Reinvention Mode: From Despair to Dominance

The year was 2016.

I'd been in the car business for 25 years.

My?South Ontario Auto Remarketing?company going strong. Exporting vehicles and selling all over the midwest

The export space in Michigan/Minnesota/Ohio etc was heavily populated with prev Canadian sellers and I felt the values were diluted as a result of oversupply (hard to imagine that today).

We were all reduced to selling on price...that same old race to the bottom vAuto bullshit that plagued us all for far too long

At the time I?was reading a book called "Blue Ocean Strategy" by W Chan Kim

So, I decided to find my own Blue Ocean.

Did some searches of various auction results by region and saw that Atlanta was SMOKIN hot and there was hardly any Canadian activity.

They had piles of low CR higher mile trucks that were bringing murder $$.

I figured there would be Southern resistance to Canadian but I had the forces of market pressure on my side...

I had a supply of low-mileage fatties.?MAN was I wrong.

My first run at Adesa Atlanta was 86 units.?

Not only did I not sell one, but I also didn't get one bid.?

The genius General Manager there at the time suggested I lose $3-400 k so that I could "get them hooked like a drug dealer would".

Translation?"Lose your ass so my conversion rates stay up then get the F outta here". (met some really great people there whom I remain friends with today but that guy was a real donkey

Ran there for a few weeks with similar results.... Sold a few but not enough to keep the dogs off.

The pressure was on and I had to make moves... FAST

I tried Manheim Georgia, Manheim Atlanta, I went to Auto Nation?Auto Auction in Atlanta, Manheim Nashville, Americas Auto Auction in Greer South Carolina, and Carolina Auto Auction?in Anderson SC.

Similar results at all.?(Floors were all set at avg black?book incl adds...nice stuff at the time was bringing off the left side).?

Same story...really great people at the sales...I liked all of them and consider many friends. I was just trying something a little too crazy

I started to recognize some very distinct patterns during this time. Number one is people in the South are incredibly kind gracious people which would turn out to be a critical component.?

Along the way, at all these stops, when I probably should have had my head in my hands weeping about what a dummy I was.

I would talk to the dealers...get to know them, in the cafeterias, lanes, and even while on the block. They were all?happy to talk and tell me what I was doing wrong .

So I started to survey them.?These are all nice vehicles, nicest at the sale... what's stopping you???

Top 3 Answers

1- Rust-?even though they were looking straight at them, could see touch smell, and even taste them. They were dead certain?they were all rusty...or that the rust was coming.. because they were in Canada for a few months. (Inculcation is a real thing)

2- Voided warranties

3-Title / Odo fraud

Bonus answer- profit Block??This one they didn't talk about but it was obvious. You all know what I'm talking about. Same reason identical units go for thousands more in a bank lane as opposed to a dealer lane

I decided that I couldn't deal with #1??If they?were so deeply programmed of that fear It would be a waste to try to convince them otherwise.

My focus went to #2--The voided warranties. In keeping with number 1, I decided to ask everyone I could what warranty company they all trusted in the South and from these discussions I found a warranty company that had acceptance

Back to the hotel and flipped open the MacBook and started scouring Linkedin for a rep at that company. Found one and sent him a message....

That started a whirlwind of activity that lasted a couple of years...a few different admin companies and a handful of multi-billion dollar insurance?companies that eventually led to a meeting with my current partners at a Private airfield in Detroit where a deal was made and Can-Am Dealer Services was born.

Can-Am Dealer Services flagship product is one most of you dealers have at least heard of, Can-Am Warranty

That was born out of having my ass handed to me over and over again in the Southeast?

We've heard a similar story a million times,

In every problem, there's an opportunity.

Just remember,

The level of creative thinking that caused the problem,

Is the only proof you need that you can solve the problem.

If you're thinking about becoming an entrepreneur,

Build up your problem-solving skills.

Anyone can point out a problem.

But a survivor goes out and does something about it.

Here is one story you'll never hear,

That's the story of a successful person,

Where everything was perfect.

If you're a survivor...

You're an entrepreneur...

You just don't know it yet.

*******

P.S.

(ok....any true car guy wants to know...WTF happened with all the vehicles you couldn't sell??????How I handled this problem was by partnering with smaller independent retail operations.?After hearing from everyone...dealers, and auctions...You can't sell them Canadian Cars for real money in the South!!?They gotta be cheap!!???I went ahead and retailed every single one of them in the very market I was told they wouldn't?sell.?The indy was paid $750 a car and kept 100% of what he could generate in the back end of the deal..plus his admin. (Great deal for them?I also?coached them on how to parlay that revenue that wasn't costing them anything into additional LOC at their banks...Banks love that top-line revenue don't they???Anything else I shipped to South ended up getting retailed. I ended up making $$$$)

Visit www.bobmanor.com to learn more.