Industry Insiders: Differentiate Your Business with Scott Robertson (Part 3)

Hollander Excellence sat down with Scott Robertson of Robertson Auto Salvage, in Wareham, Mass. The conversation ranged a variety of topics, especially focused on how the company differentiates itself from other salvage yards and the competition level of the auto recycling industry. Part 3 of 4 upcoming posts is below.

Hollander: Yeah. What's been your biggest lesson that you have learned from having to compete with other places?

Scott Robertson:  You have to constantly review your pricing. If you let your prices get stale, they can get stale in a matter of weeks, months.  You know, you really have to be careful with your pricing.  You have to be able to have the inventory.  You have to buy product.

There are a lot of guys who run their yards trying to sell other people's product.  There are a lot of successful people out there selling other people's product, but I think it is a lot harder way to make a living than having the product and being the provider of the parts than the broker of parts. 

Hollander:  In auto recycling, do you see one area that is really needing change, or you don't feel as kept up with the times, or needs to evolve a little more for your business success?

Scott:  I think what needs to change is the public's perception about used auto parts.  You know, sometimes a person's perception of something is a lot different than the reality of what something is.  You know you can go back to Anderson Cooper’s Reports and the perception is out there that everything, all used auto parts are junk and they are not good.  If you get enough people saying that and believing that then there can be a pretty big ground swell. 

That's really not reality.  I think what we have to do is work on people's perception of used auto parts and how they can utilize used auto parts in fixing the cars.

Hollander:  How do you deal with that on a daily basis when you are speaking to customers or new customers that might be calling your business?  What do you tell them?

Scott: Like I said, by the time they call us they have already made up their mind and they already know that we have the part, and they are already ready to buy the part.  They are not making a call to chat or do this or do that.  I think it is more so the person that is getting their car fixed at a dealership, or the person who has a problem out there.  What is that person thinking?  You know, why aren't they looking for a used auto part?  Because once a person calls they have already made up their mind that they are going to buy a used auto part.

This concludes part 3 of our interview with Robertson Auto Salvage owner, Scott Robertson. To learn more about him and what his company is doing, please visit http://www.robertsonautosalvage.com/.