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Consultant's Corner

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Slap a little cold water in your face…snap out of it…stop whining and get your act together.  It always amazes me how quickly tough times expose the wimps, whiners and imposters.  

January was a train wreck for dealers coast-to-coast…all makes…all markets. Everybody shared the pain…no one was immune and there was no place to run or hide.  

A big black gloomy cloud hovered over The NADA Convention in New Orleans. The turnout was light as winter storms pounded the east coast.  One of my Michigan dealers told me they had major storms five Saturdays in a row.  Many of the dealers and managers, as well as the industry executives I spoke with at the convention were spreading gloom and depression all over themselves.  

A California dealer complained about “rain”.  

Excuse me; I haven’t got time for people who appear to be losing or losers in general. Sometimes I make a hundred phone contacts a day to dealers, managers, and industry people. There is too much defeatism and negativism coming at me from some of you guys and gals on the front lines. Yesterday was like the final straw…speaking to a dealer on the phone about sending managers to my seminar and his excuse was… 

“You know Jim, business is really bad right now…we’re having a terrible month. I can’t afford to do this right now.” 

He went on to tell me why it was okay for him to be losing. He pointed out that every dealer in the zone was also having a bad month and that his numbers were actually average. 

 I pointed out to him an old Ziegler saying… “Average” is the point where “Sucks” begins.  

Don’t take pleasure in knowing that your performance is “Average”.  

--- Average Sucks! ---

 I asked him if he planned to close the doors tonight and go out-of-business? My suggestion to him was that he might consider selling the store if he’d lost his fire.  

We went on to discuss his gross per unit (he didn’t know his traffic count or closing ratio) He was at $1750.00 per unit retailed, front and back but his Sales Were OFF more than 30 units a month over the last quarter. Bare in mind his sales in normal times are right at 130 units, new and used.   

I asked him… “Okay you’re having a bad month (his opinion). Is it better to have a “bad month” at $3000.00 per unit sold than it is to have a bad month at $1700.00 per unit?” 

You see, my take on this is that we have to work harder, smarter, and better. You’ve got to get your processes in order. There are some people reading this newsletter who know the people I am talking about here. In great times when customers are falling all over themselves to buy a car from you…some of these importers actually thought they were competent “Car People”. Well, guess what?  Many people have come out of the fog and realized they are not doing such a great a job at all. When I say that most dealers are leaving a hundred thousand dollars a month on the table, I can show you that immediately. If you’re selling more than 100 units a month…you are probably wasting more business than you making. Some dealers and managers reading this angry letter, you know what I am talking about. You’ve got alleged “Sales People” blowing through six and seven “ups” a day to sell one car.  I’ve seen dealerships recently where sales people went through 125 opportunities a month to sell eight units. Stop wasting “Ups!”

---Oh, and by the way…the situation I just described is a management problem. Sales people will do what is required. You’ve got what you are tolerating.  

I can’t tell you how many of my dealers that are on my sales and management program called me and said these words… “Our unit sales were off more than 60 units last month BUT we actually increased our profits by more than $50.000…same month.” Now, that was a large Toyota Dealer in the southeast that told me that. AND…it was only after I personally worked in his store in December for two days…and his managers attended the seminars in Atlanta…I can introduce you to dozens of other dealers with similar stories…Its consistent…my dealers are keeping up the profits in a down market…because we’re holding the gross and maximizing the closing ratios. AND…CSI is actually improved.  

Customers come in one at a time…they don’t know you’re having a “bad month”.  The problem is sales people running amok and mangers writing deals with “scared pencils” 

You don’t have to give up unit sales to hold the gross. One of the largest Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep Dealers in the country is recording record profits using “My Stuff” when all of his competitors are slitting each other’s throats.  

I am going to say this looking you right in the eye… “Stop participating in the factory programs!”  

One of the biggest reasons you guys (gals) are losing your collective asses is because the factories (most of them) are interfering in retail.  

“Blue Oval Certification” was only the beginning of the manufacturer beating their dealers into submission. I personally believe the Chrysler MPA Program is a hammer the factory is holding over your head. Stop participating…if you hit the number great BUT stop losing money on sales trying to hit some bogus number they intend to keep ratcheting up anyway.  I am talking about all of these new factory programs…stop playing. If you hit the number that’s great. I don’t know any dealers who are passing on profitable deals…I’m talking about deliberately losing money on a damn crap-shoot.  

A Ford dealer once told me… (Referring to Blue Oval Certification)

… “They said it was a carrot on a stick BUT when I finally caught it, I found out it was just a dog turd painted orange.”

Is it possible that a Chrysler Dealer might have Daimler-Chrysler putting heavy pressure on him to floor plan with them and when he finally caved in and did it; his MPA target objective would miraculously drop significantly? I am sure that would never happen…would it? I am confident the program is fairly administered aren’t you?

Stop playing the factory stair step game and go for the gross again. Stop apologizing for making a profit as if we’ve done something wrong. We actually have sales representatives today who feel guilty for holding gross. Profit is fair and legal. The factories have whored-up your sales force by paying them directly. We’ve developed a weak bunch of sales people who are now highly dis-incentivised to hold gross profit…BECAUSE…so many of these weak sucks can make a living with their “Beer and Pretzels Mentality”…You have sales people who are shooting at getting a mini-deal flat commission and a “Spin” from the factory.  

“A Mini-Deal and a Spin” How many of your sales people are satisfied with that? Probably more than you care to think about. Stop paying flats for minis.

 A Ford Dealer in Texas was whining to me that he was forced to “Sell Cheap” because his competitors…other Ford dealers had whored up the market so badly. I told him what I say to everybody… “The best way to beat the competition is to ignore the competition” 

“The Competition” is only an excuse that weak under performers use to justify losing. MOST of your customers are unaware of the competition the first time they came into your store. The majority of your customers actually saw you first.  

MOST of your customers haven’t researched on the Internet (some have…MOST of your customers haven’t visited another dealership before they saw you (some have) …MOST of your customers haven’t even looked in the paper or seen anybody’s ads (some have). Stop making excuses for weak management. If you’re guilty, you can take charge immediately and control your destiny.  I can’t tell you how many managers come out of my seminars and increase profits by a thousand dollars a unit…the first day back. This is not an isolated instance…we have hundreds of current references from all types of stores in all types of markets. $3000.00 per unit retailed is not uncommon while actually increasing unit sales and improving CSI.  

My competitors sell “Training”…We Sell “Results” and we’ll put the numbers on the table…they won’t.  You can call our references until your fingers bleed all over the phone pad.  

The best months of the year are coming up quickly AND YOU ARE NOT PREPARED to handle it.  

My Ads in the magazines say … “Tough Guys for Tough Times.”  

Well, we’re the “real deal”…if you want “cheerleaders” and “give-away artists”… or “Stuffed Suits” with a bunch of “trick word tracts” that really don’t work in the real world with real customers…those trainers are out there. BUT, if you want the numbers consistently, you can hire a company with a documentable track record for putting the numbers on line 51 of your financial statement.

You know how to reach me. I will personally sit on your Sales Desk and I will personally “Catch An Up” and I will personally sit on the F&I Desk. I am one of the very few who can actually do what he teaches.  

My trainers are the best in-dealership, hands-on people in the universe.  My seminars are the total package. We teach ethical, legally compliant, relationship-driven sales and management.  

One of my competitors recently told an audience that the customer doesn’t care who you are…they don’t even care to know the sales persons’ names.  Excuse me! I believe that relationship-driven sales is important and the “trust-factor” is earned through establishing common ground and putting the customer at ease with who they are about to make a $40,000.00 investment with.  You build a sale the way you build a house…a step at a time. You don’t need to lie…or cheat…or misrepresent anything to sell cars and trucks. Everything we do is based on relationship-based selling. We genuinely love our customers…Its not a commodity sale.  

Are You Ready to Rumble?

I have always said,” Average People With Great Processes Will Have Incredible Results.”

My Books and my Videos and Audio Sets...as well as The Sales Managers Seminars and The All-New F&I Mastermind Seminars…we have the educational tools available AND we are ready to come to your dealership and install the entire program for $7000.00 per month per location. (Platinum Program on a one-year contract plus travel expenses for consultants) 

Do me a giant favor…Please…forward this letter on to as many people in the industry as you know. Let’s shake things up here. Give this to your dealer or General Manager…shoot the factory guy (gal) a copy of it.  

Call your 20-group moderator and tell them you’d like to have Jim Ziegler speak at your next meeting. (No charge-travel expenses and materials only) 

You can either grow or die…but you can’t stay where you are. There isn’t a “Big Dog” in any market I can’t bring down with my processes. The time is now…if you’re sitting on your thumb waiting for things to get better, then you deserve to have what you’re not getting. Get angry…get aggressive and go out there and attack the market. Get your sales department under control…chances are “they’re running loose and wild.” The reason you can’t make the money I am describing in this letter is because your sales people are “giving it all away” on the parking lot before the managers ever touch the deal.  

The last thing I’ll say before I sign-off is… 

“When you’re ready to run with the Big Dogs…call me.” 

--- Jim Ziegler ---

You may contact Jim at [email protected]

Ziegler SuperSystems, Inc - 3950 Shackleford Road - Suite 100 - Duluth, GA 30096

800.726.0510

www.ZieglerSuperSystems.com

                   A Dealership Success Plan!