1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,920 The next big shift in consumer expectations is coming. 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:06,320 Are dealers ready? In this throwback episode, we 3 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:09,720 sat down with industry veteran Jared Byrd, the founder of 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:13,240 Rexburg Motorsports and now a leading voice in helping OEMs 5 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:16,680 and dealers adapt to the rapidly changing powersports market. 6 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:19,960 Jared shares his journey from growing a small town snowmobile 7 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:22,840 shop into a multi brand powerhouse and then making the 8 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:26,520 leap to the manufacturing side to help dealers nationwide. 9 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:29,960 We dug into where consumers expectations are headed next, 10 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:34,960 how unified commerce between OEMs and dealers could reshape 11 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:38,520 the buying experience, and what dealers can do right now to stay 12 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:42,040 relevant and of course profitable for mobile service 13 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:44,920 and same day delivery to rethinking your unit sales 14 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:47,400 process. This is a conversation packed 15 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:50,920 with actionable insights for any dealer who wants to thrive in 16 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:52,920 the next decade. So let's get into it. 17 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:58,600 Give us a bit of an overview for what listeners of the of the 18 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:01,800 podcast who are going to be dealership, whether they're 19 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:05,720 dealer principals, integers, workers at shops or maybe reps, 20 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:07,440 you name it. Anybody that interacts in 21 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:10,480 powersports is my sort of core audience and give them an 22 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:13,120 overview of kind of who you are and what you, what you got going 23 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:15,520 on and where you've been. Yeah, it's been a fun journey 24 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:18,880 and and a lot of it is intertwined in powersports. 25 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:24,520 I started as a young boy in Idaho riding in potato filled 26 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:30,080 when the snow fell on a 1979 cat Pantera. 27 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:33,880 So we'd go, me and my brothers would go RIP around in the snow. 28 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:38,000 And that's really that's that's kind of what there was to do in 29 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,600 the winter time in Idaho, in rural Idaho. 30 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:47,240 And so just just enjoyed that playing around in fields on the 31 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:50,760 old Hondas, you know, the ATC-90, the three Wheelers back 32 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:55,000 in the day that dates me. But but that's that was life in 33 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:59,120 rural Idaho. Fast forward to the the mid 90s 34 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:03,600 and Polaris. Polaris was had had a tough go 35 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,960 in the mountain snowmobile market with the introduction of 36 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:11,760 the 1996 Ultra RMK. It was kind of a pig. 37 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:14,840 It was a one hit wonder. But the next year they totally 38 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:19,280 redeemed themselves and that's luckily when our timing was 39 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:22,840 lucky when we started Rexford Motorsports with the 40 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:30,120 introduction of the 1997 Polaris 700 RMK and that was that was a 41 00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:33,640 fantastic snowmobile for mountain riding it. 42 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:38,360 It really helped us to have great product to launch the 43 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:41,440 business. So we were, we were a little, 44 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:48,240 little Polaris snowmobile ATV shop on Main Street, Rexburg, ID 45 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:52,240 and I'm just starting out with there were three of us, myself, 46 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:56,480 the manager of sales and we, we had a great mechanic. 47 00:02:56,480 --> 00:03:00,640 We went and found the best, best mechanic that that we could find 48 00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:03,280 in Southeast Idaho. And, and so that's how we got 49 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:05,240 started. We thought if we, if we can 50 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:09,800 offer outstanding service, build on the core of of that great 51 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:13,120 service, have some great products to sell, Hopefully we 52 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:17,400 can build this so we can sell 100 units a year was my goal. 53 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:22,360 So, so that's the, that, that's how I got started in the 54 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:25,520 business. And, and what was helpful for me 55 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:29,440 was growing up in my family's farm equipment dealership. 56 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:32,440 My granddad started an International Harvester 57 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:35,960 dealership in the, he's early 80s and my father and his 58 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:39,120 brothers took that over. And so I grew up in in the 59 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:45,480 dealership and to that help give me a foundation for selling and 60 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:48,440 servicing customers with with power sports. 61 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:51,400 But it was a lot more fun. It was a lot more fun. 62 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:55,640 So from there Rexford Motorsports grew organically for 63 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:58,800 a while. We quickly hit 100 units that in 64 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:03,080 a year and we grew that organically for a while and then 65 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,480 and then we started to experience bigger growth as we 66 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:10,960 acquired over time for other dealerships in town. 67 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,680 And so we that necessitated building a new facility. 68 00:04:14,680 --> 00:04:16,600 We wanted to operate everything together. 69 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:19,640 So we were one of the consolidators in the in the 70 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:24,600 early thousands as we acquired other dealerships and, and 71 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:30,200 brought in Suzuki was first I guess in the late 90s. 72 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:34,520 And then we brought in Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and we, we 73 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:37,840 ended up with all four lines of snowmobiles, which was which was 74 00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:42,480 unique to have all four lines of sleds in one location. 75 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:47,880 And, and so with all those brands, we built a, the facility 76 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:52,880 from the ground up, built a big service department and we went 77 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:57,720 from 100 minutes in a year to where we were doing a couple, 78 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:01,680 100 per month on average. And it was a lot of fun. 79 00:05:01,840 --> 00:05:07,760 It was a lot of lot of stress. But, you know, building that and 80 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:12,400 building a family, the Rexford Motorsports family, which to me 81 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:16,080 was the great employees and their families that gave their 82 00:05:16,080 --> 00:05:19,560 heart and soul to the business. And, you know, a lot of passion 83 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:24,280 and a lot of talent that that was, you know, something that I 84 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:28,040 had a lot of pride in was our people and then the family of 85 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:30,600 customers. And what we really did is 86 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:36,080 focused to, to grow and retain customers by focusing on the 87 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:39,680 customer experience. And, you know, so we can talk 88 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:43,800 about that later, but, but that's, that's really what we, 89 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:48,760 what we tried to do to set, set apart the business. 90 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:53,600 And we knew that we had to retain customers in, in order to 91 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:57,440 survive. In 2014, I decided, you know, I, 92 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:02,160 I had dropped out of college. I did a couple years to get as 93 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:04,960 much information I could as I could get the starter expert 94 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:08,480 Motorsports and, and it was helpful, but I ended up dropping 95 00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:15,240 out and, and I decided to, I wanted to finish my formal 96 00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:19,480 education and I wanted to pivot to the manufacturing side and 97 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:23,240 help help the industry at that level. 98 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:30,760 And so to do that, I, I sold out early 2015 and made a transition 99 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:36,280 and my first landing as I finished up my, my undergrad and 100 00:06:36,280 --> 00:06:40,760 then started the, the MBA program at Brigham Young 101 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:44,000 University in Utah. I started an executive MBA 102 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:46,160 program so that I could continue to work. 103 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:49,920 And so I was going down every other weekend on Fridays and 104 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:52,640 Saturdays for 14 hours of classes every other week. 105 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:57,120 I did that for two years. During that I was able to to 106 00:06:57,120 --> 00:06:59,640 work on the on the manufacturing side of the business do. 107 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:03,000 You feel like have as, you know, as we talked about that little 108 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,200 bit before, I was thinking like, man, I wonder if, you know, as 109 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:09,520 much as dealers feel like they, you know, have been missing out 110 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:12,160 on that and how, you know, Amazon's killing us that sort 111 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:16,600 of, you know, mentality that maybe I wonder if have they 112 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:19,600 almost been given a bit of a pass by their customers who 113 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:21,680 continue to deal with that fragmented process? 114 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:25,520 Cuz I don't know if consumers give, you know, normal other 115 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:28,800 consumables in their lives as much of A pass and are willing 116 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:30,320 to. I'm not willing to go to the, I 117 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:32,880 don't know, as we, we talked before, I'm not willing to go to 118 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:36,280 the phone store, you know, from my phone, you know, I, I, I look 119 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:38,760 online and so on and so forth. The next thing you know, I'm in 120 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:42,960 a chat conversation with a real or fake individual on a chat on 121 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:45,400 Verizon site and I've got a phone ship into my house. 122 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:47,560 Do you feel like? Yeah, I'm glad you brought that 123 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:48,880 up. Something, something that the 124 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:54,160 PTV or the golf car, as I was exposed to that a Textron with 125 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:56,200 easy go. Something those dealers are 126 00:07:56,200 --> 00:08:01,360 really, really good at is the concierge service where a dealer 127 00:08:01,800 --> 00:08:06,480 is, is set up to respond to pick up and delivery and mobile 128 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:11,720 services and, and powersports consumers are more likely, you 129 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:14,320 know, powersports users are much more likely to have their own 130 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:18,640 trailer where the owner of a golf car maybe doesn't. 131 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:22,600 But something because of that, it's necessitated that those 132 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:27,800 dealers that sell golf cars are, are really good at delivery and 133 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:30,480 pick up to customers in their local market. 134 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:35,240 And I, I think that there will be an increased demand for 135 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:40,559 customers in power sports to be able to identify quickly what's 136 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:44,680 in inventory so that they can, they can have a same day pick up 137 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:49,080 because same days still feel better than the new Amazon one 138 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:53,040 day Prime, right? So if I can, if I can on my 139 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:56,800 mobile device, see that a dealer has this in stock and I can get 140 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:01,040 it same day so that I can, I can get what I need for my ride this 141 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:06,800 weekend that that's better. The other thing that dealers 142 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:12,760 will need to get good at is the the mobile services or pick up 143 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:16,440 and delivery in a way that it's, it's not cumbersome that this 144 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:18,840 can be scheduled on a mobile device. 145 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:23,320 And dealers provide that hyperlocal service to be able to 146 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:27,240 respond with by bringing the product to you or bringing the 147 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:30,120 solution wherever you are, whether it's a storage unit at 148 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:33,800 your house, at work or whatever. So in the future, I think that's 149 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:38,360 critical dealers have will will likely have delivery 150 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:40,720 departments. Find a way to exceed that 151 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:43,480 expectation, provide that, get to that level of customer 152 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:45,680 experience where you're providing all that. 153 00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:48,080 And obviously then the conversation is a lot less about 154 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:50,000 just the dollar. And I know that some buyers are 155 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:52,480 just going to be about the dollar, but if you can make the 156 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:54,960 experience just out of, you know, in the stratosphere 157 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:57,960 compared to their expectations like that, you know, providing 158 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:00,280 whether it's a demo ride at their location, you haul the 159 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:01,880 truck out there, is there cost incurred? 160 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:03,920 Absolutely. Does it maybe change the 161 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:06,200 conversation about the purchase price? 162 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:08,600 Absolutely, in my opinion. I love that. 163 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:12,400 You know, one interesting point of a data point that we found in 164 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:18,600 our research was that about 2/3, two out of three power sports 165 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:25,920 owners preferred to purchase from a small Mon Pop dealership 166 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:30,880 where they could have, they had access to the owner operator, 167 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:33,120 right. And and that was interesting to 168 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:36,040 us. They also, as we dug deeper, 169 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:39,920 they were willing to pay a little more for the service. 170 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:42,640 Level so you're saying at the at the what's can what would be 171 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:45,840 perceived as a smaller where you could interact with the all 172 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:49,040 levels of ownership that would they be pay more there? 173 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:50,120 Yeah. Absolutely. 174 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:53,880 And they associated small amount and it doesn't mean that if 175 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:57,720 you're a if you're a large multi line dealership today, doesn't 176 00:10:57,720 --> 00:11:00,000 mean that you can't meet those expectations. 177 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,520 I think in some ways it can be harder. 178 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:06,560 But what they what what the customers associated that small 179 00:11:06,560 --> 00:11:11,920 mom pop dealership with was the the higher levels of of service 180 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:16,280 and support that they were, you know, they they're more likely 181 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:19,400 to go out riding with them. And if they, if they needed 182 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:24,280 something such as a bike delivered or a part after hours 183 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:29,000 that that service was, was something they highly valued 184 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:34,040 from that local shop. And so is there a way to instead 185 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:39,440 of having that available upon request or immediate need just 186 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:43,360 like the dealer that you gave the example of instead of that, 187 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:48,440 is there a way that we can turn that around and and dealers can 188 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:52,920 proactively market and enable customers to tap into those 189 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:56,080 services in a very simple way from from their mobile? 190 00:11:56,080 --> 00:12:01,080 Phone I wonder if any of them began to push back on thinking 191 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:04,240 maybe that what we're talking about is is dealers being maybe 192 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:07,040 excluded from the process and and the future's coming and the 193 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:08,560 dealerships won't be able to provide this. 194 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:11,080 In fact, I think what we're talking about and what you've 195 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:13,920 said is that you know there's going to be a shift dealers. 196 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:17,480 It's their opportunity to from their perspective as as well as 197 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:20,720 folks like you who, who you work with at the OEM level to connect 198 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:23,440 those two where the dealerships are not out, not outside the 199 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:25,920 process, but in fact engaged right into it because that's 200 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:28,040 what the consumers are are expecting. 201 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:30,440 Is that is that accurate? Yeah, absolutely. 202 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:35,120 I call it unified commerce. So where where the OEM unites 203 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:40,240 with the dealers and then create the harmonized customer 204 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:43,440 experience really. Yeah, you're, you're right on. 205 00:12:43,560 --> 00:12:48,200 And in that what this is what, what the important task to do 206 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:52,240 here, which is a difficult problem to solve because the the 207 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:57,400 OEM has to have to take a leadership role in this to 208 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:01,840 enable it. But the OEM need to unite with 209 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:06,800 the dealers to execute a digital marketing and selling strategy 210 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:11,080 and make sure that that the dealer services are always 211 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:14,840 offered fulfilled by the dealer. The online sales being fulfilled 212 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:20,560 by dealers through the OEM brand channel as well as aligning all 213 00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:24,320 of the dealer services that they have with with those online 214 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:25,720 sales. That we could be talking to 215 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:29,240 somebody who's a parts person or a service person or anybody 216 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:32,040 within the organization that may not kind of grasp where you're 217 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:34,360 talking about, is it? I don't know if it's even a 218 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:36,280 thing anymore. I think you had said something I 219 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:38,600 asked you before and I can't remember your answer on it, but 220 00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:42,840 I remember when I was a Scott Rep with Scott Sports, now it 221 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:46,520 was Scott USA and back then they were trying to do the Shopatron 222 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:48,240 deal, right? It was like we don't want to 223 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:49,520 exclude dealers from the process. 224 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:53,520 We want to plug dealers in, but we want to better help them plug 225 00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:55,960 into the audience that may be on the manufacturer's website and 226 00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:57,560 give that consumer that sort of experience. 227 00:13:57,560 --> 00:13:58,840 And I don't know where that ever went. 228 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:00,520 I wasn't with Scott, but for a few years. 229 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:02,960 Is that sort of the concept that we're talking just to kind of 230 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:06,200 make sure those folks know from a basic concept what what we're 231 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:09,080 talking about? No, The short answer is no, and 232 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:14,360 here's why. Is is a Shoppatron, I think, I 233 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:18,680 think they took it a step to offer a marketplace out to 234 00:14:18,680 --> 00:14:23,240 dealers where they could become a shipper or to fulfill products 235 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:26,520 ordered online. But there's still, it's still 236 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:31,520 not locally tied to the the services that dealers provide 237 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:36,640 locally, which is orientation of products, installation, repair, 238 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:41,040 mobile services, delivery, same day store pick up that that 239 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:45,760 enables really none of that. And so I think that's where we 240 00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:49,400 missed the mark. There's also no Shoppitron does 241 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:54,360 not enable the publishing dealer local dealer services. 242 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:58,080 Just like that picture hanging on the wall, no one knew that 243 00:14:58,080 --> 00:14:59,840 they offered this delivery service. 244 00:14:59,960 --> 00:15:03,680 Had a great time and there was a lot, a lot of real positive that 245 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:05,760 you shared in that article. It would you mind chatting about 246 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:06,840 that a little bit? Yeah. 247 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:12,640 So my takeaways from the AIM Expo this year were very clear 248 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:15,520 and I appreciate the leadership from the Motorcycle Industry 249 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:17,680 Council in their general session. 250 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:21,320 They laid it out and the challenge for the industry and 251 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:25,680 Harley-Davidson there objective is to increase riders in the 252 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:29,000 United States market by a million by I think 3. 253 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:33,520 And and this is the same pursuit that the Motorcycle Industry 254 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:35,640 Council seeks is to increase ridership. 255 00:15:35,640 --> 00:15:39,280 So what they did and they described this to to the dealers 256 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:42,640 and industry in the general session, but they outlined the 257 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:47,360 research project that they just completed to understand 258 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:51,520 different profiles of customers. So they created, created 259 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:55,560 personas and they looked at motorcyclist that ride consider 260 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:59,560 themselves riders, almost riders and then interested in becoming 261 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:03,280 a rider, but not a writer yet. And, and as you look at those 3 262 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:08,560 buckets and get a deep understanding of those customers 263 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:11,160 and what they're, what they're looking for and what it would 264 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:15,880 take to bring them along their journey to becoming a writer. 265 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:18,720 If they're not a writer, or if they, if they're, if they're 266 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:21,280 kind of a writer, if you get them writing more. 267 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:25,920 And there is, there's some big opportunity for us to achieve 268 00:16:25,920 --> 00:16:29,960 this as a industry. If we work together, if dealers 269 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:34,160 and manufacturers, distributors unite in this effort, there are 270 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:38,320 key things that we can do to delight, delight and help them 271 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:40,880 along their journey. So they, they call this the 272 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:45,800 culture code of motorcycling. And it helps understand, they've 273 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:49,520 helped us understand the behavioral science of what these 274 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:54,320 customer types are looking for. And it, it really aligns a lot 275 00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:59,560 with creating the experiences that that we're talking about, 276 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:03,640 we've been talking about today, creating experiences that just 277 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:08,400 make it being at a high level, making it super easy for someone 278 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:12,680 to become a writer. And, and then beyond that, 279 00:17:12,839 --> 00:17:18,960 helping them achieve the goals, the identity, the, the to come 280 00:17:18,960 --> 00:17:23,200 into the culture and create that culture that that motorcycling 281 00:17:23,319 --> 00:17:25,359 provides. And so that's what it that's 282 00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:30,800 what's exciting is that the focus of the MIC spot on that 283 00:17:30,800 --> 00:17:34,200 we've got to increase riders and they see that this is a big 284 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:37,640 collective effort. We need to educate, we need to 285 00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:42,480 provide better experiences and, and, and we, we have a deep 286 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:45,280 understanding of, of who those customers are. 287 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:48,320 I think, I think the dealers already know how they know the 288 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:51,360 your code because they live it. They're on the front lines every 289 00:17:51,360 --> 00:17:54,040 day on the MIC. We, we let them do the research 290 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:57,160 project, which they needed to do, which is great. 291 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:00,160 They can let the OEM's know, but I think the dealers kind of 292 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:03,000 already know they're out riding with their customers and they're 293 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:05,520 listening to them. And so they, they understand 294 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:08,880 this and they see new entrance coming in and what that looks 295 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:11,520 like. And, and so that that's really a 296 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:14,640 Amex spoke on that initiative was exciting for me. 297 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:18,400 I was disappointed that that wasn't broadcasted live to to 298 00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:21,480 everyone that wasn't there because it was what? 299 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:24,320 Do you kind of foresee as the best way for that to morph that 300 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:27,680 the other distributors get involved and plan to go next 301 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,360 year or the year after sort of thing or does AIM need to make 302 00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:33,640 multiple shows like a twice a year sort of well? 303 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:36,160 Look, it's never going to be the same as it was. 304 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:39,920 It's never going to be, you know, go go to your big booking 305 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:41,960 orders with Western Power and Tucker Rocky. 306 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:44,720 Some of them have their own shows and, and more of the 307 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:48,480 ordering, like I said, is, is done in the comfort of your, of 308 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,400 the parks manager's office where he has access to all the data 309 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:55,840 and history and, and, and videos and, and great content online. 310 00:18:56,040 --> 00:19:00,160 And so, yeah, I think, I think that it would be great for the 311 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:05,520 distributors to participate from a, an education and I think 312 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:08,280 interactive workshops. I, I talked to a dealer recently 313 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:11,000 that said, hey, I'm not going to do my booking orders there, but 314 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:14,840 come and let's do helmet workshops 5 minutes each so we 315 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:18,120 can learn about the, about the trends and the new products, 316 00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:20,720 give the deers information. So I don't think it's going to 317 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:24,280 be how it how it has been in the past, but we can do it in a way 318 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:27,000 that have tremendous. View, you know, from like from 319 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:29,560 your perspective now and interacting in a conversation 320 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:34,760 like this and then what you do daily on trying to wrap the OEM 321 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:40,080 level folks a heads around this sort of, you know, whatever this 322 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:42,360 is this sort of a plan or this sort of a shift. 323 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:45,440 What you know to the audience that's listening predominantly 324 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:48,120 dealership folks. What sort of things can we tell 325 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:51,000 them to start planning for, start thinking about, start 326 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:55,040 moving kind of toward? Yeah, no, that's that's you're 327 00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:58,480 exactly right, kind of my daily grind. 328 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:03,720 My pursuit is to and I'm kind of the evangelist and the proponent 329 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:07,400 of the the dealer and all this. But as I'm engaging myself and 330 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:12,200 my team, which I'll tell you the other, the other two partners on 331 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:15,960 in Hero Hub are a lot smarter than me. 332 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:19,400 I bring the context of the dealer, the retailer and the 333 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:22,400 industry to the picture, but I think you're a great team. 334 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:26,360 Their background in global technology and marketplaces is 335 00:20:26,360 --> 00:20:31,120 just an exciting thing to bring to an OEM at the executive 336 00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:34,800 level. And we actually actually perform 337 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:39,680 a one day workshop for executive teams where we'll walk them 338 00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:43,320 through that current landscape. And something that's always 339 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:47,240 surprising to these executive teams at the OEM level is how 340 00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:52,040 massive the business really is online and what what has been 341 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:56,280 missed in terms of volumes of OEM accessories and parts 342 00:20:56,520 --> 00:21:00,600 because the aftermarket has have made it easier to purchase their 343 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:02,640 products. And unfortunately that's been at 344 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:06,840 the expense of dealers as consumers have have not had the 345 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:14,280 option to buy OEM part in a way that you know, in in a way that 346 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:17,120 we're talking about to include the dealers and to provide high 347 00:21:17,120 --> 00:21:20,720 levels of service and support. The aftermarket businesses has 348 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:24,600 increased, the online business has dramatically increased and 349 00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:28,720 dealers and OEM's are feeling that weight or they're seeing 350 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:33,720 decline in their after sales business at the OEM level. 351 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:38,480 And I, I, I think there's some dealers that have have at least 352 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:42,600 seen, you know, lower growth rates or even declines in their 353 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:45,280 parts and accessory businesses. There's a way to reverse that 354 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:49,480 trend and delight customers. And so that's what that's what 355 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:53,760 our story is, that's what we like to do because we understand 356 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:57,240 that to pull this off, it's got to be a united effort. 357 00:21:57,320 --> 00:22:00,880 Dealers can't do it alone. They need they need the support 358 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:04,120 and leadership of the OEM. Is there anything that the lit 359 00:22:04,120 --> 00:22:07,360 the dealer folks listening now, maybe one or two? 360 00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:09,640 Do you have any sort of action steps or you should go do this 361 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:12,200 today or as soon as possible you should start planning for this. 362 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:15,800 Is there something that they can do to begin kind of either 363 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:19,440 wrapping their head around the process or actually moving to 364 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:21,960 where they're going to be more relevant when all these kind of 365 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:23,360 we start shifting? Yeah. 366 00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:27,520 I and I would say invest in the right places in your business 367 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:34,400 for for dealers that I talked to prepare for the next wave of 368 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:39,800 then the evolution in this online enabled retail dealers 369 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:44,520 play a critical role in in this next decade, but it's going to 370 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:47,280 look a lot different. So dealers will need to make 371 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:51,240 pivots and and those pivots would include investing more no 372 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:55,680 matter how service or in that you think you are invest and 373 00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:58,320 your service department. You know, I hear all the time 374 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:01,640 it's it's just too hard to hire technicians and dealers start to 375 00:23:01,640 --> 00:23:03,760 give up on the on the service business. 376 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:07,920 Fight, fight like hell to own the service business. 377 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:11,840 Build up a service center that the best service center, you 378 00:23:11,840 --> 00:23:15,160 know, become better than your automotive counterparts. 379 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:19,120 If you're if you're power sports and and invest in those service 380 00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:21,960 departments. The other thing is just really 381 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:27,000 dial in products that customers expect to pick up same day. 382 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:32,240 That's that's something that is is critical is that same day 383 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:37,520 pick up of of quick, you know, grab and go item. 384 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:40,280 That's so important. And if those items aren't there, 385 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:41,680 the customers expect to be there. 386 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:44,360 They don't expect you to have everything in stock, but the 387 00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:48,800 basic items they come in and it's not available next time 388 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:53,000 they're just going online. And so to really focus on that. 389 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:59,760 And then finally, the last thing with unit sales processes being 390 00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:03,240 making it easier. No matter how easy you think you 391 00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:07,080 think you've made it to buy a, a player's razor or a 392 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:09,920 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, however easy you think you've 393 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:12,960 made it, you've got to rethink everything and make it even 394 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:18,200 easier for the customer to make a purchase and to accommodate 395 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:22,480 and figure out that customer journey for the new rider and, 396 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:26,320 and what that looks like. So really focusing on that and 397 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:29,040 reinventing that process is really important. 398 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:33,960 Dealers will succeed if if there's going to be some pivot 399 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:37,800 though that that have to be made in order to provide the level of 400 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:41,280 service that customers expect. Thanks again for listening to 401 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:43,600 this lost tape of the Dealership Fix a podcast. 402 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:46,400 These guest interviews still hit hard and we're bringing them 403 00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:50,280 back re edited, sharpened up, and focused entirely on what 404 00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:54,280 matters, helping dealerships like yours improve, grow, and 405 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:55,960 win. If you got something out of this 406 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:58,720 one, hit that share button or forward it to a dealership 407 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:00,840 friend who needs it. And make sure you're following 408 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:04,280 the show so we can keep bringing you more content like this with 409 00:25:04,280 --> 00:25:07,480 combos with people shaping the power sports industry. 410 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:10,720 Catch you on the next. Still guessing what to pay on a 411 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:13,480 used bike? Still holding aged units that 412 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:16,280 just won't move? It's time for a real system. 413 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:20,520 Moto Hunt's Ultimate Used Inventory Playbook shows how the 414 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:24,000 best dealers are finding better inventory, pricing, trades 415 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:28,480 right, and turning used bikes faster, with fewer mistakes and 416 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:32,040 more margin. It's short, real, and free to 417 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:36,360 download right now. Visit dealers.motohunt.com to 418 00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:39,240 grab your copy or check for the link in the notes.