I received this message last night from a Powersports Pro in Colorado — 

“This season has been crazy. Not sure what California is like, but most dealers can’t keep inventory, customers don’t even haggle or are picky about color. Just steady streams of people. I am burning out a bit and looking forward to it slowing down a little.”

Colorado Powersports Professional

Some in the industry read this and find it hard to believe, others say “Us Too”. Some are excited because it signals another chance for the Powersports industry to gain momentum. If you had to guess what department this person worked in, what would you pick — Sales, Parts, Accessories or Service?

Well, it ain’t Service and it ain’t Sales. In fact, this person has expressed a fair amount of angst about the hierarchical structure of this and many dealers. Dealer principles generally have a Sales background. This naturally has them favoring strategies that benefit or honor the Sales department with the balance of their attention being split between Parts and Service.

Just as I had indicated at the beginning of the pandemic, this is our chance as an industry to push forward. However, if you are running your dealership on the old methodology of pushing units out the showroom, you may be in for a great awakening – and my hope is that you aren’t too late.

Notice in the quote, my contributor mentions lack of inventory and choice. This is everywhere, not just Powersports. It’s kind of like my last trip to Sam’s Club and seeing plenty of beef, but no chicken and barely any fresh produce on hand. The supply chain is broken.

Have your suppliers maintained staff during this time?!?!

We’ve seen major distributors cutting staff at this pinnacle moment of growth in our industry. How does this align with your plan for growth and success? Right, when I was promoting growth – many distributors responded with scarcity thinking. Once you run out of desirable inventory, your customers will pounce on pre-owned and worse. They will be pulling units out of storage, friend’s garages, back yards.

How is your Service and Parts Departments equipped to communicate with this upcoming demand in service? Here are some signs they aren’t:

• Techs are coming in late
• Techs are leaving early – Lack of parts, approvals, etc
• More than 2-weeks to get into your service dept.
• Your phone is ringing with service questions
• Your Sales Manager is stressed about units
• Service and Parts are fighting

I hear the same old stories. What if I train them and they leave? Well, what if you don’t and they stay? You need to invest in your staff. With the proper training, your Service Counter staff can pre-qualify and set appointments that drive profit. They can quote work in an equitable manner, satisfying both the tech and the client. They can distribute the work in a way that drives efficiency and profit and they can communicate their strategies to both Sales and Parts to get interdepartmental buy-in.

Sounds good, right?