Get a jump on show follow-up

Most new prospects who visit a dealer’s booth for the first time aren’t ready to commit on the spot. In fact, most sales are closed with prospects that dealers have been working with for a while, even as far back as past shows. Motorcycles, ATVs and other powersports products are luxury purchases that often require a long-term research and buying process, so this first visit usually marks the beginning of the sales process, not the sale per se. Read more >>

What you should be doing over the next three months

If you’re a powersports dealer, you should already be preparing for the holiday season. Read more >>

It’s a game of ‘niches’

A real customer scenario: A customer purchases a new major unit – a snowmobile – from his favorite dealer. As part of the purchase he also spent $1,500 in performance parts, $900 in service work to install them and $500 on a new jacket to match his sled. His total expenditure is more than $15,000. Read more >>

Are you prepared to serve all customers?

Recently, while preparing for an upcoming side-by-side ride, I was on the hunt for off-road gear. As a novice, I needed nearly everything: a helmet, goggles, a jersey, pants and gloves. I began my hunt on the Internet, just like most customers do these days, but what I found was quite disappointing. Read more >>

Get more Facebook fans

Many dealerships have joined the rapidly growing number of businesses choosing to establish a brand presence on Facebook. Hopefully your dealership has not only set up a page on Facebook, but you are starting to get into the groove of posting engaging content on a regular basis. Now it’s time to take your Facebook marketing to the next level and focus on increasing your fan base. There are many easy ways for you to take an active role in increasing your number of Facebook fans. Read more >>

Is your dealership closed when customers want to buy?

Earlier this year, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill into law allowing Sunday motorcycle sales. While pushing for the change in law, New Jersey motorcycle dealerships observed that many of their customers had been crossing over the state line into Delaware to shop on Sundays. Read more >>

Thanks for another great ProfitX!

Now that I’m back in the office and a week removed from Profit Xcelerator, I have been reflecting on the event, and I’ve found my thoughts about its success are all positive. Read more >>

Build pre-show buzz

Powersports show season is right around the corner, and winter will be here before you know it. What plans are you working on to build your own display traffic?

How about all the leads you received from your manufacturers, inventory portals and your own website? They’re all great sources of potential sales. Hopefully, you’ve been diligent about collecting e-mail addresses from all the prospects you met this summer, and now you have the most qualified list that money can’t buy! Read the rest of Build pre-show buzz »

A success story: How one dealership did it

Here comes fall. Things slow down, and reassessments start – the “What ifs.” What if you did this or didn’t do that, what would be different? Clear-headed assessment can be one of the hardest things we do. But when done properly, it’s like turning on a 1,000-watt light bulb, and it shows what type of leader you really are. Here’s what one California dealer did and what has happened because of it: Read more >>

How to avoid the penny wise and pound foolish trap

Scenario: A customer purchases a new ATV from his local dealer. The next year he goes back to purchase two additional units from the same dealer as both his wife and his son have enjoyed riding as well. In preparing for a family ATV vacation, he finds the battery for the original unit will no longer hold a charge. Read more >>