This email came in a couple of days ago from one of our shop owner clients... "I had a very good tech stop by yesterday. He read the ad and stopped in." Most shops are losing great techs because their ads read like a DMV form. Meanwhile, there are great technicians driving past your shop every day, but they never have a good reason to walk through your door. Here's what works: ✓ Write ads that speak human, not corporate ✓ Make it easy to apply ANY way that is convenient for them (text, call, or walk-in) ✓ When someone drops off a resume? Don't let them leave. 💡 Pro move: The moment they hand you that resume, say: "Got 15 minutes? Let's grab a coffee and chat right now." Build rapport immediately. The best techs have options—don't drop the ball and let them get sweet-talked by another shop. Your next A-player might walk in tomorrow (if you invite them). Will you be ready?"

Most shop owners are accidentally sabotaging their own hiring efforts—and they don't even know it. One of the things I like to do when I talk to a shop owner for the first time about hiring is to ask them what they've done in the past that didn't work. I also like to ask what worked for them in the past but that's a topic for another post. I just reviewed 62 of my initial conversations with shop owners over the past 3 months where we discussed their failed technician searches, and here's what shocked me: Every. Single. One. Failed because of outdated beliefs about hiring—not because of a "technician shortage." The brutal truth? The shops struggling to hire are playing by 1995 rules in a 2025 market. Here are the 5 hiring myths that are costing you time, money, and great technicians: Myth #1: "Good fit = one perfect interview" Reality: Top techs often test poorly in interviews but excel on the floor. Skills testing reveals truth that interviews hide. Have you ever hired someone who could talk a good game but when you got them in the shop their hands didn't fit the wrenches? Myth #2: "I need an exact clone of me" Reality: Your next A-player probably works differently than you. Complementary skills > carbon copies. Myth #3: "More applicants = better hiring" Reality: Quality beats quantity. One strategic hire beats 50 mediocre ones. Focus on what you say in your ads to attract the right candidates. It's important to 'prime the pump' with a solid flow of applications coming in but after that, it's all about narrowing down your candidates to the solid performers who are a good skill and culture fit. Myth #4: "I'll wait for the perfect tech I don't have to train" Reality: Hire for attitude, train for skill. You can't train ambition, attitude or aptitude. I get it, sometimes you just need someone who can come in, hit the ground running and produce. Just remember, while you're waiting for unicorns, your competition is stealing all of the coachable techs. Myth #5: "Job boards are enough" Reality: The best techs aren't actively looking. Selective, targeted recruiting that markets your shop outside of the job boards beats passive posting every time.

I had a great discussion with Technician Find community member @David Laird last week about auto repair shop marketing that will help you boost car count AND hire better techs. The quote above is just one of the gems shared by David during the chat. I had a great time mixing it up with David. It turns out that there's a ton of overlap between great marketing and great recruiting and we deep dive into both on this call. IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL DISCOVER: ✅ The 3 marketing mistakes costing shops $5,000-$10,000+ annually (and why they seem "safe") ✅ Why Google Local Service Ads are the #1 opportunity RIGHT NOW (pay-per-lead, not per-click) ✅ The "60-70 page website" strategy that outranks dealers spending 10x your budget ✅ How to get 30-35% close rates on marketing leads (real numbers from real shops) ✅ The "Market Lock" system - why David won't work with your competitors ✅ 3-step Monday morning play to boost car count in 90 minutes KEY TOPICS COVERED: ✔️ The Revenue-Technician Death Spiral ✔️ Why Generic Websites = Generic Results ✔️ What ACTUALLY Works In 2025 To Drive Customers Into Your Shop ✔️ What Is The $10,000 Website Mistake (And How Do You Avoid It)? ✔️ How To Compete with Dealers (Without Their Budget) ✔️ What Are The Hidden Demand Signals in Your Market (And How They Can Make You Money) ✔️ The Shop Success System Explained ✔️ 30-Day Emergency Car Count Plan Here's the direct link to check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To90SVghxfc

Yesterday I heard a story from a client that I had to share. Mike, a shop owner from Dallas called his business coach in a panic. "I just found out through the grapevine that THREE of my best techs are looking at other shops," he said. "One already has an offer. I had no idea they were unhappy." Sound familiar? Here's the kicker: All three techs had been with Mike for 5+ years. They weren't leaving for money. They were leaving because of something Mike never saw coming - they felt invisible. One tech later told him: "You talk to me when something's broken or when I mess up. But you never ask how I'm doing or what would make my job better." Ouch. LESSON: Mike learned something that changed everything: Exit interviews are autopsies. By then, your tech is already gone. What he needed were "Stay Interviews" - proactive, 10-minute weekly conversations that catch problems while you can still fix them. Here's the exact system Mike implemented (that kept all 3 techs from leaving): The Monday Morning Stay Interview Process Step 1: The 3-Question Check-In (5 minutes) Every Monday, Mike asks each of his top techs: 1. "What's one thing that went well for you last week?" 2. "What's one frustration you're dealing with right now?" 3. "If you could change one thing about your job this week, what would it be?" Step 2: The Early Warning Scorecard (2 minutes) Mike tracks these 5 flight-risk indicators weekly: - Energy level (1-10) - Tool/equipment complaints - Customer and team interactions and overall mood - Initiative on jobs (taking on challenges vs. bare minimum) - Water cooler talk (engaged vs. withdrawn) Any score dropping 2+ points = immediate deeper conversation Step 3: The Fix-It Promise (3 minutes) Mike commits to addressing ONE issue each week - even small ones. - Week 1: Fixed the shop fan that had been broken for 6 months - Week 2: Changed the parts ordering process that was driving everyone crazy - Week 3: Started rotating who gets the gravy jobs

Guess who I ran into yesterday during my quick trip to Denver? It was our August leaderboard champ David Laird! We had a delicious breakfast and talked about all of the new ways shops are increasing car counts and keeping productive technicians happy and fed with work. Stay tuned for my upcoming interview with David where he will share the cutting edge strategies that are working right now to keep shops busy with high-quality work. Big congrats to our other community rockstars Rob Morrison and Craig Zale who rounded out the top three last month by contributing their deep industry knowledge and wisdom to the community. As usual, I'd like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to making the Technician Find Community more valuable and useful to our members by posting in August. Here's how the top 9 finished up: 1️⃣ @David Laird 2️⃣ @Rob Morrison 3️⃣ @Craig Zale 4️⃣ @Brian Nerger 5️⃣ @Eric Beachy 6️⃣ @Stephanie Walsh 7️⃣ @Randy Pickering 8️⃣ @Heather Williams 9️⃣ @Patrick Hynes