Service Management: Machinery Dealer Manager's Handbook (Master's Program in Dealer Management)

Why I Wrote This Book The Service Manager's job is the most challenging in a machinery dealership. The customer doesn't call you unless there is a problem. Ownership wants more profitable service sales but how do you do that? This book is based on my 45 years of working with world-class machinery dealers. We studied what they measure to manage their operations. These essential management processes and tools are presented in easy-to-understand sections. The purpose of this book then is to assist the machinery dealer Service Leader to improve personal and operations performance, become a more skillful technical leader, and achieve the expectations of both dealer ownership and valued end-user customers. Managing a profitable, growing Service Operations is dependent on five areas of skills and knowledge all covered in this book: Service Business Management Service Operations Management Service Leadership and Supervisory Management Development Aftermarket Sales and Marketing Management Customer Service & Retention Service Business Management covers an understanding of the Critical Profit Variables. These are financial performances that matter. We want to know what they are and how to manage them. We examine the scores of high-profit dealers. You assess your own business. What should your labor sales and profitability be? What are the areas most need improvement? Service Operations Management is about the process of delivering high-quality maintenance service at the least cost. Yet, technical support must be effective in terms of meeting and exceeding customer expectations. Effective operations management reduces heartburn, and frustration and moves the team out from reacting to random events that cause havoc. The most important proactive steps to break out of firefighting are to improve off-shelf parts availability and initiate an effective customer-wide fix-before-fail maintenance strategy. Leadership Management is an essential skill. Yet, in thousands of workshops, I find that less than 1 in 100 Service Leaders receive any supervisory training. This core competency would greatly enhance your prospects for success. Those dealers who take effective corrective action gain an incredible competitive advantage. Aftermarket Marketing and Sales Management is about developing a thorough understanding of your customer base, its needs, and expectations. This knowledge enables the Service Manager to properly price and promote maintenance capabilities and grow a profitable business. This market knowledge helps anticipate customer concerns and offer practical solutions. The aftermarket marketing effort must maximize financial revenues and profits. It is not as complicated as you might think. There is a host of relatively easy, cost-effective, field-proven marketing and sales tools available. Customer Service and Retention is about delivering maintenance support at such a high level of competency the end-user will happily consider your dealership their preferred vendor. Aftermarket product support is your most effective competitive weapon. Delivering quality service that delights and retains customers is a key responsibility. Keeping them happy is not as difficult as you might think. We will explore steps that can be taken to ensure that customer expectations are being met. In this text, you will find many, many ideas, programs, processes, best practices, performance measurements, and problem-solving tools. Utilize the ones that best fit your operations.