Featured MarketeerIan Godbold
Responsible for developing and executing an aggressive digital ROI focused business strategy for profitable growth and increase market share in the automotive dealer sector, whilst effectively integrating online with the core business
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ProfitTime GPS in Practice: Key Takeaways from a 90-Day Pricing Alignment Challenge
About two months ago, I wrote about general sales manager James Skop’s experience half-way through an operational challenge he accepted: To align his used vehicle pricing to ProfitTime GPS recommendations at least 85 percent of the time for 90 consecutive days.
A Root Cause for Two Troubling Used Vehicle Trends
There are two troubling trends underway in used vehicle departments across the country that deserve dealers’ attention right now.
A Means to Manage Your Gross Profit or Volume Preference in Used Vehicles
My recent post about dealer groups opting to go for used vehicle gross profit over volume prompted a question from several dealers—what if we do want to make the trade-off and make gross or volume our top priority?
Four Appraising Principles for the Current Market
There’s an interesting shift in my recent conversations with dealers about their used vehicle inventories that seems relevant to share here.
Do You Really Need to Sacrifice Volume for the Sake of Gross Profit?
An Automotive News story this past weekend gave me pause. The piece highlighted an apparent strategic decision by public dealer groups and large used vehicle-only retailers to go for gross profit at the expense of volume.
ProfitTime GPS in Practice: Don’t Worry About the Precious Metal Composition of Your Inventory
I’ve been hearing a similar concern from ProfitTime GPS dealers in recent conversations: “I need more Platinum and Gold vehicles to get my average front-end gross profit back on track.”
ProfitTime GPS in Practice: Halfway Through A Dealer’s 90-Day Pricing Alignment Challenge
In late February, sales manager James Skop of Fletch’s Buick GMC Audi in Petoskey, MI, made a bold decision.
A Look at the “Profit Coma” Problem in Used Vehicles
If memory serves, I first heard the term “profit coma” from dealer Brian Benstock of Paragon Honda during a podcast more than a year ago. He used the term to describe how a run of unprecedented profitability could result in dealers being slow to move as used vehicle market conditions became less favorable.
ProfitTime GPS in Practice: Knowing When It’s Right to “Roll the Car”
In my most recent post, I shared how dealers, and used vehicle managers in particular, get antsy about meeting their sales volume targets near the end of the month and discount the vehicles they understand to be the easiest to reduce. As I noted, in many cases, the vehicles are their best investments. The ones ProfitTime GPS designates as Platinum and Gold cars.
A Familiar Monthly Ritual that Dealers Should Recognize and Repair
Let’s see if the following scenario sounds familiar:
An Earlier End to Our Unusual Spring Sales Bounce?
If there’s one thing that might define of how this year’s spring compares to prior years, it might be that everything’s arriving sooner than expected.
A Closer Look at an Uncertain, Unpredictable Used Vehicle Market
My phone’s been buzzing off the hook in the past week as dealers are almost single-mindedly asking the same question: Where’s the used vehicle market headed?
ProfitTime GPS in Practice: A Longtime Appraisal Problem That’s More Problematic
Every dealer would agree that you make your money when you buy a used vehicle.
ProfitTime GPS in Practice: How and Why “Cost” Doesn’t Drive Pricing Recommendations
I’ve had a version of the following conversation with dealers in recent weeks. The conversation typically arrives after I’ve shared why dealers should be treating their distressed (or “Bronze”) vehicles differently and getting out of them faster. It goes like this:
A Head-Scratcher Market and an Imminent Moment of Truth
I’ve been in multiple conversations with economists and data scientists at Cox Automotive, as well as members of the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, that have focused on the apparent and surprising strength of used vehicle sales so far in 2023.
A Closer Look at an Uncertain, Unpredictable Used Vehicle Market
Are Car Dealerships the Safest Retail Experience?
Digital Marketing Strategy - A return to a traditional KPI
Desire, Commitment Drive Impressive Used Vehicle Turn-Around
A 2019 Priority: Managing Your Inventory Investment Value
Independent Dealer Realizes His Car Business Dream
4 Misunderstandings About Price In Today’s Auto Retail Market
3 Best Practices To Beat Used Vehicle Margin Compression
3 Takeaways to retail a larger share of vehicles in less than 30 days, and improving overall profitability and ROI in used vehicles.
Key Benchmarks Top Used Vehicle Dealers Achieve to Outpace Others In The US Market
Comment: 2925 Days Ago
3 Best Practices To Beat Used Vehicle Margin Compression
Old habits and expectations are hard to break. More profit made because the sale price increased. ..