Pub. 2 2012 Issue 4

10 AUTOMOBILE DEALER NEWS ILLINOIS www.illinoisdealers.com Most employees are tuned into that old radio station WII – FM (What’s In It – For Me) A new process or technology may indeed add thousands of dollars per month to a dealership’s bottom line. That’s great for the dealer, but what do the employees get out of it? Take the service manager, for example. Switching to a new DMS would definitely be a pain for him because he probably gets paid a bonus based on the amount of gross profits he gener- ates in the service department. If a new system is implemented, it’s going to take a lot of time to learn it, which takes time away from other activities that generate profits. Office managers are notorious for objecting to a DMS switch. Their life can be pretty miserable throughout the entire process, and is their pay changing for the better? Probably not. So where’s the incentive to change and learn a new system? Extrapolate these examples out to everyone else in the deal- ership; the parts manager who is used to the inventory system, the salespeople who are used to and like their CRM, etc. No wonder there’s an uproar, and no wonder dealers throw up their hands and say they can’t change. Yet, wouldn’t a more profitable dealership ultimately benefit all the employees too? By Changing Nothing, Nothing Changes Dealers, your name is on the sign and you are the decision maker. Yet you are also part of a team. You want to do what’s best for you and your bottom line, but you don’t want to upset everyone else on the team. Is it possible to do both? Of course, but the trick is to find and offer something unique to each team member that will help them accept the change. Tell them what is in it for them. For service managers, the extra savings or revenue could be used to purchase more lifts and hire more technicians. For parts, it could be extra cash to stock more inventory; for sales, it could be more money spent on advertis- ing; for the office manager, it could be a bonus. One thing’s for sure. By changing nothing, nothing chang- es. In today’s increasingly transparent world, dealers must be proactive in looking for ways to increase profit margins. More efficient processes and new technologies are the way to do it; but buy-in from the team is necessary to make them—and your dealership—successful.  Mike Esposito is President and CEO of Auto/Mate Dealership Systems, a leading provider of dealership management software (DMS). Mike can be contacted at (518) 371–4331 or via e-mail at mesposito@automate.com or follow him on Twitter at @AutoMateDMS. Auto/Mate is a DMS “designed by car people, for car people,” and features easy-to-use, fully integrated modules to suit all dealerships.  survival is not mandatory — continued Insurance coverages and non-insurance products and services are underwritten and provided by individual member companies of Zurich in North America, including Universal Underwriters Insurance Company and Universal Underwriters Service Corporation. Certain coverages, products and services are not available in all states. ©2012 Zurich American Insurance Company “My focus is running my dealership—not worrying if my business is protected or how to generate income in my finance department. Zurich lets me do that.” One insurance company for your business insurance and F&I product needs In 2011, more than 1,300 dealerships purchased both business insurance and F&I products from Zurich. Products such as our Unicover ® policy, which packages most of the coverages needed by dealerships into one policy. Or our Streamlined Selling System ® , which can help you drive increased F&I profit. One company for all your needs, backed by 90 years insuring dealerships. Call Jeff Dian, Regional Sales Manager, at 630-215-3892 or visit www.zurichna.com/SDA1 for more information. Visit FandIResourceCenter.com to register for our complimentary on-demand webinar – “Six Principles of Success in the New Economy”