For Ryan Downing, of Ross Downing Auto Group, consistency is the key to operating multiple dealerships across several states and earning top marks for their brands in Louisiana.
“You want each store to have the identity of the leader, and you want each store to have the identity of the community that it’s in. But the core processes for us to have to be well aligned across the group,” Downing told Sam D’Arc on a Daily Dealer Live.
“Whether that’s a sales process, service drive process, or reporting, we look to have those core processes aligned regardless of manufacturer or location.”
Driving the news: The Ross Downing Auto Group operates CDJR and GM dealerships in Hammond and Gonzales, Louisiana, and added a fifth dealership in Mobile, Alabama, earlier this year.
The Chevy and GMC stores were the top stores for their brands in Louisiana.
Downing explained his stores track the sales summary, which includes leads, initial visits sold, and the number of customers returning to the showroom and purchasing.
When something looks off, they immediately go to work to fix it.
“You can’t control the number of swings at the plate you get. You can spend more money on marketing, but by doing those things, you’re going to get a finite amount of opportunities. But making sure that you maximize those opportunities and execute one of those daily is a key report for us,” Downing said.
Digging deeper: On the fixed ops side, the group pays attention to report order counts and customer pay hours per repair order.
Parts sales are driven by what happens in the service lane.
“We don’t want to make a living off internal - that needs to be lean. Watching those customer pay RP counts and making sure we’re maximizing hours per RO.”
Evaluating the team: Downing requires his leadership team to be present and constantly monitoring the workforce.
The goal is to make sure everyone is “playing to their strengths.”
That includes emphasizing that the highest performers are getting the most touches on opportunities.
Addressing affordability: With its brands including Cadillac, Downing pointed out there are only a few things on the new-vehicle side it can do on affordability.
The main efforts with affordability, he said, are on the used vehicles side by acquiring units that customers want and can afford.
He also added that only roughly 3% of their business is leasing, while acknowledging terms are being stretched on the new-vehicle side.
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Operating in two states: Downing acknowledged that in buying the store in Alabama that had been struggling, there were some bumps and bruises.
He said you can’t be overly optimistic and had to look at the “cold, hard facts.”
He points out that there are going to be some surprises that will need to be figured out after an acquisition.
And after taking over the store, the focus is more about following the process than the current results.
“We know things are going to work out well at the end. We’re confident in what we do,” Downing said.
Bottom line: In producing top-rated stores, Downing explained that was never a goal. The focus in those successful dealerships and their newest venture remains on consistency and processes.
“We can’t grade ourselves off the results at the end of the month. It’s the daily reports that we have to ask ourselves, are we working the process to the best of our ability?” Downing said. “If the answer to that is yes, trust the process, continue forward, and build momentum.”
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