In a “Normal” Market, Discipline Sells Cars There’s no doubt the easy sales our teams made from 2020-2023 destroyed any commitment to fundamental processes in most dealerships. Moreover, the order-taker market removed a key driver of sales in “normal” times: Discipline. Discipline sells cars; and discipline is what you need to reintroduce if you’re struggling […]
The Six Secrets to Accountability Accountability is a word that gets tossed around so much in business that it’s become a cliché or a punchline. It’s become meaningless! At the first sign of lackluster results, those at the top announce: “We need some accountability!” Or “We need to start holding our people accountable!” Great idea… […]
Power Off to Power On! It’s time to bring innovation and creative brilliance back to your company! (Yes, this article is long… and the fact that many will not be able to read it in its entirety in one sitting will precisely prove my point.) There was a time – before smartphones – when people […]
If you examine the average dealership’s sales from 2010 through 2016, you’ll notice that they steadily grew year-over-year. Of course, the average dealer grew because the market grew; and while everyone saw sales increases over that period, only a small percentage of dealers experienced an actual increase in their market share. Interestingly, during this same period, most dealers […]
Have you noticed what I’ve noticed about the American workforce over the years? I’ve worked closely with literally hundreds of people since leaving the Marine Corps in 1985, and an overwhelming majority of my coworkers simply hated their jobs. It’s not that any one of them had a particularly lousy job, per se; it’s just […]
Car Dealers Want to Know How to Attract and Sell the Millennial Buyer In 2015, I attended a meeting where I observed an “expert” on Millennial Buyers as he addressed a gathering of dealer principals. This “expert” was himself a Millennial, so the OEM who paid five figures to arrange for this “training” felt as […]
The Solution to the Never-Ending Car Dealer Staffing Problem So much has been written about the decades-long issues of turnover and staffing in automotive retail that I continue to be amazed when I read headlines like this one from Automotive News recently: Dealership turnover squeezing profits – NADA study spotlights struggles in recruitment and retention How […]
As some of you may know, I give away 100% of my online video training for free. I started this because I had more dealers, dealer groups and OEMs asking for my time than I had time to give. Since most managers in automotive (no offense) pay for training that they never bother to implement or reinforce, I decided […]
We recently received the comment below on our Young Managers – How Do They Lead Older Subordinates post: Hi, I am a female, 28 year older manager leading a mix team of 8 people who are 15-25 years older than me in finance operations. I have slightly different situation. I am an EXPAT from […]
Dear Car Dealer: Congratulations on a record 2015! Yippee! Now, get the slings, because you’ve likely broken your arm patting yourself on the back. If you’re an average dealership – whether privately-owned or publicly-held – you had a record year in 2015. Heck, if you’re a below average dealer you had a record 2015. […]
In case you haven’t heard the news, there’s a current job opening in automotive that none of my peers will even consider: CEO of TrueCar (NASDAQ: TRUE). Most everyone I’ve spoken with about the role calls it a sure career-ender; a poisonous position that will turn even the most respected leader into an industry […]
NEWSFLASH: Consumers are tired of wasting 3-5 hours of their lives buying a car. The average prospect today has done more than 19 hours of research before they ever set foot on your lot; so they know what they want to buy, they just don’t want to spend an entire day buying it from […]
If you’re like most dealers I speak with lately, you’re either looking to add a Business Development Center (aka BDC) or trying to find ways to make your current BDC more successful? If so, then there are just a few simple “must haves” that are truly non-negotiable if you’d like your BDC to succeed […]
You do know you’re wrong about Tesla, right? I don’t even need to hear your opinions about the electric carmaker to tell you that you’re wrong about Tesla. You’re dead wrong. How do I know you’re wrong about Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) without even hearing what you have to say? Because, if you’re like 99% of […]
It seems that as a pro-capitalism, successful business leader that I am somehow partially to blame for what ails the protesters who’ve joined the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement. I am the enemy. I am the bad guy. While I’ve tried desperately to comprehend both their demands and their end game, I have to […]
Lessons on Leadership and Humanity from Arne Duncan As we wrote last month in our post about local school administrators: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. Those who can’t teach, become administrators.” Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is the administrator of all administrators. On Tuesday, Secretary Duncan was in Denver […]
Skynet is Here, and the Nerds are at the Controls (Terminator fans can probably skip the next two paragraphs, as they’re just an explanation of the havoc we can expect in our not-too-distant future.) Skynet, for the uninformed, is a computer-based defense system, created by nerds working for the U.S. military in the 1990s. […]
Great Leadership Blog Worthy of Special Mention – CatchYourLimit.com As our regular readers know, we produce four semi-regular Blogwatch series covering Time Management, Sales Management, Management Training and Leadership Development. In these series we attempt to help you cut through the clutter and discover great writing and great advice. While we think we do […]
Leadership, Personal Relationships and Infidelity John Edwards, Elliott Spitzer, Kwame Kilpatrick and Jennifer Aniston’s mates. What do these men have in common? Hint: they are all alleged to have a problem keeping their pants on in the presence of women who are not their significant others. After hearing about the John Edwards infidelity revelations […]
Leadership and Business Bankruptcy Bennigan’s, Mrs. Fields and Lehman Brothers. Not really three names you’d ever expect to see in the same sentence, but all three have one thing in common: they all declared bankruptcy in 2008 and substandard leadership is to blame. Lehman Brothers is certainly the most shocking name on this list. […]