A Commentary on the Automobile Business May 2009 By Jim Fisher, Former Dealer and Consultant

In professional football or any professional sport, draft day is one of the most important days of any franchise. This is the day that teams are able to pick from an unlimited amount of talent available to either help their team now or provide a base for the future. All of the excellent organizations put a lot of time and effort into scouting, evaluating and testing the applicants for mental and physical attributes and how well they will fit into the present offensive and defensive systems.

Because every organization or even every sport is restricted from buying the best players available due to salary caps or other constraints, it is very important that they spend their money wisely. It is proven over the long run that the teams that are excellent at drafting players and bringing them up in their organization are always in the upper echelon of teams in any sport. It is also proven that the teams that have the best head Coaches or Managers are also in the upper echelon.

The key to excellence is having a defined system, Management that is committed to that system and role players that can execute the system at the highest level. The teams that can do this the best are what we call the winners. If you look at any championship team, you see the stars, the solid players and the role players. All of the stars were at one time an unproven rookie, that had to prove themselves. Over the years there have been many first round and second round players that never made it in the professional ranks due to many different reasons.

To be a championship team, you must have a system in place, Management that believes in the system, knows how to implement it and Salespeople that can execute the system to the best of their ability. When business is good, there is no need for a defined system or even a process to constantly find good people. The key is getting inventory from the
manufacturer or having the ability to find good used vehicles. When business turns downward, there are plenty of new vehicles available and the ability to find good used vehicles becomes very difficult.

In order to take advantage of a down market, you have install a system that takes advantage of every customer opportunity, you have to hire good management that believes in the system and start a hiring process that creates
good applicants on a constant basis. The top of your sales force is not your problem, it is the bottom 75% of your sales force that needs constant training and support from your management. There are many different systems available that can get your mangers and salespeople on the same page. There are many companies that can train your people either in-house or off-site. There are many companies that can help you find experienced salespeople and there are many companies that can help you find Green Peas.

Implementing a system is a process that can not be done in one week or even one month. It is an ongoing process that is driven by what you want as a Owner/Dealer/General Manager. Do you want every potential customer treated the same way when they call, inquire or visit your dealership? Do you want every potential customer to have the opportunity to buy your all of your products? Do you want every customer to have an excellent experience with your dealership and your employees? Do you want to excel when business is difficult?

If the answers to the above questions are no, you need to contact your advertising agency to increase your advertising.
If the answer is yes! I can help.

Review my credentials at www.jfanow.com or contact me at 1-80-542-9340 if you would have any questions or need my services.