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Industry Expense Makeup:

Summary:

I learned that auto retail is an unnervingly cash-intensive business. While covering the massive daily overhead of the _facility, the equipment, and the staff, dealers lay out millions of dollars for new-car inventory from the manufacturers and _typically finance it through the automaker�s captive lender, paying an interest rate or �floorplan� on each vehicle until it sells, while also stocking the used-car lot with trade-ins and auction buys. Dealers know that if your lot isn�t overflowing with vehicles, you don�t sell as many because buyers don�t like to wait. Yeah, car-company execs sometimes talk a big game about factory stores � la Tesla, but they love the fact that the dealers, not the factory, carry the huge costs of the unsold inventory. And while they are hourly paying out, dealers are often waiting to be paid on sales contracts by the lenders who finance the deals and who can run on their own leisurely schedules. A dealer once told me that so much cash is in transit every month, flowing in and out, that the difference between solvency and bankruptcy can be but a few days at the end of the month. I learned that because the margins on new cars are so slim, today averaging less than 4 percent, the majority of dealers make most of their money on used cars and what�s called the �back end,� or financing, parts, and service.

Industry Expense Makeup:

Summary:

The profit of a cash deal is now usually less because you have to usually pay more at the auction. Most dealerships now have to compete against Main Street and Wall Street thanks to the rise of sub-prime lending. The right mechanics. The right detailers. The right buyer. The right advertising strategies. The right financing partners. Even with all that, you still need to buy it at the right price which means you need to be at the right auction where you will likely spend a lot of time trying to find that right car. Make sure to handicap your risks accordingly. Start small, educate yourself, and avoid the chronic diseases that come with having too much confidence.

Industry Expense Makeup:

Summary:

You will be online or on the phone for extended periods of the day. You need to work at connecting with buyers for whatever automobiles or related products you are selling. Understanding online characteristics and how the Internet work to connect buyers is critical for your business, and it can change often in the course of a single year. Staying on top of web buyer technics is critical to reach and close deals with your buyers.

Industry Expense Makeup:

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You will need reasonably long open hours to ensure that you capture all customer opportunities. Business buyers will buy during the day and individual buyers in the evening and weekend. Best to establish business relationships with key automobile service repair and maintenance businesses in your area. Do not underestimate services speed and price in your business dealings. It is also important to manage inventory through a system that ensures appropriate levels of stock; you can lose customers quickly with only one occurrence of unavailable stock.

Industry Expense Makeup:

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Industry Expense Makeup:

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You need to expect low transaction rates per day, but high ticket values. Most individual consumer buyers are available in the evenings and weekends. Open hours during these times is critical for business sustainment. Buyers most decide on price after they have decided on the item. Managing inventory is key to increasing sales volumes, and staying in touch with current style trends is important. Competing with online is not as difficult as with other businesses due to shipping cost and long wait times for online buyers to return items, so you need to take advantage of this with in-store options and a wide variety of options.

Industry Expense Makeup:

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You will need to understand your local region's construction and remodel potential to help grow your floor covering store business. Expect to reach out to your local contractors, as well as to create awareness throughout the web. After developing an information and easy navigation website, you may need to work with an individual or firm that has expertise in search engine optimization to attract your local community to your website, and ultimately have them come into your store to look at your sample floor products. Over 70% of floor covering buyers start with either a referral or website information before coming into your floor covering store.

Industry Expense Makeup:

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Many buyers for home furnishing shop in the evenings and weekends. Expect to work over these extended hours for business sustainment. 1 out of 5 people who enter a home furnishing store will buy, so the important part is to get buyers into your store to look at your inventory of products. Use local advertising and web communications; start a newsletter, and invest in a great website that is informative, lots of pictures, but not large. Buyers most decide on price after they have decided on the item. Managing inventory is key to increasing sales volumes, and staying in touch with current style trends is important.

Industry Expense Makeup: