Motorcycle & Powersports News Podcast

While powersports dealers may be overwhelmed trying to keep up with demand, Robert Grant discusses how Lightspeed gives dealerships innovative tools to help them manage, along with solutions to increase profitability.

MPN spoke with Keith Mait about how Synchrony’s financing program benefits dealers and their customers and other solutions that add more financing power.

Having trained over 15,000 sales, management and finance professionals, John Furhman looks back on his career in the powersports industry and gives listeners words of wisdom from his area of expertise before he begins his retirement.

What are you doing to determine your income for 2021? Suppose there isn’t going to be any dealer training. How will you earn what you want to earn? Imagine the rest of the staff just wanting to enjoy the life. How can you increase your earnings? Interesting questions. Yet, the one that must be asked every year, is the one that’s often missed, ignored or deliberately avoided. What are you willing to do differently to earn the income you want to earn?

MPN's Editor-At-Large, Brendan Baker, talks with Automatic Distributors President, Jeff Graham, and their new Sales and Marketing Director, Paul Davis, about the company's history, how they're adapting to the pandemic and their method to success.

Bob Ladd owned Shenandoah Harley-Davidson from 1998 to 2011. Under new ownership, the dealership permanently closed its doors in August 2020. Community members gathered together to create a petition to bring Bob back into the dealership business.

If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you know there will be ups and there will be downs. Most dealers can do well when business is booming. Those who really prosper do business when others say there’s no business.

Over the last four years, ARGO initiated a strategic plan, led by President and CEO Brad Darling, with the intentions to significantly grow the business. As a result, the Canadian-based brand doubled their team by adding industry veterans, combined with ARGO’s already seasoned staff to drive their brand to success. The ARGO team was prepared to take on the unexpected and “Go Anywhere” to overcome obstacles, even in the face of a pandemic.

When someone asks you about a task not complete or you’re sitting by yourself wondering why things didn’t get done, do you say, “I just didn’t have time today.” If it happens more than a few times, it can become very stressful. And we all know stress can lead to poor performance and even health issues. What would it be like to take total control of time? And, it only takes 15 minutes a day.

Powersports enthusiasts turned owners of G-Force Powersports, Brent Flambures and his wife Beth run a well-oiled machine in Lakewood, CO, even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are cycles in everything. Weather, economies, business and even health. But it’s what you do during these cycles that can help keep your business performing at a very high level. When it comes to marketing, there is power in postage.

Whether it’s sales, service, management or administrative training, there is a value and an “attraction” to investing in your people. Consistent investing always produces a positive return on that investment. Especially over time. Now, how does Universal Law fit here? Actually, itfits perfectly. For those who are consistently investing in their people, they are seeing a much more positive return on that investment.

Powersports vehicle manufacturers have moved all in with the use of electronic control units (ECUs) to manage and monitor the operation of the vehicle. This allows for better efficiency and performance, as well as on-board diagnostics systems that can be utilized for repair and maintenance. If you are not using an advance diagnostic tool today, then in most cases, it makes it nearly impossible to provide complete service on today’s vehicles. Listen to learn more about why using a diagnostic scan tool is essential for a powersports technician.

In today’s technology-filled world, we are surrounded by data, which influences to how we make decisions in our day-to-day lives. When it comes to running our dealerships, our databases could hold the key to improved marketing strategies that could better the customer experience.

With the first quarter results in from major OEMs, the impact of the coronavirus has created a rippling effect that will reflect well into the remainder of the year.

John Fuhrman discusses why our time during the pandemic is a great opportunity to apply rules from the childhood game of "Stick Ball" into your dealership.

Success is like a virus in that it can be very contagious. The difference is whether you make the decision to spread the “germ.”

We won’t dance around the effect that the pandemic has caused on society, but we also think that we will all return to work sooner than later and bounce back stronger than ever. If the previous trends hold, then UTVs should continue to see steady growth after the crisis ends.

Every single day, dealers, managers and even salespeople use an excuse to avoid proper training. Except for one very exclusive group: top performers. Learn about the importance of practice and proper training, from industry expert John Fuhrman.

One thing that is true in the powersports industry is that riding brings happiness and positivity. During a time of social distancing, industry expert Craig Johnson of Wild Ass Seats discusses how riders and dealers can enjoy this time by doing what we enjoy: riding!

PSXDigital CEO Larry Bruce discusses how his company decided to offer free online courses to dealers during the Coronavirus shut down. “While dealerships are closed, there should be some things that we could do to help them get better for when things do come back.”

Some of you may have a “superstar” selling for you. But, are they really? Can they perform month after month? Most importantly, a quality of world class athletes, do they make the team better by being part of it?

Industry expert Graham Anderson of Kenect explains the importance of reviews for a dealership and discusses how texting can benefit your shop.

How do you keep your dealership on track for the year you want to have, even though none of us can really predict what kind of year is ahead? Without advanced planning, the answer is, you can’t. However, using a two-focus approach will most certainly keep you on track to creating the year you want rather than accepting the one you’ll have.

In order to improve their customer outreach, Harley-Davidson of Glendale took steps to improve their customer service, starting behind the scenes with their management and sales team by adding new technology, specifically PSXDigital’s AI-powered customer experience management platform.

Today, we take zippers for granted, but the zipper was actually critical in the invention of the motorcycle jacket. Leather jackets have changed very little over time, but other textile jackets have come onto the market and evolved for all types of riders.

When my kids were young, I got some great advice: “If you need your kids to do something, have your neighbor tell them.” And, you know what, it actually worked. Now they are grown and gone on to their own successes, that hasn’t changed. If you’re honest about your sales team, that same rule applies. This is the biggest benefit to bringing in an outside expert. An outsider’s credibility is always higher.

For many dealers in the snow belt, offering a winter storage program can be an excellent way to keep a customer engaged and maybe add some service work during the off-season. We found that storage programs vary from dealer-to-dealer, but many are offering packages tied to service.

Today, like helmets, knee braces are an essential part of motorsports. With the rough terrain and high-impacts powersports enthusiasts encounter, knees need to be protected, especially since knee damage will assuredly keep you from riding for an extended period of time.

Younger riders just aren’t getting involved the same way their parents did, so it has left our industry, as a whole, to reevaluate how we can more effectively attract, engage and influence the new riders that are entering the market.

MPN explores the construction and performance of the popular snow apparel item, the balaclava, and gives tips for dealers on how to sell them.

Online auctions have been gaining in popularity for dealers ever since they were rolled out several years ago. Part of the reasoning is because dealers are busier than ever, but also, auction companies have done an excellent job making the process easier and more transparent.

MPN takes a look at pre-season predictions for snowmobile dealers, with statistics and data from the International Snowmobile Manufacturer's Association.

From his first-hand experience as an automotive and powersports dealer, Ryan Gentry, president at Edge Performance Sports and co-founder of PSXDigital, walks listeners through the challenges that drove his dealership to take the leap into new technology.

MPN speaks with industry experts about how dealers did over the busy summer season and goes over where the market trends are headed during the upcoming season.

MPN and Cyclepedia break down a very common fork seal service job and identify tools and tricks to best help your customers.

MPN speaks with tire experts at Maxxis to discuss the topic of "versatile tires" and why they are so popular among powersports dealers and their customers.

Motorcycle armor is an effective way to keep your customers safe on the road. Listen to learn more about why armor is so important for protection.

MPN attended FLY Racing Summer Camp to test out their new 2020 motocross apparel line.

MPN's Editor-at-Large attended the HJC German Grand Prix and gives listeners a behind the scenes look at the race.

Learn all about powersports racing suits and how to protect your customers on race day.

MPN speaks with industry experts about how social media marketing can improve sales for dealerships.

MPN and Cyclepedia explore ways that dealerships can help keep adventure riders on the road with helpful tech tips.

Learn more about how an Indiana dealership is capturing the top podium spot with their dynamic sales strategy.

MPN discusses the benefits and features of leather motorcycle jackets and give insights to help dealers sell these products.

F&I expert Emre Ucer explains how dealers maximize their sales through the use of smart desking.

Editor-at-large, Brendan Baker discusses how dealers can tap into a growing niche in the powersports industry: dual-sport and adventure riding.

From a devastating fire to a tragic snow storm, Fay Myers Motorcycle World survived its share of challenges by adapting to change and embracing new technology with PSXDigital's A.I.-powered customer experience management platform.

F&I expert Emre Ucer explains how dealers can optimize their websites to help facilitate the F&I process for customers.

After 50 years, Cycle City Inc. is in its third generation of owners. Located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the dealership’s story began with an ice cream stand in Escanaba, MI.

Emre Ucer, managing partner at MotoLease gives helpful tips on how dealers can attract more customers by offering vehicle leasing.