If you stopped here on your way toward reading Part II of our 39th Annual Dealer Survey, let me give you a heads-up on what to expect. This is the portion of the Survey where we ask dealers to rate their various vendors and leasing partners. This is my favorite part of the Survey because dealers rate their partners as Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, or Poor, and they include comments to support those ratings.
I love the comments!
Let me explain. I’m always intrigued when a dealer showers their vendor with positive comments while another will hammer that same vendor with negative feedback. It’s not unusual for smaller dealers to be their vendors’ harshest critics, especially when they believe their larger counterparts across the country receive preferential treatment.
One trend I’ve noticed in the past couple of years is fewer Poor ratings. I always include comments from dealers who rated their vendors as poor because they’re powerful statements about that dealer’s relationship with their vendor. However, even dealers who give their partners Excellent or Very Good ratings will slip something negative into their comments. You’ll find a few of those in this issue.
Ultimately, most dealers offer positive comments, and the difference between partners receiving Excellent and Very Good ratings isn’t all that great. But ratings are subjective; one dealer’s Excellent is another’s Very Good.
Another intriguing segment of the Survey is Biggest Challenges, formerly Areas of Greatest Concern. Those challenges seem consistent every year, but they still go a long way toward gauging the issues that can impede a dealership’s success.
In addition to the Survey, don’t miss a recap of a panel discussion between dealers at June’s DocuWorld conference on strategies for selling business process automation software, articles on creative ways for finding new talent, and how A4 technology is evolving in this era of hybrid work. Equally fascinating is our Dealer Tour feature on Boring Business Systems, a Lakeland, Florida-based office technology dealership celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2024.
