RVBusiness, March/April 2019

Preparing Your Dealership for the Selling Season You need to have your team in place trained and ready to go now The last thing you want to do is have good floor traffic handled by people who dont know what SPADER theyre doing REPORT F or most RV dealers there are really just 90 120 days in the peak selling season Usually beginning sometime in the late spring there is a switchover from scrambling for work to fill the shop to scrambling for ways to deliver all of the sold units This is a critical period of time for capturing sales and profit and the best dealers position themselves to take advantage of the surge of the prime selling season Thats not to say that there arent good opportunities at any time during the year and that dealers shouldnt always be in their best form but in most markets there is a key period after the snow has melted and the kids are out of school when the buyers come out in force Seemingly out of nowhere the shop is buried the phone is ringing off the hook and lot traffic is overwhelming It happens every year This year will you be ready Lets look at three key components to successfully leveraging the critical selling season Inventory There simply is no overstating the importance of having the right inventory available when the surge comes We all know it but are we actively monitoring and pursuing the best models for stock or just taking what we can get from manufacturer deals Generally speaking it is better to be stocking deep in the better sellers rather than wide across a whole product line So if you have identified floorplans colors and option packages that are hot in your market double down on them now so that you have availability when needed Conversely sit down with your team today and make a list of the inventory that is either aged wrong for your market or otherwise unlikely to sell quickly Inventory dol An author consultant and instructor John Spader has worked with a host of individual companies most frequently retail dealerships in a variety of industries Spader Business Management and the network of 20 Groups for which it has largely become known blends statistical analysis and hands on coaching and consulting to assist clients in formulating proven business plans and increasing revenues David Spader is a trainer and consultant for Spader Business Management Comments or suggestions can be sent to articles@ spader com 24 RVBusiness M A R C H A P R I L 2 0 1 9 BY JOHN SPADER lars and space are finite every slow selling unit you have is keeping you from stocking a better higher turning higher margin replacement Dont wait until the fall or when curtailment payments are due to start dealing with these dogs make an action plan now to take care of them If you cant wholesale them build a pricing and display plan that makes them attractive to your customers along with an incentive pay plan that makes your salespeople eager to sell them People and Processes Lets face it its almost impossible to do a good job recruiting hiring and training new staff during the heat of the season Most dealers are too busy just trying to keep deliveries on schedule and service customers satisfied to find extra time to do the hard work of bringing on new team members You need to have your team in place trained and ready to go now The last thing you want to do is have good floor traffic handled by people who dont know what theyre doing and that is exactly what will happen if you start trying to add rookies to the system in June and July By the time you have them trained and ready for prime time the season will be over Add serious urgency to your recruiting process right now so that you are ready when the key summer season is here Similarly are your selling systems and processes nailed down or is everybody out on the floor just making it up as they go As the saying goes casualness makes for casualties and in this case the casualty will be your bottom line Make sure your sales team knows what is expected of them in terms of selling processes paperwork trade in appraisals managing deliveries using the CRM in short make sure they know how you want the selling system to work and their part in it Saturday afternoon in June is no time to be debating how you are going to handle a trade in or figuring out how the up system is supposed to work Do the important legwork of training your people well now while you and they have time so that when it really matters everyone knows exactly what to do On that subject do your salespeople have written activity and outcome goals for the next three or four months If not why not Undisputedly people who come to work motivated to achieve something concrete outperform those who come to work to drink coffee and see what happens Are your salespeople in the habit of waiting for that good customer to show up and criticizing you for not advertising enough to get them Or are they in the habit of making things happen by working their prospect lists their past customer database and making quality appointments with your incoming phone calls and website inquiries Great salespeople are not those with the gift of gab selling skills without quality work habits almost always results in mediocrity Rather great sales teams are filled with people who have the training and disciplines to create great opportunities from their own database as well as new floor traffic Make sure your sales team has written goals real objectives in terms of managing their leads and assistance from your sales management to be productive every day they are at work Marketing and Advertising The major show season is likely over in your market Shows are fabulous for the sense of urgency that is hardwired into the event over in a just few days dealers competing for their business and manufacture incentives all combine to overwhelm the customer with the desire to make that purchase decision right now continued on page 119