in the beginning
opening observations
New Year Offers
New Approaches
I
t seems like every dealer just
wants to survive December. For
some it is an extremely slow
month, with potential shoppers
focused on Christmas shopping
and not many with new cars on
their list of things to buy. For others
it is the fact that their teams get so
distracted during the month due
to the holidays. But as soon
as the page turns to the
New Year dealers begin
mapping out what areas of
their operations they want
to improve. Sometimes it
is just that simple to see
major results - just improving one area - by fine
tuning a good process and
making it great they see more black
each month.
For other dealers who already have
outstanding operations, or those
who are constantly looking for new
opportunities. This month's issue of
the magazine takes a deep dive into
a profit center that many still
haven't latched on to – prepaid
maintenance programs. Yes, it has
been around for several years, but
like any other program that starts it
has been refined to a new level.
There are several providers who
now have prepaid maintenance
programs. Like anything else before
choosing which one you want to
offer your customers, think about
what will fit your dealership needs.
How much administration do you
want to handle, what is the
spoilage policy, can it be reinsured,
and what is offered in the program?
All of these items will influence
your choice and will ultimately influence the performance of your
program. Many of the insurance
companies in our space have
6
programs readily available. However, before you talk to your current
provider about their program make
sure you read this issue which is
packed with additional information
and perspectives of what the
programs are for and how they
are performing,
As you are planning 2013 also take
time to evaluate each
employees training needs.
Our industry is chock-full
of training opportunities
for every position in the
dealership. Sometimes I
hear dealers complain that
training is expensive. "I
can't afford to send every
employee to a $995 event". I would
have to agree, however there are a
lot of training choices. Yes, there
are big expensive events and you
need to be a bit selective about
who you are sending to those
events and making sure they are
bringing things back from the
events you can implement, but
there are also many inexpensive
options. Your investment in those is
not much more than allowing the
employee uninterrupted time to attend. Sometimes the training your
team members need isn't even in
the automotive space but can be
taken at a local college or regional
workshop such as workshop on
managing people.
Regardless of where your focus is
in 2013, let there be focus on
improving and growing your
operation this year.
Volume 10, Issue 1
Editor
Harlene Doane
Assistant Editors
Kimberly Long
Daryl K. Tabor
Contributing Authors
Mike Cassinelli
Amy Peck
Mark Dubois
Paul Potratz
Greg Goebel
Jim Radogna
Bill Hamlin
Don Reed
Thomas B. Hudson
Layout and PrePress
Regent Promotions Inc.
Copyright © 2013 all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole
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