I realize human nature is that people like to complain and want to blame someone for their inefficiencies. What do you think the number one complaint is I hear from Sales management when I’m in dealerships?

Yep, you’re right, the service department. Sometimes it’s subtle, sometimes it’s blunt, often tempered with an excuse or apology to dare complain about it.

If you review history, you know that one of the reasons dealers charged full retail from the service department to the used car department is very much the same reason why they implemented packs back in 1942. I have no idea if it was in 1942, but I thought it sounded good.

Sales managers have historically worked from cost up and it has made dealerships a lot of money over the years. Therefore, if we can add higher cost to the cost of the used car the sales manager will still generate whatever their happy place is in gross profit.

This argument isn’t as valid as it once was because we have internet pricing and more and more dealers have a “one-price,” non-negotiating mindset when it comes to used car pricing. It’s amazing what the law of supply and demand can do to our thinking.

You can think what you want, but as time has progressed, the used car department has become an easy mark for the service department.

It’s not only the amount they are charged, but also the time it takes to get the car in and out of the recon operation. Used car managers will tell you they get charged for things that they don’t need fixed, and things that need to be fixed often are not.

Almost everyone in the business today understands how crucial speed is to being successful. The lack of speed and efficiency in your service department as it relates to used vehicles is killing your ability to do volume and make the money you have the potential to make. (Shameless plug; my recon tool can help you.)

Creating speed and becoming more efficient should be your number one priority as you move into the second half of the year.

I like relating our business to sports. Today’s athletes are bigger and faster than they have ever been.

With profit margins starting to decrease, your business needs to emulate sports. You must get bigger (sell more cars) and become faster and more efficient than ever before.

In CarMax’s Annual Report from a few years ago under the section “Discovering Efficiencies” it states:

“Eliminating waste from our reconditioning processes has contributed to a year-over-year improvement in our gross profit per used vehicle sold in 12 of the last 13 quarters, while still preserving the competitiveness of our pricing. At the end of last year, we noted that our targeted efforts allowed us to achieve a cumulative reduction in average reconditioning costs of approximately $250 per vehicle, while still maintaining our high-quality standards. While actual reconditioning costs will vary based on sales mix, these sustainable savings are now embedded in our cost structure.”

Here’s the bottom line: If you can become more efficient, more streamlined, and take better control of the cost of repairs to your used cars then doesn’t it stand to reason that you will be able to sell more cars than you are currently selling?

And maybe, just maybe it all starts with a more efficient and effective appraisal at the front door. Didn’t see that coming did ‘ya? That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

I’m going to be discussing and commenting on what’s commonly known as the “Four Stages Of Learning” plus two others that I know you have never heard of because I made them up. I don’t know where the first four originated, I just know I stole them.

All six stages of learning apply regardless of the application. They can be applied in sports, business, social activities, and life in general.

All 6 stages of learning apply regardless of the application. They can be applied in sports, business, social activities, and life in general.

1. Unconscious incompetence-The individual does not understand or know how to do something and does not necessarily recognize the deficit. The individual must recognize their own incompetence, and the value of the new skill, before moving on to the next stage.

The length of time an individual spends in this stage depends on the strength of the stimulus to learn. The more time they are willing to spend learning the skill or activity the faster they move to the next stage. Example: You decide to take up golf so you go out to the driving range, whack at a few balls. 1 out of 10 you make great contact, but you have no clue what you’re doing. You know you love the feeling and you know you want some more of it so you keep returning to the driving range and/or play a few rounds of awful golf.

2. Conscious incompetence-Though the individual does not understand or know how to do something, he or she does recognize the deficit, as well as the value of a new skill in addressing the deficit. The making of mistakes can be integral to the learning process at this stage. Example: After going to the driving range for a while and playing a few rounds you begin taking lessons with a golf pro and quickly realize how little you know. You observe others either at the golf course or on video, etc. and the realization of how much there is to this game starts to sink in.

3. Conscious competence-The individual understands or knows how to do something. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires concentration. It may be broken down into steps, and there is heavy conscious involvement in executing the new skill. Example: More golf lessons, more golf rounds played and you are starting to understand the integral parts of the swing. You haven’t mastered the swing yet, but you are starting to strike the ball more consistently especially when you think it through. It’s not automatic, but your skills are improving as your knowledge starts to grow. This can be the most frustrating stage of the first four. You still have to think about it. When you do your results are much better and when you don’t you want to throw your clubs in the lake.

4. Unconscious competence-The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it has become “second nature.” and can be performed easily. The individual may be able to teach it to others, depending upon how and when it was learned. Example: You’ve now repeated your golf swing enough times, played enough rounds, attempted enough different types of shots that you can break par or better and have reached a very competitive level. You no longer have to think about the elements of your swing, you just do it. The physical and mental muscle memory is locked in.

5. Competent Incompetence-is the most dangerous of the six. It’s when you have years of experience, know your stuff, and have become convinced you have nothing else to learn. Your success has convinced you that you are “the man,” (or woman) and you are done learning. Seeking more knowledge is the last thing on your mind. What got you to where you are today is what you think is going to keep you where you are and beyond.

6. Learning to be competent-this stage never stops. It’s a lifelong journey that keeps life interesting and challenging. You know that learning is a journey, not a destination. (That would be you and I.)

The most successful people at any skill, business or activity are the ones who continue to do two things:

1. They keep going back to the basics

2. They continue searching for answers even when they think they already have many of them.

What stage are you in? I’m in the “Learning To Be Competent” stage and I hope it never ends. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Can you believe it? Does time fly? The year is half over.

How was your June?

How have your first six months been?

I know it’s been a crazy year, but some of you have had some really great months.

You might even be beating your chest a little bit.

Some of you have been running full speed ahead. Some of you have been dragging through the sand.

If you haven’t performed well, there may be some legitimate excuses, but maybe you just had the wrong plan in place.

Just because you had the wrong plan does not mean it’s too late to fix it. You’ve still got 6 more months to go.

Those of you who have had a good first 6 months need to be cautious of becoming complacent. Even though things have been going well, you would be very smart to review how you can make things better as you tackle the second half.

Everything we do is about choices. You can choose to let things be as they are or you can choose to dial it up a notch or two.

To do so means to review your plan and the strategies you have in place.

And, make the changes that are necessary to get you where you know you need to go.

Your other choice is to do nothing. Go sit in your office and stare at the wall. Enjoy your seat and pretty soon it will be over, Tommy Gibbs

I’m often asked by managers and others what it takes to be successful in business and how to move to the next level.

They will often imply that they do a good job, but feel frustrated by the lack of forward progress.

Doing a good job doesn’t ensure you of anything except you get to keep doing a good job…until someone else comes along who can do it better and then you may be looking for another job that you can do a good job at.

It takes more than doing a good job to get you noticed and to the next level.

20 Tips For Getting Noticed:

1. Come early.

2. Stay late.

3. Come to work to work.

4. Stay busy.

5. Seek information and education.

6. Understand you are owed nothing.

7. Do more than you are asked.

8. Be tenacious.

9. Steal someone’s ball and run with it.

10. Force the passion. You may not be in the perfect job or perfect place. It’s up to you to make it the perfect job at the perfect place.

11. If you do these things, someone will notice.

12. If you get noticed, you have a ladder to the top.

13. If you don’t get noticed or this isn’t the place for you, then you are developing some skills that will eventually get you noticed.

14. Do it at the next place and the next place until you get noticed.

15. Be so good that you can’t be denied.

16. Pull others up. and up you go with them.

17. Set an example for others.

18. Get up, walk around, be nice.

19. Be enthusiastic, even on your worst day.

20. Dress up to the next level. Don’t dress like the rest.



Thanks for noticing. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

A wise man was once said the key to his success was “I’ve made lots of mistakes.”

And therein lies one of the keys to you becoming an even better leader. Allow yourself, and especially those around you, the latitude to make some mistakes.

The key is to learn from the mistakes. As a dealer for over 20 years, I know I made a lot of mistakes and I’m sure I made some of the same ones twice. But I’d like to think I learned something from each mistake.

Far too often when dealing with team members, leaders don’t use mistakes as a teaching moment, but as a criticism moment. It’s imperative that we learn from our mistakes and that we don’t continue to make the same ones over and over again.

As it relates to used car management why would you allow the same buyer to continue to go to the same auction sites, buy cars and 60 days later you take them back and lose money on them?

To be real, it may or may not be 100% the buyer’s fault. It may be that there’s no strategy to deal with vehicles that have a high market day’s supply and a high cost to market. In either case, there’s a consistent mistake being made that you as a leader are allowing to happen. Shame on you.

The key is to give your team enough rope to make some mistakes, but not so much that they choke themselves and your business in the process.

When people are allowed to make some mistakes, your organization becomes more innovative. Without innovation, your organization becomes stymied.

It’s very difficult to be a great mentor when you micro-manage every decision that’s made.

When you micro-manage you end up with micro-growth. Team members like working in an environment where they feel like they are allowed to grow. When they grow, you grow.

You’re making a big mistake if you don’t manage your mistakes. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

If you’re in a leadership position or hope to be so one day and you don’t have a sense of humor then I’d say you are out of luck.

I realize there are people in top leadership positions who don’t have a sense of humor, but I have to believe by and large they are totally miserable people and not nearly as successful as they, and their organizations, could be.

I believe part of a leader’s responsibility is to create a workplace that’s well disciplined, functional, effective and a fun place to work. Just because you display a sense of humor doesn’t mean you’re not serious about your work or have lost your discipline.

It means at any given moment you know how to inject humor to lighten up the joint.

Working in a place of business without a sense of humor is like working in a room with the lights off. Humor turns the lights on and adds an unmeasurable element to the organization.

Back when I was running my dealerships, I personally conducted cultural training to make sure every team player knew the mission and what was expected of them. I was quick to point out to our new hires, as well as existing staff, that if they didn’t have a sense of humor then it was the wrong place for them to be working.

I stated to them, “If you can’t laugh at yourself, then you’re going be miserable here. So, it might be best if you make some plans to meet some new people at your next workplace.”

So go ahead, laugh at yourself. It’s ok, it really is and those around you will be better off for it and so will you. That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

By and large, most dealers and managers have come to understand it’s not the big that will eat the small but the fast that will eat the slow.

We all know the faster we can get a car on the lot and online the more we increase our odds of making a respectable profit.

If you are committed to 60 days or less (which you should be) then any days in the cycle in which the unit is not available for sale is a killer.

The question often comes up, “When does the clock start ticking?”

Does it start with the acquisition, the day you own it, or does it start when the car goes on the lot/online?

Let me make this as clear as I possibly can. It starts the moment you own it. Period. No exceptions, no ifs, ands, or buts.

But Tommy, it’s been in the body shop for 20 days?

Nope, no, no, no. The clock is ticking. Your money is tied up from day one. You’re working with a depreciating asset. If you try to think any other way, you are lying to yourself. Don’t lie to yourself.

9 Things To Help You Win The Clock Ticking Game:

1. If you are in a state where there are title issues there has to be a clear line of communication with the office on a minute-by-minute basis to alert you when the title arrives. Any breakdown in communication is costing you money. Staying after these title issues cannot be left up to chance. Somebody has to take ownership of chasing after the titles.

2. It’s a fact that you are having to go further out of your area to buy cars at auctions, but you have to be selective and know what the timeline is that you are dealing with. Anything you can do to reduce transportation days is better. You might even want to consider paying the trucker a bonus for fast delivery. Our software helps you keep track of days in transit.

3. How hard are you trying to buy cars in your own market? Do you have a procedure set up so that when someone comes in and wants to sell you a car that you give them the full routine with a written appraisal? Does your website have a self-appraisal link so the customer can get real numbers from you quickly. Do you have an individual or a team in place working full-time acquiring vehicles from the public?

4. Mine your customer base. For sure, you know which cars you always do well with. Often they are right under your nose hiding within your CRM. Your CRM has some great tools for finding those vehicles and giving you a chance to buy the car, trade the car or ultimately sell the owner a new car.

5. How about a unique and separate website that drives the customer to your website to sell you their car?

6. If you’re in a market with CarMax, consider promoting that if the customer brings their CarMax appraisal to you within 7 days of the appraisal, that you will give them more for their car than CarMax or give them $100 cash if you can’t beat CarMax’s offer. What do you have to lose? Suppose you buy 10 extra cars this month and also pay out $1000 in loser fees. Do ‘da math, what did you make on the 10 extra cars?

7. Fix your service and recon issues. I know it sounds likeI’m picking on service a lot and that’s not my intent. I just know in most dealerships it’s the same old, same old. How many total days are being wasted from the time the car is acquired until the time it gets on the lot and online? In today’s age of speed, you have to find every day that you can if you’re gonna win the “meter game.” My UpYourGross software comes with a free “Recon Tool.”

8. Make sure you include in your “save-a-deal” meeting every morning a list of all vehicles that are either in transit or tied up due to title issues. The more you pick up the intensity on these units, the faster things will happen.

9. Pick up the intensity level. Not just you, but the entire team has to understand that any day that a vehicle is not on the lot/online it’s costing the dealership big money.10. Consider hiring a “Chaser.” A chaser is just that. It’s someone who chases your units through the system to ensure nothing sits any longer than absolutely necessary.

When does the clock start? When you own it.

Control what you can control. 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

In 1983, against long odds, Jim Valvano led his underdog NC State Wolfpack basketball team to the NCAA basketball championship.

He’s also very much remembered for his inspirational 1993 ESPY Awards speech given just eight weeks before he died of cancer.

His motto was, “Don’t Give Up . . . Don’t Ever Give Up.” In that speech he said there are three things we should do every day:

1. Laugh.

2. Think. You should spend some time in thought.

3. Cry. You should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy.

His point was if you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day.

Matthew McConaughey won the best actor award at the Oscars in 2014. He said he needs three things in his life to survive:

1. Someone to look up to. I would also suggest you need someone to look up to. It might be God, someone in your family, business or someone who’s mentored you.

2. Someone to look forward to. In his case, and yours as well, he looks forward to his family.

What do you have going on in your life that you look forward to? Is it accomplishing the next great challenge?

3. Someone to chase. He chases his hero. He said he was chasing himself in 10-year increments. That too makes sense. We all need something or someone to chase. Being in the chase makes us better.

Laughing, thinking, crying, having someone to look up to, something to look forward to and something to chase is what fuels the passion of life.

That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs.