Offering virtually every make and model from 25 locations, Luther is the Midwest’s largest family of auto dealerships. Rudy Luther Toyota has been selling and servicing Toyota vehicles since June 1977.

Situation

 An increasing number of competitor dealerships caused Rudy Luther Toyota to fear the potential loss of a significant share of their customer base. Sales were average, and the leadership wanted to be much more profitable. To reach higher goals, change had to be more than cosmetic.

Strategy

The right plan began with an analysis of deficiencies between Rudy Luther Toyota’s goal and their performance. When Wipfli discovered that 35 salespeople all reported to one or two individuals, creating the correct organizational structure became the first step.

Within the new structure, the title of manager was changed to team leader/coach. Employees were tested to determine personality types. Wipfli then organized a “player draft” to align personality types between salespeople and team leaders.

Wipfli trained team leaders in understanding the role of a coach in a changing environment. Team leaders learned coaching and people-reading skills to change the emphasis from manager to coach.

Daily, weekly, and monthly measurements, job descriptions, and feedback on a daily basis all became critical to the program’s initial success.

Benefits

As a result of the program, sales increased greater than the manufacturer’s market share by more than 10%. The dealership saw results the very first week with a positive change in attitude across the organization.

Surveys are conducted to measure customer loyalty over customer satisfaction. Employee engagement is measured over employee satisfaction.

Rudy Luther Toyota learned that when customers are loyal, they will buy from you more often and refer friends and family. They also believe that as long as you satisfactorily fix a problem, loyal customers will not leave you. With loyal customers, engaged employees, and an increase in market share, Rudy Luther Toyota is meeting its profitability goal.