All companies should always be looking to the future in such a way as to be prepared for what is to come. This forward look should include:
- Sales
- People
- Facilities
Sales
All facilities are looking for more sales. Trying to navigate the future with the same revenue is a slow way of going out of business. Expenses always increase and therefore you need to produce more revenue just to stay even.
Buying More
Sales will grow when you buy more inventory. New inventory accounts for up to 50% of in-stock sales in any 120-day period. So, adding more inventory will produce more sales. With the increase in phone traffic your counter has more opportunities to add additional sales through brokering, warranty sales, freight and core deposits. Additional inventory offers you the opportunity to attract new customers and to better serve your existing customer base.
Increasing Performance
Another way to increase sales is through better performance of the people on the sales counter. Business never maximizes the phone traffic that it receives. Close rates for in-stock sales can range from the low of 20% to the high of 40 or 50%.
Out-of-stock close rates average around 2 to 3% and rarely go over 10%.
Both of these close rates demonstrate that sales growth can come from better ability to close calls. And it is always cheaper to improve sales through better performance than it is through adding additional inventory.
People
Adding people
If we are growing sales, we will eventually need to add people to handle the additional sales and to produce and deliver the product to the customer. Finding, hiring and training new employees takes time and money. This function is rarely done well since most companies do not have dedicated and trained people to conduct these processes.
Knowing when to add and what the compensation needs to be to attract good applicants and to hire and keep good employees is critical to your company’s growth.
Growing people
Many times, companies end up promoting people from within because they need a body to fill a position. Again, companies rarely have the foresight to prepare existing employees for new positions. Thus, we end up robbing Peter to pay Paul and create a domino effect that hurts more than one function in the company.
Facilities
Adding
There will come a time when most companies will outgrow their present facility. Purchasing more vehicles requires more space for the dismantled vehicles and for the parts it produces. You may also outgrow your production and parts gathering spaces causing you to have to handle vehicles more times and/or not having the space to properly clean and prep the parts for delivery.
Anytime you are considering adding facilities you need to consider the entire facility and consider adding more than you foresee you will need in the next 5 to 10 years.
Repurposing
Sometimes it makes sense to take underperforming space and turn it into space that will add ability to produce more sales. It also might be possible to change the flow of the
work – where vehicles are stored, dismantled and how parts are moved in and out of warehouse space.
Additional space can usually be found around existing buildings. This space is being used for slow moving parts or for vehicles that could be moved in a better organized yard.
Take the Time
Take the time to examine these options for your future annually. It almost always helps to get a fresh set of eyes on your employees, their performance and your facility. Don’t let your present situation become your unproductive future. Invest in your future today.
Robert Counts Chad Counts Rich Tyler Emily Richardson Johnny Logel
Robert Counts, robert@countsbusinessconsulting.com; 512-693-6915
Chad Counts, crcounts@countsbusinessconsulting.com; 512-963-4626