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Powersports Business
Lessons from auto dealers: processes, response times, ‘invisible' opportunities
September 2025
At first glance, a motorcycle dealership can look a lot like a car dealership. Both have a showroom, sales desks, a service department, and a parts counter. But according to Fran O’Hagan, founder and CEO of Pied Piper Management Company, the similarities end there.
A main difference between powersports dealers and car dealers is the sales staff, Pied Piper points out. On the auto side, salespeople are often career professionals, motivated by earnings. In powersports, many salespeople are enthusiasts first.
“The temptation is to say, ‘Cars and motorcycles are both motor vehicles, so we should run the stores the same way,’” O’Hagan says. “But the cultures, customer expectations, and even the reasons people buy are very different.”
That difference can be a competitive advantage for powersports dealers — if they embrace it while also adopting certain high-performing processes from the auto industry.
