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Dealership Training

It’s Not Too Late

Powersports dealerships and salespeople alike have reaped the benefits of healthy profit margins over the last few years. However, just as the margin pendulum swung deep into seller’s market territory, it’s beginning its backward trajectory into a buyer’s market.

According to Lightspeed DMS, powersports dealers reported an overall revenue loss of 1.4 percent during the first quarter of 2023, with service showing the only positive trend. The Powersports Business Q1 Dealer Survey also reflected increasing concern for growing inventory levels in the face of mounting economic fears. Dealers are split on their outlook for the remainder of the year, with many leaning towards “somewhat worse” to “significantly worse” as compared to the end of last year. While inflation and pricing continue to worry, inventory issues have eased significantly.

Where does that leave you? It should be a dog whistle to step on the gas and start selling! I don’t mean lowering your prices or launching some gimmick. I mean empowering your sales team to dust off their selling habits, which may have been dormant for the past three years. The days of relying on ‘pent up demand’ and high margins to make quota are over. The effects of stubbornly high interest rates, lingering concerns about the economy and a potential recession are beginning to show. Your sales team likely needs a refresher course – at a minimum – or a complete training upgrade given the increasing transition to a digital sales platform.

Categories
Dealership Training

Subscription Training Delivers Profit

May closed out with powersports dealers feeling pretty good about the state of their business. According to a Powersports Business Online Learning Series poll, nearly one-third of responding dealers ranked the success level of their dealership as a 9 or 10 (on a scale of 1-10). It’s no wonder! April numbers continued their meteoric rise, with major unit sales rising 39.2 percent in April 2021 versus the previous year. With Spring in full swing and Summer just around the corner – and the rain subsiding for many – the forecast for the first half of 2021 remains very strong for both new and used units.

Despite continued inventory constraints and some concerns about labor and inflationary numbers, it looks like the powersports industry will have a banner year. But what if there was some additional profit to be had from unit sales? And not just small change, but measurable PRU? Those profit opportunities can be found in training.

This month, EFG launched a subscription-based training model which includes both digital and in-person options, delivering timely tools in a learning environment that works best for each employee. The service also supports the new digital retailing model now used by many powersports dealers. Dealer management can select their preferred subscription package across a wide variety of curriculum, benefiting from up to a 20 percent discount from standard training rates.

Categories
Compliance Dealership Training

Compliance Training in 2021

We are nearing the first full month with the new Administration and there has been lots of activity from the White House. Vaccine distribution is rolling out, COVID-19 cases are trending down across much of the country, and Congress has a stimulus package to address. All of these actions bode well for the powersports industry eager to ramp up sales.

There have been some notable actions around compliance. Former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member Rohit Chopra has been nominated to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). During his tenure with the FTC, Chopra was active in pursuing abusive and discriminatory lending practices. Specifically, Chopra has signaled interest in establishing more protections against auto lending abuses, specifically for members of the military, Black and Hispanic consumers. If confirmed, Chopra would replace current CFPB head Kathy Kraninger.

As we can expect a renewed and revitalized federal compliance program, there is no better than now for a solid compliance training refresher for your sales and F&I staff.