Why does a consumer care about you or your dealership? In truth, he or she doesn’t — at least not at first. Don’t take it personal. They’re not going to care about anything beyond a good deal until you offer them reasons to think otherwise. Read more >>
There’s a new, interesting tease of data concerning North America market share for the four-wheel side of the market. I say “tease” because it’s not complete information, and it’s partly based on estimated data. The market share information is included in a recent Polaris Industries investor presentation that is available online on the company’s Web site. Read more >>
For the past several of months we have talked about creating different classes of equity for the purpose of granting different economic rights and different control rights to various owners of a company. The advantages of such a flexible equity structure are readily apparent when dealing, for example, with a key employee who becomes a minority shareholder or an outside investor who wants preferential treatment for the money he puts into the company. Read more >>
Imagine you’re shopping for a motorcycle and visit two dealerships. At the first dealership, the salesperson tells you all about the impressive engineering that went into the motorcycle he’s trying to sell you. When you visit the second dealership, the salesperson reaches over to his desk and places an aluminum work of art into your hand. He points out how short the piston’s skirt is—kind of like a pancake fastened to a connecting rod—and how the closest copy in the auto industry would be on a Formula One car; yet here it is in your hand, and it’s part of the motorcycle that you’ve just decided to buy. Read more >>
Who are you marketing to? The answer to this question shapes your entire campaign, yet is overlooked too often. Of course, most dealers would say the logical answer of “I’m looking for people who are interested in motorcycles and ATVs, etc.” as your goal is to drive people who will buy something from you into your store. As we all know, however, this is much more difficult than it sounds. Read more >>
ORLANDO, Fla. — Usually it’s the new bike model that gets unveiled at the dealer meeting. You know, where the black covering gets slipped off in dramatic fashion. Read more >>
INDIANAPOLIS — President Obama received some harsh jabs from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s chief economist during the Motorcycle Industry Council’s recent meeting at the Dealer Expo. Read more >>
We are all worrying about how to increase sales, keep costs in line and hire the right people. Now we also have this extra step of F&I compliance. But don’t over-think, “How do I do all this and stay in business?” Try to keep things simple. Here are four steps you can take to establish an effective compliance program to help protect your dealership. Read more >>
Along with the lack of trade-show models, which I personally wasn’t disappointed about, the overall supplier attendance at the Dealer Expo in Indianapolis this past weekend was quieter than previous years. That’s not to say, however, the attendees’ spirits weren’t up. Read more >>
It’s hard to own up to this, but here goes: In a sea of parts and accessories at the recently held Dealer Expo, the one item that really grabbed my interest wasn’t actually a part or accessory. Strange, huh? Read more >>
