The will must be stronger than the skill!

The Military is coming home... are you welcoming this crowd?

Our service men & women will be coming home in mass numbers over the coming months & next two years with the draw downs in the Middle East.

These soldiers will be landing at bases around the U.S. Many will transfer out & move into the civilian sector.

Here are some thought provoking questions to help you make your business attractive to these men & women who have so honorably served:

• What are you doing to draw this crowd to your dealerships?
• Do you have the right lenders in place? If so, are they advertised specifically on your website?
• Have your ever sold to a veteran in the past?
• What is your special offer for military service men & women?
• What are you willing to do for them in return for their service for you? Yes, they've served you.
• Are you & your staff military friendly & knowledgeable? Do you need to read up, catch up?
• Do you even appreciate them?
• Is there a flag flying at your dealership? As a vet myself, that is the greatest thank you.
• How does your website attract veterans?
• When in a hiring need, would you consider advertising toward & training a veteran?
• It is perfectly OK & you should require a military ID with any special offers.

The current federal pull out date for Afghanistan is 2014, with talks in place for training, transition, and handover of security to the Afghanistan soldiers. According to the Associated Press on April 16, 2012, the the US Troops count will be down to only 68,000 by September 2012. These troops are steadily coming home.

It is important to be friendly to this segment of your business. Friendly means serving them. Put them in the right vehicle that is truly ready to be sold. Give them your best effort. Use GAP & a service contract to protect you, the soldier, & their investment. Don't be the person to allow a total loss, or an unexpected repair become something the soldier has to worry about. Let them come home, focus on family, and living again.

WHEN IMPROVING YOUR DEALERSHIP, IT STARTS WITH YOU

by Willie Grubaugh
Preferred Warranties, Inc.

Where should you start when looking to improving your dealership?

YOU! It all starts with you.  Painting, a remodel, and, or changing inventory simply will not do it. Work to change yourself first to match up with the desired change you have for the dealership. Change is good. Change is how we find new, more efficient ways to accomplish things. Change will teach us it is ok to fail. A batter in the majors will fail 630 times, but we all want a batter line up who hits 330. We don’t just want one; we want NINE batters who fail 630 times each on average. Think about this math for a minute, we want an average of 630 failures X 9 batters & that is our choice team! That is 5,670 Failures. We don’t focus on the failure itself. We focus on the lessons from each. Batting averages are not – 630 (negative 630), they are 330; that’s it, 330. We use the lessons from failure for change. This change worked, that one didn’t, & drive on.

Appearance -

What do you need to change? Some people need to change the way they dress. Some change may be in talk, how much cursing you do, slang, too much jargon, or making people feel incompetent through words & digs; too much sarcasm for comfort's sake. What about grooming, shaving, & visibility of tattoos? It all matters. Ducks fly with ducks, and geese with geese. We draw people like ourselves. If we want a different crowd, it is in ourselves where the change has to occur first.

What do you want your employees to change? The same holds true for employees as you, but it still starts with your change. You may be the boss. You may own the place. They are going to follow your dress, your walk, your talk.

1. Goals -

Are you even goal oriented?

What is the motivation of each goal?

What are your written, defined, clear goals for change?

Do your goals make sense for your business? Test them with SMART

1. S - Specific; what is the specific goal, not general, or vague here
2. M - Motivation; what is the purpose & reward for achieving this goal?
3. A - Accountability; How are you holding yourself & your team accountable for the goal(s)? How often are you discussing it? Do you meet at the same time each day, week, or month? Do you even meet at all? It is important to meet to track & celebrate the successes & progress along the way. Do not ignore the shortfalls. Have the tough conversations with yourself & your team as soon as the shortfall is recognized. Ignoring & avoiding is the single best way to fail. It is important, & only fair, you know where you stand with yourself, as well as where your team stands with you. This prevents head trash, small things creating anger & frustrations over time until the inevitable blow up. Don't do that to yourself, or your team. It burns energy with zero positive results.
4. R - Realistic; Is the goal something YOU can realistically achieve? Do you have what you need in place? Do you have the right team in place? Who all will be rewarded for helping achieve the goal(s)? What do you need to go get, implement, or get rid of immediately to start toward the goal? Be honest with yourself here. What bad habits do YOU have in the way you need to dump? What strengths do YOU have to build on?
5. T - TIME! By when will you achieve this goal? Don't just leave the goal out there with a date of "Someday, I want to..." That is the worst thing you can ever do to yourself, & your team.

The Plan(s)

What is your written, detailed plan for achieving each goal? No plan, no goal. There is no such thing as luck; good or bad. Luck is what the outside world sees when hard work & a plan comes together. “Good luck” happens to those with hard work & a plan. “Bad luck” is what happens to those with poor work ethic, no plan, & no desire for the lesson from the failure.

Continuing Education -

Seminars – Look to your state & national organizations websites for dates & locations of what they offer. Look to your vendors to see what training they offer. Many offer onsite training. Some classes may be in groups; so ask about dates & locations & what your vendors offer. They may sponsor seminar events, or may even host the training themselves.

Books – Look for books related to your industry. Ask your peers what their latest read is, what did they get out of it, what change are they making because of that read. Look for books to help with your position. There are so many that have gone before you. Books are a great resource to learn from their mistakes. People worth following are humble & open about the mistakes they’ve made & they lessons they’ve learned. Know-it-alls will never help you. 

News & industry related articles for knowledge – This is the easiest. You never have to leave your chair. Open you laptop, or tablet, start searching & reading. It is really that simple. Use social media as well. Follow the people with knowledge & experience. LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, and so many others are out there. I would limit yourself to what you can handle. Over exposure will shut you down here. That is one mistake I have made in the past; trying to be all things, everywhere, at once.

Time -

Are you investing enough time for the changes you are looking for?

MENTOR! This one is big to me. Who is your mentor? Who are you able to comfortably able to call on for questions, advice, frustrations, & round table discussions with? It may be a group of people. I recommend one mentor inside your business, & one outside of your business, but in the same title position, or title above your current position. A solid mentor is brutally honest, encouraging, & humble. They will help build you up when you need it most. They will tell you to suck it up, pull up your bootstraps, & finish it when you need it most.... usually when you are on the edge of a breakthrough, but you can't see it yet. A mentor can see it. They are able to look at you & what is going on around you objectively.

Change has brought about things like electricity, phones to cellular phones, & indoor plumbing. I promise you, change is good. None of these things happened over night. Alexander Graham Bell had no idea what Steve Jobs was going to bring about. Both saw change & benefit to our futures. I searched, found, & saved the photo of this old phone with my iPhone. Paint is not change. Paint only covers the old, but underneath, everything is the same. Make the change you can clearly see needs to take place within you.

Ferdinand Alexander Porsche dies at age 76

Ferdinand Alexander Porsche dies at 76. For auto lovers, this is a sad, but appreciated day. The name itself should tell you the rest of the story.

The famed Porsche 911 was built from his drawings and design.

Porsches are collected and loved around the world. Their are some cars in this world strong enough to influence collectors, clubs, and crazes. Harley Davidson, Corvette, & Mustangs are are a few. The Porsche draws its own, elite crowd as well.

Ferdinand Alexander Porsche was Born in Stuttgart, Germany, Dec. 11, 1935. He was the first son of Dorothea and Ferry Porsche. Together, Ferry & Ferdinand founded the company & design that grew to become the elite craze today known as Porsche.

I remember as a teenage boy, even growing up in the country, the Porsche posters were in ever teen boy's room. They were sold like crazy at Spencer's & as the poster to have through school book sales.

It is no secret Jerry Seinfeld is a fan. The car is also represented in James Bond movies & Californication today.

I would encourage any readers to research his life further.