Building Leaders: Who’s Ready for Leadership
“I look at their current job and their current results to gauge their abilities and their outlook. If they don’t have above-average results in their current job, we aren’t interested in putting them in charge of a team.” – Chris Saraceno
Pulling Together: Working With Your Team, Part 1
How leaders deal with their team’s unique challenges will often mean the difference between a smoothly operating organization and a dysfunctional cluster of clashing interests.
Winning in Your Local Market. Bill Page Honda Sales Up Percent in a Flat Market
Bill Page Honda faced a pivitol decision such as this when the dealership, then a Pontiac franchise, decided to start selling Hondas in 1971.
So, What Makes You Different?
Every automotive dealer believes that they run the best operation and do everything a little better than their competition. But, is this true? I have the pleasure of going to all regions of the country every week and walking into automotive stores that are new to me. I can assure you that, for most of
Success Story: Sales up 40%. Gaining Traction as a Powerhouse in the Twin Cities
Richfield Bloomington Honda of the Tom Wood Auto Group To get a feel for the competitive landscape Richfield Bloomington Honda contends with, picture a wagon wheel.[…]
Spending Time Wasting Time
I think about time a lot. It’s the one thing that is truly in limited supply. No matter who we are or what we do, we each have 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year. Is there enough time to do everything I need and want to do in the 525,600
Three Things to Do Now So You Can Start Using Data Like a Boss
How do you think Wal-Mart decides to build a new store? They don’t just toss a dart at the map. They use data to analyze population projections, proximity to existing stores, property value, competition and a laundry list of other data points that make sure each store is successful.
GM’s are Finding Hidden Revenue in Recon and You Can, Too
It is becoming increasingly critical that dealership operators recognize how reconditioning practices affect bottom line profitability. Unstructured and unmonitored recon practices create waste and costs that erode used car gross. On the other hand, GMs will transform their recon operations into profit centers when they use a time-based, continuous improvement strategy to drive this critical
Hope: A Magic Ingredient for Employee Retention
Today’s average car buyers go to 1.6 dealerships before they buy a car. They do not move on from that first dealership because they don’t like the brand. They move on because they don’t like the dealership. With a turnover rate for dealership salespeople of 72 percent, customers who want to become loyal to a dealership
Your Customers Will Pay More
The best way to gain and retain customers is by providing services that other dealerships won’t, and making sure that the customers know you value their business. Happy customers not only continue to do business with you, but will often pay more if they value the relationship. In my years in the car business, I’ve