U-R-G On the Go
An informative podcast for the United Recyclers Group. Each week we will feature an entertaining guest that will share their knowledge and information with you, providing you with tips and tools to help you become a more profitable business.
U-R-G On the Go
New Products and Partnerships for Business Growth
Unlock the latest industry insights and member benefits with Kristen Alexander, Director of Sales and Marketing, and Amanda Morrison, Director of Member and Vendor Relations at URG. Curious about the new Carfax hotkey or how VINmatch Pro can revolutionize your workflow? Amanda breaks it all down, stressing the importance of staying in the loop through our newsletters and e-blasts. Kristen brings exciting news about our growing community, introducing new members like Toy Auto Mart and All American Auto Dismantling, and offers essential contact information for any questions about member benefits and vendor relationships.
Join us as we unveil exciting new products and partnerships designed to supercharge your business. From the integration of eBay via WHI for seamless parts sales to Checkit's discounted chat function for better customer engagement, we've got you covered. Learn about our neutral stance in the catalytic converter market with our UCC partnership and get the scoop on the Mitchell Cloud estimating platform's temporary fee waiver. Don't miss our heartfelt tribute to Bill Weaver and details about his memorial service. Plus, discover cost-effective marketing solutions with Georgia and Chris, and stay ahead with information on upcoming conferences and opportunities for business improvement.
Welcome one and all. You are there and we are here. This is the URG On the Go podcast, the true voice of the automotive recycling industry. We do our best on every episode to bring you new, informative information and, of course, this is the episode where we have Kristen Alexander, director of Sales and Marketing, and Amanda Marson, director of Member and Vendor Relations, actually take over the podcast, and I sit in and do the mini commercials as we go along. But remember to like what we do. I'm DJ Harrington, better known as the Cardiologist, and this is a true checkup from the neck up when it comes to Kristen and Amanda. So, without further ado, amanda, I'll turn it over to you and we'll start.
Speaker 2:Hi DJ.
Speaker 1:Hi Amanda, how are you today?
Speaker 2:I'm doing good. I'm doing good. Thanks for having us on. We always enjoy coming on and talking to you and talking all about URG and what we've got going on.
Speaker 1:Well, I got to tell both of you when I saw people up in St Louis, all they wanted to talk about is you know, dj, no hard feelings, but Amanda and Christian are more exciting than you. And then I thought, well, I'm better off having two nice ladies like yourself and we'll go from there. So, amanda, what's happening new at URG that we want to share with our listeners?
Speaker 2:I love it. We've got lots of new add-ons for our member benefits. So we do now have a ton of new benefits that we've added on with different vendors, such as CheckIt, as well as Carfax. We've got a new hotkey, and so we'll kind of go into all the different benefits that we've added here recently and we wanted to give you an overview of all the different benefits that you guys can take advantage of as of now as a URG member and really make sure that you're taking advantage of all these benefits.
Speaker 2:So one of the key benefits that we just added is a Carfax hotkey so you can now access your Carfax reports at a discounted rate as a URG member through the URG hotkey.
Speaker 2:So if you guys are not utilizing the hotkey with the URG member benefits, there are a ton of different benefits that you can utilize through the hotkey, such as the Parts Pro access as well as the core program, and now we have that Carfax hotkey that you can access those reports. We also have the VINmatch Pro on there too, so you can access a ton of different reports via those hotkeys. So that's something we want to make sure you're educated on and that's something also that we wanted to touch base on is making sure that you guys are keeping up with the e-blast. So we send out newsletters and e-blasts anytime that we have a program or new benefit that comes up for our members. So we just want to make sure that you guys are taking advantage of those benefits and are aware of what's coming up next. So making sure that you're keeping a lookout for those e-blasts and keeping up with the day-to-day of getting those member benefits added.
Speaker 1:Hey, amanda, before we go any further this is a lot of information Can I share with our listeners? Your direct line, please? Yes, yeah, 512-887-3951 is Amanda's direct line. 888-888-887-3951 is Amanda's direct line. Email at any time A-M-O-R-R-I-S-O-N at u-r-gcom and Amanda gets right back with you. So in case you have any questions on any kind of new member or vendor relationships, she's really the person to get a hold of. And if you just want updates and say, hey, what's happening new, there's a lot of information that they can give you.
Speaker 2:So exactly Yep, and that's my, my position now here at URG we kind of separated our roles a little bit more Kristen and I and so Kristen is taking over kind of the new membership role and I'm taking over the membership benefits and the vendor connections. So, like DJ said, if you guys have any questions regarding member benefits that you're currently utilizing or that are coming up that we're promoting, please feel free to reach out to me. And then Kristen's also a great avenue for new members that are potentially wanting to get onto URG. She's a great person to get you started on all those benefits as well.
Speaker 1:Well, can I do this before we take a break? Kristen Alexander, Director of Sales. Can you tell us some of the new members that have joined?
Speaker 3:Yes, absolutely so. Just this past month we've had quite a big uptick in membership. So one of our first ones are Toy Auto Mart in Rancho Cordova, california, as well as All American Auto Dismantling in Rancho Cordova, california, and then we lastly have Thunder Mountain Auto Parts and sales in Olive Hill, kentucky. So, like I said, really great time to become a URG member. Like Amanda has mentioned, we have a lot of great benefits that we're providing, constantly updating our programs and releasing new things, so can't wait to tell you guys about it after the break.
Speaker 1:You got it. That's a perfect timing, Kristen. So let's take a break, folks, and when we come back we'll hear more about what's happening at URG. Be right back.
Speaker 4:URG can help you streamline your business for maximum efficiency and increased profits. Access powerful software and unique tools. Receive top-level training with industry experts. Network with hundreds of recyclers. Employ e-commerce solutions to boost business. Receive support, resources and discounts Starting at just $150 a month. It's the smartest investment you will make for your business this year. Go to u-r-gcom and click on Become a Member. Your path to a profitable future is just a click away. That's u-r-gcom.
Speaker 1:Welcome back listeners. Of course you know you're listening to URG on the go podcast, this special edition with Kristen Alexander and Amanda Morrison, by all means, and DJ Harrington I can't forget myself here, please. We want to thank all of you. You, this is the fastest growing podcast in the automotive recycling industry and I can't thank you enough. We're available on spotify, itunes, pandora, stitcher, iheart media, amazon or wherever you get your podcasts, and we cannot thank you enough of one person telling another person telling another person, and this has really, really grown. So, without further ado, amanda, let me send it back to you for more information.
Speaker 2:Yes, thanks, dj. So we are just really excited about all the new products that we have coming out, all the new vendor connections that we have and you coming out, all the new vendor connections that we have, and you know, all of the current vendor connections that we have as well, have been doing very great. You know we have an eBay connection that we've done really well with it's through WHI, it's an eBay subsidiary and we have a ton of our yards utilizing that eBay connection and the cool part about that is that a lot of yards will be on the dual integration. So they'll do e-link as well as our eBay with WHI and they've actually seen very good traction with both integrations. So you know, even if you're already on one integration, you can even add another one and then that way you're getting that dual connection and you're potentially getting those parts sold via that eBay link. So you know you want to make sure that you're taking a look at all the different avenues. Even if you are on a certain platform already, you know you can potentially take advantage of another vendor or another opportunity and sell more parts via that avenue. So all of our data feeds are safely connected to these vendors and that's something that we really try to focus on is making sure that your data is safe, going to these vendors and making sure that they're using it for selling parts and for that reason only, and then that way you are being able to trust that data feed going to these third-party vendors.
Speaker 2:So, kind of going back to a new vendor that we offer, checkit is our newest associate member.
Speaker 2:He has offered a discounted rate for the chat function that you can add to your website. So, along with all of our other benefits, we offer website build-out, so we have a ton of different templates that you can add to your website. So, along with all of our other benefits, we offer website build-out, so we have a ton of different templates that you can choose from, as well as a ton of different add-ons that you can do, such as Podium and CheckIt. Checkit is a very cost-effective way for you to be able to chat with your customers online while they're shopping, and so that's obviously one of the biggest avenues these days is shopping online, making sure that your website is mobile friendly, being able to access it via an iPad or an iPhone. You know 80 to 90% of customers are shopping via the internet these days, so making sure that you're online and available for those customers and even being able to chat with them. We want to make sure you have those opportunities available to you at a discounted rate as a URG member.
Speaker 1:Hey, amanda, what I wanted to ask, do you think now I had to look up, check it C-H-E-K-K-I-T. But, daniel, if there's some listener who really wants to get more information, Daniel's direct phone number. Listeners, listen up now. Daniel at Check it C-H-E-K-K-I-T. By all means. His phone number is 431-803-5853. So if you want to call him directly and just tell him you heard it on the podcast, I'm more than happy.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean, Amanda. I mean he'll say I'm my podcast, the URG on the go podcast. We heard all about it. We're out there. All right, Kristen. We're out there. All right, Kristen. What's new in your area?
Speaker 3:Hey. So Amanda mentioned a lot of really great programs and a lot of companies that we're working with. In addition to that, we've also just recently announced our partnership with UCC on our catalytic converter company. For all of the yards that currently use our core program, they can now access catalytic converter pricing. I do want to just point out on that note that this is not an endorsement for UCC. It's just the beginning, and we're planning to integrate tools for more catalytic converter companies in the future, and we do remain neutral and impartial when it comes to these companies that you choose to work with. So again, just another great avenue for you guys to get pricing on your different parts, especially if this is the first of its kind through URG. So I really want to highlight that program, yeah, and Kristen, that was a good way of explaining it.
Speaker 2:So, because some of these other catalytic people are sitting and saying, well, am I going to be part of that, or they can too, also, yeah, and they can be and that's something that we're definitely wanting to hone in on and make sure that we're advertising is that we're wanting to make sure that all catalytic converters companies know that we're willing to work with them and have them on the program as well if they're wanting to get onto it. So um, reach out to us and let us know I I'm the main contact for that. So if they're they're wanting to get onto it, so um, reach out to us and let us know I am the main contact for that. So if they're they're wanting to get on that, they can just let us know and we can try to get them on there as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because right now I am drinking a Coke. And guess what? And guess what's on the cover of the Coke? My Raz cooler.
Speaker 4:I got my.
Speaker 1:I got my UR urg scholarship, hat on, and I'm drinking from my raz cooler. So paul diodamo, better get on the stick here dj, that's a great point.
Speaker 3:I mean, there's so many different companies out there and we love to work with. You know we love to provide our members with the opportunity to choose. So definitely, like Amanda said, reach out to her. She's going to be the vendor we're contacting and she can help you, kind of give you the information you need to be on the program, because the more of them on there, the more that our recyclers have the choice to choose.
Speaker 2:That's what we're here for.
Speaker 1:Yes, and before we go a little further, I have to share with you. Somebody asked me one time. Rob Rainwater said why do you mention all these other people? And I said well, when we were talking about if you put up a display at URG, prp you know we Are One Conference go by and visit the people who have a successful booth, like the car part or commercial forms or Amanda at, you know, at Copart. When you see how well they do their booth, you should emulicate what they're doing and duplicate a successful person.
Speaker 1:That's all we're trying to share, and the same way with this. When they're listening to this on the podcast, we're more than happy. Anybody who is involved with URG and involved in a regular basis. We want to promote the company. I mean, that's our effort anyway.
Speaker 2:Exactly. We want to make sure that recyclers know what's out there and is available to them and have easy access to it. That's what URG is about is making sure that you guys have the most up-to-date and relatable. Obviously, you're going to want to relate that to your business and want to utilize it in your business. So making sure that it's going to work for you and the companies are going to work for you, and giving us feedback as well on these companies that you guys are utilizing too.
Speaker 2:So that's something that I always want to know as well. So you guys have any kind of feedback on any of companies that you're wanting to work with potentially in the future that we don't have a connection with. That's always something I'm looking for as well. We're always looking to develop new ways to make things easier and more user friendly for our recyclers. So if you have any feedback, any kind of vendor that you're looking at, potentially you are wanting to have a data feed to, or you know on, the core program, that's always something we're willing to kind of look at and make sure that we can have you guys take advantage of kind of look at and make sure that we can have you guys take advantage of.
Speaker 1:I know that's real important because, just like when we help cash for cars or yeah, cars for cash. I guess that's the name of the company and we helped them during the show. It worked out perfect. And our friend Doug Williams. All of a sudden now he's getting cars from him, which is fantastic, and that's the way and that's the way it's supposed to be of all of us helping each other be more successful.
Speaker 2:Exactly Well, and yeah, just like this Carfax hotkey. We're wanting to make sure all of our members have this new hotkey because we are getting rid of the Carfax big side of things, so you'll only be able to access this Carfax report via the hotkey, and so it does make it way easier. But we do have to make sure that you guys are keeping up with getting that update to that hotkey. So that's also something that we want to make sure you guys are keeping up to date with the e-blast and getting notified if anything needs to be updated so that you can utilize it further. Make sure you're keeping informed as well. All right, and picking up our phone calls as well. I got you.
Speaker 1:Now, if somebody's looking for more help with the website, who do they talk to about the website design and so forth, or somebody from the website department getting a hold of them?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so if you're interested in getting a website, so you can either do a custom website or we have templates that they can choose from as well. So it just depends on what price point they're looking for and what different add-ons they're wanting to do. But I'm the main contact for current members and then Kristen is the contact for new members. So if a new member is wanting a website and that's kind of what they're hoping for, that's what Kristen would handle, and if you're a current, you are g member I would handle your website development on that end. So if you guys have any questions, just reach out. You can always reach out to support at you dash our dash gcom. If you're not sure who which one of us to reach out to, we all answer that support email as well, so that's a good way to get a hold of us if any of us are out of town All right.
Speaker 3:Yes, and just on that note, real quick, the website process is so easy to get started on. Once we get on a call with you and kind of get an understanding of what you're looking for, we hop on a call with our website team, go through the demos, let you pick, we go through your content, we go through any ownership you have of, like your domain or anything you want to move over, and it's just such a seamless process. So I highly recommend, if you're needing a new website, at least give the conversation a shot. You're going to learn a lot and get a new design.
Speaker 1:Fantastic. All right, folks, let's take a real fast break and when we come back we're going to learn more about URG, what it could do for you. See you in a second we'll be right back.
Speaker 4:the URG scholarship foundation was founded in 2014 in honor of individuals who give their talent, time and, very often, their own finances to ensure the growth and success of the automotive recycling industry. We understand college is not for everyone, so each year the Foundation offers substantial financial scholarships to auto recycling employees and the children of employees that are attending four-year and technical or trade schools, to assist with their education. Don't leave money on the table. If you have a child or if you're interested in attending continuing education, this money is available to you. Go to u-r-gcom and click on the Scholarship Foundation tab. Urg keeping our industry strong through education.
Speaker 1:Welcome back listeners. Of course you know you're listening to the number one podcast in the automotive industry, urg On the Go podcast. Remember to like, review and share everywhere. And if there's an industry expert like a Shannon Nordstrom, a Dan Snyder, a Ryan Falco that you want to hear on this podcast, by all means dial the hotline number 706-409-5603. And we'd be more than happy to get Amanda to go talk to them. We'll get a man down there Because there are some people.
Speaker 1:It's amazing how the Dan Snyder podcast now all of our podcast listeners they're all archived. So if you want to go back and look at some of the podcasts in the past and you hear some of the pros that we've had on the podcast, it is excellent and the one recent with Doug Williams from Eagle was very, very good. Here is a small you know, a small recycling yard compared to some others and all of a sudden it was a fantastic interview and Amanda did a great job. So just dial our hotline number here at the podcast studio 706-409-5603, and we will do our best. Kristen Alexander, director of Sales and Marketing. Let me turn the ball over to you.
Speaker 3:Thanks, cj. Just a couple more things I want to highlight. The biggest thing is we just integrated with Mitchell. So, for those of you who aren't familiar with Mitchell, they are an auto physical damage market leader. They have over 75 years of experience with the accelerating claims management and collision repair processes.
Speaker 3:Mitchell Cloud estimating platform, which I'm sure a lot of you have used in the past or are using currently. It essentially helps you get connected to estimators and suppliers just to sell more parts. So, like I said, we have integrated with them and we'll be currently waiving our hundred dollar a month fee for our members to get on this platform. So on this, it is their new integrated part solution and again, it is providing estimators with up-to-date part information from our partners, like you, and that includes the part price, the availability, the delivery days and photos currently. So definitely a good integration to take advantage of. Like I said, right now it is currently free, but in the future it will be $100 a month. So just look out for that. If you're a current member, you don't need to do anything additional. At the moment, we will just send out an e-blast with any further information, so be sure to check your email.
Speaker 1:That is fantastic.
Speaker 3:Yes, and on that note, if you would like to see a video of how um, we will have a recording with mitchell on the program um, so we will post that as well there you go, amanda, can I turn it over to you?
Speaker 2:yeah, so, um, we were talking a little bit about the websites and I did want to touch a little bit about the tire search function as well. We have a new tire search function that can search through your tire inventory. We pull your inventory through our system and are able to have your tire inventory on your website, so it's searchable through the website whenever you go to on the web page as well as on the mobile device. You know the website whenever you go to on the web page as well as on the mobile device, so you can search through your tires inventory as well as your regular inventory on there. That's how that works we pull that inventory and it goes directly to your site along with the imaging and the information from the inventory management system that you have.
Speaker 3:So that's just another avenue that you can take. So we've gone through a lot of different benefits that our Aussie friends, georgia and Chris. A lot of you have met them at the conference. They are amazing people. Urg has partnered with them for social media and marketing services. So you know, we know, that it's very difficult to find staff and when you do find staff, there's obviously a high fee associated with that. So we have outsourced our social media and marketing services so that now you guys can take advantage of that as well, so you'll get access to cost-effective solutions and level up your marketing game.
Speaker 1:Fantastic. Now we're learning all this stuff. Now the two of you, can I, before we end, what I wanted to ask? Are there things that the two of you want to bring up? Because just before I get done doing my part, you know, we had a friend in our industry pass away, bill Weaver. And this podcast is being put out. You know we're recording today, but a week from today it's being put out. We're recording today, but a week from today it's actually put out so.
Speaker 1:Bill Weaver is having a memorial service. He's already passed away and been buried, but he has it at the Catholic Church. It's St Bernard's Catholic Church and it's in Clearwater, Florida. St Bernard's Catholic Church and it's in Clearwater, Florida, and it's actually Friday, June 21st is the service at 11 o'clock in the morning. So, in case any of you podcast listeners, we all knew Bill Weaver, fantastic human being, and has done so much charity.
Speaker 1:It has taught us about paying it forward, because of his generosity and his services are on the 21st, so I figured I'd just pass it out, alright?
Speaker 2:Yeah, thank you for that DJ.
Speaker 1:Well, it was the right thing to do. Yeah, I completely agree Without me tearing up because he was a wonderful guy. I completely agree Without me tearing up because he was a wonderful guy. Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2:So, amanda and Kristen, what are your final words for our podcast? You know, dj, we just we love coming on here and being able to talk to all of you about the URG benefits and what we're about, and we would love to be able to educate you. If you have any questions regarding member benefits or if you're liking to get signed up for URG membership, we would love to have a call with you and discuss what that looks like. We would love to go through all the different benefits with you, get you a new website, get you into this century with your business and make sure that you guys are getting your parts online, getting your parts where they need to be to make sure they're getting sold. That's what we're here for.
Speaker 2:We're here to help you and your bottom line.
Speaker 2:Essentially, we're here to help create efficiencies and processes to make your life a little bit easier and to sell you more parts.
Speaker 2:So if you are having any issues with selling parts or if you're having any kind of caveats with your business, please feel free to reach out with to us. We have so many different avenues, so many different vendors that would love to help, as well as a network of you know helpful recyclers, like all of these podcasters that we have on these interviews with bj and myself, you know they're willing to help and give some feedback on how to help run your business better and and it working on your business rather than in your business. So that's something that really make sure you guys are honing in on and if you have any questions, dj gave out our information, but we're always a good avenue for y'all to reach out to. And again, the conferences are always huge, so we'll be having our conference next April in and make sure you're keeping an eye out. We'll be starting to announce some things here in the near future regarding that, so that's something to keep an eye out for as well.
Speaker 1:Fantastic Kristen. How about you?
Speaker 3:I think Amanda kind of said it all. What I will highlight is URG. Our purpose is just to help you sell more parts and to help your business grow, aside from just the networking opportunities and the programs that we offer. You know we're here just to help you. We continue to come out with these new programs and you know work harder for you guys. So you know we would love to get your feedback on anything. Just continue to help you grow. And then Amanda did touch on the conference. It's crazy to think that we're already talking about it, but you know, amanda and I both got an email from Jennifer just yesterday talking about the conference planning and we were like, oh my goodness, I cannot believe that it's already in progress. Like we are literally two months out from our past conference and we're already planning for our next one. But we can't wait. That's just how excited it is and how much planning goes into it. So mark your calendars for april 10 through the 12th um 2025 in orlando you got it.
Speaker 1:I'm talking about orlando. You know one of our dear people that, and I don't know whether you girls are going to be there or somebody will be there FADRA has their convention and trade show.
Speaker 3:Yes, I will be there.
Speaker 1:You guys will be there. So it's July 18th through the 21st and that's one of the finest trade shows. So you know, since we are the voice of the automotive industry, we might as well tell people if you're in the Florida area, you better get your butt down there July 18th through the 21st in Orlando for the FADRA show, and that's always a great show yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Come see Kristen. She'll be there representing URG yes.
Speaker 1:I will, and Kristen, it's amazing how many people walked over in St Louis, how many people came over to me and said, dj, we listen to the podcast all the time. So I hope people that are at the show will come over to you and say hey, kristen, we heard you on the podcast.
Speaker 1:They will All right Without further ado, guys. Kristen Alexander's direct line is 512-887-7922. And Amanda's direct line is 512-887-3951. And until next time, this is DJ Harrington telling you have a safe, good time with your families. Love the ones you're with. See you next time on URG, on the Gold Podcast.