When we first launched The Turn Around Project, I’ll admit — it was a bit of a gamble. The goal was to take a dealership that had lost its footing, apply every principle, tool, and lesson I’d spent nearly a decade teaching, and prove that it could be saved. Ninety days later, the results spoke for themselves.
We didn’t just stop the bleeding. We stabilized the store. We rebuilt the team, reignited customer engagement, and restored profitability. It worked — not by luck, but because we approached it with structure, data, and a plan.
But here’s the question I’ve been asked the most since that story hit Powersports Business:
“Will it work in my dealership?”
The honest answer?
Yes, and no. It may not have the same results. And that’s the point.
Every dealership has its own DNA — its own people, market, brand mix, and culture. The same problem on paper might have a completely different root cause in practice. So while our turnaround framework works, you can’t just copy and paste it and expect the same results.
You have to study your entire operation — not just your P&L.
That means understanding every moving part: your financials, your processes, your team’s strengths and weaknesses, your customer base, your market conditions, even your local economy. You have to look at the risks, the opportunities, and the relationships between them.
That’s what we call a DELV Analysis. It’s the process we use to map out all the levers that can be pulled inside a dealership before deciding which ones to pull, push, turn, or fine-tune.
Without that full picture, even the best ideas can backfire.
Here’s the thing: I don’t think most operators are unaware of their problems. In fact, they probably know exactly what needs to be done.
The challenge isn’t knowing — it’s executing.
When you’re in the day-to-day grind, the list of issues gets so long that it becomes paralyzing. You see everything that’s broken and feel pressure to fix it all at once. So you start ten initiatives, get halfway through eight of them, and finish none. That’s the all too familiar “swirl” — the constant motion that looks like progress but doesn’t actually move you forward.
The way out of the swirl isn’t more work — it’s focus.
At Ownex, we teach dealers to identify their top three operational vitals — the key areas that, if improved, will generate the biggest return on investment for the business. These are usually the things that quietly control the health of everything else. Once you know those three vitals, you can build a 90-day roadmap that’s laser-focused on improving them.
That’s how you create real, measurable momentum.
A 90-day roadmap isn’t just a plan — it’s a commitment. It forces you to choose, prioritize, and execute with intention.
When we did this during The Turn Around Project, our roadmap wasn’t complicated. It was specific, measurable, and realistic. We focused on the changes that would give us the highest immediate return — tightening expenses, increasing service proficiency, and rebuilding customer engagement.
But most importantly, we stuck to the plan. We didn’t chase shiny objects or react to every fire that popped up. We stayed disciplined.
That’s what turned a failing dealership into a healthy one in such a short period of time.
That’s exactly what our upcoming Ownex Immersion Course is designed to do.
It’s a month-long guided program — one session per week — where we help you perform your own DELV Analysis, write your 12-month “journey,” and develop your own 90-day “roadmap.”
You’ll walk away with clarity on your dealership’s top priorities, confidence in your plan, and the accountability to execute it. From there, you can go it alone — or join a Dealer Cohort, a small group of operators going through the same process. Together, you’ll share ideas, solve problems, and hold each other accountable to the goals you’ve set.
Because the truth is, you don’t have to do this alone.
We’ve done it before. We’ve stepped on the landmines. We’ve found the shortcuts. And now, we can help you avoid the mistakes and focus on the moves that matter.
The next Ownex Immersion Course begins February 4, 2026.
If your store is stuck — if you feel like you’re spinning in the swirl, working harder without getting further — this is your chance to change that.
Visit Ownex.io to learn more or to sign up.
Because the question isn’t “Will it work in your dealership?”
The question is:
“Are you ready to find out what will?”
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Why speed and transparency are winning in the powersports and motorcycle industry
If locating and locking in high-performance talent feels harder than it used to be, you are not alone. The powersports and motorcycle industry has become a market where a small group of dealerships consistently win top hires, while others repeatedly come up short.
The difference is not brand, size, geography, or compensation alone. It comes down to two competitive advantages: speed and transparency. From my perspective as a recruiter working daily with dealership owners, operators, and candidates across the country, these two factors are more common than any others when a strong candidate says yes or walks away.
The talent pool has tightened, candidate expectations have evolved, and strong performers know they have options. Across the industry, dealerships are experiencing longer hiring cycles, higher candidate drop-off rates, and increased competition for proven producers and experienced technicians.
Hiring misfires has become more costly. A bad hire does not just impact payroll. It weakens morale, slows productivity, disrupts operations, and eventually shows up in customer experience and profitability. What may start as a single hiring mistake often turns into weeks or months of operational drag.
In this environment, the margin for error is smaller than ever.
Speed does not mean rushing decisions. It means removing friction. In a candidate-driven market, time itself has become a competitive variable. Best-in-class candidates often explore multiple opportunities simultaneously, and it is not uncommon for them to be off the market within seven to ten days of starting their search.
In today’s fast-paced world, especially in professional and personal communications, a delay in response time is no longer seen as a simple, excusable pause. Instead, it is increasingly interpreted as a negative indicator.
When a candidate isn’t kept engaged, this sends a variety of signals:
Lack of interest: search is not a priority
Poor professionalism: company lacks commitment, organization, and respect for the candidate’s time
Negative Feelings: passive rejection, frustration, and disappointment
Speed shows up in very specific ways:
How quickly qualified candidates are contacted
How fast first conversations are scheduled
Whether the interview process respects the candidate’s time
How smoothly in-person visits are coordinated
How clearly decision timing is communicated after interviews
In my recruiting work, one of the fastest ways to lose a top contender is silence. Candidates expect the same level of urgency from employers that they bring to the table. When days pass without updates, even strong interest fades.
Winning dealerships pre-block interview time, define who owns decisions, and communicates next steps clearly. They treat in-person visits like a sales close, not an afterthought. Even when a decision is still being made, regular updates keep candidates engaged and confident.
Speed is not about pressure. It is about professionalism.
If speed keeps candidates engaged, transparency is what builds trust.
There are far too many “not as advertised” situations happening in this industry. Candidates come to us after regularly encountering pay plans that do not align with conversations, benefits that were never fully explained, cultural issues that were downplayed, or operational challenges that surface only after day one.
Transparency means being open about the current state of the business, both its strengths and weaknesses.
That includes:
Where the store is performing well
Where the real pain points are
What kind of help is needed immediately
How the pay plan actually works, with real numbers
The employee share of health insurance premiums
Expectations for the first 30 to 90 days
Any known issues or surprises a new hire may encounter
Strong candidates are not afraid of problems. They are hesitant about problems leadership refuses to acknowledge.
One of the most important distinctions candidates make is between environments that are challenging but improving, and those that are challenging and unwilling to change. They can sense the difference quickly.
Transparency filters out the wrong candidates early and builds credibility with the right ones. It reduces costly misfires and creates alignment before an offer is accepted.
Dealerships that consistently land strong hires combine both. They move decisively, communicate clearly, and share the whole picture up front. As a result, candidates know what they are walking into, trust leadership sooner, and ramp faster once hired. These dealerships are not perfect. They are simply honest, organized, and willing to put more time, authenticity, and commitment into the hiring process.
As you move into the new year and set yourself up to bring on top talent, make sure your team understands that hiring in the powersports industry is no longer an administrative task. It is a competitive function directly tied to revenue generation and protection.
Dealerships that master speed and transparency reduce turnover, protect team morale, improve customer experience, and shorten productivity ramp-up. They spend less time recovering from misfires and more time building momentum.
The talent market did not break. It changed. Dealerships that adapt by moving faster and communicating more honestly will continue to win top talent. Those that do not continue to waste precious time and pay for hiring mistakes long after the offer letter is signed.
If you’d like to discuss your hiring challenges and 2026 goals, I can be reached at Jan@ACTION-Recruiting.com.
By Mark Sheffield
Contributor
Of all the new vehicles I’ve owned over the years, I’ve never once had to replace a set of brake pads. That’s not because I don’t drive much — it’s because of how I drive. I pay attention not only to the vehicle in front of me, but also to the ones in front of them. When I start to see brake lights ripple down the line, I’m already easing off the throttle. If I ever have to slam on my brakes, I see that as a
personal failure.
My wife is the exact opposite. There isn’t much middle ground. It’s either throttle or brake. She follows far closer than I’m comfortable with, and I’m fairly certain that over the years I’ve dented the imaginary passenger-side brake pedal in every car she’s owned. I don’t say much anymore — experience has taught me that commentary from the passenger seat is rarely appreciated — but that doesn’t stop my right foot from instinctively pressing into the floorboard.
Earlier this summer, we replaced her vehicle with a Toyota RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid. It’s not a full EV, but it does have a small battery that can be charged at home and delivers about 40 miles of electric-only range before the engine kicks in. For someone who makes lots of short trips, it’s a perfect setup.
A couple of weeks ago, she offered to drive me to the airport. Normally I’d take my own vehicle, but she wanted to show off the new RAV4, so I agreed. As we pulled away from the house and merged into traffic, I noticed something immediately: her driving was completely different.
Smoother, more deliberate. Less brake happy. Within a few miles, I finally asked the obvious question — what changed?
The answer wasn’t the vehicle itself. It was the feedback. To encourage drivers to maximize efficiency, Toyota has gamified the driving experience. Every time she pulls away from a stop, the system scores her on three behaviors: smooth acceleration, consistent cruising, and smooth braking. Each category receives a one-to-five-star rating. Brake too hard and you lose regeneration. Accelerate too aggressively and your score drops. Nail all three and you’re rewarded with a perfect five-star rating.
My wife is laser-focused on those stars.
She’s not trying to impress me. She’s not thinking about brake pad wear. She’s chasing a visible, real-time score. And in the process, Toyota has fundamentally changed how she drives — without lectures, without nagging, and without threats.
Which brings me to the point of this story: the same principle applies to how we run powersports dealerships.
For years, we’ve relied on static goals and after-the-fact reporting. A parts associate “hits their number.” A salesperson “meets quota.” A technician is told about their productivity at the end of the month. That information may be accurate, but it’s also late — and late feedback rarely drives behavioral change.
Performance improves fastest when people can see it. Better results come when performance is turned into a visible, ongoing contest — not just against a number, but against peers and against personal bests. Sales teams respond when closing ratios, accessory attachment, or follow-up compliance are ranked in real time. Technicians don’t want to be last on the productivity or efficiency dashboard. Parts teams engage differently when fill rates, average ticket, or special-order accuracy are visible throughout the day.
The key is immediacy. Too many dealerships still rely on manually updated spreadsheets or whiteboards that get refreshed once a week — or worse, once a month. That approach creates lag, skepticism, and disengagement. By the time the numbers are posted, the opportunity to adjust behavior has already passed.
This is where modern dashboards change the game. Companies like Vision AST provide real-time dashboards and widgets that update multiple times per day, pulling directly from the DMS. The data isn’t massaged, delayed, or selectively presented. It’s simply there — visible, objective, and hard to ignore.
When employees have access to this kind of feedback, the results are often immediate. Salespeople adjust follow-up behavior the same day. Technicians self-correct without a manager ever having to intervene. Parts teams start competing in ways that raise overall performance instead of dragging it down.
Just as important, the conversation changes. Instead of managers playing “gotcha” with reports, the data becomes a shared reference point. Coaching becomes easier, more objective, and far less emotional. High performers receive recognition. Underperformers know exactly where they stand — and why.
That said, dashboards alone don’t fix broken culture. Just like Toyota’s scoring system works because drivers understand what is being measured and why, dealership metrics need context. If you gamify the wrong behaviors, you’ll get the wrong results. If the numbers aren’t trusted, the system will be ignored. And if leadership uses visibility as a weapon instead of a coaching tool, engagement will disappear just as quickly as it arrives.
But when done correctly, performance visibility creates alignment. It encourages smoother operations, better decision-making, and fewer “slam on the brakes” moments across the business. And just like my wife’s RAV4, it proves that sometimes the fastest way to improve performance isn’t through more rules or pressure — it’s through clear, real-time feedback that makes people want to do better.
Turns out, a few stars on a screen can go a long way.
In today’s powersports industry, every dollar counts and warranty reimbursements can make or break your service department’s profitability. While these payments are meant to cover the cost of parts and labor for warranty work, navigating the process isn’t always straightforward. Missed deadlines, incomplete documentation, or failure to leverage state laws can leave money on the table. The good news? With the right strategy, you can turn the warranty reimbursement process from a frustrating administrative chore into a powerful profit driver. Below are practical strategies to help dealerships maximize reimbursement rates and streamline operations.
Most state franchise statutes require manufacturers to reimburse dealers at retail rates for warranty parts and labor, even if your Dealer Agreement says otherwise. However, these laws aren’t automatic. Review your state’s franchise law to confirm whether you are entitled to retail rates for parts and/or labor. If you qualify but are not receiving retail rates, you should consider submitting a formal request to the manufacturer to establish your retail rate for both parts and labor.
Take time to review your posted retail labor rate and parts markups against the manufacturer’s warranty reimbursement rates.
Labor: Review recent customer-pay repair orders to identify gaps between your retail rate and the warranty rate.
Parts: Calculate your average retail markup and gather supporting documentation. Many state franchise statutes include formulas for determining retail parts rates. You should review and know these calculations before making a formal request. Accuracy and compliance are key.
Accurate and thorough documentation is the backbone of a successful warranty reimbursement process. Ensure all repair orders are complete, accurate, and properly coded. Include invoices, rate sheets, and any required summaries to support your submission. Assign a dedicated team member to oversee warranty submissions for accuracy and completeness. Errors or omissions can lead to costly delays or outright rejection.
Your service team must understand the importance of accurate coding and documentation. If you are not doing so already, you should conduct regular training sessions to reinforce best practices and compliance requirements. When OEMs update their processes, review changes thoroughly with your team. The designated warranty reimbursement team member can take the lead on training with your oversight.
Missing submission windows can cost dealerships thousands. Create a calendar to track deadlines for submissions and make it part of your workflow. Integrate the warranty reimbursement process into the day-to-day workflow of the dealership.
Create a single database for all warranty-related activity. A centralized log helps prevent duplicate submissions, missed claims, and confusion across departments. You should consider including claim numbers, submission dates, approval status, payment dates, and any OEM communication on the warranty log. A warranty log helps improve accountability, speeds up audits, and ensures your team can quickly resolve discrepancies.
OEMs frequently update their warranty reimbursement policies, submission requirements, and timelines. Staying informed is critical. Ensure you are receiving and reviewing OEM bulletins and newsletters. Assign a team member to monitor updates and communicate changes internally. Review policy changes promptly to avoid compliance issues or missed opportunities for higher reimbursement rates. Being proactive ensures you never fall behind on new requirements that could impact your profitability.
Effective warranty reimbursement is a critical business strategy, well beyond a simple compliance necessity. Every additional dollar captured flows directly to your bottom line, helping cover fixed costs and maintain technician pay. In today’s competitive powersports market, optimizing this process can turn a routine administrative task into a strategic profit center. By understanding the rules, auditing rates, documenting thoroughly, training staff, and leveraging expert support, you can make warranty reimbursement work for you.
Article courtesy of Hilary Holmes Rheaume, Esq., Attorney at Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson, P.A., Manchester, New Hampshire. She can be reached at hrheaume@bernsteinshur.com, or (603) 665-8839.
After spending years on the dealer side of the desk, I learned quickly that winter was never downtime. It was the time to fix what needed fixing, build better processes, and make decisions that would show up once the season started. That mindset also applies to risk management.
As we head into 2026, there is real reason for optimism. Not because risk has gone away, but because preparation consistently leads to better outcomes.
Resolution No. 1: Treat risk planning like any other dealership process. Every successful dealership runs on process. Sales has one. Service has one. Parts and accounting have them as well. Risk planning should be no different.
When risk management is built into daily operations, it prevents problems instead of reacting to them. Clear expectations, training, and accountability reduce injuries, limit property damage, and keep small issues from turning into claims.
Resolution No. 2: Winter is the right time to evaluate who represents your dealership in the insurance market and how that relationship works.
Dealers should use this slower season to interview brokers and understand how they approach the powersports space. Ask how they prepare submissions, how they communicate with underwriters, and how they support clients when claims occur. This is not about shopping quotes. It is about choosing a long-term partner.
Your broker works for you. They should be utilized the same way you rely on your attorney or CPA, as an advisor who understands your business, challenges assumptions, and helps you get real return on investment from your insurance premium.
Resolution No. 3: Understand event exposure and what your garage policy does and does not cover. Events drive traffic and community engagement, but they also introduce risk that is often misunderstood.
Dealers should clearly understand what their garage policy does and does not cover as it relates to events throughout the year. In some cases, separate event policies may be required to ensure proper coverage.
Winter planning is the time to review your event calendar, identify coverage gaps, and clarify responsibilities, so there are no surprises once the season begins.
Resolution No. 4: Build strong documentation and review it regularly.
Documentation is not about pleasing underwriters. It is about running a disciplined operation. Incident reports, training records, safety procedures, and building updates should be consistent and reviewed regularly. Clean documentation reflects a dealership that understands its risk and manages it intentionally.
There are encouraging signs heading into 2026. I am beginning to hear more underwriters exploring the powersports industry, which could bode well for all of us over time. Dealers who build strong processes, keep loss runs clean, and prepare before the season begins will be the ones who benefit most.
And if nothing else, doing this work in January is still better than trying to explain it to an underwriter in July.
That alone might be worth keeping this New Year’s resolution.
Zach Materne is a risk consultant specializing in powersports dealers for Apiar Commercial Risk Management / Cell Brokerage Risk Management Group. LA Resident License #871096 | Cell Brokerage CA LIC. #0G83985 | NPN #14775635