The first week or so - back at the dealership.
If you were stepping back into a business management role at a new dealership - what's the very first thing you would dive into that would potentially have the most impact on increasing opportunities??
Let's if we're on the same boat.
I should have been a bit more descriptive around the position of "Business Development Manager". I've always viewed it as a position where one identifies and works to improve a dealers market position while achieving volume and financial growth - developing more business!
Lost of great recommendations. I believe
@jscole86 touched it.
I went straight to inventory!
Did a full analysis of the New and Used inventory across the dealer's website and all listing portals partnered with. How are the New and Used vehicles currently merchandised?
Merchandising 101.
What I found was a huge opportunity for better photos, comments, pricing, shared data and transparency. I took over used car photos. Yup - dusted off the ol Panasonic Lumix, re-familiarized myself with the settings and re-established the importance and priority that comes along with having great photos of your inventory.
To some degree, I can't believe I'm typing this. It's SO elementary, yet wasn't being done at the level it needed to be. Instead they had the "lot guy" taking the photos. Really? The average cost of this dealers pre-owned inventory is somewhere in the high 40's to low 50's. And they have the Lot Guy taking photos. Someone that doesn't give 2 shits on how our vehicles look online.
Now I didn't take all the photo responsibilities away from him. With a bit of coaching, he continues to on with photos of New inventory with the exception of a few rare model/trims anything with an AMG badge.
Jeff, why would you go back to taking photos of used cars? The question crossed my mind. It sure did. But if I'm gonna do it, I'm going to do it right
and in order to merchandise the (used) inventory the way it needs to be, then I need to be intimately involved with each used vehicle we have for sale.
There's no better opportunity than an intimate photo shoot.
I'm not the only one that needs to be more "involved". The Sales team need to know each vehicle just as well. We're not a high volume BHPH selling high mileage asian / domestic machines. We're a smaller volume luxury dealer - there's no excuse NOT to know the inventory. There's no need to resort to a rolled up inventory sheet or even our website to discuss options, features, benefits and pricing on a $60,000 pre-owned vehicle. So new process - every time I'm done taking photos of a vehicle, I send out a group text and everyone knows to it's time to head over to the delivery bay (where we now take our photos) for a group walk-around of that vehicle. At this time we review all the different options, features, condition, CarFax, pricing, market reports - whatever we have on the vehicle we all share and review - outloud. The idea has been well received with everyone in attendance 90% of the time. Now and then a customer finds their way into the walk-around. I've been knows to get them involved as well.
I've been slowly going back and retaking photos of pre-Jeff inventory when bandwidth permits.
FYI - we sold 90% of our off make inventory over the last 45 days. I even raised the prices on a few particular vehicles since we upped the quality of merchandising. They sold.