Most dealers are facing a sales slowdown. The exception, in June at least, seems to be Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM dealers. RAM was a star in June, with sales surging 28 percent. And after a rocky start, Hyundai’s luxury Genesis brand seems to be finding its footing – its sales rose 37.8 percent in June, albeit on a small volume. Overall, June’s SAAR was a non-too-shabby 17.29 million units.
Last week one of our columns addressed the importance of minding your dealership(s) online reputation to keep sales strong. A dealership’s reputation is one of its most important assets, and while word of mouth used to be the main way a reputation spread, with social media a small complaint can become very large in a short time.
This week I profile a dealer who had to overcome a big complaint – make that complaints – regarding a dealership he just acquired. The previous owner, facing a cash shortfall, had run up significant debt, including not making payments on trade-ins, thus hurting customers’ credit scores. Scott Gruwell of Courtesy Auto Group in Arizona handled it well and is already selling more new cars from the previously-troubled store. Read how he handled it in this week’s issue.
When we talk about succession, often it means who will take over running the dealership when the current dealer principal retires. But it can also mean filling important managerial positions. Identifying candidates for managerial and leadership roles is also very important, however, and it should be an ongoing process. This week Rawls Group’s Kendall Rawls returns with advice on how to spot promising candidates.
And of course we have Transaction News.
Enjoy!
