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DBJ $100,000 Challenge

  • $100,000 Challenge

    Sponsored by Leedom and Associates, LLC

    We’ve chosen the 2008 Dealer Business Journal $100,000 Challenge dealer! We will now enroll Southern Trust Auto Outlets from Fort Meyers, FL in the right Twenty Group for them — free of charge for one year. During that time we will help them prepare their monthly composites, provide intensive consulting and training services, plus they will receive all the benefits of a Leedom and Associates Twenty Group member. We will guarantee Southern Trust Auto Outlets will benefit from the program by seeing at least a $100,000 improvement in their personal net profit. Watch this space as the entire thing unfolds right here on the Dealer Business Journal web site!

  • Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5 - 3 ratings

    Potts Attends Leedom Conference, Comes Back Challenging His Management Team - Must Read

    Peter Salinas - page 21

    As October was winding down, Rick Potts, owner of Southern Trust Auto Outlet in Port Charlotte, Fla., experienced many of the same challenges dealers across the country faced slow sales and difficulty in getting customers financed.

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  • Rating: 4.75Rating: 4.75Rating: 4.75Rating: 4.75Rating: 0.75 - 4 ratings

    September Sales See Up Tick, Intense Focus Returns to Southern Trust - Featured

    Peter Salinas - page 20

    September, so far, has been pretty good. That’s the word from Rick Potts, owner of Southern Trust Auto Outlets in Fort Myers, Fla., the second Dealer Business Journal $100,000 Challenge dealer.

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  • Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5 - 5 ratings

    Ertle Brothers Earns Colorado IADA Quality Dealer Honor - Must Read - Featured

    Peter Salinas - page 44

    Brothers Ron and Bob Ertle, owners of Ertle Brothers Discount Auto in Sterling, Colo., have been named the 2008 Colorado IADA Quality Dealer of the Year.

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  • Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5 - 2 ratings

    Potts Ends Partnership, Takes Sole Ownership of Port Charlotte Store - Must Read - Featured

    Peter Salinas - page 20

    Likely one of the most difficult things to do in the automotive retail business is ending a long-term partnership. In fact, it can be an all-consuming chore to make sure all parties are satisfied, the business remains a viable enterprise, employees are kept informed and the lawyers, real estate agents and accountants are paid upfront and on time.

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  • Rating: 4.25Rating: 4.25Rating: 4.25Rating: 4.25Rating: 0.25 - 4 ratings

    Economic Concerns, Lackluster Sales Only Emboldens Team Southern Trust - Featured

    Peter Salinas - page 22

    Rick Potts and the team from Southern Trust Auto Sales had plans to move 30-35 units during a two-day off-site Tent Sale on a piece of property he owns north of his two Fort Myers, Fla.-area locations.

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  • Rating: 3.67Rating: 3.67Rating: 3.67Rating: 0.67Rating: 3.67 - 6 ratings

    Fill Your Showroom This Summer - Featured

    Cathy Nuccio - page 34

    It was standing room only in the car dealer’s showroom. Last Tuesday night was hot, humid with cloudy skies and the threat of an epic downpour. The crowd size was no less than 200 in the small, not-so-modern showroom of a suburban auto dealer. This small storefront does not resemble the phenomenal stores that are springing up everywhere.

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  • Rating: 3.5Rating: 3.5Rating: 3.5Rating: 0.5Rating: 3.5 - 4 ratings

    Economic Conditions Slow Sales; New Marketing, Offsite Sale Raise Hopes - Must Read - Featured

    Peter Salinas - page 23

    Sales in April started out strong, but as fuel prices continued to rise and housing woes continued to worsen throughout Florida, Southern Trust Auto Sales in Fort Myers, Fla., slowed considerably and continued to be lackluster through the middle of May.

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  • Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5 - 1 rating

    Ertle Brothers Surpasses 2007 Net Profit Results In First Months of 2008 - Must Read - Featured

    Peter Salinas - page 25

    The 2007 Dealer Business Journal $100,000 Challenge dealership, Ertle Brothers Discount Autos in Sterling, Colo., has surpassed last year’s net profit of more than $100,000 in the first 150 days of 2008.

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  • Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5 - 3 ratings

    Southern Trust Turns Profit in March, Looks at Moving 90 Units in April - Must Read - Featured

    Peter Salinas - page 22

    Rick Potts, owner of Southern Trust Auto Sales in Port Charlotte and Fort Myers, Fla., said he returned from the March Leedom and Associates Used Vehicle Academy pumped up and ready to sell some vehicles.

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  • Rating: 4.8Rating: 4.8Rating: 4.8Rating: 4.8Rating: 0.8 - 5 ratings

    Southern Trust Takes it On the Chin In February, Sales Jump in Early March - Featured

    Peter Salinas - page 20

    “We took a major butt-kickin’ in February.” That was the opening statement from this year’s Dealer Business Journal $100,000 Challenge Dealer Rick Potts, owner of Southern Trust Auto Sales in Port Charlotte, Fla., during an interview in early March.

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  • Rating: 3.25Rating: 3.25Rating: 3.25Rating: 0.25Rating: 3.25 - 4 ratings

    Is it an Economic Slowdown, Or Have Ad Budget Cuts Hurt Traffic? - Featured

    Peter Salinas - page 20

    Eliminating $50,000 a month in expenses has been challenging for the 2008 Dealer Business Journal Challenge dealership, but now Rick Potts and the team at Southern Trust Auto Outlet must contend with a dramatic decrease in showroom traffic.

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  • Rating: 3.71Rating: 3.71Rating: 3.71Rating: 0.71Rating: 3.71 - 7 ratings

    Southern Trust’s Job No. 1: Eliminate $50,000 in Monthly Expenses - Must Read

    Peter Salinas - page 20

    If you were faced with having to remove nearly 28 percent from your monthly expenses, what would you choose to do? Would you reduce the number of employees at your dealership? Would you optimize pay plans? Does cutting your advertising budget sound like an option?

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  • Rating: 4.43Rating: 4.43Rating: 4.43Rating: 4.43Rating: 0.43 - 7 ratings

    Southern Trust Auto Outlets Chosen As 2008 DBJ $100,000 Challenge Dealership - Must Read - Featured

    Peter Salinas - page 20

    Every business has its good times and some not-so-good times. There are periods when it doesn’t seem like losing money is possible, then there are those times when black ink seems like a distant memory. It’s knowing that there are ways to solve problems and ways to correct what’s wrong that makes the not-so-good times bearable.

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  • Rating: 4.43Rating: 4.43Rating: 4.43Rating: 4.43Rating: 0.43 - 7 ratings

    Team Ertle Looks Back at 2007 - Must Read - Featured

    Peter Salinas - page 20

    As 2007 winds down we asked the team at Ertle Brothers Discount Auto in Sterling, Colo., to give us their personal thoughts on what the past year as the Dealer Business Journal $100,000 Challenge Dealer has meant to them.

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  • Rating: 3Rating: 3Rating: 3Rating: 3Rating: 3 - 3 ratings

    Ertle Bros. Debuts New Offices with Party - Featured

    Peter Salinas - page 22

    100,000 Challenge, and the team at Ertle Brothers Discount Auto was using the most of its time to add on to it’s already impressive $110,000 improvement to its net profit for 2007.

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  • Rating: 4.29Rating: 4.29Rating: 4.29Rating: 4.29Rating: 0.29 - 7 ratings

    Ertle Brothers Reaches $100,000 Goal; Earns ‘Best Used Car Store’ Recognition - Must Read - Featured

    Peter Salinas - page 20

    When it rains it pours. Fortunately for Ertle Brothers Discount Auto in Sterling, Colo., it stopped literally snowing and raining in late spring, and allowed the dealership get sales up and running in full swing.

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  • Rating: 4.8Rating: 4.8Rating: 4.8Rating: 4.8Rating: 0.8 - 5 ratings

    Ertle Brothers Closes in on DBJ Challenge Goal! - Must Read

    Peter Salinas - page 20

    Sales slowed down significantly for Ertle Brothers Discount Auto in August, but record sales during July inched the dealership ever closer to its goal. As of mid-August the rural northeast Colorado store was within $11,000 of its achieving its goal of a $100,000 improvement in its net profit.

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  • Rating: 4.33Rating: 4.33Rating: 4.33Rating: 4.33Rating: 0.33 - 3 ratings

    Record July Boosts Spirits; Team Attends Second Twenty Group Meeting - Must Read - Featured

    Peter Salinas - page 20

    At nearly the close of seven full months as the Dealer Business Journal $100,000 Challenge dealership was short-staffed. Only two key players, co-owner Bob Ertle and his step-son Wes Plank were at work at the Sterling, Colo., store. The rest of the team, Ron and Alexes Ertle and their son Alex, was basking in the eastern Caribbean on the Island of Nevis. Perhaps “basking” isn’t the right word, since three key players on the Ertle Brothers Discount Auto team were attending their second Leedom and Associates Twenty Group meeting on the tiny St. Kitts Island.

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  • Rating: 4.67Rating: 4.67Rating: 4.67Rating: 4.67Rating: 0.67 - 3 ratings

    Finance Companies in Place; Aged Inventory in Check — It’s Time to Rock - Featured

    Peter Salinas - page 24

    It’s taken a while, but the team at Ertle Brothers Discount Auto now feels it has a strong enough lender base to meet the needs of most of the customers it sees throughout the year.

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  • Rating: 4.2Rating: 4.2Rating: 4.2Rating: 4.2Rating: 0.2 - 5 ratings

    Sales are down, but Gross Profit Continues to Rise - Must Read

    Peter Salinas - page 24

    It’s been an up and down month at Ertle Brothers Discount Autos in Sterling, Colo. Sales were down 3 percent, but gross profit climbed an impressive 97 percent.

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  • Rating: 3.5Rating: 3.5Rating: 3.5Rating: 0.5Rating: 3.5 - 2 ratings

    Ertle Brothers Nets Best First Quarter in its History; Tackles Aged Inventory - Must Read

    Peter Salinas - page 22

    Robust improvements in both front and back end grosses have propelled Ertle Brothers Discount Auto to its best first quarter during its seven-year history, but nagging issues surrounding aged inventory have kept them focused on improving operations and moving the aged inventory to make room for fresh vehicles.

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  • Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5 - 1 rating

    Ertle Brothers Attends First Twenty Group Meeting; Posts Large February Net Profit - Featured

    Peter Salinas - page 24

    Huge increases in front-end and back-end grosses in the month of February were responsible for an impressive 177 percent increase in net profit over February 2006 and a 90 percent increase year to date for Ertle Brothers Discount Auto, the Dealer Business Journal $100,000 Challenge dealership.

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  • Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5Rating: 5 - 4 ratings

    The Engine Starts Humming as Ertle Brothers Secures Relationships - Must Read

    Peter Salinas - page 20

    Ertle Brothers Discount Auto, the Dealer Business Journal $100,000 Challenge dealership, has taken advice it’s gathered from a variety of sources in the past month and has run with it, meeting the expectations of both the consultants they are working with and from the team itself.

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  • Rating: 4.4Rating: 4.4Rating: 4.4Rating: 4.4Rating: 0.4 - 5 ratings

    Ertle Brothers Focues on Fundamentals; Attend First Training Seminar - Must Read

    Peter Salinas - page 20

    The Ertle Brothers Discount Auto Team in Sterling, Colo., has been using the first few weeks of the new year gearing up for the new year as the Dealer Business Journal $100,000 Challenge dealer.

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  • Rating: 4.29Rating: 4.29Rating: 4.29Rating: 4.29Rating: 0.29 - 7 ratings

    Ertle Brothers Discount Auto, LLC Becomes First $100,000 Challenge Dealer - Must Read - Featured

    Peter Salinas - page 20

    Tucked away in the northeast corner of Colorado near the Nebraska and Wyoming borders is the small, predominantly agricultural community of Sterling. With a population of about 12,000, it is located about 100 miles east of Greeley and 130 miles northeast of Aurora.

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