Whenever I ask this question, I’m usually very disappointed with the answers that I receive. This past week, when I queried a group enrolled in the NCM Institute's regional Service Management training class in Charlotte, NC, only 20% responded with a “Yes.” My disappointment continues, and…

Everyone I talk to seems to have their own conception of what the 80/20 Rule is all about, but very few people in the retail automotive business fully understand its dominant principles and how they should be applied to our business. Nonetheless, I’m a believer that the 80/20 Rule can and should be used by every sensible person in their daily life. The successful utilization of this principle can multiply the profitability of auto dealerships and the effectiveness of any…

It’s time for a continuation of the mini case study focused on the objectives established and challenges faced in building processes to develop, measure and manage OTDBs in the operating departments of an NCM client automotive dealership group. In our article titled OTDB Measurement and Management – Part Two, published on March 20, 2012, I discussed the structure of the vehicle sales department and the general expectations that we defined and communicated to the members of the sales…

That probably sounds like a funny question, but it’s a very important one to those of us on the NCMi faculty.  Many times our instructors have had managers show up for a class, some unwilling, who think they have been around the block enough times to be able to teach it themselves. However, low and behold, those same managers will leave the class with knowledge and understanding they didn’t realize they needed. The concept behind the question is that we all learn to master skills in…

It’s probably because of my college training in industrial engineering, but I’ve always been fascinated and challenged by trying to define any meaningful relationships between “opportunities to do business” (OTDBs) and sales results. After a half-century of experience in the retail automotive business, I’ve concluded that there truly are consequential metrics associated with selling both vehicles and service at an auto dealership. 

For instance, do you know how many good vehicle sales…

Last week I attended NCM’s semi-annual meeting of all its divisional directors, 20 Group moderators, Retail Operations consultants, and NCM Institute faculty members, who, along with our CEO set aside two and a half days to dialogue about what’s happening around the industry and within the company, and how best to address the needs of our clients.  As usual, it was a great encounter, with far too much agenda content and discussion for the overall time allotted.

One of the topics that…

Veteran auto consultant to help dealer attendees discover how great leaders and great organizations achieve measurably better results

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – July 23, 2012 – Jim Dance, is to be among the keynote speakers at the fourth annual (DSES), which is the industry’s most authoritative profit-building event for innovative dealers. Dance’s training is renowned for helping hundreds of automotive dealerships, dealer groups, auto manufacturers and…

Prizes totaling $10,000 to be awarded to the auto dealers who develop the most innovative strategies in 2012

Salt Lake City, Utah – July 18, 2012 – DrivingSales  today announced the call for entries for the 2012 DrivingSales Best Idea Contest which recognizes the most innovative auto dealership strategies of 2012. Five auto…

At the conclusion of the NCMi webinar on “Finding the Missing Pieces to Improve Service and Parts Gross Profit,” one of the attendees questioned our recommendation as to the necessity for sub-accounting for automotive dealerships. Robin Cunningham, the NCM Institute faculty member who presented the webinar, suggested that our next Up To Speedarticle attempt to clarify this recommendation. So, here we go!

A meaningful sub-accounting process is a primary ingredient of…

3 Reason Your Delivery Coordinator holds the Keys to Your CSI Scores

Your delivery coordinator is the resource who will help yourcustomers through the delivery process. This person will work hand in hand with customers to make sure…

I recently had the privilege of teaching our first NCMi class that is totally focused on leadership in automotive dealerships. We began this 1½-day class talking about “employee engagement,” and the general managers attending this session began positively nodding their heads, when I started this discussion with, “Surveys show that…

                1. Less than one in four American workers say they work at their full potential.

                2. One-half say…

What an Apple Store Can Teach Dealerships about Selling Accessories

Apple stores are one of the most successful retail stores in the world. In 2009, when retail sales declined around 2%, Apple’s retail sales rose roughly 7%. According to The Mac Observer, one of their largest growing product segments is accessories...iPad owners…

I am again continuing the mini case study focused on the objectives established, and challenges faced, in building processes to measure and manage OTDBs in the operating departments of an NCM client dealership group. Today, my focus is on one of the greatest vehicle sales opportunities that most dealers enjoy, but fail to capitalize on.

At one point during this engagement, I had asked the dealer principal if he was satisfied with the strategies being employed to develop vehicle sales…

When I was teaching the Sonic Dealer Academy from 2001 through 2008, my co-instructor, Steve Hallock, became famous for asking each class why they thought we spend so much time talking about the service department. He would explain that it’s because, at a 75% gross profit margin on labor sales, the service department offers, by far, the greatest incentive to increase sales. "So why bother?" Steve would ask. "Because it’s only75…

We recently completed a regional NCMi® training workshop in Washington, D.C. titled, “How to Make the Phone Ring and the Door Swing in YOUR Used Vehicle Department.” One of the class exercises was for the attendees to complete a checklist to determine if they operated a “World Class” used vehicle department. Following are the questions that resulted in the most productive discussions: 

• Is the Daily Trade-Walk discipline being diligently followed?

• Is the…

Customer’s taste in accessories not within budget? This will help...

When presented with a prospect, one of your first questions will be: “What are you looking for in your new car?” From there you’ll narrow down the type of vehicle, make, model, and a list of features. Features on a vehicle used to not carry much…

In the February 28, 2012, issue of Up to Speed, I discussed the changing role of used vehicle managementand the overwhelming number of responsibilities that have become part of that function today. Although dealership managers must be accountable for all of the 30 regular responsibilities mentioned in that…