Summer is a busy time in the auto repair industry, and 2020 was no exception.
But as the seasons change to fall and winter, we notice that fewer people are taking their vehicles in for repairs. Of course, this varies from state to state. Auto repair shops in colder climates may still see a steady flow of customers as drivers winterize their vehicles.
In most places, a slow down in business is to be expected.
While there may be fewer walk-ins, there are several ways shop owners and service writers can stimulate business and maintain a healthy sales funnel.
Looking at Your Sales Funnel
Your sales funnel can tell you a lot about the flow of your business.
Before ramping up marketing and lead gen tactics (strategies to get new business into the sales funnel), it’s important to look at what’s already in the funnel.
If you already have work in the shop or customers to follow up with, those jobs are going to be the easiest to target and move through the sales process because they’re already halfway there.
Also, by focusing on the bottom of the funnel first, you can identify any hold-ups and make room for new work to come in the door, leading to a more efficient workflow and overall sales process.
Work in the Shop Waiting to Be Completed
Before going out of your way to bring new business in the door, look at the current jobs already in the shop.
Are there any holdups? If so, be sure to take care of those so that you can get those vehicles repaired and out the door, and then collect payment on that work.
If there's a bottleneck at the bottom of your funnel, you probably want to address that before bringing a bunch of new work through the door.
Tek-Tip: Use Realtime RO Reporting on the Shop Dashboard
By looking at the “job board view” of Tekmetric’s shop dashboard, shop owners and service writers can see a snapshot of what’s going on in the shop at any given moment.
You can look at the number of dollars you’re sitting on in the “work not started” status.
If an RO has been approved but the work hasn’t been started and you’re not sure why this is a good opportunity to talk to your technicians to see what the holdup is.
If it seems like there are many jobs that are delayed, it might be time to consider hiring more help, provide coaching, or create a more efficient process.
Customers with estimates waiting to be approved
After taking care of work that’s already in the shop, the next easiest target for more work is going to be anyone who you’ve already sent an estimate to that hasn’t approved the work.
Chances are, these guests are shopping around for the best estimate. But in some cases, customers get sidetracked and may have simply forgotten to follow up.
Giving these folks a courtesy call to say, "I just wanted to follow up to personally answer any questions that you may have about the work that we're recommending" is a great way to earn their business because it shows that you care about fixing their problem and that you didn’t forget about them.
Even if your shop isn’t the cheapest by a long shot, customers who are shopping around are likely to see the value in going with the shop that is attentive enough to give them a call back to check-in.
Tek-Tip: Use the Tekmetric Job Board to See the Status of Estimates
Tekmetric’s job board uses icons to show service advisors the status of an estimate.
The paper airplane means that an estimate was sent to a guest, but it hasn’t been opened.
Once the customer opens the estimate, the icon will change into an eyeball. Near the icon, it will also tell you how long ago it has been since the estimate was sent or viewed. Service advisors and shop owners can use this information to start a conversation with their customers.
Tekmetric also has two different views of the job board: column view and list view.
In list view, you can prioritize the order of those estimates to put the people who have viewed it at the top, the people who received it next, and then everyone else who you haven't quite finished up with at the bottom.
So now you have a priority of who you can start calling.
Declined Jobs & ROs Saved for Later
Further up the sales funnel are your declined jobs and ROs saved for later. It’s important to remember that many vehicle owners wait until right before a critical event to get their vehicles repaired.
For instance, if someone brings their truck into the shop to fix their suspension and you notice that their brake pads should be replaced soon, the customer may wait a few weeks or months until they feel like their brakes are just about to scrape the metal.
Depending on the condition of the brakes, a service advisor might put it on the estimate (and in this scenario, the truck owner declines the job to focus on their suspension) or, if it seems like the brakes do in fact have a few months of mileage left, they may save it as an RO for later.
Declined jobs and ROs saved for later are great ways to reconnect with a guest.
A simple courtesy call to check in with an existing customer who may need work soon is an excellent way to remind them that their vehicle needs maintenance before a critical event occurs, and it's also an opportunity to bring more work in the door.
Tek-Tip: Use Tekmetric’s Declined Job Report and Customer History
Tekmetric’s declined job report consolidates all of your shop’s declined jobs in one easy to view list.
During slow months, your service advisors can open the declined jobs report and go down the list, using notes to determine why the customer declined the job and whether or not they might be interested in revisiting the work soon.
To take this one step further, the service advisor can also look at the customer’s history to determine if there are any hold-ups to getting certain repair work.
For instance, if the customer history shows that they come into the shop frequently but tend to spend small amounts at a time, you can make them an offer or throw in a free oil change to sweeten the deal.
Generate New Customers with Marketing
Once you’ve worked your way up the sales funnel to complete any jobs in the queue and catch existing customers who either haven’t responded to your estimate or need work soon, you can start focusing on catching the attention of new customers.
When it comes to generating new business, the initial questions to ask yourself are, “Where are my target customers?” and “Where is my existing business coming from?”
By keeping track of your marketing sources—referrals, promotions, mailers, social media channels, etc.—you can get a better sense of the best place to put your efforts.
Every time a new customer comes in, it’s good practice to ask them, “How did you hear about us?” If it’s an existing customer, you can also ask, “What brings you in today?”
They may just tell you that they need work done, but sometimes they’ll answer with a certain promotion or advertisement, which can help you gauge the effectiveness of certain efforts.
If it seems like a certain tactic works better than others, that may be the first marketing effort to invest more money in when times are slow.
Tek-Tip: Use Tekmetric’s Marketing Source Report to Gauge the Effectiveness of Your Marketing
Tekmetric’s RO Marketing Source report gives shop owners a clear view of how successful each marketing effort is in terms of total sales, new sales, repeat sales, GP dollars, GP percent, and close ratio.
These metrics not only show you where your audience spends the most time but also shows you which segment of your audience is bringing in the most profit.
For instance, you may notice that Facebook brings in a lot of ROs, but you have the highest close ratio with people who read Yelp reviews.
If that’s the case, you may want to solicit more positive Yelp reviews from customers.
Accelerating Your Shop’s Business Takes a Comprehensive Approach
It’s important to consider your entire sales funnel when trying to boost the amount of work and dollars coming through your shop.
While marketing is a great way to get your name out there and bring new vehicles and faces into your shop, it’s just as important to nurture the relationships that you already have.
If it seems like there’s an existing customer that you can help with service, it’s a good idea to reach out and check in on them.
As always, keeping track of your job history, customer preferences, declined jobs, work in progress, and how your customers hear about your business is going to make it a lot easier to make calls and pull the right levers.
While this may seem like a lot to keep track of, a well-organized, easy to use shop management software like Tekmetric can make collecting and reviewing this information feel like second nature.
Digital Vehicle Inspection software enables auto repair shops to go beyond a traditional paper system for inspections and repair order estimates.
Customers have become accustomed to a digital experience every time they shop, and having their car fixed is no different. Auto repair shops need to update their processes to meet those expectations. When look specifically at auto repair shops, there are even more opportunities to go digital beyond receipts.
Printed estimates may seem like a professional way to present work to customers. But the problem is that paper estimates don’t really show drivers what’s wrong with their vehicles.
The result? Customers approve a small sliver of work, or worse, go to another auto repair shop for a second opinion.
Digital vehicle inspections not only save time and paper but also build trust and enhance the customer experience. Not to mention, they help sell larger repairs and increase customer loyalty.
Before you sign, make sure the shop management software is worth the commitment
Committing to shop management software is a real decision. The right platform runs your front counter, bays, reporting, and customer communications. The contract you sign shapes how your shop operates every day.
That’s exactly why the contract deserves scrutiny before you sign it. A confident vendor will answer hard questions plainly. A shaky one is vague. The five questions below are designed to help you tell the difference and to keep you from getting locked into a contract that doesn't serve your shop.
Here’s what to ask before you sign anything.
1. How flexible is the contract, and do you have to commit to a full year?
What to ask: Do you offer month-to-month billing, or is an annual contract the only option? What happens at renewal?
Why it matters: Your shop isn't static. Car count swings with the seasons, you might open a second location, or you might simply want to prove the software works before you commit long-term. A rigid 12-month lock-in removes all of that flexibility and puts the risk on you.
What a good answer sounds like: A vendor that believes in its product will let you choose. Tekmetric offers flexible month-to-month billing or a discounted annual plan, with no long-term contracts required. That structure means you can scale with your season instead of renegotiating, and the annual plan becomes a discount you opt into — not a cage you're stuck in.
And if a contract is the very thing keeping you stuck somewhere else? That doesn't have to be a dealbreaker. Tekmetric routinely works with shops that want to switch but are locked into other contracts and frees them up to make the move. Tekmetric customers also see an increase in their ARO after switching.
2. What does support actually look like after I sign?
Support quality is invisible during the sales process and unavoidable afterward. Plenty of shops sign up on the strength of a great demo and then discover that help means a ticket queue and a long wait. When your shop management system goes sideways, every minute is a car you can’t check out. Where that support sits matters too — a U.S.-based team understands how your shop actually runs and speaks your language, literally and operationally.
“There is one support number to call when there’s an issue. There hasn’t been an issue. At all. It’s amazing.” -Andrew Klement, Finley River Auto & Diesel
Ask any vendor directly where their support team is located and how a live person is reached during your busiest hours.
3. How open is the platform, and will it work with the tools I already use?
Your shop already runs on a tech stack — parts suppliers, QuickBooks, labor guides, a payment setup. Software that can’t connect to those tools forces double data entry and manual workarounds that eat the time you were trying to save. A closed platform quietly becomes a tax on your team every day.
A platform should meet your shop where it is. Tekmetric connects to more than 70 integrations consolidated into one workflow, spanning parts ordering, accounting, and more. Shops feel the difference when it works.
“They integrate so seamlessly, it’s amazing how quickly when we turn an RO on or open it up and approve it that it jumps into AutoVitals for the technicians.” -Kelsey Lancaster, Performance Automotive Repair
Ask the vendor to confirm your specific vendors are supported before you sign. An open platform will have a clear, published integration list.
4. What do you actually guarantee about onboarding?
Onboarding is where good software deals go bad. If setup drags for weeks, or if you’re left to figure it out, the time savings you were promised evaporate, and your team’s trust in the new system goes with them. This is the single most common place buyers get burned.
You want a person accountable for your launch, not a self-serve checklist. Tekmetric assigns a dedicated onboarding manager and is often praised for simple onboarding. Most shops are up and running within a week, not dragged through a monthlong setup. That speed shows up on the floor, too.
“I mastered it within a week. … I have new employees starting all the time and I know that within a day or two they can write up a customer, build estimates, cash out a customer, make appointments.” -Leroy Ingram, Ooroo Auto Care
Your existing customer and vehicle data comes with you, so you’re not starting from a blank screen. Ask any vendor for a realistic timeline, who your point of contact is, and how your data gets moved over before you sign.
5. What happens if it isn’t the right fit?
Nobody signs up planning to leave, but how a vendor handles the exit tells you how they think about the relationship. A technology company counting on lock-in rather than results is a business betting you won’t be happy enough to stay by choice. The freedom to walk away is what makes staying a real decision.
A month-to-month option is itself a form of freedom. It means a vendor has to earn your business every month rather than bank on a signature. Tekmetric’s no-long-term-contract structure reflects that mindset, and your shop’s data is yours. Don’t let a fear of switching hold your shop back.
“We were just scratching our heads like why we hadn’t been doing this for a long time.” -Steve Flones, KC Auto Clinics
Still, it’s fair to ask any vendor to walk you through how you’d wind things down and take your records with you if the fit ever changed. A confident technology vendor answers that plainly.
The through-line: confidence answers questions
Notice what all five questions have in common. A platform that’s confident in the results it delivers doesn’t need to trap you. It offers flexibility, real support, open integrations, stands behind onboarding, and lets you leave if it’s not working. Lock-in is what vendors reach for when the product can’t meet shop demands.
That’s the lens to bring into every demo. You’re not just buying features — you’re choosing a partner for how your shop runs every day. Make them earn your signature and continued business.
Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Tekmetric Sunil Patel joined Editor Chris Jones on Ratchet+Wrench Radio to talk about how shop management software suites are changing the landscape of the auto repair industry, especially when it comes to building relationships and communicating effectively.
Sunil also touched on the history of some of Tekmetric’s relationships and how Tekmetric makes sure the voices of shop owners are heard.
Listen here, or catch some of the highlights below.
Note: some of the following answers have been condensed for clarity and brevity.
Relationship-Building 101: Laying Down a Solid Foundation
Jones: The last time we saw each other was at WorldPac STX in Orlando. And that’s where you guys announced a partnership with Advance Auto Parts. I know a lot of our readers have seen it, but can you share a little bit about the details with our audience, just from your own words and perspective?
Patel: So we’ve had a great relationship with Advance Auto Parts for a very long time. And we wanted to leverage the relationship to try to get more shops to use Tekmetric, and it just happened to be the right place, right time.
Side note: For those that don’t know, Advance Auto Parts actually owns WorldPac and Sunil Patel’s relationship with both goes way back. Before co-founding Tekmetric, Patel owned an auto repair shop that was one of the highest purchasers of parts from WorldPac in Houston for almost a decade.
Jones: That’s kind of cool to see how the relationship evolved over the years.
Patel: It’s a big company. It’s not like turning a speedboat, it’s like turning a steamship. Sometimes it just takes time to let some of these relationships play out. It affects so many people. We have to be absolutely sure of how this is going to play out, and how it’s going to work.
Using Shop Management Software to Get Everyone on the Same Page
Jones: So let’s talk about shop ownership a little bit. You were once a shop owner kind of in the Dark Ages before we had these robust shop management software suites. What was it like for you to operate on these limited tools?
Patel: You know, it was tough. Customers didn't always respond back, and we would always have to follow up with a phone call. There was always a disconnect.
We were probably ahead of our time 12 years ago trying to get some of this stuff out. Tekmetric used a combination of manual processes and text messaging. Text messaging was pretty popular back then, but MMS or multimedia messaging or picture messaging was not so popular.
So adding that in the mix with communications and whatnot into one platform has been very paramount to the success of our company because it closes the loop between the vehicle owner, the shop owner, the technician, and the service writer.
It keeps everybody on the same platform and communications thread. That way everybody has full visibility into what's going on with the repair of that vehicle to ensure a timely repair—ultimately making the customer happy.
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