• Strategic Planning
• Pipeline Analysis
• Network Assessment
• Dealership Assessment
• Program Development
• Program Implementation
• Targeted Training
• Retail Manager Development

What’s the optimum way to integrate network development into our overall corporate strategy?

How do our network supply and support activities help or hinder our strategic objectives?

Which retail and wholesale network designs best support which marketing goals?

PDA consultants have been helping clients answer strategic questions like these for over twenty years. Our strategic planning activities can be grouped in four key areas:

• Serving as resource and subject matter experts for strategic planners at all levels
• Participating directly in strategic planning teams
• Facilitating and leading strategic planning activities and meetings
• Within our areas of expertise, preparing and presenting strategic options, decision methodologies, and complete strategic plans.

Typical projects have included:

• Members of team charged with restructuring corporate sales and marketing operations
• Design of retail/wholesale network models for new and existing product lines, including numbers, types, and locations of outlets
• Planning wholesale support infrastructure for manufacturers and importers
• Long-term and short-term network development plans

Pipeline Analysis
PDA focuses on the essentials of ensuring optimum delivery of products and services in your network of retail outlets. Our extensive experience in this field includes major projects in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Our flagship service, pipeline analysis is a comprehensive analysis of:

• Network structure
• Flow of programs
• Information
• Materials
• Products
• Services to and from manufacturer, distributor/subsidiary, retailer, and customer

In addition to extensive work directly with the manufacturer or distributor, the analysis includes a network assessment. We perform extensive data collection and analysis, identify the opportunities for improvement, and make specific recommendations covering the entire distribution chain.

Network Assessment
PDA consultants visit all or a representative sample of retail outlets, and conduct highly detailed reviews of all departments, focusing on operations, resources, and facilities. The assessment covers the retail network of a manufacturer, distributor, or dealer group We also perform specialized network assessments of a particular area, such as facilities or fixed operations.

Whether general or specialized, the assessment includes in-depth interviews with all key personnel at both wholesale and retail levels, completion of specially-tailored operational questionnaires, and other data collection activities. On completion of data analysis, we present our findings and recommendations to management.

Are you truly maximizing your ROI?

Want better customer satisfaction numbers?

Do your people do the right things to generate customer loyalty?

Do your processes come together/mesh to support top performance?

PDA’s Dealership Assessment hones your performance. It uncovers the core issues that are keeping your organization from getting the results you desire. It delivers intelligent solutions and processes that target your specific needs. The Dealership Assessment also pinpoints where your organization excels and how to use those strengths to a greater advantage.

• Observe operation and interview key players
• Identify and report on core issues and strengths
• Provide intelligent, easily managed solutions
• Implement customized processes
• Follow up with management and employees to ensure optimum performance

PDA assists clients in the development of all types of programs necessary to meet their strategic and tactical needs. We have extensive experience both domestically and internationally with large and small development programs, including:

• Dealership assessment and self-assessment programs
• Retail and wholesale operating standards
• Retail operating systems
• Retail certification
• Reward and recognition programs
• Wholesale and retail training courses
• Facilities retrofit and facelifts

This is a key part of the vertical integration that makes PDA so valuable to our clients—we know what implementation is all about. And why is that important to you? Because in the end, execution is everything.

Our implementation activities range from high-level planning and training to hands-on, nitty-gritty field work. We can respond quickly to implement short-term projects and have significant experience with multi-year, multi-faceted implementation projects. Ask us about these activities:

• Evaluating and planning implementation strategies, events, and tasks
• Implementation coordination—communications, monitoring, and reporting
• Program introduction and motivation
• Centralized and on-site wholesale and retail training of large and small groups
• On-site program installation and facilitation
• On-site and remote (telephone, email) consulting

Targeted Training

Are you spending too much money training in the wrong areas?

PDA’s in depth training assessment will tell you. It identifies your true training needs through observation of operations and interviews with key players. We then recommend targeted, proven training for the specific areas identified.

PDA delivers trademark training that sets us apart from the competition. It’s targeted to your real needs, not a one-size-fits-all approach. Our consultants have provided training to automotive organizations for more than 25 years. We understand what works.

The key to effective training is changing employee behavior over the long-term. In just one week, training participants forget 80% of what they learned in class. So typical training can be a waste of time and money—not because what is said in the classroom isn’t good, but without follow-up, it isn’t effective. PDA’s training always incorporates follow-up. We teach your managers how to successfully ensure that behavior changes are taking place. And PDA consultants follow up with training participants directly to affect behavior change.

Retail Manager Development
It’s a fact. Managers in the best dealerships have a high level of business and technical expertise, and know how to retain customers and high-quality employees. The greatest impact you can have on your retail network or organization is to successfully address the quality of management practices. PDA’s Manager Development curriculum gives your managers the tools they need to be the best. Our specialized curriculum fully supports your current training program.

We focus on five delivery mechanisms, which establish a self-reinforcing system that guarantees a much higher success rate than traditional training:

• Experiential Training—an experiential focus is critical
• Engagement—players play better with a coach
• Commitment—written commitment to specific actions
• Accountability—peer coach holds the manager accountable
• Measurement focus—“keeping score” helps maintain focus on activities that make a difference

Manager Development Curriculum:

Understanding What Management Is
Create a common language, agree on the results, identify different styles, highlight essential management activities.

The Manager You Are
Each individual is unique. No two managers have the same personality or strengths, and fortunately, there is more than one right way to achieve the desired results. Participants would utilize a recognized talent inventory to reveal each individual’s unique array of strengths. Each participant would then view their past management successes as they reflect the application of their talents. They would then formulate a strategy for utilizing their unique collection of talents to achieve specific management goals.

Recruiting, Hiring And Orientation
How to establish continuous recruiting to attract new talent into the workgroup; assessing talents of potential employees, recognizing “fit” for the position; making the optimum selection for each position; new employee orientation that integrates each new employee quickly into their new environment and teaches them how to bring their talents to their new jobs.

Individualizing
As much as each manager is a unique set of talents, the people that report to the manager are each unique individuals and must be managed accordingly. The manager will learn how to identify individual’s strengths and create a plan for development to help each person increase his or her success.

Communicating As a Manager
How to effectively listen, understand, and give positive and negative feedback; conducting one-on-one sessions; expressing your expectations; avoiding the “blame game” and keeping employees focused and motivated.

Conducting Effective Meetings
How to develop an agenda; using meetings to provide information and create enthusiasm; empowering through meetings; how often to have meetings and how long they should be.

Mission/Vision/Values
Establishing and maintaining a sense of purpose in individuals and the team; creating a culture of customer service; focus and consistency through cycles of change.

Setting Expectations
What does success look like in this workgroup; what, how much, and by when. What is reasonable achievable, and “do-able;” how to tailor expectations to employee talents.

Creating Teamwork
Knowing each other’s strengths; nurturing relationships; team decision-making; practicing teamwork; conflict resolution.

Creating Compensation Plans
Being competitive; empowerment through compensation; tailoring to the individual; what to reward, how much to pay.

Employee Development
Tailoring the job to the individual—how to match talents to job functions; customizing job descriptions to take advantage of employee strengths; the manager’s role in helping individuals grow and succeed; creating plans for development.

Training
How to be an effective trainer; train-the-trainer; a training model for teams.

Process Improvement
Creating culture where all employees continuously look for ways to improve; engaging the team, creating ownership through on-going involvement in the examination and enhancement of processes.

Measurement
Using measurement effectively as a management tool; what to measure, when and how to measure, who should do the measuring; common mistakes.

Empowerment
Practical strategies; misconceptions; empowerment not as a single action, but as a management philosophy realized through a variety of management activities; how to use empowerment realistically and effectively.