News

AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING & MARKETING

Motivation

What’s Your Motivation?

Motivation for the right reasons is essential. For the purposes of this blog, I give you the story of a man who lived in the house next to mine for more than a decade. He recently moved north to enjoy his retirement years. Overall, he was a pretty good neighbor, but one of the last […]

Your USP

Your USP Makes You Stand Out

About 60 years ago, Rosser Reeves coined the now-famous term, “Unique Selling Proposition,” or USP. Entrepreneur.com defines USP accurately as the factor or consideration presented by a seller as the reason that one product or service is different from and better than that of the competition. More About Your USP In your current situation, think […]

What Works for Apple

What Works for Apple Can Work for You

What works for Apple (the computer/technology company) in terms of customer service can also work wonders for automobile dealerships. Even though comparing computers and cars is like comparing (excuse the bad pun) apples and oranges, Apple’s customer service mode of operation is still just as viable in both industries – and you’ll see why when […]

Nielsen Data

Nielsen Data: Radio Still Very Powerful for Advertising

Recent Nielsen data linked to media usage has revealed some surprising results; ones that may change the way many people think about Millennials and their media-consuming habits. The ones germane to car dealers are presented here in this blog. This article in Media Life Magazine does a tremendous job of laying the groundwork for […]

«‹ 71 72 73 74 ›»

Press Categories

Recent Posts

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.

Read more