Forgive me for saying this, but from where I now stand, it is quite apparent to me that there is way more opportunity for improving profitability than most dealership managers are aware of. I certainly know looking back on my career (and I thought I was very pro-active) that there was so much more opportunity to be realized than I was able to completely grasp at the time.

Most people agree that there is more upside potential left on the table, they are just not…

Most Monday mornings I find myself standing in NCM Institute’s beautiful training facility in Kansas City, welcoming a new class of dealership managers who come to us for formalized training specific to their job responsibilities. Even before introductions, sometimes I will ask the class some questions:

“How many of you, when you interviewed for your first job in the car business were shown a written job description and job objectives or expectations that you would…

This is the second installment in a two-part series by Steve Hall. To read Part One, click here. 

This is the second installment in a …

This article was written by Robin Cunningham and was originally published on the NCM Institute Up to Speed blog. 

Is it just me, or does it seem like so much of what we take for granted in life is a zero-sum game?…

This article was written by Steve Hall. 

Follow this Recipe for Better Results

Summer in Kansas City is the time to smoke, grill and barbecue. The other day I was putting together my special rib sauce and it occurred to me that cooking is a lot like managing. Cooking when you have a great recipe is a lot easier –­ and the results are consistently better ­if you’re…

This article was written by Steve Hall of the NCM Institute Center for Automotive Retail Excellence. 

Is it a Knowing Issue or a Doing Issue that is holding you back?

Have you ever thought about what keeps you from becoming the best you can be? Hopefully, not only have you thought about this in the past, but you think about it on a regular basis. Though this thought…

This article was written by Bob Sloan and was originally published on the NCM Institute Up to Speed blog. 

Car count is one of the primary metrics for measuring growth in the service department. An increase usually leads to additional shop hours produced and gross profit. A decrease is a call to action to determine the cause(s) as well as develop a plan to…

This article was written byJoe Basil and was originally published on the NCM Institute Up to Speed blog. 

As the great recession started to unfold in 2008 and 2009, gasoline prices rose above four dollars a gallon, the banking and housing industry began to collapse, unemployment rose and auto sales fell off the charts. Those dealerships that came…

This article was written by Robin Cunningham and originally published on the NCM Institute Up to Speed blog.

I think it is safe to say that every business operator is planning, forecasting, or at least hoping to increase their sales and profits in whatever business he or she is involved in.

In the retail automobile business, that growth can come in many forms, such as:

• Selling more new or used…

This post was originally written by Paul Stowe for the NCM Institute Up to Speed blog. Click here to view the original article.

Mr./Ms. Dealer:

There continues to be a great deal of misconception in sales managers’ thinking about why they’re not able to increase used vehicle volume. Industry metrics confirm that those…

Professor Carol Dweck of Stanford University believes humans have essentially two mindsets, growth or fixed, and through her research with employees of Fortune 500 companies, she found that managers with a growth mindset are more innovative.

Why is this important? According to the…

This article was written by NCM Institute instructor, Steve Hall and originally published on the Up to Speed blog.

Do you have 60 seconds to gain a service customer? Let me restate that: Do you have a structured 60 seconds to gain this customer? Why the emphasis on…

Unquestionably, the Internet has changed used vehicle shopping habits and as a result, many dealers have altered their manner of presenting and pricing pre-owned cars and trucks. Today’s successful used vehicle merchant recognizes the changed market realities and adapts accordingly. In order to ensure that our vehicle makes it to the prospect’s “short list,” we must have an aggressive, competitive pricing policy – but we must also have a sales process that effectively…

This article was written by Mark Shackelford and was originally published on the Up to Speed blog.

Do you find yourself constantly concerned about retaining your employees and trying to hire the right people to take care of your customers?

There has been an awful lot of discussion about this topic and how to become better at your hiring…

Written by Steve Hall. Originally published on the NCM Institute Up to Speed blog.

People are interesting and they never cease to amaze me.  At the NCM Institute, one of the classes I teach is …

Written by Paul Stowe. Originally published on the Up to Speed blog.

The rapid growth of both new and used vehicle sales over the past three years is stunning. Because of this, you need more salespeople. Recruiting, training, and retaining new sales talent into our business is difficult and challenging. But you simply have two choices: Accept this fact and take action……

Written by Robin Cunningham of the NCM Institute Center for Automotive Retail Excellence. Originally published on the Up to Speed blog. 

In order to write this blog article I am compelled to admit that…

From the Up to Speed blog:

In any industry, top-performing management measures, tracks and makes decisions based on key performance indicators and metrics. In the auto industry we tend to focus on market share, unit volume, gross per unit, net profit as a…