Category: Dealership Training

The market has been showing positive signs over the past few months, with growth in both new and used bikes. Even the traditional auction houses are feeling the pinch between demand and inventory. Lenders are also looking into the powersports market with renewed interest. With this positive trend, it would be easy to sit back and relax. However, I would encourage you to take advantage of this situation and invest in your dealership. And, the first place to start is training!

Unfortunately, many powersports dealers often operate with the mindset of “Who has time for training?” I would turn that response around to say, “Who doesn’t have time for training?” Every phone call, every customer interaction, every deal jacket is an opportunity for training if you have the right mindset. Let’s consider the following value sets when thinking about the benefit of training in your dealership.

Improved employee performance – When your powersports employees receive the necessary training, they are more likely to perform their job effectively. Throwing a new employee onto the sales floor or adding responsibilities to a team member without training is a recipe for failure and a walk out the door. Make sure your employees understand all of their responsibilities within their role and watch their confidence soar. This confidence will enhance their overall performance, which can only benefit your dealership.

Here’s the scenario. It’s a busy Saturday. Every F&I manager is working a deal, and there are still two customers waiting to start the finance process. What’s an F&I manager to do? You don’t want to lose customers due to a long wait, but you also want to make the most on each deal. In an effort to speed up the F&I process, it’s all too common for F&I managers to rush certain aspects, like the manufacturer’s warranty review.

However, this could lead to several pitfalls for your dealership, making the F&I process longer and leaving you open to noncompliance. Under the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act, all powersports dealers are required to provide detailed information about warranty coverage before a customer purchases a vehicle for personal, family or household use. This helps ensure that customers know what to expect in the event something goes wrong, and it enables them to compare coverage on vehicles.

So, if a motorcycle comes with a manufacturer’s warranty, or complimentary coverage of any kind, your dealership is required to inform customers of the coverage. Additionally, if an F&I manager rushes the warranty review, they miss the opportunity to identify potential consumer needs or concerns that could be filled with consumer protection products. This could lead to a much longer product presentation and negotiation process, lengthening the F&I process as a whole and potentially reducing product penetration and PRU.

The manufacturer’s warranty review is about much more than identifying what the warranty covers. Effective managers use this review to identify areas of necessary coverage and build value in consumer protection products before the product presentation.