The Profitable Parts Counter is a ten-module operating system for the auto parts counter — collect what's owed, cut complaints and comebacks, keep special orders honest, and run a 45-minute Monday meeting from one page. Built by an operator with 15 years behind the counter.
| Metric | Number | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Comebacks this week | 14 | Ban “should be” again |
| Hottest bucket | WRONG / LATE | Second eyes on lookalikes |
| AR 45+ days past due | $6,940 | Two accounts stay on hold |
| Open specials / blocked | 4 / 1 | Blocked special does not ship |
| Kill-list dollars | $575 | Two lines go back Friday |
Trade Sell Academy publishes practical, field-tested courses for the people who sell and serve behind a counter, on a route, or across a district. No theory decks — every course ships with the tools to run it on Monday.
Stop complaints. Land accounts. Collect what’s owed. Keep inventory and orders from wrecking the store. One way to run the counter — in every store.
More sales courses for the trades are in the works. Want first word when they launch — or have a topic your team needs?
A counter can write tickets all day and still lose money. Profit leaks out in seven predictable places:
The course replaces “every manager fixes it their own way” with one vocabulary, one written AR rule and one Monday page.
A day 30 / 35 / 45 / 60 collection calendar, a name next to every 45+ account, and disputed lines parked — not wiped.
Four complaint codes, a 90-second make-whole, a 60-second staging check and second eyes on lookalikes, kits, left/right and cores.
Owner and a real promise date on every special. No more “hope” dates. Nothing ships to an account on hold.
Ask for the related line, make the customer whole without giving away the order, and know when to walk from cost-plus-nothing.
An A-item list and a kill list — every line with an owner and a day.
Every store brings the same page every week, so a district leader can read any store the same way.
“A sale is not a collected dollar.”
One code, a make-whole and a fix — so the store sees which fight it keeps losing.
At 45 or more days past due, a new special order waits until the money is in the building. Shelf sales can still be cash. Use your own policy number — it’s one cell in the workbook.
The same page every week: comebacks, AR, specials, quiet accounts, dead stock. Every number gets a name and a date.
A written course plus a working Excel workbook. Take it on your own one module a night, or run it as ten 30–45 minute team sessions. The course is finished when the store runs one Monday meeting with the workbook.
Ten short modules in PDF and editable Word. Each has a learn box, the lesson, a do-this checklist, the matching workbook tab and a quick recap.
Start Here page plus ten tabs, one tool per tab. Formulas do the counting — aging buckets, 45+ holds, quiet accounts, complaint tallies. Filled example and blank copies.
A five-question check for every module, with an answer key. Easy to rebuild in your own LMS quiz tool.
A ready-to-fill certificate template to recognize everyone who finishes the ten modules.
Every module’s talk track on one printable page for the register — wrong part, late promise, price fight, day-30 AR and more.
Who takes which modules, how to run a 30–45 minute session, plus license terms for your edition.
No integration needed — the workbook runs in Excel next to whatever POS or catalog you already use. It also opens in Google Sheets and LibreOffice.
Each module: a short read, a filled example, a talk track, homework and a five-question knowledge check. About 15–25 minutes each.
Where a busy counter actually bleeds, and the three questions to ask every day.
Sort every complaint into one of four types, what to say in the first 90 seconds, and how to find this week’s fight.
Which shops to go after, what to say in the first conversation, and how to handle the first order and credit.
What a complete counter sale looks like, the words to stop using, and the rules for special orders.
What “current” really means, how to split the book, and the call schedule that keeps good accounts from going quiet.
The collections calendar, the 45-day credit rule for special orders, what to say at day 45 and day 60, and how to handle disputes.
Sort inventory four ways, build your first A-item list and kill list, and turn dead stock back into cash.
Put real names on every job, run a 10-minute daily scoreboard, and back your people so they make decisions.
The path every order takes from quote to door, the non-negotiables, and the 60-second staging check.
Run a 45-minute Monday meeting from one page, in the same order every week, so decisions get a name and a date.
Brand-neutral and built to run alongside any banner, catalog or POS. Your own credit limits, terms and return rules plug right in.
Give one manager — or the whole crew — a system for AR, specials and complaints that doesn’t depend on who’s on shift.
Hand member stores a shared playbook and the same weekly numbers, without touching anyone’s systems.
One vocabulary, one written AR rule and one Monday page across every location you run.
Load it to your LMS or intranet, certify internal trainers, and adapt the workbook to your policies.
| Who | What they take | What “done” looks like |
|---|---|---|
| New counter hires | Modules 1, 2, 4 and 9 plus the talk-track card, in the first two weeks | Codes every complaint. Writes promise dates they can stand on. |
| Counter leads & drivers | Modules 1, 2, 4, 5, 8 and 9 | Owns a line on the Job Roster. Logs quiet accounts the same day. |
| Store managers | All ten modules, in order, with homework | Has run four Mondays in a row with the page. |
| District / area leaders | Modules 1, 6, 7 and 10 | Reads every store’s Monday page the same way. |
| Internal trainers | All ten modules and knowledge checks, plus delivery practice (Enterprise) | Runs one module per 30–45 minute session. |
Same course, same workbook. Pick the license that matches how many people and stores you’re training.
Independently owned, member or franchised stores are covered only when named on the order. Not for resale or group sharing without a Store Pack or Enterprise license.
At the end of 90 days, read the pilot stores’ Monday pages side by side. Same numbers, every store, every week:
Pick up to 10 pilot stores and name an owner in training and in operations.
Managers take the ten modules; stores start the workbook and the Monday page.
Compare the pilot stores’ Monday pages side by side at day 90.
Go company-wide on Enterprise — the $3,000 pilot fee is credited toward the license.
A written course guide (PDF and editable Word), the Excel operating workbook (a filled example copy and a blank copy), a printable talk-track card, a five-question knowledge check for each module with an answer key, a completion certificate template, and the license terms for your edition.
A written guide plus a working Excel workbook. Each of the ten modules is a short read with a filled example, a talk track and homework, tied to one workbook tab. Take it on your own, one module a night, or have a manager or trainer run it as ten 30–45 minute team sessions.
Ten modules. On your own, one module a night works. As a team, one session a week is a common pace. The course is finished when the store runs one Monday meeting with the workbook.
No. The course teaches a method, not your policy. Use your company’s numbers and keep the discipline: a written rule that doesn’t bend for whoever yells loudest. Set the workbook’s credit-hold days to match your own policy on the Start Here tab.
No integration is needed. The workbook runs in Microsoft Excel next to whatever system you use — numbers are typed in or pasted from a report. It also opens in Google Sheets and LibreOffice.
Enterprise licensees may upload the guide, workbook and knowledge checks to an internal LMS or intranet behind employee login, and rebuild the knowledge checks in their own LMS quiz tool. Materials are delivered as PDF, Word and Excel files; they aren’t currently packaged as SCORM. If you need SCORM or xAPI, raise it when you request a quote.
No. It’s brand-neutral and not affiliated with any parts chain, distributor, banner or program group. All example shops, people, part numbers and dollar amounts are invented for teaching.
Under an Enterprise license, your internal trainers may deliver the course live and certify other internal trainers to deliver it. It doesn’t allow training people outside the licensed company.
The Monday Meeting tab pulls the same numbers every week from the other tabs: comebacks by type, make-whole dollars, AR 45+ days past due, open and blocked specials, quiet accounts and kill-list dollars. Track them per store over time. Results depend on how the system is run; no specific result is guaranteed.
Yes. The optional Enterprise pilot is $3,000 for up to 10 stores for 90 days, and the pilot fee is credited toward an Enterprise license if you go company-wide.
Email us directly or use the form — it opens a pre-filled email in your mail app. We reply by email.
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