John F. Kennedy\u2019s quote, \u201cThe time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining,\u201d has never been more relevant. Don\u2019t wait for the world to return to normal; seize this time to upgrade your processes and do all of the things \u201cwe don\u2019t have time to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many or most of your current processes have built-in waste. With our free time, now is the perfect time to evaluate potential wastes. Waste is any step or action in a process that is not required to complete a process. Six-Sigma lists the 8 wastes of lean, as Defects, Overproduction, Waiting, Non-Utilized Talent, Transportation, Inventory, Motion, and Extra-Processing. I don\u2019t know your dealership, but I\u2019d wager at least one or two of your current processes embrace one or two of the wastes.<\/p>\n
Besides reducing waste, consider implementing the 5S methodology to streamline your processes with visual control. The 5S Methodology helps a workplace remove items no longer needed. It starts when you remove (Sort) everything from a space. Then only bring back (Straighten) what you need and organize the items to optimize efficiency. Daily keep the area clean (Shine), so you can identify problems. My favorite step (Standardize) is to use labels and color-coding to be consistent. Finally develop the habits (Sustain), and implement the processes to best maintain your \u201cnew behavior\u201d over the long term. (5S works just as well at home.)<\/p>\n
New Behaviors<\/strong><\/p>\n We will have to create new behaviors to accommodate Social Distancing (for sure the 2020 word-of-the-year) for your employees and customers. Consider flexible schedules for employees (half the accounting office works in the morning, the other half in the afternoon). For some positions, employees do their work from home. To engage your customers, create videos or flyers that answer their questions or solve their problems. Encourage your service customers to schedule their appointments (no more \u201cjust come on in\u201d); maybe you want them to stay in their vehicle until your Advisor gets to them. Explain and show customers your \u201cnew\u201d processes with videos and emails.<\/p>\n We will adopt \u201ctemporary\u201d practices to accommodate and protect our customers \u2013 you never know these new practices could become your new best practice. Remember the ad from Mr. Mom (1983), \u201cWe at Schooner Tuna can sympathize with all of you hit by the hard economic times. In order to help we\u2019ve decided to reduce the price of a can of tuna by $.50 until the crisis is over. After that, we will resume our regular pricing. Schooner Tuna, the tuna with a heart.\u201d They adjusted their pricing for the times.<\/p>\n As a temporary practice, deliver parts to your counter retail customers just like you would for your wholesale customers. Offer curbside parts pick-up for parts paid for online or over the phone. If you don\u2019t already have the capability for customers to pay online, determine what works best for you\u2014use a vendor like DocuSign or work with your website vendor to establish a convenient way for customers to pay and go!<\/p>\n If you now offer pick-up and delivery for service customers, vehicle salespeople can be those extra hands. Salespeople can help their fellow salespeople with remote vehicle deliveries. If the salespeople are unwilling to help to maintain a paycheck, are they the people who will be with you in the long run? The Controller in me says always have two people go to a customer\u2019s home or workplace to reduce potential liability issues from a \u201ccrazy\u201d customer.<\/p>\n The Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020<\/strong> You may have reviewed your expenses at the end of 2019, but now you have a different lens to look through, one that also focuses not only on the best price but on reducing what you are using. Look at want versus need. Maybe I can look at that on the computer monitor instead of printing it out. Hey, Tech, you don\u2019t need to put on new gloves every time you get a little dirt on them\u2014wash it off and save a few gloves for others. Disposable is removed from the lexicon and replaced with I bet I can make this work. What you learn over the next few months will pay off for years to come in better processes and reduced expenses.<\/p>\n Hang on to Your Cash<\/strong> What to Do? What to Do? What to Do?<\/strong> Create a list of projects you\u2019d like to accomplish to \u201cup your game.\u201d You probably won\u2019t get to all of the projects, but you\u2019ll have a list for the future when things are slow. Some of these ideas you can use even if your department is closed due to government mandates. With Zoom, you can see all of the employees\u2019 smiling faces.<\/p>\n 1) Create training videos. Create 5 \u2013 15 minute training sessions for your team. Get their feedback on areas they feel they could improve.<\/p>\n 2) Roll play. Practice those skills that make a difference with your customers, such as Asking customers for referrals, Presenting service maintenance menus, Upselling on a body shop estimate. Everyone acknowledges the coronavirus crisis is an unprecedented time in our history, but we know it will pass. Heed the words of Zig Ziglar, \u201cIt’s not the situation, but whether we react negative or respond positive to the situation that is important.\u201d Don\u2019t let this gift of free time get away from you without making the best out of it.<\/p>\n If you would like a detailed list of projects, for each department, that you can do if business is slow, email me at profitblueprints@gmail.com or call Brooke at 877.316.7418.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" John F. Kennedy\u2019s quote, \u201cThe time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining,\u201d has never been more relevant. Don\u2019t wait for the world to return to normal; seize this time to upgrade your processes and do all of the things \u201cwe don\u2019t have time to do.\u201d Many or most of your current […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,9,27,7,11,6,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dealership-best-practices","category-dealership-body-shop","category-dealership-efficiencies","category-dealership-parts-department","category-dealership-sales-department","category-dealership-service-department","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.profits4dealers.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.profits4dealers.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.profits4dealers.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.profits4dealers.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.profits4dealers.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=94"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.profits4dealers.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101,"href":"https:\/\/www.profits4dealers.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94\/revisions\/101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.profits4dealers.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=94"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.profits4dealers.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=94"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.profits4dealers.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=94"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nWhen you can\u2019t buy toilet paper, the lesson you learn quickly is to conserve resources. My first job as a Controller was at a Chrysler-Dodge dealership before Lee Iacocca revived Chrysler, and we were thrilled to make $4,000 in 1981. We were so cash strapped, (How cash strapped were you?) I would use both sides of the calculator tape. I hope you will never be in the position where a roll of calculator tape makes a difference. Still, in this time of uncertainty, there is a valuable lesson we all will learn from and perhaps be better managers when business returns to normal.<\/p>\n
\nI\u2019m writing the definitive manual for dealership accounting (to be released this summer), and one segment that is applicable today is the Cash Conservation segment. Although COVID-19 wasn’t part of the plan, the ideas are even more valid in uncertain times when you spend more than you take in.
\n\u2022 Floor plan used vehicles (especially if your lender is allowing a grace period)
\n\u2022 Keep a vigilant eye on frozen capital – those resources used ineffectively. Collect those receivables and sell the old inventories.
\n\u2022 Tighten the credit extended to wholesale vendors.
\n\u2022 Pay bonuses to managers whose salaries are substantial, quarterly.
\n\u2022 Send out Accounts Receivable statements early.
\n\u2022 Make payments on a company credit card to extend the time to pay.<\/p>\n
\nNo one knows when you might have to furlough or downsize your staff, hopefully, you won\u2019t have to. The rest of this article offers ideas to keep your valuable staff busy and productive\u2014staff that you spent time and money recruiting and training. If you have folks quarantined at home and you are paying their wages, keep them in the loop with quick calls via Zoom, Skype, or other internet communications options. Most of these providers have free options.<\/p>\n
\n3) Discuss bottlenecks. Have employees tell you or send you a message on why they think their work slows down due to bottlenecks. Discuss solutions and engage all of your employees for their ideas. Do not disparage their input, or you will stifle their input.
\n4) Do your spring-cleaning now. Remove and dispose of clutter around the dealership. Sort and shred files (as allowed by the IRS.), scrap warranty parts (as authorized by your manufacturer.), or shred outdated forms.
\n5) Review every page of your website \u2013 do all departments shine? Call every phone number to verify they still connect to the right department.
\n6) Update employees\u2019 job descriptions.<\/p>\n