Digital Dealer - August 2018 - 17

THE GREATEST CHALLENGE IN THE AUTOMOTIVE
INDUSTRY TODAY IS FINDING LEADERS WHO
WILL LEAD, MANAGERS WHO WILL MANAGE, AND
DIRECTORS WHO WILL PROVIDE DIRECTION."
(without any managers)
and simply asked them
what was up. They listed
a few minor issues and
personality conflicts, but
their main issue was lack of
accountability. I was floored.
This group of educated,
professional adults wanted
management to "inspect
what they expected."
Their frustration was centered around the fact that
management demanded
processes be followed but
then didn't correct, coach,
mentor, and lead when
employees didn't follow the
process. The message from
management was "do it or
else;" yet nothing happened
to those who didn't perform.
The techs and advisors
quickly learned that management didn't really care
and, therefore, they didn't,
either.
Quoting Dave Anderson
again, "you will lose the
respect of the best if you
don't deal with the worst!"
Anderson goes on to say
that leaders shouldn't desire
"to be liked" -their goal
should center around "being
respected."
If you are respected,
people will follow you-and
ultimately like you. The
leaders of the above dealer
group lost all credibility
because they failed to hold
their team accountable.
The net result was not just
internal drama; it affected

hours per RO, maintenance
service sales, CSI, retention, and fixed ops profitability. All that could have been
avoided by simply holding
team members accountable. Surely, it can't be that
simple. Yes, it's that simple.
The dealer saw what was
happening and hired a new
fixed ops director. Within
90 days things started to
change, and six months
later several of the service
departments had record
months. He didn't come in

practiced personal accountability. That means when he
accepted the responsibility
of being fixed ops director,
he became accountable for
the outcome.
Accepting responsibility
for a task is meaningless
and won't produce any
results if you don't hold
yourself personally accountable for the outcome.
Jeff Peevy, president
of Automotive Management Institute, has written
extensively about this topic.

THE MESSAGE FROM
MANAGEMENT WAS 'DO IT
OR ELSE;' YET NOTHING
HAPPENED TO THOSE
WHO DIDN'T PERFORM."
and fire everyone, although
some managers couldn't be
salvaged. He just laid out
the expectation, provided
clarity on how to meet his
expectations, and did weekly follow-up (accountability)
to make sure his processes
were being followed.
His monthly service sales
meetings are exciting,
attitudes have improved,
and everyone's income has
gone up! It's a beautiful
thing.
The primary reason the
new fixed ops director
made such a difference
and turned seven dealerships around is because he

Peevy says:
 Personal accountability doesn't require heavy
supervision
 Personal accountability
creates a thirst for knowledge
 Personal accountability
pursues quality
It starts at the top. If the
leader doesn't accept personal accountability, then
respect will be lost, and the
leader's authority will evaporate...and you can forget
about your team members
ever practicing personal
accountability.
Top-down accountability-accountability to the
D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

manager-is important, but
when your team members
accept personal accountability, then you, as a leader, have hit the sweet spot.
Your personal accountability
has now replicated itself
and now your team members have it in the fiber of
their DNA.
So, what's at stake?
The National Automobile
Dealers Association put out
a fascinating statistic that
I had never seen before.
According to NADA, 49%
of total dealer gross came
from fixed ops in 2017.
That's up from 45% in 2015.
Of course, I'm sure you
already know that most of
the dealership's net income
comes from fixed ops gross.
 The point is simply
this: accountability increases revenue sales, gross
profit, and net profit. There
is a high price to pay for
ignoring the impact of accountability throughout your
dealership...and a huge
reward for training your
team to master the art of
accountability!
CHARLIE POLSTON is an
Automotive Customer Retention and Profitability Consultant
with BG Products, Inc. Charlie
has been with BG's Fixed
Operations Division for over
36 years. He has trained over
7,500 dealers, managers, and
technicians - and has been a
frequent workshop leader at
NADA's annual convention.
EMAIL: cpolston@bglsi.com

AUGUST 2018

17
http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
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