May 23, 2011 – ProfitX provides guidance for future growth

PowersportsBusinessMay 26, 2011

If you’re like most business owners, you’re tired of hearing about survival and everything you must do just to keep the doors open. If you’re like most, you’ve got your eyes set squarely on growth.
Fortunately, the economy is showing signs of recovery, the effects of gas prices notwithstanding, and our specific market has shown some renewed signs of life. As you can certainly see from the reports we’ve logged here in Powersports Business, we can safely say that growth is once again an acceptable term in our vocabulary.
Just look at Polaris, which was featured in the last issue. The company saw record results in the first quarter of 2011. And at the dealer level, there are numerous examples of growth right here in the pages of this issue.
What those companies have in common is that they’ve been proactive in finding ways to succeed. Polaris saw an opportunity to become more aggressive with its approach to the market when its competitors were cutting back and wound up gaining, if not overtaking, the No. 1 spot in market share in multiple segments of its business. PJ’s Triumph Ducati Husqvarna, Albuquerque, N.M., followed a similar path, becoming more aggressive with its promotions and ultimately set itself up for success heading into the new year with much lower inventory levels.
What that all boils down to is that they took the economic situation — the environment in which they do business — and created opportunities for themselves. That’s an extremely important part of any strategy worth the paper it’s written on.
When we enter growth phases like we have, such opportunities are ever present. Customers are beginning to swing the doors. We’ve learned a lot about how to conduct our lead management efforts online. And our marketing initiatives have become better targeted through the digital world. You mix all that in with the lessons we’ve learned about efficiencies and cost savings, and it’s no wonder there are opportunities for growth.
The next phase in this new reality is to know how to capitalize on those opportunities. To accelerate that growth means to know which strategies and what ideas are worth pursuing, and — equally as important — which are not.
By gathering the industry’s leading dealers and its top consultants — those businesspeople who work on the frontlines with successful dealers on a daily basis — we’ve created that very opportunity for you: The atmosphere to learn how you can grow your bottom line by improving every profit center of your business.
That solution is Powersports Business’ conference and expo, Profit Xcelerator, and you can tell simply by the name of the event that it’s focused entirely on helping powersports dealers increase their profitability. The event, to be held Sept. 25-27 at the beautiful Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa in Las Vegas, will feature 14 all-new educational sessions in addition to numerous networking opportunities and an expo hall full of the industry’s leading suppliers.
And let me just give you a sampling of the educational opportunities that will be found at ProfitX:

Our dealership doors may be swinging open these days, but the customers who are entering are oftentimes looking for those steep discounts of a year or two ago. So we’ve secured Don Cooper, a sales expert, to show you how you can discount less, actually charge more, and still increase your sales. His session, titled Breaking the Discount Habit, will provide you with real-world examples of how to succeed with this strategy.

Sam Dantlzer, a longtime industry consultant, suggests that you could actually lock your doors and keep the new customers out because your current customer pool can provide you enough sales and enough profitability to grow your business. He’ll show you how you can capture their info and drive them back in for sales.

If you’re looking for an easy-to-understand formula to maximize your profitability or how to manage your cash flow for the entire year, look no further than the two sessions on those very topics, which will be presented by John Spader, a dealership consultant and 20 Group moderator. He’ll demonstrate not only how you can set up your business for maximum profitability, but also how to manage it on an ongoing basis so you achieve your goals.

The pre-owned market is where dealers are finding some of the biggest opportunities these days, and we’re bringing Gart Sutton back to ProfitX to demonstrate how to grow your profits in this critical profit center. He’ll show you where dealers are finding opportunities, in addition to how you can capitalize on them yourself.
These are just a few of the sessions that we’ll focus on at the 2011 ProfitX, but rest assured that there will be literally hundreds of profit-building ideas for you to take home and implement at your dealership. We’ll touch on many other areas of your business, such as PG&A, e-commerce, inventory management and others.
To bring this level of knowledge and the tools that go with it would cost you thousands of dollars to do it on your own. At ProfitX, your investment is far less, and your return on that investment will be far greater. Guaranteed.
Make sure you get registered today at www.powersportsbusiness.com/profitx because, although we’re emerging from the downturn, the opportunities afforded to you are only valuable if you know how to take advantage of them. ProfitX will give you the tools and the knowledge to do just that.
Matt Gruhn is group publisher and editorial director for Powersports Business. He can be reached at mgruhn@powersportsbusiness.com.

PowersportsBusinessMay 26, 2011