The Dealership Fixit Podcast

Phantom of the Shopera, a Christmas Story with Michael Jones!   It's the Christmas season and for the motorcycle business, a time to reflect and evaluate how to move forward with the perspective of another year under our belt! Michael, a 30 year service department veteran and master technician joined me tonight to review what he has seen in powersports dealerships in his career, from a back of house service department perspective. Some of the topics include: Paradigm shift - non more if we build IT, they will come - but instead move to If we build THEM, they will come .  Leg-swings as measure - instead of the old measure of door swings at a retail location .  Fear of the unknown - possibly the only obstacle to people riding .  Dealership employee ridership - who is riding daily and what does that indicate about your business culture?  A ridership revolution depends on a small group of evangelists  - are you part of "a few good men"?   Some steps / solutions:  Commit to end the brand or style in-fighting Service dept - "we CAN help you" a growth strategy Service dept - showcase abilities and build interest with project bikes / restore / build / custom and reveal events Find Michael here: Michael on LinkedIn The Dealership fiXit podcast exists to help dealers tap into high performance ideas! Please rate and share this podcast! Thanks in advance! Find me here: Dealership fiXit on Facebook Contact me here: dealershipfixit@gmail.com  

You know that snow sports must be a great hook when someone from Texas decides not just to get into them, but to get into the actual industry while living in Texas! My old buddy Aaron Remkus from the great state of Texas joined me today to elaborate on the who/what/where and WHY he got into Ski Biking and opened a company named Texas Ski Bikes. Now, if you've ever been to Texas (or heard about it, seen pics, etc LOL) you know that Texas isn't known as any epicenter of snow or snow activities. In fact when I lived there, it was because it had a distinct LACK of snow 99% of the time. Having moved to Texas, from Upstate NY to remove myself from the snow that had wedged itself in between me and my motorcycle for many months at a time, I was glad it didn't have snow. Now, after hearing from this old friend about how I should check out a thing he called a "SKI BYK," I let him tell me about it... Aaron has taken a bit of a self-appointed ambassadorship role for this Ski Bike sport he fell in love with, specifically the brand he says fits his bicycle and motorcycle riding style, to a tee. Enter... the SKI BYK. He told me about his introduction to it when the idea of snow sports didn't quite marry up to the actual experience for him. Specifically, he said the activity of skiing or snowboarding sounded like a great escape from the heat of the south but skiing and snowboarding were not what he wanted to do on the snowy mountain, even after trying them. Other than riding a snowmobile or track equipped dirtbike on the mountain side, what option does a powersports person have to bring the "behind bars" experience to the mountain? Yes, I am checking these rigs out. Funny because, until now, I figured my days of finding anything that could coax me back to a cold, snowy mountain were long behind me. Funny how a fresh take on a product category can do that. Please check them out and thank you in advance for sharing this episode with anyone you know that should hear it! The Dealership fiXit podcast exists to tap dealers into high performance ideas! Contact me at: dealershipfixit@gmail.com Find us on all your favorite podcast platforms Apple Podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dealership-fixit/id1449367603

Joining me today was Larry Little. You may not know who he is, but Larry is one of many people working behind the scenes to keep the doors of your dealership swinging. I think it's important for dealership folks to understand that they do have a network of people working on their behalf to help their business stay healthy. How? Larry is with the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) - who works on things that those of us working IN the powersports retail side of the business don't always have time to do, like ... determine what motorcycle consumers want from us as well as what consumers that didn't know they want to be a motorcyclist; want. Yes, new MIC research has determined that there is a certain culture code that can be used to find people with a propensity to become motorcyclists. He admits this is a long term play but the insights in that are huge starting with you reading this, TODAY.  There is a lot more to come as I got Larry on to talk about this early in their roll out. Heck, they haven't even named the initiative yet. So please be sure you watch www.mic.org for updates on that. What can you do today? Well, maybe re-examine how well you are tapping into your local area/regional culture of not just current customers - but WOULD-BE customers. Remember, we now know that as many as 8% of U.S. households have a motorcycle in their garage. Are you seeing that percentage of your local population in your store? Is your location sitting in the middle of a certain subset of the population that you don't include in your message? If so, they are probably having a hard time seeing themselves within your message and that could be setting a hurdle that you hadn't anticipated. As a realtor prepares a house for sale so that the vision is easier for the prospective buyer to see the result of their problem being solved - a "staged" house shown is a home that is ready to live in. If you have - as Larry mentions - just old white guys like him or I in your messaging, it may be harder for all the NON-old white guys to easily see themselves a part of it.  I am not saying to pander, I'd never recommend that as it is immediately and obviously disingenuous and will work against you in the fastest way. What I am saying is that you need to look at who your current and prospective customers are and be sure your messaging speaks to them as a LIFEstyle they can see fitting into their LIFE. This is a much deeper conversation but I'm honored that Larry took some time to share the scratched surface with me.  My call to action for all my listeners is to:  1) follow the MIC now and be informed about coming initiatives like the one mentioned above 2) email them your insights or feedback at: newriders@mic.org 3) look at your current messaging to your local population to see if it fits to them Lastly, share this message and podcast episode. The podcast continues to grow and I'm so thankful to all of you who have shared it. It is a labor of love for me that I only do in my off work hours. I have spent no money promoting the podcast so it's a slow road and that is ok by me. I'm here for the long run.  The Dealership fiXit podcast exists to tap dealers into high performance ideas! Contact me here: dealershipfixit@gmail.com  

Do you like technology? Of course you do!  You are listening to a podcast. These pretty much didn't exist until technology allowed us to take books and such on the go, with iPods and iPhones etc. At one point there was no way to do such a thing with a wire or two to tether you to these grandchildren of Walkman we now use. Now, when you helmet up for a ride - you probably expect to easily access calls and play whatever music of podcast (like this one) that you are in the mood for. Enter bluetooth helmet communicators... They have come a long way since the early 2000's when I heard of but knew nothing about them, except that some old dudes on touring bikes wanted help installing them into their helmets and couldn't be more than a few bikes away from each other to use them!  Check out the episode as MUCH has changed - and will continue to do so.  Cardo Systems states this on their website:  "Our passion is to make your ride exceptional We believe that riding a motorcycle shouldn’t mean you can’t enjoy the company of your friends. That's why we invented the Bluetooth motorcycle communications market back in 2004. We have been reinventing the market ever since. If you have the love for riding, we have the passion to make it truly exceptional!" Jamie Cheek is the VP of Sales for Cardo Systems, based in Texas. He is a legit moto and street riding dude and knows the tech side of things too. If you didn't already know about Cardo getting the tip of the hat to put their system on riders and team at the Monster Energy Cup this year, go to their website and check out the story there. That sort of thing gets me pumped to be witnessing moto history be rewritten. Goosebump stuff! Interesting to see what comes next on that. For more info - see your Cardo distributor reps or contact Cardo Systems directly here: https://www.cardosystems.com/ If you want to link up with Jamie he and his rock star team can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-cheek-6203b932/ The dealership fiXit podcast exists to tap dealers into high performance ideas! Please share this episode with everyone you know that may need to hear it!

If you were in business and business seemed to be getting harder, would you quit or search for ways to be better? No, it's not a trick question. Many businesses are in the midst of a major transformation right now and if you built a business that is a retail operation you probably have some trepidation about how you fit in not and ongoing. Powersports dealerships are retail outlets that focus on Motorcycle, ATV, UTV, Snowmobile and Personal Watercraft products and services. They have been around for long enough to see some hard times in the past but I'd contend they typically chalk up a softening  of revenues to being "luxury goods" and "quick to the chopping block" by consumers versus staple goods, in tough times. I'm not even contending that isn't accurate and true. But, I will say that in the recession 2008-2011, I witnessed dealerships close down who seemingly just weren't ready or able to fight. And in some cases, they weren't ready to change.  Jeffrey P. McNulty agreed to come speak with me on this episode because I told him that I live and breathe powersports, more specifically I live and breathe to help the dealerships that sell powersports. I shared with him that I see a widening gap between the worst to best shops in what they are knowing and doing. I get that it is a bit of a bell curve as with many things but I hate to see good hard working people that are enthusiasts first, in powersports, get left behind without trying to provide them some extra insights from some folks that have been there/done that at the highest levels of retail. Are you ready to change and capitalize? Please plan for a couple hours to listen to this entire episode and then you should also go get his book. It's impressive. Having grown up working in traditional retail before I entered the powersports retail business in 1998, I can tell you that the contents of the "manual" are certainly awesome. He didn't reward me in any way to say that. I bought two copies of the manual because I believe there is great value for you, my dealership audience. And, I will be giving 1 of the copies away to a podcast listener at no charge.   Check out his organization here:  www.newretailethos.com or here: www.facebook.com/TheUltimateRetailManual The book is available here if you demand Amazon speed: Buy the book on Amazon Here Contact him directly here: On LinkedIn Or email him here:  jpmcnulty@newretailethos.com Please share this with anyone you know in powersports, traditional retail or that runs any form of business. The dealership fiXit Podcast exists to tap dealerships into high performance ideas!

Natan Sanel, founder of National Powersports Distributors joined me tonight to discuss his thoughts on what is missing from the powersports business these days. Thankfully he is passionate enough about seeing it get healthier industry wide that he shared many insights with me that most business owners would probably prefer to lock up in a safe, than share with all their competitors! Coming from a background in auto parts, Nate says he and his wife decided to get into the powersports business when 9/11 happened and the stock market shut down for several days. He planned to gain better control of his investments, doing it on a small scale from his own garage - a bike at a time. His plan was to buy and sell some used bikes. Fast forward some 19 years later, he sells 2500+ bikes per year from the current Concord, NH location and was Triumph's #1 Dealer in North America. Some possibly surprising ideas ... He built his business on the e-bay concept where he knew the majority of his customers don't physically come to him. He says at the core of his business are these 3 words: "Tell The Truth" and he and his staff refer back to them when making decisions daily. On his website inside the prominent "Why Buy From Us?' link on the home page you'll find a great story about them including the following: None of our team is paid on commission.  Our shop is set up to duplicate our on-line buying experience.  Because we sell so many vehicles on-line, walk-ins are not our only avenue for sales.  There is no high-pressure for the people that visit us.  Our pricing is extremely competitive because we work on a smaller margin and turn our inventory more than the industry standard.  National Powersports Distributors & Concord Triumph website: https://www.nationalpowersports.net/indexNational.cshtml Link up with Nate here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-sanel-2570a219/ As a CycleTrader.com guy in my day job I was curious to look at his listings which you can see here: https://www.cycletrader.com/motorcycle-dealers/detail/National%20Powersports%20Distributors-2898248 Dealership fiXit podcast exists to tap dealers into high performance ideas! Please share this episode with  those you know need to hear it.

Dealerships, whether metric or v-twin focused are in a bit of a predicament. Those of us that are in the industry love this thing we do called powersports - riding a powered thing in a sporting way  ;-) BUT we have been struggling despite our best efforts to keep our doors swinging with new customers. We can blame the parents of bubble wrapped kids, we can blame the electronics that kids get to play with but whatever the reason you feel is most legitimate, you have to know that there is a big issue on having the right number of next generation people to hand the powersports baton to in the coming years.   Enter STACYC... A company that built their first prototype to help get a proper size/weight powered bike for the owner Ryan Ragland's son to ride that wasn't as big and heavy as was currently available. Once there was interest from neighbors for this electric powered balance bike, Ryan moved forward to what is now known as the STACYC bike that is owned by Harley-Davidson but sold to metric dealers as SYACYC and Harley dealers as IRONe bikes. I have to say how impressed I am that H-D chose to do that. In traditional business models most manufacturers would have chosen to corner the market but Harley didn't do that. https://stacyc.com/ Become a dealer: https://stacyc.com/pages/dealer-inquiry-1 Tonight I had my old friend from Houston, Texas on the podcast to discuss what he has been up to since we worked together (I with Scott USA and he was with Parts Unlimited). Larry Hughes has been into motorcycles his whole life and sharing that love with every human that sees or comes into contact with him. A man of real integrity, Larry is a shining beacon of hope in life and business as the STACYC he now represents, appears to be for the future of powersports. He joined STACYC last year as Central U.S. Territory Manager and is pumped to tell us about it. Please share this episode with all your friends in powersports as I firmly believe the STACYC products are an entry point to outsiders becoming powersports customers, like no other.  Thanks for coming on Larry! Larry Hughes:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-hughes-54061a13a/ https://www.facebook.com/larry.hughes.353/timeline?lst=505304926%3A100001909398794%3A1572658299 The Dealership fiXit podcast exists to tap dealerships into high performance ideas!

Tristan Wright joined me from Melbourne, Australia to discuss how his path from uni (college) for engineering to "real life" work lead him to starting a company making custom cycling apparel. That took off and he built it into a solid 7 figure business that sold around the globe. He says that it didn't go as smoothly as a story book since balancing that and home life ended up costing him a marriage.  He says that one thing that he learned is that to build a business you need to be able to accept help from someone who has the experience to see what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong and help you adjust your sails to do more of the right stuff. A lot of the conversations I have with small business dealership owners make what Tristan talked about resonate. Look for perspective from those who have done what you want to do. Put yourself in circles with those who are where you want to be in several years.  Consider getting a business coach. If you intend to scale the highest peaks of business and feel like a full fledged business sherpa is the type you'd like, please check him out here:  https://www.evolvetogrow.com.au/ Please share this podcast with someone at dealership that you know. That dealership person may be a lot person, front counter help, sales person, manager, or owner. People need different perspective at different times in their journey. Dealership fiXit exists to help dealerships tap into high performance ideas!

The Next Big Shift in Consumer Expectations is Coming. Are Dealers Ready? Jared Burt Joins Me for Episode 40 of the Dealership fiXit Podcast – I am your host, Brian Croft This is episode number 40 of the podcast. Today, it’s my great honor to have a former client of mine, also a many year friend and very distinguished powersports leader as our guest. I’d like to run thru a quick greatest-hits style bio, of Jared Burt Presently, Jared is: · Managing Principal of Hero Hub · Head of Strategy (Automotive) at Williams Forest · Adjunct Professor of Business at Brigham Young University, Idaho. Prior to that some of his roles have included: · Director of Channel Development at Textron · Director of Dealer Development at Arctic Cat · VP of Marketing at Motorfist Where I met Jared was 2007 in beautiful Rexburg, Idaho where he was Dealer Principal at Rexburg Motorsports (from 1996-2015) If you aren't familiar with Rexburg Motorsports - this is some of their trophy case... Rexburg Motorsports (Rexburg, Idaho) Dealernews Top 100 Dealer: 9 Time 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 (First Runner-Up), 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006 Top 10 Dealer: 3 Time 2013, 2012, 2010 Jared has many years experience from enthusiast to dealership level and right up to OEM exec, so he joins us with some next level perspective. Some of his journey thus far in powersports. He has been writing a monthly article on LinkedIn – link below. It's very encouraging to me that Jared has such a strong vision for powersports, specifically power sports dealerships that's a very positive one for the future Some of the things Jared recommends that dealerships who want to end up on the right side of the big shifts coming toward powersports Show Notes: The Next Big Shift in Consumer Expectations is Coming. Are Dealers Ready? Jared Burt Joins Me – Episode 40 Jared’s Linked Article(s): https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/interactive-future-state-aim-expo-dealerships-jared-burt/ Hero Hub® harnesses the power of dealers to create a cohesive brand experience across all channels and customer touchpoints. Even with the world's best products, meeting and exceeding Customer expectations is impossible today without a retail ecosystem harmonized to deliver on the Brand's promise. Hero Hub's solutions for Brands, OEMs, Distributors and Dealers drive accelerated retail by designing, developing, and managing critical Customer touch points. Website http://herohub.digital Williams Forrest – or WF – is a digital solutions firm with offices in LANC PA and NYC NY. We are a team of experts who partner with clients to advance business with purpose-engineered digital product and platform solutions for… - Mobile - Web - Internet of Things (Iot) - Content Management - Ecommerce/Marketplace Integration - Custom Applications Website http://www.williams-forrest.com/

Randy joined me for the 3rd of 3 sessions discussing some intricate points that he, as a California dealership, is accountable for to state and federal regulatory agencies. This is a session that may have some of you who are not in a role where these compliance items are part of your day to day, let's say... it may have you sort of "glaze over!" But, if you aspire to be in a management role at a dealership or you are today, listen up - the level of onerousness that compliance has come to in some states (and likely many more/all over time) is high. If you plan to play in the sell fun powersports or RV business you'll want to bookmark the 3 Randy Felice episodes for a later reflection.  As mentioned at least once, Randy is not a lawyer. I also, am not a lawyer. We are having this discussion to show how immense the expectations are on you as a dealership, thru the perspective of a motorcycle dealership (Randy's) operating in California.  Randy has graciously offered up his email to answer questions directly about any of these topics: randy@ascycles.com ***********************************   Some notes from the session: A culture of compliance in the sales department Advertising https://www.paa.org/Files/NADAAdGuide.pdf Use your manufacturers verbiage only for rates and payment Nothing is "free" when required to purchase something ...it's "included" Illegal lotteries Properly advertising rebates Bait and switch Bird dogging Certified pre-owned (CPO) should not look like or imply from manufacturer unless it is Fuel economy claims Pricing, fees Hang tags Sales Contract Law Military lending act - no gap OFAC Office of Foreign Assets Control 10,000 cash form Liability insurance if required in your state. Privacy notice Statement of how a vehicle left your property, if no license How you state license and registration Offering all back end products to all customers Customer incentive acknowledgement Correct application of rebates Having a rate participation procedure so that there is no discrimination in how you mark up rate nada process https://www.nada.org/faircredit/ Accept application from anyone who wants to apply Adverse action form if turned down or not rate expecting. Out of state sales license and sales tax Customer information security Recently dealership in CA was fined over 100,000 $3500 per sheet of paper left out, income, drivers license, social... just to be careful protect everything. Lock up servers Screen savers with passwords Do not write down credit card info Safes near desks sales deals locked up, need to know access, password security, drop box or fax machine secure information transfer, careful use of email Random desk inspections Red flag laws... identity theft purchasing bikes The ITPP Compliance Officer is responsible for and has been assigned specific responsibility for oversight, development, implementation, administration, and approval of material changes to the Dealership’s Identity Theft Prevention Program (“ITPP”) Credit applications through secure source, do not fill for the customer, must have DL before submitting. ****************************  Please help me expand these conversations by sharing this podcast in any way you can. I sincerely appreciate it! Dealership fiXit exists to help dealerships tap into high performance ideas!