Whether you think Punxsutawney Phil was right - that Spring is coming early - or not, now is the time to get ready for Spring. 

Here are some tips to get you and your staff ready for the upcoming selling season:

• Schedule "Me Time" once a day or at least once a week to review all the mail and email that comes in. This "me time" should have no interruptions unless there's an emergency. Pick a time that works best for you and your dealership - first thing in the morning, around lunch or at the end of the day. Make sure your staff members and territory managers know when this time is so you will have fewer chances of being interrupted. It can be as little as 10-15 minutes for small items or up to an hour or more if you use it to meet with your territory manager to place a pre-season order. No interruptions will allow you to complete the necessary tasks more efficiently.
  
  
• Have a Sales Training Session with your entire staff. Order in some pizzas or sandwiches and review all the different programs that are available for each product line. It may take as little as a half-hour or up to an hour, but the time savings later will be far reaching. A knowledgeable staff pays dividends in the heat of the selling season.
  
  
• Create a Sales Promotion Binder(s) for each sales area (sales / parts counters) and make sure each staff member knows where it is. We recommend dividing the binder into sections based on the product lines you carry (ECHO, Wright) or type of sales promotion (sales event, bid program, fleet program). Insert the dealer program page / sales bulletin into the appropriate section so that everyone has access to this information. The binder will save your staff time by not having to search for it or having to call OED. It also gives the retail customer confidence that you can handle their needs quickly and easily.
  
  
• Refresh Your Displays with the new point-of-purchase (POP) materials that may be available. Having a clean display freshens up your dealership's appearance - making it more attractive to prospective customers. It also enables your staff to direct retail customers to what they are most interested in quickly. Even if you've been doing business with someone for a while, just changing a few things around will make them take a "second look" as they try to figure out what has actually changed. They may even see something they didn't know you offered.
  
  
• Mark Deadlines on a Calendar. Important items can include service training dates, sales training dates, sales promotion deadlines, etc. It's not as important how you track all the deadlines (electronically or via paper), just that you do. This ensures that you always get paid for your rebates and don't miss any potential training.

We all battle the issue of time scarcity in today's world. The best way to combat this problem is realizing that we need to plan ahead to make the best use of our time when Mother Nature finally decides that the season is going to break. All these steps done ahead of time won't make the work ahead any easier, but it may enable you to cope a bit better. Let's make 2019 the best year yet!