By Jacob Berry
Contributor
If your parts counter looks the same this month as it did last month, your customers notice. In a recent conversation with Phoenix Handlebars founder Jason Gearld, we dug into simple, repeatable moves that make a parts department feel alive and worth visiting.
Riders do not want a math problem at the counter. Too much can be too much. The lesson for dealers is to reduce identical options and create a good, better, and best display that a parts associate can explain in under 30 seconds. Clear options increase confidence and speed up the sale.
Customers walk in for two reasons. To see what is new and to see what is on sale. Put new products where feet stop. Place a small, rotating “New this month” feature within arm’s reach of the entry path and the checkout. Photograph that display weekly and share it on your site and social posts so customers expect fresh gear when they visit.
A quick walk to a bike with the product in hand sells more than a thousand words from the register. Train parts pros to step out, fit the bar pad or grips visually, and invite the rider to sit on a floor unit to feel the difference. Real contact creates real value.
You can teach a point-of-sale system. You cannot teach someone to love motorcycles. When you post jobs, use plain language and invite riders to apply even if they have not worked a counter before. State the schedule, pay range, training path, and your dealer’s riding culture. If you lack inbound candidates, list roles on Motorcycle Industry Jobs where motivated riders already look.
AIMExpo and regional events are not just for photos. Set five vendor meetings and track outcomes like display support, staff training, and co-op. Bring those wins back to your floor so customers see what changed. A good show plan improves your in-store story for months.
When the visit feels like a chore, riders delay purchases. When it feels like a candy store, they bring a friend. Small changes to choice, display, staffing, and vendor activity turn the parts department into a destination. That is how you defend traffic and gross in a market where customers can click to buy almost anything.
Check out this episode on the Dealership Fixit Podcast:
Youtube: youtu.be/whJZR50RVcg
Max Materne
Maybe it’s just me, but does it feel like everything is moving at warp speed?
Q1 is almost over and it feels like we just closed out December. Six months ago, might as well have been a different era. And lately, it feels like I’ve been force-fed every new tool, every new platform, every “this changes everything” breakthrough whether I asked for it or not.
Whatever the cause, one thing is undeniable: the pace of change, especially in software, is staggering.
AI has poured gasoline on an already burning fire. The tools we rely on are evolving in real time. Entire platforms are being rebuilt overnight. And now, with what people casually call “vibe coding,” you can spin up custom software almost instantly. The barriers that once slowed innovation aren’t just lowering, they’re disappearing.
The opportunity is incredible. But there’s a hard truth underneath it: you cannot evolve at the speed of technology unless your team evolves with you.
And that’s where most change efforts die.
At The Dealer Lab, our mission is to test what the dealership of the future could look like. That means experimenting with new processes, new staffing models, new pay plans, and new tools.
But here’s what I’ve learned: people don’t love constant experimentation. Especially when it touches their pay plan.
The biggest hurdle isn’t coming up with better ideas. It’s getting the team to embrace them. This is the work of change management. I’ve become convinced that people don’t resist change because they’re stubborn. They resist it because they don’t understand it, don’t believe in it, or don’t see themselves inside of it.
If my team doesn’t understand why we’re changing, they won’t care what I want to change. That realization forced me to build a framework I use every time we introduce something new. I call it DREAM.
Before I launch any new idea, I run it through five filters: Direction. Responsibility. Expectation. Accountability. Motivation. DREAM.
When a new idea is presented, people need the 30,000-foot view. Where are we going? Why are we going there? What does the future look like if this works?
This is the map. And I’ve learned you can’t just talk through it. You have to show it. I draw process maps. I sketch the flow. I connect dots visually. People follow pictures better than paragraphs. If they can’t see the destination, they won’t move toward it.
Once the vision is clear, roles must be clear. Think of a football coach installing a new play. After explaining the strategy, he doesn’t say, “Alright, let’s see what happens.” He assigns routes. Who runs where. Who blocks whom.
Change works the same way. Every new initiative needs names next to responsibilities. Not “the team.” Not “we.” Specific people owning specific actions. Clarity reduces friction.
Responsibility without expectation creates chaos. If I say, “You’re responsible for follow-up,” that’s vague. But if I say, “You will make three calls, log them this way, and send this templated message within 24 hours,” now we have something measurable and repeatable.
Expectations create consistency. And consistency creates trust across departments. When everyone knows what “done right” looks like, they stop worrying about whether others are doing their job.
With expectations must come measurement. Not punishment. Measurement.
Every role needs a scorecard. Not just lagging indicators like gross profit or total sales, but leading indicators that prove the process is being followed.
In football, players aren’t only judged on touchdowns. They’re graded on footwork, timing, assignments, execution.
If you want a process to stick, you must define how success is tracked. Otherwise, it becomes optional.
Finally, and this is the part most leaders forget: why would anyone care enough to stick with this new process?
What lights the fire? Yes, compensation can be a lever. But so can recognition. A public thank-you. A leaderboard. A team dinner. A goofy employee-of-the-month trophy. Even a Snickers bar.
The point isn’t what you use. The point is that you intentionally tie motivation to execution. If you want behavior to repeat, reward it.
Most ideas fail not because they’re bad ideas, but because they were never fully DREAMed through.
Leaders get excited. They announce the vision. They expect alignment. And then they’re confused when eyes glaze over.
I’ve been there. Halfway through explaining some grand idea, you can feel the room drifting. You’re mid-sentence, passionately describing the future, and suddenly you realize you sound like someone recounting a bizarre dream about flying naked through your old high school hallway while your teeth fall out.
Your audience isn’t inspired. They’re searching for an exit. That’s not a vision problem. That’s a communication problem. And that’s where the next framework comes in. Because even if you DREAM it well, you still have to present it in a way that people can receive it.
Next time, I’ll break down the second framework I use for that: the 6Is. If you’re going to build the dealership of the future, it won’t happen because you had a great idea.
It will happen because your team believed in it enough to change their behavior. And that starts with a DREAM.
For a powersports dealership, floored and non-floored inventory, along with company-owned vehicles, represent far more than what sits on the showroom floor. These assets are both financed and owned, and they drive cash flow, lender relationships, and day-to-day operations.
Dealer Inventory Coverage is designed to protect total inventory exposure, not just satisfy a floor plan lender. When structured correctly, it protects inventory and company-owned vehicles, supports lender confidence, and allows the dealership to recover quickly after a loss.
The key takeaway from the start: this coverage is about protecting assets first. Lender requirements are secondary.
Many dealers first encounter Dealer Inventory Coverage through what is commonly referred to as floor plan insurance. Floor plan companies typically require only a portion of the total credit line to be insured, often around 70 %.
That minimum requirement protects the lender, not the dealer. If limits are built solely around this percentage, the dealership may be materially underinsured.
Dealer Inventory Coverage must be structured around total exposure, including floored inventory, dealer-owned inventory, and company-owned vehicles. Anything less can create serious gaps.
Dealer Inventory Coverage is also known as Dealer Open Lot or Dealer Physical Damage coverage. Regardless of the label, the intent is the same: protect the dealership’s inventory and vehicle assets while meeting lender requirements.
This coverage applies to floored inventory, non-floored (dealer-owned) inventory, and in many policies, scheduled company-owned vehicles. It also includes physical damage to inventory and, in many policies, company-owned units involved in accidents.
There are two goals when structuring this coverage. The first is ensuring inventory and company-owned vehicles are properly insured against physical loss. The second is satisfying floor plan lender requirements. Meeting the second goal without addressing the first is where dealers get into trouble.
Dealer Inventory Coverage is designed to address real-world dealership risks, including fire and smoke damage, theft and vandalism, wind, hail, and severe weather, transit damage while inventory is being transported between dealership locations, physical damage to inventory and company-owned units involved in accidents, and false pretense or fraudulent sales.
Coverage applies to both on-lot and off-site inventory. Off-site coverage is often limited by distance or radius from the primary location, and trade shows, demo days, and temporary displays frequently require advance notice to underwriting for coverage to apply.
It is important to note that Dealer Inventory Coverage typically responds based on invoice value for new units and fair market value for used units. Claim settlements are tied to these valuation methods rather than retail pricing.
When determining limits, this needs to be taken into account. Limits should reflect minimum inventory levels, peak inventory levels, and average inventory throughout the year.
If coverage limits are understated, a co-insurance penalty may apply following a total or near-total inventory loss, even if the dealership technically complied with the floor plan lender’s insurance requirement.
Floor plan lenders require Dealer Inventory Coverage policies to name them as a loss payee so claim proceeds are applied to outstanding loan balances.
Dealers are responsible for ensuring inventory values are accurate and coverage remains aligned with actual exposure, especially during growth periods or seasonal inventory increases. When structured correctly, Dealer Inventory Coverage protects the lender’s collateral and preserves the dealership’s balance sheet.
Dealer Inventory Coverage can sometimes be purchased directly through a floor plan company. These programs typically cover only inventory that remains on the floor plan, often carry higher deductibles, and frequently exclude important coverage such as false pretense or fraudulent sales. Dealer-owned inventory and company-owned vehicles may also be excluded.
For many dealerships, integrating Dealer Inventory Coverage into a broader garage policy provides lower overall rates, broader coverage terms, higher limits, better deductibles, and more flexible structures aligned with how dealerships actually operate.
Common mistakes include insuring only to floor plan minimums, failing to adjust limits as inventory grows, overlooking off-site and event-related exposures, assuming standard property or auto policies fill the gaps, and ignoring flood or earthquake exclusions in high-risk areas.
Dealer Inventory Coverage is not just an insurance requirement. It is a core component of dealership risk management. When coverage is structured around total exposure rather than lender minimums, dealers are better positioned to protect their inventory, preserve lender relationships, and avoid surprises after a loss.
Zach Materne is a Commercial Property & Casualty 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
Jan Plessner
Having trouble finding good people? Are your recruiting efforts turning up lackluster results? How often have your hires looked perfect on paper, only to fall apart a few months later?
That exact scenario played out for us a couple of months ago. We located and submitted a strong candidate. Interviews went well. References checked out. The offer was competitive and accepted. The start date arrived, and things looked promising… until the wheels fell off.
The success or failure of a search isn’t determined solely by the recruiting professional’s capabilities. It is heavily influenced by the hiring organization’s behavior, culture, preparation, expectations, and level of commitment.
You can’t bring on a recruiter to fix problems beyond their reach. That assumption is where many searches go sideways.
The right recruiter or agency is responsible for delivering top talent, but successful recruiting is not a transactional purchase. It’s a collaborative team effort.
You can’t outsource a new and improved company culture. The following are all internal issues that only the hiring organization can acknowledge, address, and fix:
Lack of proper onboarding
Toxic employees
Someone knowingly on the take
Someone in management with a substance abuse problem
Verbally abusive behavior
Organizational disarray
Absence of performance coaching
These are not recruiting failures. They are leadership and operational challenges.
Here are three big fails I’ve witnessed in my 13 years of recruiting.
The dealer principal and the GM were not aligned. The new hire arrived on day one only to discover the outgoing employee had never been terminated — and wasn’t going to be. That’s a problem not even the best recruiter can fix.
A candidate was recruited and hired for a specialized skill set, then placed into a menial role with no clear path toward the work they were hired to do.
A rockstar was hired for a commission-driven role based on numbers the dealership simply could not achieve.
Each of these examples has one thing in common: the recruiting process worked. The breakdown happened after the hire entered the building.
Recruiters can identify, qualify, and close strong candidates. We can manage expectations, align compensation, and vet experience. But once a candidate becomes an employee, the outcome is no longer controlled by the recruiter — it is owned by the hiring manager and the leadership team.
This is where recruiting stops being a transaction and becomes a shared responsibility.
The most successful hires don’t happen because the recruiter got lucky. They happen because leadership stayed aligned, engaged, and accountable after the offer was signed.
When a strong candidate doesn’t succeed, it’s rarely because they lacked talent. More often, the environment failed to support them.
The good news is this: when leadership takes ownership of what happens after the hire, great people don’t just arrive — they stay, grow, and help move the business forward.