have a 95% chance on getting the book job. If you’re the first shop to talk to the
customer about their particular problem, a chat is the way to open up that conversation to be the first
one. How many of you agree? Like, there’s a little bit of between the amount of leads that you generate
and the amount of those leads that actually convert in the book jobs.

00:42:07:27 – 00:42:25:16
And the reason is from 50 to 60% of inbound leads go converted. It’s like, they called it and they didn’t
get an answer or they call them and they just weren’t ready to book right then and there and then
research proves that, you know, 90% of web forms, they don’t convert. They fill out that form, and it’s
like we’re leads go to die.

00:42:25:17 – 00:42:45:12
We don’t get to them fast enough. You know, when you have automations in place, you automatically,
notify you automatically get know somebody fills out a form. Imagine the impact that will have on your
revenues over the course of time. Leads are not followed up within 15 minutes. Go cold. Like if you’re
not calling them in 5 to 15 minutes, they’ve already gone to somebody else.

00:42:45:14 – 00:43:07:15
That’s what some research says. But I follow the research that proves that you’re 21 times more likely to
get the book job if you follow up with them within five minutes of them contacting you. Also, the
average customer needs to be followed up 5 to 7 times before they book. So somebody calling in and
asking you about a service and they don’t book and you say, they’re going to say, I’m going to call around
and they hang up and that leads dead.

00:43:07:15 – 00:43:23:15
Now you’re going to touch up, you’re going to touch that person 5 to 7 more times. Imagine how many
more book jobs you’re going to get per month, per year. There’s no way to chase down all these
opportunities manually. That’s why there’s software to do that. But we know that if they didn’t book, we
could convert the lion’s share of them.

00:43:23:15 – 00:43:43:00
If we followed up, if we’d follow through. And the other reason is today’s customers really prefer to
interact via text by default, and we’re not giving them the opportunity to do that via two way text
messaging. Hopefully you are on your website, but if not, it’s something you need to get started on. Or if
you have two way text messaging on your website, but it’s not working well.

00:43:43:03 – 00:43:59:29
We know the reason for that. Give us a call. The answer to this problem is to leverage lead follow up
automation software. What’s beautiful is you guys have this technology now where those unconverted
leads can get followed up within two minutes or less. They can get a call, they can get an email, they can
get an SMS message.

00:44:00:01 – 00:44:20:28
It’s all done automatically through automations. And you can put automation in place. For those that
don’t convert. You need to be sure that these, potential customers are going to get touched at least five
times. If you guys don’t do anything else from today’s session, please implement this. We have a tool
called auto Shop AMP, which is standard with all of our digital marketing growth programs.

00:44:21:03 – 00:44:43:16
Or there’s a standalone option. If you’re interested, you can go to auto repair SEO. Com forward slash
ASC, a auto shop amp, auto repair SEO, dot com forward slash LSA. We want our leads to get an
immediate text message, an immediate call, and we want, have flows that follow up with leads that
don’t book right away at least 5 to 10 times.

00:44:43:18 – 00:45:08:29
That is going to immediately increase our revenues. If we’re looking at our ability to grow our auto repair
service company, then we’re looking at how to really be on the cutting edge of our marketing. We have
to make sure that we have our tracking information and the key things we want to track our traffic
trends, right. We all want Google Analytics on our websites so we can know how many people got to the
website, what pages they were on, how long were they on those pages?

00:45:09:01 – 00:45:26:15
You know, this is very easy to set up. We should all have this in place. You should be tracking your
rankings on Google for your keywords every month. You should look, what did I go up? Did I go down for
this particular keyword? You should know how you’re coming up in your market for those keywords your
customers are typing on Google.

00:45:26:15 – 00:45:49:21
And then with Google Maps, are you in the local three pack? Are you in the top spot on the local three
pack? Where are you in the local three pack or where are you in, rankings? To get in the local three pack,
you need to know that information. Somebody on your team needs to be monitoring that and making
decisions on what new content needs to be written, what citations need to be built, what new strategies
can you implement to move up in the organic listings?

00:45:49:28 – 00:46:09:10
We need to absolutely have core tracking in place. You need to have every one of your leads tracked
down to the source, so that you can see what came from Google Maps, what came from organic, what
came from your PPC. That way, you can optimize your results for what’s working best and then I really
think you want to tie that back to your CRM, right?

00:46:09:12 – 00:46:27:10
You know, you can easily see how much with, with that tracking in place, you can edit how many leads
were generated. What’s the average cost per lead? You know, what is your return on investment per lead
source? We’ve covered a lot, but a couple of the key things are really want to make sure set in for you.

00:46:27:16 – 00:46:50:06
There’s been a shift that has already happened from customers wanting to call in, to book their service
to customers wanting to do two way text messaging and then get on the front end of that, give your
customers the ability to text with you directly from your website. You want to be thinking about how do
you create those relationships with your communications, with your customers, so that over time you
can really dominate your local market?

00:46:50:08 – 00:47:08:20
So the winners are going to be the ones that can convert the one time buyer to the repeat buyer better
than their competitors. I hope you’re clear on some of the things that you can implement. It’s been a
pleasure to be here and provide you this information. Thanks for taking your valuable time to be with me
today, and take action to learn how you can improve your company’s online presence.

00:47:08:23 – 00:47:28:17
If you want any help or you got any questions with anything that I went over today, you can get in touch
with us and schedule a discovery call. Just go to Auto Repair echo.com. You’ll see a discovery call link
there. We always speak with the shop owner first to see if we may be a good fit for that particular shop,
as we’re not a good fit for, you know, a lot of shops we work with specific lines.

00:47:28:17 – 00:47:36:01
I’ll just go to our auto repair select com and click on the discovery call at the top of the page. And that’s
that. That’s a wrap. Thank you for your time.