Document DD2D9NkNLqg1mMoMBJxjyKeOd

WTe Outlook VOL. 15 NO. 1 BUSINESS BEAT......................................................... 5 NAPA New England jobber first to enroll in 1982's "Go the NAPA Way" sales incentive program Price cutting versus competitive pric ing NAPACOMM changes distribution format Franklin Auto Parts en joys huge turnout at "Go the NAPA Way" dealer meetings. CLINIC WITH A TWIST................................................. 8 NAPA Jobber John Harmon discovers that special interest clinics open up new business opportunities and earn-an A+ in public relations. PLANNING YOUR SPRING CAR CARE DAYS LOCAL ADVERTISING............................................... 12 Effective local advertising doesn't just happen -- it takes forethought and planning. These suggestions should assist you in putting together a local Spring Car Care Days advertising campaign geared for optimum results. PROMOTE IN PRINT................................................. 16 Newspaper articles written about a product, service or car care sugges tions are effective yet inexpensive ways to promote your store name. Here are three new releases you can easily adapt for use in your local newspaper to promote your Spring Car Care Days event. CASH CONTROL: BALANCE IS THE KEY.............. 20 The secret to controlling cash? Balance. Outlined here is one suggested approach to sound cash management. . DATELINE NAPA....................................................... 25 Items of interest to NAPA and its people. P. 25 NAPA OUTLOOK VOL. 15 NO. 1 Chris McLean, Editor & Director of Communications Published periodically in the interest of NAPA Jobbers, Distribution Centers and Manufac turers across the nation. When notifying us on a change of address, please mention NAPA OUTLOOK and give us the old address along with the new address and zip code. Litho in U.S.A. NAPA HEADQUARTERS Suite 1129, Parklane Towers West, Dearborn, Michigan 48126 2 I >*1 V . . v, TV' T'HE" ^ w IMjS . wkcrthefpHof'^e 'ncJpors'&'our ^ ,,,New super eco^y 24 'S'Ze. a Sir* ''Aot" ,tUu iro ;; Sol"// (i *ir Beginning in January, 1982, Mac's will be offer ing a special Spring Clean-Up counter top display, kit number M-483. Each kit contains four units: 1. One case--All-Purpose Cleaner, part number 3300 2. One case-Vinyl, Leather & Plastic Treatment part number 3600 3. One case--Vinyl, Leather & Plastic Treatment part number 3624 4. Counter top display See yourMac's sales representative or Du^otion Centersales managerforyourorden The M-483 counter top display also features consumer refunds of $2 on each bottle,of 3300 All Ptirpdse Gleaher and 3624 Vinyl, Leather & Plastic Treatment, and iSl-on eaeh;bottle;of:3600 Vinyl,Leather and Plastic Treatment M S .V i m *, ^ S 'K >< 1 >v i 1 , Mac's. r*'*!; i 4 ;e! As3hMur \ 4'.' ft- ' ' m ac,,0 U` . :<t4 '' * gpull / < ^7>. - \ J Selling to Your Tough Prospects Outside Selling Skills Review Self-study review of NAPA OSS skills that is designed to be completed in the field without interrupting daily selling activities A convenient learning tool that can be reviewed as often as necessary in short time periods each day Helps outside salespeople identify "hidden markets" -- prospects from the traditional, fleet, farm, and industrialinstitutional markets -- whom they may have overlooked EACH OSS REVIEW KIT CONTAINS: 1 - Audio cassette review tape 1 - 56 page workbook to help you "sell to your tough prospects" CONTACT YOUR DC ? ORDER INFORMATION The Selling Challenge Inside Selling Skills Review Self-study review of NAPA ISS skills that is designed to be completed in the field without interrupting counter sales A convenient learning tool that can be reviewed as often as necessary in short time periods each day Helps inside salespeople recognize opportunities to increase profits through related-item selling EACH ISS REVIEW MASTER KIT CONTAINS: 1 - Audio cassette review tape 1 - 48 page workbook Each ISS master kit is supplemented with as many additional ISS review workbooks as you need at a nominal cost -- $5.00 each. ANOTHER SOUND IDEA FROM NAPA TRAINING AN INSURANCE PROGRAM TAILORED TO YOUR SPECIFIC NEEDS TUCKER'S AUTO SUPPLY SIGNS UP TO "GO THE NAPA WAY" As part of NAPA's efforts to bet ter serve its jobbers, the NAPA Safety Group Insurance Program is designed to meet the specific pro tection needs of the professional automotive parts distributor. A full range of coverages are available under the NAPA Workers' Compensation and Property/Cas ualty* Safety Dividend Program, in eluding: Building, Business Per sonal Property, Car, Crime, Lia bility. Other benefits of this program in clude: Help from your fully trained in surance representative to select the coverages best suited to your needs Premiums not used to pay incur red losses and expenses are re turned to members in the form of savings. An NAPA loss control program to recognize hazards and help achieve maximum savings. A full-time, fully staffed In surance Center to counsel with and assist NAPA Jobbers. In ad dition, your NAPA Insurance Center offers a toll-free phone number (800-241-3202). Under the NAPA Safety Group In surance Program in 1981, dividends declared and payable this past Decem ber were: Worker's Compensation___20.1% Property & Casualty...............6.4% This means that since the incep tion of this program in 1967, over $3,325,000 of insurance premium has been returned to NAPA Job bers through this Safety Group dividend program. As a professional automotive parts distributor, it only makes sense to go with the insurance pro gram that has been formulated for your specific needs. Contact your NAPA Distribution Center repre sentative for more information on the NAPA Safety Group Insurance Program. `Property and casualty dividends may not be paid in Texas and Massachusetts. Joe LoVetere (right) becomes the se cond dealer to enroll in the program at Tucker Auto Supply's dealer meeting. Dick Tucker, owner of Tucker's Auto Supply (with stores in Melrose and Wakefield, MA) was the first NAPA Jobber reported to OUTLOOK to sign up for NAPA's 1982 "Go the NAPA Way" incen tive program. . Tucker, who signed up with the NAPA New England Distribution Center, was closely followed by First jobber enrollee Dick Tucker (left) and Bob Crupi (center), first dealer sign-up, discuss the program with NAPA Mufflers & Shocks represen tative Don Donahue. Bob Crupi, the first dealer to enroll in this program. Crupi, one of 30 dealers that attended Tucker Auto Supply's dealer meeting, owns and operates Bob's Auto Tech. Next to sign up was Joe LoVetere of Joe's Service Center, another of Tucker Auto Supply's good customers. FRANKLIN AUTO PARTS SEES HUGE DEALER TURNOUT TO "GO THE NAPA WAY" Franklin Auto Parts' co-owner Jack Martin explains NAPA's exciting new incentive program to his Acapulco- bound customers. Franklin Auto Parts, with seven stores serviced out of the NAPA Roanoke Distribution Center, has reported huge dealer turnouts at the first of its three scheduled "Go the NAPA Way" dealer meetings. Owners Jack Martin, Alfred Skinnell and Cecil Young elected to of fer Acapulco as the travel desti nation for their incentive program. At their first meeting, held in Rocky Mountain, VA, over 120 dealer customers turned out for a cocktail party and dinner followed by a business meeting to introduce customers to NAPA's 1982 incen tive programs. In the case of Franklin Auto Parts, these include At the first of three scheduled dealer meetings, over 120 customers showed up to find out what NAPA and Franklin Auto Parts has instore for them. all spiff programs, an Acapulco trip, and an additional dealer in centive of their own design. The second meeting, held in Mt. Airy, NC, saw over 85 dealer customers in attendance to learn all about Franklin Auto Parts' ex citing new programs. Owners Martin, Skinnell and Young are planning one more dealer meeting to take place in Altavista, VA. If this meeting is as successful as the first two, by the time the meetings are completed Franklin Auto Parts fully expects to have signed up over 100 of their own customers for 1982's "Go the NAPA Way" incentive program. 5 K NAPACOMM DISTRIBUTION CHANGES TO LIBRARY FORMAT -- Parts Store personnel `""to take advantage of the NAPA COMM training system, NAPA will soon offer a new concept in the dis tribution of NAPACOMM programs. Under the new system, each NAPA Distribution Center will maintain a "core library" of the various audio visual training programs developed for the NAPACOMM system. Based on a library format, NAPA Jobbers will be able to "check out" the NAPACOMM programs they would like to use for the training of their instore personnel. Although the programs will be avail able for your use at no charge, a de posit will be asked for to ensure that the programs are returned to the NAPA Distribution Center library on the pre scribed date. Your NAPA Manufacturers will con tinue to develop practical new NAPA COMM training programs about the products you sell for addition to your NAPA Distribution Center's NAPA COMM library. Watch your mail for the exciting news as to when your NAPA Distribu tion Center's new NAPACOMM library is ready to roll! I Competitive Pricing VS. Price Cutting With so many discount stores vying for today's parts business, the idea of price cutting can start to sound awfully tempting to any parts store owner or manager. But before giving into temptation, he or she had better be sure to have a clear picture of exactly what price cutting entails. There are certain "side effects" of price cutting that, for ail prac tical purposes, can turn the prac tice into more of a financial folly than a profitable business deci sion. For example, a common myth that people often fall prey to is the notion that cutting prices will automatically increase sales which, in turn, will automatically produce greater profits. But too often the reverse proves true. For although it is true that reduced prices can often result in increased sales, rarely will a great enough number of sales be at tained to bring you up to the same level of profitability that you en 6 joyed at normal prices. Why? As your costs of merchandise and other expenses remain fixed, when cutting prices you will have to increase both your sales dollar volume and the amount of mer chandise you handle drastically in order to regain your original profit level. The following data, based on a 25% gross profit figure, should give you some idea of how much of an increase we're talking about. If you cut prices by 5% -- --You must handle 25% more merchandise --You must do 18% more dollar volume If you cut prices 10% -- --You must handle 66y3% more merchandise --You must do 50% more dollar volume If you cut prices by 15% -- --You must handle 150% more merchandise --You must do 112% more dollar volume If you cut prices by 20% -- --You must handle 400% more merchandise --You must do 300% more dollar volume So you see, price cutting may mean increased sales but not necessarily increased profits. As a matter of fact, it may just mean a cut in your profit margin. Competitive pricing, as opposed to price cutting, is relevant to ser vice and quality. Competitive pric ing, which is a necessity in order to operate successfully in today's marketplace, enables you to sell your customers on your products' quality, the services you provide and the reputation of your opera tion. And if you offer only the highest quality products and top-notch ser vice, you shouldn't have to rely on price alone, for it is these two fac tors that will in the long run deter mine the success and profitability of your store. NEW FOE I1PJI JOBBERS! AN ECHUN IGNITION LINE THAT TUNES IN TO THE D-I-Y (and his budget) SERIES 2 is the new NAPA Echlin Ignition line that's designed, packaged and priced to give NAPA Jobbers a big edge in com peting for the do-it-yourself market. Here's the quality D-I-Vs expect from a professional parts storeat a price they expect to find only in a discount store! SERIES 2 is carded in eye-catch ing bubble packs. Just 41 num bers cover most every U.S. car and light truck... with Contact/ Condenser and Cap/Rotor com bos, Electronic Control Modules and Voltage Regulators. ' Any way you measure it, NAPA Jobbers now have the best of both worlds: NAPA Echlin, the top quality ignition line for pro fessional installers ... plus new SERIES 2, the super value line for do-it-yourselfers. For details on SERIES 2, call your Distribution Center or Echlin salesman. Luyjuar Moan Electrical/Fuel/EmisiionSyiterm Parts THE ECHLIN MANUFACTURING COMPANY Branford. CT Independence. KS Canada England W, Germany South Africa Mexico Venezuela * Brazil A CLINIC WITH A NEW TWIST Proper Car Care is Everyone's Concern John Harmon, owner of J&C Auto Parts with stores in Litchfield and Raymond, Illinois, is a re markably enthusiastic and enterprising NAPA Job ber. He's also extremely service-oriented; in the true NAPA spirit, he feels that a part of his responsibility to his customers is to provide answers or solutions to their expressed needs. And that is exactly how Harmon began a program that has turned out to be Due to the successful turnout, Harmon now plans to hold such clinics regularly -- perhaps on a quarterly basis. Eager to learn, those attending the clinic (ranging in age from 16 to 65) listened attentively. an excellent way of building customer loyalty and sales. Over the past year, Harmon began to notice an increasing number of women coming into his stores, "buying a lot of general maintenance items and asking a lot of questions about how to do this or that. . . how to change oil, replace air filters and the like. "I thought it would be interest ing to kind of informally keep tabs on this part of the business," Har mon continued, "so I asked my counterpeople to keep their eyes open and keep track of the number of women that come in, the types of items they buy and the kind of questions they ask. Pretty soon, we realized that a fairly sizeable number of women were coming in to the store that were quite serious about learning more about taking care of their cars. . "Maybe it's because of the prob lems we've been seeing with the economy in general over the past few years, but it appears that many women have decided they should start handling a lot of their car's routine maintenance themselves. And this gave me an idea. "I had my counterpeople start asking the women customers if they would be interested in car ser vice clinics designed especially for them. They all said it would be a great idea and they would surely attend any such clinic. So we decided to give it a try." "Since we held these two clinics, about 40 women have come in and asked if we'll be holding other clinics . . As it was almost October, Har mon felt that it would be a good idea to base the clinic on the prob lems of winter driving and car maintenance. Called "Winter Emergency Prevention" clinics, Harmon planned two separate ses sions, one to take place the even 8 ing of October 6th and one to be held the following night. He decided the clinics should cover the basic areas of concern he felt women would be interested in -- what should be carried in the trunk of the car starting a car in cold weather the proper way to jump-start a car battery how to check belts, hoses, oil and correct fluid levels how to change spark plugs how to change a tire stopping a car in icy driving conditions what to do in case of a winter driving emergency To help spread the word of the two clinics, Harmon printed flyers and had them distributed at loca tions that tend to be frequented by women -- grocery stores, beauty salons, etc. In addition, he ran ads in the local newspapers explaining the "for women only" car care clinics. And although he feels that this advertising certainly played an important part in creating aware ness of the clinics, he doesn't dis count the value of word-of-mouth advertising. "I just know that the women who attended the first clinic told their friends and relatives about it," he says. "The number of women attending the second clinic was about three times the number that were there the first night. If people are pleased with something, they real ly do tell others about it." The clinic sessions were con ducted by Harmon, Garry Todt, store manager at J&C Auto Parts in Raymond, and John Resides, sales manager at the NAPA St. Louis Distribution Center (which services J&C Auto Parts). All three were surprised at the overwhelm ing reception the clinics received. According to Harmon: "The wom en were incredibly attentive and curious. They were seriously eager to learn. We intended each clinic to last about 1 or 1 Vi hours. As it turned out, the first clinic ran 2 hours and the second one lasted just under 3 hours. This was large ly due to the number of questions the women asked." To gauge the effectiveness of the clinics, and to determine how much of an interest there really was in them, Harmon made a wise decision to pass out question naires at the end of the clinic. Although he expected a positive reaction as so many women had expressed an interest in holding such clinics, the enthusiastic responses to the questionnaire were still a surprise to him. Of the women that attended (ranging in age from 16 to 65), all said they felt their time was wellspent and they would definitely at tend other clinics. All but two wanted to participate in further "hands-on" training, and just about all wanted the clinics to become an on-going program. The women indicated on the questonnaires that they would like additional clinics covering the following topics (rated in order of preference): 1. Tune-ups 2. General car maintenance 3. Oil changes 4. How the automotive-system works 5. Brake systems 6. Preventive car maintenance 7. Exhaust systems Harmon was truly amazed. "The response has been so positive and overwhelming that we're now seri ously considering holding clinics for women on a regular, on-going NEW OFFERING FROM NAPA ENGINE PARTS ENGINE REPAIR CLINIC As more and more NAPA Job bers are discovering, offering clinics is a valuable and needed service for both their traditional and D1Y customers. Your NAPA Manufac turers offer a wide assortment of clinic program materials in a variety of car care and service areas of study. One such clinic program available to you for use with your dealer customers is the NAPA Engine Parts T.E.C. (Total Engine Care) program. This engine repair clinic offers specialized training for the repair of both gasoline and diesel engines. The program in cludes the use of both movies and slides to pro vide clear explanations of the latest technology in engine service techniques. In addition, printed materials are provided for you to distribute to your at tending dealer customers for use as reference material later on. Supporting promotional materials -- such as T.E.C. engine repair identification materials for the installer's place of business -- are also available, along with T.E.C. merchandising materials that help installers sell themselves and their services. Ask your NAPA Distribution Center representative and your NAPA factory representatives about the wide range of clinic and support materials available to you as an NAPA Jobber. Take that extra step -- provide your customers with the kind of in formation and training they're ask ing for. basis -- perhaps quarterly," he now says, "because the interest is really there." "Since we held these two clinics, about 40 women have come in and asked if we'll be holding other clinics because they really regret having missed the first ones. And the women that at tended the clinic are now coming into the store regularly to pick up the items they need." "It's really served a great public relations function for us as well," he adds. "Even men are coming in to the store to tell us what a great idea the clinics are. "I got a real kick out of one gentleman in particular who came into the store raving about what a great idea the clinic was and tell ing us to be sure to continue them. He said that, the morning after his wife had attended the clinic, he walked out to his car to drive to work only to find that it had a flat tire. He had no sooner started com plaining about the situation when his wife flew out the front door of the house, patted him on the shoulder and told him not to worry -- that she would change the tire for him while he went back inside and had another cup of coffee. Needless to say, the clinics have his full support!" Harmon's idea was a good one -- one that worked out tremen dously well for his store and his customers. Many NAPA Jobbers have discovered that holding clin ics is a service they can offer that is really appreciated by their customers. Why not explore the possibili ties in your area? Find out what your customers -- whether the professional mechanic or the do-ityourselfer -- would like to learn more about. Then work with your NAPA factory representatives to put together an informative ses sion. As John Harmon discovered, it's an easy, inexpensive yet effec tive way to enhance a store's repu tation as a genuinely customer service-oriented operation -- the importance of which cannot be underestimated in today's com petitive business climate. 9 A choice of four of the most desir able travel destinations imaginable ... and increased sales! What a way to go in 1982 -- "Go the NAPA Way." NAPA is offering all NAPA Jobbers and Dealers the finest incen tive program ever designed for the automotive aftermarket In 1982, the emphasis will be on increasing your sales. The Spring and Fall Car Care Days promotion, the Import promotion and the "Go The NAPA Way" program will give you the chance to do just that. Thanks to eyecatching POP materials and national advertising, your cus tomers will think of only you for their parts and service needs. With our help and your encouragement Amer ica will "Go The NAPA Way" in 1982. NAPA has all the ingredients to excite and motivate your customers to buy more NAPA products than ever before. The entire NAPA system is geared to make sure that every level of the program generates more sales ... and more profits for you. "GO THENAPAWAY" MEANS MORE BUSINESS FORYOU Your 1982 Marketing Program is the most comprehensive ever designed for the automotive aftermarket Each element was conceived to comple ment the others. Hard-hitting, high impact network television spots and national consumer publications focus attention on the twoeight-week promo tions -- Spring Car Care Days and Fall Car Care Days. In addition, we've expanded our advertising directed at the import market. You'll receive comprehensive, coor dinated POP materials, too. Each POP kit contains an outdoor banner, ceiling hangers, posters, banners and shelf talkers. These materials will serve as a link between your sales efforts and the national adver tising message. The colorful eye catching graphics will give unifor mity and a consistent look to the entire program. UNIQUE TRAVEL Unique Sales Incentive programs fea turing the most exciting destinations in the world are being offered to you --and your best customers. You'll have the choice of Disney World, Las Vegas, Acapulco or Hawaii. The choice won't be an easy one. Each destination offers sun, fun, excite ment and the knowledge that your increased sales efforts have paid off. EXCEPTIONAL VALUE That's the only way to describe this sales incentive extravaganza and the 1982 "Go the NAPA Way" Market ing Program -- here's why they're such exceptional values. A GREAT PACKAGE No matter what destination you choose, NAPA has made all the necessary arrangements to ensure that you have nothing but fun. When you arrive you'll be greeted by NAPA trip directors who'll take care of your baggage and whisk you away to the splendid accommodations of your holiday hotel. The key to your pre-registered room will be available at the special NAPA hospitality desk, open 24 hours every day for your convenience. Your NAPA sales incentive extravaganza includes sumptuous cocktail receptions, ex citing and exclusive sightseeing tours, theme evenings and scores of other activities you won't want to miss. And the best part of all, it's all included at an exceptional value exclusively for NAPA Jobbers and Dealers. MANUFACTURERS PROGRAM NAPA Manufacturers have gone all out to provide you with the tools you need to build a super sales year. First, they'll contribute to the cost of two trips per outlet for those en rolled before March 31,1982. So sign up those Dealers soon! Next, you'll be receiving valuable "Spiff' coupons throughoutthe pro gram for purchase of designated products. Every time you use a cou pon for payment of your travel in voice, the cost of your trip goes down and the value goes up. You'll be proving again and again that NAPA's the only way to go! FUN DESTINATIONS TO MOTIVATE EVERYONE! Spectacular is the only way to de scribe the magical world of Disney, where childhood dreams come true and visions of the future become reality. In addition to the enchanting theme park, this community nestled in central Florida offers a host of other activities like boating, water skiing and golfing. All these plea sures can be yours when you... "Go The NAPA Way" ... to Orlando. AS VEGAS The city of non-stop excitement. From sun-up to sun-down, you'll exhilarate in the lightening-paced activities in the casinos and delight in the lavish productions in the show rooms. There are activities like golf, tennis or swimming in the hotel pool, too. Whether it's the glimmer of the warm Nevada sun orthe glamour of the strip after dark, you'll enjoy it all when you "Go The NAPA Way" to Las Vegas. CAPULCO The warmth of the Mexican sun, miles of sandy white beaches and the sparkling waters of the Pacific combine to form the enticing flavor of Acapulco. Famous for its perfect climate, this south-of-the-border resort offers superb fishing, sailing and swimming in addition to excellent facilities for golf and tennis. Breath-taking scenery, authentic Mex ican entrees, an exotic atmosphere and an unforgettable experience a wait you when you "Go The NAPA Way" ... to Acapulco! m 1 ? 1AWAII The Polynesian paradise of Hawaii ... Honolulu and Waikiki Beach ... will be yours to enjoy during your exciting NAPA adventure! From a traditional Hawaiian luau to the invig orating water sports of Waikiki, you'll want to experience it all. The grace ful sway of the palms in the ocean breeze, the natural beauty of the islands and the exotic foods, the call of the islands says "Go The NAPA Way"... to Hawaii! NAPA'S PUT IT ALL TOGETHER IN '82 An exciting new focus on network TV.. attention-getting consumer publica tion ads ... an innovative approach to the industrial/fleet market... colorful, eye-catching POP materials ... and the greatest sales incentive program to ever hit the aftermarket. Yes, NAPA has put it all together for you and 1982 is your year to SHINE! f CREATING NEWSPAPER ADS THAT WORK FOR YOU By using the available ad slicks and the NAPA Sales/Advertising Man ual, every NAPA Jobber can put together effective newspaper ads. In general, the newspaper ads that work best adhere to the following guidelines: Stimulate consumer need and interest * Create product demand ^Wintertime (TOiMfuae 40% v"1 jjip> Hr. JQ *r* ye vofl 4*6**! NAP* A* Rtal ,r THE NAPA ! POWER BATTERY .jumnuaiui ^5^ *59*5 rXmgkltM&AhD>-mI*AIMTOl HIMEL/w (OTOMfM fOUoa KAKMYlUf Motivate action Combine timely, quality theme that will appeal to the consumer's immediate needs Offer NAPA identification Show what the products look like Offer products at special prices Limit the sale price to a specific time period Tell who you are, when you're open and where you are located NAPA Jobber Audrey Rosier of Himel Auto Parts in Covington, Louisiana (serviced by the NAPA New Orleans Distribution Center) provides us with a good example of how to create effective local newspaper advertising using the materials available to you. Using the NAPA Sales/Advertising Manual, Rosier made up the very professional "Wintertune" ad from scratch. As you can see, she incorporated all of the advertising guidelines above to effectively yet inexpensively create a newspaper ad that really works to draw customers into her store. 12 SPRING CAR CARE DAYS PLANNING YOUR LOCAL ADVER To reap the full benefits of NAPA's Spring Car Care Days pro motion, it's important that you take a marketing-minded approach and put together an effective local advertising campaign that capital izes on this national promotion. To be effective, local advertising need not be expensive, complicat ed or "cute." It does, however, re quire a certain amount of time and planning on your part. Sometimes, this factor alone is enough to deter a store manager or owner from running a local adver tising campaign. Feeling he's al ready too busy as is, some store managers look at local advertising as a nuisance, or worse yet, as a waste of time. After all, they figure, NAPA already has national ads running in and on a variety of media; they figure they can't do better than that, so why waste their time duplicating ads at the local level? For optimum results, local Spring Car Care Days The fact of the matter is, they advertising should tie in both your store and your couldn't be more wrong. Although participating dealer customers. national advertising does create awareness and build a promotion to you. al foundation, it cannot fight local As you know, there's a great competition by itself as effectively deal of local advertising oppor as you can by utilizing effective tunities coming your way in 1982. local advertising. So plan your Spring Car Care Days Why? Positioned as you are, you local advertising carefully and have a better feel for your specific thoroughly to maximize this pro marketplace; you're the only one motion's potential. Remember that close enough to tailor advertising your NAPA Distribution Center per to your specific customers' wants sonnel, NAPA's advertising agen and needs. You know what will cy (toll free phone number work -- and what will not work -- 800-438-8124) and your local media in your particular area and with your representative will all be willing to particular customers. assist you. And don't forget that So this is the key to effective you can always refer to your NAPA local advertising -- your will Sales/Advertising Manual for help ingness to create a local ad cam ful instructions and suggestions. paign based on your idea of what To help you get started, here are will motivate your customers to some tips that may prove helpful in come into your store. planning your local advertising at The thought of developing a tack for NAPA's Spring Car Care local ad campaign tends to sound Days promotion. much more difficult or com GETTING STARTED plicated than it actually is. You Before you can plan an effective really don't have to be an advertis local ad campaign, you should first ing "professional" to organize an figure out where you're heading -- effective program. As an NAPA where you want your advertising Jobber participating in the NAPA program to take you. Although Spring Car Care Days promotion, such planning doesn't necessarily you're provided with the basic have to take hours and hours materials from which to work -- ad behind a closed office door, it does slicks, radio tapes, local television require that you sit down and give materials, billboards, circulars, careful thought to the matter. etc. -- which have been designed Many NAPA Jobbers when plan to: 1). give you a starting point to ning a local campaign have found work from and 2). be flexible it helpful to sort out and write enough to be adapted to individual down the following information: areas. And that's the part that's up 1). Determine your market -- who TISING ATTACK you're going after with your advertising. For most NAPA Jobbers, your target audience consists of male car maintainers between the ages of 18 to 49 years. You may wish to ex pand or modify this depending on the opportunities in your par ticular area. If, as NAPA Jobber John Harmon discovered (see article on page 8), there are a growing number of females working on their cars, you should include them as a part of your audience. 2). At least roughly, attempt to define your market's potential in your area. 3). Establish your advertising goals and objectives. Here you should keep in mind that your partici pating dealer customers are an important part of the Spring Car Care Days promotion; they, too, should be included to receive benefits from your local adver tising efforts. 4). Once you've established your goals and objectives, figure out the best way to achieve them -- what media you should use, what your advertising should say, etc. 5). Determine the budget that you will have to work with for your local advertising campaign. MEDIA SELECTIONS The primary media for use in local advertising are newspapers, radio and television. Billboards, signage, direct mail and other available advertising vehicles can also be used successfully in their support. Each of these various media are able to reach a part of your target audience. Some, however, can do a better job than others. Therefore, each should be carefully consid ered and weighed to help you de termine how to get the most adver tising effectiveness for your money. Local newspapers are tradition ally the number one choice for most automotive parts jobbers. Why? Because research indicates that two-thirds of most jobbers' target audience (again, male car maintainers between the ages of 18 and 49) use the daily or local newspaper as their primary "where to buy" source. If you have deter mined that this audience will be your "target," then you should pro bably give strong consideration to concentrating a large portion of your advertising efforts in local newspapers. You'll then be aiming your advertising at the group that represents your greatest sales op portunities, ensuring that your advertising investment will be spent wisely. To maximize customer response to your newspaper advertising, the following suggestions may prove helpful in planning your local at tack. (These suggestions are based on reaching the traditional target audience defined earlier. They can easily be modified to ac commodate a secondary target group with a little research on your part. If, for example, you are in terested in going after women shoppers in addition to your pri mary target audience, a call to your local newspaper representative should enable you to find out which sections enjoy the best readership by women and on what days.) 1) . In local neighborhood papers, the second and third general news section pages are pre ferred. However, if a sports page or section is available, more target audience penetra tion can be achieved by using that area for your advertising. 2) . Thursday through Saturday edi tions tend to produce greater advertising results as the per formance of car maintenance is higher on those days. 3) . Consistency is important in newspaper advertising. It's bet ter to go with smaller ads on a more frequent basis than with larger ads on an irregular basis. This is a common sense con cept similar to direct selling -- several well-planned sales calls are often required before a curious prospect becomes a paying customer. 4) . Combining the above three sug gestions for increased target audience impact, running ads in the sports section on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will max imize customer response. 5) . Concentrate your advertising in your local area, as waste cir culation can kill your budget but bring little real results. Most large daily newspapers offer area editions, which you may consider using. If the large dailies in your area do not offer area editions, you should pro bably consider either: a. Advertising together as a group with the other NAPA Parts Stores within the areas covered by the larger daily newspaper (all will receive advertising benefits but the cost will be divided among you); or.. . b. Concentrate on using your local newspapers more effec tively to zero in on your specific market. Radio can be an excellent addi tion to your local newspaper cam paign. If you decide to utilize your Spring Car Care Days radio tapes, the following information may be of assistance in your planning. Research indicates that your traditional target audience (as defined earlier; again, a little research will enable you to modify your advertising plans to reach your chosen customer groups) listens to stations that program: 1) . Popular music -- stations that feature songs by popular, "middle-of-the-road" or "easy listening" musical artists with some current rock hits mixed in. 2) . Country & western music -- sta tions that feature "the Nashville sound." 3) . Top 40 -- stations that play the top 40 hits of the week (usually "rock" music accompanied by fast-talking disc jockeys). Because DIY'ers pay particular attention to advertised tools and related equipment, give special consideration to using your ex cellent NAPA Spring Car Care Days circular program. Whether used as handouts or as inserts in local newspapers, these circulars can play an important part in any local multi-media campaign and can be coordinated to work with supporting radio ad schedules. Your Spring Car Care Days point-of-purchase materials also enhance your local advertising ef forts. To make your promotion stand out to the consumer, it's im portant that your store looks as if something is going on. If your budget allows, local television can prove to be an ex cellent addition to your advertising campaign. Your Spring Car Care Days local television tapes enable you to easily put together an effec tive television campaign in your particular area. The importance of local adver tising just cannot be over estimated. It motivates the con sumer to take action on the awareness that your NAPA na tional advertising creates. Awareness of a special promotion does not make your cash registers ring; customer action does. So give your local advertising cam paign enough forethought to move your customers to action during your Spring Car Care Days! 13 K1 'T-'.r ! fey> i.1 Vi jl sVJtTK.S't1 `f- i-'.f/-,'. .> -. If _ J j/f . * , Pnjirf1'-**^.1 it BELDEN PRODUCTS AT 15/OFF M Aii$t -V- v'*V > , ' $ iriintyl KTvtfWlliJ; if'/ n"i sOOOOmil&s .. -* i t;70.'V0.2.i4\4'>, ' i .>%' #770521 BATTERY CABLE PROMOTION Hi F ^ytjivvfvvJ XL ^ SR , A Vj:? ;/r The Problem.. .no start, hard starts, dim headlights. The Cause.. .broken strands, heavily corroded battery terminal lug end, or loose-connections. The Solution.. .take stock in a promotion featuring 34 of our top of the line quality steel reinforced battery cables. This promotion includes two each of our-most popular top and side mount battery cables, all manufactured with 4 gauge copper wire. Alhsurpass OEM standards.. .and then some. Our promotion includes: . 2-7M034 2-712534 "'2-711334 2-712554 2V711534 2-712934 2-711934' 2-7\3054 2-712234 2-713634 2-713814 2-714054 2-714514 2-714534 2-714554 2-715054 2-715514 Regular Jobber Net $132.34 SPECIAL JOBBER NET $112.49 LIMITED TIME OFFER \vX #770522 Point-of-Purchase Spring Car Care Days Kit FREE with $he purchase of one each of #770520 and 770521 (s^e back page for illustrated kit). s/V ^ .... . ' BlfeSv^ ays kit includes... point of purchase materials often for maximum effectiveness NOW'S THE TIME TO NOW'S THE TIMEJO BATTERY CABLES B^r napa belden00"^%<off SPARKPLUG WIRE SETS naba %m DURNG >3fr 50 40302010 50 40 30201 iHf ^`0::. WINDOW BANNERS (24 "x33 ") ... a real big eye-catcher to let street traffic know you are promoting. Banners are supplied with % numbers printed on bottom. Mi StI % aK" ' ' 'i' - MOBILE (28 "x31" max. size) ... it will sell for you for months to come. Battery cables are promoted on one side, spark plug wire sets on the other. 'rrt 0 S A Bolden torpor jinn-Transportation Division, 2625 West Butterfield Road, Oak Brook, Illinois 60521 TD82- THREE NEWS RELEASES YOU CAN USE NEWSPAPER ARTICLES: PROMO Many articles in OUTLOOK have dealt with advertising and sales promotion. But advertising is only one way to get your store name before the public eye. Newspaper articles -- stories written about a product, service, safety or car care suggestions -- are another effective way to gener ate awareness of, and business for, your store. And one of the best things about newspaper articles is that they don't cost you a cent. On these pages are three possi ble news releases that you can use for publication in your local newspaper. Each contains timely information provided to OUTLOOK by the Automotive Information Council dealing with topics of cur rent interest to today's car owner. Each has been written in a format that allows you to personalize the article with your name, your store name and location as well as details on your Spring Car Care Days promotion. All you have to do is -- 1) . Retype the information (double spaced) in the format illustrated in the photograph, filling in the blanks or adding material to personalize your release as you see fit. 2) . Mail it to the editor of your local newspaper(s). You may first wish to call the editor of the paper to discuss the project. 3) . You might want to take advan tage of this exposure by in cluding your store hours and location at the end of each release. Learn to make your local news papers work for you. It's an inex pensive yet extremely effective way of promoting your business while sharing timely information with today's motoring public. All it takes is access to a typewriter, a couple of sheets of paper and a few minutes of your time... and you've got a ready-made public service article sponsored by your store. hi. The first release, entitled "Communicate With Your Mechanic and Save," deals with the problem of consumer distrust with the service repair trade. It ex plains how many problems and misunderstandings between the customer and the mechanic can be avoid ed or alleviated by the customer taking the time to pro vide the mechanic with all of the pertinent information he should have before working on the car. It also gives suggestions on how the consumer should select a repair facility. This release can be per sonalized to mention your Spring Car Care Days pro motion. In addition, because of the subject nature of this release, you may wish to modify the release to mention the names of your dealer customers par ticipating in your Spring Car Care Days promotion. COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR MECHANIC -- AND SAVE! ``Personally, I have always felt that the best doctor in the world is the veterinarian He can't ask his patients what is the matter -- he's got to just know." -- Will Rogers But you, the car owner, can tell the service manager or mechanic what is the matter with your car, says (your name), (title) of (store name and address/location) And if you do it properly, it will save you both time and money. You wouldn't think of going to a medical doctor and telling him you need an appendectomy. In stead, you would explain where you have a pain, its frequency and other symptoms. He then would 16 i riNG YOUR STORE IN PRINT make tests and, in combination with the informa tion you provide plus your medical history, make his diagnosis. That is the same practice you should follow when your car is acting up. Mechanics prefer not to be told what repair work to do. They prefer to be told the problems, letting the cure come from their training and experience. Otherwise, unnecessary repairs may be performed or the car's problem may not be solved For example, a customer may request a front end alignment for a car when the problem could be the steering or the tires. If the re quested alignment is performed the customer would soon be back because the car still would have the original problem Therefore, don't specify a particular repair. In stead explain the reason why you brought the car in for service, such as the car is difficult to start, or it hesitates when accelerating, or the steering has a tendency to wobble, or whatever else you have noticed Use All Senses Total communication is the key, so use all your senses. Tell the service man how the car sounds and how it feels when you drive it Point out any unusual odor and pin-point drips under the car if there are any. Let the mechanic know how long the trouble has been occurring. Don't be bashful if the repair has been neglected tell him anyway. Descriptions of the symptoms are much more useful than just telling a mechanic the car won't start Even such clues as when the problem occurs -- for example, when the engine is hot or when it's cold -- can give the mechanic an indication of the problem Back up your verbal description with a written list of problems. This will be especially helpful if you're dealing with a large shop where the work will be passed from the service writer to the mechanic. Include a phone number where you can be reached during the day in case any ques tions need to be answered If you don't feel you can adequately put the problem into words, ask the service person to go with you for a test drive. Then show him your main tenance and service log. We assume you have a log and if you don't, you should start one. The rest is up to the service expert Let him put his equipment and expertise to work to arrive at the proper solution. Request a written estimate and have a clear understanding of what the shop is to do and the total cost involved Don't sign a blank order. Tell him you would like to see any replaced parts when you return to pick up the car. Most good shops will comply unless the parts must be re turned to the maker for warranty reasons or sent to a specialist for rebuilding. However, you still have a right to see them before they're sent away. If you just want something checked expect to pay a diagnosis fee. Some shops will charge to check components which must be taken apart to determine the trouble. Considerable time and labor charges can be involved in this type of work. Selecting A Shop Many car owners prefer to have all of their ser vice work done by the selling dealership, believ ing that such a practice improves the trade-in value. Others prefer to shop around The best way to find a good repair facility is to ask the advice of friends, neighbors or co-workers. Chances are if they are satisfied you will be, too. You might even want to check with the local Better Business Bureau. Don't hesitate to visit the shop you might patronize just to look around Does it appear organized with the type of equipment which might be needed for the work you need done? Are the employees courteous? A repair shop can't have hospital cleanliness, but it can have an orderly appearance. It doesn't have to have old parts and debris lying around and if it does, you should consider looking elsewhere. Looking for a shop that employs certified mechanics is another good way to assure yourself of quality work. The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (NIASE) tests and certifies automobile mechanics in eight fields of mechanical diagnosis and repair: engine repair, automatic transmission, manual transmission-rear axle, front end brakes, electrical system, heatingair conditioning and engine tune-up. It also tests and certifies technicians who work in body repair and painting and refinishing. Ask if the shop employs certified mechanics and in what areas they are certified Make An Appointment Once you decide on the shop, call for a service appointment The shop will appreciate it. You will benefit because it will cut down the time you have to wait for repairs once the car is in the shop. Before you go to pick up the car, call to ask if it is ready. Something could have delayed the work, so don't make a trip in vain. When you pick up the car, check the receipt If there is anything you don't understand ask about it. Make sure you save your copy. If you find out later the repair work didn't solve your car's prob lem you will need the receipt to confirm what 17 .. work was done on the car and when These re ceipts provide a good record of all repair and maintenance done on the car. Make sure you get a copy of the shop's warranty. It usually is printed on the bill. Otherwise, ask for it in writing. Feel free to ask for a test drive. After all, if the car is still not running right, it is best not to take it home. If you should discover the problem is not solved after you leave the garage, return as soon as possi ble and request satisfaction Learn how to take care of your car and it will take care of you. You have Invested thousands of dollars in your car, so learn as much about it as you can and give it proper service for more plea surable driving. To help motorists take care of their cars, (your store name) will be featuring a special Spring Car Care Days promotion along with par ticipating service stations and garages from March 8 through May 8. --END-- #2. The second news release, entitled "Provide Needed Maintenance for Safe Driving," encourages general car maintenance on the part of the motorist. Again, this release can be modified and personalized with information on your store and your Spring Car Care Days promotion. You may again wish to include the names of the service stations and garages that will be participating in your promotion. PROVIDE NEEDED MAINTENANCE FOR SAFE DRIVING An automobile is a complex machine with an average of over 15,000 parts, about 5,000 of which are moving parts. Consequently, it needs a certain amount of maintenance and, eventually, repair. According to (name), (title) of (store name and location), newer cars need far less maintenance than did earlier ones. But because of this, many drivers tend to overlook some of the recommend ed maintenance and service intervals -- which is usually why things go wrong. Preventive maintenance is a good investment because it can be performed at your convenience and can eliminate a problem which could occur at a time which would disrupt your work and/or personal schedules. There is no mystery about when certain mainte nance services should be performed. They are listed in the owner's manual or maintenance schedule which comes with each new car. Some have pages for logging maintenance and repairs performed. The manual contains much more than the car's maintenance chart. It describes the operation of the car's components, including optional equip ment. Knowing how these components operate can make driving more pleasurable and comfortable. Many of the manuals give tips on driving in emergencies, how to get out of snowbanks and mud, tips for cleaning the interior and exterior, jump-starting, tire changing and a host of other valuable information. You have invested thousands of dollars in your car, so learn as much about it as you can. Give it proper maintenance and service for more pleasurable and reliable driving. To help motorists keep their cars in top shape, (store name) will be participating in the national NAPA Spring Car Care Days from March 8 through May 8. --END-- #3. Your third possible news release deals with the im portance of motorists using their car seat belts. Numerous studies are indicating that today's smaller cars are not as safe as yesterday's larger models and that consequently, the use of seat belts in these smaller vehicles is more important now than ever before. Therefore, this "public service" article reminds motorists to use their seat belts while telling them that your store can provide them with replacement seat belts should they need them. SEAT BELTS VITAL FOR SAFETY IN TODAY'S SMALLER CARS Despite the lives that have been saved and the serious injuries that have been prevented, studies indicate that only 14 to 33 percent of drivers use their car seat belts. As these restraint systems are installed on vir tually every car on the road today, why don't more motorists use them? According to (your name), (title) of (store name and location), some motorists say they don't wear seat belts because they think they might be saved if they're thrown clear of the car if they're in an ac cident. Safety experts, however, say the probabili ty of death is almost five times greater if a person is thrown from the car. Other people say that they just don't remember to fasten their seat belts when they get in the car. Behavior experts claim, however, that you only have to buckle up 12 times before you will have formed the habit. What's more, the use of seat belts is even more im portant now that small cars are growing in popu larity. Safety experts agree that smaller cars are not as safe inaccidentsituations as are largervehicles. (Your name) wants to remind motorists to make a conscious effort to remember to buckle up when they get in their cars. It only takes a second or two -- but that second could save a life. (store name), which will be participating in NAPA's national Spring Car Care Days from March 8 through May 8, carries replacement seat belts for customers with older vehicles that are not equip ped with safety restraints or for newer vehicles whose seat belts have become worn or broken. -END- 19 IHRP-AV. The secret of controlling cash can be stated in one word: Balance. A firm should aim to have just the right amount of cash on hand -- never too little for its needs, and never too much for its needs. When a business has a permanent year-around pressure on cash, that store may be undercapitalized. Such a chronic shortage of cash can lead to disaster because the owner can't pay the bills when they are due. Or the store may go broke because its owner lacks the finan cial resources to meet the sudden demands. An owner in such a position needs to get more capital into his firm because his present investment does not generate enough cash to keep the business financially healthy. "BALANCE" IS THE KEY CONTROLLING CASH On the other hand, an excess amount of cash often indi cates that the owner is not using his liquid assets properly. An owner in this situation could use his excess cash, for example, to add profitable services which would help his business to grow. Or he might invest his excess cash in short term securities which could be redeemed when his firm needed funds. And if he should accumulate fairly large amounts of excess cash on a regular basis, his best investment probably would be that of plowing the money into moderniz ing his building -- into remodeling which will help attract a greater number of customers. Control of cash involves two paths of action. The first is having the right amount on hand to pay your bills. The second is using any excess of that amount wisely. Book control -- your day-to-day and month-by-month ac counting -- governs your journey on both paths. It tells you how much money you have available, how much you need to pay your bills and whether there is a deficit to be made up or a surplus to be invested. In the latter case, you may sometimes have to take prudent risks -- as do all successful business owners -- in order to make your cash balances produce income. One approach to sound cash management involves four steps: 1). Making sure that your book control works properly. 2). Determining the cash flow pattern for your business. 3). Estimating future cash balances. 4). Using excess cash to produce income. CHECK YOUR BOOK CONTROL Some owners find the going rough because they fail to make a smooth path in the first phase of cash management. They try to operate without adequate book control. In thinking about your control over cash, start by checking your present way of keeping books. Are your records on cash adequate? Do they tell you what you need to know about the cash that comes into your business? Do they tell you what you need to know about the cash which goes out of your business? Do they alert you to cash deficits? To cash surpluses? continued on pg. 22 20 ,1 Hlonge^lastipg.thaatheoriginal"-- 1 r 11 ? ' * equipme.ntUMake sure'you're /1 's - ^ ,v ,,v) 4 , .cohering"airtfies'd potential markets ' * ff f S A 'i . , 3 ? ft' ^ n tt ` ", * - 'Agricultural'Automotive.*Heavy- [^ i 4 * }ti V ^V < ...... .xD^peqdjtjH^^PA^bQt^e^uiali^^ * ^-j^ou.want^aocKhepIrts^oWee&tff ' r y V >U X Veiapli uhi; iM(|* % *1 `M** C-'-aJ '`iV V# 2? V <> SfV r. --------- ,,,..., -the.standardisquality. ,,is>........;........y......w. ,, ,'V'' ,> ...................r*' -ir26555iNorthwestern Highway Southfield' Michigan 48034 - v fycertVATC it* -v T f i.^...r -5 *?> f:. > *v Keep in mind that such records do not have to be elaborate. However, they should account for every penny of cash coming into your business and for every penny of cash going out. Even a one-man business with no extra employees should keep books on all receipts and disbursements. Facts About Cash In checking the kinds of records you use to control cash, it may be helpful to keep in mind the follow ing facts about cash. Cash usually comes from four sources: 1. Daily cash sales. 2. Payments which customers make on their accounts. 3. Loans which you arrange to meet short-term needs. 4. Additional capital which you borrow on a long-term basis. On the out-going side, cash is used for at least six things: 1. To pay for inventory. 2. To pay personnel, including the owner-manager's salary and his profit (return on investment). 3. To reduce accounts payable -- to pay for things other than in ventory which you bought on credit. 4. To liquidate loans. 5. To pay rent. 6. To pay for utilities and other overhead expenses. Good control over stock is impor tant in controlling cash. Your aim should be to have adequate stock for serving customers without ty ing up money in unnecessary in ventory. Tips for Book Control Keeping track of the cash that comes into your business requires two things: 1. Procedures and records which will help you to safeguard the funds. 2.Attention to the details necessary to keep those pro cedures working. The following suggestions should be helpful as you check your situa tion with the goal of making a smooth path for the book control of your cash. Guide your activities by the rule that handling business cash as though it belonged to someone else is vital to a firm's success -- especially when your firm's cash is limited. Keep personal cash separate from cash generated by your business. One way to do it is by paying yourself a weekly or month ly salary. Keep a record of all incoming cash. It should be a simple one which will show you: 1. The amount of cash. 2. The date received. 3. The source. Use a bank account for your business funds. Deposit all cash receipts in your firm's bank account. Never make disbursement out of your daily cash receipts. Pay all bills, if possible, with checks. They provide a record and serve as control. Checks also help you to keep disbursements in coin and currency to a minimum. Use petty cash fund if you do have to pay some small bills in coin and currency. This fund should be a fixed amount and balanced regularly. Get a properly signed receipt when making a pay ment from the petty cash fund. Reimburse your petty cash fund with a check which notes, for ex ample, "to cover cash used in pay ing receipts numbered 21, 22 and 23." Make disbursements only if you have: 1. A supplier's invoice, or 2. A receipted paid-out voucher which is dated and fully signed by the person to whom you give the check (or money if it's a small petty cash expense). Keep your records simple. In a busy schedule, you will be more apt to refer to your records if they are easy to use. Periodically have your pro cedures and controls checked by your accountant. DETERMINING YOUR CASH FLOW PATTERN Book control gives you informa tion which you need on the second path of cash management. On this path, your concern is keeping your business healthy by: 1. Providing funds when there are deficits in cash, and 2. Using surpluses wisely. Here you are working with dynamic situations -- ones that change from month to month. Before an owner-manager can achieve efficient use of his cash balance, he has to know his firm's cash flow pattern. He needs an swers to the following questions: How much cash comes into your business each month? How much goes out? Is any left at the end of the month? If so, how much? You can get your answers by looking at the records which give you book control of cash. See what they tell you about your past cash flow pattern. You'll need to use a budgeting technique and look at your records for the past. You may want to ask your accountant or bookkeeper to work out the details for you. One simple budget technique in volves: 1. Adding to the cash balance at the beginning of the month estimates of income expected during the next month, and ... 2. Subtracting estimates of ex penses forthe next month. When this is done for 12 months, you have your expected cash balanc es for each of the 12 months. However, at this point, you are not interested in the future. You need to find out what has hap pened to your cash. This informa tion will be a guide when you start thinking about the future. So look at your cash records for the last year and see on a monthly basis -- 1. Where your cash came from. 2. Where it went. 3. How much was left at the end of each month. Suppose, for example, that your year starts with January. The first fact you need is the cash balance you had on hand on December 31. Suppose further that this balance was $1,560. Then from your last January records add the following income items to the $1,560: (1) . All payments from customers both against accounts receiv ables and as cash sales. (2) . Any money received as a loan from a bank or other source. (3) . Additional capital invested in the business. (4) . All payments received from sale of fixed assets. To carry the example through, sup pose further that the January in come items accounted to a total of $3,000. Thus, total available cash in January was $4,560 ($1,560 plus $3,000). The next step is subtracting the January expense items from the $4,560. Subtract the following ex pense items: (1) . All payments you made against accounts payable. (2) . All expenses paid (not merely 22 accrued). (3) . All cash withdrawals by the owner. (4) . All payments for fixed assets. Suppose further that these ex penses totaled $2,800. Thus, your cash balance at the end of last January $1,760 ($4,560 minus $2,800). This $1,760 was your cash on hand at the start of last February. Repeat the process of adding cash income for that February and sub tracting cash paid out in order to get your cash balance at the end of February. Do the same for each of the 12 months in that year. As a final step, you may want to: (1) . Underestimate cash receipts by 5 percent. (2) . Overestimate cash payments by 5 percent. Allowing such margins gives you a 10 percent leeway which helps pro vide for unforseen expenses and overestimated cash receipts. Look for Trouble Spots The exercise of working up last year's cash balances by months should give you an exact idea of what the cash flow pattern of your business was for that year. However, before trying to predict your cash balances for each month of next year, look again at your records. This check is for trouble spots. Were there any in last year's there are cash deficits. They there months when: Expenses were greater than the gross profit you made from sales? Cash was inadequate at the start of the month? There was expansion of the business without new capital be ing made available? There were excessively high ac counts receivable which were not discounted? Cash was reduced below an ade quate balance because you had to buy fixed assets -- such as new equipment -- that are recoverable only through depreciation? Some of these trouble spots can be caused by seasonal fluctua tions. One way to avoid them is by short-term borrowing. Many owners borrow at various times during the year to tide their businesses over months when there are cash deficits. They know that they can pay the costs (interest) of borrowing and repay the loan, and still make a profit on the money they borrowed. Thus, they are able to get by with less cash of their own in the business. Such bank loans, for example, en able them to take advantage of the dating on their suppliers' invoices. List Your Long-Range Needs Before you start to plot out how you will improve your control of future cash, take time to list the long-range needs of your store. List items such as: (1) . Equipment, displays and other fixed or depreciated assets which will need replacing. (2) . Additional equipment or other fixed assets which you may need in order to hold your own with competition. (3) . Remodeling or expansion of your facilities which may be needed to increase sales and boost your net profit dollars. You need to have an idea of these long-range requirements so you can provide for them without crippling your cash. Some small retailers fail, for example, to depreciate their fixed assets and set up financial reserves for their replacement. Thus, they have to dip into their cash balances -- into funds for paying the firm's day-to day bills -- to pay for the replace ment of worn out items. Such a situation can be avoided by planning -- that is, by trying to chart the course of your business for the next one to five years. In ad dition to budgeting for the short range needs, you should at least make a tentative plan for handling your firm's long-range needs. ESTIMATE YOUR CASH BALANCES At this point, you should be ready to estimate your cash balances for the next 12 months. These estimates are made by working out a budget. As was discussed earlier, bud geting is a means of forecasting the income and expenses of your business during the next month, during the next 6 months and up to the next 12 months. The knowledge which you gained about your last year's cash flow pattern can be the basis for your estimates of future cash balances. In looking ahead, keep your peak seasons in mind. Then you can have the cash on hand, or arrange for a loan, to take care of the in creased inventory and increased accounts receivable which are part of a peak season. A good rule is to keep your fore casting as simple as possible. Tailor it to your business so it will help you to know the amounts of cash you can expect to have on hand at various times during the next year. It is also a good idea to provide for growth by setting up a reserve fund in accordance with your estimated future sales. USE BALANCE TO PRODUCE INCOME Knowing what your cash bal ances will be -- provided things go as you expect them to -- helps you to achieve dynamic control of your cash. This sort of control is similar to driving your automobile in a safe manner on a highway. You not only have it under control, but are also using it to accomplish a pur pose. Cash control helps you in three ways. First, it guards your cash balances so that they will be available when you need them. For example, resist the temptation to use your cash for new fixtures or other fixed assets, which should be paid for out of other funds. Second, cash control will warn you of the month, or months, when the cash balance is less than ex pected expenses. Meet this prob lem head-on by arranging for a short-term bank loan to tide your business over the gap and to its next peak. Third, knowing your cash balances can help you to deter mine your rate of growth. It is your roadmap in using cash surpluses. In the month, or months, when your cash inflow is greater than your business needs, be prepared to put that excess cash into something which will earn income. As was suggested earlier, you may want to invest such excess cash in: (1) . New NAPA lines which can in crease sales and profit. (2) . In short-term securities. The important thing is to keep such investments fairly liquid so you can turn them into cash should the need arise. Put the ex cess cash where you can get it when your business needs it. 23 MARTIN-SENOUR INTERVIEW: GENUINE PARTS COMPANY A candid conversation with people who find the "Market Blitz" ideal for gaining new customers and increasing sales in existing accounts. Richard Beckmarm is Division Manager of the Genuine Parts Company in the greater Atlanta area. He and his two sales man agers-- Bobby Cable and Ike Coleman -- oversee 30 stores and a sales staff of 37 jobber salesmen. In talking with Messrs. Beckmann, Coleman, and Cable, we found them enthusiastic supporters of the "Market Blitz" concept because of the positive returns it generates in increased sales and new business. Just what is a Martin-Senour "Market Blitz?" For Genuine Parts, it's a concen trated sales effort lasting one week. We find that holding at least one a year produces the best results. What kind of results? A thirty percent sales increase. After our first "Market Blitz," we discovered that sales do not slack off; we are able to sustain the high level of sales generated by the blitz because of the new business we gain. Richard Beckmann Bobby Gable "The 'Market Blitz' is a way of life for Genuine Parts in the Atlanta market. This is our third Martin-Senour Paint Blitz and each one seems better than the one before in the amount of sales and new customers we gain." What about existing customers? We use the blitz to introduce new and improved Martin-Senour products to our existing customers. This adds up to in creased sales . . . sales that could have been lost to competition. The "Market Blitz" sounds like a great marketing tool. What makes it so successful for Genuine Parts? Careful planning. We can't em phasize this enough. We start planning for a "Market Blitz" at least thirty days in advance, and hold planning and review meet ings every week thereafter. On the day of the blitz, we hold a break fast kickoff meeting to set the tone for the blitz and to get the salesforce pepped up to help them do the job expected of them. "There's no dip in orders after a blitz; we sustain a high level of sales because of the new business we bring in." What type of accounts do you call on during the "Market Blitz?" Any that are potential MartinSenour product users: independ ent body shops, car dealer body shops, fleet accounts, industrial accounts, vocational schools, marine accounts, and farm accounts. How do you divide up your salesforce? We divide the salesforce into six teams of five men each. Each team is responsible for calling on a list of customers and potential customers. How do you keep tabs on the prog ress of the blitz? Each day's results are tallied and posted on a scoreboard. That way, each team and team member can see how they're doing in relation to one another. Do you offer incentives? Yes --for our customers and salesmen. We insist that our sales men take along sample premiums when they make their calls. This stimulates orders. What about D.C. involvement? We include our D.C. from the very beginning. It's important that the D.C. carry an ample inventory of Martin-Senour products. Nothing sours the effectiveness of a blitz like backorders. And Martin-Senour Representa tives? What's their involvement? Like our D.C., we include our Martin-Senour Representatives from the start. During the blitz, Martin-Senour Representatives rotate with a different salesman each day. You mentioned that you were able to sustain sales after the blitz. Do you do anything special? Absolutely. We know from experi ence that body shops welcome personal sales calls and will re spond with increased orders. We make it a point to call on existing accounts at least once a week, and twice a week on new ac counts. In our business, service is the name of the game. Sounds like you're really sold on the "Market Blitz" concept. A "Market Blitz" conducted at least once a year is a necessity in today's competitive market . . . not only to help keep our sales force at peak efficiency, but to maintain our share of market. A blitz is one of the best ways we know to gain new business and increase sales from existing accounts. Paints, Tapes, Abrasives and Adhesives  DATELINE NAPA VOLUME 2 NUMBER 7 DEARBORN, MICHIGAN LIMITED EDITION AOT BECOMES AUTOMOTIVE HALL OF FAME, INC. To more fully recognize the purposes of the organization, directors of the Automotive Organization Team (AOT) have voted to restructure the organiza tion and change its name to Automo tive Hall of Fame, Incorporated. The AOT was founded in 1939 as "Automotive Old Timers." A non profit association, it was founded for the purpose of honoring people who have made significant contributions to the automotive industry. One of its goals was to erect an automotive in dustry Hall of Fame where memorabil ia of industry leaders could be displayed to keep their history alive. The AOT Hall of fame was con structed in Midland, Michigan in 1976 on the campus of Northwood Institute. The modern facility now houses ex hibits memorializing 57 Hall of Fame electees and contains award plaques recognizing the contributions to the in dustry of over 249 recipients of Distin guished Service Awards. A new pro gram introduced in 1980 -- the Young Leadership and Excellence Awards -- honors newcomers to the industry for their outstanding efforts. In addition, the facility houses an in dustry library containing a wide range of early trade periodicals. Historians, writers, researchers, automotive stu dents and others find the library of sig nificant importance, especially for the history of the industry and its people. A truly unique organization, the Automotive Hall of Fame plans to ex pand the current building to more than double its present size. This will allow more recipients to be honored from all segments of the industry, including car and truck manufacturing, parts and service, marketing, inventors, design ers and many other categories. In addi tion, a climate-controlled library for rare collections will be part of the ex panded facilities. Future plans also include increasing the number of local AOT councils as well as the establishment of a 25-Year Club and a Golden Old Timers Associ ation for those who have been in the in dustry for 50 years or more. "We plan to provide a forum in several major cities around the country where . . . people can gather once or twice a year to renew friendships and honor those who have served and are serving," said Drex Minshall, chairman of the Hall of Fame. Currently, councils exist in New Jersey, Florida and Michigan. (For additional information on the Automotive Hall of Fame, write to: Dorothy Ross, president, AOT, P.O. Box 1742, Midland, MI 48640.) NEW NAPA DISTRIBUTION CENTER OPENS IN PENNSYLVANIA To better serve NAPA Jobbers, the Quaker City Motor Parts Company of Middletown, Delaware has opened a new NAPA Distribution Center. The new NAPA Carlisle Distribu tion Center, located in New Kingstown, Pennsylvania, was official ly opened for business on November 30, 1981. Gabe Hildebrand, former general manager at the NAPA Wind Gap Distribution Center, has been named general manager for the new opera tion. With the addition of the new NAPA Carlisle facility, NAPA now offers 72 distribution centers throughout the country to service NAPA Jobbers. STARTING YOUNG 7/2 month old Waylon Wayne Shell sure looks excited about NAPA's 1982 programs! Waylon is the son of Mike and Caren Shell and the grandson of Wayne "Pee Wee" Shell, who has operated S&K Auto Parts of Athens, Tennessee for 20 years. 25 NAPA MUFFLE WE'VE PUT ITALL K MERCHANDISING PROGRAMS NAPA Mufflers ond Shocks hove joined together to help increase your exhaust system ond shock absorber soles. And we've put together some strong merchandising programs that help tie these products together. Electric clocks, key holder boards, clip boaids ond wall ond window plaques for installers. Counter mors, floor mots, deluxe open hours signs and o calendar/corkboard MUFFLER AND SHOCK CENTERS A growing number of installers are discovering the profitability of muffler and shock instollotion. So turn one of your installer's service boys into a NAPA Muffler and Shock Center ond you'll soon turn a fast profit, too. As o "Neighborhood Professional," your installer will be supported by signage ond a co-op advertising program that should bring him plenty of muffler ond shock profits. We'll moke everything available that your NAPA Muffler and Shock Centers need, including a double-foced illuminated clock, a bay banner, posters, streamers and special soles materials. All the dressing your installers need to compete successfully against the muffler ond shock specialty shops, plus one distinct advantage -- the NAPA name. RS & SHOCKS. XaETHER FORYOU. GO THE NAPA WAY... WITH MUFFLERS AND SHOCKS Your muffler and shock soles will really odd up when your installers rake port in the NAPA Muffler and Shock Sales Incentive Program. We've designed a special plateau sales plan that earns your installers travel certificates for the mufflers and shocks they sell. These certificates can then be applied to one of the four NAPA national trip sites... Acapulco, Disneyworld, Hawaii or Las Vegas. The Spring Sales Incentive dates are CO-OP ADVERTISING This year, our 50/50 co-op program for muffler and shock absorber TV spots, radio spots ond newspaper ads will cany twice the product, twice the impact. By tying mufflers and shocks together, this year's advertising should appeal to more potential customers. Which puts more potential into your profit picture. Our new Muffler and Shock Co-op Ad Kit has a greater variety of newspaper and radio ods to choose from, in order to help you promote NAPA Mufflers and Shocks with more impact than ever before. This year, our 50/50 co-op program will help make you more successful. February 15 - April 15; the fall dates are August 15 - October 15. So get your installers to go the NAPA way and watch their additional sales ring up more profits for you. To find out how you con put it oil together for bigger muffler and shock profits, contact your local NAPA Muffler and Shock representative today. He'll be happy to explain any of the exciting new programs we con offer you. Find out for yourself -- when the nome is NAPA muffler and shock sales, the standard is success! OUR MUFFLER & SHOCK SALE ^8 GIVES YOUR PROFIT PICTURE DOUBLE EXPOSURE. Now rhar NAPA mufflers and shocks hove joined together, you con offer your customers twice the product. . . twice the sole. And we'll help you promote it with twice the impact. Our Muffler and Shock sale is rimed to coincide with NAPA's Spring Cor Core Doys, which will generate plenty of business. You con offer your customers two great savings. Price NAPA Deluxe Heavy Duty Shocks forjust $12.88* each ond offer $10.00 off** rhe price of NAPA original equipmenr mufflers. Twice rhe sole . . . plus colorful window srreomers, posters and co-op adverrising rhar will appeal ro twice rhe customers -- on television and radio, os well os in print. Our sale will pur you on rhe rood ro muffler ond shock profirs. Contact your NAPA muffler and shock salesman or distribution center for complete derails. NflPfll^OCKl ' Manufacturer's suggested sale price. ' 'Manufacturer's suggested retoil price. Division of Tenneco Automotive imwco.