When Automotive Consultants Help and How to Hire One
Automotive consultants range from seasoned operators who can turn a department around to speakers with a slide deck. Before a dealer hires one, it pays to be clear about the problem, the kind of help needed, and how success will be judged.
What a consultant can and cannot do
A good consultant brings three things: an outside view of your operation, experience from many other stores, and the time to focus on one problem without running a department. That combination can spot what your team is too close to see.
What a consultant cannot do is manage your people for you. Recommendations only work if your managers carry them out after the consultant leaves. If the store is not ready to change how it operates, the report will sit in a drawer.
Signs you need outside help
- A department has missed its own past performance for several months and the manager cannot explain why.
- You are opening or acquiring a store and need processes built quickly.
- A key manager has left and the replacement needs structure.
- You suspect a problem in pay plans, expenses or process but lack the time to dig in.
- Your managers disagree about the cause and you need a neutral read.
If none of these apply and the issue is simply effort, a consultant is an expensive way to deliver a message you can deliver yourself.
Know the types
The word covers very different services. Match the type to the need.
- Operations consultants review the whole store or a department: staffing, process, expenses, pay plans.
- Sales and finance trainers work with your people on skills and process, often in the showroom.
- Fixed operations specialists focus on service and parts efficiency, pricing and retention.
- Marketing advisors review your spend, your vendors and your lead handling.
- Peer groups are not consultants in the strict sense, but comparing your numbers with similar dealers can answer many of the same questions.
Be careful with anyone who claims to be expert in all of these.
Interview like you are hiring a manager
- What stores like mine have you worked with, and may I call two of those dealers?
- What did you do in a dealership before consulting?
- How do you diagnose a store before recommending anything?
- What will you need from my team, and how much of their time?
- What will I have in hand when the engagement ends?
- How do you measure whether it worked?
Call the references and ask what changed in their numbers and whether the change lasted.
Write a clear scope
Put the engagement on paper before work begins. A useful scope covers:
- The specific problem being addressed.
- The measures that will be tracked, with starting values from your own statement.
- What the consultant will deliver and when.
- Who in the store is responsible for carrying out each recommendation.
- How and when either side can end the arrangement.
Have counsel review the agreement, especially confidentiality terms covering your financial and customer data.
Advice or execution
Some problems need advice. Others need someone to do the work. If your issue is that the showroom needs more appointments, a study will tell you what you already know. In that case a partner who executes may serve you better than one who advises.
That is the difference between a consultant and a done-for-you service. Willowood, for example, does not consult on marketing. It runs Facebook Sales Events for 600+ dealer partners, and its live, US-based, bilingual BDC books the set appointments by Messenger, text and email. Decide which kind of help the problem calls for before you start interviewing.
Frequently asked questions
How long should an engagement last?
Long enough to diagnose, implement and confirm the change held. Set a review date at the start and decide then whether to continue.
Should the consultant work with managers or only the dealer?
With the managers. They carry out the plan, so they need to be part of building it.
What if my team resists?
Explain why you brought in help and what you expect. Resistance usually fades when managers see that the dealer is committed and the goals are clear.
See what an event would look like for your store
Willowood Ventures runs Facebook Sales Events for 600+ dealer partners and manages $4 million per month in social advertising. Dealers see approximately 800% average ROI, and 90% of them rebook. Book a demo and we will walk through your market, your inventory and your set appointment target.
