What is DEALERSHIP ProfitAbility®?

Dealership ProfitAbility® is a board-based simulation that has been specifically developed to increase the financial understanding of managers within automotive dealerships.

This engaging and challenging business simulation is for all managers and their direct reports. Dealership ProfitAbility® is designed to build skills in financial understanding, commercial acumen and business planning — all in the context of running a dealership with new and used car sales, parts and after sales service. By understanding how price, inventory levels and discounting decisions affect profitability and cash flow, managers can increase the financial performance of their own business.

Dealership ProfitAbility® teaches people working in dealerships exactly how profit is made, how cash flow is affected and how each individual can make a difference. Using a unique, board-based simulation — designed to represent an automotive dealership — participants learn how money moves through their business with every decision they make. Participants learn how to plan, forecast, budget and make informed decisions on their return to work. They understand which costs are essential, how to drive profitability in strong or weak markets and how to manage the trade-offs between cash flow and profit.

Experiential learning — or ‘learning by doing’ — enables your people to absorb essential concepts and transfer them directly to their workplace in the form of changed behavior. Knowledge and business acumen are not only increased, but — vitally — they are also retained.

Each participant is part of a 3 or 4 person team, in competition with 5 other teams. Each team will make the strategic, operational and financial decisions that must be made to set up, run and expand a dealership business over a simulated period of several years. The goal is to outperform your competitors by creating more profit and value than them, while maintaining cash flow that is critical to the business. The simulation is run over 6 business cycles.
Between each period of activity short presentations will be given on:

The learning outcomes are:

• Broader perspective by seeing a ‘helicopter view’ of how different parts of the business work
  
• Improved understanding of the key drivers of profitability and key financial indicators
  
• Understanding cash flow forecasts, profit and loss accounts, business plans and balance sheets
  
• Understanding and improved skills in how to use key financial metrics
  
• Understanding the relationships between different departments and how those affect customers and the business
  
• Understanding how best to manage costs in order to support short- and long-term sales and profits

None. Just bring a calculator, sharp mind and pencil! Prior to the program you may be asked to do a web-based questionnaire, the Business Savvy Survey. This 15-minute exercise will let you know the level of your business financial acumen. The result you get is virtually instantaneous, is only sent to you and is confidential to you. Furthermore, you can take the test anytime after the ProfitAbility® program to record exactly how much and where you have improved.

Who should attend: 
Managers and their direct reports within automotive dealerships  
Class size:
18–24
Duration: 
2 days (can be flexed to suit your needs)

I want more information about this simulation