Pub. 11 2021 Issue 4

11 holds all the cards in the buying process will be more reluctant to choose option one on the menu. Customers who are just happy to get a car and haven’t entered a negotiator’s skeptical mindset have been perfect for F&I. This too will change, and we will go back to some requests for remote delivery. • Keep an eye on your big three expenses – advertising, personnel, and inventory expense. Big grosses on good volume can be very forgiving to some poor expense control leading to expense creep. • Adding talent needs to be done in all sales environments. Keep hiring and developing your people. The stars will rise, and you will be better positioned to manage out the weaklings. When your C player – who’s been making big money recently – goes back to normal comp, is there a good chance they decide to move on to greener pastures? • Do you have desking standards in place, and do you have audits happening regularly to make sure they are taking place? • Are you moving forward with digital retail initiatives? Will you be prepared for what customers expect and demand in 2022? Does your process have continuity for the consumer who starts their deal online and then comes to the dealership? • Are you utilizing your CRM to its full capability? Who is ultimately accountable and owns this function in your dealership? What’s your audit function on this? • Who in leadership is reviewing customer pay RO’s daily? • Are you doing one-on-one’s daily: decision-maker with key managers, and key managers with their direct reports? Once again, to quote the Grateful Dead, “Sometimes you get shown the light in the strangest places if you look at it right,” and right now it’s in the daily activities. The current gravy train will end. We just don’t know exactly when. What we do know is the disciplines you put in place now will determine your success level once we get back to the real world. Management teams that spend their time high fiving and watching the scoreboard will find themselves out of the long-term game. It’s time to get back to the grind of the basics.  For more information, please contact Francis Fagan with Brown & Brown Dealer Services at 312-608-4979 or ffagan@bbins.com , or bbdealerservices.com. We Dealls! Fast. Organized. Secure. Serving Illinois Dealers For More Than 21 Years! Increase sales, customer retention, and operational efficiency with Dealer Pay’s card and check processing, POS solutions, contact-less transactions andmore. Call, text, or email to schedule a demo. 314-578-3142 julie@dealer-pay.com dealer-pay.com/request-a-demo/