Pub. 19 2020-2021 Issue 2

N E W J E R S E Y C O A L I T I O N O F A U T O M O T I V E R E T A I L E R S 33 new jersey auto retailer W W W . N J C A R . O R G Ian Grace has nearly 20 years of experience in the automotive industry. He joined automotiveMastermind as a Dealer Relations Manager in 2017. In his current role as Senior Manager, Partner Performance, he and his team are responsible for optimizing partner perfor- mance and retention. through the door. That means creating my own traffic and reaching out to existing and potential customers and not wait- ing for the phone to ring or door to swing. What are your thoughts about recovery? How long will it take and what will it look like? That’s a tough one. A lot of what we are seeing will be based on dealership inventory, individual state policies, and con- sumer confidence and response. Now that dealerships are open, the next question is whether they have enough inventory because inventory has been delayed. With that said, now is a good time for dealers to focus on their pre-owned inventory and move what they can from that lot. Also, we don’t know right now whether there will be a second wave of the pandem- ic. I recommend that dealers put together two sets of plans, one for the next 30-90 days and a second for the next 90-180 days. Dealer plans should concentrate on the following: • The individual state policies toward auto dealers • Inventory availability • Consumer confidence and response • Contingencies should there be a second wave of COVID-19 in the fall or winter If you could give the dealers any good news, what would it be? I talk to dealerships and dealer relations managers around the country every day. Stores that are willing to adapt, and have adapted, are not only doing well and surviving, they are also thriving. When someone can out-sell year over year, that is very encouraging to hear. Despite everything that is going on, I am hearing about real successes on a micro level through- out the country. As I mentioned before, consumers are ready to buy cars again — you just need to meet their new demands of convenience and personalized experiences before the competi- tion does. Would you condense your experience in advising dealers into three pieces of advice? My work for automotiveMastermind has taught me the following: 1. Proactivity is king. Don’t wait for your customers to come to you or the lot. Reach out to them. 2. Embrace digital transparency on your website. 3. Be willing to accept the fact that things are changing and be ready to adapt to those changes. Do you have any parting thoughts? Things are potentially forever changed in our marketplace, but that doesn’t necessarily need to be a bad thing. Evolution can be a good thing. It provides opportunities. If you embrace those opportunities, you will find success. Now that dealerships are open, the next question is whether they have enough inventory because inventory has been delayed. With that said, now is a good time for dealers to focus on their pre- owned inventory and move what they can from that lot. Also, we don’t know right now whether there will be a second wave of the pandemic.