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

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

I know how techs feel. Not because I'm empathetic. Not because I've read studies. Not because they've told me (but they have, repeatedly). I know because I've been processed through the same machine that's crushing them. A couple of years ago, I extracted myself from a multi-location corporate MSO contract. They had dozens of stores and four layers of centralized management we had to deal with. Seven-day approval cycles for a simple Facebook ad. Every decision gutted and reconstructed by someone who hadn't touched a wrench or written copy in a decade. By week three, me and my team were just another vendor number. My expertise – built over years of filling bays with great techs – meant nothing. Data meant nothing. Results meant nothing. The only thing that mattered was not disturbing the bureaucracy. One Tuesday, after the fourth strategy pivot in two weeks, I sat in my car and had a revelation that changed everything: This suffocating, soul-crushing experience wasn't just frustrating me. It was giving me insider intelligence your competitors will never have. **I now know EXACTLY how your techs feel in dealers and corporate chains.** Not theoretically. Viscerally. That senior tech with 20 years' experience whose workflow suggestion disappears into the regional management void? I've been him. That young tech who spots an upsell opportunity but can't get anyone with decision authority to listen? I've been him. That A-player who's slowly dying inside because their expertise has been reduced to an employee ID number? I've been him. Here's what that corporate MSO taught me that changes everything for you: **Large organizations aren't accidentally soul-crushing. They're STRUCTURALLY soul-crushing.** When I finally told that MSO what wasn't working, you know what they said? "That's just how large organizations work. It's the price of scale." They were right. And they handed you a weapon they can never defend against. You see, as an independent shop owner, you possess something chains can never replicate, no matter how much they pay:

You might already be breaking the law! One of the members in a business mastermind I'm in posted a video that you have to see. Starting September 1st, Texas classifies ALL business texts as telemarketing. That means $10,000+ in fines if you text during "curfew hours" or skip the new state registration. One wrong text = massive penalties. Watch this 4-minute emergency briefing → Get the exact compliance checklist, registration steps, and done-for-you SOP before Texas enforcement starts hunting violators. Don't let a text message torpedo your shop. Here's the video link: Texas Just Changed SMS Rules and It’s Wild! — Here's what you need to know

The Good News and The Bad News Last week, one of our clients called me frustrated as hell. "Chris, the ads are working TOO well. My phone's ringing off the hook. I've got 50+ applications. But they're all jiffy lube refugees who think changing oil makes them a master tech." Sound familiar? Here's the thing - this is actually GOOD news. You've proven you can get attention. You've proven techs in your area are looking. You've proven your ads are visible. Now we just need to dial in who RESPONDS to them. The #1 Rule Most Shops Get Wrong You can't improve what doesn't exist. I see shops all the time trying to write the "perfect" ad with 15 requirements, ASE certifications, specific tool lists, and diagnostic experience minimums. Then they wonder why they get zero applications. Here's the truth: Getting applications - even bad ones - is Step 1. You NEED that flow first. Once you've proven you can get 10-20 applications consistently, THEN you add the filters. Think of it like tuning an engine. You don't start with the fine adjustments. You get it running first, then you dial it in. The Sweet Spot Strategy That Actually Works Here's exactly when and how to transition from quantity to quality: Phase 1: Cast the Wide Net (Weeks 1-2) Start with an ad that's 80% culture and benefits, 20% basic requirements. Example headline: "Experienced Automotive Technician - $90K - $120K, No Weekends, Family Shop" Why? You're testing the market. You're building momentum. You're getting your ad noticed. Phase 2: Add Your First Filter (Week 3) Once you're getting 10 - 20 applications per week, add ONE specific requirement to your headline. Change to: "Diagnostic Technician - Must Know Scan Tools: $90K - $120K, No Weekends, Family Shop" Watch what happens. You'll drop from 20 applications to maybe 12. But 3-4 of those 12 will actually be qualified. Phase 3: Get Surgical (Week 4+) Now that you know applications are flowing, get specific about exactly what you need. Final version: "Master Diagnostic Tech – Lab Scope Pro Required: $90K - $120K, No Weekends, Family Shop" This might only get you 5-8 applications. But those 5-8? They're the real deal.