Tim Ross and Upswell: Auto Repair Direct Mail Pioneers

hey folks I got we have Tim Ross once again and you know there's something that I want Tim to address and talk about today and it's really about mudlick mail I know you probably heard of mudlick mail what a crazy name for a company what a what what what what's this have to do with mudlick what what's it have to do with anything but really they were and Tim and his Partners uh Greg and all the people that work there were pioneers and taking direct mail to these automotive shop repair owners if you think about it and we saw Tim we saw massive Improvement in numbers I mean people would do 80,000 a month now they're doing 150 160 we've hit people go from a million dollars you know a year to two and three million by applying this tactic from this crazy company called mudlick right and so kind of walk us through how you seated that how it became what it is and and where you got to upsell today and just give us a brief historical view of this because I say you guys are pioneers and the Pioneer always has a story so tell us the story no great question and I appreciate it Gary you know I started this with my partner Greg Sans 16 years ago you know what we saw was a need in the automotive repair industry to not only bring in better quality C customers but do it in a consistent manner but we had to we had to address some of the operational efficiencies that this type of marketing was going to cause you because the direct mail we knew it would Target more higher middle income customers we knew that 85% of the customers that come are from a three mile radius right because convenience is a big part of a customer's decision right and and so you know for us we create we wanted to create a company that not only could help Drive in those top customers but then we had to build in some Consulting kind of with it right like we talked it's like when's a postcard company talking about not just targeting but they're talking about why they have oil change offers on their ad and how that impacts customers coming in and then how do you have to handle these guys on the phone otherwise they're just gonna not show back you know they're not going to buy anything and and so all of a sudden it was more complicated than just postcards it was like well for self-preservation purposes we had to create this backend of how do you handle calls and you know we did call tracking numbers so people could hear they they were shocked at how the them or their team were handling customers right and and so M came about by you know just that need to generate quality customers and then help our clients convert those customers right and so that area that we saw a need for it and you know we we built it up over the years and and got more and more um engaged in the auto repair industry with and we would do seminars and conventions and training and you know yeah we were doing all this non postcard stuff uh to build up our postcard business uh but you know it stem from a guy Greg Sans who owned and operated some of the most successful auto repair shops in the country right so we kind of took his model and and said let's share this with the world right and we shared this concept of of of not only how does how do we bring in people and customers but then how do they interact with those customers so that that they can get the biggest bang for their Buck on this Direct Mail improve response rates improve so a lot of it was an education of why we use certain offers why do we target people you know I want to hit that rich neighborhood 17 miles away versus a lower income that's like around the corner it it was an education process on why do we target what do we say what offers we use and that was kind of the the just of it right we put this together and then it kind of caught fire and it went from you know got Gary you and I kind of bumped into each other at a convention in 2008 and we're like how do we help spread the word because you know with Greg and I the passion we had no intention of growing this business to what it is today uh and for those who aren't really aware you know mudlick um mudlick was created in 2008 uh we Greg and I grew it to about 46 million in sales in 2018 uh and then we sold it to a private Equity company who had a very big interest in growing the business and and getting interest in in the postcard business and Greg retired and I stayed on and this year we'll probably do close to $80 million right and so the the point of that is you know we we just saw it was never meant to get that big the passion was helping the small business owner right helping them as you and I bumped into each other numerous times seeing shop owners struggling to pay their bills or grow their business or they wanted a second shop and they just didn't feel like they could get there being a part of that process and that a tool for them to help them be successful that's what really drove mudlick mail right you know and the mudlick name that's a whole another funny concept and maybe we'll we'll talk over later day but yeah I get that question all the time but mail is obvious but mudlick is a is an old you know Greg was big into wrestling back in the day and there was a guy from mudle Kentucky I know you're from Bowling Green Kentucky and it just stuck you know and I think people don't realize dreg also had a ranch called the mudlick uh Ranch helping special needs kids uh with his horses and so again the idea was let's create a special company that helps small businesses and that's kind of how the whole name came together and you know we were very blessed for 10 years but for us to take it to the next level to evolve to add more people to to spread the word out to you know improve our Technologies we had to grow and that's where Greg and I got to the point where hey we had to make a decision do we just keep bootstrapping this ourselves or do we bring on a company that we can partner with and that's where we brought on private Equity company that that partnered with us to help grow and as we grow you know we wanted to diversify some of the things that we offer because we've really expanded and that's where the name upswell came in it's it's it's just a a umbrella company name that allows us to bring in other companies and other um other services we offer but the same meat and potatoes of mudlick this most of the same staff are still here at upswell I've got I bet half the team here uh is mudlick team from back in the day I've got people that have been here with me for 10 15 years so it's been a very big blessing for us uh not only to stay together as a group but to help so many different um great shop owners out there a lot of them have become some of my best friends outside of business okay well there's always that question you know hey where did mudlick go well mudlick really didn't go anywhere they just change names and they offer a bigger uh cafeteria of products to better serve the marketplace and so uh there's one guy that's on your staff has been there forever and that's Jeff you know uh he and I talk some and and uh he's he's been there forever I mean they they all say well have Jeff call me well they they remember Jeff okay remember him so thank you Tim for sharing your wisdom about all these various things that are in the upswell product catalog the things that you folks can do and and guys if you want to talk about and ladies out there in automotive shops if you want to talk about Direct Mail just call me I'll talk to you about it we'll see if it's a fit for you and then we'll pass it on to somebody at upwell that can now do more of the details of what's what's where where's the best place to deploy your your advertising money maybe it's not acquisition maybe it's you've got massive database that they can tap into and do these different things so don't hesitate to give us a call and my phone number is direct anytime 270 2821 1262 Gary gun and Tim Ross thank you for pioneering and un Greg pioneering this uh direct mail that is evolved into upswell right yes sir so folks have a great day and thanks for watching these segments

Channel: Auto Shop Showcase With Gary Gunn

Views: 12

Keywords: auto repair shop, gary gunn, auto repair shop owner, auto repair owner, auto shop owner, automotive business, auto repair business, business owner, auto repair showcase, auto shop showcase, auto shop management, auto shop coach, auto repair shop coach

Id: aSn9Z9zUmT4

Length: 8min 59sec (539 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 13 2024