MPN News

Cruiser Helmets

Service Department Numbers

This column explores service department dealer data and benchmarks.

Sales Manager Makeover

Sales managers often end up as inventory control clerks or paper shufflers or any variety of things that have nothing to do with what they should be focused on - managing individual sales encounters with customers.

12 From 20:

Mark shares his mistakes and successes after two decades in the business.

Not Quite Perfect

What can your dealership do to thrive and survive in a challenging market?

Old Or Out Of Shape?

As seldom as Bill rides hard-core off-road anymore, showing off his rusty skills tends to lead to problems.

Value Education Over Legislation ... My Head My Choice

Dean promotes rider education without government involvement, and Chad believes in pro-choice for helmets, but agrees with stressing rider education.

Casual Gear Guide

More Than A Free Lunch

In this installment, the guys agree that year-round event marketing is key to gaining new customers and building lasting relationships with your loyal followers.

The Magic Number

One of the hardest battles for a sales manager to wage is to achieve that crucial balance -- the fight between getting all the money and giving the bike away.

P&A Numbers

This column explores the parts and accessories department dealer data and benchmarks.

Performance Based Selling Podcast

Lessons from the Motorcycle Business ... So Far

How to Do Test Rides ... Right!

Getting a prospect on a bike and in the wind can be the best tool to help a customer make the right purchase decision.

The Success Triangle

Knowledge, action and systems can be the difference in enjoying a successful profitable business in a really fun industry.

Mr. IKTO

Bill sees past a customer's sorry attempt to bully his way to a great deal.

The Motorcycle Business Sucks ... Clean Up Your Act

Chad refutes the doom and gloom rumors still running rampant in the industry, and Dean chimes in with some tips as to how you can keep your shop on top during lean times.

Exceptional Service

There are just as many dealers out there working as hard as they can because they just love sharing the sport with other people.

Finance & Insurance Numbers

F&I should be one of the most profitable areas of your business.

Do you know anyone else who wants one?

How to ask for referrals without sounding like a jerk. (Part 2: The Process)

7 Key Digital Strategies

Seven powerful digital strategies that when implemented correctly will improve dealership performance.

Multiples of Twelve

Defining the key target-ages of the American male as it applies to our business.

Game On!

Lovin' Luggage

The Romance Of Touring

By Margie Siegal

Rainman?

Here's to hoping April showers will bring May success for all of us.

Explosive Sales

The best salespeople can't be managed -- they're cannons, and cannons can only be aimed.

Pre-Owned Sales Numbers

Pre-owned units present additional sales and profit opportunities for your dealership.

Leading Them On

How to ask for referrals without sounding like a jerk.

Battling Turnover

Instead of being surprised and reacting to turnover, it's a good idea to be prepared and expect it.

Holding On Too Long

Chalk it up to the comfort of familiarity or the avoidance of hard goodbyes.

V-Twin Rumblings

V-Twin Rumblings: The Vibe From The V-Twin Expo

Desperate For Repentance

Desperate For Repentance: Release Your Inner Reactive Dealer

Let's talk Numbers

Where Do You Stand? Running Real Dealer Performance Numbers

Hot Dogs Are Not A Value Proposition

Market Differentiating Strategies: Hot Dogs Are Not A Value Proposition

Marginal Victories

Marginal Victories: Higher Volumes At Lower Margins Spell Trouble For Powersports Dealers

Wasps, Dogs and Price Fixing?

Wasps, Dogs and Price Fixing: Learn A Lesson From the Underdogs

Back In Black

Performance Based Selling Podcast

The complete 10 steps to the performance based selling model

Helmet Heads Up

Heads Up!

Will Indy Helmet Highlights Offset Industry Low Lights? Random Musings From A Brain-Dead Observer

Dear Dealer

An Open Letter To Dealers In A Declining Market

20-Clubs Go Virtual

Find A 20-Club To Suit Your Business Needs

Performance-Based Selling

What If Everything You've Been Told About Selling Was Wrong?

The Habitual Dealer

Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Powersports Dealers

No Problem

No Problem: An Insight To The Regression Of A Nation

Podcasts

If you'd rather listen than read, check out these podcasts from MPN editors and contributors.

Lessons For Resolution

Successful dealers set goals and manage by the numbers.

How Full Is Your Tank?

Preparedness is paramount to survival in a tough market.

Oil Intel

Are Full Synthetics The Hot Ticket?

Where Did The Market Go?

Did 2007 end with a whimper for your business? Where do we go from here?

Check Your Motivation

Sell with structure and integrity to weather the down market.

Winning Incentives

New ideas for motivating sales staff.

The New Standard

How to adopt a performance-based sales model.

Performance Based Selling Podcast

What if everything you've been told about selling is wrong?

Latest News

Motorcycle Stuff Closes . . . MIC Explores Road Racing Series . . . JAMA Production Down

Motorcycles Are Dangerous!

Yes, bikes are dangerous, but media surveys conveniently fail to compare apples to apples.

Benchmarks

The BOC looks at benchmarks and performance indicators to ensure that all profit centers are operating at peak efficiency.

Who Owns This Money?

As the economy continues to tighten up, you had better be feeling the urgency to capture customers' discretionary dollars.

Powersports Sales Certification

Selling skills are not just applicable on the showroom floor, they're also beneficial in every department in the dealership.

The Used Parts Salesman

Would you try to sell a customer a used chain? Bill gets beat at his own game . . .

What Do I Need To Do To Put You In This Van, Err . . . On This Motorcycle Today?

Avoiding auto industry offenses that have a strong potential of becoming common place in the motorcycle industry.

Adventures in Touring

Stocking Up For Extremists

Clubbing Baby Seals!

Robin reminds us that this business is supposed to be about having fun and doing irrational things like riding motorcycles.

Three Thieves

Own your sales process. Believe in your sales process.

Bury The Cat Slowly

Sometimes it's easy to miss the details that make reaching your goals worth while.

Prized Promos

To generate new and different promotional ideas, first list the goals you want to accomplish.

What Do I Need To Do To Put You In This Van Today?

The greatest risk for our industry is falling prey to the business practices that have earned the auto industry a negative reputation.

The Sit On

Use the "Sit On" to get the customer emotionally involved and experiencing feelings of ownership.

Heads Up

A Freestyle Look At Helmets

Digital Specifications

Housekeeping

Robin makes a clean sweep of this month's issue.

My Name Is Otis . . .

Remember discretionary income does not mean disposable income!

Handling Common Customer Objections

Learn to overcome six common customer objections and watch your sales soar.

Pre-Paid Installations

Capture more service business while increasing both customer retention and customer satisfaction.

Manager Or Damager? Part II

It's imperative that you take care of the quality employees you have. You need to manage, not damage, your staff.

A Lesson In Cheap

It was like buying a $250 50cc ATV online only to get the thing and realize that the wheels aren't in the box and the carburetor is in pieces.

ATV Action

If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium?

Robin's sordid tales of jet lag and bad judgement!

Help Wanted!

John urges dealers to update and upgrade their websites.

Lost Sales, Part II

Is your dealership missing sales opportunities? BOC presents ten reasons why dealers lose customers.

Performance Tracking

Identify areas of improvement and improve forecasting by tracking the key steps within the sales process.

Divide And Conquer...

The three dimentions of measurement: opportunities, activities and results.

Manager Or Damager?

Retaining good employees should be up toward the top of any manager's list.

From Business To Business

We have customers all over the community, and each of them deserves our support, just as much as we want to keep theirs.

Rolling Stock

Open Options

Biker Helmet Heads Up

A Tribute To The Man From Dixie

Robin pays tribute to industry veteran and MPN lead columnist, John Wykoff.

Scooters & Trikes

Although they both appeared a half century ago, two old products are new concepts again.

Lost Sales

Is your dealership missing sales opportunities? BOC presents ten reasons why dealers lose customers.

Selling Skills

The "trick" to selling more units is learning how to build more value.

The Wonderful World Of Widgets

A rundown of some of the new product highlights and lowlights worth sharing.

Solution Man!

What if you can deliver equal or more value by making a few adjustments?

You Owe Me Another One!

Six more ways to effectively leverage the law of reciprocity and improve just about every dimension of dealership life.

Video Picks

Damn The Critics, Go Sell Something!

Robin predicts rising gas prices will boost the commuter-based scooter market.

Finally?

Is Harley-Davidson's bloom fading? Are consumers deciding to wait? Are there simply too many choices?

Insurance Issues

Establishing your dealership as an insurance collision repair business could be profitable for your service department.

Telephone Skills For The Sales Department

Want to see your closing ratios jump from 20% to 50% to 70%? Learn how to effectively set appointments with your telephone shoppers.

The Road Less Traveled

Offer customers information and ideas to maximize their riding fun while minimizing wasted miles.

He Wants One . . .

Help your customers pick out what they want and show them how to take it home.

Yeah, And You Owe Me One!

Five ways to effectively leverage the law of reciprocity and improve just about every dimension of dealership life.

Honky Tonk Hotties

Filling Out Our Favorite Tees

Name That Column

Staffing Issues

Are you appropriately staffed? The BOC offers guidelines and indicators to help you make staffing decisions.

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Film

A photography seminar is an ideal way to attract riders to your store.

Brother-In-Law Syndrome III

Want to get things done in your dealership? Making your great ideas a reality is an art form.

Shaken Or Stirred?

Like a martini, a high-performance sales team requires mixing things up.

Dressed For Thrills

Sportbike Gear Guide -- Photos by Joe Bonnello

Dazed And Confused

Robin examines the epidemic of vintage bike fever in the marketplace.

Dealing With The "Verts"

How to identify which personality type you're dealing with - introvert or extrovert - and change your sales method accordingly.

Service Department 101

Dr. Nikki details how dealerships can increase repair order income.

Tomorrow May Rain, So Today I'll Follow The Sun

Rain is inevitable... riders have to be prepared to make a bad situation as good as possible. Proper rain gear is the answer.

Indian's Trail Of Tears

Ever since the original factory closed, the Indian name has been used, abused, dragged through the mud and trampled.

The Brother-In-Law Syndrome II

Why being right isn't enough... and why Machiavelli wasn't all bad.

WIIFM

What's in it for me? -- the central theme in the agenda of every customer who has ever had to make a buying decision.

A Failure To Communicate

Blogs, flogs, MySpace friends, podcasts ... Robin wades into techno-territory.

Sales Department Presentation/Demonstration

Dr. Nikki teaches how to build value by providing the customer with key features and benefits.

Packed Up

Luggage For The Long Haul

Relative Vs. Absolute

Maybe running a successful dealership really is rocket science?

Pre-Paid Maintenance

The risks and rewards of selling pre-paid maintenance packages.

Work Habits

Dr. Nikki discusses smart work habits to bolster your dealership's closing ratios.

In-Store Travel Guide

Establish your dealership as touring-friendly... you will meet a need in your motorcycling community and sell more stuff.

The Brother-In-Law Syndrome

Change your definition of "dealership politics" and become more politically savvy.

March Madness!

Robin shares the madness encountered in putting together this March issue.

The Best in the West

MPN Rolls Into The Old West Calico Ghost Town In New Cruiser Wear Classics -- Photos By Joe Bonnello

Do You "Tour" Or "Travel?"

Motorcycle travelers aren't tourists — they're modern day adventurers.

Sled Slowdown?

Pre-season secrets for increasing profitability in the snowmobile business.

Suggestive Selling

Related add-ons improve sales and customer satisfaction.

Heads Up For '07

Helmet Sales Strategies, Plus New For '07 Street Lids

Imitation?

Robin gets hyped for this year's Dealer Expo and dishes on his EICMA experience.

A Return To The Golden Age

Scooters are once again a growing segment of the powersports market.

Why Don't They Do It, Part III?

Are you sending the right message? Additional ways to work through the issue of non-performance.

Service Department Report

How, and what, to track when measuring service department performance.

Higher Education

What you don't know really can hurt you... How does a dealer find out what is really going on?

First Impressions & Building Rapport

Dr. Nikki Sloan explains how to use questions to guide a conversation.

V-Twin Expo Preview

A seminar for the small independent dealer: How To Compete With The Big Boys ... And Win.

Why Don't They Do It, Part II?

What you might do when people don't seem motivated to perform as requested.

Ten Nonnegotiable Service Department Practices

The practices that are absolutely essential to the operation of successful service departments.

Nonnegotiable P&A Practices

The practices that are absolutely essential to the operation of a successful parts and accessories department.

The Consolidators

Knowing how things work is not the same as making them work.

Big Boxes and Mass Merchandisers

The affects of the big box chain stores selling ATVs, minibikes and dirtbikes.

Red Flag!

If your dealership is considering taking on a line of Chinese powersports products take care!

Consolidation, Part II

Robin responds to the residual flak from the July "Holeshot."

Always a Bridesmaid?

They say good news travels fast, but bad news operates at light speed . . . oops, make that warp drive.

Dealers Protest Polaris Practices

Robin stumbles into the middle of something that looks like real news. This is getting interesting!

Why Don't They Do It?

Improve human performance and watch your dealership's performance improve!

The Myth of Motivation

Understanding why people do what they do can mean significant improvements in how you solve your dealership performance issues.

Should You Be Committed?

Do you perform consistently with your publicly stated beliefs and positions?

Liquid Gold

Top Selling Oils & Lubes

Nonnegotiable!

The practices that are absolutely essential to the operation of a successful sales department.