Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/551693
www.PowersportsBusiness.com NEWS Powersports Business • August 17, 2015 • 9 Since the Bad Boy production line is one of the newest at TSV's Augusta, Ga., headquarters, it includes newer, more ergonomic equipment for employees. Commercial, Golf and Ground Support Equip- ment. The company has a dedicated team of R&D employees solely tasked with producing P&A, and it has a P&A sales force that works with P&A managers separately from the vehi- cle sales team. "When we were much more golf-focused in our approach, we didn't invest a whole lot in parts and accessories development," reported Brandon Haddock, director of communica- tions. "Today that mindset has shifted com- pletely where if we're going to introduce a new vehicle, a new whole good out into the market, there's going to be a wide breadth of accessories available for that vehicle on the day and date when that vehicle shows up in the dealer's showroom. There's going to be a wall of acces- sories available the same day." A focus on P&A increases the margin made during new vehicle sales, provides customers a reason to return to the dealership again and again, adds work for the service department and gives dealers a way to resell and newly personal- ize pre-owned E-Z-GOs, Brennan explained. "That's one thing that I think that we've really done well over the past couple of years is figuring out ourselves how to really design those products that our consumers and our dealers really need and what would really ben- efit them," Brennan said. BECOMING A BETTER PARTNER TSV's recent dedication to parts and accessories is just one of the many pushes the company is making to become a better business partner and to more seamlessly integrate itself into the powersports market. The company recently launched TSV Con- nect, a Salesforce-based dealer resources portal that allows dealers to access vehicle manuals, order parts, look up schematics, check ship- ment statuses and more. It also serves as a social network for TSV dealers to share best practices and ask for help from each other. "We made that investment because as we looked to go into this powersports channel, we learned very quickly that there's an expectation both around the level of systems and service and support that you offer," Haddock said. "We know to be successful with that channel and with that space, we've got to up our game in terms of the level of our systems and the processes and the level of sophistication that we have around being easier to do business with." To teach its dealers' technicians how to service electric- and gas-powered Bad Boy and E-Z-GO product, TSV offers factory service classes both on-site in Augusta and in the field at dealerships both domestically and inter- nationally. The on-site facility is built like a classroom, with gas and electric engines inside for hands-on instruction. Off-site, TSV asks some of its dealers to host classes, so TSV deal- ers from the region can join in and take a class closer to home. "We'll go to one of our dealer locations and host a class there, and they're very good about opening their doors. We'll bring in dealers from all over the area, and the guys that are smart, and they understand, they'll open their doors up because they understand it's a best practice BAD BOY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 E-Z-GO's 2Five is street legal on most state's public roads with posted speed limits of 35 mph or less. See Bad Boy, Page 11