From CSI scores and online ratings to Google search results, everyone wants to be first. The service department is expected to be perfect and keep a perfect 5-star rating online. How else do you attract new customers, after all?

People are constantly searching for ‘the best’ this and ‘the best’ that. Google searches are dominated by ‘best nail salon’ and ‘best Thai restaurant near me’, and similar searches across every industry. That includes ‘best oil change’ and ‘best service department’ for your city and community. It seems customers want THE BEST service possible.

A recent Think With Google report blows that up.

It true that people are searching for ‘the best’ everything more than ever before. Think With Google reports that in the past two years, ‘the best’ searches have increased 115%. But the criteria for something being the best is relative to the consumer.

Google’s Head of Ads Research and Insights, Sara Kleinberg, gives more on that:

With so many options and so much information online, consumers increasingly can and have to make decisions based on differences beyond quality, price, and basic features. The deciding factor is often personal criteria for that product and how it solves their individual needs. Convenience, for example, can enter the “best” equation. One person told us, “A taqueria 10 miles away might have 400 5-star reviews, but I'd be fine with a 4.5-star taqueria a stone’s throw away.” One person might be swayed by product features, whereas another won’t. “I don’t care if a vacuum cleaner has a light on the front or an automatic cord winder. The best one for me is best at picking up pet hair,” another person said. That’s not to say price and quality aren’t part of the picture. But how they fit in depends on the shopper. As one person said, “I don’t necessarily look for the best product in the market, but for something that would be the best for what I need the product for.”

What Does That Mean for Your Service Department?

It means that a customer might not care that you have a 5-star rating if your department doesn’t have availability when they want to come in, because convenient hours matter. And a regular client won’t be influenced by a higher-rated dealer’s service department if you’ve treated them well in the past. And a new customer may not be willing to travel across the city to visit ‘the best Chevrolet service department’ with a 5.0 rating if there’s one in their neighborhood with a 4.5 or even a 4.0 rating.

You need to be good – very good, in fact – at what you do in service. The workmanship, customer service, and price need to be competitive. But as for being ‘the best’? There’s only one place that it matters.

Online. Your website content needs to include keywords that draw search results for ‘the best’. Your dealership website’s service page should have ‘best Nissan oil change’, ‘best oil change’, ‘best diagnosis’, ‘best tires for Honda’, ‘best brake job’, and so on.

Having the right keywords will make your dealership rise to the top of the search results on Google. Isn’t that where you’re going to find new clients, much more so than the expensive mailers and balloon-filled summer barbecues, and even better than the Tube Man you inflate by the front door?

Increase your online visibility simply by adding relevant content and keywords to your website.

With more than 15 years of experience in the service department, I had more than my share of ups and downs. Part of it was to do with me personally, and other situations were related to my environment. Some of it could be attributed to variables while some of it, like the service department, was fixed.

A few anecdotes:

• A few years after buying our first home, my wife and I began a small but important renovation. As a service advisor at the time, there were ebbs and flows in the customer traffic and we only lived a few minutes away. So, during slower periods, I’d meet with the contractor or run for supplies. The renovation took precedence in my day and when that happens, everything else takes second place. What fell behind was every work-related. Customer follow-up, calling estimates, tracking vehicles in the shop – it was all a mess. Other things in life became more important than my job. I had a difficult time prioritizing between work and everything else.
• I was promised the service manager position at a new store acquisition for the dealer group. About 10 years into my career as a service advisor, it seemed like the promotion I deserved and I felt ready. But then, silence. As I waited for the announcement, it didn’t come. They decided to retain the previous manager and simply didn’t tell me…or talk to me at all for the next few months. My attitude and performance at the desk were in the toilet for about six months afterward. I was disillusioned and hated my workplace for a while.
• I’m naturally an introverted personality. It takes effort for me to be around new people and it can be tough to begin new relationships and conversations, even with customers. After moving within the dealer group to the ‘big store’, it took months to build my daily RO count to the norm. It took even longer to feel like I was accepted – a part of the team. My natural disposition made achievements harder to attain.
• To go with the introverted personality, I fear rejection more than an A-type personality. The many hefty estimates I’d be presented in a day were hard for me to call. I feared that I’d be shot down; that the customer wouldn’t see the value in the repair estimate I was presenting. My fear of rejection handcuffed my and prevented me from taking my sales to a higher level at times.

What’s the Point I’m Making?

For me, my biggest challenges as a service employee were almost all ME. Self-centered views are debilitating, and that was one of the tallest hurdles I faced daily.

All of the other challenges I faced – management, technicians, bad customer interactions, low-quality equipment, and under-staffing, for examples – were a mere inconvenience or annoyance rather than a major challenge.

Perhaps my situation is unique, where it was ME getting in MY OWN WAY. But I’d encourage you to take a look at your own situation in the service department and evaluate what truly gets in your way. Is it the environment or your attitude about the environment? Is it your manager’s style or are you having trouble respecting their authority?

Please share what you find to be your biggest challenge or struggle as a service employee. Also, let me know if you identify with mine.

Everyone deserves a little time off. It’s something to look forward to and provides much needed rejuvenation. And whether you’re a service advisor, manager, technician, or support staff, you’re going to get worn out, burnt out, ticked off, or just plain tired. That’s what vacation is meant to address.

But it’s not as simple as just booking a week or two off and leaving for vacation, specifically for a service advisor. For those who aren’t aware, it’s a commission role predominantly. When you’re going to leave on a holiday, your ducks need to be all neatly lined up in a row. Otherwise, all hell can break loose while you’re away, and it usually does.

Taking vacation can be stress-free (mostly) if you can take care of these details in advance.

Hand Off Your Customers

I’ve personally been on vacation and had to answer a call from the dealership to walk someone through a customer’s work order. That can be avoided in large part by handing off your work orders to a colleague you trust.

Sounds easy, but you need to know they’re going to be cared for properly. Your CSI scores and what you earn on the work order is affected if someone isn’t going to properly look after your ROs. And here’s how to do it well:

• Walk through the details of each work order remaining on your last day before vacation.
• Make sure your stand-in knows how to contact the customer, and what the customer expects.
• Tell the customer who they’ll be dealing with.

Book Appointments for Your Return to Work

Nothing is worse for a commission-based employee than not knowing where your income will come from when you return. It’s going to sting a bit on the paycheck when you take vacation, but you can mitigate some of it when you book appointments for the days after you return to work.

Stash Some Cash

That sting on the paycheck? You should be prepared for it. In the months before you are taking vacation, you should begin squirrelling money away to cover your time off. The last thing you want is the burden of a small paycheck when you get back to work, knowing that it’s going to take a couple weeks to build up your work order base again.

Book Vacation in Advance

Everyone loves a great deal, but it’s hard to plan properly for your vacation if you’re waiting for a last-minute package. Your best bet is to book your vacation months in advance. That way, you can get your finances in order to pay off your holiday package, stash some cash for the low period around your vacation, and stack the appointment schedule to ensure your return to work goes smoothly.

‘45’ keeps everyone on their toes, there’s no denying that. The hardball tactics for NAFTA negotiations, steel and aluminum tariffs, and now the looming threat of auto tariffs are just a few of the things you didn’t see coming beforehand.

It’s common knowledge at this point that auto sales are deeply affected by the tariffs. Of course, that’s already being seen in manufacturing from the steel and aluminum tariffs as the cost to build cars increases. And it’s forecasted to have a detrimental impact on car sales if the auto tariffs proposal gets off the ground. Salespeople, general managers, and dealer principals all shudder at the potential impact.

But as service departments in the franchised automotive world, the impact doesn’t seem as great. If anything, it looks like an opportunity to shine bright. Truth be told, it is. Make no mistake, though. It’s more than an opportunity. It’s a responsibility to keep your dealership moving strong, through thick and thin.

Cinch the Belt Now

Sales departments can’t prepare ahead of time aside from buying more inventory before tariffs take effect, and even that strategy may not work out too well. Plus, it could all be for nothing -even hurting more than helping – if auto tariffs never go into effect. But fixed operations departments can be prepared if the shoe drops, and none of the changes have any risk associated with them if the industry isn’t dealt the next blow.

Staff Up

It’s been driven home for months now, but filling every technician bench is going to be important. If cars aren’t selling, car owners are going to be fixing. Service department volumes are inevitably going to increase and you’ll need to be fully staffed especially on the bench.

Take a look back at previous posts for recruiting technician talent. It’s the first step to bolstering the service department.

Train Up

Your team can’t afford missteps when the landscape for fixed operations gets ultra-competitive. Everyone needs to be fully invested and trained to do their role well. That means product training where possible, process training as a routine, and technical training for those who need it.

Trainers are going to be in higher demand and their rates are going to go through the roof if you wait. Begin fixed operations staff training now and keep it going indefinitely.

Track Progress

If you’ve been a little lax because things have been going well, get back to tracking your fixed operations numbers. Monitor department gross, hours per RO, and ELR, and compare to each individual. Identify if you have a weak link and train them up. If you haven’t done it before, implement a strict policy on discounts or write-offs – only management can make the call.  

There are tons of opportunities to shore up the fixed operations departments to keep your dealership not just maintaining but growing in a hectic, unstable automotive climate. Look at parts inventories and obsolescence to free up cash flow. Offer birddogs to employees for sales referrals (or bump them up). Create ad campaigns at the dealer level for service, parts, collision repairs, and accessories.

Do what it takes to push stable growth. There’s a good chance your dealership will rely on it in the near future.

Look across your service department’s front line, then in the shop. If you’re one of the average American dealerships, you have a vacancy in at least one spot, probably more.

For those with an opening for a service advisor, you know the strain it puts on everyone else on the front line, and not just other service advisors, as you try to maintain productivity. And if it’s a spot on the bench – or two, or more – it’s painfully evident you can’t make up the lost hours and income with the remaining techs.

It’s important to hire expeditiously, of course. Implementing a stopgap is crucial as your targets account for every position filled. But hiring the wrong person can and will have damaging effects on your team.

So what do you look for in a new hire? What characteristics should be your top concern when you’re searching through applications and interviewing candidates? For both service advisor and technician roles, here are a few traits to seek out for your store.

For Technicians

When you’re hiring techs, the characteristics you need are of the more traditional sort, but not all of them.

Applicable Work Experience

It makes complete sense. You need the techs you hire to bring in their toolbox, pick up a work order, and be able to do it. It’s the skill set a technician develops only through work experience, either at another dealership or an independent repair shop.

Willing to Develop Skills

Cars are constantly changing, and technicians need to learn new skills to stay on top of new technology. Old-school techs may have a problem with this.

Customer Focused

It’s a little off the beaten path from the traditional role of selling as many services and repairs as possible. Today’s successful tech needs to be able to prioritize items with the customer’s patronage in mind, not just making money for today.

Team Player

It’s thrown around a lot these days, and it doesn’t seem to fit the individual technician role. But it’s a trait growing in importance for repair procedures. Many diagnostics and repairs require a second set of eyes or hands, and your techs need to be comfortable helping each other out regularly.

For Service Advisors

I’m going to contest the typical hiring process when it comes to service advisors. You’ll see why.

New to the Industry

Unless you’re hiring for a senior service advisor position because you can’t promote from within for some reason, you want a relatively fresh team member. Someone with an affinity for vehicles is great, but the last thing you need is an advisor going rogue. “I’ve always done it this way” isn’t a response that is going to work for a new hire. Individuals who are new to the service advisor position are going to learn to do it YOUR way, not how they’ve done it before. It also means most of your new hires will be youthful

Technically Minded

You need service advisors who are technical, but not necessarily about cars. What helps more than anything is an ability to decipher what a customer is saying and write it on the work order in a way the technician understands.

Willing to Learn the Product

More than ever, a service advisor needs to have the product knowledge of a salesperson – or perhaps, even more so. You might ask why, and rightly so. But as a service advisor, part of the role is now about educating the customer about how their vehicle works to eliminate ‘no fault found’ concerns before they hit the shop. That only comes from knowing the product and the technology well.

School’s out, and the weather is phenomenal. It’s the time of the year when the flow of customer traffic into the service department slows to a trickle. They’re gone on vacation or taking care of their kids. Plain and simple, there are other priorities for your customers right now.

You still have a department to run, though, and you’re expected to keep your technicians humming along. Easier said than done some days, for sure.

If you find your staff twiddling their thumbs instead of turning wrenches this summer, here are a few ideas you can implement.

Make Training a Priority

Technicians, service advisors, support staff – there’s always a module or course to catch up on. While the service drive is slow and the shop has empty bays, emphasize the importance of catching up on training.

Your staff will be more inclined to kick off work early and hit the beach. But for those with the slightest business acumen, you can coach them to realize that getting these courses done now while it’s slow will free them up to earn more when it’s busy, instead of working on required training.

Release a Service Promo Campaign

In some areas, service departments in the summer slow down significantly. But because you still need to get your bottom line into the black, drumming up some business may be necessary.

Create a service promotion that’s ideal for summer. Perhaps it’s a complimentary A/C inspection with the intention of cashing in on expensive air conditioning repairs. Or maybe it’s a complimentary charging system test, helping you sell batteries.

Remember, this is to supplement your summer income. While there should be measurable results, understand that you’ll be attracting customers that probably won’t become regulars. You’ll get off-makes and older vehicles. Just be thankful they’re entering the door and do your best to service them well.

Work on Internal Jobs

Every service department I’ve ever worked in got backed up with internal work over the summer. Technicians took vacation too, leaving internal work simmering on the back burner. While the flow of customer work is lessened, push to get caught up on new vehicle prep, pre-owned vehicle certifications, and the like.

If you’re really struggling to keep techs busy, work out a plan with the new car sales department to equip several vehicles with popular accessories. Create a custom package for your store, potentially making the accessory package a long-term thing.

Summertime can be tough to keep the income flowing into the service department. Maybe you’re finding it the case for your store, or maybe you’re one of the fortunate dealers who don’t have this problem. The point is to keep working toward customer service excellence by providing knowledgeable repairs, good value, and vehicles your customers will love.

A customer stops in for their service appointment. They check in with the service advisor, have a work order written, and take the complimentary shuttle to work. Then, when their car is done in the shop, they get picked up from work, receive a description of the work completed, pay their bill, and head out on their way.

But what happens next? I know, it seems like an odd question, but I think it’s relevant.

Understanding what some customers are prone to do after a service visit gives a glimpse into the type of customer service that should be provided – both what’s been overlooked in the current visit and what could improve in the future.

The Parking Lot Inspector

Every service advisor can just feel the imminent time required dealing with a customer when they’ve checked out at the cashier, head to their car, and pop the hood. This customer is inspecting to make sure the repair is done right. They want to check every grease zerk, every fluid, and every tire pressure to make sure they’ve been dealt with.

No doubt, there’s going to be at least one question they come back to the desk to ask. But this type of customer is telling you something with their actions: you’re not fulfilling their needs as a customer.

It’s something that may only take a minute, and you can avoid the walk back into the store completely. Review the vehicle inspection report with the customer in detail, and do it at their vehicle. It’s a way to show transparency and a level of customer care no one else does. You can do it for the customers you know will walk back into the desk, or even better, do it for everyone.

The Online Reviewer

Some customers would prefer to give compliments or air grievances where everyone can see them, on the internet. You get online reviews every time they visit without fail. It can be good or it can be bad. If it’s good all the time, you know you’re doing it right. But if it’s bad…

That tells you your customer doesn’t find you approachable enough to tell you in person. Granted, some people are meek and would prefer to avoid even the smallest confrontation. But some people would prefer to leave mad and tell everyone online that you didn’t do a good job or their car wasn’t fixed right.

If you’re getting online reviews that blindside you, consider changing your greeting and customer interactions. Be friendlier. Greet customers by name and with a handshake. Use casual language (but not slang) when speaking with them in person and over the phone.

The Blind Truster

If you have people that are always happy and just go along with your service and repair recommendations, and never question you, you’ve made a customer for life. It’s your customer to lose. Obviously, you’re doing what the customer expects for vehicle and customer care, but there’s still a danger there.

Don’t try to take advantage of the customer that blindly trusts you. You may be tempted to oversell maintenance or upsell repairs before they’re necessary because you know you’ll get the approval. But those types of actions turn the blind truster into the next type of customer.

The Never Returner

It’s the worst type of customer: the one that never comes back. A customer that hasn’t expressed their unhappiness and doesn’t return is one of the most damaging things for your service department and the dealership as a whole. Just because they haven’t told you about their bad experience doesn’t mean they haven’t told 16 of their friends and family – they have. You’ve lost the customer AND their referrals.

The never returner is easily avoided. All you have to do is provide the best customer care you can for every single customer, every time. If you don’t, there will be some customers you just never see again.

I have to say, as a former service advisor, one of the things I despised the most was training. Don’t get me wrong – I love time off. But what I definitely did NOT love was being away from my desk, unable to be productive. Because, as you know, service advisors are typically paid on productivity. The more customer work orders you write, the more zeroes on your paycheck.

Yet, it seemed there was always some kind of training that was coming up. Either semi-annual training sessions through the OEM or the dozens of online webinars and training sessions, training was never complete. And it sucks.

But since I can look at it from the outside now, it makes sense. There’s a purpose for all the training. Seriously, there IS a purpose.

Let’s take down one wall now, because I saw it firsthand when I had to complete it. Service advisors will say, “Training is fine, but it’s all the stuff that has no practical application to MY job that’s frustrating.” It’s true. There are a bunch of courses you’ll need to complete for your OEM ‘Service Consultant Certification’ or some other credential. I’m not going to pretend that all the training material required for service advisors is beneficial practically, but nonetheless, it must be done.

It’s for the Credentials

Think about the person who does your taxes. It could be some shmuck that does it at home on their computer with Cheezies crumbs that barely graduated high school. But if that same guy has a degree in Business or is a Chartered Accountant, it doesn’t matter if he’s working in his underwear or in a $1000-dollar suit.

Completing certifications and training adds credibility to what you do. Whether they mean something to you or not, print the certificates you receive from online courses and find a place to post them. Better yet – managers, have desk badges made for training courses completed and post them at service advisors desks.

The credentials mean something to a customer – that they’re receiving professional service. The guard can be dropped. Their advisor knows a thing or two.

There’s Actually Good Knowledge Available

With GM, one of the certifications I received was ‘Certified Technology Expert’. All that means is that I was up to date on current technology training. It’s no big deal, and it’s something every advisor should have had.

But it also meant that I was the go-to guy for tech questions. I had been for a while before the certification anyway. But achieving all that technology knowledge meant I was trusted to help customers in a specialist kind of role.

It’s Important for Your Store

You can buck it, resisting the pressure to finish the training you need to get done. But it actually hurts your store. I can’t speak for them all, but some OEMs use staff training as a prerequisite for financial rewards the dealership earns, whether for sales, CSI scores, or otherwise. If a certain percentage of staff haven’t completed their training, the reward diminishes or vanishes.

We’re talking thousands of dollars monthly. And if you’re one of the staff that affected the loss, you can be sure management can see it.

This part of training is being part of a team. The ‘team player’ attitude wants the best for the store, not just the individual.

You Forget the Good Stuff

It happens over time, slowly so that you don’t realize it’s happening. You’re beginning to cut corners; to lose your motivation; to deviate from the process. Consistent training helps service advisors realign their actions with that of the service department’s processes.

In terms of car tech, it’s Lane Keep Assist. As you slowly veer off course without noticing, the next training session helps bump you back to center, restoring your focus on the path you should be on.

My encouragement is this: keep learning. Read training materials. Participate in OEM training sessions. Ask your management to enroll you in courses that come available nearby. Training is important for you professionally and personally, and it’s going to keep you moving in the right direction.

Everyone I’ve met who’s spent time in the service drive will confirm it: being a service advisor is exhausting. Just being ‘on’ all day, interacting with customers and co-workers, is tiring in itself. Some people thrive on the hubbub and bustling environment, but it’s not only the ‘type A’ personalities that makes great service advisors. You can have a softer disposition and be fantastic at the desk.

But I’ll tell you firsthand that it’s extremely tough to be consistent day to day, week to week, and month to month. I’m the second kind of person – a little quieter, go-with-the-flow, and a bit of a people pleaser. Fear of rejection goes hand in hand with my type of personality.

Consistency? It’s part of my vocabulary. I know how to do it. Achieving it, on the other hand, is not easy. For other service advisors who are like me (and even ‘type A’ personalities from at times) it’s hard work to stay consistent in performance.

Rate performance however you will. CSI scores, hours per RO, dollar per RO, gross profit, or your paycheck. When you’re inconsistent, your performance suffers in them all.

What You Can Do

It isn’t likely that your manager is going to just accept that your performance will be hot one day and cold the next. If that’s the case, you’re probably not going to stay a service advisor for long. You’ll need to find a way to keep consistent, level-headed, and on your game from day to day. Here are a few tips to help you do just that.

Establish a Morning Routine

I used to only give myself 20 minutes to do the triple-S in the morning, and I’d leave for work missing out on one of them quite often. Establish a morning routine that’s structured and concise. Wake up in the morning at the same time every day and get out of bed WITHOUT hitting the snooze button (that’s my weakness).

Dress for Success

You’re going to do better if you feel better about yourself. It might go without saying for some, but I’ve seen so many service advisors who go to work with their shirt untucked, unkempt hair, and shoes that have toes poking out of them.

Dressing well for your job has another side too. Customers take notice. I believe customers gravitate toward the service advisors who appear to have it all together, and that’s done with first impressions – starting with appearance.

Eat Well

It doesn’t matter what type of fast food you eat at lunch, or at breaks. You’re going to feel like crap. Been there, done that – it’s like an addiction. It really does help with your performance to eat clean. Anything you make at home will be better for you than eating out every day (within reason, of course). And again, when you feel better, you’re going to perform better.

Work Out

Get your physical activity in. Whether you take your dog for a walk, run around the playground with your kids, or pump iron at the gym, physical activity is fantastic for consistency. Primarily, it’s going to get the right chemicals flowing that benefit your mental acuity. Secondly, you’ll get in shape.

You’ll need to make time for physical activity. Ideally, you’ll do it as part of your morning routine or immediately after your shift is done. If you head home to relax a little, there’s a good chance you’re not getting off the couch to work out later.

Train Your Mind

Find resources for professional improvement. Read books on selling techniques or ‘self-help’ topics that apply to your position. Subscribe to blogs from masterminds, life coaches, and people you admire. Surround yourself with information by successful people to train your mind. Read a chapter a day, a blog every lunch hour – get it in at some point throughout your day. It’s going to make you more confident and positive, and you can put that to work for more consistent performance.

It’s a number some dealerships reach easily, while others work hard and never quite get there: service absorption. You know it as the fixed operations gross profits that cover the expenses of not just fixed ops, but the WHOLE dealership.

Service absorption used to be the measure of a quite successful dealership. But there’s uncertainty in the industry. Steel and aluminum tariffs, as well as proposed foreign auto tariffs, are going to have a serious impact on new vehicle sales, should they last very long.

That doesn’t even take into consideration the previous sales forecasts. Economists and industry professionals expected new car sales in 2018 to slow down anyway – the tariffs are just going to compound it.

You’re wondering how this applies to service absorption. If you aren’t at 100% service absorption already, will it matter when the market soon takes a dive?

It’s Never Too Late

The fact is, no matter what happens in the economy, your service department will never NEED to cover 100% of the whole dealership’s expenses to pay the bills. As long as there are still cars driving off the lot, gross profit on the variable side will be there. But no dealer is satisfied to just stay afloat, even if it’s short-term. There net profit, whether that’s from the sales floor or the fixed ops departments.

With storm clouds on the horizon, turn your attention to service absorption. Just a few changes can help you get closer to a 100% service absorption rate, easing the pressure on the whole store.

Audit Expenses

Service shop supplies, uniforms, miscellaneous fasteners – any expenses that you incur in the service department take away from the net profit. Dollar for dollar, if you can trim your expenses, you edge closer to 100% service absorption.

Call your suppliers and put them on notice. Give them an opportunity to revise their pricing while you request quotes from other suppliers. With your suppliers, it’s good to have a working relationship. But when it comes to business, it boils down to dollars and cents. You’ll be surprised how quickly you’ve found hundreds or thousands of dollars in savings.

Perform a Labor Rate Analysis

If you’re running a tight ship with very little waste and you’re still coming up short on service absorption, it could be time to make a pricing change. Perform a labor rate analysis, comparing your rates with your competitors.

Since the service department is less about pricing and more about relationships, modest increases where you are lower than the competition should be met with very little resistance. Plus, that extra income goes straight to the net – there are no extra expenses.

Attract More Service Customers

Perhaps the most important thing you can do – if you have the bandwidth in your shop – is attracting new service customers. Use any media you can to create new relationships with potential customers around you.

The benefits are pretty obvious – you add gross profit with every extra work order you write plus you’re increasing your base of potential new car customers too.

You might not get to 100% service absorption – your dealership’s financial structure just might not work that way, or your shop might not be big enough to do it. But if the automotive landscape tightens up like it looks like it will, you’ll need to do everything you can to keep your dealership profitable.