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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JUN-2022 - dalepollak.com
A Call for “Bucket”-Minded Inventory Acquisition
If you scrolled the clock back 15 or 20 years, you’d find very few dealers who managed their used vehicle inventory in what we now call “buckets.” Rather, dealers managed used vehicles in blocks—cars that were less than 60 or 90 days old and those that weren’t.
| Comments JUN-2022 - dalepollak.com
Where Dealers Get Their Most Profitable Inventory
Most dealers would agree that acquiring inventory over the course of the past two years has grown more complex and difficult. We now understand that, if you want to maintain, if not grow, your share of money-making used vehicle sales, you can’t rely on trade-ins as much as you did in the past.
MAY-2022 - dalepollak.com
How Dealers Acquire Inventory from Service Customers
In a recent post, I highlighted how vehicles dealers acquire directly from service customers hold almost as much investment value potential as those they acquire off-lease and from trade-in.
MAY-2022 - dalepollak.com
A Top of the Market Moment in Used Vehicles
If you’re a stock investor, the top of the market arrives when the value of an asset or security stops rising and begins to trend downward. The same is true in used vehicles: The top of the market occurs when wholesale vehicle values reach a peak and begin to soften.
MAY-2022 - dalepollak.com
A Closer Look at Where Dealers Can Acquire Late Model Vehicles More Profitably
If you’re a franchised dealer looking to stock more one- to three-year-old vehicles in your used vehicle inventory, you’re probably having a hard time lately.
APR-2022 - dalepollak.com
An Encouraging Start for Cox Automotive’s Upside/Upside Direct Wholesale Experience
This past Monday marked the end of the first Upside Direct auction in Atlanta.
APR-2022 - dalepollak.com
Will April Bring a Bounce or Bump for Used Vehicle Sales?
All eyes, it seems, are on the used vehicle sales rate for April. Why? Because the month appears to be shaping up as a touchstone of where the market’s headed.
APR-2022 - dalepollak.com
Signs of a Softening Retail Market in Used Vehicles
Earlier this month, I noted how retail used vehicle sales in April might be a stage-setter for the remainder of the year. Like many dealers, I was hopeful that sales would take a positive turn—that a shower of sales in mid-to late April might bring flowers in May and beyond.
MAR-2022 - dalepollak.com
ProfitTime GPS in Practice: Elevating Appraiser Accuracy, Consistency and Performance
It’s been an eye-opening experience as I’ve taken part in early training sessions for dealers who are adopting the new ProfitTime GPS (Global Profitability Solution).
MAR-2022 - dalepollak.com
NADA Follow-Up: Two Things That Occurred While We Were Away
One of the nice things about an in-person NADA convention is its all-consuming nature. The convention is the center of the universe for a few days. When you’re there, in the moment almost every moment, it’s not as easy to keep up with what’s going on everywhere else.
MAR-2022 - dalepollak.com
NADA Dispatch 2: Trust, Transparency, Inventory Efficiency and EVs
Beyond the record-setting profitability dealers achieved in the past two years, there’s another blessing that hasn’t received anywhere near the same level of attention. The blessing came in the form of record-setting customer satisfaction.
MAR-2022 - dalepollak.com
NADA Dispatch 1: A Buoyant, Busy Day on the Exhibit Hall Floor
It’s good to be back at an in-person NADA convention. No. Check that. It’s great to be back, and it’s a sentiment I heard over and over throughout the opening day of the exhibit hall at the convention.
MAR-2022 - dalepollak.com
A Bit of the Whole Truth on Wholesale Profits in 2022
Dealers across the country enjoyed a big blessing last year that previously only big retailers like CarMax, Carvana and some public dealer groups had the opportunity to enjoy.
FEB-2022 - dalepollak.com
Understanding the Need for a ‘North Star’ to Guide Inventory Acquisition
We are in a unique moment in the history of the car business when it comes to how dealers acquire inventory for their used vehicle departments.
FEB-2022 - dalepollak.com
Will We See A Sudden Change to Used Vehicle Values?
I’ve had several conversations in the past week or so with dealers wondering if we’ll soon see a “burst” in what some have dubbed a used vehicle pricing bubble.
FEB-2022 - dalepollak.com
Why Margin Compression May Return in Used Vehicles
While I try to avoid making predictions about the future, recent conversations with industry analysts suggest that market conditions that drove record-setting profitability for dealers in used vehicles may take a darker turn later this year.
JAN-2022 - dalepollak.com
A Closer Look at General Motors’ CarBravo Program
Whenever a factory launches a program to sell used vehicles directly to consumers, it gets my attention.
JAN-2022 - dalepollak.com
ProfitTime in Practice: A Deeper Dive Into Bronze Vehicle Pricing
When dealers are making record profits and selling all the used vehicles they can acquire fairly quickly, it can be difficult to convince them that their current decision-making could be better or improved.
JAN-2022 - dalepollak.com
5 Best Practices that Shaped Used Vehicle Success in 2021
It has been a remarkable year in used vehicles in 2021. Based on what I see and hear, many dealers will enjoy the dual blessing of record-setting used vehicle sales and profits as they close out their books for the year. An even larger number of dealers will celebrate the unprecedented profitability they achieved in used vehicles in 2021, even if they aren’t satisfied with their sales volumes.
DEC-2021 - dalepollak.com
A Key Question: Is the Wholesale Market Turning?
Several dealers astutely noticed a slight drop in wholesale values in the past week and asked the same question: Is the wholesale market finally cooling off?
DEC-2021 - dalepollak.com
2021 Yields Two Positives to Remember in the Coming Year
As December arrives for dealers, it’s worth reflecting on two positive and proactive things the best dealers did this year to achieve record-setting used vehicle sales and profitability, despite the high cost and relative scarcity of available inventory.
NOV-2021 - dalepollak.com
A Look Behind Record-Setting Dealership Profitability
A piece in Automotive News this week underscores a remarkable achievement by dealers across the country. By the end of September, dealership net profit surpassed $3 million for the current year, topping the record $2.1 million in net profit dealers reported for all of 2020.
NOV-2021 - dalepollak.com
A Case of Two Less-than-Ideal Choices in Used Cars
If you’re a used vehicle retailer in the current market, chances are better than good that your inventory has a sizable and possibly growing share of vehicles that you own for more money than you can get in the retail market.
NOV-2021 - dalepollak.com
A “Miss” that Matters with Customer Vehicle Acquisitions
In a recent post, I shared how dealers run the risk of missing customer vehicle acquisitions when they refuse to pay a customer as much as they would at auction for the same vehicle.
NOV-2021 - dalepollak.com
A “Pay Up” Pitfall as Dealers Source Customer Vehicles
Last week, I shared some pointers to help dealers do a better job sourcing vehicles from customers.
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. ..