My Wednesday newsletters have always been about giving you information designed to help you improve your business. With the market being as crazy as it has been of late I feel compelled to serve you up a fix for all your used car woes.

That said, it’s very likely that the reason you’re on this list is that at some point along the way I’ve had the honor of speaking to your 20 Group or you heard me speak at the NADA or state convention.

If you happen to be in a 20 Group one of the things we both know is there are dealers in your 20 group who are excelling, a handful in the middle and a few others that have their struggles when it comes to used cars which creates a drain on the bottom line.

My used car processes are designed to improve your used car operation and your overall bottom line. Your bottom line and your organization will only grow but so much unless you grow your leadership team.

My processes make sense and get amazing results.

I don’t train just your used car manager, I train your entire management team including your service manager. Until you get your entire team on the same page not much is going to change. To understand what I do and how I do it watch the short video at the bottom of this email.

Do the math. Divide my fee by the number of managers and/or the number of stores in your group. It’s a no brainer and a great investment in your team, your business and your future.

If you’re good, I’ll make you great.

If you’re great, I’ll make you greater.

Improvement gets down to one or two things:

1. Not knowing.

2. Not doing.

I fix both. Give me a call. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

I’m thinking that even if you don’t, you probably have. We often lie to ourselves in order to justify whatever it is we’re trying to justify.

To put it another way, “You can justify anything you want to justify.”

If you want to spend a bunch of money on advertising you can figure out a way to justify it or not.

If you’re thinking about firing someone you can justify doing so or not.

If you want to add additional staff you will figure a way to talk yourself into it or not.

If you’re you think you’re making money on cars over 60 days, you can justify it even though you’re not.

Choose your lies wisely, that’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

One of the processes I learned early in my career as a new car dealer was a “Save-a-Deal” meeting.

I often bring it up in my workshops. About 75% of the people have heard of it and of that maybe 20% actually do it.

If you don’t know what it is or you’re not using it, you should learn about it and you should start using it. It’s simple and effective to do.

It’s actually what its name implies. It saves deals. It makes deals. It helps you sell more cars. It keeps the staff focused on what’s important.

Every morning the Dealer, GM or GSM should gather up all the Sales, F&I and BDC/Internet managers and review the activity and pending deals from the previous day.

Bring the up log into the meeting and talk about each up from the previous day. Assign certain tasks and follow up to specific managers who will report back with the results.

Make sure every appraisal from the previous day is reviewed, discussed, dissected from one end to the other. Look for a way to get the trade and make the deal.

Consider all options including shopping the trade and even burying yourself. Have a manager contact all the customers that you could not come to terms with and up the ante for their trade. Sometimes all it takes is a phone call from the right person and another $500 to make the deal.

The odds are your competitors aren’t following up with an additional offer. You win and it’s an easy way to improve your “look to book.” When you improve your “look to book,” you spend less time hanging out at the auctions.

I’ll guarantee you’ll make some deals. You’ll save some deals. You’ll make more money, have a happier life and momentum will build. When you built momentum, the team wins. When the team wins, they want more wins. “Save-a-Deal” meetings are all about winning.

It takes discipline to do a “Save-a-Deal” meeting every day. “The pain of discipline or the pain of regret.” That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

I’ve written about this before, but the subject is so important that I’ve revised and repeating myself.

I’m going to be discussing and commenting on what’s commonly known as the “Four Stages Of Learning” plus two others that I know you have never heard of because I made them up. I don’t know where the first four originated, I just know I stole them.

All six stages of learning apply regardless of the application. They can be applied in sports, business, social activities, and life in general.

All 6 stages of learning apply regardless of the application. They can be applied in sports, business, social activities, and life in general.

1. Unconscious incompetence-The individual does not understand or know how to do something and does not necessarily recognize the deficit. The individual must recognize their own incompetence, and the value of the new skill, before moving on to the next stage.

The length of time an individual spends in this stage depends on the strength of the stimulus to learn. The more time they are willing to spend learning the skill or activity the faster they move to the next stage.Example: You decide to take up golf so you go out to the driving range, whack at a few balls. 1 out of 10 you make great contact, but you have no clue what you’re doing. You know you love the feeling and you know you want some more of it so you keep returning to the driving range and/or play a few rounds of awful golf.

2. Conscious incompetence-Though the individual does not understand or know how to do something, he or she does recognize the deficit, as well as the value of a new skill in addressing the deficit. The making of mistakes can be integral to the learning process at this stage. Example: After going to the driving range for a while and playing a few rounds you begin taking lessons with a golf pro and quickly realize how little you know. You observe others either at the golf course or on video, etc. and the realization of how much there is to this game starts to sink in.

3. Conscious competence-The individual understands or knows how to do something. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires concentration. It may be broken down into steps, and there is heavy conscious involvement in executing the new skill. Example: More golf lessons, more golf rounds played and you are starting to understand the integral parts of the swing. You haven’t mastered the swing yet, but you are starting to strike the ball more consistently especially when you think it through. It’s not automatic, but your skills are improving as your knowledge starts to grow. This can be the most frustrating stage of the first four. You still have to think about it. When you do your results are much better and when you don’t you want to throw your clubs in the lake.

4. Unconscious competence-The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it has become “second nature.” and can be performed easily. The individual may be able to teach it to others, depending upon how and when it was learned.Example: You’ve now repeated your golf swing enough times, played enough rounds, attempted enough different types of shots that you can break par or better and have reached a very competitive level. You no longer have to think about the elements of your swing, you just do it. The physical and mental muscle memory is locked in.

5. Competent Incompetence-is the most dangerous of the six. It’s when you have years of experience, know your stuff and have become convinced you have nothing else to learn. Your success has convinced you that you are “the man,” (or woman) and you are done learning. Seeking more knowledge is the last thing on your mind. What got you to where you are today is what you think is going to keep you where you are and beyond.

6. Learning to be competent-this stage never stops. It’s a life long journey that keeps life interesting and challenging. You know that learning is a journey, not a destination. (That would be you and I.)

The most successful people at any skill, business or activity are the ones who continue to do two things:

1. They keep going back to the basics.

2. They continue searching for answers even when they think they already have many of them.

What stage are you in? I’m in the “Learning To Be Competent” stage and I hope it never ends. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

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. It’s not too soon to be thinking about putting on a Memorial Day sale.

Consider Having An Onsite 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 in the tent.

3. Put ALL of your people in the tent.

4. Everybody goes in the TENT!

5. Work all deals in the TENT!

6. If at all possible, move your computers into the tent and do F&I in the TENT.

7. Hang banners from the TENT saying “TENT SALE.”

8. Promote it with Direct mail and/or with a “private invitation” only deal for Thursday before you kick off your regular ads.

9. Do anything you can to make it look like a circus.

10. Rent those jumping air things for kids.

11. Balloons and more balloons.

12. Pop Corn, Sodas, Hot Dogs.

13. Lots and lots of spiffs for your sales people and managers.

14. Do a great kick off breakfast on Thursday for your staff.

15. Don’t do it just for the sales staff; get as many of your

employees involved as you can. (Feed everybody lunch every day of the event as well.)

16. Send out memos and emails to all employees explaining in detail what’s going to be happening.

17. Rope off special parking for customers. Hire an off duty police officer or security guard to direct them.

18. Answer the phone XYZ Dealership Tent Sale in Progress.

19. Do a fundraiser at the same time for the local little league or whatever.

20. Post the event on your website.

21. 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.

22. 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 $2000 or $3000 car and give it away.

23. Along that same line, give the salesman who registers the winning ticket some sort of prize. Gift card, $200, whatever floats your boat.

24. Make up a bunch of signs like real estate signs that say “Tent Sale in Progress” and put along the grass in front of the dealership.

25. If you’re close to the interstate do some signs with arrows and put them up close to the ramp. (Oh come on, the worst that can happen is they make you take them down.)

26. Rent a chicken suit or some kind of character and have them walk up and down in front of the Dealership with a placard that says “Tent Sale in Progress.”

It’s not complicated and it’s not expensive. You just have to be creative. Get some of your key people together and throw some ideas around.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Where can I find a good used car manager? Yep, I get 15 to 20 emails a month asking me that question.

Often, when speaking to a 20 group or at a convention, someone will approach me and ask me if I know anyone they can hire for the used car manager’s position.

Very seldom do I have a name. Think about it. For the most part, if someone’s really good at what they do, they are smart enough to stay put. Whoever they are working for is smart enough to treat them well so they do stay put.

99.9% of the time when someone leaves an organization all the inventory problems come to the surface upon their exit.

My advice is always the same; you need to find someone within your organization, someone who knows your culture and who you can develop for an even greater position.

That’s what leaders do. They grow their team. They don’t run out and hire other people’s problems.

I often say if I were in your shoes, I’d find someone internally with a strong work ethic, who is open minded, technologically savvy, has some common sense, and I’d coach them to greatness.

For at least 6 months I (meaning the dealer or GM) would hold their hand. They would be my assistant. We’d be like Siamese twins and we would do everything together. He/she would follow me around like a puppy dog.

Here’s how it would work:

I do it and they are with me. (The best part about this is you’re going to find out where all the obstacles and landmines are located. Because you have the power, you will fix a lot of issues that have been holding your used car operation back.)

Eventually, I’d hand it off to them and they would do it and I’d be with them. I’d watch. I’d critique.

At some point, they would do it. They don’t need me except on issues outside of the scope of their authority.

And then, here’s the biggie, (this is how you grow) they do it, and someone is with them.

This is how you compound and grow your organization. Just like compounding interest.

Until you take this approach, your ability to grow will always be limited. To do anything else, you’re just plugging holes with a temporary worn out cork.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

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