It should be an easy question to answer … it’s either yes or no, right? Or is it? Maybe it’s a “maybe”. Or maybe it’s an “I don’t know”. And if so, how would you know?
Any way you approach it, the process of answering that question will not only confirm that you are leaving money on the table, but also reveal the answer to the next question …
How Much Money Are You Leaving on the Table?
“Which one of these things is not like the other? Which one of these things just doesn’t belong?”
So you dig out last year’s financial statements, and maybe you get inspired and pull another two or three years' worth. And you start comparing this last month to the same month the prior year (and possibly the year before that, and the year before that, etc.), this year to date to the same period last year, etc., etc. You look at sales, gross profit, expenses, and net profit. You compare yourself to other dealers in your performance group.
Yes, an excellent start for sure! And now, armed with your newfound “evidence”, you decide to take immediate action!
Obviously, if things are rosy and you’re feeling good because the numbers are not as bad as you thought, or they’re even trending the same or better, you’re probably going to congratulate the department manager and maybe even their immediate supervisor … sure, go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back while you’re at it!
But what if things aren’t all rainbows and champagne? What if the numbers are a little lower, or worse yet, waaaaay down?
Now what?
Are you going to let it go and just hope for improvement? Maybe a little rant, a little tirade with a pounding of fists on the desk for dramatic effect, just to make the underperformer(s) know you’re hip to their little misstep? And do you sound the alarm bells and call a full departmental meeting to do a big passionate speech from the pulpit with more fire and dramatics to hammer home the point to your entire staff that change is needed … and now!
change is needed … and now!
Or do you do what is commonplace these days, expedient, maybe even expected, and fire the department manager? After all, you made them accountable for their department, they had resources available to them, and they knew the consequences of failing to meet your expectations, right?
Or is there a better way?
A better question might be …
Are you basing your decision on the right measurements?
Even if the numbers look like they are okay, are they really okay or are you still leaving money on the table?
Before you jump to conclusions and make a decision that could be more disruptive to your staff and business, or worse yet just sit back and do nothing at all, perhaps you should see if an outside perspective could help.
Your time is valuable. And you’re probably either too close to the issues to see any of the underlying causes directly, or your skills are more defined elsewhere. That’s where I can help.
I have over 30 years of management experience within the automobile industry, the majority of it in fixed operations. That includes parts management, service management, and close to a decade of consulting and training through a DMS lauded for exceptional parts inventory control, driving wildly successful marketing campaigns, and enabling efficient scheduling of high volume traffic in service shops.
Every dealership is different, and I believe it’s important to choose the right combination of tools and techniques to design a custom plan for your business.
- Analysis
- Performance Optimization
- Training
- Coaching
… just to name a few.
Add me to your team; let me roll up my sleeves and do the deeper analysis, dig into the issues, and get to the root cause of your issues big and small.
Together we’ll discuss the results of my detailed investigation and engineer a strategy to get you back on the road to success.
Take 20 minutes and schedule a call to see if I would be a good fit for your team.
You owe it to yourself to give your fixed operations a tune-up and make more money, because ...
Tire season is coming!
Book a call today and we can start maximizing your profits tomorrow!