The average employee spends 1.5 hours/day looking for things according to recent statistics. Time is money for RV and Marine dealers, so many are looking to organize their parts inventory. With so many different parts to manage, and a busy schedule, taking the area from chaos to order can seem like an overwhelming prospect. But […]

RV and Marine dealers are in the business of creating a lifestyle of positivity and freedom for their customers. But, what about the lifestyle of employees within the dealership? After all, front-line employees are the ones dealing with customers day-to-day, so setting them up for success matters. Here are some tips on creating employee goals […]

Entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and beyond still dream about the “killer app” but, what does it take to have a “killer business” in the dealer world? It is all about people. Justin Howard from Russel Marine in Central Alabama says, “It starts off from the top. You’ve got to have great management, and then the […]

The military saying “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” is very true in the context of dealership inventory management. According to dealership consultant Jeff Sheets, many dealers are reluctant to plan ahead when it comes to their inventory, which means that it’s never quite as organized as it should be. As discussed […]

We are pleased to announce that Sean Raynor, the General Manager of Integrated Dealer Services (IDS), received the RVDA Chairman’s Service Award for his role in developing the Repair Event Cycle Time (RECT) reports. Tim Wegge, the owner of Burlington RV Superstore and now former RVDA chairman, presented the awards to Raynor and three other […]

After surveying multiple dealers across North America on what they consider to be their biggest challenges, dealership expert Michael Rees has seen the word “communication” come up quite often. In particular, many dealers seem to struggle with establishing communication among their employees and across multiple departments. The lack of proper communication can have an enormous […]

Most RV and marine dealers have about 100 out of 365 days to make most of their profits for the year. That’s what many of us refer to as the “busy season.” So, if for some reason you don’t sell enough units or parts during that time period, you can lose quite a bit of […]

Finding the right people to work at your dealership is often a tough and time-consuming undertaking. What’s even harder is understanding which employees you should keep and which ones you should let go. It’s easy to see your employees in black and white – hard-working people do their jobs well, while the lazy and incompetent […]

Despite the numerous technological advancements in dealer management software over the last 30 years, many RV, marine and trailer dealers don’t have an industry-specific, fully-integrated system for managing their business. The systems they do have tend to cover only a small portion of their business and are typically not made with their industry in mind. […]

Hiring the right Service Writer can be tricky, given how sensitive their job really is. After all, they are in contact with your customers more than anyone else, and it’s their responsibility to ensure that your customers’ equipment servicing needs are properly looked after. It’s an important job, and if mishandled, it can have serious […]