Ben Franklin Says

One of my favorite business blogs is Business Insider.  It has breaking news, business news, some off the wall stuff that is interesting and, at times, some motivational tidbits.  The other day I came across a post that included several Benjamin Franklin quotes.  As you may know, Benjamin Franklin is the guy who invented lightening and he is the only dead president who really never was president.  All humor aside, Franklin was one of the most successful people I have studied and very few, if any, did more for our country than him.  I hope you enjoy some of the quotes I chose.  His wisdom is timeless.

“Plough deep while sluggards sleep and you shall have corn to sell and keep.”   

“Employee thy time well, if you meanest to gain leisure.”

“If you were a servant, would you not be ashamed that a good master should catch you idle?  Then if you are your own master, be ashamed to catch yourself idle.”

“At the working man’s house, hunger looks in but does not enter.”

“Diligence is the mother of good luck.”

“He that pursues two hares at once does not catch one and lets the other go.”

“A slip of the foot you may soon recover, but a slip of the tongue you may never get over.”

“To be humble to superiors is duty, to equals courtesy, to inferiors nobleness.”

“It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority.”

“If you are going through hell, keep going.”

“The noblest question in the world is ‘What good may I do in it?”

Have a great day.

Luke

 

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No Excuses

In past blog posts we have mentioned that our car dealership, Approved Auto Sales, is a member of a Twenty Group industry consulting group.  As a member of a Twenty Group we report all kinds of car lot data ranging from sales and collection figures to inventory turnover and personnel expense.  Our data is then compared to the data turned in by the other nineteen members who make up the Twenty Group.  This statistical analysis, or benchmarking, allows us to see how our dealership is operating compared to other well run dealerships across the country.

In our consulting group’s monthly magazine, The Dealer Business Journal, I came across an article spelling out the importance of benchmarking.  The article goes on to make the point that merely collecting an array of statistics each month is not enough. . . it boils down to what you do with the data.  Do you act on it by implementing policies and procedures that move your business in the right direction?  Or, do you just make excuses?  The article I speak of really hit on the importance of not making excuses and I thought it was worth sharing.

Taken from the article:

“Resolve to separate yourself from your emotional attachment with your business.  This will always be a difficult task.  The dealer’s tendency is to defend weakness and to make exceptions for poor performance because most will identify themselves personally with their dealerships.  How many times have you heard or said, “my market is different” or “my customers are different.”  Is this a valid point or merely an excuse tendered to soothe your ego?  It is imperative that you do not formulate excuses for your deficiencies.  Dealers must realize that the dealership is an entity unto itself and must be analyzed objectively.  How would you critique your benchmark data if you did not know it was yours?  Isn’t that the most honest and objective assessment you can make?

Although the article speaks of dealerships I think it touches on most all in business and life in general.  It is easy to be critical of others but it is most beneficial to be critical of ourselves.

I hope you have a great week! — Luke

“It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.”  George Washington

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Good News from Jackson

I was in Jackson last night attending dinner when great news for our industry came from the capitol building.  A bill concerning the sale of liened vehicles to scrap dealers passed both sides of the legislature with overwhelming support.  How does this affect our industry?  Well, if you have ever had a customer borrow money on a vehicle and then immediately go and sell the vehicle, without title, to a scrap dealer this new law will allow for serious criminal repurcussions.

In the past, many less than legitimate scrap dealers would knowingly purchase vehicles without titles and crush them immediately leaving little paperwork on the transaction.  When confronted with what they were doing many of these illegitimate scrap dealers would just smile knowing there were very few legal options for the lienholders to pursue.  Again, this new law changes all of that.

The Mississippi Title Pledge Association took a leading role in getting this bill passed but it had support from other industries as well.  Most notably, it was supported by the recyclers association which is made up of the legitimate scrap dealers who operate in a professional and honest manner.  This law just makes it much more difficult for the “underground” scrap dealers to operate with no fear of the law. — Luke

“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.”  Louis Seneca 

 

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The Beauty of Spring

Although Easter is not technically the start of spring many people view it as the “unofficial” beginning of the springtime season.  I thought a few quotes on the beauty of spring would help to brighten your day.  —  Luke

ps — I have found that when reading quotes it is best to read each one twice before moving to the next one.  See what you think!

“Behold my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love!”  Sitting Bull

“Spring is nature’s way of saying “Let’s Party!”  Robin Williams

“No winter last forever; no spring skips its turn.”  Hal Borland

“The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created spring.”  Bern Williams

“April has put a spirit of youth in everything.”  William Shakespeare

“If we had not winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”  Anne Bradstreet

“You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep spring from coming.”  Pablo Neruda

“Spring is when you feel like whistling. . . even with a shoe full of slush.”  Doug Larson

 

 

 

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A Good Example of Customer Service

I have been in Orlando for the past couple of days and will be here for just a few more.  Last Sunday night while heading back to my hotel after dinner I ran across what I found to be an extremely customer service oriented taxi driver who I want to brag about today, Angie.

After finishing off my meal at Vito’s Chop House in Orlando Sunday evening the valet attendant hailed me a taxi that happened to be a black van built for ten.  Since I was by myself I jumped in the front seat next to the driver who appeared to be in her middle fifties.  Just when I slammed the door the driver introduced herself as Angie and asked my destination.  As I was telling Angie where I was staying I couldn’t help but notice that she had decorated her entire van in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.  She had greenery and beads along with four leaf clovers hanging in all the windows all while playing Celtic music on the radio.  I commented to Angie that I was impressed that she had gone all out for St. Patrick’s Day . . . a busy and profitable day for taxi drivers I am sure.  She smiled and said she just likes to make her taxi a little special.

As I complimented her decorations I could tell Angie appreciated the fact someone had noticed her extra effort and, as a result, she took an increased level of pride in her decorations.  I scanned the van again from front to back and did some quick math in my head.  I figured Angie was probably out around ten dollars total for her decorations. . . if that much.  To her credit she made those ten dollars go a long way and I am sure she did it on her own dime since it is doubtful her corporate owners would approve such “expenses”.

After making our way through the Orlando spring break traffic we finally pulled in to the Buena Vista Suites.  I jumped out and started going through my pockets in search of the amount that I owed Angie.  As I was paying her I gave her the standard tip and then I added ten dollars.  She thought I had made a mistake and tried to hand me back a few dollars.  Pushing the money back I told her that our company works hard at providing some of the best customer service in our business and that I appreciated her effort so much I wanted to reward her in a small way.  Judging by her reaction I think that small token of appreciation shown her made Angie’s day.  I know her attitude and personality helped to make my day better.

The lesson here is that whether you know it or not your customers are aware of both the level of service you are providing them and the effort you put into your job on a daily basis.  Oh yeah, on top of that. . . good customer service is often rewarded. . . in a variety of ways.—- Luke

“When the customer comes first, the customer will last.”  Robert Half

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The Desire to Change

It was while watching a few of the “Impossible” and “Rescue” reality shows over the last week that I decided on the topic for today’s blog post. . . Change.

As I have noted previously, my favorite TV shows these last couple of years have been reality shows where industry experts swoop in with limited time to save dying businesses.  “Restaurant Impossible, Hotel Impossible, Bar Rescue and most recently Car Lot Rescue are on the top of my Tivo list.  Whether it be a local honky tonk bar, a bed and breakfast or a buy here pay here car lot, it seems that 100% of the failing businesses featured on these shows share one common trait — the fear of change.

Most of the owners of the featured businesses contact the show related to their given industry asking for help.  However, I would say that over 90% of the time, once the expert arrives on location with his advice and help, the business owner is less than receptive to say the least.  “That is the way we have always done it” or “Our customers don’t like change” are phrases commonly heard from the failing business owners.

While watching one of these shows just last night I thought that a few quotes about the importance and benefits of change would help serve as a reminder to everyone at MEI to always be on the lookout for areas we can improve on.  Or in other words, areas that need change. — Luke

 

“If we don’t change, we don’t grow.  If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.”  Gail Sheehy

“To improve is to change.  To be perfect is to change often.”  Winston Churchill

“Change before you have to.”  Jack Welch

“Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.”  Confucius

“Change is inevitable.  Change is constant.”  Benjamin Disraeli

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Thanks for the Hard Work

In the Buy Here Pay Here car business tax season would be comparable to what the few weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are to the retail industry.  To give you a visual just picture Black Friday at the mall and think of the same on a slightly smaller scale at the car lot.  This tax season is shaping up to be a great one for Approved Auto Sales as people throughout the area are using a small portion of their tax refund checks to purchase transportation for their family.  It is the busiest time of the year in the used car business. . . and it is also a lot of work.

As we buy vehicles for our Approved car lots all units are delivered to our shop located here in Fulton.  The guys at the shop work through a check sheet of several points to check on each and every vehicle.  The guys are dedicated to finding and correcting all minor problems with any vehicle before it is moved on to a car lot.  In the pre-owned car business this process is termed “reconditioning”.  In preparation  for tax season our buyers bought scores of vehicles in a short period of time, all of these being delivered to the shop waiting for reconditioning.

The guys at the shop had been doing a great job keeping up with the influx of cars and were meeting their goals on a weekly basis for units completed. However, sales spiked a little sooner than had been expected.  Add on top of that the fact that we had two Fulton Auto Auction dates within a three week period and one can see how things would get backed up at the shop.  Again, the staff was doing a great job and meeting goals. . . we were just limited by time.  Knowing that we were limited on time and not effort, the guys at the shop stepped up and offered to work late each day and on weekends until we get caught up.  When I hear the business catchphrase “Above and Beyond” I think of efforts similar to our shop employees.

I take my hat off today to the staff at our shop.  It has been a hectic past few weeks but they have remained positive and are doing whatever it takes to get the job done.  Thanks guys for all you do! ~ Luke

“My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition. “  Gandhi 

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Looking Forward to Wednesday

I am looking forward to this year’s first Money Matters Management Meeting to take place this coming Wednesday at the BancorpSouth Conference Center. I just wanted to clarify the location for those attending because it can be confusing.   The past few meetings have been held at the BancorpSouth Arena or what is considered the coliseum building.  This meeting will be in the Conference Center which is the building attached to the Hilton Garden Inn.

I have never been a fan of holding meetings for no particular reason or when nothing of importance was to be covered.  Unproductive meetings are a drain on employees’ time and a big morale killer.  For this reason we strive to make our management meetings upbeat, informative and maybe a little entertaining as well.  The management team has been working on the agenda for Wednesday and I feel as thought his meeting will be one of the better ones we have put together in awhile.

Again, I look forward to seeing everyone Wednesday.  Please come ready to participate in order to make the meeting as productive as possible. ~~ Luke

“There are no secrets to success.  It is the result of the preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”  Colin Powell

 

 

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Record Start

This morning I wanted to spend a little time bragging on the ladies at Approved Auto Sales.  Only a few days into the month, the Approved Auto team is off to a record start for any month in their history.  Their sales have been so good this month that we have been scrambling to make sure we can keep adequate inventory on the lots as we enter the busiest few weeks of the year.

If you spend much time at all at our car lot you would easily understand a large part of what makes our car business successful.  The relationships that the ladies have built with their customers are evident in the smiling faces lined up each Friday waiting, not only to make a payment, but to be able to spend a few minutes with the staff at Approved.  Grab a chair in our Approved Auto office on a Friday and you can learn a lot as the customers enjoy sharing life’s up and downs with the employees they have come to know and trust.

Another larger key to our success is that this relationship is mutual between our Approved employees and their customers.  The ladies really do take an interest in their customers and enjoy seeing them succeed in all aspects of life.

To be successful in business I am a firm believer that you have to like your customer.  Come to think of it, I can’t think of any business book I have ever read about a wildly successful entrepreneur who just absolutely hated their customer.

Thanks to all of you who treat your customers with the respect and care they deserve. — Luke

“The golden rule for every business man is this: Put yourself in your customer’s place.”  Orison Marden

 

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Words of Lombardi

This Sunday the San Francisco 49’ers and the Baltimore Ravens go head to head in the biggest sporting event of the year.  The winning team will take the Lombardi Trophy back to their hometown as a sign of their being the best team in the nation.  I thought some quotes by the trophies namesake, Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, would be fitting for the blog this week.

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.”  Vince Lombardi

“Winners never quit and quitters never win.”  Vince Lombardi

“Confidence is contagious.  So is lack of confidence.”  Vince Lombardi

“The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.”  Vince Lombardi

“Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.”  Vince Lombardi

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”  Vince Lombardi

“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”  Vince Lombardi

“Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all the time thing.  You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time.  Winning is a habit.  Unfortunately, so is losing.”  Vince Lombardi

Go Niner’s!!  . . .  Luke

 

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