Building a Solid Base for Refinish Success

Business potential appears to be excellent for jobbers targeting the paint and refinish aftermarket sector.

According to a report issued in August of this year by the U.S.-based Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, “Paint and body equipment (PBE) jobbers are bullish on the future collision repair market, with 92% of those surveyed expecting an increase in sales for the next 12 months.”

There are, however, some dissenting views on the challenges facing the market. Many collision repair facilities are struggling to meet their expected profit levels, and can put pressure on jobbers to help them. The smart jobbers know that it is performance, not price, that will help them most.

Jobbers serving the paint and refinish market face a threefold challenge if they are to do well in this segment. Not only must jobbers have a firm grasp of the management aspects of this product and equipment category within their own business; they must also understand the management challenges facing their customers–the bodyshop and its refinishing operations–and jobbers must also have technical knowledge if they are to help their customers with application and product issues.

To help jobbers meet these challenges, paint and refinish suppliers offer an extensive array of training and education programs. Courses fall into two basic categories: those designed primarily for applicators, and courses aimed at jobbers or distributors.

In addition, training and training-oriented information is offered by a number of industry organizations. I-CAR, for example, stresses the importance of training and cites these benefits:

* Higher quality of work

* Reduced amount of rework

* Improved cycle time and more throughput

* Reduced liability

* Increased profit

* Increased volume

* Improved relations with other industry professionals

* Improved image of the collision industry and individual businesses

I-CAR itself offers a series of modularized individual training programs specific to refinishing.

Tracey Blouin, I-CAR’s Canadian field manager, says I-CAR courses are open to all industry segments. “I would encourage jobbers to take the core courses, which provide very good fundamentals and an overview of refinish issues, and then they can build on that. There are a number of training paths, and once jobbers have a good grounding, they can decide in which areas they would benefit most from further training. Our courses are generic, rather than being brand-specific, and this provides an excellent base for further training.”

Blouin notes that a diverse group of people from the industry takes I-CAR courses, and this results in an excellent interchange of information among those attending. “This interactivity is important to the learning process and productive for the participants,” she says.

Refinish programs offered by I-CAR include:

* Detailing

* Refinish equipment and VOC regulations

* Surface preparation and masking

* Colour theory, application, tinting and blending

The Canadian Collision Industry Forum (CCIF) has targeted education and training as one of the three key issues it addresses on a long-term strategic basis.

“The industry is well-served by the training and education provided by paint and refinish product manufacturers,” says Mike Bryan, CCIF administrator. “One of the keys in developing training further is to deliver more of it in formats that are accessible and convenient.

“For example, some components of training have to be done ‘live,’ but other aspects can be conveyed by satellite and the Internet, and the industry understands this need for various types of delivery. Some shops don’t know what they don’t know, so there is also a continual need for soft skills or paint and refinish management education and training,” Bryan says.

The Education and Training Committee of CCIF has focused on creating a database of all technical and non-technical training available to the industry in Canada. It is also encouraging the development of training in distance learning format.

At the supplier level, BASF offers a variety of courses at different centres including Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. Programs include certification courses and cover company systems-specific topics as well as management issues such as productivity and profitability.

Here’s a sampling of the courses:

* Introduction to Carizzma

* R-M colour adjustment techniques

* Intro to VisionPLUS online

* R-M Certification program

* 22/55 Certification program

Ron Tarini, BASF regional training instructor, says training in both management and technology is important for jobbers who want to be successful in this market. “Basically, shops should be calling their jobber when they have a problem. If the shop can talk to the jobber and get the answers or information it needs, that really helps to establish a good customer bond and relationship. This is something that jobbers should be striving for to establish better relationships.”

Tarini believes jobbers can benefit from the technical courses, and there are also management classes that jobbers could find helpful. “Jobbers can attend bodyshop/paint shop management courses in order to gain a better understanding of the business. In addition, one of the courses I offer is a specific two-day product workshop overview, which is good for jobbers who want to improve their product knowledge.”

Tarini says there are a number of BASF courses jobbers could find especially useful, including Distribution Dynamics, Introduction to VisionPLUS Online, Paint and Materials Profitability, and Paint Department Profitability. In addition to the product and management training components, safety is a very important factor in BASF training, Tarini emphasizes.

John Martin, zone manager of training for PPG Industries, said that PPG’s Business Development Program features a Distributor Development Series (DDS), which is aimed at the jobber. The series includes the following components:

* Operations Organization

* Sales and Marketing

* Business Planning and Finance

“These programs are focused on a best-practices approach. There is a case study in each of the courses, and we ask the participants what they would do to solve the problems within the case history parameters,” Martin says.

“The classes are normally limited to 20 participants, and we break these down into teams of two or three to work on solutions. We provide laptops and software and a CD pertaining to the case study. The teams make presentations as to how they would address the problems and challenges within the case history. Overall the DDS program has been very well received.”

Noting that relationship building with the collision repair facility is an important aspect of success in paint and refinish, Martin says, “One of the strengths of this series is that the distributors can gain peer-to-peer input and ideas, such as how to serve customers better, how to grow their business, and how to solve common problems. Sharing with peers in this manner–‘here’s what worked for me’–provides real-world solutions. This is a powerful learning tool.”

Martin says that PPG’s courses on technical information are also important because jobbers, who are becoming a “virtual liaison for us with collision centres,” can then coach the collision centres on technical issues.

A training seminar specifically for jobber counterpeople is available from PPG that is designed to improve self-confidence and increase the skills that counter employees need to serve refinish customers. The course is designed to enable students to:

* Handle the customer professionally on the phone and at the counter

* Identify the customer’s needs by asking the right refinish questions

* Accurately locate refinish colours by using all available tools

* Recommend a sound refinish system from PPG technical P-sheets

* Become knowledgeable about the refinish industry’s tools and materials

At DuPont Performance Coatings (DPC), an extensive training and education curriculum is available to jobbers, says Logan Macpherson, marketing communications specialist. He encourages jobbers to review the company’s Jobber Training Curriculum, which is outlined in a detailed, 16-page brochure, which can be downloaded from DuPont’s website (www.performancecoatings.dupont.com).

Macpherson says the training program is primarily focused on technical issues and using the DuPont ColorNet software platform, a colour formula management system designed to simplify and speed up colour formula retrieval and reporting. The system also enables cost and VOC tracking as well as inventory control and a variety of management reports. “A lot of distributors use this system,” Macpherson says.

“We are deeply involved in training and education. The underlying idea in our programs is to start with the basics and then to continue to escalate skills. We call it a career progression program because the program contains all the courses necessary to become more proficient in technical areas and thereby become able to sell more effectively.”

A jobber troubleshooting class on paint defects, for example, features the following tasks:

* Identifying common paint defects

* Identifying common paint contaminants

* Identifying specific paint defects and contaminants and their respective remedies

* Preventing paint defects

The DPC Jobber Training Curriculum is comprised of three schools.

The School of Paint Application & Technology includes a wide variety of technical instruction, including ChromaSystem, surface preparation, corrosion technology, product knowledge – intermediate, colour tools and colour retrieval, fundamentals of paint, safety, and environment.

The School of Business Management includes estimating, cycle time, human resources management, best practices, jobber business plans, and jobber financials.

The School of Career Growth & Development features jobber communications skills, jobber customer-focused selling, and jobber relationship selling.

“We have had a 100% positive reaction from jobbers who have attended our sessions, and we have been sold out on all the courses we offer,” Macpherson says.

Overall, in surveying the paint and refinish training and education landscape, manufacturers are providing jobbers with the targeted tools required for success in this demanding market. Through these learning materials, jobbers can gain the expertise they need to be solutions providers for their customers and build strong knowledge-based relationships with them.

The inescapable reality is that, as any seasoned painter knows, you can’t just cover up a problem; it will simply rise to the surface. You need to fix it from the bottom up. Providing solutions to the collision repair and refinish industry through training is no different.

Knowledge-Building Club for Jobbers

In addition to extensive technical and management training, such as business-to-business marketing, Akzo Nobel Car Refinishes North America has developed an interesting approach in its management tools and training program. The Masters of Quality Association of Wholesalers is a resource specifically designed for distributors in the United States and Canada.

In addition to gaining access to the company’s secure distributor extranet, the Masters of Quality website is designed to enable distributors to share information, and to learn from others about how to increase sales and profits.

The sales resources centre contains the tools and information that you need to successfully sell all three Akzo Nobel paint brands, according to the company. The site includes customer presentations, product materials, an image gallery, and competitive calculation tools.