Dealer OPS & Leadership
It Turns Out You Can Fix Stupid Part 1
I suspect like most of you have, I calculated that stupid wasn't fixable -- after all someone famous -- comedian Ron White -- I think said that. On the other hand, ignorance was fixable, or so I figured. I saw stupid as an inherited gene which somehow got corrupted...
Living with Factory-based Ordering Systems
A little over four years ago we looked at the up and coming factory-based inventory management programs that were just coming online. The overall objectives, as stated by the vendors, were to improve the quality of dealer inventories and increase fill rates off the...
A Competitive Edge with Customer Service
Your customer service stinks! According to an extensive study by the DiJulius Group, 41% of you are guilty of the “stink” declaration. Another 38% of you are only rated as “average” in customer service, 18% are rated as “above average” and a measly 3% are acclaimed as...
Non-Compliance – Your Employees May Be Costing You Money
We recently published an article in this magazine entitled “ Supplier Audits to Reduce Costs and Improve Compliance." The article encouraged organizations to audit suppliers on a periodic basis to verify compliance with price, terms surcharges, etc. While supplier...
Small Coverage Details that Could Cost Your Dealership a Fortune
The past several months we have seen some interesting policy quirks. Knowing this information may help you be certain that you have the right insurance coverage for your operation and are paying what you expect to pay. Aggregate auto inventory deductibles – The...
‘Kick Butt & Take Names’ Marketing
Don T. is a second generation import dealer who regularly sends me e-mail updates on success milestones at his family’s dealership. “We’re ahead of last year for the past 3 months,” says Don, “and we’re looking for the best August ever!” Don and his team are kicking...
Don’t Write It in Sand, Carve It in Stone
Every time I do a 20 group, dealer state association meeting or anything where a group of dealers are gathered without their managers, I start hearing what used car managers will not do or adhere to, or what they want as policy. I have some recommendations for that so...
Preparing for Change – Don’t Lose Data or E-mails
Changing DMS or CRM providers is hard enough. Your employees don’t like change and it seems like you never get all your data from your old system into the new system. Two things that you might not have expected during the change is a loss of archived data and customer...
Voicemail – the Forgotten Tool
In past articles I’ve shared my belief that the best way to immediately improve sales is simply getting better at what you do with existing leads, particularly interacting with customers. Statistics show that well executed communications with the car shopper drive...
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