Dave Luehr

Elite Body Shop Solutions Announces May 2020 Webinar

Dave Luehr’s Elite Body Shop Solutions has announced its next free Elite Webinar Series, “Return to Prosperity by Embracing a ‘Repair First’ Ethos.”

Dave Flockhart, Chief Operating Officer at BETAG Innovation will present the webinar, which will be held on Tuesday 26 May at 1 PM CDT. You can register by clicking here, however those who are unable to attend the live event can watch the recorded webinar by joining the Elite Body Shop Academy for free here.

The company says COVID-19 has impacted the collision repair industry significantly, but it also presents an opportunity for repairers to refocus and prioritise initiatives that increase competitive advantage and gross margin. Elite Body Shop Solutions believes that as driving patterns start to resume and the number of collisions rise again, competition for repairable (as opposed to total loss) vehicles will increase, together with the need for advanced repair skills.

Flockhart will talk about the commercial benefits of embracing a ‘repair first’ ethos, together with the practical steps to make it happen.

Elite Body Shop Solutions says the key talking points will include:

  • Applying four tests to determine if a panel or part can be repaired properly
  • Qualifying the impact that a ‘repair first’ capability can have on total gross margin
  • Quantifying the associated potential increase in gross and net profit
  • Recognising the success factors necessary to achieve and measure results
  • Identifying and prioritising actions to deliver results.

Elite Body Shop Solutions Announces 2020 Webinar

Dave Luehr’s Elite Body Shop Solutions has announced its next free Elite Webinar Series, “Five Disruptions the Collision Industry Will Face in 2020 and Beyond”.

Frank Terlep, automotive industry executive, entrepreneur, author and disruptor, will present the webinar, which will be held on 23 January at 1 pm CST. You can register by clicking here, however those who are unable to attend the live event can watch the recorded webinar by joining the Elite Body Shop Academy for free here.

Terlep will talk about the five major disruptions the collision repair industry will face in 2020 and into the future, and how organisations can best prepare. The disruptions include the digitisation of the automobile, the digitalisation of business, digital intermediaries, mergers, acquisitions and consolidation, as well as new calibration and test drive requirements.

“Frank Terlep is a highly respected member of the collision repair industry and we are honoured to have him speak as part of the Elite Webinar Series,” said Dave Luehr, Founder, Elite Academy. “We’ve been watching him disrupt the auto and collision industries since the mid-1980s during his long and successful career and it will be exciting to hear his insights.”

Elite Body Shop Solutions says the key talking points will include:

  1. How the digitalisation of the automobile will challenge almost everything we have come to know about the automotive industry
  2. Why all businesses must become digital and implement technology to compete and win
  3. Why and how digital intermediaries are getting between the consumer and the shop
  4. Why mergers, acquisitions and consolidation will not go away anytime soon
  5. New ways to perform, manage, document and get reimbursed for test drives.

Dave Luehr To Reveal “The Six Secrets” At The Collision Repair Expo

During the 2019 Collision Repair Expo (CRE) being held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from 4 to 6 April, Luehr will give an account of his book, “The Secrets of America’s Greatest Body Shops”, in his presentation titled “The Six Secrets Revealed.”

Throughout the book, Luehr, along with co-author and BodyShop News US Correspondent Stacey Phillips, share lessons along with real-world stories of collision repairers who “have discovered the secrets that have propelled their businesses to a much higher level than their competitors.”

“The concepts are very simple in nature, but often contrary to common beliefs and traditional practices,” said Luehr. “It is my promise to you that if you are willing to challenge traditional methods and apply the lessons contained in ‘The Secrets of America’s Greatest Body Shops,’ you will transform your business in ways you may not have thought possible.”

Throughout his presentation at Australia’s major collision repair industry trade exhibition, which will take place at 1:00pm on Friday 5 April, Luehr says he will challenge smash repairers to think differently and understand that anyone with the right mental attitude can achieve incredible levels of success. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear lessons learned from Luehr’s industry experience as well as those from several successful repairers worldwide.

By applying some of the information contained in the book, as well as the stories he shares during his presentation, Luehr says smash repairers can grow a sustainable and profitable business in an industry experiencing unprecedented rapid change.

Luehr’s paperback book will be offered to 2019 CRE delegates at a discounted rate, while electronic versions are also available on Amazon, Audible and iTunes. For more information, visit bodyshopsecrets.com.

The 2019 CRE is concurrently being held with the 2019 Australian Auto Aftermarket Expo (AAE), forming Australasia’s largest automotive industry. Along with international guest speakers, a comprehensive free seminar program has also been organised specifically to assist the collision repair industry throughout this bumper three-day biennial trade exhibition. This combined with the products and services from some 400 local and world leading companies, makes the 2019 CRE and AAA Expo a priority to take part in this April. Pre-registration to attend is available at www.collisionrepair.com.au.

Dave Luehr’s Elite Body Shop Academy Launches ‘Operations Monthly Live’

Elite Body Shop Solutions founder Dave Luehr has announced the release of the Elite Body Shop Academy’s latest training course, Operations Monthly Live. The academy says the new course is specifically designed to help collision repairers receive interactive monthly training and support to reach their operational goals.

“My observations lately indicate that body shop leadership and their teams work way too hard for the results they are getting,” said Luehr. “Shops that will thrive in the future desperately need a better approach. My purpose in launching ‘Operations Monthly Live’ is to share these much‐needed operational secrets with our industry.”

Luehr is offering the first live cast for free on 8 January, 2019, at 10:00am US Central Standard Time.

The academy says that during this one-hour training session, Luehr will share a simple system of operational goal setting and execution that will help body shop executives proactively regain control and find operational success like never before.

To attend, visit and signup for Operations Monthly Live. The academy says visitors who subscribe to future monthly live casts will be given an opportunity to interact live with Luehr while learning world‐class operational techniques and leadership fundamentals, with the blend of educational content allowing participants to successfully implement and sustain the operational techniques learned each month.

Dave Luehr’s Elite Body Shop Academy was created in 2018, with the goal of providing “collision shop personnel modern operational, leadership, and general body shop education in an easy-to-access online video format”. Visitors can sign up for free at the academy to access their own private content accounts.

To learn more, visit elitebodyshopsolutions.com/academy.

Elite Body Shop Solutions Webinar On Scheduling Coming Soon

Elite Body Shop Solutions has announced the next instalment for its free Elite Webinar Series, “Simple, Effective Scheduling”, will feature Dave Luehr, Founder of Elite Body Shop Solutions, and Ron Kuehn, President of Collision Business Solutions, on Thursday, 25th October, at 1pm CST (6pm UTC).

Dave Luehr and Ron Kuehn say that they have learned most savvy shop owners understand that that they can no longer attempt to bring a majority of their week’s repair jobs in on Monday and then hope to get them all delivered by Friday, and scheduling based on estimated work hours doesn’t always work out either.

“Many collision repairers are either fed‐up with complicated and ineffective solutions or discovering that their scheduling ‘system’ isn’t really a system at all – they are essentially still ‘winging it’ when it comes to scheduling repair jobs into their shops,” Luehr said. “Modern, successful shops need to let go of old thinking in order to regain control of their business.”

Luehr and Kuehn says that they will guide the webinar attendees through the process of designing their own simple, effective scheduling system based on sound principles of managing work‐in‐process while ensuring maximum profitability.

By executing the information learned in this webinar, collision repairers can expect to increase profitability, eliminate unnecessary expenses caused by excess inventory, “massively” improve the customer experience, improve shop morale, “reduce the chaos, and get back control of your collision repair business”.

Every month, Elite highlights a topic to keep collision repairers and those that serve them abreast of the latest information required to be successful in today’s challenging business environment. This month, Elite says that attendees will discover new ways to become more successful and expand their horizons.

To register, visit events.genndi.com/channel/EliteWebinarOct2018. Those who are unable to attend the live event can watch the recorded webinar by joining the Elite Body Shop Academy at www.elitebodyshopsolutions.com/academy.

Audio Version Of ‘The Secrets of America’s Greatest Body Shops’ Out Now

Audio Version Available Now On Audible, Soon On iTunes

Dave Luehr, author of The Secrets of America’s Greatest Body Shops, believes that right now is the best time in history to be in the collision repair business, but only for those with the right mindset. Luehr and his co-author, Stacey Phillips, announced the audio version of the highly-acclaimed industry book is now available to purchase.

“I felt that the book was very well received in the collision repair industry, and I could not be happier about that,” said Luehr. “However, understanding that many in the industry find it difficult to find the time to read, or just don’t like to read, we felt it necessary to make an audio version available.”

The audio version of the book is now available to purchase on Audible and will be available soon on iTunes. All three versions of the book – paperback, Kindle and audio – are available on Amazon and at www.bodyshopsecrets.com.

Throughout the book, which was released in April 2017, the authors share insightful lessons along with real-world stories of actual collision repairers who have discovered the six secrets that have propelled them to a much higher level than their competitors.

“I believe the book contains critical information for many shop leaders who are wanting to take advantage of the challenging times we face as an industry, so we decided we would do whatever is required to get this information out there to those who need it,” said Luehr.

Mike Anderson, Jeff Peevy and Petra Schroeder are among the industry experts included in ‘The Secrets of America’s Greatest Body Shops’.

The authors invite body shop owners around the world to join the conversation and share their stories about how their business has changed since reading the book. Visit the book’s Facebook page and post a story and photo with the hashtag #myshopsecret.