Ultimate Transportation ’ s New Lifestyle-Focused Showroom
Ultimate being more focused on lifestyle .” By venturing into the recreational space , Nore discovered he was entering into the world of a more complex sale . “ It ’ s a lifestyle thing and it ’ s like buying a home ,” said Nore , “ There ’ s a lot of options , including a thousand different floor plans . The more you research , the more confused you get .” “ In terms of sales , marketing and service , this businessto-consumer model is new to us . It ’ s a different type of clientele with a different way of approaching everything . It ’ s been interesting .”
Nore was able to retain key sales , parts and technical personnel from the original owners to support ongoing operations and to educate his staff about the recreational end of the business .
This one thing Nore knew for certain even before the ink dried on the sale was that Visto ’ s and Ultimate would share the same operational processes and systems . This was a lesson learned the hard way . “ In the past , we purchased a store , which has since been shuttered , and we let them continue their own processes . I regretted it .” Nore remarks . “ When we closed on Ultimate , we started fresh . We dropped in our systems , the processes , the dealer management system and we did it right away . All in all , it took six to eight months to complete .”
When asked if he ’ d do anything differently , Nore noted that he should have conducted more thorough training on his processes before the switchover , but overall , he is pleased with the outcome . go ,” states Nore . “ Our operations should be cohesive . You don ’ t want to walk into one operation and have them doing it one way and walk into the other doing it the complete opposite way .”
When asked what advice he ’ d give to dealers looking to expand , Nore jokingly responded , “ Clone yourself .” But the answer does have some practical intent behind it . “ You need systems and processes in writing along with the right people to execute ,“ he advises . “ Keep it repeatable and consistent . If you do , it ’ s much easier . We were able to transfer all of our standard jobs , matrixes , and sales categories and not have to redo everything . It saved us a year ’ s worth of work .”
One of the biggest changes you ’ ll see when you stop by Ultimate Transportation is the completely renovated , lifestylefocused showroom . The showroom boasts an updated , modern design with key features added such as inventory spotlight areas , a comfortable customer waiting area , plus a conference & custom trailer design room . You ’ ll also see that we have created a more robust parts department - complete with parts and accessories for both trailers and RVs .
Soon , you ’ ll see the transformation journey continue with the additional development of the dealership ’ s 14-acre property . This will include a wet pond for camping , additional building space , more service bays , increased property frontage along I-29 , as well as an exterior design and signage refresh .
Nore had an overarching goal driving his decisions . “ My plan is to acquire more stores in the future . I wanted to have our processes in writing , and ready to
Be sure to say hello to John at the 2024 Trailer Show for an update on how it ’ s going .
26 NATDA Magazine www . natda . org