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OPINION FROM THE EDITOR 16 • September 17, 2015 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com As you'll see elsewhere in this edition, we are gearing up in a big way for the 3rd annual Powersports Business Institute @ AIMExpo, set for Oct. 15-19 in Orlando. There are dozens of reasons why you should attend, and one of them is assur- edly to take advantage of the free training sessions that are put together by Powersports Business. There's never a dull moment in our industry, and it will be anything but that in the PSBI@AIMEXPO ses- sions. You can get the complete scoop on the sessions at www.powersportsbusiness.com/institute, but for now I thought I'd share some examples of the classes we'll be offering. We look forward to seeing you there. From the newly announced and highly anticipated fifth track of the PSBI@AIMEXPO, the Brick and Mor- tar Success Guide track, we'll have a slew of offerings. Here are some of them. Winning Without Internet Sales. If Internet sales are not your cup of tea, you need to focus on basic customer retention through relationship building and doing things the right way to be very profitable. Marketing on a Budget. There are many ways to market without a massive marketing budget. We will show you proven methodology. Build Value for Your Exit Strategy. Find out the right way to set your company up to allow you to build an exit strategy with value. Store Operations Efficiency Guide. Discover how you can improve your shop performance through technology and how to get the information you need. The Shop Success Formula. There are many aspects to a successful operation that will be covered on a departmental basis. Tech Grad Integration. Tech grads go through very intensive training, yet when they go job hunting, most shops don't have an integration process to bring their potential to the fullest. Hiring the Right Tech for the Job. It's not just the right candidate, but the right questions to make sure you get the right fit for your tech positions. Understanding EFI Tuning. EFI tuning does not have to be a mystery. Basic elements will be explained, and you can attend advanced classes on Sunday if you really want to get ahead. EFI V-Twin Horsepower — Turbo Advanced Tuning. Fuel injection can maximize horsepower, especially when combined with turbocharging. You will be taught how to produce mind-boggling results. Advanced Diagnostics and Tuning for Maxi- mum Performance. Intake and exhaust modifications are still among the most popular upgrades for V-twins. You will learn how to recalibrate ECUs for maximum smooth performance. And from our Sales and Marketing, and Leadership Plus tracks (Look for the Powering Profits and Service and Operations descriptions in next month's edition) … Key Metrics for the New Economy — The ones that most dealers are not focused on! Sales have been doing well and are once again growing as an industry. Business is good for most dealers. But, the industry is still experiencing major change, and this is a different economy than we faced in the past. Some dealers are doing well, even expanding; others are holding their own, while some are slowing deterio- rating. What are the differences between these three paths? We all know the industry goes through cycles. Are you ready for the next cycle? Controllers Don't Wear Crocs. There is a thin line between a customer buying everything your dealer- ship offers and buying nothing at all. Sometimes the difference between a customer walking away or not lies in the subtleties of the subconscious brain. Under- stand how infusing personality profiling into your sales process causes a magnetic charm and ultimately, more units sold. The 90-Second Romance: How to sell to millen- nials over the phone and through email, text and chat. This session talks about and delivers dealer- proven strategies to build a relationship of trust with millennial buyers, developed from their social media comments, emails, chats, phone calls and even text messages to culminate in prospects who are more pre- pared to buy when they first enter your dealership. Smart Emails = Customer Retention: Why email is your best friend. In this session we detail the why and how of using the customer's preferred method of communication — email — to develop stronger bonds of trust and comfort with your buyers to increase dealer customer retention. Replace "email blasts" with "smart emails," and you'll keep your hard-earned cus- tomers coming back again and again. How to Train Your Dealership's Team to Pri- oritize Their Day: Get 4 hours back from each of them per week now! This session will help you and your dealership's team identify the obstacles in their way that cause unproductivity. We will then create a systematic approach of putting more time back in everyone's day and increase profitability. Selling F&I Throughout the Dealership: Building F&I sales via sales, parts and service departments. This high powered seminar shows the incorporation of all departments; sales, service, parts, Internet and F&I, and how they work together. Exam- ples and strategies for a top-tier F&I program that will not only increase profits, but CSI and customer reten- tion will be provided. Analyze and Act! Capitalize early on the insights that count. The presentation will combine data on inventory, demographics, trends and financing to help guide your business decisions and give your dealer- ship a competitive advantage. This course is designed to teach dealers where to find smart data and how to analyze it to become more profitable business owners. Profiting Per Square Foot in the Parts & Acces- sories Department. Helping dealers to understand the look and feel of a showroom, and what it takes to stand out from stores around the country that all seem to have the same things in stock. Powersports Consumers' Path to Purchase: Insights on powersports consumers' behavior and strategies to selling to them. How do they think about the purchase, how long do they take to buy, what resources do they search, and where do they look for the information? This presentation will provide insightful tips and best practices to participate more actively in your consumers' Path to Purchase. State of the Industry Roundtable: Insight and ideas from leaders in finance, pre-owned, aftermar- ket and OEM. We'll reveal the past year's successes and challenges in a variety of powersports segments, including pre-owned trends from National Powersport Auctions chief operation officer Jim Woodruff. PSB Dave McMahon is editor in chief of Powersports Business. Contact him at 763/383-4411 or dmcmahon@powersportsbusiness.com. 1. Analyst: RZR XP Turbo tops Polaris lineup announcement 2. Newly announced Arctic Cat partnership focuses on product development 3. Polaris unveils 2016 off-road lineup 4. Polaris introduces lighter, faster UTV 5. BRP unveils new Spyder at 75th Sturgis 6. Victory Motorcycles reveals its first all-electric motorcycle 7. Erik Buell Racing finds buyer for consulting assets 8. Report: Arctic Cat countersuit dropped over patent infringement 9. EBR gets new owner, plans to rebuild 10. Honda announces details on 2016 Africa Twin 11. Moto athlete rides Tahitian waves — on a motorcycle (video) 12. Polaris introduces Slingshot Black Pearl SL Limited Edition 13. OEM reveals model year 2016 lineup 14. Honda announces pricing for all-new 2016 Pioneer 1000 15. Yamaha Moto Co. sees North America unit sales increase 28 percent The headlines above belong to the most frequently viewed articles from Powersports Business' three-times weekly e-news during the July 30-August 18 period. The number is based on the percentage of e-news viewers who clicked on the article's headline. To subscribe to e-news, go to www.powersportsbusiness.com/newsletter-signup. WHAT'S THE HOTTEST INDUSTRY TOPIC? Powersports Business blog ONLINE WITH POWERSPORTSBUSINESS.COM Leading industry executives and dealer consultants are among the contributors to PSB's blog. See below for recent blogs. An inside look at select PSBI@AIMExpo sessions Visit powersportsbusiness.com/blogs Orlando: Destination PSBI Powersports Business returns to the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. for our 3rd annual 2015 Powersports Business Institute @ AIMExpo. With 42 dealer educational sessions, including a new V-twin-focused track, it's one trip you can't miss. Visit www.powersportsbusiness.com/ institute to see a full schedule of this year's speakers and presentations. COLLEEN MALLOY Director of Marketing, ARI With 88 percent of consumers trusting online reviews as much as personal recommendations, it's how you man- age and respond to these reviews that will have a great effect on your dealership's online reputation and, ultimately, your bottom line. FORREST FLINN Managing Partner, Powersports Management Concepts Some of you believe in job descrip- tions and write them well, keep them relevant to the employee's job and use them properly. Some of you borrow them from another dealer, shove them down your employee's throats and then wonder why it's used against you. KATE SWANSON Assistant Editor, Powersports Business I've found that some of my favorite and most fun memories have happened as a result of me stepping — or being coerced by friends — out of my comfort zone. So naturally, when asked if I was interested, I grabbed my water wings (not really) and never looked back. GARY GUSTAFSON President, G-Force Consulting We are living in the innovation age, a time when a single new idea can render an entire industry obsolete. Therefore innovation is a primary resource for success and needs to be managed in it's own right. DAVE McMAHON