POWAY, California (August 24, 2005) – Recognizing that competition among automotive shops is as fierce as ever these days, Mitchell 1 is offering two free “how to manage your competition” workshops during the AAPEX Show to be held at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas between November 1 – 4, 2005.

Industry expert Bob O’Connor, president of R. L. O’Connor & Associates, Inc., an automotive operations and management training and consulting firm, will lead each of the three-hour long workshops. Both workshops are free with admission to the show but they do require advanced registration since space is limited.

In the first workshop entitled, What’s Your Competition Doing?, O’Connor will address issues relating to the increasing competition among all segments of the automotive repair/service industry for customers and car count…as well as vehicle visit frequency. This fast-paced workshop will provide attendees with inside knowledge on what other segments of the automotive service industry are doing in an effort to capture the lion’s share of the very lucrative preventive maintenance market. The workshop will take place on November 2 from 1 – 4 p.m. in Room 207 of the Sands Expo Center.

Cleverly titled, World-Class Service Providers Easily Eat Their Competitor’s Lunch, the second workshop deals with how to vie for market share in the maintenance and repair business. O’Connor will provide insight on how important a shop’s service advisor can be in winning and maintaining a major share of the highly competitive automotive preventive maintenance and
repair business in their market area. Participants will leave this session with the knowledge and little-known sales techniques of how to outsell their competitors by acquiring their customers and keep them coming back. This workshop is set for November 3 from 1 – 4 p.m. in Room 207 of the Sands Expo Center.

“The competition among repair shops – especially when you consider car dealers and their focus on service – is getting significantly more intense these days.” explains Nick DiVerde, director of marketing for Mitchell 1. “If shop owners and managers want to acquire proven “competitive advantages” attendance at these two seminars is essential.”

To register for the workshops, visit the AAPEX Show website at www.aapexshow.com and click on the workshop and events schedule.