Dealership consulting

Dealership performance consulting.

Lewis Lab helps dealership owners and groups improve performance across sales, inventory, marketing, and CRM. We connect market opportunity with the decisions and processes inside the store, then define the priorities, ownership, and measures needed to execute.

Discuss your dealership See how the review works →

For dealership owners and group operators seeking an independent view of performance, a coordinated growth strategy, and support putting improvements into practice.

Areas of focus

Performance across the dealership.

Sales, inventory, marketing, and operating practices affect each other. The review connects these areas around your business priorities, with the stores, depth, and scope agreed before work begins.

Sales performance

Compare sales pace, market share, model mix, and local demand. Assess whether available inventory, market coverage, and sales execution support the dealership's growth objectives.

Inventory management

Review aging, stocking, pricing, and merchandising by model and vehicle. Set priorities for aged units and align the inventory plan with local sales opportunity.

Marketing effectiveness

Examine audiences, offers, vehicle priorities, spend, and vendor reporting against inventory and sales results. Establish what to continue, adjust, or challenge in the marketing plan.

CRM and customer development

Evaluate lead handling, unsold opportunities, customer records, and follow-up activity. Check whether prospecting routines, assignments, and response quality support the sales priorities.

Process and accountability

Review how sales, marketing, and inventory decisions become day-to-day work. Identify where handoffs, responsibilities, or management review leave the plan incomplete.

Store and market planning

Compare rooftops in the context of their markets, inventory, and operating practices. Develop store-specific priorities and identify practices worth applying across the group.

General Motors experience

Experience in dealership performance.

Michael Lewis' work at General Motors, 2015–2024, connected market strategy with inventory decisions and sales execution.

Denver market · 2018–2023

GMC pickup growth in contracting segments

Largest combined volume increase and market share gain among full-size pickup brands in Denver, across light- and heavy-duty segments.

Registration growth: 54%
Combined market share: 10.3% → 17.5%

From market opportunity to showroom execution

Michael used local demand, model-level share, and competitor trends to identify where the market could support additional sales. His product proposals secured inventory beyond standard allocation across multiple vehicle lines, giving dealers the supply to pursue those opportunities.

He worked with dealers to address gaps in trim, equipment, and price coverage, then align vehicle orders with the market opportunity. Product and competitive training ahead of vehicle arrivals prepared sales teams to position that inventory against the alternatives customers were considering.

A growth engagement applies this discipline to where a dealership should compete, the inventory it needs, and the marketing and sales preparation required to support the plan.

Inventory performance

Aged inventory reduced from 43% to under 20%

Share of inventory over 90 days old, within one quarter.

Michael reviewed individual vehicles alongside past customer inquiries and CRM activity. The analysis guided changes to pricing, selected-unit incentives, and digital merchandising, connecting the inventory report to specific actions at the store.

Revised action lists went to leadership twice a week for roughly 60 days. Sales were tracked and priorities updated as vehicles sold, keeping management involved in the work of reducing aged stock.

An inventory engagement turns an aging report into a plan by vehicle, with decisions on pricing and merchandising, accountable owners, and a schedule for reviewing progress.

Sales execution

A weekly process for existing sales opportunities

Approximately 140 prospects assigned across eight sales consultants.

Michael worked with dealership managers to identify past inquiries that had not become sales and existing customers preparing to buy again. Each prospect had an assigned consultant and a deadline for reviewing CRM activity and making contact.

The dealership adopted the prospecting process as a weekly routine. Michael conducted similar training at other stores, extending the work beyond a single customer list.

A sales execution engagement defines how opportunities should be identified and assigned, what follow-up is expected, and how managers will assess progress.

Michael ranked in the Top 10 among 100 Buick GMC district managers for three consecutive years, 2020–2022.

The approach

From assessment to a working plan.

We agree on the business areas, stores, and depth of review before starting. The initial 30-day diagnostic establishes the findings and priorities that guide strategy and any further implementation work.

Examine

Review the relevant sales, inventory, market, marketing, and CRM records alongside the way the dealership operates. Establish a baseline and compare reported activity with commercial results.
Isolate

Identify where market opportunity, inventory, marketing, and execution are misaligned. Distinguish process problems from market conditions or data gaps, and assess which issues have the greatest business impact.
Apply

Develop recommendations with leadership, set priorities, and define ownership and measures. Scope further support for strategy, implementation, and progress reviews around what the business needs.

What you receive

Findings, priorities, and an action plan.

The diagnostic concludes with a written assessment and a leadership review. The recommendations connect the findings to decisions and actions your team can take forward.

Performance assessment: What the market, sales, inventory, and operating records show within the agreed scope. Findings distinguish supported conclusions from data gaps and issues requiring further review.
Prioritized recommendations: Specific changes to process, stocking, pricing, marketing, CRM activity, or management review, ranked by business impact and your team's capacity to act.
Ownership and measures: An action plan with proposed owners, timing, and baseline measures matched to the objectives, such as sales pace, aged-inventory share, market share, or CRM conversion.

Sample report (PDF)

You work directly with Michael throughout the engagement. Further strategy and execution support can include implementation planning, coordination with your team and vendors, and regular reviews of progress.

Field Notes

Insights on dealership performance.

Common questions

Before we start.

What data do you need?

Relevant records may include sales and market reports, inventory and aging data, pricing, marketing plans and vendor reports, and CRM activity. The scope determines what is needed, and we agree on access before starting.

Is this the same as the free Clarity Diagnostic?

The free Clarity Diagnostic is a short self-assessment based on your answers. This is a paid consulting engagement: a structured 30-day review of actual business data and processes, followed by a prioritized action plan.

How does this work with our existing team and vendors?

Lewis Lab works with dealership leadership to assess performance across functions and develop a coordinated plan. Your internal team and vendors can use that plan to align priorities, responsibilities, and measures. Further implementation support is scoped around the work required.

What happens after the 30-day diagnostic?

We review the findings and next actions with leadership. Your team can take the plan forward, or additional execution support can be scoped around the priorities identified.

Start a conversation

Let's review your dealership's priorities.

Tell Michael where performance needs to improve and which stores or business areas are involved. The first conversation establishes your priorities, the scope of review, and where Lewis Lab can help.

Prefer to start on your own? Take the free Clarity Diagnostic for an immediate self-assessment. No email is required to see your result.