A number of years ago I came up with a saying, “You’re never as smart as you think you are and you are never as dumb as you appear.” Some of you are feeling pretty smart right now.

It could be that you are really smart, or it could be that you got lucky because of a once in a lifetime market shift in your favor. (Dale Pollak’s Article)

And of course there are times when you feel pretty dumb. Even that may or may not be true. You might be a victim of a bad set of circumstances. Some of you have had bad franchises in bad locations or it could be that you’re a newer used car manager that inherited a hot mess for a used car inventory.

Or it could be you’re just dumb.

In any given set of circumstances, it’s important to maximize whatever you have. Right now, you may be maximizing things in spite of yourself or maybe you’ve been smart enough to make some good moves.

It could have been you didn’t know what to do and by doing nothing you got lucky.

The most important thing right now is recognizing where you are, how you got there and how to stay on this magical course you’ve discovered.

Even with all that said, this business continues to be:

All about the basics.
All about the fundamentals.
All about your disciplines.
All about the processes.
All about understanding the data.
All about common sense.
All about your focus.

There’s your roadmap to staying the course. Stay the course. That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

Everyone has problem cars from time to time. You know the ones I’m talking about.

The ones that want to stick around forever. The ones you haven’t yet found a buyer for.

But where did they come from? How did they all of a sudden end up on your lot? Did they just fall out of the sky?

Can you imagine how much better off you would be if you could identify problem cars on day 1 vs. day 61? Suppose you had a strategy in place to deal with them sooner rather than later?

The number one problem in the industry is we just don’t pay attention. We don’t pay attention soon enough. By the time we realize we have a problem, it’s too late.

Take the time to do a “trade walk” which includes all purchase units, and be blatantly honest about what you’re staring at.

Then put a strategic plan in place to deal with the more problematic units.

If you did nothing more than that, you’d have a lot less units falling from the sky, hitting you in the head and giving you a headache.

And, you would have a lot better bottom line. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

If you’re the Dealer, GM or GSM and you’ve got inventory over 60 days old, it’s on you. It’s your fault. You own it, no excuses.

I cannot tell you the number of times the top dog wants to blame the used car manager for the aged inventory, grosses, etc. Really? No, no, no…it’s your fault for allowing it to happen.

Either you let them sell you on all the reasons why they should keep them, or you just weren’t paying attention. Either way, it’s on you.

There’s a retail buyer for every unit sitting on your lot. You just haven’t priced it right enough to make it go away. There are zero excuses for anything being over 60.

Here’s the real excuse; you’re not paying attention. You’re not in the game and you’re not leading anything.

You need to man-up, woman-up and stand up. Look in the mirror and be accountable. Stop blaming the used car manager. It’s on you. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Can you believe it? Does time fly? The year is half over.

How was your June? How have your first six months been? I know it’s been a crazy year, but some of you have had a couple of good months.

You might even be beating your chest a little bit.

Some of you have been running full speed ahead. Some of you have been dragging through the sand.

Maybe in your state and your market, COVID 19 has hurt you or in some cases it may have even helped you.

If you haven’t performed well, there may be some legitimate excuses, but maybe you just had the wrong plan in place.

Just because you had the wrong plan does not mean it’s too late to fix it. You’ve still got 6 more months to go.

Those of you who have had a good first 6 months need to be cautious of becoming complacent. Even though things have been going well, you would be very smart to review how you can make things better as you tackle the second half.

Everything we do is about choices. You can choose to let things be as they are or you can choose to dial it up a notch or two.

To do so means to review your plan and the strategies you have in place. And, make the changes that are necessary to get you where you know you need to go.

Your other choice is to do nothing. Go sit in your office and stare at the wall. Enjoy your seat and pretty soon it will be over, Tommy Gibbs