Delivering expert results as promised when promised.
Delivering expert results as promised when promised.
Business is good right now, but your gut is telling you that money is being left on the table at the end of the day. You want to achieve more billable hours from service, or get higher margins on parts. Mark has a keen eye for spotting and plugging leaks, improving efficiencies and raising margins.
You have a nice sales focused dealership, but now you want more. You’re thinking about adding a parts store or maybe expanding your service department to be able to do more than just make units ready for sale. This is where Mark excels. Mark can help you create a road map for success in the parts, accessory and repair service departments.
Life as a business operator is not fun right now, but it used to be, and you want that fun back. Mark has had a lot of experience helping others get their business back on track. Because Mark has been down the same difficult path, he has empathy and understanding for what you’re dealing with. Mark has an arsenal of knowledge tools and will help you make the turn back to running a healthy business.
Mark is available for on-site training. Mark especially enjoys teaching, coaching and helping individuals reach their personal and professional goals. Mark has a natural ability to give instruction and have it stick. Mark is available to come to your business and give hands on training that will give your team the knowledge necessary to excel.
Listen. Review. Advise. Without judging, Mark Podeyn can offer business smarts to help your company, large or small. Mark’s wise about your world, because he’s been there.
Mark had a multi-million $ enterprise—but he had to close the doors. His failure taught him tough lessons.
“My success is based on a foundation of failure,” says Mark. “I know what kind of bad practices can kill a business, because I have practiced them myself.” “I also know what it takes to come back from disaster to build a thriving business”.
Mark’s now applying what he learned to aid business owners. “I can get somebody back on track. I know what it’s like to be derailed.”
Launched in 1987, Action RV was booming with horse trailer sales and a thriving fabrication shop that built specialty interiors. As a second-generation business owner, Mark knew the industry and excelled in sales. Over the next decade his business grew to over $7,000,000 in annual sales revenues.
Mark has always had a passion for learning and helping others. He helped found and was the chairman of the first Dealership 20 Group for the trailer industry. “My 5 years with the group allowed me to see how the other dealer members were performing and what they were doing and to learn from their successes. As the business owners met to evaluate each other’s dealerships, we all looked for growth opportunities for ourselves and for each other. I learned to understand what really worked well and what the common denominators for success were”.
From these insider exams, he learned real-world operations. “It taught me to look at business operations from a different perspective. Understanding all the systems and processes that these successful–or struggling–businesses had. Those that were struggling, I started to see some common themes.”
Despite over a decade of success and exposure to all these other businesses, Mark’s business started veering off track. With his then business partner, Action RV grew more and more focused on sales and started to ignore their service department. “Service had made us great, but we stopped feeding what had been our cash cow.” recalls Mark, “when sales plummeted in 2008, we found that our cow wasn’t healthy enough to support the huge business we had built.”
And it was more than a setback. Mark closed Action RV in 2009.
“We lost our way, and we failed.” He discovered he had more debts and was far into the red. He had to study records to see where the money went and found that the tools he had been using had been inadequate to manage his business.
“I asked questions, like when do you know you’re at the edge of the cliff in business? Nobody could give me an answer.” Mark now knows where the edge is.
Adversity is always a difficult test, but Mark discovered he could bounce back.
He accepted that he had to improve his efforts as a processor, and to learn better systems for managing a business. He completed the Spader Total Management training (twice), and knew he had to concentrate on consistency: “Do the same thing correctly every single day to guarantee success.”
He became friends with Chad Carr of Rainmaker Software, who asked him to assist with educational seminars. And his wife Lonna, who works at Southwest Airlines, inspired him about the strengths of a great corporate culture.
With his enthusiasm revived, Mark reopened his business with a new focus.
“Today I am applying those lessons learned going forward, and it’s working. I keep a diary, I write down the things I did wrong and am constantly searching for ways to improve.” In business, new challenges are always around the corner.
In 2011 Mark’s bookkeeper quit unexpectedly. Mark invested the time to master their software system. “I learned to do it myself, and now I have a greater knowledge of the back end of a business. I understand where the data comes from, and I understand all the building blocks of a financial statement.” Learning from these challenges, Mark continues to improve the performance of Action RV.
“We are now in the top 5% of the industry for profitability percentage wise, nationally.”
Mark adds, “It’s really important for me to have a successful business, so that I have street credibility.” He views Action RV as his proving ground for his career as a consultant.
Mark now shares his experience and his “inside edge” to help other businesses avoid the pitfalls he experienced.
“I made a lot of mistakes, and I know many ways that business can get in trouble.”
“I’m very much a service oriented specialist. What works in the RV repair business will work in the auto, horse trailer, bicycle or skateboard repair business. In any type of service delivery, its all the same skill sets of running an efficient repair facility, tracking your billable hours, your technician hours and delivering an exceptional customer experience.”
“I have a lot of fun teaching and helping,” says Mark. “This is my second career.”
“I love helping people build profitable parts and service departments.”
Mark notes that inventory is consistent within the service industry: “We all have the same inventory. Our time is 24 hours. The job is how effectively we manage that inventory, because it’s gone at the end of the day. The same principles of what I do here apply even to a graphic arts business. It’s delivering on your promises.”
He’s ready to be a partner with your team, working in the trenches along with you. “I have the ability to help business owners in service or parts to either grow or get back on track.”
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0131sr-horseshow0201-ON.html
http://www.actionrv.com/downloads/RV_Pro_Action_RV_Story.pdf
http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2004/11/08/smallb1.html
http://rv-pro.com/news/action-rv-re-launches-repair-business-in-nm
“I first met Mark a few years ago when he volunteered to participate in a dealer panel at the NATDA Trade Show. Mark offered to share his knowledge, lessons and experience to a room of dealers on how to build a successful service department. The feedback from dealers who attended (approx. 300) was overwhelmingly positive. Mark answered non-stop questions on how to profit or fix a specific problem within a dealership. Mark recently was a guest speaker for two sessions at the 2015 NATDA Trade Show. Once again, his standing room only classes were extremely successful.
Mark sets the standard for professionalism and integrity. Anyone who is willing to share their skills, secrets and experiences to help fellow trailer dealers to overcome their business challenges or improve operational efficiency is a true professional. NATDA highly recommends Mark as a first class industry consultant.”
Jesse Battle
Executive Director
North American Trailer Dealers Association
“It was a pleasure working with Mark on our Service Department project. “As promised, when promised” in his mission statement says it all! He delivered off the charts on professionalism and attention to detail to our situation. I would absolutely be willing to work with Mark again on projects.”
Matt McKinley
Sundowner Trailers of Texas
& Triple M Trailers of Texas
“If you are looking to add a little more to the bottom line, streamline your processes and create a culture where employees are motivated to help you accomplish these goals then you need to consider Mark Podeyn. With Mark’s real life business experience he can help you take your business to the next level and improve on what you’re already doing right.”
Allen Welch
Central Trailer Supply
Albuquerque, New Mexico
“Being a residential/commercial property owner and building contractor, inevitably there will be interactions between Renters and Subs, some of these interactions can be negative, Mark’s advice have given me the proper tools in dealing with these uncomfortable situations and turning them into a positive experience.”
Lonnie Gonzales
Tripp Industries
Socorro, New Mexico
“Mark’s depth of experience helped me set higher realistic goals for my business and laid out the pathways to allow me to achieve them. I learned that the best place to learn about the pitfalls about running and growing a small business is from someone who has seen the light and dark sides of it. Mark has an uncanny ability to dissect and troubleshoot the past in order to brighten the future of Option Studios Inc.. Mark was able to sort through the puzzles that were keeping my business from success and show me how to turn concepts and fears into positive realities.”
Adam Buckner
Option Studios Inc.
Identity – Branding – Design – Advertising
“When a direct competitor within 100 miles is willing to give the shirt off his back to help get you through the broken economy of 08 when he too is in the same position… that’s integrity. That same man today, after all the trials and errors, is back in business in the same industry recording record profits, has a following client base, happy employees, and just loving life to the fullest, now that’s true success! That’s Mark Podeyn! Mark has helped me implement some successful programs within my own companies that have helped me weed out the dead horses, focus on what actually works within the company, and how to turn a “TRUE” profit… Before then, I too was just working for a wage and losing! If you’re just starting out, need a tune up because you’re losing, or just need a set of eyes, Mark Podeyn is who you should be calling. Use his experience!”
Justin Legler
President / CEO
Imperial Trailer Sales and Livestock Supply, Inc.
Imperial Enterprise, Inc.
“When I first started working with Mark I was immediately impressed by how well he developed the processes for running his business. The school of hard knocks had taught Mark that it was much less expensive to think first and then act than it was to blindly charge in and then try to figure it out later. I continue to be impressed by the depth of knowledge and experience that Mark can bring to the table, but it is the deliverables that he can leave behind with a client that really make the engagement worthwhile. He doesn’t just leave you with a list of great ideas for you to try later. He leaves you with a detailed plan of action and step by step procedures of what you need to do to execute that plan. I am always happy to recommend Mark to my clients because I know they will be happy in their investment with him.”
Chad Carr
President
Rainmaker Consulting, Rainmaker Software
Davenport, Iowa
Mark is available to speak to your group. Mark has prepared educational presentations for service and parts department that are flexible enough to appeal to a wide variety of audiences and industries. Mark’s presentations are an hour in length and include numerous actionable items that the audience can take home and immediately execute for fast results.
The presentations are:
a) The Service Writers role and Responsibilities
b) The Service Technicians role and Responsibilities
c) What affects Service Prioritization
a) Getting the Right Mindset
b) Building your Customer Acquisition Process
c) Creating an Entrepreneurial Workforce
a) Inventory Management
b) Point of Purchase
c) Having the right Staff
d) Systems and Processes
Custom presentations are also available should you need a presentation that is not listed. The above presentations can be modified based on your specific requirements. Pricing is private treaty. Please contact Mark for details and booking.
Cell-Texting: 505-220-5665
1100 Bosque Farms Blvd. Hwy 47 Bosque Farms, NM 87068
