1. How much do I know?
2. Am I still learning?
3. Am I doing all I can do?
4. Am I restricting the team?
5. Am I giving the team the things they need to get the job done?
6. Am I seeking input from the team?
7. Am I being “loyal foolish?”
8. Has my thinking gotten stale?
9. Am I investing in myself and the team?
10. Do I believe in what I’m doing?
That’s all I’m gonna ask, Tommy Gibbs
Achieving an above average front gross profit on used vehicles is a challenge that’s not going away anytime soon. There are a lot of factors that contribute to grosses going up or not.
One of the most overlooked factors is far too often many in the business have given up on asking for “it all.” I’m not suggesting you do it on every unit, every time, but on certain units you need to give it a shot once in a while.
Let me caution you, shooting the moon can be tricky. You have to be smart enough to know when to get the pricing back in line with the market. Is it 5 days, 10 days, or even 20 days? That’s where you have to pay attention and that’s where your experience and expertise comes into play.
If you shoot the moon once in a while you might just get lucky and hit it.
One thing is for sure, you’re never going to get to go to the moon if you don’t get on the rocket once in a while. But, you also have to know when to abort the mission. Go get ’em Captain Kirk, that’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs
One of the things you often hear leaders talking about is operating at a higher standard. Leaders are constantly pushing the theme to the troops in one message after another.
What some leaders fail to realize is that in order for the team to operate at a higher standard, the leader has to operate at a higher standard. As the leader’s standards improve or erode, so goes the team.
The standard setting by the leader is often the missing piece when it comes to growing and developing the team’s culture, progress and esprit de corps.
The standards you are setting are a culmination of the decisions you make each day. From the simplest decisions of just being nice, to the more difficult ones like resolving a conflict with customers and/or team members.
Holding yourself to a higher standard means ensuring that you are productive and making things happen today. A great motto to keep in mind is “speed of the boss, speed of the crew.”
On the other hand, if you’re the sort of leader that goes around telling others to make something happen, all you’re doing is creating hate and discontent. If you’re going to talk-the-talk, then you better walk-the-walk.
97% of people and organizations operated at average or below standards. To be part of the 3% of the elite who are operating at a higher standard, then you need to demand excellence of yourself. Only when you demand a higher standard of excellence of yourself will the organization begin to move toward the top 3%.
If you were writing a book on higher standards and each chapter was a day-by-day account of the standards you set, would you want to include today as a chapter in your book? That’s all I’m gonna ask, Tommy Gibbs
If you have children and if one of your children was sick, I’ll bet you would keep a close eye on that child until they recovered from their sickness. Is that true or false?
I’m appalled at how many used car managers don’t actually know where their sickest children (oldest old used cars) are.
Often when I’m reviewing inventory with a used car manager I’ll ask them to tell me about certain cars in their inventory.
On some of the cars I’ll ask them, “Where is it?” They will say “It’s in the inventory.” No, I’ll say, “Where is it? Where is it parked?” Typical comments are, “I’m not sure”, “I think it’s out back”, “I think it’s in the service department”, “I think it’s in clean up”, “I think someone is driving it”, “I think it’s sold.”
You’re not being paid to think. You’re being paid to know. The great used car managers know where every car is every moment of its life with their store.
The great used car managers know where all their children are, especially their sickest ones, regardless if they have a 40 car inventory or a 400 car inventory.
They just know. You wanna know why they know?
They know because they care. They know because they are great parents. They know because the more they know about where their children are, the more they can protect them.
They can protect them from the evils of the world such as becoming aged, poor ROI, and slow turn. Let the parenting begin. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs
We often read and hear about courage as it applies to heroic acts during war, when people are dealing with pain, or dangerous circumstances. The term is also loosely tossed around in the world of sports. Depending on one’s point of view, those may all very well be true.
I like to think of courage in business in a couple of ways.
1. Courage is doing the right thing when it’s easy to do the wrong thing. Courage means taking a stand even when sometimes taking a stand is not the most popular thing. Never forget it’s not about who is right, but what is right.
2. Courage is the willingness to stick your head above the fence once in a while knowing full well someone’s going to throw a rotten tomato in your face. It’s a willingness to try something different. It’s a willingness to get out of your comfort zone. It’s a willingness to accept harsh criticism.
Sometimes I tell you stuff that I know you’re not going to like. Sometimes I poke my head above the fence. Sometimes you throw a rotten tomato at me. If nothing else I’ll help your improve your aim. That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs
It scares me when a dealer hires a buyer. It’s always done with good intentions, but more often than not it doesn’t have a happy ending. The buyer I’m talking about is the one the dealer is putting on the road to go off to wonderland to buy cars. Months down the road the dealer is stuck with a lot of aged units and wonders what happened?
It scares me when a dealer makes a wholesale profit. There are rare sets of circumstances when it can be done. Maybe the dealer cut his/her teeth in the wholesale business or maybe they run an in-house auction for the junker units. But other than that, there aren’t many legitimate reasons for making a wholesale profit.
It scares me when a dealer tells me “We never miss a trade.” I understand the intent. It’s the right thinking no doubt, but never think for a minute that you don’t miss trades. Everybody misses trades. I’m thinking if you’re making that wholesale profit you might be missing more trades than you think.
It scares me when a dealer hires a new used car manager and turns ’em loose. They come on board with great stories of how much they have accomplished at their previous stores. (Notice, stores is plural.) So, the dealer says, “Go get ’em.” What should happen is the dealer or GM becomes Siamese twins with the new used car manager for next 90 days. Every minute that the dealer can spare should be spent with this used car manager listening, teaching, learning, coaching and sorting out fact from fiction.
It scares me when a dealer doesn’t know what their oldest used car in stock is. Better yet, the used car manager doesn’t know. To add insult to injury no one knows where it’s parked. These are your sickest children. How can you not know?
It scares me when a dealer tells me they get units through service and recon in 3 days. There are some that do. Most don’t and most don’t really know. The best and worst answer is the same. “I don’t know.”
It scares me when a dealer has a belief that it’s ok to keep used vehicles for 75 or 90 days. I might understand it if we wre living in the 1970s. Back then maybe we just didn’t know any better. How can you not know better in today’s information society? How can you not understand the fact that you don’t make money when vehicles sit that long? How can you not know you’re working with a depreciating asset?
I’ll tell you what I know. A lot of things scare me. That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs
Being able to inspire people can be complex and tricky. There are times when people in leadership positions actually un-inspire their team more than they inspire.
Even with good intentions, we often overthink whatever it is we’re trying to improve. Keeping it simple and real is always the best approach.
“A mediocre person tells. A good person explains. A superior person demonstrates. A great person inspires others to see for themselves.” Harvey Mackay.
Keeping It Simple:
1. Challenge them with reasonable objectives. Not too easy, not too hard. The key is the objectives have to be achievable. Achieved success will lead to even greater achievements. Success breeds success. It’s great to be an optimist. It’s even greater to be a “realistic optimist.” Tossing out “pie in the sky” numbers doesn’t challenge people; it defeats them and they eventually just ignore them.
2. Show encouragement by leading from the front and pushing from the rear. Cheer and cheer some more. There’s nothing better than a pat on the back or a double high five to get ’em going and keep ’em going. Sometimes you have to show them “how” and sometimes you coach them “how.”
3. Watch what you say and how you say it. Saying the right things, in the right way, at the right time can do wonders. Choose your words carefully. Remember the whole world is watching and listening to everything you say and do.
4. Show them that you care in a sincere way. It has to be real. There’s nothing more powerful than a leader that truly cares. You either care or you don’t. You can’t fake it.
I’m pulling for you, 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 about 30 days away, and 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 $1000 or $2000 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
Could it be your missing piece? Almost all businesses have a multitude of personalities within the company. Nowhere is that more evident than in an automobile dealership.
One of the hardest things for leaders to do is to make a mental connection with those they serve. You as a leader serve others. You should not think of those hard working team players as serving you.
Often the most challenging situation is that of 2nd and 3rd generation leaders or dealers. The father or grandfather that started the business was most likely someone who grinded it out. Started from scratch and along the way they figured out that they had to connect to the staff or else they didn’t have a chance.
The generation that is now in charge struggles because so many of the inherited team members are comparing the “new guard” to the leadership of the past.
For the current generation of leadership the deck is stacked from day one. As the 2nd and 3rd generation dealers have come on board, the personality trait of connecting to the troops can be a bit illusive. It’s not just 2nd and 3rd generation leaders who struggle with connecting. It happens throughout the chain of command.
10 Tips For Connecting:
1. Accept and embrace the leadership of the past.
2. What did they do that you can learn from?
3. It’s ok to be “you.”
4. It is never ok to put yourself above others.
5. Connect and at the same time stay grounded. Your ego will doom you.
6. Connecting takes time. Give others some time.
7. Everyone brings something good to the table. It’s up to you as a leader to figure it out.
8. Listen. Listen some more. Listen to some more than others. But listen to all.
9. Don’t be afraid to implement the ideas of others. You’re not as smart as you think you are and others are a lot smarter than you think.
10. Connecting is a full time job. Don’t think for a minute that you can talk the talk for 30 days and it’s done. You have to walk the walk every day. People can spot a phony in a heartbeat.
Don’t be a phony. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs
It’s been a tough winter for some of you. Spring is finally here. Trees, flowers and your excitement about the “selling season” are starting to bloom.
If things are going to bloom, or better yet boom, for you, then it might be a good time to put the RE into effect:
1. RE-evaluate-Take a minute and go walk your lot. Take the blinders off. First thing you have to ask yourself is “Does it look like Nordstrom?” Ok, maybe it’s not going to look like Nordstrom, but does it look like Walmart after a big sale? You know, everything is just thrown everywhere. Let’s do a little checklist:
Are the vehicles in straight lines? (Used Car 101)
When was the last time the entire lot was rotated?
Are you using angles to display your inventory?
If you are using license plates, do they all have one or do some have them on the front, some on the rear and some not at all?
Do they all have your decal on the rear of the vehicles?
Do you have fresh FTC stickers on each vehicle?
Do you have fresh window stickers on each vehicle?
If you have other decals or markings on the windshields, do they all have same or similar markings?
Do they all have pricing hang tags? Are some lying on the floor?
Do they all have at least a quarter of a tank of gas in them?
Are they nasty, dirty on the outside?
When the public rides by or pulls onto your lot can they easily identify where the used cars are?
2. RE-focus-To be successful in the used car business you have to be well focused on it and be totally committed. Your entire management team has to understand your commitment to the used car business. This doesn’t happen through osmosis and a meeting every six months. When I say entire management team I mean just that. All Sales, F&I Management, Service Management, Parts Management, Body Shop Management and the Controller. Little Johnny, the lot attendant, needs to be a part of this as well. For the next 60 days, meet with these key staff members twice a week to discuss where you are and where you’re going. Tuesdays and Fridays are best. Make sure on Fridays that they are all included in a lot walk. Do not miss a used car on this lot walk. Every car in your inventory must be touched. If it’s in service, touch it. If it’s in prep, touch it. If it’s in the budget center, touch it. Everybody touches it. You will come across issues you never knew were there and better yet you will solve them immediately. (Don’t let anyone miss these walks.) Make sure a part of that conversation includes everyone knowing how much money you have tied up in used cars and how many of those dollars are over 60 days. Yes, they need to know the dollars, not just the number of units. Make sure they also know what percentage is dead money over 60 days. Example: You have $1,000,000 in used. $600,000 is over 60 days. Make sure they understand that 60% of your money is dead and eroding fast.
3. RE-Recon-Take every unit over 30 days old back through a recon process. (You’ve already missed your best window of opportunity to make gross; that would be the first 20 days.) Most of them should not need mechanical work done, but if they do, get it handled. Most importantly, put a full clean up back on them. Whatever you have to spend, it’s going to be worth it.
4. RE-Invest-in yourself and your management team. Do something to gain some knowledge. Hire me, visit CarMax, or visit a dealer friend in another state that does a good job in used. Attend a workshop. Join a Twenty Group. Join a Used Car Twenty Group. Do something besides sitting there and waiting for something to happen. You may think you already know all there is to know about the used car business and you will just be wasting your money. The fact is maybe you actually know a lot, but you need something to jar your brain and get it going again. You have become real good at talking the talk, but you may not be walking the walk.
5. RE-think- your management team. Do you really have the right person running your used car operation? Yes, that person may have been with you for years. Loyalty sometimes equals mediocrity. Maybe they have some great skills, but the fact may be that you are not making the best use of their talents. Used car managers today have to be “Asset Managers.” It is not a matter of just being a “Car Guy.” They have to have a good blend of common sense and ability to make use of technology. In my travels, about 75% of the dealers have the wrong person managing their used car operation and they wonder why they are not maximizing their full potential? (Even if you have the right person, they have to have the right tools, processes and your full support to be successful.)
Yep, it’s all about the “RE.” I’m RE-minding you about all the stuff you need to be paying attention to. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs