A quick look at the current state of auto retailing would suggest that things are good. Tough times (and a couple of notable bankruptcies) have thinned dealer ranks. Although pressures are mounting, the manufacturers are still demonstrating discipline around production volumes. Most importantly, customers are returning to showrooms.

Add all factors together and the result is that volumes and margins on both new and pre-owned vehicles are strong. So strong, in fact, that many…

Written by: Steve Hall

Dealers know you must provide fast, convenient, and competitively-priced service in order to retain your customer base. They also know that oil changes and light maintenance are the most requested service items by customers. Knowing this, why do dealers continually fight express service?

I’ve heard all the excuses: it hurts my hours per repair order; it hurts my gross profit percentage; it hurts my effective labor rate; I can’t make any money in express…

Written by: Rebecca Chernek

EMBRACE CHANGE

The glass ceiling for women’s acceptance in the finance industry was shattered over a decade ago.

According to the 2012 Catalyst Census of Women Executive Officers and Top Earners, which counts the number of women in upper management in Fortune 500 companies, women comprise over 18% of all executive officers in the finance industry, and 19% of board directors in the finance and insurance industries in…

Written by: Thomas Bear

Realizing the dealer/general manager’s day is full of interruptions, if you could wave a magic wand and create the perfect day, what would you do during this day?

Which activities do you wish you did every day? Which activities are the top ten for you to do every day?  Here’s an exercise we use in our 20 Group meetings from time to time that might be helpful for you to realign your daily priorities.…

Written by: Gene Daughtry

In BHPH, like any other automobile dealer, you’ll start the sales process out with a meet and greet. From there you should go in a different direction from other retail outlets. If you have been on a franchise dealer sales floor I am sure you or your sales staffs have joked about wanting a screening machine that they could walk a customer through for an instant credit reading. Since that doesn’t exist, your sales process is probably similar to: 1. “up” your…

Written by: Leo Hart

NCM has just completed the spring cycle of 20 Group meetings, each focusing a large segment of meeting room time to the Parts Department. Truth be told, we had not focused on this discipline for a number of years, being more concerned about the variable sales and expense management areas of our auto retail business. Have you ever been broadsided, completely unaware the hit was coming?

As a result of the discussions, a few crises became apparent. One wakeup…