“I don’t need another book on farmin’, when I ain’t farmin’ as good as I know how right now!”

I remember that statement like it was yesterday.  That’s what a dealer told me over the phone back in 1987, in the the early days of my consulting career.  It was right after I explained the services I could offer him. He made it very clear to me that he wasn’t interested in anything new and different. He knew that “magic bullets and shiny objects” wouldn’t provide the solutions he needed to overcome the challenges of becoming a better dealer. He recognized that he just needed to get better at the basics of automotive retail.

If you are going to Las Vegas this weekend to attend the 2012 NADA Convention, I caution you to refrain from chasing shiny objects. Remember that there are no magic bullets that will, by themselves, improve your dealership. Most of the client-dealers we at NCM Associates work with every day know that they really only need to get better at executing the basics of the automotive retail business. And even with the advent of the Internet (and a few other changes that have recently impacted our business), the basics remain the same:

• Establishing a culture that embraces accountability

• Recruiting and hiring employees that share your vision

• Developing, implementing and flawlessly executing processes that will drive sales, profitability and growth

• Clearly defining, communicating and managing your expectations

• Focusing on employee satisfaction and retention

• Improving and sustaining customer satisfaction and retention

Will there be products and services at NADA 2012 that will help improve your dealership? Absolutely!  But you should be primarily absorbed with investigating those educational and technological offerings that will help you get better at the basics.

By the way, that dealer I mentioned above did end up engaging my consulting services in 1987…but only after I asked him a couple of key questions: 1) WHY aren’t you farming as good as you know how?; and, 2) HOW can I help you farm as good as you know how?

Do you feel your dealership has mastered the basics of automotive retail?  If not, what are your greatest challenges?  At NCM, we consider those greatest challenges to be your greatest opportunities for improvement.  So visit us in booth 1288 at NADA and let’s talk.  Not going to NADA this year?  Call us at 866.756.2620 or email ncmi@ncm20.com and let us help you reap better results in 2012.