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The 21 Reasons People Listen to Radio

The 21 Reasons People Listen to Radio

There are at least 21 major reasons people listen to AM/FM radio each day, according to the much-anticipated, recently released Jacobs Media TechSurvey 2018. In it, they cite the 21 top reasons from those surveyed, in an effort to discover the top reasons why people tune in to radio. (And remember, it’s been proven that […]

JKR Advertising Wins Telly Award for Third Straight Year

JKR Advertising Wins Telly Award for Third Straight Year

For the third consecutive year, JKR Advertising & Marketing has won a Telly Award in the Local TV & Local Cable category. This year’s prize-winner, called “Summer Blockbuster 2017,” has drawn widespread acclaim from JKR’s clients and was aired in multiple media markets nationwide. The ad can be viewed here. The 30-second spot, which […]

Want More Business?

Want More Business?

If you want more business for your company – no matter what you’re selling – there are three basic ways to make this happen. The way an automobile dealer goes about accomplishing these steps will be different from a business owner selling smaller-ticket items, but the general premise remains the same. The first – […]

2018 Discontinued Cars Reaffirm Shift to Trucks & SUVs

2018 Discontinued Cars Reaffirm Shift to Trucks & SUVs

Discontinued cars … it seems like there are an inordinate amount of them this year, especially in the wake of Ford’s recent announcement that it will no longer sell cars except the Mustang and Focus in North American beginning in the near future. Out of the 14 discontinued cars already announced, only three – the Volkswagen […]

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Post-Pandemic Dealer Gross Profits are Down – But They Don’t Have to Stay There!
March 13, 2024

It is no secret that dealer gross profits per vehicle are down sharply in the post-COVID automotive world. According to a recent article in Automotive News, gross profits of the six largest publicly traded dealership groups plunged significantly from Q4 2022 to Q4 2023. One of them was actually down 35% per vehicle!

The article explains: High interest rates, more expensive vehicles and a steadier post-pandemic supply chain continue to soften demand and bring it closer to pre-pandemic levels. Still, new-car buying has remained strong overall …

This means that, while sales volume is similar, overall bottom lines are lower for many dealers due to the reduced gross profits. What about your dealership?

Being Realistic
It’s time to turn the page! The time for dealers to simply be order takers for people willing to pay MSRP for a vehicle (and in some cases more) has passed and dealers have to work hard once again to achieve acceptable gross profits.

Selling a high volume of cars doesn’t control gross profits, no matter how much you wish this was the case. Correct processes and menu pricing – and strict adherence to them – do!

What kind of processes?
∙ Slow down the transaction! Your sales staff has to once again sell the customer on the features and benefits of every new and pre-owned vehicle on your lot.

∙ Your salespeople and managers should devalue the customers’ trade-in value (politely, of course) as much as possible. After all, if the customer expects you to lower your price, shouldn’t you be able to do the same on their trade? Remember, you’ll have to fix it up, put your name on it and resell it to someone else with all the tenacity you would a brand-new car. So make sure you buy it right … because the profit is made when you buy it, not when you sell it!

∙ To that end, management should be ready and willing to leave the desk and do thorough walk-arounds on each trade to ensure the best outcome for the dealership.

The Cure for Low Gross Profits
If you are like a lot of dealers these days, you could use some good news. Here it is: while you may not have the capability to achieve profit margins similar to those you enjoyed during the pandemic, they could likely be improved. JKR’s clients enjoy the benefit of attracting not only more customers, but better ones, too!

If meeting and exceeding your sales goals (and increasing gross profits at the same time) sounds great to you, you need to call us. Don’t settle for reduced gross profits when help is out there to get you closer to where you’d like to be.

Want to know how we do it? Reach out to Senior Partner Richard Brauns (407) 701-4233 or Partner/Vice President Jon Albert (407) 718-2494 today.

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.

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