US dealership coaches Bob Clements and Sara Hey of
Bob Clements International who both spoke at the 2019
Service Dealer Conference in Oxford have talked with the
Inside Agri-Turf podcast about their recently published book,
You're the Problem - And the Solution
“Does that mean that dealers can sometime be their own worst enemies?,” asked podcast host Chris Biddle. “Yes,” said Sara, “when they get so engrossed in day-to-day problems and challenges that they lose sight of the bigger picture”.
In the book, Bob and Sara devote individual chapters to 7 areas of best practice that were a feature of the best run dealerships but which are often overlooked by others. These include time management, hiring the right people, managing resources, willingness to change and developing a clear vision for the future.
One of the areas covered is the importance of the manufacturer/dealer relationship. “Far too many manufacturers regard dealers as a customer rather than a partner” says Bob “but customers can walk away, often at the drop of a hat, whist a partnership is something to be worked on and nurtured to the benefit of both partners” They also discussed whether major corporations really understood the psychology of an independent family business.
Another area covered are the issues that can arise with family businesses when a new generation come into the business with new ideas. “Family members should first have experience outside the company, they should also be eased into the company gradually rather than given a management role immediately” said Bob.
Lastly Bob was asked if he could provide an example of a dealer ‘thinking outside the box’ which resulted in a success story for the dealer. He recounted an example of an ag dealer in the US this year who was $1 million down on his sales forecast for the year in April due to COVID restrictions but who turned the company’s fortunes round in a month to being $1 miillion up overall by the end of May.
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