It’s 3AM and I am writing this blurb before we start the day that includes getting 700 units in  and ready for the auction this Thursday and Friday on the wholesale side, put out fires on the after auction side, a bunch of meetings on the technology side dealing with project management, hiring new people, time lines/ prioritization of projects, and dealing with the ongoing IRS audit (six months into it on five separate companies/entities).

Why do I want every dealer in the country to join their  join their Independent Dealers Association?  You’re saying, “who gives a rats back end what time it is, what you’re doing and why you want me to join, right (you can’t BS me, I know you). 

OK, here’s the deal…I’ll pay.  You got it, I’ll pay, so it costs you zippo.

 You’re too cheap to pull up a couple hunge out of your pocket, no sweat, I’ll pay. 

Read on and I’ll tell you why you are going to join your dealer association, at no additional cost to you.  If you haven’t joined up till now, or you belonged before and never saw the value and quit, or because you’re too busy, or because you are apathetic, or because you don’t know why you should because you can’t see what’s in it for you(?), or are so cheap that you don’t want to reach in your pocket for a couple of shekls because you can’t see the value because you are too busy to stop and understand the value… I’m paying for you.  Ready to pay attention?

Numbers matter.  It gives us power.  We are powerful as a group and ain’t a pot of piss as individuals.  But lump us together?  Forget about it.  We do billions of dollars in revenue and support businesses way bigger than ourselves.  But,  we employed hundreds of thousands of people.  We spend big money.  Think about it.  We spend billions in workmen’s comp,  trucking, recon products, insurance of all kinds, at auctions, with financial institutions, body shops, at dealerships, at bid lots, on parts, making keys, at ports, on advertising (all kinds of advertising), on accountants, with lawyers, web site designers, computer programmers, in gas, on tolls, renting/buying properties to run our businesses, on  taxes, zoning and 1,147 other important things too boring to mention, that help make all of those entities bigger and better which in general helps the economy move.

We are the grass roots of free enterprise.  Start with an idea, um, I want to buy something and sell it for little more.  Good idea, right?  Ever have that idea?  Why?  Because if you do it enough times it will liberate your ass, you become a free spirit responsible only (initially)to yourself and your family.  Work is no longer work because you are doing it for yourself, it just no longer feels like work (sorry if you don’t understand this but it just is what it is).  If you haven’t experienced it you obviously aren’t a used car dealer.  It’s what drives us to get up early and go to bed late…it is the definition of freedom in my world.

So enough nauseous rambling, here is the point and why I’ll pay your fee to join (you can’t wait to see how I’m going to close you, can you? You gonna love it).

You ever hear of Consumers Report?  You ever hear of dealer financing? 

Start with Consumer Report.  You know what they do.  They rate things.  If we all belong to a non-profit organization, what do you think that organization can do for us?  Rate things, all things.  WE will rate, auctions, truckers, financial institutions, recon shops, insurance companies, accountants, lawyers, bid lots, politicians, auction policies, products, sellers at auctions, captive sellers at auctions by name brand.  Why you can even rate us to be sure what we say is true down to a nat’s rear end.  It gets better than that, they can rate us and with that rating We can bargain with them.  Everybody wants to sell us something, let’s use the organization to rate them so we all know what others in our group have experienced.

What about forming our own dealer financial institution that lends only to us?  Sounds silly?  Not too silly.  Don’t forget, the average dealer is paying up to 25% interest on the money they borrow from dealers financial services.  Do the math.  It isn’t a beef, it’s a fact.  If dealers are able and willing to pay that, wouldn’t it be better for us, the dealer body, to have ownership in the entity that is able to charge usury rates with near zero exposure? 

Sound silly?  Use a few hours of road time travelling to your next auction or bid lot thinking about it.  I have.  For four decades.  Not only is it true and the concept correct but the solution is in hand.  We’ve set up a financial institution that we all can own shares in, and have total transparency into the operations of, and not only control who and how we lend, but leverage peer pressure to ensure that the borrowers are kept in check to the point they will pay our bank back what they have borrowed before they pay the food bill at home.  Peer pressure is a powerful thing, look at your 9 year old kids if you don’t think so. More upon request (or in our next article, you gonna love it). 

So, why join and why join a non-profit?  Join because it gives us weight, power, bargaining power, influence, and possibilities we don’t have as individuals.  We become a franchise of our own helping to guide our own destiny.  Why a non-profit?  Because there is no special interest to squelch the message or distort the intent of the goals.  If we all belong, think about the consumer report.  That baby will have power to make things happen…for OUR benefit, period.  It is the ultimate form of free speech, and baby, I love freedom and free speech.  I prefer death over lack of freedom and that ain’t no exaggeration.  We have been given this organization to connect and take advantage of our freedom.  It feels good, but it’s going to feel better when we have 50,000 independent dealers that belong to and enjoy the benefits you get as being part of our organization.

So,  I’ll pay for your subscription.  How?  I’ll take twenty dollars of the purchase of every car I sell you until we hit the amount it costs you to join your state’s Independent Auto Dealers Association.  I am inviting any branch to come to the auction and you have the table in my lanes to advertise and sign up dealers that are willing to join your organization.  You are also welcome to use any of my facilities to promote, sign up, and educate any dealer that has interest in becoming a member, I’ll pay.

Our goal is to increase the membership to include everybody, no exceptions.  That translates, in our region, to 30,000 dealers.  I sell 500 -700 units a week.  I sell 80% of my cars to independent dealers like you.  On a good day at Manheim I have about 1,000 dealers on line and there are another 2,500 in the lanes.  That’s one auction one on one day.  So 30,000 dealers is not an unrealistic number.  There is no doubt in my mind we can get everybody in, and I am willing to share the cost because I think the end game is big.

 A consumer report function puts real power in the organization.  It don’t work unless we have everybody in.  But when we have everybody in, it won’t just work, it will be to our benefit.  Not small, big, real big, huge, massive.  You won’t only be free, but you will feel the power of free and big, real big.   Many entities have us as customers, clients, doormats etc. and make us do dances for them, while we are their customer.  It don’t sound right to me.  Feels worse.  But not bad enough to give up my freedom for  a roof, not close.  BUT, I know that with a united voice and agenda, we not only keep our freedom, but can cause others that make us dance to their music, now dance to our collective music, like it or not, sir, numbers matter.

Beyond that, the lending facility, owned by dealers, is not only possible but ready to fly.  We can have an influence on our future.  We just have to use our collective power and brain to our advantage.

Sell Well,

Robert Hollenshead