It’s a Great Morning in America!

It’s morning on State Highway 33 you’re stuck in traffic. You phone your general manager to inform him that the every other day training session will get started at 8:15 a.m. rather than 8 because a gravel hauler has dumped its load right in front of the entrance to the Bed, Bath and Beyond. By the way, the 2006 Ford F-150 you drove home last night has a brake squealing awful and Julian should look at it first thing after the meeting.

So begins another day in America for thousands of other dealer-owners. A day that will be laced with problems, hazards, challenges, solutions, opportunities and enjoyment.

No one tackles the automotive retail business because it’s an easy way to turn a buck. When you started eight years ago, you lived at the store. You were the one who put up the cash to rent the lot, and pay the light bills. You bought the computer at Best Buy. You should have listened to your son and got the larger hard drive. You bought inventory at the two local dealer auctions and the public sale the third Saturday of the month. It was you and your wife who spent four weeks setting up Quick Books, so you could track expenses and figure out if this was all worth it. You hired the part time lot boy. He seemed like a nice kid until that set of chrome wheels disappeared. Three lot boys later, you hired Julian, who is now your main service tech. Seven years ago, you knew you were making money because the bills were getting paid, and cars were moving off the lot, but you didn’t know how much or if you were making enough, or if the college fund for your son would be enough when the time came.

Yeah, it’s a good morning in America. You’re on your way to YOUR dealership on YOUR own lot — a business that is respected locally and is profitable. It’s a great day in America, and if they’d move traffic around the hauler a little faster it would be even better. You have some plans you want implemented, numbers that must be addressed and ideas you’d like to share.

You’re moving 45 units a month now that you moved to the new location. You have nine employees now and they all depend on you to be successful. Your son goes to college next year, and while the his college fund is strong, you still have to face the increases in payroll taxes, fuel costs and health care, and an economy that, well, sucks! It’s a good morning in America, but they aren’t making it easier.

What has made it a little easier is a decision you made six years ago. You read an article in a trade publication about a dealer, who sounded a lot like you. He boasted how he improved his net profit 300 percent in two years by joining a Twenty Group. So you asked around, and found out that there were a couple of guys on the state association’s dealer board who were Twenty Group members, and gave them a call.

You received an invitation, and attended a Twenty Group meeting. The first meeting was a little strange. You thought, “Here I am with a group of strangers sharing my financial information, business practices and philosophy, and I don’t know what I’m going to get in exchange.” You were concerned you wouldn’t like them, but before it was over you were concerned they wouldn’t like you.

You quickly came to realize you were doing many of the things they were doing, but most of the members were doing them better. They brought great ideas with them to help make your business better. You were concerned they wouldn’t let you in their group.

At the dinner you got to know Joe and Darla pretty well. They had been in business just two years more than you, but they were already selling 50 units a month. You were selling just 23. They were getting $3,800 on front and back-end gross, while you were just grossing $1,300 with almost nothing on the back end.

Later you chatted with Ron, who joined the Twenty Group just a year ago. He was really fired up. It was his third meeting and he was determined to win his first idea session. He wouldn’t detail much about that idea, but told you he’d provide a detailed handout and explanation at the meeting tomorrow.

As the traffic officer waves you by the overturned gravel truck, you think back on Ron’s idea. Not only did that idea win him the idea session contest, that idea still makes you about an extra $2,500 net every month and every month since that first meeting.

You look at your watch as you squeal up to the stop light. You can see your lot boy hauling out a few of those bright orange balloons you picked up at the last trade show. It’s 8 a.m., and you’re just 15 minutes away from making today count. Fifteen minutes away from meeting with YOUR team. Fifteen minutes away from starting the day that gets the bills paid, puts food on the table and provides your customers with the best, most affordable and cleanest vehicles in town.

Yeah, it’s a great morning in America!