Business assessment & secret shopping
I shop your business the way a customer does: the website, the phone, the showroom and the follow-up. Then a plain report on what works, what doesn't, and what to fix first.
General arrangement · Sheet 1 of 1
Your business is a machine. Every part matters.
When did it last have an inspection, a tune‑up or an upgrade?
When one part is worn or underperforming, the whole machine runs worse. Business consulting for owners, managers and dealer principals: an inspection to find the weak parts, a tune-up through sales training and operations, and upgrades to your brand, advertising, technology and AI.
Key
- 1Brand
- Your name, look and message, and the advertising that brings people in.
- 2Sales
- The conversations that turn interest into customers.
- 3Operations
- How the work gets done, and who does it. Rev A clears the bottleneck.
- 4Delivery
- The customer gets what they paid for.
- 5Repeat
- Happy customers come back and send their friends.
ProjectYour business
Drawing no.GC-001
ScaleAny size
Drawn byM. Gilbert
Date2026-10-31
Sheet1 of 1
RevA
Details A to H · Services
Eight parts. Fitted to your business.
Take one part or all eight. Most owners start with the assessment, because it shows which part needs work first. Each is drawn to your measurements, not pulled off a shelf.
Profit & operations
Troubleshoot the operation. Find where margin and time slip away, from pricing and inventory to process and paperwork, and tighten it up.
Sales training & coaching
Boost sales with training for the floor, the phone and the business office. For new salespeople, seasoned teams and the managers who lead them, on your real deals.
Branding, messaging & niche
Know your niche and your competition, then say plainly why customers should choose you. Your name, your look, your website words and the story your staff tell.
Advertising & marketing
Where to spend, what to say, and how to tell whether it's working. Fewer wasted dollars, and more of the right customers through the door.
Websites, technology & AI
A review of your website and the tools you run on, and how AI could save real hours. When something new is needed, I build it: websites, booking and quoting tools, dashboards and automation.
People & teams
Settle conflicts between staff or partners, bring new people or merged teams together, and help managers lead. Fair to everyone, and kept confidential.
Owner's sounding board
An experienced, confidential ear for the owner, manager or dealer principal. Talk through the big decisions and the hard conversations before you commit.
Scale drawings · Who it's for
Owners, managers and dealer principals.
Franchise networks give their stores a head office, a field rep and a playbook. Independent businesses usually go it alone. I fill that gap, and I'm an extra resource for franchised stores that want more help than head office gives.
Scale 1:1
The independent owner
You're the brand, the sales team and the accounts department. We work out what to do first, what to stop doing, and how to stand out from the competition in your niche.
Scale 1:10
The growing team
You've hired people and the business no longer fits in your head. Now it needs managers who can lead, a sales process others can follow, and systems that don't depend on you.
Scale 1:100
The dealership or established company
Departments, managers, maybe several locations. Sales and business-office training, secret shopping across every store, profit troubleshooting, and a dealer principal who wants someone outside the building to think with.
Section B-B · How it works
Measure first. Then draw. Then build.
The same four steps every time, whether the job is a sales team, a profit problem, a brand, a staff conflict or a piece of software.
- 1
Listen
A free 30-minute call. You talk about the business, I ask questions and take notes.
- 2
Diagnose
Secret-shop and assess the business end to end: website, phone, showroom, follow-up, tech. Then pick what to fix first.
- 3
Build
The plan, the training, the campaign or the tool. Whatever the drawing calls for.
- 4
Coach
Stay alongside until it sticks, then step back. Keep me on as a sounding board if that helps.
Detail G · Drawn by
Marc Gilbert
Experience from the sales floor to the general manager's office, working on your side.
Retail and dealership know-how across computers and technology, home furnishings, security systems, and new and used vehicles and RVs. Big-ticket, considered purchases, where trust, timing and financing decide the sale.
Help is on hand for every seat in the business: the sales floor, the business office (financing, insurance and extended warranties), sales management and general management. That includes the pressures each seat carries: inventory and margins, seasonal swings, lenders and warranty companies, commissions and staff turnover, and customers who need a good reason to buy today.
For owners, managers and dealer principals at any scale. Measure first, draw it out, then a plain answer on what to fix first.
Contact · Questions welcome
Get in touch.
Have a question, or want to know more about how I can help? Send a note and I'll get back to you. If it helps, we can book a free 30-minute call.
info@gilbertconsulting.ca
Based in Ontario, Canada