Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/575161
FINANCIAL 14 • October 5, 2015 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com I'd rather have half a piece of pie than no pie STOCK MARKET WATCH DEALER FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT AUGUST 2015 Same Store Sales for CDK Global Recreation dealer- ships were up 1.2 percent overall from August 2014 to August 2015. The Northeast saw the greatest decrease in overall sales, down 6.4 percent, but also saw the biggest increase in major unit sales, up 9.9 percent. The Northwest experienced the second highest decrease in overall sales, down 3.6 percent, and decreased in all four categories. The Midwest and West each decreased in only one category. PARTS SALES Nationally, 600 dealers were up in parts, and 917 were down. SERVICE SALES In service, 703 dealers were up, while 760 were down. MAJOR UNIT SALES Major unit sales saw 730 dealers up, and 629 down. NORTHWEST -9.6% Parts Department -2.9% Service Department -3.1% Major Units -3.6% Overall MIDWEST 1.2% Parts Department -0.5% Service Department 1.7% Major Units 2.1% Overall NORTHEAST -4.8% Parts Department -1.2% Service Department 9.9% Major Units 6.4% Overall SOUTH -7.9% Parts Department -2.2% Service Department 1.0% Major Units 0.0% Overall WEST -4.0% Parts Department 0.1% Service Department 2.6% Major Units 0.6% Overall UNITED STATES -4.5% Parts Department -1.2% Service Department 2.5% Major Units 1.2% Overall Stock Price Percent Company Ticker 9/11/15 Change ARI Network Services, Inc. ARIS $3.77 13.6% Spy Inc. XSPY $0.43 6.2% CDK Global CDK $51.57 1.1% Cooper Tire & Rubber CTB $39.68 0.9% Intl. Speedway Corp. Cl. A ISCA $32.44 -2.6% Assurant, Inc. AIZ $76.82 -3.5% Carlisle Companies CSL $99.12 -4.1% General Electric Co. GE $24.95 -4.3% Bridgestone Corp. ADR BRDCY $17.11 -4.6% Dover Corporation DOV $60.56 -5.3% POWERSPORTS BUSINESS WINNERS AND LOSERS MARKET WATCH Change 9/11/15 from 8/14 % Change Powersports Business Index 288.796 -24.61 -7.85% Dow Jones Index 142.932 -9.08 -5.98% S&P 500 Index 133.473 -8.88 -6.24% Source: Wells Fargo Securities LLC STOCK MARKET ACTIVITY F&I SOLUTIONS FOR MORE ON THE SAME STORE SALES DATA For more information on this report and other industry data, contact: cdkrecreation.com/dataservices *The Powersports Business Index has been adjusted to reflect the addition of CDK Global (CDK) on 12/5/14. The end of the year can be hard for many finance managers. There are a lot of play bikes, scooters and small ATVs sold for the holidays, and this only makes it harder to sell what you have to offer. Most cus- tomers are not will- ing to buy a $2,000 or $3,000 gift and then add another $1,000 or $2,000 in protection. I always spent the month of December playing the damage con- trol game. Protecting my annual per-unit-sold average from eroding was my main goal. Here are three tricks I learned from my years in the finance office: PRICE The price of the products you offer can be a big factor when it comes to what you are able to sell in November and December. First, the rel- ative price of these vehicles is generally lower, which makes the relative price of what you offer less desirable. Also, many, if not most, of these customers are not financing — they are spending their own money. Whether they budgeted for their vehicle as a planned holiday expense or whether they're using an end-of- year bonus or some other investment, it does not matter. To them, it is cash. To combat this, I lowered the price of the products I offered in finance to roughly $100 over cost. If you choose to use $150 or $200, that is up to you. I do not know the magic number. What I do know is that when I started moving more volume on these product lines at this time of year, my PUS went up. LAYAWAY OR CASH FOR LATER We had a lot of people who would either use our layaway program or leave a large deposit and come back to complete the transaction later. When this happens, you must pitch the product when the customer commits to buy and include the amount in the total they need to bring when they pick up. Customers are much more likely to commit to have more money down the road than they are to pull it out on the spot when they come back. OFFER THE RIGHT PRODUCTS This time of year, it is important to have sev- eral inexpensive insurance products to offer customers as a choice. Theft program, aka Etch Lifetime Battery Replacement Tire and Wheel Whatever you offer, make sure you have at least three that you can price at no more than 10 percent of the price of the bike. BELIEVE THAT EVERYONE WILL BUY SOMETHING It starts with you! If you don't believe that they will buy something, neither will they. Just because what they are buying is inexpensive, compared to what you usually sell, does not STEVE DODDS See Dodds, Page 15 "Customers are much more likely to commit to have more money down the road than they are to pull it out on the spot when they come back." 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 11/7/14 12/5/14 1/2/15 1/23/15 2/20/15 3/13/15 4/10/15 5/1/15 5/22/15 6/19/15 7/24/15 8/14/15 9/11/15 PSB INDEX VALUE DOW JONES INDEXED S&P 500 INDEXED