Velocity works for dealers large and small

April 27, 2009

DALE, I HAVE BEEN WORKING ON MY INVENTORY TURN LIKE YOUR BOOK TALKED ABOUT. MY AVERAGE COST IS 4200.00 PER CAR. MY SALES ARE UP 6 CARS PER MO. OVER THE LAST 3 MONTHS. HOWEVER I BEEN TRACKING WHAT I SOLD IN THE 7-14 DAY BRACKET. MY AVERAGE IS 3100 PER CAR COST. I’VE FIXED A CHART ON THE WALL TRACKING THE VEHICLE IN THE LAST 3 MO. TRYING TO KEEP ENOUGH OF MINI-VANS ETC. MY QUESTION IS HOW DO I KNOW WHEN I NEED TO STOCK MORE OF THE MINIVANS OR OTHER RIGHT UNITS WHEN I AM STOCKING 2 AND SELLING THEM IN AN AVERAGE OF 28 DAYS? AND I AM STARTING TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE RIGHT CAR. IF I STOCK 28 CARS SELL 20 A MONTH. BUT I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHEN I NEED TO STOCK MORE CARS? I AM ALSO TRYING TO GET MY AVERAGE COST DOWN TO 3000-3200 COST PER UNIT. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THESE SUBJECTS? DALE I AM ALSO ENJOYING YOUR CDS FROM THE NADA CONVENTION. THANKS KARONEL

Karonel,

Thanks for your question. Remember that the decision to stock more cars should never be motivated by the calendar or the desire to sell more, but rather only your turn. When your turn exceeds 15 times per year you probably should increase your inventory gradually to bring it slightly under 15. The beautiful thing is that you’ll know, just know when that moment occurs. It’s a first-class problem when your biggest priority becomes buying cars rather than selling them. That moment of realization is when you know you’ve become a velocity dealer.

I’m really proud of your transformation over the several months that we’ve been talking. Keep up the great work and continue to check in.

Dale