A Time to Not Save Money

Companies are still struggling as the economy either goes down again, stabilizes or moves upward--
who knows what will happen? The tendency is to avoid hiring suppliers and just cut costs and do-it-yourself as much as possible.

But now is the time to invest in the right things. A dealership I know has avoided hiring an additional admin they need desperately--a person who would clean up their sloppy operation and force their team to follow the rules. Up until now, the dealer has not pulled the trigger and just expected his general manager (who has no clue as to what to do) to take care of this.

Hiring that person will cost more money, true. But it will also clean up the mess and expose the weaknesses at the dealership. If they hire her, the general manager may not survive it. The longer they wait, the worse it will get.

Many companies have gone through a lot during the downturn, they've sucked it up and kept pushing and grinding away. It's time to call in the reinforcements.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com

Invest versus divest

After such a tough two years or so in this economy, many businesses have chopped, sliced and diced their way to profitability. And much, if not all, of that slicing and dicing was smart. But what do you do after you've cut and snipped away most of the fat and waste?

That's the question, or maybe better put, that's the challenge that many businesses are facing. Dealerships that have cut sales staff and inventory to survive now must face the fact that customers are entering their stores expecting a decent selection of product and they're expecting a human (salesperson) to spend time with them.

I was excited about purchasing a product recently and traveled to a dealership only to find a semi-empty store with very little product--certainly no product I was interested in. No sale happened there.

It's now time to consider investment as seriously as divestment.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com
LaBov Sales Channel
PB&J Newsletter

Investment

One thing we take for granted is the investment some companies make to do business. Sometimes, that investment is extraordinary; building factories, facilities, hiring hundreds, even thousands of people. All to build a product and sell it.

Even small companies do the same, they buy equipment, they hold onto people they could have let go, and they put great efforts into growing that business.

If you're that corporation that invested billions of dollars or that dealership that built that new showroom, it's a good time to make sure all involved understand the commitment being made.

You're the rare breed that has belief in the future. Share it with those who have inspired your belief and inspire them to make it a smart investment.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com
LaBov Sales Channel
PB&J Newsletter