Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 13

BUSINESS AND EMOTIONAL STRESS TURNS
WHAT ONCE WAS A HIGHLY FULFILLING, AND
PERHAPS FUN ENDEAVOR, INTO A REAL DRAG."
within a dealership.
Learning the business and
moving through the ranks
together they decided to
invest in, and over the
course of five years, buy
out the previous owner.
Because they had complimentary skills, matched
ambition, and were financially invested equally
they developed a 50/50
partnership. Through
the last 20 years both
Bob and Joe have each
gotten married and have
had kids of their own. As
their families have grown,
so too has the size of
their business, to almost
triple, employing over 500
people.
Today, Bob is still as
passionate about the
car business as the day
he started. He wants to
continue to grow and
diversify. Joe on the other
hand is finding other interests to occupy his time.
He is less passionate and
has become less present;
yet very much involved in
overall business decisions. His oldest daughter
(20 years old) and some
"friends of the family" are
showing interest in the
business.
The partners have
different opinions and
with their varying levels of
contribution and passion
to the future, this affects
the balance of what
each believes to be the

strategic direction of the
business. They do not
see eye-to-eye on compensation plans based
upon their contributions,
strategic future vision, or
the appropriate way to integrate and develop family
member employees in the
business. Partner conflict
is impacting teamwork
and performance.
What started out as a
simple entrepreneurial
partnership has evolved
into a family-owned

BE BLOOD-RELATED
TO BE CONSIDERED A
FAMILY BUSINESS

Regardless of DNA,
Bob and Joe truly cared
about each other and
the welfare of each of
their strategic partners,
manufacturers, managers,
employees, and families.
Without a unified vision
for the future and plan for
getting there, they quickly
realized there was no
telling where the business
could end up, especially

FAMILY AND
BUSINESS ARE AN
OXYMORON. FAMILY
IS AN ENVIRONMENT
OF LOVE AND
ACCEPTANCE, WHERE
BUSINESS IS AN
ENVIRONMENT OF
'WHAT HAVE YOU DONE
FOR ME LATELY?'"
business. Consider your
scenario and where you
are today. Even if you
"hold all the keys to the
castle," there will be a
day that someone shows
interest in your business.
As soon as someone else
is involved, you are now
involving their future goals
and desires, and they
may not align with yours.
Therefore, consider the
following:
YOU DON'T HAVE TO

with constant market,
technology, political, and
economic changes. As
a result, they engaged
in a strategic planning
initiative, involving their
key leaders to develop a
unified vision. As a result,
they:
„ Aligned Bob, Joe,
and key managers' visions
for the future and identified key resources needed
to achieve the 3-5-year
goals on a rolling basis

„ Developed action
steps, due dates, and responsible parties to drive
the organization towards
the unified goals of the
owners and leaders

THERE IS NO
BUSINESS GAIN
WORTH A FAMILY LOSS

By adopting the family
business golden rule, they
could find the expertise
needed to address some
emotionally challenging
topics such as each other's vision for the future,
passion for the dealership,
motivation, compensation,
and vision for eventual
exit. As a result, they:
„ Clarified each partner's roles and responsibilities based upon
strengths, weaknesses,
expertise, and areas of interest to remove ambiguity and to clarify reporting
and decision-making
authority
„ Developed compensation and bonus
structures unique to each
owner's role in the organization
„ Took into consideration each owner's exit
strategy and 3-10 year
"phase-out" period to
make room for successor
development
„ Implemented a
strategy for each owner to develop financial
independence from the
business to support their

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

Continued on pg. 14
JANUARY 2018

13


http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - January 2018

Digital Dealer - January 2018
Contents
The Art of Handling Mistakes
Motion and Commotion – The Buy/Sell Market Intensifies
You Don’t Have to Be Blood to Be Family in the Dealership
Shifting From Crisis to Opportunity
Warning! Your Customers Know More Than Your Salespeople. But Not for Long.
Advertising Your Tech-Spertise!
From the Show Director
Drawing the Curtain Back
Digital Dealer Workshops Chicago
Cover story
Interview with the 2018 Chairman of the Chicago Auto Show
Ready… Fire!...Then Aim
Turning Cash Buyers into Auto
Need a Tech – Keep a Tech or Other Staffer?
The New Car Buyers’ Clinic: A Case Study in How to Royally Mess It up!
The Pros and Cons of Building a Dealership Facebook Page
Is Your Dealership's Advertising Stuck in the '60s?
4 Ways to Sell More Cars in 2018
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - CT1
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - CT2
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - Digital Dealer - January 2018
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - Cover2
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 1
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - Contents
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 3
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - The Art of Handling Mistakes
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 5
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 6
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - Motion and Commotion – The Buy/Sell Market Intensifies
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 8
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 9
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 10
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 11
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - You Don’t Have to Be Blood to Be Family in the Dealership
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 13
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 14
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - Shifting From Crisis to Opportunity
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 16
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 17
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - Warning! Your Customers Know More Than Your Salespeople. But Not for Long.
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 19
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - Advertising Your Tech-Spertise!
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 21
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - From the Show Director
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 23
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 24
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - Drawing the Curtain Back
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 26
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - Digital Dealer Workshops Chicago
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - Interview with the 2018 Chairman of the Chicago Auto Show
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 29
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 30
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 31
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 32
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 33
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - Ready… Fire!...Then Aim
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 35
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - Turning Cash Buyers into Auto
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 37
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - Need a Tech – Keep a Tech or Other Staffer?
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 39
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 40
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - The New Car Buyers’ Clinic: A Case Study in How to Royally Mess It up!
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 42
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - The Pros and Cons of Building a Dealership Facebook Page
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 44
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - Is Your Dealership's Advertising Stuck in the '60s?
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 46
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 47
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - 4 Ways to Sell More Cars in 2018
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - Cover3
Digital Dealer - January 2018 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/digitaldealer/202004
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/digitaldealer/201909
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/digitaldealer/201801
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/digitaldealer/201712
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/digitaldealer/201711
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