OCTOBER 31ST, 2011
By FRAN O'HAGAN - PRESIDENT, PIED PIPER MANAGEMENT CO.
Change is good. Think of the most successful retail stores regardless of industry, and we can agree that they all have something in common: they regularly change their in-store displays. Whether it is Gander Mountain, Bass Pro Shops, or your area’s most successful car dealership, you can be sure that if you compare what you see today, it is different from their retail displays a month ago. Read more >>
OCTOBER 4TH, 2011
By FRAN O'HAGAN - PRESIDENT, PIED PIPER MANAGEMENT CO.
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 >>
SEPTEMBER 6TH, 2011
By FRAN O'HAGAN - PRESIDENT, PIED PIPER MANAGEMENT CO.
Too many hard-working motorcycle dealerships today are holding on for survival, trying to grind out a living relying on the same number of customer “ups” in a week that they used to see on any given day. First of all, yes, you are in good company; there are plenty of other dealerships in exactly the same predicament; and yes, most would agree that you and your team didn’t cause the downturn. On the other hand, you and your team are the ones who can change behaviors to drive success at your dealership right now. Read more >>
AUGUST 2ND, 2011
By FRAN O'HAGAN - PRESIDENT, PIED PIPER MANAGEMENT CO.
Probably not. We know that asking for the sale is an obvious key to selling motorcycles, but we also know that on average, U.S. motorcycle salespeople ask for the sale less than half the time (48 percent to be exact). Given that asking for the sale directly sells more motorcycles, why do so many salespeople resist? Read more >>
JULY 15TH, 2011
By LIZ HOCHSTEDLER, ASSOCIATE EDITOR - POWERSPORTS BUSINESS
I’ll admit that I’m an impatient person. I’m a member of Generation Y who is used to cell phone calls, text messages, the Internet, Google, email and Facebook giving me instant information when I need it, and therefore instant gratification in finding what I’m looking for. Read more >>
JULY 5TH, 2011
By FRAN O'HAGAN - PRESIDENT, PIED PIPER MANAGEMENT CO.
If your salespeople are having trouble turning shoppers into buyers, find out if the salespeople are talking customers out of buying. No salesperson would turn away customers on purpose, but by skipping the “fact-finding” step of the sales process, a salesperson may end up making customers less likely to buy. Read more >>
JUNE 7TH, 2011
By FRAN O'HAGAN - PRESIDENT, PIED PIPER MANAGEMENT CO.
The best sales team selling out of a tent will run rings around an unskilled sales team at a beautiful dealership. Dealers quickly learn that skilled and trained employees are the most important ingredient for a successful dealership operation. But what about the facility? How much of a difference does a facility make to sales success? Read more >>
MAY 17TH, 2011
By LIZ HOCHSTEDLER, ASSOCIATE EDITOR - POWERSPORTS BUSINESS
Our Industry Insiders bloggers come from a variety of backgrounds and cover an assortment of topics – from tips on merchandising to mini instructionals on social media to advice on management. Read more >>
MAY 3RD, 2011
By FRAN O'HAGAN - PRESIDENT, PIED PIPER MANAGEMENT CO.
Our company applies the term, ‘museum curator’ to describe salespeople who are friendly and knowledgeable and will happily answer any customer questions, but don’t actively try to turn shoppers into buyers. Be careful, because when customers are asked about their experience with museum curator salespeople, the customers will often describe the experience positively, which can mislead. Read more >>
APRIL 1ST, 2011
By FRAN O'HAGAN - PRESIDENT, PIED PIPER MANAGEMENT CO.
In the auto industry, we recently learned that industry-wide 36 percent of customer inquiries over the Internet remain unanswered after 24 hours. Granted, that is a car business figure, but when we measured the same figure for the motorcycle industry back in 2008, we found that the motorcycle industry responsiveness to Internet inquiries was roughly one-half of the auto industry’s performance. Read more >>
