Yep, here we are again. October is almost over. October is the perfect month. “Perfect for what?” you say. Perfect for figuring out where you’ve been and where you want to go.

I can’t say that math was one of my best subjects, but I can divide by 10 real easy. At a glance I know what the averages are for any line item expenses, sales volume and gross profit.

What also makes October a perfect time is it sets the stage for the next year. Now is the time to start planning for 2016. Waiting until the last week in December to get your plan together is a really bad strategy.

This is the perfect time to dig in and firm up your fundamentals in all departments. This is the time to get back to basics. This is not the time to cut back on your training.

This is when you need to amp up your thinking, stretch your organization and stretch your imagination. If you don’t have a solid foundation of basic processes you will never maximize your success.

This is the time to take control of the “evaporation factor” that’s been occurring all year long. This is the time to stop the “process bleeding.”

Your long term plan should include joining a Twenty Group and attending the NADA convention. Look, we all get lazy, and get caught up in our daily routines. Attending these meetings gets you revitalized. It gets you outside of your daily box and opens your eyes up to what the possibilities might be. Seems like a no brainer.

This is the time to make those plans. Teamwork is critical if you’re going to maximize your bottom line. To keep your team on the same page you have to constantly communicate to them what the expectations are and what processes they are expected to follow.

There is no “shake ‘n bake” solution. You don’t fix it and walk away. You fix it and re-fix it.

What to do?

1. Ask yourself if you can improve your processes? If you focus on revamping your processes, what effect do you think it will have on your business? It is an absolute fact that regardless of how well disciplined you are, over time your processes are going to evaporate. The best piece of advice I can give you is to lock yourself and your management team in a room and review every detail of your selling processes. Be brutally honest with yourself. Then take the necessary action to get you back on track.

2. Can you improve your team? Got the wrong players? Now is the time to make the changes. If you already have the right team in place then it’s time to let them know what your expectations are and show them the plan and the path to achieve those expectations.

3. Don’t think of your planning as “you now having a plan.” Think of it as a “mission.” Plans can fall apart. When you’re on a mission you stay after it until you succeed and then you stay after it some more.

I’m on a mission to get you to re-think what you’re doing. I’m on a mission to get you ready. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

A tough subject, isn’t it? The who and the how are critical to your success. Of course the smart money says you use the vAuto appraisal tool. The who is often the mystery.

Does your dealership allow anyone on the management team to appraise a unit? I realize some stores only have a manager or two, so there are variables tied to that answer.

In an ideal world you never want the same person appraising the car that’s working the deal on a car. When the same person is appraising the car that’s working the deal, that’s like throwing Brer Rabbit in the briar patch.

And then there’s always that dreaded “bump.” The question is who gets to make the bump? Again, it’s one of those variables depending on the size of the store.

In a perfect world it’s the GM or GSM. Sure, the used car manager can bump him or herself, but that’s usually due to pressure from a co-manager, which doesn’t usually work out too well.

Here’s another fundamental rule you need to keep toward the front of your brain operating gear. Never bump an appraisal to make gross profit. If you need to bump an appraisal to make a deal, that’s way different.

Putting the right money on a unit is always a challenge. Stealing units is no more the answer than burying yourself. Keep in mind that most of your inventory problems come from purchase cars not trade-ins.

If you’re going to hurt yourself you are far better off to do so with a trade than with a purchase car. At least you’ve earned a new customer and have a chance to make up income in other areas such as F&I, service, etc.

Never forget that your ability to put the right number on a unit is the key to the success of the entire dealership.

But who is to say what the right number is? Often it gets down to your ability to retail that unit. This business is not about wholesaling, it’s about retailing.

You never know if it’s the “right number” until you sell the unit.

There’s an old saying, “If I could buy them for wholesale book prices and sell them for retail book prices I’d be very rich.”

That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

I had great mentors when I first got in the car business. One of the first things I learned was that when a salesman was working a deal the whole world stopped.

Most of us are familiar with the tower or desk concept, the area where deals are worked, which can at times be like Grand Central Station. It’s the nerve center. It’s the airplane control tower. It’s the emergency room and ICU all rolled into one.

What it’s not is a place to socialize, but socialization does happen there. With that being the reality, the management staff has to have the discipline that all silly activity stops when a sales person walks in the room. To this day when I’m in a dealership and a sales person walks in the tower I want to say, “Whatcha got?”

Sometimes they have a deal. Sometimes they have a question. Sometimes they need encouragement. Sometimes they are looking for a little push. Sometimes they are just lost. But at all times I want them to know I care about them and I’m there to help them do business.

If you’re not already using the term “Whatcha got,” maybe you should. By saying “Whatcha got,” you will get a lot and you will create more moments of excitement that lead to making things happen.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

The two hot topics of conversation of late, actually all of the time, have been how to find more cars and how to hire more and better people.

That same conversation occurred 20 years ago and will occur 20 years from now. The reality is that there is no simple fix to either of these problems.

If you think hiring a rock star buyer will solve your inventory problems in the end you will probably make them worse. If you think hiring an outside company to recruit, hire and train a group of new salespeople is the answer, it’s probably not going to work out that well.

These are the two toughest problems facing all automobile dealers and there is no one fix and voila it’s done.

Finding great players is a full-time, never-ending job. It’s just like being in the coaching field. Great coaches are always scouting and recruiting. If you are looking for a magical ad to put in the paper that’s going to attract your next superstar you may be waiting quite a while.

If you are looking toward the next great job fair and think you’re going to find 10 college graduates for your sales team that will carry you to the Promised Land, you are in for a very long day. It doesn’t happen. It doesn’t work that way. If you wait to hire people when “you need” them you are never going to find the people you need.

You and your assistant coaches have to be recruiting every minute of every day. You should be recruiting your customers, the sales clerk at the shoe store, your next-door neighbor, the waiter or waitress you meet at lunch or the enthusiastic hostess you met at Applebee’s.

One of the most successful General Managers I know was working at Wendy’s when he started selling cars.

I love college graduates. It’s not so much what they actually learn, but it does show they can stick to something. However, the odds of them sticking with you are not very good. Most college graduates don’t see selling cars as a “step up” in their life.

What you should be looking for is someone who feels they missed the boat and this is their big chance. Someone with a year or two of college is a great selection. They think they screwed up by not finishing school and they see what you offer as a super opportunity. And of course it they have a sports background all the better. They are used to getting knocked down and getting up.

As for finding more inventory…Hey coach it’s the same thing. It’s a constant thing. There is no one answer. If you are going to succeed in finding used car inventory you cannot leave any stone unturned. Trades, mining your customer base, online auctions, auctions, for sale by owner and any other brilliant idea you can come up with. But, none of them in and of themselves will give you the inventory you need. If you are only looking for cars when you need them you are going to end up with a lot of cars you don’t need.

When it comes to finding people and finding inventory they both require an ongoing effort by the entire management team. When you dabble in finding people and cars when you most need them, it’s like plowing a field uphill with a mule.

When you can convince your management team that we all have to look for inventory and people in multiple ways then you will at least have some control over your destiny.

It still won’t be easy, but the alternative is far more frustrating and a lot less rewarding. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs