Don't wait for the meteor.

Have you ever watched one of those movies where the world was in danger of a massive extinction event because it was in the path of a meteor?

The story nearly always opens with a scientist or astronomer, on a perfectly normal day, discovering that out in the distance, far away and beyond the ability for most of us to see is a threat that will surely end our world. This threat is not apparent and, honestly, if it were not for the scientist the world would never know about it. The meteor would be a small and barely visible glint in the night sky, too small to be considered or to be concerned about. How could something so distant be a threat?

During these movies, the world is usually, at first, in complete denial of what is an inevitable outcome, mainly because such an event is unthinkable and because, perhaps, the scientists are wrong or maybe trying to stir up unrest for some personal gain. There are others that will deny it as being a possibility because the world has persisted in the way it has for a long time.

Why bring this up?

Because the car industry is facing a threat to its current existence. The threat is a number of companies that are building business models that cater to the expectations of today’s consumer expectations. The expectations fueled by the information age and, honestly, by decades of business practices that were not transparent and designed to manipulate transactional conversations.

I hear all the time how companies such as Carvana will never displace the franchise automotive system, I hear how they are losing money and will eventually cease to exist or at the least they will not make much of a dent in the overall business. I also hear how Tesla and the way they retail their vehicles will eventually morph into a more traditional sales model.

Much like the incoming meteor in movies like Armageddon these threats are small and barely visible when compared to the traditional franchise automotive industry, until they get closer.

Like a metaphorical meteor the threat draws closer and is becoming easier to see. These companies are serving as notice that our industry needs to change and evolve.

Your dealership can be like Harry Stamper, the Bruce Willis character in the movie that takes steps necessary to prevent the impact of this meteor, to avoid the impending impact and associated disaster. The first step was to help him understand the problem was real and then tell him how he can help.

This is where we are today.

The change is coming, and denial is a waste of time. We should all spend time preparing for the change and evolving the way we do business to prevent further intrusion into our industry by these companies. We do this by taking steps to evolve how we do business and align our practices more with customer expectations.

It makes no sense to ignore the threat because every day we choose to do so it draws closer and the window where we can respond to it continues to get smaller.

So ask yourself will you be Harry Stamper, or one of those that denies that there is a massive problem on its way?