Have you ever tried to walk a mile from point A to point B blindfolded? Sound silly? This happens more often than we care to admit in dealerships. We have all sang the song and danced the dance. Set goals, make a plan. But remember, it is hard to achieve your dealership goals if you are aiming at them blindly.

We even think to plan what it takes to achieve those goals, yet oftentimes you start off on point A and somewhere along the route you miss point B and end up somewhere out in Z. What we’re talking about here is what happens after the goal setting and planning and it’s also where most of us miss the mark. What you missed was the three R’s: Review, Revise, and Revisit.

1) Review

First of all, set a few minutes aside regularly, it may be each day, week, or month depending on the goal, to review the process. Every goal should be reviewed at least monthly. This way, if you are passing up point B you can reroute.

If your goal was to attain an 85% acceptance rate on all initial warranty submissions, review your numbers to see if you met them. If it was 90%, pat yourself on the back and then review it again to see if you set your goal too low the first time. Remember, goals are supposed to be achievable but not easily obtained. If your acceptance rate was 70%, why was it that low? Don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions, you may find a flaw in your process.

2) Revise

If you have determined that your goal was too high, too low, or just too unrealistic during the reviewing process, don’t be afraid to revise it; reroute your plan.

Meaning, if you did indeed achieve 90% acceptance rate this month, you aim higher next month. If it was 70%, decide what steps need to be taken to get you to 85%. Sometimes you have to revise your goals based on circumstances out of our control. Revision is not an excuse for poor performance, it is a tool for enhancing future performance.

3) Revisit

Last but certainly not least, you need to revisit your goals often. If just one piece of your plan is off, it can make a huge impact over time. Let’s go back to our point A and B analogy. Say you started off on A but each time you took a step you were slightly off course, revising and revisiting is what will put you back on track so you end up at B and not somewhere out in Z.

Warranty acceptance rate may not mean much to you but it makes a difference to the dealer whose cash is tied up longer than it should be. If your sales closing ratio was off by 5% would you know why? Do you know what two tenths of an hour on every repair would mean in revenue in a year? The point is that every position from the porter to the dealers can apply these principles to what they do.

Every position in the dealership has an impact on the bottom line. If you are using the three R’s regularly, I would imagine you are at the top of your industry and your bottom line shows it! If you aren’t, don’t you want to be?