For service managers, I have found that Thursday is a good day to do a trial close as you get ready for the end of the week. By Thursday you know pretty well where you stand and if you discover problems, you still have two days to get them cleaned up.



A trial close starts with closing every Repair Order (RO) that can possibly be closed. Since many dealerships…

If you're in auto sales, the term "TGIF" - Thank God It's Friday! - probably has little meaning to you. In this industry, Fridays are spent gearing up for the weekend. Speaking of which, do you know what your weekend is looking like? 

To answer this all-important question, it's a good idea for General Sales Managers to sit down on Friday morning and review a…

If you're in dealership management you're probably familiar with the routine. No matter how great your intentions are to keep a steady sales pace all month, it’s month-end and you're playing catch up. Even worse, sometimes you believe it's going to be a great month until a nasty number shows up on your balance sheet during the last week.

Ultimately it's the…

In auto dealerships when managers hear the question "How's your week going?" they know it's not always a personal question. Someone--usually the General Manager--wants to know whether they're on track to hit goals.

The most reliable source to find out how it's going is to drill down into Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). We all know the usual; gross profit,…

The election of Donald Trump has created a mixture of hope and trepidation amongst dealers, automotive manufacturers, parts suppliers, and in the whole automotive ecosystem in general. 

Will the Trump administration lower taxes, deregulate the industry and usher in an economic boom time? Or, will the auto industry be subject to massive upheavals in terms of its…

Is data your best friend or your worst enemy?

Why do I ask? Well, if you work in a dealership, chances are good that you either review or are responsible for creating reports on a regular basis. For principals and managers, reports reveal important information such as how many units your dealership has sold this month, how many customer-pay ROs you've…