This morning I was listening to Brian Benstock from Paragon Honda on Issues And Ideas With Chris DeBello. I was reminded of this thread. I'd urge everyone to listen to the recorded podcast of this broadcast.
What became obvious to me is that Paragon's rapid journey to being the number 1 Honda dealer in the country wasn't a mishmash of ideas. They didn't take a 50 year-old strategy and cut a few parts out that no longer worked while duct taping in a few additions. Making it to the top requires much more than a patchwork quilt of ideas.
Brian and his team rethought the car business from the ground up. Their strategy isn't just price, but price does play a key part in an integrated, cohesive strategy that is innovative in everything from vehicle acquisition to marketing. Brian lays out how it works in the podcast.
Paragon isn't alone. Jeff mentioned CarMax earlier. It's fairly obvious that they aren't running the same core strategy as most dealers in America. They started with a clean slate and built a strategy that works. You can see this rethinking going on at some of the most successful dealers in the country. Auction Direct USA is another example. They recently became the Independent Dealer of the Year - for the second year in a row.
Paragon, CarMax and Auction Direct don't share the same strategy, but they all share a willingness to move far beyond a foundation held together with spit, bubblegum and hope. A foundation based on old processes and old ideas. They all share a willingness to build a new foundation, a new strategy, built on the realities of today. In all three cases, price plays a vital role in their strategy. Not a patch tacked on to the outside. But rather, a vital element woven into their strategy.
