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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JUL-2023 - dalepollak.com
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.
| Comments JUN-2023 - dalepollak.com
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.
MAY-2023 - dalepollak.com
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?
MAY-2023 - dalepollak.com
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.
MAY-2023 - dalepollak.com
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.
MAY-2023 - dalepollak.com
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.”
APR-2023 - dalepollak.com
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.
APR-2023 - dalepollak.com
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.
APR-2023 - dalepollak.com
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.
MAR-2023 - dalepollak.com
A Familiar Monthly Ritual that Dealers Should Recognize and Repair
Let’s see if the following scenario sounds familiar:
MAR-2023 - dalepollak.com
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.
MAR-2023 - dalepollak.com
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?
MAR-2023 - dalepollak.com
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.
MAR-2023 - dalepollak.com
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:
MAR-2023 - dalepollak.com
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.
FEB-2023 - dalepollak.com
A Strategy-Based Approach to Tame Appraisal Variability
As I’ve been helping dealers reckon with the vehicles they purchased at the top of the market and failed to retail in recent weeks, I’ve been reminded of what might be considered the “wild, wild West” in many dealerships.
FEB-2023 - dalepollak.com
ProfitTime GPS in Practice: Who’s Your Used Car Captain?
It’s fair to say that there’s often a gap between the way a used vehicle manager manages a used vehicle department and the way a dealer believes the department is being managed.
JAN-2023 - dalepollak.com
A Universal Used Vehicle Problem—Inverted, Irrational Pricing
Heading into NADA, I wondered how dealers would respond when they saw their used vehicle pricing presented to them through the investment-based lens that ProfitTime GPS provides.
JAN-2023 - dalepollak.com
NADA Day 3: Factory Moves, A Stocking Problem and a Fond Farewell
Several themes emerged in conversations with dealers at NADA that suggest future strain on their factory partner relationships.
JAN-2023 - dalepollak.com
NADA Day 2: EVs, F&I Pressure, Stability and an Opportunity
Not so long ago, some observers questioned whether dealers would want to sell and support the rise of electric vehicles (EVs) given their long-standing history and investment in selling and servicing vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICEs).
JAN-2023 - dalepollak.com
NADA Day 1: A Busy, Optimistic, Discipline-Minded Day with Dealers
I’ll be taking home a new term that I learned in the first of my two workshops here at NADA—“learning journey.”
JAN-2023 - dalepollak.com
Super-Excited to See Dealers in Dallas for NADA 2023
Like a saddle bronc in the chute, I’m chomping at the bit for this year’s NADA convention in Dallas.
JAN-2023 - dalepollak.com
Inventory Write-Downs: A New Year Rite That Isn’t Right
Every January, some dealers exercise their right to an annual rite—the financial write-down of used vehicle inventory they have in stock as the calendar moves from one year to the next.
JAN-2023 - dalepollak.com
An Ongoing Gross Deception That’s Growing—Moving Cars Between Stores
I’m seeing a correlation between the current and pre-pandemic market in the way dealers with multiple rooftops are managing their used vehicle inventories.
DEC-2022 - dalepollak.com
A New Reality in 2023: More Variability in the Used Vehicle Market
It’s fair to say that many dealers experienced and saw things in used vehicles during the past year that ran counter to traditional wisdom.
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: 2924 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. ..