Why isn't there more entrepreneurial thinking at dealerships?

You'd think that dealerships would be a hotbed for entrepreneurial behavior. That's what manufacturers that use dealers expect: the manufacturer builds something and the dealer sells it. By why is there so much friction between those two entities?

One answer is that dealerships quite often are not entrepreneurial. Sure, they started out that way when Dad or Grandpa or Grandma founded them. But today, most dealerships are family businesses and it's the second or even third generation that is in charge. Those second and third generation folks are smart, but quite often they're a different breed. They're more conservative, less risk-taking. They are focused are maintaining the business, less on growing it.

Sometimes dealerships are started by enthusiasts or technical people, such as engineers or mechanics. Again, they may be brilliant, but thinking like an entrepreneur is a stretch for them.

It's time we realized that training is an answer--but not the traditional product, technical or soft-skills training. We need a new kind of training and development: to awaken the entrepreneur at our dealerships or at least open their eyes to entrepreneurial thinking.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com

An Eleven Year Old Can See It

I was sitting at a little league baseball game watching a great game until, unexpectedly something happened. It had been a close game between a good team and a struggling team until that losing team fell apart, giving up the maximum number of runs in the last innings to lose the game. I was dumbfounded. How could this happen, it was almost impossible? Then I heard a little voice behind me say, "I knew they'd do this."

I turned around and it was an eleven-year-old ballplayer waiting for this game to end so his team could start their game. I asked him, "How did you know this disaster would take place?"

He said, "Simple. The team that lost didn't believe in themselves. They gave up and the other team sensed it." "Yeah," said a chorus of his teammates as they picked up their gear and headed to the dugout to get ready for their game.

Think about it--if you don't believe in yourself or your company or your product, I bet your customers sense it, I bet your competitors sense it.

Maybe what the eleven-year-old said explains why we make presentations and the customer doesn't buy-in or why some people sell a lot and others fail--all selling the same product and brand.

We have to believe, we have to give it everything we have or our customers will sense we're not committed, that we don't believe. And we can't fake it--our customers and our competitors will know. Just ask any eleven-year-old.


Barry LaBov
LaBov and Beyond
http://www.labov.com/

Erin's House, a great example of a non-profit

My company, LaBov & Beyond Marketing Communications, supports a non-profit that provides counseling and therapy for children who have lost their parents to death. This non-profit, Erin's House, is a dream to work with. We provide our creative services pro bono (free) and yet it's an exhilarating experience because of their cause and because of the way Erin's House conducts itself.

Erin's House is the rare non-profit that inspires its suppliers. They allow our creatives to do their best work. One of owners, Cathy Schannen, works closely with their board to produce print pieces and to help them raise funds. Cathy is fired up about helping them, which has infected me to feel the same.

Non-profits are struggling. They need to learn from Erin's House: choose your suppliers--don't put them to bid against each other. Allow the supplier to do their best work. Include the supplier in their events and be part of their family.

There are millions of non-profits with great causes. Yet, most are in peril. Non-profits: choose your partners and show them loyalty; allow them to help you and feel a part of your cause.


Barry LaBov
President, LaBov and Beyond
labov.com