Lessons I’ve Learned So Far in 2009:

1. There is no such thing in a dealership as a “job well done”. You’re only as good as the last deal you delivered.
2. A GM can loose $250K in the used car department and still keep his job as long as he gets the sales force to sell all the old age units on the lot!
3. Sales people will complain about costs and packs until the GM puts a ridiculous bonus on those units, then they’ll sell every one of them.
4. Lowest prices on the internet bring lots of customers who buy lots of cars at lots of losses. They’ll all pay cash, and never come back to your dealership, because they typically live too far away to have ever considered your dealership before, but felt it was worth the drive to steal a unit from you. Nothing like loosing money and never getting any residual business from a customer.
5. Customers believe you’ll do anything, and take any offer, because the news shows keep telling them how bad our business is.
6. Sales Managers never want to hear they’re doing anything wrong, ethically or legally, until they’re about to get caught.
7. Sales people will stand and stare at you when you say no, hoping that if they look long and hard enough, the answer will change!
8. Never believe a GM who tells you to get to work and he’ll get you a pay plan, and never believe a GM who says, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you!”
9. It’s never a good sign when the GM calls a management meeting for 8PM on a Sunday night.
10. A finance director who puts all his eggs in the captive’s basket will soon find himself unable to make an omelet after so many of the marginal deals he forced on them go bad. It’s tough to build relationships with lenders these days when they know they were never the first choice, or even a top 3, for a dealership.
11. A GM will always choose to keep the guy who makes the least amount of money when business gets bad.
12. A “workforce reduction” is just a fancy way of saying “Don’t go away made, just go away!”