I suspect you must be thinking “What is the nutcase writing about now?” Other than the words “candy” and “sexy” being used in the article there is not a lot of connection between the article and the title.

I’m a big believer in technology. It’s a great tool when it’s applied as such. I’m also a big believer in combining technology with good old common sense. One of the most exciting things about the used car business are the “sizzle cars.” Some people would call them “eye candy.”

“Sizzle Cars” may or may not always make you money. But they create excitement on the used car lot that’s hard to put into dollars. Over the years Chevrolet dealers as a whole never sold a lot of Corvettes.  When people came into the dealership to look at other models there was a message that buying a Chevrolet is cool.

Any good used car guy or gal has used the term “that car has eyes.” The fact is you need some used cars on your lot that have “eyes,” “sex appeal” and create a little “sizzle.”

If you base what you are going to stock totally on data then these “sizzle cars” are going to get left out. Even though the Internet drives most of your traffic, there is still “drive by traffic” and your place needs to stand out. Yep, they may not buy that black Mercedes or red Corvette, or a jacked up Pickup Truck, but it sure gives them a little tingle when they see them. The more tingles they get the more likely they are to hang around and buy something.

So, the question would be how many “sizzle cars” can you afford to have? How about 5% to 10% depending on the size of your inventory. If you had 50 used cars in stock that’s only 3 to 5 “sizzle cars.” If you had 100 then it’s 5 to 10. You can do your own math.

The key to these “sizzle cars” being effective is that you don’t let them stay around very long. They get a 20 to 30 day window then down the road. When I say down the road I’m talking about retailing them, not wholesaling them. When you price them, don’t shoot for the moon. Just put them out there at a price that will allow you to capture a retail customer who you would never get a shot at and at the same time they will be creating a “buzz” on your lot.

The American public still loves the automobile. Even though they may be practical and drive a four door sedan, van or SUV, don’t think for a minute that they don’t get excited when they see a “sexy car.”

Regardless of the technology and data that supports what we stock we are still in the car business and the people business. People like excitement and enthusiasm. Add a little candy and sex to your life. That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

I find it ironic that on the eve of the All Star Game, the absolute All Star owner of all time, George Steinbrenner, of the New York Yankees, passed away.  He was demanding, driven, and determined to be a winner. He was a winner in more ways than baseball. He was a winner in life. If you know anything about Mr. Steinbrenner you know he contributed so much to the world outside of baseball. His charitable contributions are no doubt “All Star” caliber.

Baseball’s All Star game signifies the midway point of the baseball season. Your business has just passed the midway point in the calendar year. So, how did you stack up? Did you make the All Star Team? If you were playing for the Yankees, would George have fired you or put you on the bench? Here are six tips that will get you off the bench and let you finish your season strong.

1. Hustle, Hustle Hustle-When I think of baseball and hustle I can’t help but think of Pete Rose. His nickname was “Charlie Hustle.” As a player Pete was the epitome of the word hustle. That is the mindset you need to be successful and move your business to the next level. You have to be determined to out-hustle the other guy, gal or business. The great thing about hustle is that it requires no God-given talent. It just requires a God-given heart which we are all supposed to have. So maybe you’ve not been hustling as hard as you should. Let’s hustle a little harder. Let’s dive for some line drives. Get with it.

2. Have a Game Plan-Nothing happens without a strategic game plan. The plan has to be well thought out. A solid plan requires research, time and talking to others. Those around you see and know things you cannot possibly know. It will surprise you what you can learn from people you would normally discount as not being important or having much to offer. Your plan should be constantly developing, growing, expanding. Adjustments are a part of the game. Those who can adjust to the changing conditions increase their chances of winning. Put the plan in place and be ready to make adjustments. Every one of those players in the All Star Game took batting practice before the game. Part of your batting practice needs to be to look for ways to tweak your game plan.

3. Think Fast-Think fast and move fast should be your motto. Decisions and changes need to be well thought out. If you’re “up early and stay up late” you can make fast decisions that will bury your competition. In baseball, even if your team has weak areas, speed can overcome a lot. Think fast, be fast.

4. Increase Your Communication-Communication starts by listening and responding. It takes a combination of meetings, memos, emails, and phone calls to distribute information. The keys are updates and progress reports. The more information you share with your team the more progress you will see and the more your team will develop. The more the team develops the more wins you get. There’s a lot of communication going on in a baseball game; signs, signals and meetings on the mound. You can never communicate the game plan too much or too often.

5. Get Back to Empowerment- Years ago, automobile dealers took a page out of the airline book of customer satisfaction by allowing staff members to make on the spot decisions to satisfy customers. Our policy for years was if the customer asks then the answer is “Yes.” That’s not to say that you don’t need to have limits, but you must empower your people to “just handle it” Nine times out of ten you’re going to do it anyway, so let them handle it in the trenches. If you have talented players sometimes you have to turn them loose. Talented base runners are often allowed to steal on their own. The coach lets them use their God-given talent. Yes, they get thrown out once in a while, but people have to make some mistakes in order to learn and get better.

6. Pick Up The Intensity-When you combine Intensity with Hustle it’s almost impossible not to become an All Star. There’s nothing magical here. Intensity separates the winners from the losers. It gets down to the teams who are moving ahead vs. the ones who are stagnant. How much are you willing to separate yourself and your business from the competition? Show me a laid back baseball player and I will show you a player who didn’t make the All Star Team.

George Steinbrenner was very intense. George Steinbrenner made it happen. George Steinbrenner was a winner. How do you measure up? Are you an All Star? George certainly was. George Steinbrenner said that what he wanted on his tombstone was “He Never Stopped Trying.” Rest in peace Mr. Steinbrenner.

That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

Somewhere along the way someone gave you and others like you the title of “Manager.” Most people who are managers think of themselves as, well, uhh, managers. You’ve been told you’re a manager so you go about your business of managing people, systems, and processes.

I looked the word manager up and here’s what I found:

“Somebody who is responsible for directing and controlling the work and staff of a business, or of a department within it.”

I can’t argue that is more or less the definition that most people work from. There is just something about the title of “manager” that really bothers me. I’d like to see us drop this whole manager idea and replace it with the word “Coach.”

When I first got out of college I was a head football coach at a private military academy. Frederick Military Academy in Portsmouth, VA to be exact. All throughout my career I’ve always seen myself as a coach not a manager.

If you think about what we do, at least those who do it well, we are always coaching. It’s just like being a head football coach. As a head coach your focus is to coach the players and the assistant coaches.  It never ends. If you have a coaches meeting then you are reviewing the practice, schedule, game plan, etc.  When you’re on the field with the players you are coaching technique, disciplines, conditioning, teamwork, attitudes, and the importance of “getting it right.” 

Coaching takes place on and off the field just as it does with you in the dealership. Coaching is nothing but “selling.” If you’re a coach of an athletic team you are selling players and assistant coaches on why they need to buy into whatever it is you’re trying to get across. This is no different than the business you’re in. You’re constantly selling someone on your team as to how and why to do things a certain way.

So, how much better off would we be if we all really took it to heart that we are no longer managers but “coaches” and that every minute that we are in front of our team our number one focus was to coach, coach and coach some more?

Instead of your title being GM, I’d like your new title to be “Head Coach.”

Instead of your title being Used Car Manager, I like your new title to be "Assistant Coach in charge of used car operations."

Instead of your title being New Car Manager, I’d like your new title to be "Assistant Coach in charge of new car operations"

Instead of your title being General Sales Manager, I’d like your new title to be “Offensive Coordinator.”

Instead of your title being Service Manager, I’d like your new title to be “Defensive Coordinator.”

Ok, Coach, time to go to work. That’s all I’m gonna say, Coach Gibbs.

My newsletters are designed to expand your thinking, share ideas with you and from time to time stir you up a bit. Not too often but, once in a while I like to push the envelope to the edge.

Thousands of dealers, managers and people outside of the automobile business read my Newsletters every week. I am most grateful for you taking the time to do so.

Last week I wrote an article that was geared towards getting you to think more of yourself as a Coach rather than a Manager. During the course of a year I get hundreds if not thousands of very positive comments about my newsletters. Some people actually swear by them. I had a lot of great comments last week. For those of you who commented thank you very much.

Also during the course of the year I get maybe 5 or 6 comments from people who don’t like what I’ve written or just think I’m a bit nuts. I had one like that last week. His comment was “You don’t know S–T.” That was all he said. Nothing more, nothing less. 

I’m thinking gosh, I always thought I knew S–T. I had a Labrador Retriever. I do know S–T because I don’t believe I ever stepped in any of his S–T. I scooped lots his of S—T off the ground so I take issue when someone says I don’t know S–T

Ok, I know he wasn’t talking about actual S—T, but the more I thought about it the more I wanted debate the fellow about how much S—T I actually know. Here’s some S—T I know to be true.

1. The automobile business is undergoing a revolution. Those who don’t make the necessary changes won’t be around five years from now.

2. The Internet will continue to put stress on your grosses.

3. If you play the Internet pricing game (which you will be forced to do) and you don’t understand how to buy the right replacement cars and trucks then you are going to get killed.

4. Research will play a bigger and bigger role on which cars & trucks you buy.

5. One Price will continue to advance on you like General Sherman on Atlanta in July 1864.

6. Since you don’t have the profit margins you once had, you will have to figure out how to staff your management and sales positions at a lower cost. (One Price keeps raising its ugly head.)

7. If you think you can survive by being a good new car dealer with a focus on fixed operations like you’ve be able to do in the past, you will be part of the past. (yippee, can you say used cars?)

8. The really smart dealers will pay attention to operations like CarMax and Texas Direct. Their business models are the way of the future and you cannot ignore it.

9. If you think you can manage people the way you did 5, 10, 15 years ago, you will soon have no one to manage. (Coaching vs Managing, see last week’s article)

10. Ignoring technology is the kiss of death.

11. Ignoring common sense is also the kiss of death.

12. Great Leaders fix it before it’s broke

So, there you go; I know lots of S–T. I know a whole bunch of other S–T, but that’s all I’m gonna say for now, Tommy Gibbs

Many years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Dave Mullen who was the General Manager of JM Lexus located in South Florida. I was in absolute awe of that operation. At that time they were selling 750 new Lexuses a month. I must tell you I just couldn’t think that big. In a meeting with Dave one day I asked him, “Dave, as a General Manager of a store this big what do you spend your time doing each day?”  He said “I see my job as doing one major thing each day and that is to guard the processes.”

Even if you have a well disciplined organization, your processes will still evaporate. It happens in every business. Dave fully understood that and you should too. So here are five easy processes you should refocus on:

1. Study The Data– Be a student of the game. Use Auto Count’s Reports each month to confirm what’s selling and what’s not. Use vAuto’s stocking tool to determine the fastest moving units to stock. Combine those reports with Auto Trader’s reports and you will have a competitive edge.
2. Press Your Cost Down-This is probably the simplest and most effective thing you can do to improve your business. Know your average cost per unit every day and do what you can to reduce it. If you are at $15,000 today, do what you can to get it to $14,500 and so on.  There is no magical number. It’s about keeping the less expensive units and making sure the more expensive ones turn fast.
3. Know Your ROI-Every deal should be tracked for ROI. As you are working a deal you not only need to know how much gross you have, but what the ROI is. Go to FixROI.com and plug in three numbers. Your cost, Your Gross, and The Number of days the unit has been in stock. Bingo, you have your ROI. Shoot for 110 to 120 ROI.
4. Attack the 10 Most Expensive Units in Stock-Make a list each day of your 10 most expensive units in stock. Make sure they are priced really, really right, with one exception. The one exception is that if you know you always make money on a unit that’s on the list then use some common sense, don’t give it away.

Consider putting bonus money on these 10 units regardless of the number of days they have been in stock. Sooner rather than later. Most dealers bonus their sales staff when the units have aged. Do it early; you will be much better off. Lastly, make sure the service manager gets that list each day and if one of those units happens to be in the service department the service manager has to understand they must get it out of the shop in a hurry because it’s one of your 10 most expensive units. You have lots and lots at risk with these units.

5. Think Fast, Be Fast-You are working with a depreciating asset. Everything, including decisions on what to keep and not to keep has to be done fast. Pull the trigger quickly on units that you are suspicious about. Don’t hang on to them hoping and wishing something good is going to happen. Early losses are far better than late losses. If you are paying attention and recognizing problem units early in the life cycle then you will have a lot less need to take units to the auction and lose money on them at 45 or 60 days.

What is your oldest unit in stock right now? I will bet you it has a story tied to it. The bottom line is probably that it was a problem in one way or another from day one and someone either didn’t recognize the problem or they chose to ignore it hoping a miracle would happen. That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

If you are one of those people who sit on their hands then you are flirting with the “Kiss of Death.” Further defined as “procrastination.”

It’s the one bad trait that some people seem to have and they just cannot shake it. Their motto is “don’t do anything today that they can put off until tomorrow.” People like that drive people like me crazy. I just love making decisions. I just love getting on with it.

Have you ever known someone who just can’t seem to make a decision?  They want to “ponder” every little detail. They want to think it over. The problem is six months later they are still “thinking about it.”

My goodness, just make a decision and move on. With most business leaders the two most "procrastinated" issues are personnel and training. The number one reason people procrastinate is “FEAR.” Fear of what? Fear of making the wrong decision. Oh come on! You need to stop over analyzing things and get on with it.

First, why is it so hard to make personnel decisions? You’ve been jerking around about someone you need to get rid of and you keep on talking yourself out of it. If they haven’t changed or gotten better by now, do you really think it’s ever going to happen?

Oh, I get it, you’re thinking “the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.”  The devil you know is killing you by slowing down your breathing (success) until one day you wake up dead. (That doesn’t make any sense, but you know what I mean.)

The second issue that seems to be a tough one for Dealers/ GMs to make is the decision to train. How can that be a hard decision? A waste of money? You’ve got to be kidding me. As a dealer for 20 plus years I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on training our staff. We may not have always maximized the training we received, but it was never a waste of money.

This article is not about me selling you anything, but I must tell you I get lots of inquiries each month, some from the same people over and over and they never do anything. They just can’t make a decision. They enjoy sitting on their hands.

“Sitting on your hands is romancing the kiss of death.” Smooch, smooch. That’s all I’m gonna say.

CLICK HERE FOR SHORT VIDEO ON PROCRASTINATION

As Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz reminds us, “Seek to renew yourself, even when you’re hitting homeruns.” How appropriate is that in today’s market?

Some of you have really turned the corner and your tendency may be to sit back, take a deep breath and go ahhh, we did it. We survived it. We are better than those others who have struggled along or didn’t make it. You are relieved that you survived and have had some good months. 

Let me caution you; you cannot be satisfied. You can never be satisfied. Those sounds you hear behind you are the competition coming to gobble you up. If you take just one little break, one little hiccup, it could be the very thing that puts you into a downward spiral.

Those competitors running behind you are a good thing. If you pay attention, they can make you better. Learn to appreciate your competitors and make it a point to learn from them. Use them to scare you into more heightened motivation and a stronger competitive mindset.

Successful people succeed out of fear. The fear of failure. The fear of fall back. The fear of giving up all they have worked so hard for. It’s that fear that causes the successful ones to keep pushing and to keep looking for new and better ways of doing things.

Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems once said "You either eat someone for lunch, or you can be lunch." No truer statement has ever been made. Being a hard charging competitor can be craziness at its best. Competing is so much fun. Trying to get better is the lifeblood of competing, leading and winning.

Study it. Embrace it. Love it. Use it as success fuel. Use it to take you to the top of your mental game. Develop an unstoppable competitive mindset, and it will push you so far ahead of the competition that you won’t have to worry about looking over your shoulder.

Competition is the extra spice that keeps life interesting, keeps us on our toes, and stimulates us to greater creativity and productivity.

What you have to realize is that most people are just lazy and because they are lazy they can become complacent very easily. When times are good they will pound their chest and make you think it’s all about them. Just because times are better doesn’t mean it’s anything they have done. Ultimately their lazy streak will show its head; that’s when you can “own” them.

So as business gets better for you, remember it’s about taking your competitive mindset to the next level and the next level and the next level. And that’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Do you ever feel like you are on a merry-go-round? Riding those little ponies and seeing the same scenery over and over?  The view never changes and things never seem to get much easier.

Being on the merry-go-round is like most things in life. You are the only person who can change it. You are the one that has to jump off. The reason you stay on it is the fear of jumping off and hurting yourself. A bad landing can be pretty rough. So, you convince yourself to stay on hoping that the scenery will eventually change.  The reality is this isn’t your first rodeo. You know the view is not going to get any better until you make the decision to get off and head in another direction.

So, what to do?

1.  Take Control-You have to take control of your life and your daily actions. I’m all for reading books, listening to tapes, but if you think Superman is going to jump out of a book or tape and rescue you then you are dead wrong. You know your weak areas and you know the weak areas of your organization. It’s time to jump up on your desk, stand up on your hind legs, and take charge of the direction that you and the team are heading.

 

2. Do something for you-The best advice I can give you is to get into better physical shape. The better physical shape you are in, the better mental shape you will be in. We all have excuses for not exercising and eating properly. You’re an adult. You owe yourself and your body at least an hour a day. Yes, it will require some discipline, but it’s well worth it. Exercising without paying attention to your diet is like sitting backwards on that horse on the merry-go-round. The view is a bit different, but you are heading in the same place, as in nowhere.

 

3. Train and get motivated-Crank up your training for yourself and the organization. You personally need to run away for a day or so. Go to a workshop, Twenty group meeting or convention. Get out of your office and expand your mind. Bring back some ideas, and then hire someone to come in and deliver a powerful message to the team.

 

4. Do something for the team-As in a cookout. It doesn’t cost a lot money, but it brings lots of benefits.  Do it on a Friday. Come up with some fun games to play. Give away some prizes. Yes it all sounds a bit silly, but you have to remember we are all just kids dressed up in adult clothes. If you make others feel better then you will feel better and everyone becomes more productive. Don’t just assign someone to do it. You personally have to get involved and engage the team.

 

5. Crank up your attitude– I’m betting you have a great attitude. Or at least I’m betting you think you do. Those around you may think differently. I’m also betting you think those around you have a bad attitude. Do you think yours might be contagious? You know the saying “Fake it till you make it.” Never has there been anything more true when it comes to attitude.

 

So, as I often do I try to keep things simple. What I’ve just shared with you are simple things that can make a huge difference. Riding the merry-go-round is pretty simple. Getting off the merry-go-round is even simpler. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

I had a conversation the other day with a really sharp dealer client who owns multiple dealerships and has had some good months of late. He owns both domestic and import franchises. He and his staff are big believers in the vAuto technology and by combining that along with data from Auto Count USA they have seen tremendous results.

However, at his domestic stores he’s still not getting the used car numbers he would like. Even with stocking the hottest models in the marketplace, he’s still not where he would like to be.

As a new car dealer for twenty plus years, I performed quite well with “program cars," as I’m sure many of you did. As a matter of fact, without question it saved my business. I was in the “program car” business before most people could even spell “program cars.”

Over the last few years many dealers have moved away from that thinking in order to focus on the “hotter sellers” in the market. The reality is that there is always a need for a “program car” so that we have something to switch the customer to if the new car they desire won’t work for whatever reason.

One of the problems many dealers experienced by being in the program car business was they let them get out of control until the price and payment on the program car was as much if not more than a new one.
With my preaching of lowering your average cost in stock many of you have totally moved away from the program car concept. Maybe it’s time to move back.

The number one challenge has been and always will be to drive traffic to the dealership. In the early days of program cars many of us went out and bought 20 of them more or less alike and advertised as an example 20 Chevettes at $4995 (oh my, were those the days.) More often than not we sold half of them real fast and got stuck with the other half which were either bad colors or had higher miles on them.
In my case we finally figured out the best way to advertise them was in “SETS & SUBSETS.” As an example if you have 5 cars in your SET then you would want to use the one with the most miles, worst condition and least desirable color as the “price leader.” Then stagger the prices on the others based on the same criteria. Depending on state law you might be able to say “5 to choose from” or “starting at.”

So, the point here is that there are several things you can do to improve your business. One, study the data produced by companies like vAuto and Auto Count and stock accordingly. Two, get back in the “program car” business. But if you do, make sure you keep it under control by keeping the average cost down so you are not competing with your new. It also means using a concept like SETS that allows you to serve up a price leader. Then stagger the others and make sure you don’t advertise them all at the same price.

So, maybe we have come full circle. Maybe, now is the time to circle the wagons. Get back inside the box a bit and give program cars another shot. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs.

Your inability to move fast is a killer for your used car business. Moving fast puts you into the winner’s circle. Not moving fast puts you in the loser’s circle.

The speed of your service department has a direct impact on your ability to produce gross in the used car department. And without a doubt, it impacts how fast you get a car out in the Internet world. You cannot afford a 7 to 10 day window.

I have never understood why some dealers allow the service department to control their ability to turn used car inventory quickly. It’s as if the Dealer/Owner Operator has some sort of fear of the service manager when it comes to explaining who wears the pants and who the service department’s best customer is. “Tail wagging the dog?” Have you checked the name on the sign on the front of the building lately?

I’d be preaching to the choir if I went over all the reasons the service department needs to cooperate and get your used cars through service just as quickly as possible. Unfortunately most service managers don’t have a clue or don’t care that your inventory is costing you a ton when it’s sitting.

If I was giving them the benefit of the doubt, I think in some cases they get caught up in the day-to-day issues with your retail customers and they don’t pay attention to what’s going on with your used cars. They need to continuously be educated about how fast the market can change on a used car and what it does to your bottom line.

Delays in your service department are oftentimes tied to your poor display of used cars on your website. It is not unusual to have used cars in inventory for a week or two and they are still not properly represented on your website. I’m amazed at several things when I look at dealership websites:

How hard it is to get into the used car section. Far too many clicks. (Lack of speed kills)

1. The lack of quality pictures. (You need your own photo booth!)
2. The lack of quantity. You need 40 plus pictures to be competitive in today’s market.
3. The posting of stock photos. (You’ve got to be kidding!)
4. Description of cars with no photos or saying “photos coming soon.” (Another you’ve got to be kidding!)

One through five is because someone doesn’t care, someone is lazy or someone just doesn’t have a clue. Regardless of the reason, it gets back to speed being the killer and speed making you a winner. You have to decide how serious you are about this business. If you’re dead serious you will get off your duff and get these things fixed. If you’re not then you and your business will just soon be dead. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs