| Data + Common Sense=Good Stuff |
| Often there’s a disconnect between the desired goals and the skill level of those who have been put in charge of obtaining the numbers we need. We are now in the second month of the year and maybe the plans you laid down back in December are coming together or maybe they aren’t. Regardless, it’s always smart to remind ourselves of the fundamentals. Here are 5 thoughts to keep you moving forward: 1. It’s important to know what you deserve for any given car or truck on your lot. Knowing and understanding that is based on two parts: Data.Common sense. Knowing and getting what you deserve means having a true understanding of the market and every unit on your lot. They are all different, yet we often treat them all the same. It’s knowing when to fish or cut bait. All used cars do not deserve 60 days of shelf life. The sooner you understand that the sooner you will become a better used car operator. 2. Redundant Training. It ain’t redundant until you’re perfect. You’re used car department isn’t perfect. Don’t confuse getting lucky and today’s market with your management skills. Now is the time to amp up the training for your entire team. Dealers often think the fix to their used car department is to hire an experience used car manager or to invest in training their current used car manager. If you want to make a real difference train your entire management team on what’s important. When you get everyone on the same page great things happen. 3. Rolling 30-Day Sales Travel Rate. Pay attention to the number of units you currently have in stock vs. the number of units you have sold over the last 30 days. If you’re doing the right things all you need is a 30-day supply of cars. If you need more than that to get the job done, you’re probably stuck in the 1980s. Almost without exception, we are seeing inventories starting to outpace the sales travel rates. If you’re using our UpYourGross software tool, it’s right there on the scoreboard page for you to see. Maybe you don’t want to know the truth. 4. Not selling in Today’s Market. Your most profitable car is a car you see in the first 30 days. Grosses absolutely go down after the first 30 days. The excuse we often hear is it takes too long to get a car thru recon. If you’re 100% sure that’s part of the problem, then it’s your job as a leader to fix it. Speed wins; the lack of speed kills. 5. Early Warning Radar. You have to be able to spot a problem child on day one, not day 61. Every one of your aged units (Your oldest unit is an aged unit) has a story to go with it. That story started back on day one and somebody wasn’t paying attention. Fix your Radar system and your used car operation will become more efficient and more profitable. It’s only the second month of the year. Stay focused on what’s important. You get what you deserve when you do the work to deserve what you get. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs |