Finally a new and exciting selling process is introduced. It has 6 amazing steps:

1. Sell Yourself-You can’t sell a car until you make a friend. Selling yourself can be confusing to some. It’s really very simple. The more you take an interest in the other person the more they will like you. The more you take an interest in the other person the more you will learn about them. Some call it “fact-finding,” some call it “qualifying.” Call it what you want, but remember you don’t sell yourself by talking about yourself. You sell yourself by asking the right questions and listening.

2. Sell the House-How much are you and your staff talking about your dealership during the selling process? Are the key points about what your dealership is all about being put on the table. What are your defining principles? What’s the history and culture of your dealership?

3. Sell the Product-Never in the history of the car business has it been so important to know your product. Are you constantly reviewing product knowledge? When was the last time you did a walk-around presentation? Do you and your sales staff walk the lot and know your inventory from one end to the other? Does the team know as much as the customers know about the benefits and features of each model? Do you and your team do a lot walk each week to review each and every vehicle in stock?

4. Write the Best Deal You Can-Even if you’re a one price dealer, the deal still has to be presented. Even ridiculous offers need to be served up. Once a person puts their name on the dotted line they are much more likely to adjust their thinking as you present a counter offer.

5. T.O.-the Golden Rule should be “never let a customer leave without checking with a manager first.” It’s the most fundamental of all selling processes. Sales would increase another 10 to 20% if this fundamental process was followed.

6. Follow Up-the mentality should be follow them till they buy or die.

So there you have it. The most amazing selling system ever invented, which by the way was the selling system I was introduced to back in 1972. Has the business changed? Of course it has. Do we shape the selling system a little differently today? Of course we do.

But the fundamentals of the business never change:
1. Sell Yourself
2. Sell The House
3. Sell The Product
4. Write The Best Deal You Can
5. T.O. The Customer
6. Follow Up

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

My best friend in high school was a wild and crazy guy who lived the last 20 years of his life in Key West, Florida. He often used the saying “Don’t panic and never follow the crowd,” when it came to evacuating the area to avoid approaching hurricanes. He never left Key West when the news media started their “run for cover” broadcasts.

Advertising is and will always be the great mystery of the automobile business. It didn’t get easier with the advent of the world-wide web, that is for sure. If anything, it has further complicated it.

Even with the sophisticated tracking of Internet leads, it’s still no piece of cake to figure out what works and what doesn’t.

When industry leaders such as Mike Jackson of AutoNation make comments in Automotive News that they are pulling away from third party leads then it creates a panic in the industry and some will say “Well, if it’s good enough for AutoNation, it’s good enough for me.”

But is it? AutoNation operates over 200 dealerships. They have an economy of scale that most of us can only dream about. When you have those numbers you can exercise experiments and do things that are impossible for a single or small group of stores to do.

There’s no argument that the power of the Internet is here to stay. Customers will sit right in your showroom and shop another dealer on their phone or iPad. Driving all over town is a thing of the past. Who remembers those days of finding newspaper ads lying in the front seat of a customer’s car as you did the trade appraisal? Not so much anymore.

When I hear dealers talking about dropping third party lead providers due to cost or the perceived lack of leads, the first thing that comes to mind is how powerful is your exposure on those sites? Generally I find several things:

1. You’re not stocking what the market wants. Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate how and what you stock?

2. Over-pricing, not market competitive. In many cases the worst person to price your used car inventory is the used car manager. They are often prejudiced because they either appraised or purchased the unit.

3. Infrequent price changes. In some cases units haven’t been re-priced for 30 to 45 days. Did I say the used car manager was the worst person to do the pricing? They have too many things to do to be able to keep your pricing up to date.

4. Lousy photos. If 80 to 90% of all people who shop for a used car shop the Internet how do you think you can be competitive by taking photos outside? You are shooting yourself in the foot by not having a photo booth.

So, before you jump on the Mike Jackson panic bandwagon let me suggest you take a hard look at those things you can actually control.

And always remember, “Don’t panic and never follow the crowd.” That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

If you follow baseball, you may remember the Kurt Gibson story. Gibson had a bad leg injury and could barely walk, much less run, as the Dodgers took on the Oakland A’s in the 1988 World Series.

In Game 1, with the Dodgers losing 4 to 3 in the 9th inning, manager Tommy Lasorda decides to pinch hit Mike Davis, who eventually walks.

Lasorda then pinched hit the injured Gibson. Gibson battles the count to 3 and 2. Now down to his last strike Gibson hits a 2-run homer to win the game 5-4. Most people remember seeing Gibson hobble around the bases.

I’m just wondering…how deep are you and your team digging when it comes to selling more used cars?

Has the team decided that it is what it is?

Or are they digging deep, getting after it and determined to make it happen?

I hear people crying all the time about three major things:

1. They can’t find inventory
2. They can’t do volume
3. They can’t improve gross profit

Yet I see others who are making it happen. They are digging deeper to find the cars and trucks they need. By finding the cars and trucks they need, they are doing greater volume. By doing greater volume, they are improving their total gross profit.

Maybe it’s time to suck it up like Kurt Gibson and dig just a little deeper. Let the digging begin. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

You may have heard these numbers by now, but just in case you didn’t I will share them with you. Last year there were 15.6 million new cars and trucks sold in this country. That’s a number you have probably read a lot about.

A number that you’ve not heard much about is the 41.9 million used that were sold.

Both numbers are up from 2012. Actually over a million more new and a million more used were sold in 2013 than in 2012.

Here’s the breakdown of the 41.9 M Used:
New Car Dealers: 15.7 M
Independent Dealers: 14.2 M
Private Sales: 12.0 M

Did you sell more used in 2013 than you did in 2012? If you didn’t, shame on you. If you didn’t, have you come to the realization that the market was there and you weren’t?

Regardless if you were up or down last year, your goal should always be to get more than your fair share. I can’t define “more than your fair share.” Only you can do that by taking a look at your total used car market.

Here’s a reality check for you. Average gross profit per unit sold continues to come down. With grosses coming down and expenses going up, can’t you see that at some point you’re going to find yourself in a “trick bag?”

You will only stay out of the “trick bag” by doing more volume and getting more than your fair share. Let the unfairness begin. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Did you notice that you are getting really comfortable with having aged units around? You’ve justified in your mind that it’s ok because the selling season is finally here. Since you think that’s a brilliant plan, please let me know how the ROI turns out for you.

Did you notice that the selling processes you think your team is using, aren’t the selling processes you’re using? Some members of your management team are doing their “own thing.” If you don’t believe it, sit down individually with your sales people and ask them how each manager starts and works a deal.

Did you notice that you are no longer doing a “save-a-deal meeting” and “trade walk” each day? You’ve accepted it as fact that everybody is so busy that they don’t have time to do it. You’ll be surprised at how many more deals you will make by doing a “save-a-deal meeting.” And, how many more used cars you will end up keeping and retailing when the management team does a “trade walk.”

Did you notice that the management team doesn’t understand Life Cycle Management? Life Cycle Management starts on day one, not day 61. If you are having aged units and/or losing money on units wholesaled at the end of the life cycle it’s because they are not using “Early Warning Radar.” If you don’t think Life Cycle Management is important, go ahead and tell me the story on your oldest unit in stock. Yep, they all have a story. Had you been focused on Life Cycle Management that unit would have been gone long ago with little or no loss and maybe even a profit.

Did you notice that the sales and management team doesn’t do lot walks anymore? Did you ever wonder why your sales people don’t sell more used? It’s because they don’t know the inventory.

Did you notice you get lots of lip service on those processes you know need to be followed in all the departments? Guarding the processes is one of the most important functions of leadership.

Did you notice that the average cost per used car in stock keeps creeping up and up? The reason it’s happening is because you are not paying attention to it every day. Pressing the average cost down is a fundamental discipline. The pain of discipline or the pain of regret.

Did you notice you’re selling vehicles for less than what you have them posted online? That’s because the sales team isn’t sold that you have the best product at the best price. Before you can make the customer a believer you have to get the sales staff to believe. Tracking GAP will create a focus that forces you to hold more gross profit.

Did you notice that sometimes you just don’t notice? Your job as a leader is to notice what’s going on. My job is to keep reminding you.That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs