Operational excellence is a philosophical term that describes the various actions that go into improving your business, whether those involve delivering outstanding customer service, creating a positive working environment for your employees, or fostering a culture of teamwork. Below, you can discover five of the absolute best tips for creating operational excellence in your own dealership so that you can build your legacy.
#1 – Plan Your Work
You would never set out across the country without some sort of map, whether you prefer a traditional roadmap or GPS from your smartphone. It’s important to think of your dealership in much the same way. You may know where you want to go, but if you don’t have a plan for getting there, you’re going to run into traffic, roadwork, and other issues that could have been avoided. Create a clear plan for your operations, including a long-term roadmap that will help you realize your ultimate vision.
#2 – Communicate Clearly
One of the most important things you can do to achieve operational excellence in your dealership involves not only communicating clearly yourself, but encouraging others to communicate clearly, too. Things like implementing an “open-door policy” in which your employees can come directly to you with questions or concerns about things that are happening within the company is a great first step. You might also choose to hold weekly meetings and encourage discussions about the week’s events.
#3 – Measure What Matters
If you think of operational excellence in the same way as athletic prowess, there’s only one real way for you to measure your abilities: keeping score. If you want to know how your dealership is doing, you must be able to measure your success via some sort of scorecard. Make a list of your KPIs (key performance indicators) and understand what goes into each one. Then, create the best possible method for measuring those KPIs and ensure that everyone knows exactly how they are performing by making the “scorecard” accessible.
#4 – Implement Quality Control
In an auto dealership, quality control is all about making certain that your employees are working hard to meet the KPIs you’ve set without sacrificing quality. For example, if you expect your employees to sell X cars in a month, your employees should be able to meet that goal without resorting to black-hat tactics that might sacrifice your dealership’s reputation. Offering surveys to people who visit your dealership and regularly tending to online reviews is just one way of controlling your dealership’s quality.
#5 – Reward Good Results
If you want operational excellence, it’s important that you reward it when you have it. When you appropriately reward the good things that drive excellence forward, those behaviors are far more likely to be repeated. For example, if employees exceed their KPIs, offering them some form of recognition in front of their peers is by far one of the best ways to continue to encourage exceptional KPIs in the future.
At the end of the day, operational excellence in a dealership is all about ensuring that you and your employees are taking the right steps to drive the best possible customer experience in every single interaction to convert more of your lot’s visitors into happy and loyal buyers. These five tips can go a long way toward helping you achieve that goal.
Ready to Inspire Your Team and Drive Operational Excellence in Your Dealership?
Book Dave Cantin to speak at your next dealership event and give your team the tools they need to succeed. As a seasoned automotive entrepreneur, motivational business speaker, and expert in operational excellence, Dave has the experience and insights to help your dealership thrive in today’s competitive landscape. With a dynamic speaking style and a gift for engaging audiences, Dave can motivate your team and inspire them to achieve their goals. Don’t miss this opportunity to bring Dave Cantin to your dealership – contact us today to book him for your next speaking engagement.
