Spending Time Wasting Time
I think about time a lot. It’s the one thing that is truly in limited supply. No matter who we are or what we do, we each have 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year. Is there enough time to do everything I need and want to do in the 525,600
The Real Product of a BDC: Rapport
How do you befriend a skittish puppy? You crouch down to the pup’s level, hold your hand out — but not too far — palm face up, and wait patiently until he approaches, haltingly at first, sniffs your fingers and then finally licks your palm. Then you can reach behind his ears with your
The Importance of Employment Branding
Employment branding: a company’s reputation as an employer, or how great a place it is to work — a must for today’s prospective employees. Dealerships have always placed a heavy emphasis on attracting consumers and cultivating a company brand for them, but with Millennials now making up the majority of the workforce and consumer base,
The Vehicle Return Tsunami — A Perfect Storm or Shower of Opportunity?
As we move toward the end of the first quarter of 2017, we continue to see a SAAR pressing more than 17 million units. The OEMs are geared to produce the volumes, the incentives continue to maintain sales momentum and leasing makes up about 30 percent of all retail transactions across the U.S. While the
Dealerships Have Some of the Best Leaders — and Some of the Worst
In today’s market, to be a successful dealership, you have to have every single person in every single department willing and able to be a leader.
Why You Should Hire a “Chaser” to Improve Used Car Profitability
Sometimes, activities seem to move along better where a nudge (noodge) is at work. A nudge pushes you to do your work, cut the grass (now) and get to the gym. Dealership performance motivator Tommy Gibbs says dealerships need a nudge, too, especially if improving used car profits is the end game. The Free Dictionary
The Theory of Five: The Five Mentors Who Will Improve Your Prosperity
Learning what to focus on and how to achieve your goals is key to your personal and professional development. I believe in “The Theory of Five,” which has supported my focus on health, happiness, prosperity and continuous improvement since I was 22 years old — because it shapes how I think and who I chose
GM’s are Finding Hidden Revenue in Recon and You Can, Too
It is becoming increasingly critical that dealership operators recognize how reconditioning practices affect bottom line profitability. Unstructured and unmonitored recon practices create waste and costs that erode used car gross. On the other hand, GMs will transform their recon operations into profit centers when they use a time-based, continuous improvement strategy to drive this critical
Do Your Homework Before Choosing a Business Partner
I know this will come out after the big show but, as I’m writing this article, I’m sitting on the plane traveling to NADA right now. As I do, I’m overhearing a couple of dealers in the row behind me talk about the vendors they have appointments to see during the convention and what solutions
Hope: A Magic Ingredient for Employee Retention
Today’s average car buyers go to 1.6 dealerships before they buy a car. They do not move on from that first dealership because they don’t like the brand. They move on because they don’t like the dealership. With a turnover rate for dealership salespeople of 72 percent, customers who want to become loyal to a dealership
Why Aren’t There More Women General Managers?
After a decade of progress of women gradually emerging as an important and recognized segment of contemporary automotive business, it is frustrating to see statistics from an NADA Workforce Study stating that only 8 percent of women occupy key positions in our national automotive dealerships. This study also reports that women still work in positions
One Tech, Two Tech —How to Correctly Staff Your Recon Operation
Want to run your recon department as a profit center for the dealership? Your goal should be to get retail-ready vehicles to the front line in three to five days at the lowest all-in cost. It’s a process to be managed — and managed well. One component of recon efficiency that dealers ask about is