Learn more about the PSB Institute sessions
Don’t miss the Powersports Business Institute @ AIMExpo during your time in Orlando. Conveniently located in the meeting rooms adjacent to the Exhibit Hall, the PSB Institute @ AIMExpo is once again loaded with profit-building sessions. All for free, with no registration required. Just pick out your favorite topics and walk right into Rooms 206A (Sales & Marketing Track), 206BC (Digital Solutions Track sponsored by Dominion Powersports Solutions), 205A (Service & Operations) and 205BC (Powering Profits sponsored by McGraw Powersports Group).
The Powersports Business Institute @ AIMExpo is brought to you by CDK Global and STA-BIL. Here’s a closer look at the class descriptions. For the complete lineup of days and times, turn to Page 20.
Randy Barone
Finding the Right Inventory: 7 Proven methods to acquire the right inventory to maximize profits
Dealers and their management teams will receive the latest in techniques to find the inventory for their dealerships. These methods include knowing what units bring you the most profit and where those units are located (auction, other dealerships, etc.). We’ll also look at how to use a fully automated process to find, value and acquire the right of units along with building a huge wholesale profit center, as well as managing trade closing ratios and tracking missed appraisals.
Ty Bello
Coaching Your Team to Improve Customer Service and Upselling Opportunities: Scripting to increase sales and improve the customer experience
Strategically scripting how we interact with our customers has long proven to be beneficial. We will share ways to increase the overall customer experience, change ordinary interactions with customers into opportunities to upsell, and share coaching tips to raise the bar with your team for customer service and selling.
Amanda Blackstone
General Manager 201: The Top 10 characteristics for GM success
How do the top performing general managers take their stores to a higher level of performance? We’ll look at the Top 10 traits that successful GMs bring to their stores, and how you can add them to your daily operations.
Jason Breckenridge
I Can Fix It with a Screwdriver, So Hand Me That Hammer. Turning your daily business tools, including phone, CRM, website and receptionist, from expenses into revenue sources
Ron Cariker
Mobile Marketing: What should it really mean for the powersports industry?
Mobile is fast becoming the most talked about, and possibly the most misunderstood, marketing medium we have today. A clearly defined mobile strategy can have a dramatic impact on the bottom line of your business. From apps to advertising you will learn why your dealership cannot afford to ignore this incredible marketing opportunity.
Craig Cervenka
Google Local: How dealers can beat Amazon and eBay with the search engine’s new service that helps retailers attract local customers
With 74 percent of customers conducting online research before they make their in-store purchase, there’s a great opportunity for dealers to reclaim their P&A sales — if they can connect to customer needs. We’ll show dealers how to use Google Local, the latest service from the search engine leader that connects desktop, mobile, tablet (and maybe even wearable technology) to connect shoppers to their “offline” inventories. Dealers will learn the impact of local shopping to address their omni-channel shopping strategy as well as the steps required to implement Google Local.
Paula Crosbie
How Does Your Dealership Measure Up? Industry benchmarks on technician efficiency rate, P&A margins and major units
What should your technician efficiency rate be? What are average margins on P&A and major units, separating bike segments? How do you figure out where you measure in comparison to these benchmarks? We’ll start from here and take a much deeper look at how to use the benchmarks to enhance your dealership’s operations.
Sam Dantzler
ESI Fuels CSI: Increasing Employee Satisfaction Index to fuel your Customer Satisfaction Index.
With so many OEMs focused on CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) scores, dealers are often frustrated at the lack of customer response to the surveys. The response rate is a direct reflection of the store’s ESI (Employee Satisfaction Index), yet so many dealers overlook this critical ingredient. In this session, find out how to boost your ESI, therefore organically increasing your CSI. 2 birds … 1 stone.
Steve Jones
Maximizing Sales & Profits in PG&A: Increasing productivity & profitability with proper staffing, improved inventory accuracy and reduced obsolescence
This session will provide you with the key benchmarks needed for measuring and managing your PG&A department. We will discuss: 1) hiring and training the right people to increase sales; 2) getting a grip on inventory accuracy, reducing shrinkage and increasing efficiency; and 3) methods of reducing obsolescence to improve cash flow and profits.
Mike Lee
Social Listening: Do you know what your online reputation is?
Ever wonder if there was a way to see what people are saying online about your company, brand, or products? “Social listening” is the process of identifying and assessing what is being said about a company, individual, product, or brand across all social media channels including blogs, forums, news, video sites, photo sites, etc. Social listening can help you find new opportunities, manage your brand and reputation, identify your biggest industry influencers and much more.
Laura Lemco
Calling Clients = Incremental Sales
Making outbound phone calls enables you to set appointments that result in a high percentage of delivered units. We will cover how to train your staff to collect names and numbers and what to say when they make calls. We will also discuss how to motivate and reward staff, how to track progress and what to expect.
Mark Mooney
Where’s the Owner’s Manual?
A practical guide to running a profitable, stable motorcycle dealership, this session is geared toward dealer principals and GMs, with handouts that include complete dealership job descriptions.
Tim Parsons
The Art of Communication: Much More Than Words
Turn your staff on to visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning styles to communicate their message. The V.A.K. Learning Style is extremely popular because of its simplicity. Individuals use three styles: Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic to receive and learn new information and experiences. However, according to the V.A.K. theory, one or two of these styles is normally dominant. This dominant style defines the best way for a person to learn new information by filtering what is to be learned. According to V.A.K. theorists, in order to be better understood, we need to present information using all three styles. This allows all learners the opportunity to become involved, no matter what their learning style is. How does V.A.K. play a role within the powersports industry? Simply put, to realize any degree of success we must be able to communicate our message to the customer in order to be better understood.
Neil Pascale
The Online Metrics That Matter
This presentation will allow dealers to assess their online marketing efforts and then create an action plan to improve their current practices. We’ll provide industry-specific information on the following key online marketing areas: classified unit listings, dealership websites and social networking. Plus, we’ll provide tips on how dealers can improve in these critical areas.
Leslie Prevish
New Blood = More Profit: A 4-step plan to sell to women, youth and Hispanics
Facts: 1) Women control 85 percent of household expenses and earn 60 percent of college degrees, 2) Youth ages 8-18 spend an average 7.5 hours in front of a screen each day, 3) By 2043, Caucasians will be the minority population in the U.S. How are you addressing these audiences? Leslie Prevish’s 4-Step Outreach Roadmap will show you how to strategically discover, define, pursue and sell to women, youth and Hispanics.
Samantha Scott
Branding and Social Media: A how-to guide
From cover images and profile pictures to memes and videos, there is a myriad of ways to leverage online real estate and effectively brand your dealership. By determining your brand’s identity, claiming and effectively managing your business’ online presences, you will have increased brand awareness and a higher likelihood of generating leads and sales. Attendees will learn how to define their brand, the key areas to take advantage of on the top social media channels of today, and how to leverage them for success.
Samantha Scott
PR 101: How to increase awareness of your dealership for free
Looking for more exposure, but not interested in spending tons on advertising? In PR 101 we’ll go over the many PR opportunities your dealership is overlooking, learn how to leverage editorial coverage to develop leads, increase attendance at events and generate sales. From where to find editorial opportunities and when to send news releases to how to work with media, you’ll leave ready to leverage public relations like never before.
Brad Smith
Maximizing Post-Sale Profits: Using technology to grow revenue in parts and service
The lifetime value of a customer does not end with the initial purchase of a unit, so if you’re not nurturing them with service, replacement part and upsell accessory sales, you’re missing out on a substantial revenue generating opportunity. In this session, learn how to bolster the efficiency and profitability of your parts and service departments by taking advantage of online and in-store genuine catalog tools. The session will focus on the importance of promoting genuine parts and will help you take advantage of today’s technology to empower your staff to find the replacement and upsell parts your customers’ need faster and more accurately than depending on paper catalogs alone. Plus, you’ll learn how you can put these tools to work to increase your average order value in-store, as well as drive sales online around the clock.
Erik Stephens
Make Your Dealership the Hub of the Local Adventure Riding Community: Ways to participate in and profit from motorcycling’s fastest growing market niche
While adventure riding started as a relatively small market niche, it has recently become the fastest growing segment of the motorcycle industry. Dealerships can significantly grow sales, PG&A and service income by becoming involved in the adventure scene, but having the right gear in the store is less than half the battle. The presentation will include examples of critical product types to have in the store, ways to build and recommend all-inclusive packages addressing specific customer needs, and concrete actionable steps on how to connect with your local adventure riding community with relatively inexpensive events and promotions while providing the expert customer experience adventure riders expect.
Gart Sutton
The 10 Most Important Metrics That Every Dealer and Manager Must Know
Joined by dealer principal Curtis Sloan, Gart will share critical numbers that members of Gart Sutton & Associates 20-groups rely on to successfully operate their dealerships.
Dr. Deborah Watts
The Money is in the Mental: The emotional intelligence of sales
Understanding the benefits of improving and implementing your Emotional Intelligence competency for overall dealership success.
Industry roundtable
We’ll tackle a range of industry topics, and provide Q&A opportunities from Tim Buche of the Motorcycle Industry Council; Tom Etherington of KTM; Sameer Gaur of GE Capital Commercial Distribution Finance; Matt Lewaka of Capital One and Jim Woodruff of National Powersport Auctions in this industry roundtable moderated by Dave McMahon, editor in chief of Powersports Business.
