Not just anyone can be picked off up the street and be placed at the parts counter. There is a mix of customer service, technical knowledge, sales ability, and attention to detail required to be an excellent parts person. So, when you are in need of the mystical parts person, how and where do you find them? With season upon us, there never seems like there are enough to go around. We often talk about [...]
If I were to pick the one question that people ask me the most, it would be this: “How do I find good technicians?” It’s no secret that it is a challenge to find qualified technicians. Programs are created to train up technicians, but it seems like there are none available when you need them which, most of the time, was yesterday. So, how to do we find good technicians today? Hire Low and Grow: [...]
When working with dealerships, I’m often asked, “How can I help my new salesperson succeed – right from the start?” Most salespeople, especially new ones, fail for one reason; they don’t produce enough daily activity to get their business up and going. This is why I encourage owners and sales managers to make sure that the salesperson is starting out with a sales funnel that is full of customers to contact. Whether your salespeople are [...]
Compensation, regardless of the position in a dealership, is always a hot topic. How much can I afford to pay? What level of performance do I have the right to expect as an owner from my people? How do I know whether I am paying too much, or just as bad, not enough, and then risk losing my good people to a competitor? While I could do a day-long program on compensation programs for dealerships, [...]
MSRP and Retail Pricing may not be the same thing. One of the most common questions I am asked from new dealers, just getting into the business, has to do with MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price) and why we would encourage dealers to charge more to the customer that what the manufacturers recommend. As I share with dealers, the Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price, is just that, a suggestion. It doesn’t mean that you must sell [...]
In the compensation programs we recommend, the tech is paid an hourly rate based on their level of experience and the dealership location. For example, in the Midwest, a C-level tech might make $8-$10 dollars an hour. A tech in the Boston area, however, might need to be paid $14-$16 per hour. You know your area and what you have to pay to get a technician at the various levels, so adjust accordingly. In the [...]
One of the most common questions we are asked at BCI is "How do I determine my labor rate?" For most dealerships, the process of setting a labor rate begins with calling all the competitors in the market, asking them what their labor rate is and then making sure that they are somewhere close to the competitors. In our company, we jokingly refer to this method as “pooling ignorance”. Why, you might ask, is this [...]
Have you ever stopped to think about what the core skills or competencies are that someone needs to know to run your business? As you are thinking about what it looks like for someone, other than you, to effectively run your business one day, this is a vitally important question to ask. Not long ago, I sat down at lunch with my mom and dad and we had this exact conversation. Asked them “What are [...]
When someone starts a business, they don’t always have the end in mind, but the end will always come. Complexities are inevitable when someone’s time ends at a company, especially if family is involved. One of the areas that can cause the greatest areas of conflict in a family business is what happens to the business after the current generation retires. I often joke that the goal in family business is that at the end [...]
Many of you are just like us: a family business. Maybe your kids aren’t in the business yet, but you hope that one day they will be. When I joined BCI, I did it because I needed a job. It wasn’t because I was necessarily passionate about what I was getting ready to do, but I was passionate about the paycheck I was going to receive. You see, being a part of BCI wasn’t my [...]
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