Dealer Development Program : Introduction

Our core service is the Dealer Development Program. The overall goal of which is to significantly increase dealer efficiency and profitability.

It starts with an in-depth assessment of your dealership's strengths and weaknesses based on industry benchmarks we have been developing and refining since early 1996.

Once the assessment is done, we make recommendations to correct organizational, operational and other deficiencies and we help your team get a good understanding of industry best practices and develop the competencies essential for success.

The DDP can be customized to your needs, budget and other considerations. It can span your entire dealership or focus on specific areas, including:
 Order Implementation and Quote-to-Invoice Process
 Sales and Marketing
 Design

 Project Management
 Customer Service
 Operations—Warehouse, Delivery, Service, Installation
 Technology Utilization
 Human Resources
 Finance and Administration
 General Management

Dealer Development Program : Process

Improving Business Process for Better Profitability
Whether we perform a comprehensive assessment or focus on a specific area, our typical consulting engagement consists of four major steps:

 Pre-planning and initial review
 On-site dealer assessment
 Reporting and recommendations
 Implementation planning and direct assistance

During the assessment process, we identify those areas that are best practice and can be leveraged as competitive advantages. We also identify areas that require attention and represent opportunities for improvement.

The typical comprehensive DP report is an action plan to help your dealership achieve benchmark performance. We provide a financial review of the dealership and its service operations; personnel evaluations; a summary of departmental processes and practices; sales and marketing observations; suggestions for better technology utilization; and dozens of concrete recommendations that can generate immediate results. We also include a suggested organization chart and a pro forma budget to jump-start your change process.

Our team guides your dealership through the implementation process with mentoring, coaching and targeted training. We are committed to your success and increased profitability.

Dealer Development Program : Return on Investment

An Investment That Pays Big Dividends
The Solomon Coyle team has a proven track record in helping dealers achieve significant improvements in efficiency and profitability.

Our unique approach allows us to show dealer principals where the money is by demonstrating how much their current processes are costing them and the savings and profit improvement potential that can be achieved by implementing our recommendations.

In most cases we can guarantee that you will achieve a return on investment within 120 days. Most dealerships that

implement our recommendations achieve an ROI of up to 20 times their investment in consulting services over two years.

Our goal is to take every dealership we work with to significantly higher levels of performance, make them more profitable, and position them to increasingly sell more product.

This program is working for others and it can work for you, too. Learn how Solomon Coyle is helping dealers just like you to meet their challenges and achieve real results—
higher margins, increased sales, more efficient processes and staff, and most important, increased operating profit.

Dealer Development Program : Dealer Success Stories

Real Dealers, Real Issues, Real Results
Solomon Coyle has helped more than 100 office furniture dealers implement best business practices and create new sources of value.

Learn how Solomon Coyle clients are achieving demonstrable returns on investment and increasing their efficiency and profitability using our consulting services. Some representative success stories will be appearing soon on this page.

Project-based Consulting

Benchmarking, Research, Planning and More
All organizations occasionally find themselves needing to have a special project performed. And often, they either do not have the appropriate internal expertise or their in-house resources are unable to complete the special project and at the same time keep up with day-to-day responsibilities.

Solomon Coyle can help. We specialize in helping our dealer, peer group and manufacturer clients with special projects that focus on organizational improvement. Our team can plan and execute special project engagements to meet specific objectives and work to meet timing and budget requirements. While each special project is unqiue, recent examples include:

 Financial Benchmarking and Analysis
 Sales Compensation Program Review
 Sales Terms and Conditions
 Design Standards
 Installation and Operations Benchmarking
 Joint Marketing Programs
 Operational Assessments
 Organizational Structure and Staffing Issues
 Business Planning
 Business Systems Survey

Clients gain a "virtual staff" of industry experts who are ready with new ways to increase revenue and productivity while improving focus and effectiveness.

Technology Optimization Solutions

Get More from Your Technology Investments
Best-practice dealers set themselves apart by positioning technology as a strategic asset that supports the organization's mission. Solomon Coyle draws on our extensive industry experience to help dealers bridge the gap between their existing IT capabilities and their vision for high performance.

Technology Assessment, Review and Implemen-
tation Assistance. Solomon Coyle conducts a thorough review of your technology usage as it relates to operational systems and processes. We will identify opportunities to improve your business processes and recommend ways to take full advantage of tools and technology. We can also provide hands-on implementation assistance and training to help make your current technology work better.

Team-Design Assistance. Solomon Coyle's Team-Design expert, Elaine Taylor, is available to review your Team-Design implementation and usage, address the common problems, and provide solutions. Elaine focuses on all aspects of Team-Design, from configuration to advanced reporting, and shares proven tips and techniques that are geared to improving productivity.

Design Tools. Solomon Coyle's design expert, Cate Sword, can help entire dealer Design departments operate more efficiently and profitably through improved utilization of tools including AutoCAD, 20-20 CAP, ProjectMatrix and Configura CET. Cate focuses on reducing both the learning curves and the time it takes to produce first-class results while showing clients how to achieve high returns on their design software investments.

Dealer Peer Group Management

Learn From Your Peers and the Solomon Coyle Team Solomon Coyle dealer best-practice peer groups offer a unique networking and educational experience. Each peer group is led by an experienced industry consultant with a deep understanding of office furniture dealer best practices that we share with members.

Instead of following a "cookie cutter" peer group model, Solomon Coyle focuses only on the office furniture industry. We know your business inside and out. We go deep within each dealershipto provide targeted training and networking for key personnel so your entire organization benefits form your peer group investment.

The main objectives of our dealer peer groups are to:
 Increase the profitability of each member company
 Implement best practices throughout each peer group
    member's operation

 Identify and develop strategies for cost saving initiatives
 Provide for benchmarking and information sharing
 Identify and develop programs for new markets,
    products and services
 Boost the competitiveness of each member company
 Develop targeted training and networking programs
 Provide a support group with like dealers in non-
    competing markets

By taking advantage of our team's many years of trade association and peer group management experience, our peer group clients gain the best of both worlds—professional group management and services plus knowledgeable industry consultants who are available as daily resources. As a Solomon Coyle dealer peer group member, you will get the added expertise you need to help you run your entire company more efficiently, effectively and profitably.

Clients

FURNITURE DEALERSHIPS

MANUFACTURERS

Allsteel
Haworth
Herman Miller
Kimball Office
Knoll
Teknion

GROUPS AND ASSOCIATIONS