Take a look at the most current version of your local business directory, and count the number of NEW mechanical repair shops which have opened up in your community recently. I’ll bet you can count more than three; some being sole proprietors, while others are national chains. Ask yourself: “Why?"   "What is going on in my market that justifies an additional repair shop?" It could be your area has seen increased growth, so a larger vehicle population demands an increase in service providers. But ask yourself:   If my shop is not completely stuffed to the gills every day, how could I allow a competitor to open his doors and steal work from me? How did I drop the ball so he could eat my lunch? The answer can be broken down into four basic categories: 1. Wishful self-limitation: You are a franchised dealer. You specialize in your franchise’s brand. You market solely to your brand audience, hope they will do busi...

How many times have you heard: “How many (fill in the blank) did we sell this month? We’re always pushing our service advisors to sell every possible opportunity they can find, be it from a walk around, factory maintenance, or what the technician finds. We need to examine one specific word: “find”.  In this context, “find” is a verb, indicating some form of action. In our industry, action is an essential element of everyday life, and at ASE, we translate that into the simple word “do”. For this discussion, and to start your thinking process in the right direction, ask yourself this one question: In terms of finding immediate service sales opportunities, who, in your dealership, is responsible for performing the action we call “find”? Service Advisors find work every day through walk arounds and visual inspections at vehicle drop off. Technicians find work through diagnosis and in-depth vehicle examination...

Since our post last week regarding pre-owned inventory scarcity and higher prices, I have been asked to speculate as to the reasons and effects, so here goes.  To my mind the answer to why prices are increasing at such a fast pace is "Supply and demand.”  Through the recession, average new car sales per year fell from 16 million plus, to under 11 million.  Less new cars being sold means fewer potential trade-ins, which in turn is causing this shortage of used cars on offer and consequently less for dealers to sell.  Secondly due to the recent tsunami in Japan and the resultant shortage of new car product from the Japanese mainland manufacturers many of their franchise dealers have turned to Pre-Owned car sales to try and make up for the profit shortfalls.  Unfortunately many of these dealers are not practised Pre-Owned professionals and so tend to over pay just to get something to sell.  But that has caused wholesale price rises without a comm...

I have been talking to many Dealers and Pre-Owned Managers these last few weeks and months about the difficulty of acquiring good used car inventory. I have argued for the need to reconsider their thinking about Pre-Owned values in the light of both the economic conditions and general market place. Well today its official and now (better late than never I guess ) everybody else is talking about it. It made the National News today – Pre-owned cars values have increased in some instances by as much 30% this year. At least now your customers will not be shocked by price increases – this could be an opportunity in itself..? In any case it’s worth bearing in mind when looking at your acquisition policies. Of course if you need any further information on how this could benefit, or affect you please don’t hesitate to call me. Garry Palmer @ (772) 240-1797 or tweet us back ...

In today's world a Service Departments most valuable asset, after it's people, is it's customer database. As a consultant during my first visit to a store I am working with I always ask these 2 questions:  1. How many total customers are in your database?   2. How many are Lost customers? I always get an answer to number 1, but a blank stare on number 2, "What's a Lost?". Knowing this number is key to understanding and growing your business. An Lost customer is any customer who has not had a transaction with your Dealership over $50 in the last 12 months. If you haven't seen them in over 12 months they are either are already a lost customer or you are on the cusp of losing them. In the typical Dealership the percentage of Lost customers in relation to all customers is over 50%! Can you imagine 50% of your customers just disappearing! How do we get them back? ...

Hello world! Welcome to the Profit By Action Blog. My name is Andy Fannin-Church and I am the Co-Founder and Director of Operations at ASE Americas. You may have heard of us before, we were formally known as ODS - Operational Development Specialists. ASE Americas are dedicated to the automotive industry, working with Dealers and Manufacturers to increase profitability and minimize risk through world-class Business Management and industry leading Operational practices. We are a global company whose clients include Automotive Manufacturers and Dealers from every segment of the industry. The goal of this blog is to educate, inform, and entertain our readers with information that can be used to increase your operational effectiveness and profits.     If you have a specific topic or question you would like us to address please feel free post it on this blog or email me @ andyfc@aseamericas.com or if you prefer the old fashion way you can call me @ (...