Mar 20, 2020 | Magazine Article
Equipment dealership showrooms have come a long way in the past 15 years. During the most recent “boom years,” many new facilities have been built with attention focused on the showroom and display areas. Kudos to dealers who have paid attention to the details to...
Mar 20, 2020 | Magazine Article
In part 1 of this series, we shared the 2019 WEDA Inventory Study findings of current comfort levels, dealership equipment turnover, number of used units in a series and, if new unit sales levels are sustainable. In part 2, we will dig into historical sales of...
Mar 20, 2020 | Magazine Article
Corporate accountability is a FACT when monitoring the technical performance of the dealership, but mostly FICTION when applied to people performance. The ironic fact is that people drive the success of a dealership so it just makes good sense to apply accountability...
Dec 20, 2019 | Magazine Article
Service financial and performance tracking can be confusing for service managers and technicians. Some systems use different terminology, such as revenue recovery, charge-out efficiency, or service recovery that can also cause additional confusion. In this edition of...
Dec 20, 2019 | Magazine Article
WHAT ARE HEALTHY AND SENSIBLE annual North American combine/4WD replacement requirements? The large agriculture equipment industry is in a period of correction. Farm revenues are down. Historic crop pricing charts indicate more years of lower crop prices. Dealerships...
Oct 20, 2019 | Magazine Article
Does the battle against these giants remind you of David and Goliath? Over the past number of years, parts and service managers who have attended our Dealer Institute courses have told me they have seen an increase in competition from the internet. Many see it as the...
Oct 20, 2019 | Magazine Article
Employees have told me they would not shoot themselves in the feet tonight if they wanted to participate in and win a foot race in the morning. First, the act would result in physical pain that is not enjoyable, and second, it would interfere with running. Knowing...
Oct 20, 2019 | Magazine Article
IT’S BEEN TOUGH selling and it won’t be easier this winter. It doesn’t take much to upset the apple cart and every month it seems a truckload is turning upside down. We have to find sales. The traditional methods of how we target our A, B, and C customers are not...
Mar 20, 2019 | Magazine Article
UNDERSTANDING BASIC FINANCIALS is a common challenge faced by newly hired managers, whether you promote from within the dealership or bring in a new person from the outside. How do you prioritize the immediate training they will need to succeed in their new position?...
Mar 20, 2019 | Magazine Article
In a recent customer satisfaction survey, 73 percent of customers said they didn’t give up on a company because of poor product quality, poor service, or price. They took their business elsewhere because they didn’t feel appreciated. Many believe customer service and...
Dec 20, 2018 | Magazine Article
THIS TITLE is not an oxymoron. I’m writing this article for two critical reasons: First, feedback is required for us to improve performance. Second, most supervisors cringe at the thought of providing performance feedback to employees. And it gets worse. I’ve talked...
Oct 21, 2018 | Magazine Article
As many of you know, time is one of our most precious and expensive resources. Calculate how much it costs the dealership to keep you employed per hour. Then do the same to determine the cost to run the dealership per hour. Research suggests that we lose 25 – 30...
