AI is changing how dealerships sell, yet many stores still run on old beliefs about what is possible. Those beliefs capped sales long before the technology arrived and that mindset shapes goals, store design and how salespeople are set up to sell.
On today’s episode of Training Camp with Adam Marburger, Glenn Lundy, CEO of 800% Automotive Elite Club, returns to the show and says dealers can break old sales limits by selling beyond their market and putting every salesperson in position to sell daily.
Dealers should look for opportunity as AI replaces tasks
Technology has always replaced work to make it easier and faster, and AI continues that pattern, Lundy said. Dealers should stay ahead of it and find the opportunities it creates. Marburger asked Lundy what would surprise him most if he left the business for five years and then returned. Lundy said salespeople still pushing customers into cars they don’t want would shock him. So would dealers still building oversized stores. Smaller footprints and less real estate are more efficient, Lundy said. He pointed to Carvana, which he says sold nearly a thousand new Chryslers last month from a couple of small sites.
Technology cannot replace the handshake, the hug or the conversations between sessions at in-person events, Lundy said. Those in-between moments build bonds, and more people are seeking live experiences in a disconnected world.
Old beliefs keep stores at old numbers
Most dealers hold a fixed belief about what is possible, and that belief caps their sales, Lundy said. His own store is the example. A small Chevrolet dealership in a town of 9,600 sold about 120 cars a month for 50 years. That number matched what everyone believed was possible, and it ranked high among similar small-town stores.
“They live within these constraints and they set their goals based on a limiting belief versus just going after it.”
The change came when the store stopped treating its town as its market. The store grew from 120 cars a month to 850 in just under six years, an 800% increase. It became the country’s second-largest used-car franchise dealership, according to Lundy. It outsold stores in Miami, New York, Austin and Dallas.
Many dealers still set goals based on zone rankings, 20 group comparisons, or NADA data. Those benchmarks keep stores inside limits they set for themselves, Lundy said.
Put every salesperson in position to sell a car a day
Every salesperson should sell a car every day, and the dealership must make that possible, Lundy said. Most owners agree with that goal, he said, yet many do not supply the right cars, advertising or pricing. They then expect the salesperson to create a buyer out of thin air.
The 10-car-a-month standard from the 1973 NADA manual is outdated, Lundy said. At 53 years old, it is long gone. Dealers can start by checking whether each salesperson has the inventory, advertising and pricing to sell daily.
“We let go of what we believe to be true,” Lundy said.
