Author: Tom Hampton Agency

Welcome to the 2nd Installment of “High Octane”.

Posted on | by Tom Hampton Agency

 In this installment we will talk about “NOW”.

It seems that we, as Dealers, tend to spend an inordinate amount of time either looking back or forward – being “NOW” seems to be a Dealer’s hardest challenge!

 When we are “NOW”, we get more done with better results.

 A scenario :

 Let’s say you just got done with auction and you are on the way back to the lot.

 Where are your thoughts?

 On your driving – NO!

 They are still at auction – the units you bought , the “one” you did not buy and should have.

Your thoughts are in the “past”.

 Then your thoughts turn to the cars that you bought – what needs to be done?

 How are you going to get them to the lot?

 What Recon will be needed and how much that is going to cost?

 Then your thoughts drift to you Sales – how will these units do and how long will it take to turn them.

 Then the phone rings and that reminds you that you gotta call. . .

 Your thoughts are in the “future”.

 The circle goes on. . . past – future.

Where is the “NOW”?

 You are driving remember and all of a sudden you get cut off and miss your exit. “NOW” you gotta go 5 miles out of your way and in traffic it is gonna cost you 40 minutes. You have a customer due in “NOW” and his cell number is on your desk and everyone is out. This guy is a $100 margin pain-in-the-butt that is buying a unit you have been heavy in for 7 months.

 There goes any profit and if this unit goes to auction you’re gonna loose $1400 minimum.


Time to pull the pieces together.

 Let me offer a different scenario.

NOW

  • OK, you are concentrating on your driving – start looking at traffic.

  • How many “white tags” do you see on the vehicles around you?

  • What kind of units are they on?

  • What type of Buyer is driving that unit?

  • Notice a color trend on these units?

  • Notice a certain trim level on these units (top end / mid line / basic)?

  • How does you inventory stack up?

    Future

  • What does your Aging Report look like?

  • Are you in the right cars at the right price?

  • Is it time to “boot” your shade tree mechanic?

  • Does your detail man do a great job or a good job ?

  • Did that unit get back from the shop yet?

  • Is the Lot clean and looking sharp?

All of the “NOW” thoughts are IMPORTANT.

 All of the “Future” thoughts have importance at the proper time.

 Since your thoughts were “NOW” and you were concentrating on your driving.

 “NOW” you do not miss your exit.

 “NOW” you make your appointment and sell that old-age unit, pocket the $100 – Next!

“NOW” let us digress – back to Auction.

 When YOU are at Auction – do you make the crucial time to be there early and drive each unit that you are going to buy?

 Are you observing what other dealers are looking at?

 Who is looking at “your” units – either the ones you need or the ones you want to flip?

 Are they little mom & pop dealers?

 Maybe it is going be some of the big boys like Champion, Auto Nation or Drive Time that will be your “ring partners” on those units?

 Do you know the Big Boys’ Buyers?  You might want to introduce yourself.

 Networking with other Dealers (big and small) while you are at Auction is one of the best ways to flip units and stay “NOW”.

 Most Dealers just “go” to Auction.

 They will meet up with the same dealers at every Auction.  Then they will “gossip” about how bad business is or how expensive units are. Then they will buy the same type of units they always have, thus giving them something to gossip about at the next Auction.

 Gossip is POISION to your business !!!!

 When you network with other Dealers there is one goal in mind – flipping units, either wholesale or retail.

 Keep conversations upbeat and positive!

Ask questions – if problems come up, offer solutions that have worked for you.  Be willing for the other guy to do the same for you – who knows!  Do the other Dealers have a customers that just might need one of your units or vice-verse?

 Having or receiving a good “Bird Dog” is key to those conversations!

 Maybe you are a CASH Dealer and have 3 customers that need BHPH ? Work out a deal with a Dealer that has a Finance License.  Take those 3 customers and units to him.  The Dealer has already agreed to buy YOUR car at a set price ($500/$1000 over your cost etc…) “NOW” he can contract YOUR customer under his license (no missed monies – for either party) and EVERYONE is happy.

 When we are “NOW” we are more open the the ABUNDANT opportunities that are all around us that we would have normally missed!

 There really is “Gold Dust” in the air!

 By that I mean that our business falters when we spend too much time looking to the past or to the future.  Our business thrives when we concentrate on the “NOW”. We experience that “Gold Dust” first hand, because we are in the “NOW” looking for opportunities that expand our circle of influence and grow our prosperity.

The “Past” may lay the foundation.

The “Future” may build the bridge.

The “NOW” is where prosperity begins!

 Ben Franklin said it best – and I loosely paraphrase it.

 “The definition of INSANITY is doing the same thing over and over and EXPECTING different results!”

 Till next time, embrace change and stay “NOW”.

Tom Hampton

Tyler 2013

Posted on | by Tom Hampton Agency

Great Turnout Today!  Awesome to meet new Dealers & some familiar faces! The City of Tyler is grand, as always.

September Flyer

Click the Picture for this month’s Flyer.

If you missed us this month, you can check out our booth at next month’s DMV Dealer Training Seminar.

It’s scheduled for
November 21, 2013 in McAllen, TX. Registration is still open & Spots are still Available. Hope to see you there!

High Octane Intro

Posted on | by Tom Hampton Agency

Allow me a brief moment of digression and all will become clear.

My granddaddy taught me a trick that has become a business philosophy for me for decades.

“If you want your car to out run his – use High Octane”

Back when fuel injection was problematic and expensive for most engines, the performance could be quickly altered by using “ethyl” or high octane gas.

Depending on the vehicle and the carb set up it could give you 5 -10 extra ponies.

That meant when someone drove one of my cars it always seemed to perform just a little better than the next guys.

Guess who got the sale?

The premise of this entire column is to put your Dealership on High Octane – to boost its performance (your performance) and thus raise your sales/profits.

One thing has remained constant in the car business for the last 100 years – CHANGE.

Most Dealers get into habits/ruts as they go along because it is familiar and an easy way to do things – besides; it always worked in the past!

That mentality is the death knell for any Dealer. Old timers that do not adapt either die out or get out.

Now by die out, I do not mean a one way test drive to the “closing office in the sky”.

When a Dealer “dies out” his book of business goes from great to good. Then it goes from good to Ok and from Ok to “off”. From “off” it goes to “Hell-In-A-Hand-Basket”.

Please stop me if any of this sounds familiar.

Now from “Hell-In-A-Hand-Basket” it heads strait to

“Up -*hit-Creek-With-Out-A-Paddle” and once there things really start to go downhill rather quickly.

So, my question is where are YOU?

Great to Good?

Ok to Off?

Or are you headed for the creek?

Any one in this business for over 2 years knows that it has drastic cycles – up then down – up then down – up then . . .

The used car business is like no other –when it is good; life is fine.

When it is “off” things tend to get under your skin just a little quicker, you are a bit more “testy” than normal and the list goes on.

Understand that change is an integral part of any successful Dealership AND it (change) is the one thing that most Dealers resist! Hell, half of the Dealers that I know hate it!

Now let’s string all this together <–> if you really want your Dealership to be and stay successful; then you had best run it on High Octane fuel.

That may look like some drastic changes in you or your employees’ performances/habits.

That may sound like a little better training for your salespeople.

That may feel like riding out 5 hrs to go get some fresh inventory and a good price.

Something will change – it has to.

To paraphrase Ben Franklin – the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.

Yet we keep buying the same cars from the same places and keep expecting better profits or quicker turns.

When you take your cars to the same mechanic and he screws them up again and again – do you go back or do you move on?

My granddaddy also taught me – “do the job right the first time” and “quality is always worth the money (still haggle the price though)”.

That means do your recon right and it won’t come back to bite you.

How are you going to take your Dealership to the next level – what is going to be the “high octane” that you engine is running on?

What are you going to do to “out perform” the competition.

What are you willing to change and are YOU willing to change?

For all intents and purposes as owners, we are our Dealerships.

If you are having a crappy month in your personal life; you can bet it will directly affect your Dealership.

This will be a challenge for a lot of you out there – High Octane is not what you are used to putting in your tank, you are used to putting in the cheap stuff .

Once you take this philosophy to heart and it becomes the way you do your business; I can almost certainly promise . . . you will grow and at a rapid pace too.

Look to this column for advice as we grow this page.

In the month of August I will be showcasing one of my clients out of Cleveland Texas.

Good Dealer and smart in business – I know you will enjoy hearing from them.

Until next time . . . keep your tanks full, your turns quick and may every deal be a three pounder!

Tom Hampton

Coming Soon! Client Education & Support Center

Posted on | by Tom Hampton Agency

We are working closely with our Clients & Vendors to develop & offer the best experience possible. A Client Education & Support Center is currently in the works and should be available late 2013. Upon completion, it will offer Tutorials & other Enhanced Features complimenting our product line. Check back in the coming months to see how our Premium Member site is developing!