This month David Foco talks about the power of benchmarking and tracking - on a daily basis. I know many of you have measurements in place and use them to help maximize your departments' potential.

I also know that many of you look at these numbers a little too seldom - maybe just once or twice a month. If you were able to see critical measurements each day, it would allow you to make necessary adjustments quickly, giving you the power to have a positive effect on your financial statement.

Closing ratios are typically looked at to hold salespeople (in both fixed and variable operations) accountable, yet after decades of working in this industry, I have yet to find 2 dealers that measure this benchmark the same way. So what is the industry norm? I don't believe there can be one, nor does it really matter.

If you look after  the activities that have an effect on the closing ratio, then the closing ratio will take care of itself. 

How is the meet and greet?

What about the interview?

Is the product selection the best it can be?

Are your people giving "wow" feature/function/benefit presentations every time?

These are just a few examples of what you should be measuring. If all the steps to a sale were being done correctly, every time, your closing ration will go up. If you were to rate any manager or salesperson on closing ratio, all they will do is to stop logging customers so this ratio looks good.

So, install a simple, daily report that can measure all these things. As David says in the videos, please feel free to ask us - we will build these reports specifically for your dealership and it won't cost you a dime. You will be surprised with the critical information they will provide you to help you keep your month on track.

Please make sure you watch both of David's videos on fixed and variable operations.