Walking in your Shoes
Automotive

Enquiry Management – Fix the Follow-Up, Unlock the Future

If there’s one topic that’s been talked to death in automotive retail, and yet still causes major leakage in results, it’s enquiry management. We’ve both seen the tools. The CRMs. The automated SMS systems. The follow-up scripts and prospecting templates. But despite all that, many dealerships still struggle with the basics: logging, tracking, and following up with every single opportunity. Why? Because enquiry management isn’t a software problem — it’s a leadership and habit problem. At its core, enquiry management is about Giving every lead the attention it deserves Having clear standards on who follows up, when, and how Making sure nothing falls through the cracks, especially when things get busy Training your team to treat every enquiry like a potential delivery, in other words cash in the bank From a customer’s point of view, the experience of being ignored

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Walking in your Shoes
Automotive

Fixed Operations – The unsung hero of dealership profit and where tomorrow’s buyer lies in wait….

In many dealerships, the front-end of the business gets all the attention. New car sales, advertising campaigns, closing rates, these are the visible battlegrounds. But anyone who’s been in the game a while knows: if your fixed operations aren’t right, the rest doesn’t matter. Service and parts are your profit stability engine. They’re less volatile, more consistent, and, when managed properly, can not only smooth the bumps in any market they can be the greatest source of repeat business you have. But here’s what we’ve noticed working with dealerships across the country - fixed operations too often become the “quiet corner” of the business. If there aren’t customer complaints, leaders assume things are fine. But dig a little deeper and you’ll often find Labour recovery slipping month-on-month Lost parts sales or stock control issues Unacceptable Work in Progress levels that

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Walking in your Shoes
Customer Service

Customer care – More than just a smile

Ask any dealership team whether they care about customers and the answer is almost always “oh yes, of course we do.” But when you dig beneath the surface, when you walk the showroom floor, sit in reception, or listen to follow-up calls, the truth is often very different. Look we know that some customers can be difficult, and they can cause dramas, but what is important is that most of them are good people who just want to be looked after (by you and your team if you are up for it!) and yet, we often treat the good ones, like we do the difficult ones, not so well. We’ve walked into dealerships where the sales team is buzzing and professional, but the receptionist seems fed up. Or where the service team is under the pump, phones ringing off the

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Walking in your Shoes
Automotive

Key Staff Retention – Your people make your business

When things get tough in a dealership, it’s rarely the cars or the process that break first, it will be your people. We’ve both seen it first-hand: key staff burning out, quietly walking out the door, or mentally checking out while still on the payroll. And very often, it’s not the “poor performers” who go first, it’s your best ones. The people who prop everything up. The ones everyone turns to when things go wrong. The cost of losing these team members goes far beyond recruitment fees. It shows up in lost sales, service delays, frustrated customers, and pressure on the rest of the team. And when the market is tight, like it is now, replacing talent isn’t easy or quick. One of the biggest red flags in any dealership is over-dependence on a handful of people. If there’s only

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Walking in your Shoes
Automotive

Leadership in the Modern Dealership

It used to be enough to be the sharpest voice in the room. The one who knew the numbers, called the shots, and made sure the team “knew who was boss.” But the modern dealership does not respond to that kind of leadership the way it once might have. In fact, we have seen it push good people away. So leadership in the modern dealership is required. Today’s top performers do not want a commander — they want a coach. Someone who is in it with them. Someone who listens. Someone who earns their respect through action, not just tenure. Leadership in 2025 is not about being the loudest, or the first to point out what went wrong. It is about creating an environment where people feel safe to improve, where wins are shared, and where the bar is high

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Walking in your Shoes
Automotive

Key Questions for Dealership Leaders

It is easy to get buried in the day-to-day — stock levels, deliveries, CSI surveys, and the relentless pressure of targets. But every now and then, it is worth stepping back to ask a few deeper questions. Not to tick a box, but to recalibrate. We’ve both had those moments — sitting in an empty showroom on a quiet Tuesday, wondering why things that used to work do not hit the mark anymore. Read the key questions for dealership leaders as below-   Key Questions for Dealership Leaders Here are some of the questions we have found most powerful in helping leaders reset and refocus: - Is the culture in your dealership one you’d want to work in? - Are your consultants clear on what a great customer experience actually looks like? - Does your team have clarity on what’s

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Walking in your Shoes
Automotive

A New Market Reality

Let us be clear, today’s retail auto market is not broken. It has just evolved. What we are seeing now is a dealership landscape where pressure has become constant. Consumer confidence is shifting. Digital leads are rising. Margin compression is the new normal. And yet, many dealership teams are still operating without the structure needed to respond with clarity and control. This is not about effort. Most dealers are working harder than ever. It is about alignment. We have found that many dealerships are missing a unified, high-performance culture across departments. Process discipline has frayed; training is inconsistent or missing altogether. And when everything is moving fast, those gaps start to show quickly. So, what does success look like now? It is not about reinventing the wheel. It is about returning to core operational disciplines and executing them with excellence.

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Walking in your Shoes
Automotive

Surviving and Thriving in the Australian Auto Industry

SURVIVING AND THRIVING IN THE AUSTRALIAN AUTO INDUSTRY (And why doing “what we’ve always done” just doesn’t work anymore) Margins are tighter. Costs are rising. And with **more than 80 brands** now competing in the Australian market, the pressure is relentless. Many dealerships are running lean…but not necessarily smarter. Here’s what we’re seeing and hearing: ·      Staff turnover stripping away experience ·      Process discipline eroding ·      Sales, Service, and Finance & Insurance working in silos ·      Enquiries slipping through the cracks (despite having all the tech) But it’s not all doom and gloom. Tough markets force clarity. They strip out noise, and for dealers willing to re-anchor around the fundamentals, this is a chance to lead stronger than ever. That’s why we’ve launched Walking in Your Shoes – Lessons in Real World Dealership Leadership. Written by Derek McIlroy and Greg Officer, co-owners of Fusion

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Walking in your Shoes
Automotive

Walking in your Shoes – An Introduction

Walking in your Shoes is a weekly blog for Australian motor dealers, written by former dealers who understand the real-world challenges you face. Each short post tackles ongoing and emerging issues—from margin pressure and rising costs to staff turnover and lost dealership expertise—with practical insights from people who have been in your shoes. In today’s changing market, staying ahead means staying grounded.

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The Hidden Cost of Poor Training in Dealerships: Why New Staff Fail and How to Fix It
Automotive

The Hidden Cost of Poor Training in Dealerships: Why New Staff Fail and How to Fix It

In today's competitive automotive market, developing in-house sales talent has become crucial for dealerships. While many prefer this approach over hiring experienced salespeople from competitors, the high attrition rate among new sales recruits remains a persistent challenge. Understanding why this happens—and how to fix it—can transform your dealership's hiring success rate. The Real Challenge: Beyond Initial Onboarding Most dealerships face two critical hurdles in their training process: Ineffective recruitment and induction procedures Insufficient ongoing support and development While both factors matter, our research shows that the second issue typically causes more damage. Many dealerships invest heavily in initial onboarding but fall short in providing continuous development opportunities—essentially setting their new hires up for failure. Why Traditional Training Methods Fall Short The Current Approach Most dealerships follow a standard pattern: Basic onboarding (company policies, introductions, basic procedures) Handoff to Sales Managers

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