Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 17

you are not alone. The
term "analysis paralysis,"
identifies the problem of
defining goals and only
planning to implement
change, but failing to follow through. Please don't
do this. Failing to break
through analysis paralysis
is one sure-fire way to
destroy your momentum.
Now, let's discuss implementing winning changes.
Implementing process
changes is the hardest
step and it takes genuine
leadership. You must rally
your employees, deliver the new processes,
support their progress,
and lead by example.
In a well-documented
study, the Hawthorn effect
describes the tendency
for employees to be more
efficient when managerial
attention is applied. For
your purposes, this study
reads; to rally your troops
you must spend time on
the floor and experience
the problems first hand.
Then, when you deliver
your new processes, your
goals will have a much
greater impact due to the
empathy and respect you
have gained from being
on the front line. Your
employees will be excited
about implementing new
processes because you
showed leadership in
understanding firsthand
what they are experiencing and finding solutions
with them! They now
are part of the solution
ownership.
Once the new processes and your implementation goals have been
communicated, it's not
time to retreat to your
office and look at more

numbers. It's time for you
to be visibly engaged and
offer any assistance you
can. If an interim benchmark is successfully completed, buy lunch. Show
that you appreciate the
effort expended by your
people. Finally, you must
lead by example. If the
goal is to decrease email
response time, when a
team member sends you
an email, respond as
quickly as possible. Apply
the new rule of leadership
- do as I say and as I do!

STEP 4: MONITOR
PROCESS ADHERENCE.

In step one I asked you to
look at relative numbers,
and I explained that units
sold and average gross
profit are not good indicators of healthy processes
- keep that concept front
and center. Almost invariably, dealers that institute
solid processes, with the
right people in the right
job and technologies, will
experience success to a
greater degree. The problem is that when most
dealerships experience
success driven by solid
processes, they forget
the driver - the processes
- and they start focusing on more units and
higher gross. And guess
what, the solid processes are abandoned and
the increased success
is gone shortly thereafter. This syndrome has
plagued the car business
for years, but if you can
keep your people focused
on utilizing the new
processes and monitor
their adherence to those
processes, your success
will continue. The key is
to keep focused on the

little numbers throughout
the all paths-of-the-sale
and your big numbers will
continue to grow.

STEP 5: REPEAT.
THIS CONCEPT IS
SIMPLE. Continue to

look for opportunities to
improve your processes
then implement winning
solutions. It's important
to remember we live in a
"good, better, best" world.
You will always be able to
find something new to improve. And don't stop with
industry benchmarks, because for the most part,
our industry is filled with
poor performers. Take
this as an opportunity to
push beyond average and
move towards greatness
for all of your processes.
TECHNOLOGY.

Disclaimer: The right
technologies can enable
all departments. The
wrong technologies can,
in the best-case scenario
cost your dealership thousands of extra dollars,
and in the worst-case
scenario be so cumbersome, ineffective, and/or
labor intensive that they
undermine the ability of
your great people and
solid processes to be
effective. Our purpose
is to advise the best
possible combination of
technologies to enable
your people within the
restraints of your store
size and budget.
Technology is your new
storefront. While we're
not at a time where the
average deal happens
completely through
electronic channels, it's
of great value to make
the comparison of your
technologies to your

storefront. Customers
are visiting your website
instead of your lot, they
are emailing and now
beginning to call again
because email is just
too slow for some. It's
incredibly important that
your website looks great
and feels warm and inviting, just like your lot and
showroom, and that your
email/texts are functional
and always-on, just like
your phones.
If I looked at your website would I see that you
are community minded
or just another dealer
wanting to sell me a car?
Better put your "Relationship Building" and "Trust"
messages right on your
landing page else you will
look just like everyone
else and then it becomes
all about best price. But
just like your showroom,
lot, and phone system,
technologies don't sell
vehicles; they simply
enable great people and
solid processes. This
should help put the overall
purpose of technologies
for your sales and service
departments in perspective. If you would like to
receive a little more clarity
or a few ideas on dealership process responsibilities send me an email.
Make this New Year the
year you bust though to
making your store and
your people the very best
they can be!
CHUCK BARKER is President & Founder of Impact
Marketing & Consulting Group,
located in Virginia. EMAIL:
Chuck@impactgroupcrm.com

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

JANUARY 2018

17
http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - January 2018
