Unfortunately...some of you have placed it in a warm, dark,
moist place. 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 ---
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