An Automotive Shop’s Most Expensive Employee

December 2016 was one of the toughest months of my career. At 360 Payments, we had plateaued. It felt like we were working harder than ever but seeing no growth. The long hours, the endless hustle—it was all starting to feel like it wasn’t leading anywhere.

To understand why we were stuck in 2016, you need to rewind five years to 2011. My partner Steve and I were in our early 20s, making well over six figures when we decided to take the leap and start our first business. We put all our personal savings into it and bootstrapped the whole thing. For the first 2.5 years, we didn’t take a paycheck. Even when we finally started getting paid, it was nowhere near what we’d been making before. We worked like crazy, and while we had some early success, it felt more like a rat race than a victory lap. We even got buyout offers, but the idea of going back to working for someone else didn’t sit right with us. We loved what we were doing, but couldn’t break through. Sound familiar?

Now, back to 2016. I had a five-month-old at home and was trying to figure out the juggling act of being a working mom—plus dealing with all the “mom guilt” that comes with it (I’ve since learned that this struggle never really goes away.) We were constantly searching for the next big thing—a new product, a fresh marketing idea—but we were overlooking the one thing that was right in front of us.

That’s when we accidentally hired a consultant.

We didn’t mean to, but it happened through a vendor presentation. He was a charismatic Harvard MBA grad who used sports analogies we could relate to. He spent time assessing our financials, interviewing our team, talking to our customers, and digging into our motivations. Then he hit us with a proposal: spend a full week with him for $30,000. WHAT?

At that point, the most we’d ever spent on anything was a bright green Ford Focus for installing credit card terminals. Could we really justify paying this guy $30,000 for one week of consulting? We did it anyway. And while we probably overpaid, it turned out to be our smartest investment—and the hardest week of my career.

In that week’s time, we white-boarded, dissected our financials, and role-played with the team. We analyzed every employee’s daily tasks and asked “Why?” over and over. On the spot, we cut expenses and hired a new marketing firm. We were in that conference room from 7 AM to 6 PM, with no breaks.

Then came the question that would change everything:
“Who is your most expensive employee?”

I pointed to our highest-paid person. He looked me dead in the eye and said, “Wrong. Who. Is. Your. Most. Expensive. Employee?” I was confused.

How could it not be our highest-paid person? But then he explained:
“Your most expensive employee is your sales leader. He has cost you millions of dollars. Bring him in here right now and fire him.”

I was floored. This was someone I liked—a lot. We played soccer together, he was there when I tore my ACL, his sister made our website. He’d even moved across the country to work with us in person. Was he the sales leader who could sell anything to anyone? No. But could he have cost us millions? Slowly, I started to realize he had. It wasn’t about his salary—it was about the missed opportunities. The consultant showed us how our sales leader’s failure to hit targets had cost us big in terms of revenue and profitability.

A few minutes later, the consultant repeated: “Bring him in and fire him.” I didn’t. I couldn’t. Instead, I demoted him immediately, even though I now realize that wasn’t the right call. But here’s the point: we made some incredibly tough decisions that week—and our growth from that point forward speaks for itself.

At Promotive, we talk to automotive professionals all day long, and I often think back to this experience when helping shop owners. So, let me ask you: Who is YOUR most expensive employee?

If I had to answer for you, I’d say it’s your Service Advisor. They answer calls, communicate with customers, and their ability to “sell the job” directly impacts your revenue—and your technicians’ paychecks.

Ask yourself:

• What tools are you using to measure their success?
• Do you know their conversion rate for getting people into the shop?
• What about their rate of selling recommended services after an inspection?

Now, take it a step further:

• Is your Service Advisor your #1 employee?
• Are they converting 30% of calls into inspections? What if that number was 40%?
• Are they getting a 40% approval rate? What if it was 60%?
• How would these improvements affect your top and bottom lines—and boost your technicians’ loyalty?

Building a $40 million business taught me one critical lesson: your Sales Leader needs to be your #1 priority. If your gut is telling you otherwise, it might be time to make a tough decision. Recognizing where you’re being held back, though uncomfortable, is the first step to significant growth. And if that blocker happens to be one of your employees, Promotive can help make those transitions a little easier.

Curious about the second-most important lesson we learned growing a business from 0 to 40 million? Stay tuned for part 2.