Dealership General Manager Guide: Running a Profitable Store Bottom Line Up Front The difference between a top-decile GM and everyone else isn’t about selling more cars — it’s about building systems that deliver consistent performance regardless of market conditions. Your best month should be your average month. When you pull your monthly P&L and see … Read more
FTC Safeguards Rule for Dealers: Data Security Requirements Bottom Line Up Front The FTC Safeguards Rule for dealers isn’t just compliance overhead — it’s your liability shield and competitive differentiator. While your competitors scramble with basic compliance, top-decile stores are leveraging their data security investments to win enterprise fleet accounts, improve customer retention through trust, … Read more
Fixed Operations Guide: Maximizing Service and Parts Revenue Your service and parts departments shouldn’t just be profit centers — they should be the fortress protecting your dealership from market volatility. When new car margins compress and used inventory gets tight, fixed operations revenue becomes the difference between stores that thrive and stores that survive. This … Read more
Dealership Expense Management: Controlling Costs Without Cutting Value Bottom Line Up Front The top-decile stores in every 20 Group share one trait: they manage expenses like investors, not just operators. They know the difference between costs that drive revenue and costs that just exist. While weaker dealers slash marketing budgets and cut training programs when … Read more
Used Car Dealer Business Plan: Template and Financial Projections Bottom Line Up Front: The Template That Actually Works Your used car dealer business plan isn’t about impressing a bank loan officer — it’s your operational blueprint for hitting front-end gross targets, managing floor plan costs, and building service absorption that protects your store from market … Read more
Service Advisor Training: Skills That Drive Revenue and CSI Bottom Line Up Front Here’s what separates top-decile stores from the pack: Their service advisors aren’t order-takers — they’re profit centers. While most dealers focus service advisor training on technical knowledge and customer relations, elite stores build revenue-generating consultants who can read a multi-point inspection, structure … Read more
Recruiting Car Salespeople: Where to Find and How to Attract Talent Bottom Line Up Front Your recruiting process is either a competitive advantage or it’s killing your grosses. Top-decile stores have cracked the code on recruiting car salespeople by treating talent acquisition like lead generation — systematic, measurable, and never-ending. While average dealers wait for … Read more
How to Open a Car Dealership: Licensing, Costs, and Setup Opening a dealership isn’t just about securing an OEM franchise and finding a lot — it’s about building a machine that consistently generates profit across all departments while managing massive capital requirements. The dealers who succeed understand that the first 18 months determine whether you’ll … Read more
Dealership CRM Comparison: Top Platforms Ranked for Maximum ROI Bottom Line Up Front Your CRM isn’t just lead management software — it’s the nervous system of your entire operation. The difference between top-decile stores and everyone else isn’t the number of leads they generate; it’s how disciplined they are about working every opportunity through a … Read more
Dealership DMS Systems: Choosing the Right Management Platform Bottom Line Up Front Your dealership DMS systems choice isn’t just about inventory tracking and deal jackets anymore. The stores pulling away from their competition use their DMS as the operational backbone that connects every revenue stream — new, used, F&I, parts, service, and body shop. They’re … Read more
