Why are you in business? To make money? To serve customers? To sell auto parts?
Certainly, all of the above are valid reasons for being in the auto parts business.
But what about Counterman? Why are we in business? Over the years, the staff at Counterman has dedicated itself to help educate and train WD and store personnel on the technical and operational aspects of selling auto parts, products and services to both professional and walk-in customers. As you might guess, this isn’t the most glamorous aspect of being in the media, but we strongly feel this mission is important just the same.
At times, as we manage this magazine as well as the production of our daily industry news e-mail publication, aftermarketNews.com, it’s easy to forget why we’re doing it all in the first place. But, it’s nice to be reminded. Recently that’s just what happened when a large retail store group asked for our permission to post our annual ASE Test Prep articles (which appear every October) on the retailer’s intranet site. It is the retailer’s hope that employees will use it to prepare for upcoming ASE P2 tests. That’s our hope too.
This simple request was a laser shot to my conscious, crystallizing for me the very essence of this magazine: our dedication to helping parts professionals across the industry successfully sell more parts, products and services.
To further this effort, we have created a new addition to the magazine – the Counterman Technical Training Series. The first of these special inserts will appear along with the February issue. Each technical "manual" will include product-specific sales information you can keep right at the counter as a reference tool. At some point during the year, we will also offer the opportunity to store these manuals in a handsome, durable binder you can keep close to the counter, or take with you on sales calls. That way, the manuals will function as a ready reference tool for nearly every product category you sell. More information on how to get a binder will be forthcoming.
Next month, you’ll see the first installment in this series and you’ll read about how we intend to move forward with this concept. In every survey we conduct, at every meeting we attend, at every industry event, we are constantly reminded of the need for clear, concise, current and comprehensive technical product training. The Counterman Technical Training Series seeks to deliver this much-needed information.
Have a great 2005, and let us know what you think of our new Counterman Technical Training Series. We’ll adjust as we go to ensure we are delivering the very best product we possibly can. Thank you for your continued loyal readership.
A Counterman ‘hello’ to AutoZoner Greg Singer who works the counter at AutoZone store #1772 in Macedonia, OH. Greg was the hero who helped my wife Sue install a replacement headlamp in her car. Thanks Greg! |