Posted by
Ben H. Sherwood on March 11th, 2010
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Last week I got an e-mail from a good, long-time, Midwest dealer whom I have known for years. He was very disturbed and rightly so. He wrote, “Mr. Sherwood, I, like most all other marine dealers across the nation, have struggled to get through some very difficult times in our industry. Due to excessive rates from some of the commercial floor plan companies, we have paid all of them off and have been able to set up a line of credit with our local bank. This has worked fine up to now, but our line has been unsecured and to get an extension or increase to get us through the winter, the bank wants some collateral. I certainly understand this and do not have a problem with it. The problem is when our bank does a UCC search on our business there are seven different companies that have filed liens on all inventory or equipment or both. We do not owe any of them! But the liens have not been released.” … [ READ MORE of this article and comment ]
Posted by
Ben H. Sherwood on February 11th, 2010
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What image comes to mind when prospective customers think about your dealership? What feelings does it evoke in them?
When I was head of sales for Johnson and Evinrude, one of our good dealerships was very successful in creating the perception in customer’s minds that it was the trustworthy place to buy a boat and motor and also to have it serviced. It was a well-deserved perception, as they did indeed sell quality products at fair prices and provide excellent service.
Gene and Hank (not their actual names) were partners in a Midwest dealership in a very competitive market. When asked, “Why should I buy a boat from you,” Gene, who handled most of the sales, would respond with, “Because you get me when you buy a boat here.” When asked, “What does that mean,” Gene was always ready with his answer. … [ READ MORE of this article and comment ]
Posted by
Ben H. Sherwood on January 28th, 2010
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After owning my Chevy dealership for only a couple of months (purchased after I retired from the corporate world), I had my parts department staff take a complete inventory. Much to my surprise and dismay, there had been significant slippage in the total inventory value. It was worth quite a bit less than it should have been.
A few months earlier, during the process of buying the dealership, I had arranged for some auto parts professionals (parts department personnel from a couple of nearby Chevy dealers) to do a complete inventory of the parts department. I wanted to know exactly what I was paying for. It proved to be a good thing, too, as the actual value of the inventory was considerably less than what the selling dealer had listed on his books. And we learned there were a number of obsolete and slow-moving parts that the pros recommended I not only exclude from the dealership overall purchase price, but consider pitching out. Based on their input and reduced parts inventory value, the overall purchase price of the dealership was reduced to reflect this difference.
Now, just a few months later, the inventory value was again dramatically lower. Furthering my concerns, the parts manager reported in a staff meeting that when he or his team would go to pull some parts for over-the-counter sales or in-house service work, sometimes the items were not there even though the computer listed them as available. I decided then to start a quiet but intense investigation to see why the parts inventory dollars were not what they should be and why parts were missing when the computer inventory showed them in stock. … [ READ MORE of this article and comment ]
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