In our world there is a constant search for “better.”



Better personnel, better systems, better procesess, better sales…you get the idea.



Is there “better” out there in Fixed Operations?



Sure. In recent years software and computers have made getting every conceivable report possible and as easy as a press of the button.



Software applications like ASR Capture from Reverse Risk is a prime example. Here is an application that does nearly everything that old… Continue

100% of doing exactly the same thing next year as what you did this year will yield you 100% of the same results.



100% of Personnel in your Dealership who do not receive any Training will perform exactly the same next year as they did this year.



100% of the Processes you used this year to get the results you now have will give you exactly 100% of the same results next year.



100% of the of the Profit you made this year comes from 100% of the Personnel you… Continue

Have you had a 'Perfect Day" recently?



You know, where everything just seems to come together.



Customers seem to be in a great mood. Technicians and Parts are not arguing at the back counter. The Owner comes in and smiles at you for no particular reason.



Just a great day.



And then you ask yourself "Why isn't everyday like today?"



I can tell you what the difference is.



Daily Goals.



When you have Wrtten Daily Achievable Goals your day… Continue

Every week I am in a Dealer and have found certain things to be true for those that are successful and those that are not.



In Dealers that are successful, they make the hard decisions.



The gather information, investigate, counsel with whom they need to and decide. Once that decision is made, it is broadcast to everyone it needs to be and implemented immediately.



In Dealers that are struggling, this process is broken.



Most often, they make no… Continue

“What You Expect”



(This is a follow on blog post from a previous post titled “Crunching Your Service Numbers.”)



This is part of the daily “Must Do” list for every Service Manager. You cannot go through the day without checking progress. To do so would be a sure recipe for disaster. Just ask the Captain on any ship or the Pilot of any airplane. They will not start the engines without a plan much less leave the harbor or take off from the airport.



As a Service… Continue

The greatest single feeling of accomplishment you can experience as a Trainer is one where someone you are Training suddenly…Gets It.



And right in front of you… before your very eyes, there is a Change.



See, in Training, change is mostly slow, frequently subtle, hard to see and sometimes hard to measure. It requires energy, time, committment, belief, knowledge, skill, communication, background, application and mostly… Will Power.



So, when someone “Gets It” and… Continue

Yesterday I had the privilege of addressing a room of Service Managers and Factory Personnel. And I have to believe that everyone in that room was there to find or gather some new information that would help them take action on something that might be causing them some problems at their Dealerships.



Why would you attend if you had no hope of getting something, right? I hope that everyone one of them got something that they can use right away at their Dealership this week, something…

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The number one area that your Customers would like you to improve in is… Communicating with your Customers.



Most of you reading this would say “We do communicate with our Customers all the time! We call them; we send them emails…why we even have a monthly newsletter that we send out. What more could they possibly want?”



Maybe…just maybe…they might want you to communicate with them the way they like to be communicated with…whaddya think?



Have you asked your Customers… Continue

I was traveling recently when I noticed a young man standing in the same line as me for the San Diego flight. Like many of you traveling and spending a lot of time in airports, I become a "people watcher" to pass the time.



As I have "aged" (a kind word for getting old) I find myself watching younger people, especially the kids. I think that children, who are mostly excited to be traveling and filled with boundless and seemingly endless amounts of energy, are the most fun to watch.… Continue

It is not enough to measure.



That's right, I said it.



Measuring your numbers is a waste of time if you don't do anything with the numbers you measured. In order for the numbers to mean something, you must do something with them. It is not enough to just gather and store the information.



"You must measure what you need to manage".....and...."you must inspect and evaluate the efforts of your people daily" says Don Reed, CEO of DealerPro Training… Continue

In the movie “Saving Private Ryan”, an Army unit is sent to resuce the last surviving brother for a mother in waiting. The team is successful and Private Ryan returns home to live a life of fulfillment.



Nice story. Great plot. Excellent movie.



What has that got to do with Fixed Operations and Service Advisors?



Well, it is more about what you are not doing than what you are doing. And “Saving NewBee Advisor” could just as well be titled “Saving Every Advisor.” But I… Continue

Getting profitable. Wow. How cool would that be?



You come into the store the first day of the month, open the door to your office, turn on the lights, sit at your desk and open the drawer that you keep your last months financial statement in and read through it until you come to the page that has the final numbers....and you smile a little self satisfied smile....when you realize "we paid all of our bills before we even opened the door this morning."



Sounds like a science… Continue

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“Maintain your hours per C/P Repair Order (RO) at a minimum of 2.5” says Don Reed, CEO of DealerPro Training Solutions.

If you are currently at the national average of 1.5, then this might seem a bit of a stretch. It’s always a stretch when it’s as big as an elephant. And we know how to eat an elephant, right…..one bite at a time.

So, let’s break it down into bite sized pieces.

In the pursuit of HPRO the first thing we must have is well trained personnel. This means…

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“Maintain a 6 to 1 ratio of C/P RO count to total vehicle sales” says Don Reed, CEO of DealerPro Training Solutions.

That sounds simple enough. If you are currently selling 100 New and Used a month, then that pencils out to 600 Customer Pay Repair Orders per Month, not including Warranty and Internal. It’s the CP RO count we are after.

So, you just realized that your RO count is low, right? What are you going to do about it? If you are thinking that you need a big production…

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