I realize this may not be a fit for some of you. And yes, there are some who believe this is old school, old fashioned and outdated.

But, there are some who can make this work. And if it helps someone sell a few more units, I can handle a little criticism.
Memorial Day is just around the corner.

Consider Having An Onsite and Online Tent Sale:

1. Put the tent up as close to the road as possible. Pick the best strategic position on your lot.
2. Put tables and chairs at least 6′ apart in the tent & use plastic or plexiglass partitions to separate people.
3. Put ALL of your people in the tent.
4. Work all deals in the TENT!
5. Hang banners from the TENT saying “TENT SALE.”
6. Hang banners that say Social Distancing in Play.
7. Banners that say, Get Tent Sale Prices Online.
8. Offer free masks.
9. Make sure everyone is wearing a mask.
10. Lots and lots of spiffs for your salespeople and managers.
11. Send out memos and emails to all employees explaining in detail what’s going to be happening.
12. Rope off special parking for customers. Hire an off duty police officer or security guard to direct them.
13. Answer the phone XYZ Dealership Tent Sale in Progress.
14. Do a fundraiser at the same time for the local little league, homeless shelter, or whatever.
15. Post the event on your website.
16. Do an email blast to all your customers advising them of the sale. If your CRM system is sophisticated enough make sure you tell them you need their specific trade and will pay top dollar for it during the sale.
17. Giveaways generally don’t do much except cause people to show up to get their gift and leave, but having people register for a free car is a good way to get info on them when they show up. Pick out a $1000 or $2000 car and give it away.
18. Along that same line, give the salesman who registers the winning ticket some sort of prize. Gift card, $200, whatever floats your boat.
19. Make up a bunch of signs like real estate signs that say “Tent Sale in Progress” and “Social Distancing in Play.” Put along the grass in front of the dealership.

It’s not complicated and it’s not expensive. You just have to be creative. People need to know you’re back in business.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Absolutes are a powerful tool for creating a disciplined organization.

The downside of absolutes is it chokes off the potential to have an acceptable exception.

Exceptions break the rule of discipline. Exceptions soon become the norm.

When exceptions become the norm, chaos breaks out. The type of chaos I’m referencing isn’t actually like a bomb going off. This chaos is slow and gradual, often not recognized, and then – whamo – there it is, its ugly face screaming at you, “What the heck happened?”

Now here’s the real deal for those of you looking to become better leaders. You can have absolutes and exceptions in the same house.

They can actually hang out with each other once in a blue moon.

True leaders can use them both and chaos will never show its ugly face. Granting an exception and going back to absolutes is very doable.

The problem with leadership is that very few leaders have the skill to make effective use of them both.

Most people in leadership positions are stuck with one or the other.

At any given moment one is just as bad as the other. That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

When I first got into the car business, we had a sales meeting every morning.

Yes, as in Monday through Saturday. Part of the meeting had a bit of rah, rah, and part of it was training, covering issues, sorting out details of what our production was relative to forecast, and so on and so on.

For the most part, daily meetings have gone out of style and daily training is gone…well, I don’t know where. At best, the management team has been assigned counseling duties to review the BDC activity. At worst management says hello to each salesperson.

From time to time the Dealer/GM gets all wired up and implements a new program/process that demands certain things are done. At best, it’s a 90-day excursion to futility.

It’s a given that those who consistently use positive best practices are the ones who achieve the most success and the ones that are less likely to have aging inventory problems.

One of the things that happened during those daily meetings back in the “good old days” was the used car manager would get up in the front of the room and tell everyone to get their “sheet” out of their back pocket so changes could be made.

The referenced sheet was the “used car list.” The used car manager would then say something like “draw a line through stock number 2345A. We sold that car last night.” Further saying “add to your sheet, stock number 4645A. Tommy would you stand up in the back of the room and tell everyone about the nice little car you traded in last night.”

As antiquated as that might seem to you it’s far better than most do today. If you want to sell more used cars you need to provide the team with more information about what you have in inventory.

A great method of doing that is to do a lot walk (Not to be confused with a trade-walk) once a week. At least once a week, when done right, the lot walk will generate some pretty amazing results.

The lot walk is done right after the “Save-a-Deal” meeting. I just know you’re doing a “Save-a-Deal” meeting so it shouldn’t be hard for you to add the lot walk at the end of that meeting.
Every salesperson and every manager goes on the lot walk. New, Used, they all go on the Lot Walk. Make sure the service manager is included in this walk.

You should stop and talk about each and every car on the lot. The conversations that come about will amaze you. A real byproduct of the lot walk is the salespeople will start to tell you why certain cars haven’t sold. They also gain so much more knowledge about what’s on the lot.

Do not leave the “Trade Line” out of the lot walk. They need to know what’s in the system and what’s about to become available.

This is a great time to inquire about what they think you need to stock. Of course, you can’t fulfill all their needs, wants, and desires, but it becomes a great opportunity to educate them about the law of supply and demand and why they need to sell the value of your current inventory.

When the team is educated, they tend to educate the customer. When the customer is educated as to the value of your product you sell more cars and make more money. Education for both starts with the information shared on the “Lot Walk.” Let’s Walk. That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

I’ve spent most of my life observing and studying leadership skills. It started with my first little league coach, my college coaches, my experience as an athlete and as an NCAA college basketball referee.

Then into the business world, observing some of the best and some of the worst. Reading, studying, and attending workshops have all been a part of my journey on why leadership is stinky and the reverse, why it excels.

1. They aren’t flexible. You can tie this thought to any sport you want. The best teams are lead by people who make the right adjustments at the right time. Leaders are like boxers. They are bobbing and weaving. Far too often leaders get locked into whatever and their whatever drives the team nuts.

2. They don’t pay attention. What a simple concept. Real leaders have their eyes and ears open 24/7. They don’t lock themselves in their office and issue orders. They walk around. They talk. They listen.

3. They think they know it all. Nobody knows it all. You don’t, I don’t. Even CNN & Fox don’t. Leaders know what they don’t know.

4. They want you to rely on them to tell you everything
to do. That’s not what real leaders do. Leaders say, “I trust your good judgment, you decide.” When you stumble, they coach you up, not put you down.

5. They walk like a turtle. Show me a slow walker and I’ll show you, someone, nobody wants to follow. Get some pep in your step and get your butt in gear.

6. They are a stick in the mud. What a miserable life if you can’t laugh at yourself. If you don’t have a sense of humor you need to get a sense of humor.

7. They are arrogant and egotistical. There’s a big difference in being confident and being a jerk. Don’t be a jerk.

8. They aren’t likable. Ties into being a jerk. If you’re not likable the odds of being a great leader are about slim and none.

9. They hide the details. Leaders want to give you more than you need to know. They know that the more you know, the faster you learn. The faster you learn, the faster you buy-in. The faster you buy in, the faster the team grows.

10. They put the wrong people in the wrong seats on the bus. Leaders know that just because you have skill A doesn’t mean it’s a fit for seat B. Getting the right people in the right seats is critical for success.

11. They have lapses in integrity. You either have integrity or you don’t. It’s not a part-time thing to be used when you see fit. Leaders have integrity 24/7/365.

12. They say stupid things. Leaders use common sense before they open their mouths. The problem in today’s world is common sense isn’t so common.

13. They run around like a nut. Leaders know when to be calm and when to get excited. Too much of either makes people suspicious of you.

14. They have boss tattooed on their chest. Leaders aren’t the least bit concerned about tattoos or titles.

15. They say, “Look at me, look what I did.” Leaders say you guys did an awesome job. Way to go. I’m proud of you.

16. They blame others. Leaders say, “I let you down.” I need your help so I can do a better job. Let’s all work harder and smarter to do better.

17. They say do this, do that. Leaders say, “I need your help.”

18. They got promoted over their head. They know it. Everyone knows it. Not their fault. Somebody screwed up. Leaders don’t have to live with it. When all else fails, leaders hit the eject button, reset and move on.

19. They never read the bible. Leaders follow the golden rule. It simple. It’s easy. Preach it. Talk it. Walk it.

20. They don’t do what they say they are going to do. Leaders are true to their word.

21. They lack discipline. Leaders understand the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.

22. They confuse friendship and loyalty. Leaders are loyal, but they are smart enough to know when their loyalty to certain individuals is hurting the team. Leaders make hard decisions. You can be loyal without being stupid. Don’t be stupid.

23. They don’t own a mirror. Leaders find most of the solutions to their problems in the bathroom mirror.

24. They live in the past. Leaders say, just because we’ve always done it that way doesn’t mean we’re going to keep doing it that way.

25. They stop learning and growing. Leaders invest time and money on self and team development.

26. They resist change. Leaders knock down the walls of resistance. They know resistance is enemy #1.

27. They let people be mean to others. Leaders have a motto, “If you aren’t nice to your teammates and our customers you can’t work here.” Another simple concept for you.

28. They micro-manage. Leaders are good checkers, but they give people a job and let them do their job. They coach when necessary and stay out of the way the rest of the time. Leaders don’t “number” people to death.

29. They don’t look like a leader. I understand you want to dress casually. I do too, but I don’t. Ok, I’ll give you one day a week and that’s painful for me to say. The rest of the time you need to set the example and look the part.

30. This one’s for you. You pick. I’m sure you’ve got one that I left out.

I’ve said enough so that’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

(Written week of April 20, 2020, in the middle of coronavirus pandemic.)

I get several calls and/or emails a day asking, “What should I do about my aging inventory now that sales have slowed so badly.”

My first piece of advice is this may not be the time to be thinking about writing your inventory down.

It is certainly a time to think about retailing everything you can at some number.

That said, there may come a point at which you need to write down a selected few units or possibly your entire inventory.

If you’ve been allowing units to exceed 60 days then you may be in big poop and have to bite the big bullet.

The first thing to understand is don’t bother writing your inventory down unless of course, you’re going to commit to some serious changes.

Often when dealers write their used car inventory down, they take a big hit, a deep breath, and say, “OK, done, let’s move forward.”

Many dealers lack the discipline to steer away from what got them there in the first place. Therefore, in six months or so, the owners are staring at the same hot mess they tried to fix and thinking here we go again.

It hurts me to say this, and I know it’s going to cause a few of you to unsubscribe from my newsletters but taking units to the auction and dumping them is just plain dumb.

If you thought enough of that 60-day old unit to bring it into your inventory as a retail piece, you should have been able to find a retail buyer for it at some number. There’s a number that every unit can be retailed at.

Therein lies the problem. You won’t retail it for what it’s actually worth, yet you’re willing to wholesale it for what it’s actually worth.

Of course, your attitude is different right now as a lot of you are being forced to retail units at less than desirable numbers. You would have been better served to have had that sort of mindset before we got to this hot mess of today.

Hey Einstein, which way do you think you have the greatest opportunity to recover from a unit that was probably a bad decision from jump-street? Insanity.

The instances where you have to dump a previously assigned retail piece in the wholesale market should be very few. If you’re in the retail automobile business, then retail your units.

Yes, the grosses on all that aged stuff are going to hurt you for a while. Dumping in the wholesale market will hurt you more. If you have a lick of discipline and stay with it, you will be fine and never, ever have another unit over 60.

My Life-Cycle management process gives you the disciplines and strategies that will keep you from saying, “More write-downs, here we go again.”

If you’re interested I have an easy to use spreadsheet that I’d be happy to send you. It helps you make the adjustments and encourages you to set a new life-cycle on each unit you write-down. Hit the reply button and it will be on its way.

One more thing to keep in mind; 30 days is now the new 60. Be mindful of your 30-day rolling sales numbers vs your current inventory numbers.

This may or may not be the time for write-downs.

If you are going to write down your inventory let me coach you through it. It costs you nothing for me to help you.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

(Written in April 2020 in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.)

There’s never a perfect time to make changes.

That said, we should certainly do our research, do some strategic planning and pick a time and place that gives us the best chance to succeed.

Many dealers are likely going to be making tough decisions about staff and business strategies in the near term.

One of those most likely to go to the top of the list are pay plans.

Part of that evaluation is to determine if you’re incentivizing the right behaviors that are going motivate the mindset of current and potential team members moving forward.

Dealers have known for years that paying on gross has its issues but evaluating options and making changes often gets put off because of the concern of upsetting the staff and the “timing” is always wrong.

There may never be a better time than right now to make that change.

In the end, a smart Dealer/GM would be wise to seek input from the sales staff and sales management.

Buy-in of the “new plan” has a much better chance of succeeding when the team believes it’s their plan.

Maybe this is also a good time to review:

1. The selling process.

2. Used car aging policy.

3. Recon time to the front line.

4. Website (I dare you. Go look at it. Click around a little.)

5. Ability to sell a vehicle remotely. Do you have a real process in place? (Electronic Signature and delivery procedure.)

6. Staffing. The right people? The wrong people? People doing the wrong things for their skill level? “The right people on the bus, sitting in the right seats, doing the right stuff.”

7. Advertising & Marketing. Are you spending the money in the right places? Better yet, are you holding those places accountable for the numbers they are generating or not?

8. F&I process from the turn-over to F&I to contracts in transit. Is F&I a part of your online selling process?

9. Factory receivables. Are your factory receivables in shape and being followed up on? Are you getting every dime they owe you?

10. Never has there been a better time to evaluate your leadership and communication skills than right now.

Right now, more than ever before in your store’s history, your team needs to see and hear you. It can be a one-on-one session or an all-hands-on-deck meeting. It just needs to be.

There’s no perfect way for you to deliver the message. Just make sure you keep delivering.

People often feel they are left in the dark about what’s going on.

You are the light. Shine your light. You are their light and hope that we will get through this hot mess.

Go shine your light. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

When I was a kid growing up in Richmond VA my father had a “dirt lot” used car lot.

My father and some of his fellow used car dealer friends loved to gamble. Back in those days they would rent a hotel room in downtown Richmond and play cards all night long.

Some nights he came home with money. Some nights he came home broke.

My father’s nickname with his peers was “Nervous.” Yep, they called him nervous. He was always worried that the cops were going to raid the joint and take ’em all to jail.

We all inherit traits from our parents. I inherited the “nervous” trait from my father.

Used cars make me nervous. Some used cars make me more nervous than others. This is a time to be more nervous about some than others.

You should be identifying the ones that make you the most nervous and come up with a plan to make them go away.

A few of the ones that make me the most nervous are:

1. High dollar
2. High miles
3. Bad colors
4. Bad equipment
5. Cars we have too much money in from jump street
6. Anything 45 days old and older
7. Auction purchases
8. High cost to market
9. High day’s supply

Gambling made my dad nervous.

Used cars make me nervous.

Gambling on the wrong used cars makes me even more nervous.

What makes you nervous? That’s all I’m gonna ask, Tommy Gibbs

Going back to 2013 (Article) and even further I’ve been trying to tell you that now was the time to take action.

I’ve continuously said you cannot afford to do things when you “have to.”

I’ve said time and again that you need to be leading from the front and not chasing from the rear.

I’ve talked for years of the fact that you don’t need those big fancy showrooms. I realize that can be a tough fight with the factory, but some of you let your ego get in the way with size, cost, and sizzle.

I preached for years that all salespeople need to become Internet salespeople. People want to deal as little as possible with your staff in the showroom.

Even without the coronavirus you’ve seen showroom traffic dwindle year after year.

How many times have I said you have to be set up with electronic signature so you can do as much as possible online?

So here we are; social distancing is the theme of the day and many dealers are scrambling to change up their business models.

Some of you have heeded that advice and are in better shape than others. Even so, you still have work to do.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there’s no going back to “normal.” This may well be the “new normal.”

If you’re not already dialed into the new way of doing business you need to quickly go into a “balls to the walls, take no prisoners” mindset and sense of urgency.

Put as much time and money in as you have to. We’re at that point in time where you don’t have a choice.

Now you have to, which is never the position any of us want to be in. You just have to do it. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs