Meet the PRO:
TOP WORK STRENGTHS: Deep SEO expertise, a strong instinct for what drives marketing performance, and being the company visionary.
ABOUT: Brian Walker is the Owner and CEO of Shop Marketing Pros. Brian is a Mercedes-Benz Master Technician and has owned multiple shops and served as the Mechanical Division Director for ASA-NC. His education, as a double major in the School of Hard Knocks and Automotive & Diesel Technology, has given him the ability to understand the automotive industry and the responsibility of setting direction, defining priorities, and empowering operators who excel at systems and execution on our team. Brian intentionally builds teams that complement his strengths and offset his weaknesses, allowing SMP to scale without micromanagement.
He’s a mechanic at heart who loves fixing things that are broken, which is why he loves marketing so much. Digging in and figuring out why a business’s marketing isn’t working is a lot like it was when he was elbows deep into a car that no one else could fix. When you figure it out, there’s nothing else like it. To get to do this for auto repair shop owners combines his passions, and he couldn’t be more excited about helping shop owners.
I love marketing because I’m a diagnostician at heart. At its core, marketing isn’t that different from auto repair. Something is supposed to work a certain way – and when it doesn’t, you diagnose the problem and fix it. When it’s done right, marketing is just good diagnosis followed by honest work. Something that always interested him is that nobody really trusts mechanics, and nobody really trusts marketers either. When it’s done right, marketing is just good diagnosis followed by honest work.
Brian’s favorite thing about the automotive industry is the people.
“These are my people. I feel at home in a room full of shop owners. Despite the way the industry is sometimes perceived from the outside, most shop owners are salt-of-the-earth people who will do anything for those they care about. They’ll give you the shirt off their back. They’re driven, hardworking, and focused on building a better life for their families. Business doesn’t always come naturally to them – just like it didn’t come naturally to me – but we figure things out. That’s literally what this industry does. I love cars, but auto repair is far more about people than it is about cars. And the fact that the people in this industry understand that is exactly why I love it.”
MORE ABOUT BRIAN
BUCKET LIST ITEM:
My bucket list is a really big list, and most of it revolves around travel. I want to visit the Philippines, New Zealand, Banff, and so many other places. But I will say that the older I get, the more content I’m becoming just being at home. The Wanderlust is still there, though!
KNOWN ON THE TEAM FOR:
Not following the process
FAVORITE QUOTE:
“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter. It is the glory of kings to seek it out.”
– Proverbs 25:2
HOT TAKE:
Most marketing problems aren’t marketing problems. They’re customer service, sales, and business management problems.
FAVORITE SONG: