Is It Hard?

Accountability: “The quality or state of being accountable; an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions.”

Accountability starts with you, vibrates to those around you and ends up back in your lap.

If you believe a leader sets the culture of an organization then you must believe you cannot create an organization of accountability if you’re lacking in your daily disciplines.

If you’re not willing to hold yourself accountable then for sure you can’t hold others accountable.

Why should those around you do what has been deemed important, if you as their leader aren’t willing to do the same? There are a million ways to describe this, but since I’m a common sense guy, how about “monkey see, monkey do?”

A good leader makes sure those around them know what’s important. And a good leader makes things important by checking to make sure those around them are doing what’s important.

Building an organization of accountability isn’t a one-time thing. It’s an everyday thing led by you.

Accountability plays no favorites. If you let one person off the hook, eventually the entire organization falls off the hook.

Besides your personal accountability, there are three parts to holding people accountable.

1. Your personal street savvy. For many, this is based on time and experience and there are a few that are born with it.

2. Getting your head out of the sand. Get out of your office. Pay attention by using your peripheral vision and hearing.

3. Data. Look at the data and look at it some more. Data can be overwhelming. Figure out what’s important and what’s not by applying common sense to everything you’re looking at.

Sometimes data is misleading. Sometimes it smacks you upside your head.

Are you building an organization of accountability?

That’s all I’m gonna ask, Tommy Gibbs

Will There Be Some Pain?

There’s no denying that the stronger you are in used cars the better you are in New, Service, and Parts. It’s a given. It’s a fact. It is. It just is. You can deny it all you want. You will be wrong

There’s an old saying, “Do the things you don’t want to do, so you can do the things you want to do.” That’s a great life lesson to understand, live and grow by. Never has there been a more powerful truism than for the automobile business.

There’s no department that requires more specific strategic disciplines to be successful than your used car department.

The most common discipline that dealers struggle with is turning their inventory in 60 days. Let me state it a different way; no unit can become 60 days old. Some of the more disciplined operations are starting to put that number at 45 days old.

Most dealers would say they want to make more money. To make more money, you must do some things you don’t want to do. One of those things is the pain of discipline. Doing a lot of little things each day to ensure you can do what you want to do.

If you’re not already on a 60-day turn it’s going to be painful and costly to get there. Either you or your staff will have all kinds of excuses as to why you can’t do it. It’s going to cost you some money to get it done. (Do the things you don’t want to do.)

When you finally get it done, your dealership runs smoothly, you make more money, life is simpler, and you smile a lot. Now you’re doing the things you want to do, as in making more money.

If you’re the dealer or GM, and you have aged inventory do not blame your management team. You’re the one to blame because you have allowed it to happen.

“The pain of discipline or the pain of regret.” If you would use my lifecycle management process you’d have a lot less pain. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Dumbest Statement Ever

You have a 75-day-old car, and you justify keeping it by saying, “I don’t want to dump this unit because I can’t replace it.”

What?

What did you just say?

Are you serious?

You don’t want to get rid of it because you can’t replace it?

What part of your brain are you not using?

I heard what you said, but here’s what you really said: “I want some more cars just like that one that are going to sit around for 75 days.” Are you stupid?

If you’ve had it for 75 days, there’s obviously a reason why you still have it.

For grins and giggles let’s suppose a miracle happens and you sell that 75-day old car today and you make $500. (ROI sucks but work with me here.)

Here’s my question for you; if you can sell it at day 75 and make $500, couldn’t you have sold it for that same price at day 45 and made $500 on it?

There’s no way of knowing the answer to that, but if you can sell it at day 75 and make $500 the odds are pretty good you could have sold it at day 45 and made that same $500.

The only reason you didn’t sell it at day 45 was because you weren’t willing to price it at a price point that someone wanted to come in and take it off your hands.

.

Don’t make dumb statements. That’s all I’m gonna say.

Shut Up & Listen

I don’t know if it’s me or the way the stars have lined up lately, but it seems I’ve been running into a lot of people who have diarrhea of the mouth. They talk on and on and on and never give others a chance to participate in the conversation.

Ok, I said others, but I’m talking about me. That said, I’m pretty sure they are that way with everyone. Or, maybe I have a sign on my forehead that says, “talk, he will listen.”

These are people from all walks of life. From a successful business people to a drunk guy I’m sitting beside in a bar having dinner.

They have no awareness that they are just “talking,” and not even close to having a conversation.

I will often interrupt them and try to change the subject in hopes we can have a “conversation.” Nope, it’s like bam, and they are off and running again.

I did a little research and here’s what I found:

The difference between having a conversation and someone talking without pause lies in balance and engagement:

A. Constant Talking (Monologue):

1.  One-Way Flow: One person dominates, talking continuously without giving the other a chance to respond or engage.

2.  Lack of Listening: The speaker may focus solely on their own thoughts or feelings, often neglecting cues that the other person wants to speak.

3.  Overwhelming or Exhausting: It can feel draining for the listener, who may feel excluded or undervalued in the interaction. (Drains the hell out of me.)

B. A Conversation:

1.  Two-Way Interaction: A conversation involves active participation from both parties. Each person takes turns speaking and listening.

2.  Exchange of Ideas: Both individuals share their thoughts, ask questions, and respond to one another, creating a flow of mutual understanding.

3.  Respect for Silence: Pauses are normal and allow space for reflection or for the other person to contribute.

Key Analogy:

1.  Think of a conversation as a dance, where both people take turns leading and following, creating a rhythm together. Constant talking is like one person performing solo, leaving the other standing on the sidelines.

Why Balance Matters:

When one person monopolizes the dialogue, it ceases to be a true conversation and becomes a lecture or rant. Effective communication requires a balance where both parties feel heard and valued, fostering connection and understanding.

A good conversation is about give and take. You have two ears and one mouth for a reason. Use your mouth less and your ears more. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Two Minute Drill

In sports, you often hear about how powerful momentum and intensity can be. The last two minutes of a football game will frequently determine the outcome.

You will often see players and coach’s greatness shine through in the most helter-skelter moments. There’s a good chance the last two minutes of the Super Bowl this weekend will determine the outcome.

In the automobile business, the last day of the month is like the two-minute drill of a football game.

I have some “what ifs” for you:

What if you approached the 15th of the month as if it were the last day of the month?

What if you approached every Friday and Saturday as if they were the last two days of the month?

What if you approached every Wednesday and Thursday as if they were the last two days of the month?

What if you approached every Monday and Tuesday as if they were the last two days of the month?

What if you approached every day as if it were the last day of the month?

What day is it? 

It’s the last day of the month. It’s always the last day of the month.

The clock is ticking. You’re running out of time-outs. Pick it up. Let’s go.

That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

Put Your Guard Up

1. Guard Against The “Peter Principle”-Don’t promote people based strictly on how they have performed in their current role. Promote them to their ability to perform in their new role. People are often promoted to their level of incompetence.

2. Guard The Processes-The team with the best and most consistent processes wins the most often.

3. Guard The Team-It really is about the team. You need team players. If they aren’t on the same team you cannot afford to keep them on the team. They will destroy morale and production.

4. Guard The Customers-When you protect your customers, you build your business and set the bar for the team to do the same. The team is watching and emulating how you deal with customer issues.

5. Guard The Vendors-You must demand the same high quality and standards from your vendors as you demand from your team. Don’t lower your standards because you’re saving a few bucks.

6. Guard The Culture-There’s nothing more important that you can do than guard your culture. You cannot afford to hire people who aren’t of the same mindset. If you make that mistake you will wake up one day and there is no culture.

7. Guard Against Legacy Thinking-Just because you’ve always done it that way doesn’t mean it’s the best way. Stop looking back. Look forward.

8. Guard Against Making The Same Mistakes-Mistakes are a part of growing, but what you cannot allow is the same mistakes happening over and over again.

9. Guard The Training-You cannot train too much. It’s not “redundant training” until the team is perfect. The team isn’t perfect. Don’t be talked out of training.

10. Guard The Passion-Don’t let anyone steal or drain your passion and don’t be afraid to show your passion for all the above.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs.

5 Bullet Points

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

Does Change Need To Happen?

When People Won’t or Can’t Change, You Have to Change the People

In leadership, relationships, or even personal growth, one of the most challenging realities is recognizing when people won’t or can’t change. This realization can be especially tough when dealing with employees, partners, or even friends.

No matter how much effort you invest in coaching, mentoring, or offering support, sometimes people either aren’t willing or are simply unable to meet expectations. When this happens, it’s essential to shift your focus: instead of endlessly trying to change them, you may need to change the people.

Understanding the Barriers to Change

People resist change for various reasons. Fear of the unknown, a fixed mindset, lack of motivation, or even a deep-seated comfort in the status quo can block transformation. Some individuals may genuinely want to change but lack the skills, resources, or emotional resilience to do so.

Others may simply not share your vision or values. It’s important to assess whether the person’s inability to change stems from external factors (e.g., training, lack of clarity) or from an unwillingness to adapt.

The Cost of Waiting for Change

Holding on to people who aren’t growing with you can slow down progress. Whether in business or personal life, this can lead to missed opportunities, low morale, or frustration.

As a leader, you may find yourself compensating for their shortcomings or spending excessive energy on trying to bring them along. The reality is that the longer you hold on to people who can’t or won’t change, the more it compromises your goals and the well-being of others who are willing to move forward.

When It’s Time to Make a Change

There are key indicators that signal when it’s time to shift your approach:

  1. Consistent underperformance despite support, training, and clear expectations.
  2. Misalignment with core values or a clear lack of buy-in to your vision.
  3. Negative impact on team dynamics, causing frustration or burnout among others.
  4. Lack of personal accountability, where blame is often shifted and excuses are frequent.

When these signs become persistent, it’s time to consider changing the people involved. This doesn’t always mean firing or ending relationships harshly—it could mean shifting responsibilities, reallocating resources, or encouraging them to find a better fit elsewhere.

Changing the People to Move Forward

In leadership, difficult decisions often lead to the greatest results. Changing the people who surround you allows for the introduction of individuals who are aligned with your vision, willing to adapt, and equipped with the skills needed to thrive. This change isn’t an act of giving up, but rather a strategic step to ensure progress.

Building a team of people who are ready and willing to evolve helps maintain momentum, foster innovation, and reach new heights.

Ultimately, knowing when to stop investing in those who won’t or can’t change and instead finding individuals who are aligned with your goals is a critical leadership skill. Change is inevitable, and sometimes, it’s the people around you that need to change in order for growth to happen.

Change is part of how we grow. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Affordability Problem

One of the most talked about issue of the day is the lack of affordability in the new car sector. There are no new cars priced under $20,000. Heck, finding something under $25,000 is no easy task. And very soon $30,000 will be a cheap car.

As bad as that sounds, there’s some real opportunity here for a savvy, well discipline dealer to capture more “used car market share.”

Look at your average cost per unit sold over the last 30 days and see how that compares to your average cost per unit in stock today.

The odds are that you are upside down with those two numbers. Even if you have a decent sales rate, the reality might be that you’re selling the fresher, lower priced units and the higher dollar stuff is sitting and costing you lots of money and a lousy ROI.

Staying focused on your average cost per used in stock will help you with the affordability game.

Your mission every day should be what can you do to press the average cost down. There is no magic number. Just know what the number is and do what you can to press it down.

One of the best ways to help control it is to make sure you most expensive units are turning fast and of course trying to keep some of those cheaper cars that you have been wholesaling.

There is no set of circumstances you can lay out that negates this concept. So, if you were to say any of the following, you would be wrong:

We do a great job with highline cars. (Irrelevant.)

We do a great job with high dollar pick-up trucks (Irrelevant.)

We do a great job with high dollar SUVs (Irrelevant.)

We don’t have software that can separate our inventory by Cars, Trucks, SUVs and Wholesale Pieces (Irrelevant.)

There is no question that if you just pay closer attention to what you are buying and what you are keeping for retail that your average cost will go down.

As you monitor your average cost it is going to bump up from time to time. There are two reasons for this. First, it’s because you traded in some high dollar stuff, which you will naturally have to do and second, it’s because you got goofy and went to the auction and bought some high dollar cars. In both cases it’s a matter of paying attention to it daily and getting back on track.

I’m often asked two questions:

1. What should my target goal be? There is no target, just try to get it lower than the day before.

2. Can I press my average cost too low. The answer is no. Don’t be concerned with that. If you do a good job with $30,000 SUVs, you will still sell $30,000 SUVs, but by pressing your average cost down it just makes you that much better.

Control what you can control. Do your part to solve the affordability problem. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs