February was a surprise for a lot of us. While high-performing shops showed a slight decrease in volume, a lot of shops that weren't really backed up saw a massive decline.
What Does This Mean?
Owners and advisors have gotten used to work being served on a silver platter. Since March 2020, we haven’t had to work the last couple of Februarys like we did in the past. Suddenly, we get to 2023 and started to see a "normal" slowdown unlike what we’ve seen in the last couple of years. For the last three years, we've been extremely busy, and we haven’t had to put in the same effort to get the same number of sales. We aren't having callbacks like normal. We're not having to advertise like normal. We're not having to negotiate prices like normal. And now, we're starting to see things shift back to "normal." We should have seen this coming. We should have been more ready for it, but that also is a great indication that this summer is going to be crazy busy. By the time we get to 2024, it's going to be normal to have slow Februarys, Septembers and Novembers. We're also going to have crazy busy Januarys, Junes, Julys and Augusts. Our shops will be back into the original groove in which they’ve always operated.
What Needs to Be Done
Right now, there are going to be a lot of owners who have advisors they think are pretty good. They're about to find out that they're not. And we’ve got many advisors who thought their owners were good at marketing and they’re about to find out that wasn’t the case. This is a chance for all of us to step up our game.
We need advisors to make sure that they’re doing whatever they can to generate gross sales. We need to make sure advisors are focused on curb selling. We need advisors focused on the customer’s needs who understand financing options if a customer needs them. We need them to offer different timelines to get repairs done if customers can't do all of it right now. And honestly, an empathetic heart. We also need to make sure that owners are getting advisors the necessary training to succeed as customers start to tighten up their belts.
Focus on Training
Today’s advisors are in an amazing position to show their worth by putting in the work and studying to become great at their craft. But if an advisor does not have a supportive owner who is going to provide a way for them to get that training, then that advisor is going to slowly become discontented and start looking elsewhere. We need those advisors to want to stay with us, especially the ones that have talent and ability. We want to be the best opportunity for them. We want to have the best support system in the office. We want to have the best technicians in the shop, and we want to have the best customers out there on the street. If an owner is not going to provide those, that advisor will ultimately leave.
Be an Owner Advisors Love
As owners, you need to understand that you may have that amazing advisor on staff who needs a little more training and for you to back off and give them room to succeed or fail. There's a healthy balance between owner and advisor, as the owner continues to provide opportunity, and the advisor continues to push themselves to become better, they can have an amazing marriage in business. But it's going to take teamwork. It starts with admitting that things aren't where they should be right now, and that it’s time to step up and go to the next level. That means training. That means teamwork. That means better communication.
