If you’ve heard me speak you know the subtitle of my workshop is, “It’s Not The Big That Will Eat The Small, It’s The Fast That Will Eat The Slow.” I stole that title from a book by Jason Jennings and Laurence Haughton. Bottom line is speed is critical to the success of your business.

Your used car business and your overall business model require you to be able to travel at the speed of Mach 5. You have to think fast and move fast in today’s market.

I often refer to the lack of speed as “drag points.” Drag points are those places along the way that drag you down, hold you back, destroy morale and make you very inefficient.

Some typical “drag points,” are:

1. Car sits too long before someone makes a decision on what to do with it.
2. Car spends too many days in the mechanical shop due to shop or parts issues.
3. Car sits a few more days before it gets into “clean up.”
4. Car takes too long to get out of clean up.
5. Car sits too long before photos are shot.
6. Car’s photos aren’t posted online in a timely manner.
7. Car’s price changes are made too late in the cycle.

Most dealers would tell me they get their used cars through the system and ready to go in 2 to 3 days. The reality for most is it takes about 7 to 10 days.

The fact of the matter is you make the most money on a car in the first 20 days. If it’s hung up in the system for 10 days you just blew 10 of your best selling days.

Yes, I’m simply telling you something you already know. But knowing something and fixing something are two different things.

The Dealer, the Executive Manager, the General Manager or the Owner Operator has the power to fix any and all of those issues.

Sadly, some can’t or won’t make the changes necessary to put the store on the fast track. So, they stay on the slow track to nowhere. Speed wins. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs