I'm sure we are in the same boat as most dealers right now, but I have been getting lectured about how my front end gross for used cars is too low lately. Anyone that knows used cars is aware of the fact that the market shifts quite a bit in October/November and it is really easy to get yourself in a bad position with regard to what you own your inventory for.  As a result, we have been pretty much buried in half of our inventory the last couple of months.

     In the past, we used to wholesale out of a lot of these cars towards the end of the year but now we keep everything and retail out of it. That strategy poses a problem when it comes to adhering to some sort of a turn policy. We figured we would just take the hit on the front end gross rather than take a huge wholesale loss for 2 months, and hopefully minimize the loss with any back end money made.  I feel like it is the best way to go and the owner and I both agree on this strategy.  However, he still gets all frustrated when our front end per car is $300 or so less than normal. It's a lose-lose for me!

     So the reason for the post is to figure out how we are doing compared to other stores.  We average approx $1400 per car on the front throughout most of the year ( used only ).  We have averaged right around $1000 over the last couple of months counting all the cars that were losers. I don't think those numbers are all that bad, but the GM thinks different. What is average gross these days on a used car? Are we really leaving that much money on the table? For my sake, I hope not! Let me know what you guys think.  P.S. The gross I'm referring to is after all costs including pack.

     I'm sure we are in the same boat as most dealers right now, but I have been getting lectured about how my front end gross for used cars is too low lately. Anyone that knows used cars is aware of the fact that the market shifts quite a bit in October/November and it is really easy to get yourself in a bad position with regard to what you own your inventory for.  As a result, we have been pretty much buried in half of our inventory the last couple of months.

     In the past, we used to wholesale out of a lot of these cars towards the end of the year but now we keep everything and retail out of it. That strategy poses a problem when it comes to adhering to some sort of a turn policy. We figured we would just take the hit on the front end gross rather than take a huge wholesale loss for 2 months, and hopefully minimize the loss with any back end money made.  I feel like it is the best way to go and the owner and I both agree on this strategy.  However, he still gets all frustrated when our front end per car is $300 or so less than normal. It's a lose-lose for me!

     So the reason for the post is to figure out how we are doing compared to other stores.  We average approx $1400 per car on the front throughout most of the year ( used only ).  We have averaged right around $1000 over the last couple of months counting all the cars that were losers. I don't think those numbers are all that bad, but the GM thinks different. What is average gross these days on a used car? Are we really leaving that much money on the table? For my sake, I hope not! Let me know what you guys think.  P.S. The gross I'm referring to is after all costs including pack.

     I have been brainstorming a lot lately on ways to rally the troops. Anybody that has worked in the car business knows that November is the start of 4 pretty slow months in a row. The guys are already starting to feel the affects of the downturn in traffic and as a result are already starting to complain. I want to try to do everything I can to help keep them motivated and to keep things somewhat interesting around here.  The only thing is that I am on a limited budget.

     We have tried Christmas at the dealership during December as a fun way to compensate and spiff the salesguys.  We would go buy like $6,000 worth of stuff (tv's, laptops, digital cameras, and basically anything else they have at Costco!)  The response that we got was always really good, but the problem we had the last time was that everyone needed the cash more than they needed the gifts, so they returned like 90% of the stuff to Costco. I'm pretty sure the guys are in the same boat this year and would rather have the money vs. the gifts. It is way too much work to go buy all that stuff and get it here to the dealership if they are going to just take it back the next week.

     With that said, we need a fun, affordable way to keep things interesting around here during the holiday season. Like I said before, we can't break the bank because the owner of the store keeps us on a budget. So we need a really good idea. Let me know what you guys have tried in the past that has been successful.  Keep in mind that the program needs to be tied to selling cars and needs to reward productivity for the guys that are pushing hard during the slow months. I don't want to just hand out free money! Let me know what you guys think.

     I have been brainstorming a lot lately on ways to rally the troops. Anybody that has worked in the car business knows that November is the start of 4 pretty slow months in a row. The guys are already starting to feel the affects of the downturn in traffic and as a result are already starting to complain. I want to try to do everything I can to help keep them motivated and to keep things somewhat interesting around here.  The only thing is that I am on a limited budget.

     We have tried Christmas at the dealership during December as a fun way to compensate and spiff the salesguys.  We would go buy like $6,000 worth of stuff (tv's, laptops, digital cameras, and basically anything else they have at Costco!)  The response that we got was always really good, but the problem we had the last time was that everyone needed the cash more than they needed the gifts, so they returned like 90% of the stuff to Costco. I'm pretty sure the guys are in the same boat this year and would rather have the money vs. the gifts. It is way too much work to go buy all that stuff and get it here to the dealership if they are going to just take it back the next week.

     With that said, we need a fun, affordable way to keep things interesting around here during the holiday season. Like I said before, we can't break the bank because the owner of the store keeps us on a budget. So we need a really good idea. Let me know what you guys have tried in the past that has been successful.  Keep in mind that the program needs to be tied to selling cars and needs to reward productivity for the guys that are pushing hard during the slow months. I don't want to just hand out free money! Let me know what you guys think.

     We are at the time of the year where we are doing our Christmas cards for our customer base. I think the cards are really important as we need to make sure that our customer base knows we care about them enough to wish them happy holidays. The problem we have is that we have tried various cards/letters not really knowing what is the best route to take to ensure that we get a positive response from our customers.

     To save money we have gone to a bulk card that we are all sending to our customers. While I agree with cutting costs wherever we can, I don't think this is the best place to cut costs. I wonder what the customer is going to think when they open the card. I wonder if they will really feel like we care.  Basically all we are sending is a card that says "Happy Holidays" in a nice font included with a signature from the salesperson and a business card. Some people here at the store think that this card is sufficient and there is no need to do more. I personally think they are just too lazy and don't want to put forth any more effort than they have to!

     Anyway, I think it is important to do more but other people disagree with me. I'm not suggesting we break the bank or anything, but I think it is important to show the customer that you really do care about them and it is totally appropriate to invest a little bit more money to do so. What do you guys think? Is there anything that you have tried that is effective, relatively inexpensive, and still shows the customer that you care?

     We are at the time of the year where we are doing our Christmas cards for our customer base. I think the cards are really important as we need to make sure that our customer base knows we care about them enough to wish them happy holidays. The problem we have is that we have tried various cards/letters not really knowing what is the best route to take to ensure that we get a positive response from our customers.

     To save money we have gone to a bulk card that we are all sending to our customers. While I agree with cutting costs wherever we can, I don't think this is the best place to cut costs. I wonder what the customer is going to think when they open the card. I wonder if they will really feel like we care.  Basically all we are sending is a card that says "Happy Holidays" in a nice font included with a signature from the salesperson and a business card. Some people here at the store think that this card is sufficient and there is no need to do more. I personally think they are just too lazy and don't want to put forth any more effort than they have to!

     Anyway, I think it is important to do more but other people disagree with me. I'm not suggesting we break the bank or anything, but I think it is important to show the customer that you really do care about them and it is totally appropriate to invest a little bit more money to do so. What do you guys think? Is there anything that you have tried that is effective, relatively inexpensive, and still shows the customer that you care?

    The owner of our store has been harping on me and the other sales manager lately about closing rates.  I feel like it is an issue that he constantly brings up and almost seems like we will never be able to get our closing percentages to a level that he is ok with.  We think we do a really good job with the opportunities that we have and I feel like we have a really good sales team. I can't imagine that we are so much lower than what is considered average. But what is average?

     These are our benchmark closing percentages that he wants to see from us.

1. Phone calls: 15%
2. Internet: 12%
3. Walk-ins: 25%
4. Demos: 85%
5. Be-backs: 50%

     We aren't too far from these percentages most of the time but we usually aren't ever there consistently.  I just get sick of the same old conversations with regard to these figures. I wish we could get to those #'s from time to time so we could blame our lower sales on something else. I feel like they are a little bit on the high side, but maybe that is the point.  What do you guys use a benchmark #'s at your dealership? Are we high, low, or right on?

    The owner of our store has been harping on me and the other sales manager lately about closing rates.  I feel like it is an issue that he constantly brings up and almost seems like we will never be able to get our closing percentages to a level that he is ok with.  We think we do a really good job with the opportunities that we have and I feel like we have a really good sales team. I can't imagine that we are so much lower than what is considered average. But what is average?

     These are our benchmark closing percentages that he wants to see from us.

1. Phone calls: 15%
2. Internet: 12%
3. Walk-ins: 25%
4. Demos: 85%
5. Be-backs: 50%

     We aren't too far from these percentages most of the time but we usually aren't ever there consistently.  I just get sick of the same old conversations with regard to these figures. I wish we could get to those #'s from time to time so we could blame our lower sales on something else. I feel like they are a little bit on the high side, but maybe that is the point.  What do you guys use a benchmark #'s at your dealership? Are we high, low, or right on?

     We have been working on our 2011 forecast numbers for the last 2 weeks. Forecasting for our store usually consists of hours of crunching #'s from the past years, a mandatory Sunday meeting to present research and forecast for next year, and then several meetings after to compile all the #'s together to come up with an overall master plan for the upcoming year.

     While I think that a lot of what we do is important and making goals is very important, I think we put way too much work into forecasting and it seems to be the same thing year after year. Like I said, I am a firm believer about setting goals in order to stay focused every year but I feel like we are putting in a lot of work to set a forecast that is similar to last year plus 10% or so.

     Anyway, this is the only store I have ever worked at so I don't know any different. Is that the norm for most dealers? I'm sure most dealers set goals and strive to improve in any way possible, but how much time and effort is really put into it? What have you guys found to be effective in your goal setting?

     We have been working on our 2011 forecast numbers for the last 2 weeks. Forecasting for our store usually consists of hours of crunching #'s from the past years, a mandatory Sunday meeting to present research and forecast for next year, and then several meetings after to compile all the #'s together to come up with an overall master plan for the upcoming year.

     While I think that a lot of what we do is important and making goals is very important, I think we put way too much work into forecasting and it seems to be the same thing year after year. Like I said, I am a firm believer about setting goals in order to stay focused every year but I feel like we are putting in a lot of work to set a forecast that is similar to last year plus 10% or so.

     Anyway, this is the only store I have ever worked at so I don't know any different. Is that the norm for most dealers? I'm sure most dealers set goals and strive to improve in any way possible, but how much time and effort is really put into it? What have you guys found to be effective in your goal setting?