Auto Dealer Monthly Magazine is the daily operations publication serving the retail automotive industry. This automotive publication serves dealer principals, officers and general managers with the latest best practices.
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partment to succeed. Tat leads us to our second category. 2. PERSONNEL One common mistake dealers make when launching a new department is to go headfrst into the project without thinking it through. Ten, when it doesn't work, the people you hired to manage the department get blamed for its failure. You can lose or demoralize some good, dependable personnel by assigning them to a doomed operation. So let's say you've answered all my cash fow concerns and you're ready to name a new department head. You may have someone on staf whom you think can handle the job, but it might be wiser to hire from outside. Each department requires its own set of skills. How much are you willing to invest in training? If you prefer to hire a manager with experience, there's work to be done before you start the interview process. What qualifes a person to head your new department? Who will conduct the interview and what questions should be asked? Whether you promote from within or hire from outside, you have to determine your new manager's compensation. You can rely on hourly wages or a salary for some departments; others will require a pay plan. Tere should be enough incentives in place to properly compensate your personnel and help make sales grow each month and year. One more note: I encourage you to get your managers and other personnel involved in the decision-making process. Involving your entire management team will go a long way toward making your new department a proft center. If they are against the idea, they will put up roadblocks, which will slow down your projected sales. 3. MARKETING Another common mistake is failing to do market research. Are you actually f lling a need in your area? Will your existing customers use the new service? T is is another opportunity to get input from your managers and staf. If they think it will work, what do they think is the way to approach it? Fast and furious — a common approach among dealers — or a slow buildup? Finally, you must study your competition. How many vendors are already ofering your "new" service? Do they look like they are not only surviving but prospering? What are their prices? What kind of overhead do they have? How many people do they employ? Is there room for one more competitor in the market? Hopefully, afer the initial year of operations, your new department will be making major contributions to your bottom line. It doesn't matter how — it could be additional net profts or helping to cover some of the variable and f xed costs generated by other departments. Either way can be a win for you. Just be sure you do your homework and think it through. If you plan and budget wisely, your chances of success are good. We'll Roll Up Our Sleeves To Get You 100% Service Absorption! 7ERE NOT LIKE OTHER TRAINING GROUPS 7E DONT JUST WALK IN GIVE A SPEECH AND LEAVE you to fend for yourself. 7E HELP YOU SOLVE PROBLEMS x BUILD YOUR BOTTOM LINE x AND REACH THE TOP PERFORMER INDUSTRY BENCHMARKS 7HEN YOU JOIN OUR + #LUB WERE WITH YOU IN YOUR DEALERSHIP EVERY MONTH TO MAKE SURE YOU REACH YOUR GOALS x AND FOR ONLINE TRAINING #ALL OR EMAIL TODAY AND START EARNING THE 3ERVICE 0ROlTS YOU DESERVE TOLL FREE: 1-888-553-0100 DREED DEALERPROTRAININGCOM s WWWDEALERPROTRAININGCOM SEP TEMBER 2013 • AUTODE ALE R MONTHLY.COM 11