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What M5™ can do for your business:
We are often asked, "What do you do?" The short answer is, we help our Dealership, OEM, and Corporate clients improve their business in the parts, service and collision centers of their fixed operations. We have extensive experience in every area of fixed operations with the exception of the actual technical training. Our core strength is our ability to offer our clients real world proven techniques and concepts that work.
Our personal experience in coaching fixed operations professionals has gained us a unique perspective. We have worked with service operations that range from 3 technicians to more than 150 technicians. Our client list spans the industry from individually owned dealerships to large, private, and publicly held operations. We have served as project managers from small to large programs, with most of the major OEM brands. We have accomplished positive results for all of them, based on two basic premises.
- There is no “one way” to operate anything in fixed operations!
- Everything we do must be challenged to find a better way!
All dealerships are different and must be provided with options to improve performance. Our belief is: “Make the personnel of the dealership informed business people and allow them to select which technique will best suit their situation. Give them the pros and cons of each technique and move forward.”
M5™ will provide your organization with proven ideas and concepts to assist your staff. The following are a few examples of our capabilities:
Service Management Interactive Coaching
M5™ is fully capable of training your fixed operations management staff in every aspect of the day-to-day operation of your service, parts, and body shop operations. We can provide everything from basic 101 skills development to PhD level coaching.
This training can be delivered by instructor lead workshops, Live Side by Side™ sessions in your dealership, or distant learning. The high level overview of our offerings:
Financial
- Develop realistic business plan and the tactical financial techniques to achieve the results
- Structuring the operation for profitability
- Expense reduction
- Fine-tuning the economies of the department to yield higher level of net profit with the same sales
- Basic components of net profit
- Interpretation of financial results
- Analysis of results - Tactical methods to advance performance
- Calculations exercises to understanding the business
- Key Performance Indicators training
- Case study development to advance the understanding of the manager
- Expense Control
Logistical Strategies and Solutions
- Logistical Structure Review
- Review the current structure of your service department
- Provide the assets and liabilities of the current structure
- Develop ways to maximize the performance
- Applying the structure to business today
- Alternative Logistical Structures
- An objective review of different advanced logistical structures, including Quick
Service
- Address the assets and liabilities of each
- Develop ways to maximize the performance
- Applying the structure to business today
- Hybrid versions of advanced logistical structure
- How to maximize the effectiveness of each structure
- Logistical Structure Management
- Operational techniques of each logistical structure
- Concepts of maximization
- Quick service logistical structures
- Logical extension of each structure – Prepare for growth
- Applying the logistical to the business today
- Internal Logistical Production Management
- Development of internal processes to enhance the completion of:
- New Vehicles
- Used Vehicles
- “We owe” or “Due bill” work
- Scheduling the work to achieve the “turn” requirements
- Cosmetic Detailing
- Structuring pricing and services
- Retail customers
- Internal customers
- What services to offer
Personnel
- Resource management
- Maximizing the utilization of performance for the position
- Pay plans
- Development of financial guidelines that are mutually beneficial to both the employee and the business
- Development methodology
- True performance based
- Creating focus
- Logical extension
- Pre-planning
- Spiffs and incentives
- Job guidelines
- Performance counsel and coaching techniques
- Organizational structures
- Maximizing profitability
- Techniques to enhance current structures
- Ratios of productive to non-productive
- Advanced production techniques
Merchandising and Marketing
- Pricing of products and services
- Develop labor and parts pricing strategies
- Market surveys
- Amount to yield desired gross
- Appearance merchandising
- In the service lane merchandising
- Customer interaction process development
- Intrusive advertising and marketing
- Web site utilization for fixed operations
- Traffic Building
- Web based advertising
- On-demand advertising
- Coupon development
- Video advertising
- Why buy here?
- Expectation
- Invisible assets
- Customer Retention Enhancements
Service Advisor Training
M5™’s belief is that “Customer Experience Management” is critical to the growth of your business. If your advisors are focused on only selling the business, your long-term success will be compromised. The management of a sensitive approach to handling your customer's needs, and wants, is critical to your long-term success. “Customer Experience Management” has six components:
1. Sales to service “hand-off”
- Customer expectation management
- Selling first appointment
- Reassurance of their decision to buy from your dealership – wise move
- Selling future maintenance services
- Benefits and advantages of service department
- 24/7 drop off
- Techniques of communication
- Phone Management
- Text Messaging Efficacy
- Email Efficacy
2. Customer verbal communication
- Securing service appointment
- Phone skills – inbound and outbound
- Basic phone etiquette
- Communications basic
- Speaking
- Leaving messages
- Preparation
3. Customer non-verbal communications
- Mental preparation
- Anticipation
- Consistency
- E-mail Efficacy
- Text messaging Efficacy
4. Point-of-sales selling
- Selling the Creative Effort™ of the dealership – Enhance the customer experience
- Selling
- Attempt
- Attention
- Sympathy
- Concern
- Convenience
- Your People
- Integrity
- Complexity
- Services presentations
- Maintenance services
- Walk-around
- Commodity Sales
- Brake Linings
- Batteries
- Wiper Blades
- Belts and Hoses
- Tire sale
- Good, Better, Best pricing approach
- Appearance and cosmetic service
- Multi-point inspection
- Presentation at point of sales write-up
- Post inspection presentation
- Face to face presentation
- Phone sales presentation
- Email presentation
- Decline repair follow up
- Accessory sales
- Diagnostic Inspection Presentation
- Elimination of “robotic selling”
- Accessory selling opportunities
5. Post- diagnostic selling
- Process development
- Estimate preparation
- Mental preparation
- Anticipation
- Consistency
- Review of findings
- Asking for the sale
6. Active delivery – “Tying the Bow Around the Process"
- Saying goodbye in such a way to earn the customer’s future business
- Process development - Customized for each dealership
- Incorporate technology
- Video
- Training of future advisory staff
- Email
- Text messages
- Role-play process
- Utilizing Social Networking to maximize the customer relationship
Management Services
M5™ will provide a new and innovative service. We call it Service Director on Demand™
This unique service will be offered for up to one year in duration. If the need arises in any of your dealerships for a part-time or full-time service manager or director, we will provide the resource for you. Our staff is fully capable of running the day-to-day operation of your service department for any length of time you desire, up to one year.
M5™Profit Groups
M5™ will continue to advance the knowledge of the industry by offering Profit Groups™. Profit Groups™ are designed to assemble a group of managers (not larger than 15) to develop a curriculum to advance the performance of their dealerships. The advantage of these groups is that participant’s raise the bar by challenging each other to create and implement goals, brainstorm ideas, and support each other with total honesty, respect, and compassion. Each member acts as a catalyst for growth, devil’s advocates, and supportive colleagues.
The group members will develop their own training and learning curriculum's. Our experience has been when a manager selects their own learning topics, the retention and resulting action is significantly improved.
M5™ provides several delivery methods, live classroom, virtual classroom, and combination of both.
Parts Management Interactive Coaching
The Parts Management Interactive Coaching is an intense four (4) day in-dealership visit performed by the M5™ Performance Coach. This coaching is targeted at improving Parts and Service management!
Day 1
- Executive management review and discussion
- Facility tour
- Parts Manager Interview
- Perform parts department statistical and financial review
- Review month-end parts department management reports
Day 2
- Complete any items as necessary from day one
- Review current aged inventory (obsolescence)
- Interview parts staff / Interview service manager
- Hold statistical review meeting - review results of the statistical summary with the dealer/general manager and the parts manager
- Perform operational review
Day 3
- Determine current computer settings
- Phase in, Phase out, and Days Supply
- Determine wholesale business philosophy
- Review current parts pricing policies (i.e. repair, menu, competitive, wholesale, accessory) with parts manager.
Day 4
- Exit meeting - review observations, recommendations and any additional statistics with dealer/general manager and parts manager.
- Review any changes made in computer settings
- Provide further assistance to parts manager if time allows prior to departure
Internet Utilization for Fixed Operations
Most dealerships have an internet presence with their web site. However, many dealerships are missing out on critical areas of customer contact. These critical areas are the social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Google and Youtube. If your dealership is not on these social networks, you are missing out on opportunities for your customers to find you. If you are using these tools, are you truly utilizing them to their potential? Many dealerships overlook Myspace, as the media has written them off as yesterday’s fad. Do you know there are over 200,000,000 users still on that one network? How many of your current and future customers are you losing because you are not maximizing your Internet exposure? Your customers should be Facebooking appointments right now.
Web site Enhancement and Advancement
- M5™ can work with your team to develop a web site enhancement strategy. We can work directly with you and your Technology Department Guru to develop customer friendly features for the web site. These features can be as simple as making an online appointment, to the more sophisticated features such as checking with the manufacturer for campaigns and recalls. Other features may include a “Menu System” where the customer can select his services online and bring you a print out of the necessary services for their vehicle. M5™ can help your team maximize your presence on the internet.
Search Engine Optimization
- Search Engine Optimization is outdated already. You must dominate the search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. M5™ Internet Exposure Experts can design a program for your dealership to raise your Google rankings. It is no longer considered “good enough” to be at the top of Google. If you are at the top, there are 10 more of your competitors listed below you. M5™ will show your team how to own the entire front page of Google and maybe even the second and third pages, as well.
Social Networking as a Sales Tool for Fixed Operations
Blog Development
- Another key to your Internet success is the "blogospheres". Hundreds of millions of people are blogging. They are telling their story to the masses. You should be telling yours. Many dealerships have video testimonials about their favorite restaurant in town. This is where you show off your personality. It is a little known secret, if you want higher rankings; get a blog.
Video Production
- This is the fun part. M5™ Internet Exposure Experts will educate and train your staff on how to create YouTube, Google video and more. Video is where it is at and you need your staff online. Do not miss out on the opportunity to have fixed operations commercials running twenty-four hours per day, seven days a week. The best part of this entire project once it is done; your commercials run for free, forever!
Reputation Management
- What do you do when you have an upset customer posting about you on the net? M5™ Internet Exposure Experts will train your team on the Internet etiquette to handle these persons who wish to do your company harm.
Mystery Shopping for Fixed Operations
Looking for a way to take your business to the next level and to monitor your interaction with customers? Start out with M5™ Mystery Shopper Program.
The M5™ staff will make periodic mystery calls to your staff to ensure compliance with your dealership’s objectives, customer handling skills, and telephone processes. You will receive a written report as to your staff achievement of the objective.
Using the M5™ Mystery Shopper Program, you will take your customer interaction to a level that you will be proud of.
Performance Monitoring Service
Performance monitoring is the capability of taking your data and providing SME analysis on a monthly basis. The comparison is against prior months or other stores relevant to your needs or benchmarks. In the situation where there are multiple stores we would take and spreadsheet the data for all stores. The analysis report of the data and trends is sent back to you as quickly as possible to help you act as quickly as possible.
As part of this service, we try to help you react to the smallest of changes in performance as quickly as we can. The performance tracking can track traditional parts, service, or body shop key performance indicators or create and report some of your own KPIs. You are not limited to what we want to track. Setting up your report will start with us discussing your needs and wants. The process to gather data is set up for you the dealer to forward data to us and we will enter it for comparison. No remote dealer computer interface is required. We use the data from your store to create your report. We respect that it is your data and not ours to share.
Executive Assessment - On Site Analysis
The Executive Assessment is an intense four (4) day in-dealership visit performed by the M5™ Performance Coach. The Assessment is targeted at improving NET PROFIT! The improvement of net profit can be accomplished by improving several areas:
- sales and gross profit,
- modify and/or change existing processes, and
- improve customer retention. The service department has four
- main responsibilities; sales, customer relations, production, and quality control.
Our approach is to maintain the assets in these areas and build solution sets to improve liabilities. At the conclusion of the assessment, the M5™ coach will present the customized improvement prescription for this dealership in an exit meeting held on the last day of the visit. This meeting usually lasts for 3 to 6 hours. It is a detailed review of the areas of opportunity, as well as the methods to improve them. M5™ does not stop here; we will also provide an improvement process that summarizes the methods of employment of all techniques to improve dealership net profit, and provide a detailed performance of the financial projections.
Instructor Lead Training Sessions - Live and Virtual
Our speakers / instructors have many years of experience in providing stand-up instructor training for all levels of management and dealership personnel. The subject can range from the basic 101 type curriculum to expert level training.
- Subject Matter Expert (SME) Trainers
- Peer Experienced Lead Training
- Program Development
- Research Development
- Design the Session Materials
- Post Training Analysis and Coaching
- Testing and Certification
- T-3 Training
- Train the Trainer Lead Session
Thank you for your interest in our services. We would be honored to work with you and your organization.
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