Our Company recently had the opportunity to sponsor Mixed Martial Arts and Ultimate Fighter Rameu Thierry Sokoudjou, AKA “The African Assassin,” in his match against Luiz Cane in Birmingham, England.

Sokoudjou came out strong, but when he went down in the second round the fight was called. Although he wasn’t the victor in this fight, he had most likely begun mentally preparing for his next match as soon as he walked out of the Octagon. This fight made me think about the current economic climate and how much running a dealership is like fighting for a living.

Every day I speak to dealers who are looking for ways to improve efficiency in their dealership and save money. Some of them are looking to cut costs across the board and just hang on to fight another round. Others, the ones I liken to Sukoudjou, are looking further ahead. These dealers understand that they may be taking some serious blows right now, but they know this is an opportunity to fine-tune everything in their dealerships and grab market share. These guys may not win every fight, but they will come out with the best record in the end.

Here are some Ultimate Fighter tips to get your dealership in top form:

1.       Serious training makes a serious fighter. Training for a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight and running a dealership have many similarities. MMA fighters must master several different fighting styles and train daily to make sure that each discipline gets some fine tuning. This is not unlike managing sales, fixed ops, marketing, and customer support in a dealership. Just like top MMA fighters, a successful dealer hones each area, ensuring a solid understanding of strengths and, more importantly, the areas that need more focus. The same way an Ultimate Fighter uses tools, specific practice, and techniques to ensure top performance, a dealer needs tools, practice, and techniques/process to do the same. Using a CRM tool that covers all areas of your dealership is a great way to make sure your dealership can fine tune the areas that need it.

2.       Never underestimate your opponent. Taking an opponent lightly is the kiss of death for an Ultimate Fighter. Sometimes in a dealership, your greatest opponent is one you don’t even know. Do not lose hard won customers after the sale! Now, more than ever, dealers need to make sure that all customers return for service, trade-ins, and new vehicles. Get the upper hand by ensuring effective and timely communication. Know your customers and use that knowledge to better communicate with your customers with the right message at the right time.

3.       Do not let a single blow set you back. In Sokoudjou’s last fight the first round was his. He was pummeling his opponent and then right at the end of the round he was caught with a kick to a particularly vulnerable area of the male anatomy. This blow hampered his ability to continue both mentally and physically and he subsequently lost the fight in the second round. Is your dealership balanced? Are you using customer information from multiple sources and areas of your dealership to drive revenue? Are you spending as much time and resources on service CRM as you are on the sales side? Will one good blow to one small area of your dealership put you out of business?

4.       Get the right people in your corner. Ultimate Fighters know that who they train with is as important as how they train. These same training partners support the fighter during the fight by being in his corner to give advice and see him through to victory. Is your dealership partnered with the right team? Do you know your technology partners are going to continue to improve and support you for the long term?

Hopefully this comparison carries with it some enlightenment for all of us in the automotive industry, as there is a valuable lesson to be learned: It is not always how hard you hit, but how hard you can be hit and keep going that counts in winning a fight. Does your dealership have a glass jaw?

Jonathan Ord is co-founder and CEO of DealerSocket. Jonathan can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 949-900-0300.