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

We’ve all heard the saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Those words were never truer than they are today.

I actually started writing this a few weeks ago, but my spin on the subject is spot on depending on your definition of the word “competition.”

Right now you’re not just competing against other dealers, you’re competing against the media’s spin and unknown factors that are upsetting you, your team, and the market.

We’ve had some good years so it’s easy to feel somewhat satisfied.

You can never be satisfied. Those sounds you hear behind you are the competition coming to gobble you up. If you take just one little break, take your eye off the ball for one second, or have one little hiccup, it could be the very thing that starts a downward spiral.

As Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz reminds us, “Seek to renew yourself, even when you’re hitting home runs.” How appropriate is that in today’s market?

Tough times and competition always make you better. Those competitors running behind you are a good thing. Learn to appreciate your competitors and make it a point to learn from them. Use them to scare you into more heightened motivation and a stronger competitive mind-set.

Successful people often succeed out of fear. The fear of failure. The fear of falling back. The fear of giving up all they have worked so hard for. It’s that fear that causes the successful ones to keep pushing and to keep looking for new and better ways of doing things.

Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems, once said, “You either eat someone for lunch, or you can be lunch.”

Competition is the very lifeblood of a driven business leader. Study it. Embrace it. Love it. Use it as success fuel. Use it to take you to the top of your mental game.

Develop an unstoppable competitive mindset, and it will push you so far ahead of the competition that you won’t have to worry about looking over your shoulder.

Competition is an extra spice that keeps life interesting, keeps us on our toes, and stimulates us to greater creativity and productivity.

The best leaders realize that when they are having success it’s easy for the team to become satisfied and complacent and it’s the leader’s job never to let that happen.

A leader’s job is to push the team through the good times to the next level, and the next level, and the next level.

Pushing through the good times was my original thought on this newsletter. Real leadership shows up when times are tough.

Make sure you show up. That’s all I’m gonna say.Tommy Gibbs

I received a call the other day from a dealer raving about how great his used car business is.

Over the years his increase in used car sales has been astonishing. In part, because he became a believer in a lot of my concepts and philosophies; none more important than retailing anything that has a breath of life in it.

I’ve always been a big believer in trying to retail everything that has a breath of life left in it. Certainly, you have state safety laws to abide by and of course, you may have your own standards for safety and reconditioning.

Often dealers conclude that they don’t want to mess with the older used vehicles because they don’t want to damage their reputation. I’ve never understood that part. The customers buying the older, cheaper units are thrilled to have that vehicle. It’s not going to hurt your reputation.

In case you’re sitting on the fence on a “Budget Center,” ask yourself these simple questions.

1. What about all the parts and service gross that would have been generated on the less expensive cars going through service and reconditioning?

2. What about the fact that you could have put more money in some trades because you intend to retail them vs. wholesale them? How many more car deals do you end up making because you have a better plan?

3. Does the increase in volume from the less expensive units impact the attitude of the sales staff and their ability to earn additional income? Isn’t it true the best time to sell a car is when you just sold a car?

4. What’s the benefit of having someone driving a car, any car, high dollar, low dollar, that they purchased from you?

5. Is there a chance you just sold a car to someone who might never have set foot in your store simply because you had a vehicle at a price point they could afford to pay?

6. Is it possible that this new customer has a friend or relative who might one day come buy something because of the way this new customer was treated during the buying experience?

7. Are the odds in your favor that they may come back for an oil change or another service?

8. Does doing business generate business?

9. What’s the “Return on Investment” on selling these less expensive cars? Relative to the amount of money tied up, aren’t they a far better investment than what you would make with a $25,000 car?

How many times in a year can you turn over a $7,000 to $10,000 investment vs. a $25,000 investment?

10. Doesn’t it make sense that if you can sell more cars with less money tied up that it’s a good thing? There isn’t much of a downside to increasing volume and decreasing investment.

It’s found money, that’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

The first of anything is always the best. Coffee is a great example. I highly anticipate each morning the first taste of my cup of coffee.

It’s amazingly the best. Most things are like that.

The first time you kissed your wife, husband, girlfriend or boyfriend is far better than the smooches you’ve most recently got.

The first lick of your ice cream cone is better than the last and so on. It’s called the law of stuff tastes better at first. (Yes, I made that up.)

Used cars are that way too. Selling one in the first 10 days tastes a lot better than selling it on day 50. The biggest difference between selling a used car and getting a kiss is that selling a used car is based on math. Kissing is based on kissing. Imagine that?

There are two problems going on in today’s market.

1. We failed to recognize those units that need to be first, as in sold really fast.

Those will be your most problematic units such as ones you’ve buried yourself in, bad color, auction purchases, high dollar unit, etc. These are units that you do not have a favorable cost to market or days supply.

You have to accept the fact that you’re not going to make a ton of gross on them, but they serve a very worthwhile purpose in your business model. There are benefits galore at turning and burning these units.

2. The bigger problem is dealers often think turn and burn on everything, with little or no regard for an attractive market position.

If you have a favorable cost to market and days supply why do you need to blow that unit out so fast? Yes, you’ve made a profit, but you left a bunch on the table.

If you want to improve gross profit, you have to know which ones to hold and which ones to fold and never forget all kisses are not equal.

That’s all I’m gonna say.Tommy Gibbs

You’re not ready. That’s different than being not prepared. You’re never ready.

But, no one is ever ready for the next step.

You’re not ready for the next promotion.

You’re not ready for your next business venture.

Just because you’re not ready doesn’t mean you don’t prepare.

Not being prepared means you haven’t studied enough. You haven’t read enough.

You haven’t sought the right mentors.

You haven’t listened enough.

You haven’t asked enough of the right questions.

You haven’t explored the Internet enough.

Not being prepared means you just haven’t done enough, Tommy Gibbs

Given the chance, most people I know would jump at the chance to get an open point.

If you have the assets to make it happen, the only drawback for you would be staffing and no units in operation to support your fixed operations.

Even with those obstacles, most people will figure a way to make it happen

This type of opportunity doesn’t come along often so your decision is understandable.

Since the odds are not in your favor of getting an open point, why not invest in your used car operation?

Your new car volume isn’t likely to improve all that much with the numbers nationally hovering around 17 million. Cranking up used cars makes a lot of sense.

Of course, I think you should invest in my training and invest in increasing your enthusiasm and passion for the used car business.

That said, perhaps the best investment for you would be in a standalone recon/service center. Your first reaction is it doesn’t make financial sense. Let’s look a little deeper.

If you have two or more stores or if your stand-alone store is selling 100 plus used a month maybe it’s an investment you need to give serious consideration to.

If your current service department is operating at close to 100% efficiency, you are more than likely losing customer pay because you’re not able to service those customers in a timely manner.

We live in a world of “now.” If you can’t get them in right now, you may very well lose them forever.

With your used cars not clogging up your service operation, you should be able to quickly work your way back to 100% efficiency in the service department.

By having a separate recon car operation you’re going to shave a number of days off the number of days tied up in recon.

Every day you save makes you money. Forget about the savings in holding costs. Your grosses are the best in the first 10 days you sell a car. Faster is better.

With a recon car operation, you’re likely to be more flexible about how you price labor and parts to the used car department.

That’s especially true when it comes to keeping some of the older, cheaper, high mileage stuff, etc.

Retailing a unit vs. wholesaling a unit is always a winning proposition for you.

If you don’t have room to build a building, then look for something you can rent or buy within a 5-mile radius of your store or stores. Yes, you will have to shuffle them back and forth, but you can figure that out.

Some questions you should ask:

How much internal work are you now doing?

What’s the impact of moving that from your service department?

Can your service department make up the difference?

How many additional units will you have to sell for the recon center to more than pay for itself?

By opening a separate recon center what’s the message you are sending your organization?

Now is the time to invest in your used car operation. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

“The overeducated are worse off than the undereducated, having traded common sense for the illusion of knowledge.” Naval Ravikant

I saw this quote and it was a good reminder that we have to be careful in the automobile business to not let data be the only decision-making factor to determine a strategy for each used car in our stock portfolio.

I’m constantly reminding my audiences that every used car is different and has to be fully evaluated as the unique beast it is.

Your skill, your knowledge, your experience, and good common sense play a major role in your success.

Never sell yourself short. Then on the other hand never sell yourself on being too smart.

Software is a tool and a guide that should help point you in the right direction, but at the end of the day, it’s your decision making that’s going to make a big difference.

Show me someone that “gets” the car business and understands how to analyze data, and I’ll show you someone managing a used car department that’s rocking.

Rock your used car department by using common sense and technology. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs