Team building for car dealerships

The best team building for car dealerships is a hosted 45 or 60 minute game before the showroom opens, on a slow weekday in the first or second week of the month, with sales, service, parts, F&I and the BDC mixed onto the same teams. Keep the last week of the month for the sales push, and hold the holiday party in January, after year-end sales.

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Dealership sales, service and finance staff laugh at a hosted game on a showroom TV screen before opening

8 dealership team building activities

Short games that end before open, competitive formats with a scoreboard, a workshop for managers, and kits for the January party. Prices are live from our catalog.

Hosted games need about 2 weeks to book; kit workshops about 3 weeks for US addresses. See all activities.

Around showroom and service hours

The showroom is open evenings and Saturdays, and service starts early. Three ways to get everyone in one game.

  • Before open

    The hour before the showroom opens

    Sales is in for the morning meeting anyway. Music Bingo runs 45 minutes, so it ends before the first customer walks in.

  • Slow weekday

    A Tuesday or Wednesday, never a Saturday

    Saturdays and evenings carry the floor traffic. A midweek slot in the first half of the month is easiest to staff.

  • By department

    One event per department

    Service at the end of the shop day, sales before open, the office at lunch. Same game, three short sessions.

Who works when

  • Sales floor: evenings and Saturdays, so mornings before open are the time.
  • Service drive and techs: often in before 7, done by late afternoon.
  • Parts: on the counter for the shop and wholesale, so match the service slot.
  • F&I: tied to the sales floor and busiest at month-end, so join with sales.
  • BDC: on the phones in set shifts, so pick the shift change or a lunch session.

Book the first or second week of the month

A dealership runs on the monthly number. Here is where team building fits in the month and the year ahead.

  1. Weeks 1 and 2

    Book the event here

    Last month's deals are funded and the new month's board is wide open. This is the slot for team building.

  2. Week 3

    Fine for a short session

    Managers start counting units. A 45 minute game before open still works; a long workshop does not.

  3. Last 7 to 10 days

    The month-end push: hands off

    Everyone is chasing the number and F&I is stacked. Book the next event now, for the first week after.

  4. Dec 2026

    Year-end sales: plan, don't party

    The year and the fourth quarter close Thursday, December 31, 2026. Keep December for selling and book the party for January.

  5. Jan 2027

    The holiday party, after the close

    Numbers are final, bonuses are known and the floor is quieter. See the book-by dates below.

  6. Apr 2027

    After the first quarter

    Q1 closes Wednesday, March 31, 2027. The first or second week of April is the next good slot.

One rooftop or the whole dealer group

A dealer group's stores sell the same way in different towns and rarely meet. Four group shapes that work.

  • 10 to 30 people

    One department

    Service advisors and techs, or the sales floor and F&I. The quickest win when hours never line up.

  • 30 to 80 people

    One rooftop, every department

    Sales, service, parts, F&I, the BDC and the office, mixed onto teams so they meet each other.

  • 15 to 40 people

    Managers from every rooftop

    GMs, sales managers and service managers from each store on one call, before a group meeting.

  • 100 people and up

    The whole dealer group

    Several stores on one video call, each joining from its conference room or a laptop on a desk.

Every store at once? We have run a single 60-minute event for 1,000 registered employees across four parallel activity tracks.

See multi-event programs

Games that keep score, for a commission floor

Salespeople like to win. Use that, and keep it friendly between departments.

  • A scoreboard on screen

    Every format here keeps a running team score, and the host calls the winner. Salespeople play to win.

  • Mix the departments on every team

    Put a tech, a salesperson, someone from F&I and a BDC rep on one team. Sales against service is a fight you already have.

  • Keep the prize out of the pay plan

    A trophy for the desk, a team lunch or bragging rights. Not cash, not a spiff, so nobody argues about it later.

Running a team of reps outside a dealership? Our sales team page covers pods, quotas and quarter-end parties.

Auto dealer employee appreciation in January

Year-end sales run through December 31, 2026. Thank the whole store once the numbers are in.

Book-by dates for a dealership party in January or February 2027
Party dateHosted gameKits, US addressesKits, Canada or abroad
Tue, Jan 12, 2027Tue, Dec 29Tue, Dec 22Tue, Dec 8
Wed, Jan 13, 2027Wed, Dec 30Wed, Dec 23Wed, Dec 9
Tue, Jan 19, 2027Tue, Jan 5Tue, Dec 29Tue, Dec 15
Tue, Feb 9, 2027Tue, Jan 26Tue, Jan 19Tue, Jan 5

Book-by dates count back about 2 weeks for a hosted game, 3 weeks for kits to US addresses, and 5 weeks when anyone gets a kit in Canada or abroad. More ideas on the virtual holiday party page.

Three ways to say thanks

  • A host at the store: in 17 US cities, Feud Night, Music Bingo or trivia at your dealership; Feud Night is $1,750 for up to 50 guests.
  • A kit at home: cocktails or cocoa, made together on a weekday evening. See the team building kits.
  • A gift on every desk: chocolate from our thank-you gifts, techs and porters included.

What it costs for a department, a store or a group

Totals for one department, one rooftop and a dealer group, worked out from live catalog prices.

What to send us for a quote

  • Who joins: one department, one rooftop, managers, or the whole group.
  • Your opening time and the time zone of each store.
  • Whether people join from a conference room screen or their own laptop.
  • Card with a 50% deposit, or an invoice against a purchase order.
Total price for the whole group, by headcount
Music BingoHosted game, 45 minutes, one flat fee20 people$1,80060 people$1,800150 people$1,800
Fun-Filled FeudHosted game, 60 minutes20 people$97560 people$1,415150 people$2,075
Mixology Cocktail TrioKit workshop, a kit for each person20 people$2,35960 people$6,319150 people$15,229

Most hosted games are one package for up to 25 guests, then grow in blocks. Kits are a base fee plus a price per kit, with continental US shipping included; Alaska, Hawaii, US territories, Canada and international addresses cost extra. Get a free quote for your store count.

Car dealership team building questions

What is good team building for a car dealership?

A short hosted game before the showroom opens, with sales, service, parts, F&I and the BDC mixed onto the same teams. Music Bingo runs 45 minutes; trivia, a survey-answer game show and Office Olympics run 60. A live host runs it on one video call, so no manager has to plan or emcee.

When should a dealership schedule team building?

In the first or second week of the month, on a Tuesday or Wednesday morning. Stay away from Saturdays, evenings and the last 7 to 10 days of the month, when the whole store is chasing the number. Hosted games book about 2 weeks ahead.

How do we include sales and service when they keep different hours?

Pick the hour before the showroom opens and ask service to join from the shop office, or run the same game twice: once before open for sales and F&I, once at the end of the shop day for service and parts.

Can several rooftops in a dealer group join one event?

Yes. Each store joins the same video call from a conference room screen or a laptop, and the host mixes people from different stores onto each team. Zoom is the default; Microsoft Teams, Google Meet or Webex work on request (Music Bingo is Zoom only).

When should a car dealership hold its holiday party?

In January, after year-end sales close on December 31, 2026. For Tuesday, January 12, 2027, book a hosted game by December 29, 2026, or a kit workshop by December 22, 2026 for US addresses.

How much does dealership team building cost?

Most hosted virtual games are one package for up to 25 guests (Fun-Filled Feud is $975), then grow in blocks. Kit workshops are a base fee plus a price per kit, with continental US shipping included. Every activity page shows the price for your headcount.

Can a host come to the dealership?

In 17 US cities a host can run Feud Night, Music Bingo or live trivia at your store or a venue nearby. Feud Night is $1,750 for up to 50 guests, a good size for one rooftop.

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