Human nature is funny. When things aren’t going well, people like to complain and blame someone for their inefficiencies.

Want to know the number one complaint I hear from sales managers when I’m in dealerships?

You already know the answer.
The service department.

Sometimes they say it quietly. Sometimes they say it loudly. Usually they say it and then apologize for saying it.

Early in my career my attitude was simple:
“Stop complaining. Go to work. Control what you can control because it’s not going to change.”

Well, I’m here to tell you something.
It does need to change.
And it needs to change sooner rather than later.

Historically, dealers charged full retail from service to the used car department for the same reason they implemented packs. Sales managers worked from cost up, and that system worked very well for a long time.

But times change.

Whether people want to admit it or not, over the years the used car department has become an easy mark for the service department. And here’s a fact people don’t talk about enough: the hours per RO on a used car ticket versus a customer pay ticket is more than double.

But it’s not just the cost.
It’s the time.
It’s the speed.
Or more accurately… the lack of speed.

Almost everyone in our business today understands how crucial speed is to success. The lack of speed and efficiency in your service department is killing your ability to do volume and make the money you’re capable of making.

Creating speed and becoming more efficient should be your number one priority as you move into the selling season.

I like relating our business to sports. Pick any sport. Today’s athletes are bigger, faster, and better conditioned than ever before. The game didn’t slow down — it sped up. And the teams that couldn’t keep up disappeared.

With shrinking margins, the car business is no different.
You have to get bigger — sell more cars.
And you have to get faster — turn cars quicker and operate more efficiently.

Everyone today talks about making the customer experience easier, better, and faster. That’s great. But even if you improve the selling process, you will never reach your full potential until you fix the time and cost it takes to get a used car to the front line.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.
The best thing about being a dealer or owner/operator is this:

You have the power.
You have the power to fix whatever you want to fix.

That’s all I’m gonna say.

— Tommy Gibbs

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CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS DON’E KEEP UNDER PERFORMERS

In business, we love to say our team is family.

Sometimes they actually are family, but even when they aren’t, we still like to think of it that way. It makes everyone feel good. It creates a nice culture. Warm and fuzzy.

And if you interview any championship sports team, they’ll say the same thing.

They’ll tell you they love each other. They’ll tell you they’re family. They’ll talk about chemistry and culture and how much they care about each other.

But here’s the difference.

If someone on that team doesn’t perform, they’re off the team.

No hard feelings. No long speeches. No “but he’s been with us a long time.”

They are paid to perform, and if they don’t perform, they are replaced.

In business, we often keep people who don’t perform because they’re “family.”

We tolerate things we shouldn’t tolerate.

We lower standards we shouldn’t lower.

We carry people we shouldn’t carry.

You can love people, care about people, and still have standards.

Championship teams love each other — but they also hold each other accountable.

Good thing you aren’t running a sports franchise.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

You’re looking for more and better salespeople. You’re looking for more and better used cars and trucks for your inventory.

The reality is, there is no simple fix for either one of these problems.

If you think hiring a rock star buyer will solve your inventory problems, you may actually make them worse. If you think hiring a full-time trainer or recruiter will suddenly fix your staffing problems, that probably won’t work out the way you think either.

Of the two, the recruiter/trainer will probably help more than the buyer. But make no mistake — these are the two toughest problems facing automobile dealers, and there is no magic solution where you flip a switch and it’s done.

Finding great people is a full-time, never-ending job. Just like coaching. Great coaches are always scouting and recruiting. If you’re waiting for the perfect ad to bring you your next superstar, you may be waiting a long time.

If you’re counting on the next job fair to deliver ten future sales stars, you’re in for a very long day.

It doesn’t work that way.

If you only hire when you “need” people, you will never find the people you need.

You and your managers should be recruiting every day — your customers, the salesperson at a retail store, your neighbor, the waiter at lunch, the enthusiastic hostess at a restaurant. One of the best General Managers I know started out working at Wendy’s.

I like college graduates, not so much for what they learned, but because they proved they can stick to something. But many of them don’t see selling cars as a step up. The real opportunity is often with the person who feels like they missed the boat and is looking for their big chance. Someone with a year or two of college, maybe a sports background — someone who knows how to get knocked down and get back up.

Now let’s talk about inventory.

Finding used cars is the same story. There is no single source that will solve your inventory problem. Trades, service customers, mining your database, auctions, online auctions, for-sale-by-owner, street purchases — you have to leave no stone unturned.

But here’s the big mistake dealers make:

They only look for cars when they need cars.

When you do that, you end up buying a lot of cars you don’t need.

Finding people and finding inventory are not events.

They are daily disciplines.

When you dabble in hiring and buying only when you’re desperate, it’s like plowing a field uphill with a mule. But when the entire management team accepts that recruiting people and sourcing inventory is part of their everyday job, your odds of success go way up.

It still won’t be easy.

Everybody wants easy.

It’s never been easy.

It will never be easy.

Stop looking for easy.

Start looking for people.

Start looking for used cars and trucks.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

You Can’t Lead a Dead Organization

Great leaders have their thumb on the pulse of the organization.

Because without a pulse, the organization dies.

If you want to improve your leadership, you must know the pulse of your business — the people, the problems, the energy, the attitude, the momentum. You don’t learn that sitting in your office. You learn that by being in the middle of the action.

You have to see it.

You have to hear it.

You have to feel it.

To feel the pulse, you have to feel the passion.

And if you’re not feeling the passion, your pulse might be dead.

And if your pulse is dead, you can’t expect the organization to be alive.

Maybe you’re burned out.

But let me ask you a question…

How can you be burned out if you were never on fire to begin with?

You are responsible for your own fire.

Nobody else.

You don’t wait for motivation.

You don’t wait for the market.

You don’t wait for your team.

You light your own match.

And when the leader catches fire, the organization warms up pretty fast.

Real leaders have a pulse.

Real leaders feel the pulse.

Real leaders create the pulse.

Hope you’re on fire.

That’s all I’m gonna say— Tommy Gibbs

The biggest problem with the used car business?

There are no absolutes.

I constantly get questions that start with “What if…”

You know the ones:

“What if you’ve got a one-year-old truck with 15,000 miles and you over-appraised it and now you’ve got $50,000 in it?”

My answer usually sounds evasive — because it has to be.

There isn’t one answer.

My opinion on that unit today might be completely different three days from now. The market changes. The data changes. The buyers change. Every unit is different, and every day is different.

At some point, you have to trust your judgment.

Make a decision.
Execute it.
Move on.

I always tell managers: don’t second-guess yourself — but you should second-educate yourself.

Experience is tuition.
You learn by doing.
You learn by missing.

Make mistakes. Just don’t keep making the same mistakes.

And even when you do miss?

Sell it. Move on. It’s short-term inventory, not a family heirloom.

If you’re chasing perfection in the used car business, you might want to reconsider your career. Nothing here is ever perfect.

Better? Yes.
Perfect? Never.

Get over yourself and get back to work.

When I was growing up, basketball players who took a lot of shots were called gunners. They shot and shot and shot again. They also scored the most — because they weren’t afraid to miss.

A bad night didn’t stop them.
They went back to the gym and shot more the next day.

That’s this business.

Take your shots.
Improve your touch.
Stop searching for absolute answers to “What if.”

Because remember…

What if a bullfrog had wings?

He wouldn’t bump his ass every time he jumped.

That’s all I’m gonna say.

— Tommy Gibbs

March Madness is almost over — and so is your month.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the NCAA Tournament isn’t usually won by offense alone. Championships are won on defense. Pressure. Effort. Relentlessness.

Basketball calls it a full-court press.

That means pressure everywhere. Every pass. Every step. Every second. No breaks. No easy possessions.

It takes energy. It takes discipline. And here’s the important part:

It doesn’t always take more talent — it takes more effort.

Less talented teams beat better teams every year because they refuse to let up. They stay in your face for forty straight minutes. They create mistakes. They wear opponents down.

Sound familiar?

Because that’s exactly where the car business is today.

Whether you’re ahead or behind, this business demands a full-court press every single day. Every customer. Every lead. Every appraisal. Every process.

An “in-your-face” commitment to execution.

And before you say it — no, you’re not doing everything you can.

Nobody is.

If you’ve ever played sports, you already know this truth.

Try this:

Raise your hand.

Now raise it higher.

See? There’s always more.

So here’s your challenge.

Write it down.

Make a list of the basics:

• The things you know you should do.
• The things you used to do.
• The disciplines you’ve allowed to slip.
• The processes you know that actually work.

Then commit to a 21-day full-court press.

Hold yourself accountable. Hold your team accountable. No excuses for three weeks.

Why 21 days?

Because habits aren’t built by intention — they’re built by repetition. Give focused effort for 21 straight days and momentum takes over.

I’m pressing you to act.

Pressing you to refocus.

Pressing you to raise your standard.

Every minute of every day is an opportunity to apply pressure.

Start pressing.

And run up the score. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Most of you fall into one of two camps.

You’re either unhappy with your average gross per unit…

or you’re unhappy with your used car volume.

And if we’re being honest — you’re probably unhappy with the total gross too.

Let me remind you of something simple:

The only number that really matters is total gross.

I know that statement is controversial, but it’s a true statement.

I’ve said it for years:

You cannot spend average gross profit. You can only spend total gross profit.

Yet many dealers send completely conflicting messages to their teams.

One day you demand higher grosses.

The next day you demand more volume.

You can’t pound people with two opposing marching orders and expect clarity. All you create is confusion, frustration, and inconsistent execution.

Sure — somewhere out there a store is hitting home runs on both ends. But that’s the exception, not the rule. Stop managing your dealership based on unicorns.

That doesn’t mean you can’t improve both. You can. But you must decide what game you’re actually playing.

And make no mistake — today this is a different game.

Over 80% of used car shoppers start online. That means if you think you can post high prices — or worse, no prices — and traffic will magically show up, you’re mistaken.

The Internet changed the rules.

It doesn’t care about your franchise, your market, or how things used to work.

You have to decide:

Do you want to play the game?

More importantly — do you want to win?

As Dr. Seuss said:

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”

If you want more volume, it starts with acquisition — and I don’t mean just buying more cars.

Buying more inventory without strategy is the kiss of death.

All you’re doing is creating aged units you’ll be discounting three months from now.

Volume requires a complete operational commitment:

• Smarter acquisition strategies
• Proper staffing
• Pay plans aligned with objectives
• Efficient reconditioning
• Aggressive marketing
• Market-based pricing

Miss any one of these, and production stalls. Miss several, and you’ll be worse off than when you started.

Here’s the truth:

The fastest path to happiness in a dealership is a stronger bottom line.

And the fastest way to improve the bottom line?

Improve your volume.

When used car volume improves, everything improves — New, Service, Parts, absorption, and cash flow.

That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

Accountability

“The quality or state of being accountable; the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions”

Simple definition.

Hard execution.

Because accountability doesn’t start with your team.

It starts with you.

It moves outward to everyone around you — and eventually circles right back into your lap.

If you believe leadership sets the culture of an organization, then you also have to accept this truth

You cannot build a culture of accountability without personal discipline.

If you’re unwilling to hold yourself accountable, you have no chance of holding others accountable.

And let’s be honest…

Why should your people do what leadership says is important if leadership doesn’t do it themselves?

There are a thousand ways to explain that, but I’m a common-sense guy.

Monkey see. Monkey do.

A strong leader makes sure people know what matters.

A great leader makes things matter by checking to ensure they actually get done.

Accountability isn’t an event.

It isn’t a meeting.

It isn’t a speech.

It’s a daily standard — led by you.

And here’s the part many leaders forget:

Accountability plays no favorites.

The moment you let one person off the hook, eventually the entire organization slips off the hook.

Standards don’t slowly erode.

They collapse.

Beyond personal accountability, holding others accountable comes down to three things:

1. Street Savvy

Experience matters. Awareness matters. Some people develop it over time — a few are born with it — but every leader must learn to read situations, people, and patterns.

2. Get Your Head Out of the Office

Leadership doesn’t happen behind a desk.

Walk the floor.

Listen more.

Watch more.

Use your peripheral vision and your ears. The truth about your operation rarely shows up in a report first.

3. Data

Look at the numbers — and then look again.

Yes, data can feel overwhelming. That’s why common sense matters more than spreadsheets.

Figure out what actually matters.

Sometimes data misleads you.

Sometimes it hits you right between the eyes.

Your job is knowing the difference.

That’s all I’m going to say.

— Tommy Gibbs

If you’ve been reading my newsletters for a while, you’ve probably noticed a pattern.

More than half of what I write comes back to one thing: discipline in your used car operation.

Why?

Because the truth is simple — whether you like it or not:

The stronger your used car department is, the stronger your entire dealership becomes.

New. Service. Parts. Profitability. Stability.

That’s not an opinion.

That’s not a theory.

That’s a fact.

You can argue with it if you want.

You’ll still be wrong.

There’s an old saying:

“Do the things you don’t want to do, so you can do the things you want to do.”

That might be good life advice, but it’s essential in the automobile business.

No department demands more discipline, structure, and daily execution than used cars.

And the discipline dealers struggle with most?

Inventory turn.

Let me say it plainly:

No unit should ever become 60 days old.

Some of the most disciplined operators I work with are already pushing that number to 30 to 45 days.

Now here’s the reality.

Every dealer says they want to make more money.

But making more money requires doing things you don’t enjoy doing — consistently.

Pricing aggressively.

Holding people accountable.

Managing aging inventory daily.

Making uncomfortable decisions early instead of expensive decisions later.

That’s the pain of discipline.

If you’re not currently operating on a max 60-day turn, getting there will hurt.

It will cost money.

Your team will have reasons why it “can’t be done.”

Excuses always sound logical — right up until profitability shows up.

But once you get there?

The dealership runs smoother.

Cash flow improves.

Stress drops.

Profit rises.

And suddenly… business gets fun again.

Now you’re doing the things you want to do.

You’ve probably heard this before:

“The pain of discipline or the pain of regret.”

One hurts now.

The other hurts forever.

If you were using my lifecycle management process, you’d experience a lot less pain.

That’s all I’m going to say.

— Tommy Gibbs

Ever wonder why you can’t quite hit — and keep — maximum success in your used car department?

When you really look at it, you’ve got a lot going for you: a solid inventory, plenty of operating capital, enough space to work with, and a management team that (in theory) understands how important a strong used car department is.

You’ve invested in the right software to source, price, and manage your inventory, and you’re doing a quality job reconditioning your vehicles.

So why isn’t it all clicking?

Because until someone truly owns it, it’s never going to happen.

Every dealership has staffing limits — we all know that. But too often, the used car department becomes an afterthought, tacked onto another manager’s already full plate. Maybe it’s sort of the GM’s responsibility. Maybe the GSM’s. Maybe the desk manager’s, the sales manager’s, or some hybrid “used car/sales manager” role.

See where this is going? Nobody owns it.

And in today’s market, the role of a used car manager has evolved. We’re asking people to handle pricing analytics, digital marketing, inventory turn strategies — things that not everyone has the skill set for. Just because you know the wholesale side doesn’t mean you understand the retail game.

When someone truly owns the used car department, everything changes. They come to work with a mission — every single day:

• A mission to make things happen.
• A mission to energize the team.
• A mission to prevent aging inventory.
• A mission to move cars efficiently through reconditioning.
• A mission to boost turn rates and profits.
• A mission to get every car online and ready to sell, fast.
• A mission to study the best operators and emulate proven practices.
• A mission to build a team that dominates the used car market.
• A mission to tackle problem units strategically, not reactively.
• A mission to sell everyone in the store on how crucial the used car department is to total dealership success.

So—who owns your used car department?

That’s all I’m gonna ask, Tommy Gibbs