You hired them because they could lay PPF perfectly.
[READER POLL]
Their paint corrections are flawless. Never a comeback. Never a complaint about the work.
But here’s what you didn’t consider when you hired for skill:
Every employee you have is either building your brand or burning it.
There’s no neutral position. Every conversation, every interaction, every moment they’re representing your shop, they’re either reinforcing your value or undermining it.
The technician who does perfect work but doesn’t believe in your pricing?
They’re bleeding your business to death through a thousand tiny cuts.
When a customer hesitates at your price and your technician relates to that hesitation, even subtly, even with just body language, that moment of doubt becomes permanent. That customer will never see the full value in what you do because someone on the inside confirmed their suspicion: “it’s overpriced.”
Skills Are Teachable. Belief Isn’t.
Paint correction is teachable. PPF installation is teachable. Ceramic coating is teachable.
But belief? Conviction? The deep understanding that craftsmanship has value?
You cannot teach someone to value what they don’t value.
The Framework That Actually Works
Stop asking about experience. Start asking about values.
Ask this in your interviews:
“Tell me about something you own that you take exceptional care of.”
The person who talks about maintaining something for years, who understands preservation, who gets that some things deserve protection, that’s the person you want.
The person who shrugs and says “it’s just stuff” will always think your prices are too high. No amount of training will change that worldview.
Why This Matters
Your pricing isn’t about the service. It’s about confidence.
Your customer’s confidence comes from your team’s conviction.
When your team believes in the value, customers believe in the value.
When your team doubts the price, customers doubt the price.
You’re not running a skill-based business. You’re running a belief-based business.
Every employee is either a multiplier or a diminisher.
They multiply your values and your pricing power, or they diminish them.
The technical skills? You can teach those in weeks.
The belief system? That’s either there or it isn’t.
👉 Hire for values. Train for skills.
Your business depends on it.
—Gabe
P.S. Building a values-based hiring system isn’t complex. It’s just different from what you’ve been taught.