If you’ve ever heard me speak you’ve heard me reference Bubba the wholesaler. Bubba is the typical wholesaler who has for years been in charge of training used managers in new car dealerships around the country. In the old days Bubba was the guy we called when we wanted to know the value of a used car. Bubba is the old school way of thinking. There is still a place in the business for the Bubbas of the world, but we don’t have a need for Bubba like we used to.
Also, if you’ve heard me speak you know the subtitle of my workshop is, "It’s Not The Big That Will Eat The Small, It’s The Fast That Will Eat The Slow." I stole that title from a book by Jason Jennings and Laurence Haughton. Bottom line is speed is critical in your business.
So, back to Bubba. I’m not a big golf fan. I don’t even play golf. I’m not an avid follower, but I know things like Tiger’s got a serious temper. One of the TV commentators said this weekend that "not only has Tiger lost his game, he’s lost his mind." Tiger has nothing to do with this article. Just wanted to impress you with my golf knowledge.
I was watching the Masters Golf Tournament on TV late Sunday and lo and behold the guy heading to a playoff was none other than Bubba Watson. (Not Bubba the wholesaler.) I’ve heard the name but didn’t have a clue as to who this Bubba was." Bubba ended up winning the Masters tournament on the second hole of a sudden death playoff.
Like so many of you I’m computer savvy so I googled his name and it popped up on Wikipedia. This is what it said, "Bubba Watson (born November 5, 1978) is an Americanprofessional golfer who won the 2012 Masters Tournament."
Do what? Just 5 minutes ago he won the Masters and within that time frame it’s listed on Wikipedia! Oh my gosh! Talk about the speed factor! So, once again we have to come to grips with the fact that speed is so much of a factor in the world we live in today.
Your ability to react to the ever changing marketplace is going to ultimately determine the amount of success you will have.
To be very specific, your used car business requires you to be able to travel at the speed of Mach 5. You have to think fast and move fast in today’s market. Used car managers are amazing at selling themselves and the dealer on why they should hold inventory longer. Yes, inventory may be hard to come by (uh, work harder) but if you want to hold your inventory longer vs. turning it faster you will lose 9 times out of 10.
While I’m talking sports let’s talk a little baseball. Since my office is in the Tampa Bay area I tend to keep up with the Tampa Bay Rays. This weekend they swept the Yankees in a three game series. The buzz about town is that the Rays’ Joe Madden is a very unconventional baseball manager.
He moves hitters around from the number 6 spot to the number 2 spot. He bats a guy cleanup that’s never batted cleanup in his life. On another day he takes a hitter who went 0 for 4 the day before and moves him into the cleanup spot. He overshifts and positions his defensive players in very strange alignments. And, with one of the lowest payrolls in the major leagues he wins and often gets criticized.
If you dig deep enough, what he’s doing is all based on statistical logic. He does the research, makes decisions based on numbers and wins. He’s taken the concept of money ball to a different level. By doing so he’s challenged the baseball "world order." He drives purists and old school thinkers crazy.
You need to challenge your own "world order." Just because you’ve always done it a certain way doesn’t mean you should stay that course.
Understanding the data you have available to you and how to apply it will go a long way toward improving your numbers. Remember, the slower you move, the more likely someone named Bubba or Joe will eat you up. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs