March Madness is almost over and so is your month. Unless you’ve been living under a rock you know that March Madness is the NCAA basketball tournament.

More often than not these games are won on defense, and a full-court-press is often a major part of a defensive strategy.

A full-court press is a basketball term that refers to a defensive style in which the defense applies man-to-man or zone defense to pressure the offensive team the entire length of the court before and after the inbound pass.

A full-court press takes a great deal of effort but can be an effective tactic. Often when teams are behind late in a game, they will apply full-court pressure as a means of attempting to produce turnovers as well as tire opponents.

A team with less talent can beat a talented team by utilizing a full-court-press for the entire game. It doesn’t take talent, but it takes a lot of heart and desire to play an “in your face” defense for the entire length of the court for a full forty minutes.

If you’re in the car business today you need to be in a full court press. You may very well be behind in the game. Be it good or bad, in the car business every day is a full court press day. Every minute of every day, it needs to be an “in your face” approach.

I know you think you’re doing all you can, but you aren’t; there is always more. If you’ve played sports, you know that is true. Try this. Raise your hand. Now raise it higher. See, I told you so.

How can you do more? Start by writing it down. Make a list of all the basic things you know about this business. Things you now do, things you used to do and things you’ve heard that others do.

Once you make the list, make a commitment to go into a full-court-press for a minimum of the next 21 days. How hard can it be to hold yourself and others accountable for just 21 days? Come on, get with it.

Why 21 days? Research has proven it takes 21 days to create a new habit. If you will focus on this list for the next 21 days good things will happen. I’m trying to press you to take action. I’m pressing you to get after it. I’m pressing you to take stock of what you do and how you do it.

If you’ve just returned from the NADA Convention, what better time than right now to start a full court press? Anytime is a good time to start a full court press.

I think of every minute of every day as a time for a full-court-press. Start pressing and run up the score. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

The problem with used cars is there are no absolutes. I frequently get questions starting with “What if…”

As in, “What if you have a one-year-old truck with 15,000 miles on it and you over-appraised it and have $42,000 in it?”

Accountability: “The quality or state of being accountable; an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions.”

Accountability starts with you, vibrates to those around you and ends up back in your lap. If you believe a leader sets the culture of an organization then you must believe you cannot create an organization of accountability if you’re lacking in your daily disciplines.

If you’re not willing to hold yourself accountable then for sure you can’t hold others accountable.

Why should those around you do what has been deemed important, if you as their leader aren’t willing to do the same? There are a million ways to describe this, but since I’m a common sense guy, how about “monkey see, monkey do?”

A good leader makes sure those around them know what’s important. And a good leader makes things important by checking to make sure those around them are doing what’s important.

Building an organization of accountability isn’t a one-time thing. It’s an everyday thing led by you.

Accountability plays no favorites. If you let one person off the hook, eventually the entire organization falls off the hook.

Besides your personal accountability, there are three parts to holding people accountable.

1. Your personal street savvy. For many, this is based on time and experience and there are a few that are born with it.

2. Getting your head out of the sand. Get out of your office. Pay attention by using your peripheral vision and hearing.

3. Data. Look at the data and look at it some more. Data can be overwhelming. Figure out what’s important and what’s not by applying common sense to everything you’re looking at.

Sometimes data is misleading. Sometimes it smacks you upside your head.

Are you building an organization of accountability? That’s all I’m gonna ask, Tommy Gibbs

If you’re a consistent reader of my newsletters you may have noticed more than half of them involve the disciplines necessary to run your used car operation. There’s no denying that the stronger you are in used cars the better you are in New, Service, and Parts. It’s a given. It’s a fact. It is. It just is. You can deny it all you want. You will 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’s a great life lesson to understand, live and grow by. Never has there been a more powerful truism than for the automobile business.

There’s no department that requires more specific strategic disciplines to be successful than your used car department.

The most common discipline that dealers struggle with is turning their inventory in 60 days. Let me state it a different way; no unit can become 60 days old. Some of the more disciplined operations are starting to put that number at 45 days old.

Most dealers would say they want to make more money. In order to make more money, you have to do some things you don’t want to do. One of those things is the pain of discipline. Doing a lot of little things each day to ensure you can do what you want to do.

If you’re not already on a 60-day turn it’s going to be painful and costly to get there. Either you or your staff will have all kinds of excuses as to why you can’t do it. It’s going to cost you some money to get it done. (Do the things you don’t want to do.)

When you finally get it done, your dealership runs smoothly, you make more money, life is simpler and you smile a lot. Now you’re doing the things you want to do, as in making more money.

“The pain of discipline or the pain of regret.” If you would use my lifecycle management process you’d have a lot less pain. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Below are 40 fundamental traits of a good leader. These are traits that everyone should seek to emulate regardless of their position on the totem pole.

There are 3 ways you can use them:

1. Evaluate yourself. How’d you do?

2. Evaluate the person above you. Your supervisor, department head, team leader, dealer, GM, the person in charge, etc. (You don’t have to tell them, just tell me.)

3. Have someone you work closely with or someone you supervise evaluate you.

If you do all three you’ll become a better leader.

1. Leaders have pep in their step
2. Leaders are disciplined
3. Leaders arrive early, stay late
4. Leaders have a sense of humor
5. Leaders are consistent
6. Leaders follow the golden rule
7. Leaders don’t put themselves above others
8. Leaders don’t show favoritism by hanging out with subordinates
9. Leaders can be counted on
10. Leaders answer their own phone
11. Leaders return phone and email messages promptly
12. Leaders dress the part
13. Leaders show respect for others regardless of position or social status
14. Leaders say thank you…a lot
15. Leaders cut to the chase and get to the point
16. Leaders listen because they know others have great ideas too
17. Leaders use the word “We” vs. the word “I”
18. Leaders pull others up not put them down
19. Leaders don’t work in fear of their job; they coach people “up” to take their job
20. Leaders do what they say they are going to do when they say they are going to do it
21. Leaders pick up after themselves…and others
22. Leaders know what they know and they know what they don’t know
23. Leaders take the blame when something fails and they give others credit when it works
24. Leaders communicate then communicate some more
25. Leaders help establish vision and direction
26. Leaders remove obstacles to production, not create them
27. Leaders attack a problem now, rather than letting grow it into a cancer
28. Leaders seek ways to simplify not complicate
29. Leaders seek knowledge; they learn, then they coach others
30. Leaders make the tough decisions now, not later
31. Leaders don’t tolerate a fearful workplace
32. Leaders are enthusiastic
33. Leaders set the accountability standard
34. Leaders have controllable passion
35. Leader detest the statement “We’ve always done it that way”
36. Leaders accept mistakes as a part of progress
37. Leaders see a problem as an opportunity to “fix it”
38. Leaders guard the processes but recognize when they are not working
39. Leaders are optimistic realists
40. Leaders lead from the front and they push from the rear

How did you score? That’s all I’m gonna ask, Tommy Gibbs

There’s always an elephant in the room. They come in different colors, sizes, and shapes. Some are purple, red and green. Some are fat and some are skinny. Some are wide and some are narrow. Some are sort of cute, but most are ugly. They are always there.

You know they are there. Your staff knows they are there. But, you, yes you, the leader, you keep ignoring them. The more you ignore the elephant, the more your staff rolls their eyes in disgust and disbelief. The staff knows you have the power and weapons to slay the elephant, but you keep ignoring the elephant in the room.

You seem to think that if you ignore the elephant it will just go away. How silly of you. The elephant is grazing on your resistance, getting fatter by the day. The elephant ain’t going anywhere on its own.

If you really wanted to fix things, you’d get a stick and run the elephant off. But, Nah, you like pretending the elephant doesn’t exist. You like living in fantasyland. Don’t be surprised if one day the elephant sits on your lap and crushes you.

Your staff will be so sad when that happens. They wanted to tell you the elephant was there, but they wanted to keep their jobs even more.

Are you ignoring the elephant in the room? That’s all I’m gonna ask, Tommy Gibbs

One of the constant themes/issues that I come across in my travels is PIC (Person in Charge); the dealer, general manager, owner-operator who doesn’t listen to those in the trenches when it comes to what’s working, what’s not and what can be done to fix something.

Often it’s not just that they don’t listen, it’s that they don’t bother to ask. Even when they do ask they won’t act on the information they have been given because they (the PIC) has been there and done that.

Sometimes they have over-analyzed the information to a point where they are convinced that whatever the thought or suggestion that was served up will not work.

I think far too often in the car business, or any business for that matter, we become convinced that something can’t be done and when we do that we are no doubt right.

And, we are just as right when we become convinced that something can be done.

Business and life is such a head game. The better heads win. Often as we go up the APG (Authority Power Grid) we start to believe that due to our success we have all the answers.

And as brilliant as we may be, we need to value and act on those ideas that come to us from those who are immediately dealing with the problem.

You need to listen to those under you and you need to let them try some of the things they believe will help your business. Take the handcuffs off and turn them loose once in a while. What you think doesn’t matter as much as you think.

One of my favorite techniques as a dealer was to ask the members of the management team what they need in order to fix whatever problem they felt was getting in their way of performing to their maximum potential. (That’s big, read it again.)

My message to them was “Tell me the problem, tell me what you think the fix is and let’s get on with it.” I loved eliminating excuses. Now the ball is in their court. Game on!

When all the information comes from the top down in the power grid, those on the lower half of the grid become very unhappy.

Unhappiness leads to frustration. Frustration leads to throwing one’s hands up and giving up.

When people give up they go through the motions and the organization never reaches its full potential. I want you to reach your full potential. Ask questions. Eliminate excuses. That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

Did you ever wonder why you can’t achieve and maintain maximum success in your used car department?

When you analyze it, you have a pretty good inventory. You’re not short on operating capital.

The amount of space you have is ok and most of the management staff seem to have a pretty good understanding of the importance of having a good used car department.

You have great software that you use to stock and price your inventory and you do a nice job of reconditioning your inventory.

Until you or somebody takes ownership, it ain’t gonna happen. I realize every dealership has some restrictions on the amount of management staff that can be allocated to any one department, but far too often used cars are an add-on for someone on the team.

Maybe it’s sorta the GM’s responsibility.
Maybe it’s sorta the GSM’s responsibility.
Maybe it’s sorta the Desk Manager’s responsibility.
Maybe it’s sorta the Sales Manager’s responsibility.
Maybe it’s sorta the combination used car manager/sales manager’s responsibility.

See what I mean? Nobody owns it. Yes, the duties of a used car manager today are far different than they were 20 years ago. There are some situations where we are asking some “used car managers” to do things they don’t have the skills to do. Just because someone understands the wholesale market doesn’t mean they understand the retail market.

When somebody owns the used car department they come to work every day on a mission:

On a mission to make it happen.
On a mission to get people excited.
On a mission to ensure units aren’t aging.
On a mission to get units through the system.
On a mission to make sure the inventory is turning.
On a mission to get cars online and on the line ASAP.
On a mission to build a team that gets after the used car market.
On a mission to study the best of the best and make the department the best it can be.
On a mission to identify and have a strategic plan in place to make the problematic units go away.
On a mission to sell everyone on the role the used car department plays in the overall success of the dealership.

Who owns your used car department? That’s all I’m gonna ask, Tommy Gibbs

Ice Cream and Coffee are absolutely two of my favorites, but not necessarily together. Is there anything better than the first lick of an ice cream cone or the first sip of coffee?

The first of everything in life is the best. Your first love, your first computer, your first car, your first job, your first house, your first management position.

The more you eat the ice cream cone and the more coffee you drink the less enjoyment there is. The first taste of anything is always better than the second and so on.

Call it the “The Point of Diminishing Return of Satisfaction.” (I made that up; I make lots of things up, just work with me.)

Used cars are no different. Think of the first day that you own a used car as if it’s the first taste of coffee or ice cream. It tastes a lot better if you sell it on day one than it does on day 61.

The longer your coffee sits the colder it gets. Not so good. The longer ice cream sits the more it melts and the less ice cream you get to enjoy. The longer a used car sits the less you make on it. The less you make on it the less enjoyment you get to have.

But even if the coffee stayed warm, and the ice cream stayed cold, your second taste of either is never as good as the first.

You’re going to hear a lot about the “Life Cycle” of your used cars this year. My definition of “Life Cycle” would be how long you allow a car to hang around and more importantly, what elements impact and extend your “Life Cycle?”

The management of “Life Cycle” is the most important element of maximizing the potential of your used car department. (Up Your Gross Software Coming Soon!)

Doesn’t it stand to reason that if you can shorten the Life Cycle of your used cars that you’re going to enjoy them a whole lot more and make more money?

Dealers and used car managers are always looking for that magic bullet. We all know there is no magic bullet, but if there was one it would be called the bullet of “Life Cycle Management.”

Poor “Life Cycle” management impacts:

A. Slow Turn
B. Aging
C. Volume
D. Gross
E. Poor ROI
F. Attitudes
G. Ability to Trade at the Door
H. Future Acquisitions

When you shorten the life cycle of your used cars, you make more gross, sell more used cars, your coffee is warm, your ice cream is cold and the taste doesn’t get old.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

The Philadelphia Eagles crushed the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC playoff game on Sunday, January 21, 2018. The Vikings showed up for the first quarter, but left town in the second and weren’t seen or heard from again.

On Monday I was chatting with a dealer who happens to be a big Vikings fan and the phrase the dealer used was that the Vikings “didn’t show up.”

That got me to thinking; do you or some of your team members sometimes fail to “show up?” I don’t mean in the physical sense, but I do mean in the “have your head in the game” sense.

Football is a tough game. The automobile business is a tough game. If you’re going to have sustained success you have got to show up every day and “get after it.”

Getting after it means guarding the processes.
Getting after it means creating high energy.
Getting after it means holding yourself and others accountable.
Getting after it means removing those obstacles that keep your team from reaching their goals.
Getting after it means making those tough personnel decisions that you know you need to make.
Getting after it means amping up your training to be the best you can be.
Getting after it means paying attention to what’s going on around you.
Getting after it means not ignoring “the elephant” in the room.

Don’t be a Viking. Get your head in the game. Show up. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs