We're back with you in our normal Friday lunchtime spot today - however, I suspect many reading this will feel far from normal.
This period of national mourning is an extraordinary time in our country's history. It seems each time one checks the news, there's another moment to witness that will be etched into our collective memories for the rest of our lives. The pomp and the pageantry has been awe inspiring and of course, perfectly fitting to commemorate such a lifetime of service.
As we all know though, life, and of course business, must go on. For example, as our dealer readers will be well aware, several of the industry's major suppliers have been holding roadshows and conferences around the country these past couple of weeks - introducing their new products to their networks. I myself attended Stiga's first mass event since 2019 back at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham on Tuesday - where before the day began in earnest, an impeccably observed minute's silence for Her Majesty saw the hundreds of dealers in the room offer their respects.
So whilst there will still be moments where we find ourselves wanting to reflect and pay quiet contemplation, the nation will also be keeping calm and carrying on.
As such, we offered a tease a couple of weeks ago for our dealer readers to get thinking - well, today's the day we can finally say . . .
The entry process for 2022's Dealer Of The Year Awards is now officially . . . open!
Always a significant moment for the organising team, it's a time when a bright light is shone upon all the incredible work that is being undertaken at dealerships around the country.
As has been clearly illustrated this past week, the currency of a news outlet must oftentimes be stories imbued with a sadness - and our trade journal is no different. Fires, thefts, closures, deaths and the like must, with a heavy heart, be reported within these pages.
However, once the Dealer Of The Year nomination process is in full swing, it affords a clear focus on the positive side of the industry.
Through these past few years, we know just how tough and unusual trading conditions have been for our dealer readers. Covid, supply chain woes, and a cost-of-living crisis have followed each other like dominoes of doom.
However - and it's a pretty big however - we are aware that despite this, many readers have experienced some bumper business years. And this hasn't happened by magic. No, it's happened due to hard work, innovation, and diversification; through trying new things; by taking chances on new people and new ideas; and by breaking from the conventional.
So now once you've made those Herculean efforts to overcome and to prosper, why not gain that wider recognition that you, your dealership and your staff deserve? Recognition not just for battling through, but for thriving.
As mentioned recently, winning a Dealer Of The Year Award can be a great PR boost. It can also be a great motivational fillip for you and your team. Which is something we all need from time to time.
I was speaking to our friend Sara Hey of Bob Clements International in the States last week (who readers will know from her regular column in the magazine) and she was telling me that many of the U.S dealers that she works with are feeling a real burn-out currently. Many are getting fed up with the constant fire-fighting and day-to-day struggles inherent in running a dealership and are thinking of calling it a day.
These past couple of years have truly taken their toll on some of our American peers it seems - and it would not surprise me in the least to hear that a proportion of our readers here in the UK would feel similar. So perhaps it's important before everything comes to too much of a head, to catch your breath, take a step back and consider just what it is you have achieved during these exceptional times.
Assessing your accomplishments is a great way to take stock. Even if you don't end up winning a Dealer Of The Year prize, the process of evaluating the amazing work you and team have produced, should lead to some well-earned pats-on-the-back all round at the dealership.
We all need that acknowledgment that we're on the right track. The value of being told occasionally that we're doing a good job, shouldn't be underestimated. Gathering together an entry for the Dealer Of The Year competition, I think could draw into sharp focus the efforts that your business has gone to - that maybe could have been taken for granted.
Service Dealer owner Duncan Murray-Clarke said on Monday that the magazine is delighted to have gained the most support there's ever been for the Conference & Awards. More top manufacturers than ever want to join in congratulating the dealer network on a job well done. It'll be great to match that commitment, by receiving the most entries we've ever had for the Awards too.
Today is the start of the process that will allow us to take a moment to celebrate all the good and the positive that abounds in our industry.
So please don't be shy - get entering!
