16 • July 2026 • Powersports Business

BY BRENDAN BAKER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

As powersports dealers continue navigating a post-pandemic market, one thing has become increasingly clear: success is no longer about simply having inventory on the showroom floor. Dealers today face mounting pressure from aging inventory, shrinking margins, technician shortages, rising customer expectations and rapidly evolving technology.

In this environment, some dealers are thriving while others are struggling to maintain profitability. According to industry leaders Mark Sheffield, advisor for Woods Cycle Country and board member of NPDA; Gart Sutton, founder of the Best Operators Club; and Donavon Facey, moderator and consultant at NCM Associates, one of the biggest differentiators is participation in a 20 Group.

Photos from GSA’ s Best Operators Club.

While 20 Groups have been part of the powersports industry for decades, their value may be greater today than ever before. Through financial benchmarking, peer accountability and the sharing of best practices, these groups help dealers identify opportunities, solve problems and improve profitability in ways that are difficult to achieve alone.

SEEING NUMBERS THAT MATTER One of the greatest advantages of a 20 Group is access to performance benchmarks. Many dealers know whether sales are up or down, but fewer understand how their financial performance compares to similar dealerships across the country. A 20 Group provides that perspective.

“ Twenty percent of dealers lose money every year,” Sheffield says.“ A lot of owners simply don’ t know what good looks like until they see the numbers.”

Sutton agrees, arguing that understanding dealership financials remains one of the most important skills an owner can develop.

“ Dealers who are fluent in their own financials make better decisions in every area of the business,” Sutton says.“ Measure yourself against benchmarks and hold managers accountable to specific metrics.”

Facey says the highest-performing dealers focus on key measurements such as gross profit per employee, return on average inventory( ROAI), combined front- and back-end margins, and fixed operations sales as a percentage of unit sales.

Those metrics often reveal opportunities that aren’ t visible when owners focus solely on sales volume.

In fact, data from NCM Associates shows top-performing dealerships are keeping nearly 9.8 % net profit compared to an industry average of 5.4 %. Surprisingly,

the difference isn’ t driven by dramatically higher vehicle margins.

“ When we compare our top 20 % dealers to the industry average, new-unit margin is only about one point different,” Facey says.“ The bigger difference is inventory productivity and operational execution.”

That kind of insight is why benchmarking matters. It helps dealers understand where profit is truly being created— and where it is being lost.

INVENTORY DISCIPLINE Inventory remains one of the most discussed topics in 20 Group meetings across the country. Following the pandemic-era boom, many dealerships became accustomed to receiving limited inventory and selling nearly everything they had. Today’ s environment is far different.

“ Inventory normalization is still the dominant conversation,” Sutton says.“ Dealers got comfortable during the pandemic boom and are now sitting on aged units while carrying floorplan costs that are eating into margins.”

The most successful dealers have responded by becoming more disciplined. Facey says top-performing dealerships operate from data-driven budgets and inventory plans. They understand how much inventory they can afford and focus on stocking the right products at the right time.

“ They aren’ t afraid to negotiate with manufacturers to keep inventory levels healthy and prevent floorplan costs and aging inventory pressure from eroding margins,” Facey says.