Well into the last quarter of 2018, most service managers are looking at the DOC and wondering if they’re going to achieve their target. And if not, how much of a shortfall will it be? All year long, you’ve been staring at the same goals and tweaking your methods to be at or over that magic number. So, what do you do if it doesn’t look like you’re going to hit it? And what do you do if you’re exceeding your goals?

Don’t Focus on the Fourth Quarter

I expect to take some flack for this stance. But think about it this way: if you haven’t been able to reach your monthly targets to this point and you’re looking at missing your annual target, do you think you’ll be able to affect enough change in the next ten weeks or so to catch up?

I don’t mean to sound like a Negative Nancy – just being realistic. And to be clear, I’m not implying that you just ride out the last quarter so you can start with a clean slate in 2019. No, it’s actually the opposite. You’re going to get down to work. Hard work.

On the other side of the coin, what do you do if you’ve surpassed your targets? One thing that’s guaranteed is that the GM and Dealer Principal are

Evaluate Your Targets

Look back at the year to date, month by month, and look for reasons why your numbers are what they are. Determine if it’s one month that’s thrown off your year so far, or if you’re missing targets time after time. If your store is doing well, the same action is required. See if there’s an anomaly that accounts for your success, or if your team’s just killing it overall.

Here’s the point: you need to know WHY your numbers are what they are. Good or bad, you need to understand what’s going on before you can move forward.

Find the Weak Spot

There’s a chink in the armor somewhere. It doesn’t matter how big or small your store is, nor if you’ve been hitting your sales and CSI targets. There is something that can be improved. Perhaps you have a service advisor whose hours per RO are below the rest, or you have a technician or two that don’t produce hours up to your expectations. Find the weak spot.

Plan for Next Year

It’s about training, coaching, and ramping up. January will be here before you know it, and it’s a fallacy if you think you can flip a switch to start strong in the new year. Don’t focus on the new year – focus on starting 2019 off right, right now.

Encourage Training

I’m of the opinion that product training is mandatory but personal improvement is a choice. With personal improvement types of training, provide access to personal improvement courses and training sessions if they desire. And to start the year off right, why not get as much training done before the busy holiday season kicks off?

Coaching

This is the corrective type of training. Where you’ve identified deficiencies, whether individual or corporately with your team, you should be aiming to straighten them out now. Carve out time for one-on-one sessions if you aren’t doing it already so you can mentor staff to correct behavior and performance issues.

Ramp Up

Forget what October, November, and December sales look like. Your goal is to hit the ground running in the new year, and that’s not easy if you only start the push on January 1st. It looks and feels like desperation if you’re working toward short-term goals. Instead, keep your vision on getting your team productive as you start the new year.