Seminars feature productivity, communication tips at Accelerate conference
On the second day of the Accelerate conference held at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, Georgia, attendees were offered numerous informal seminars hosted by industry experts.
The first of three segments included industry veteran Steve Jones, who has worked in the powersports industry for more than four decades.
“Steve was one of the first people to sign up for us more than six months ago,” said Powersports Business editor-in-chief Dave McMahon as he introduced him to the crowd. “We hope you guys can take some tips back to your shops for a better 2022.”
Jones has conducted seminars and workshops on a variety of subjects for many different industry clients, and spoke about how to identify critical benchmarks to measure and manage performance; increase labor and P&A sales through effective service writing procedures; maximize technician time to improve productivity, profitability and customer satisfaction; increase unit sales by improving your service operation and more.
“How many of you feel that you’re losing money in the service department? If you’re leaving money on the table, you’re losing it,” Jones said during the presentation that included an informal handout. “Try your best to anticipate that by improving efficiency and productivity.”
All presentations were interactive with multiple dealer participants taking to the microphone to offer feedback and tips regarding questions being asked, and common problems posed.
The following two seminars of the morning focused primarily on customer communication, offering insight into how the customer buying experience is evolving and implementing simple mobile tools with existing customer data and digital strategies for dealers to increase revenue in all departments of their dealership.
“It’s about saving time at the dealership… Behavior has changed significantly now and we’ve had to adopt new technology regardless of the generation. At this stage my mother is using Zoom to communicate, and this is a woman who didn’t want to learn how to use the remote control,” Rollick founder and CEO Bernie Brenner told the audience. ”If you’re not using technology in a way a customer expects, there will be a disconnect; not only is everyone online, but they’re looking for information.”
Founder and president of 7 Media Group Ron Cariker is an accomplished global speaker and panelist who also shared insight and expertise on mobile marketing and mobile technology.
“We like educating people on the best processes… It really matters who decides to make them work,” said Cariker.
Following the morning seminars a social networking lunch was provided for those in attendance, offering the opportunity to further connections with sponsors at the event.
