Automobile consultants can bring skills to your company that you may need only on a temporary basis or that you do not currently possess. They can manage your crews or recommend marketing plans and IT upgrades to your warehouse or sales operations. An automotive consultancy can help you to bring in additional revenue with sales training seminars and executive coaching.

Automotive business consultants can review your company’s billing procedures and client database programs to recommend upgrades. They can review your purchasing programs to make sure you're using the best vendors and suppliers. Look for a variety of ways to begin making the most of your relationship with automotive consultants.

1. Use automotive consulting companies to assess your staff for additional training needs.

2. Look for automobile consultants to find ways to improve your company profits.

3. Bring in an automotive consultancy to manage your operations.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get additional staff training from automotive consulting firms

Outside automotive consulting firms can see where your company is weak and provide staff training to boost sales. Bring in experts to boost the efforts of your finance, sales and management teams.

I recommend: Look for a firm such as Leedom & Associates to use for your finance staff. They can offer boot camps in special financing and business development. These are short and intensive sessions that can increase your profits when the lessons are applied. Make the most of consultants like Fourmative to train your staff on customer service so you can foster repeat business and referrals.

Improve your numbers with car industry consultants

To remain competitive and reduce costs, you need to make sure that all of your operations are running as smoothly as possible. Car industry consultants can look beyond your day-to-day operations to see where you may be missing profitable opportunities. Request a review of your current vendor list to take advantage of emerging markets. An automobile consultant can introduce you to sources for equipment, signage or IT upgrades that the consultants have used successfully.

I recommend: Consider a firm such as the Automotive Consulting Group that provides strategic planning services that can analyze your products and recommend new lines. Utilize these services to find ways to cut costs and monitor the changes. Look for consultants that understand your need to sell the products produced by your manufacturer and to keep appropriate inventories, such as Automotive Business Consulting.

Contract ongoing automotive consulting services

You may reduce some of your costs by outsourcing some or all of your operations to an automotive consulting services firm that will place employees at your location and monitor your sales and inventory. They can set up your new database systems and manage the delivery and day-to-day business of your programs and send you the reports as well as run customer call centers and warranty service programs.

I recommend: Begin making the most of automotive consultants such as SC-ABeam to get your inventory tracking systems overhauled and run by the group instead of relying on your staff to do it all. Ease the burden of responding to customer calls with a 24/7 call center set up by a firm like ACC Extended Warranty.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Hire an automotive consultant for a small project first to see how your staff gets along with the consultants before bringing in the outside firm for longer and more in-depth assignments.

Automotive consulting firms get your business up to speed with the latest technical expertise, marketing resources, technology solutions and financial management strategies. With vast resources, automotive business consultants are skilled at increasing gross profits, reducing expenses, implementing customer satisfaction programs, controlling inventories and developing new business processes.

Automotive consulting companies are invaluable when your business needs specialized talent or knowledge not available on your staff. An automotive consulting firm can increase productivity and efficiency by addressing essential issues, recognizing internal or external obstacles and providing specialized services to improve your business.

Before beginning your search for an automotive industry consultant, it is important to define your consulting needs. Clearly identify the goal of your automotive consultancy, including services needed, time frame and budget. This information will help you select the best automotive consultant to meet your specific needs.

When selecting an automobile consultant, research each consulting firm and evaluate the following:

1. What kind of experience do the car industry consultants offer to increase profitability for your business sector?

2. What specific services do the automotive consultants provide to enhance productivity and efficiency for your business?

3. How much should your business invest in automotive consulting services?

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Hire automotive consultants who specialize in your business sector

Select automobile consultants who are seasoned professionals with extensive experience in the automotive industry, particularly in your type of business. Ask to see a list of past and present clients, and request references.

I recommend: Vehicle Replacement Consulting Group focuses on auto rental consulting and fleet planning for the vehicle rental industry, auto insurance industry, vehicle manufacturers, auto dealers, repair chains and fleet operators. Dealer Solutions is an automotive services consulting firm specializing in physical inventories and on-site training for dealerships, vendors and manufacturers. Drive Service Profits provides consulting services to auto dealership service departments.

Choose an automotive consultancy with proven skills

There are a wide range of automotive industry consulting services available, from car design and technology to inventory control and marketing. Review the services provided by each automotive consulting firm and request successful project examples of the specific skill sets you need. Evaluate each automobile consultant's experience, qualifications and certifications with respect to your consulting needs.

I recommend: Susan Grubbs Enterprises offers technology solutions for automotive dealerships and features online success stories. 6gear provides e-marketing, research, technology, analysis and reporting for auto dealerships. Engineering Analysis Associates specializes in automotive product consulting and offers a comprehensive menu of technical field support services.

Select automotive consulting services that meet your budget

Many automotive consultants operate on a project-based cost, while others utilize an hourly fee structure. Your automotive consulting service cost will depend upon the scope of your services.

I recommend: Request a quote for dealerships services and software solutions from VinSolutions. Get pricing information for automobile design services at FORESEE Car Design. Request a quote for automotive industry marketing services at ACC Auto.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  It is tempting to save time by interviewing just one automotive industry consultant. However, it is in your company's best interest to contact and interview several automobile consultants to discuss your potential consulting needs. Two or three choices will provide you with the best possible match in skills, services, price and rapport for both you and the automotive consulting firm.

Automotive consultants are charged with giving advice and guidance about vehicles, servicing them, designing them, purchasing them and more, so that the individual or business who enlists the automotive consulting services can realize their goal with the least amount of trouble to them personally. Individuals involved in automotive consulting are experts who help lead others through potentially complex automotive ventures.

An automotive consultant must be well-trained when it comes to various aspects of a vehicle. An automotive consultant's advanced education and training will allow the consultant to become more competitive in hi or her selection area of concentration in the field. Knowledge acquired can help an automotive industry consultant:

1. Earn a college degree or gain certification in a field which will help the individual break into the world of automotive consulting.

2. Stay up-to-date on current automotive consulting firm news and trends by attending conferences and conventions for automotive consulting companies and their employees.

3. Improve your education through seminars, certification and training sessions hosted or taught by various automotive consultancy specialists to help advance your automotive consultant career.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Invest in the proper college degree or certification to enter the field of automotive consulting

There are many employers, and specifically automotive consulting companies, who will not hire individuals unless they possess the proper college level education. For this reason, it is important for individuals interested in becoming automotive consultants to have a competitive and professional education.

I recommend: Motor Age Training offers a training manual for studying to take the C1 Automotive Service Consultant ASE Test. The Tyler Junior College offers a program to train individuals for careers as automotive service consultants.

Attend automotive consultancy conventions for pertinent industry knowledge and advances

Individuals involved in certain industries often hold conventions or industry-wide meetings in order to inform the interested parties of advances made in the field. This is often the case for individuals offering automotive industry consulting services, as well as entire automotive consulting firms.

I recommend: Automotive design consultants would likely appreciate conferences similar to The Automotive Designers Show, discussed by JobbersOnline.com. In some instances, individuals can be hired to speak at meetings or impromptu automobile consultant conventions. Don Tipton is one of these individuals who speaks to automotive sales consultants and works in conjunction with DTC Retail Consulting.

Attend automotive consulting programs to increase your knowledge base and the information you offer

There are many types of automobile consults seminars, workshops and training sessions. All of these have the potential to offer a variety of automotive consultants education and training options.

I recommend: For automobile consultants who are interested in expanding their knowledge about auto aerodynamics, AeroSeminars.com offers an extensive and beneficial seminar. Certification for individuals interested in breaking into the auto consulting industry is available through AEC.edu.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Automotive consultants often specialize in specific fields. For example, there are car industry consultants who specialize in services, while there are others who focus their attention and talents more on sales. Identifying one's particular area of interest can help them to focus their training and professional capabilities.

Automotive consultants work with automobile dealerships and other automotive companies to help improve their businesses to make more of a profit. They also can work with law enforcement professionals, like police detectives and lawyers, in order to help determine what has happened during an accident involving a vehicle. Understanding key terms that automotive consultants use will help you know what type of services they offer and how it can help improve your company.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Accident reconstruction

A key job of automotive consultant companies is to reconstruct accident scenes either for the police or for lawyers investigating the incident.

I recommend: Car-Accidents.com has a detailed description of accident reconstruction and talks about what is entailed when reconstructing an accident scene.

Expert witness testimony

Once an accident has been reconstructed, the person or company performing that reconstruction must be able to act as an expert witness in court cases to determine who or what was at fault for causing the accident.

I recommend: Expert Reconstruction Company describes what items are assessed and used for accident reconstruction and then used during expert witness testimony.

Growth strategy

Growth stategies are created by automotive consultants to help revive stale automotive companies and dealerships. They map out how to best reach customers and improve sales.

I recommend: The Automotive Consulting Group talks about achieving growth and how they can help clients improve business with growth strategies.

Product investigations

Product investigations often occur after someone or a group of people claim that a product is unsafe. When this happens in the automative industry, there are often lawsuits and automotive consultants are called in to do a product investigation.

I recommend: Sun State Investigative Services has a detailed description of how product investigations are performed (PDF).

Salesperson training

Salesperson training is offered by many automotive consulting groups in order to help their clients reach their customers better and see improved profits. They teach employees how to interact with customers and teach managers how to more effectively manage their employees.

I recommend: The Joe Verde Group offers different methods of salesperson training in the automotive field.

Direct mail marketing

Direct mail is used by automotive consultants in order to reach a certain group of people, market a certain type of inventory and for many other reasons. Mailings go directly to customers, via the mail, with the intent of bringing those customers in to buy vehicles or products.

I recommend: Automotive Consultant Group offers a very detailed description of direct mail and how it can help product sales.