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It’s Convention time for us at the Leedom Group, and that means an uptick in the energy level. There are ads to create and place, marketing materials to mail, e-mail campaigns to create, events to schedule and on and on. We look forward to this 16th annual Leedom BHPH National because it’s time when we get to see most of our clients and many new faces all at once. We bring together the best dealers, best vendors and top industry experts all in one place. For us car people, this is a blast!

Jim Ramsey, owner of Deals on Wheels Inc., in Missoula, Mont., said he’s attended as many Leedom conventions as he could, because being at such events is an efficient use of his time.

“It’s important to get information that helps you with your business,” he said. “You have to be on top of so many areas—sales, collections, compliance, marketing, leadership. It’s difficult to find all that in one place, and you can at the Leedom event.”

Several years ago, Ramsey earned the title of the Leedom Group BHPH Dealer of the Year, which he still considers one of the most prestigious titles he’s earned in his career.

“It comes from your peers—fellow dealers—who believe you were worth of the title,” he said. “That means a lot.”

Though not a “conference junkie,” Ramsey said he like to pick and choose the events he attends based on where they are, when they are and what the plan to highlight.

“When you take a shower you can only get so wet,” he quipped. “You can’t go to six conferences and get six times as smart, and it’s very likely some of those conferences will hold no interest for me.”

Ramsey is a pilot, and he likes to devote time each year to flying to another dealer’s operation and see firsthand how they operate.

“You can get undergrad stuff at conventions and conferences, but you get master’s level stuff and a PhD by going to another dealership and getting a bird’s eye view,” Ramsey said. “If I go visit an operation that has three dealerships and is a much larger operation than mine, I can get a feel of what that might look like for me.”

Ramsey said that’s a big part of being in a Twenty Group, because you can regularly discuss operations with other dealers at meetings and in between as well.

“You can talk to other dealers, but when you see the size of the veins in the forehead you get to know how things really are,” Ramsey said. “You get a strong flavor of that by attending the Leedom Convention.”

Todd Smith, owner of Dothan Motor Co., a chain of BHPH stores in Dothan, Ala., said he believes it is “imperative” to network with other dealers, see the latest from the vendors and hear from the experts.

Smith, who has also earned the Leedom Group BHPH Dealer of the Year honor, said he likes the camaraderie at the annual event. He said he has often picked up an idea that resulted in improved profits or decreases in overhead just from casual conversation with a fellow attendee or a panel moderator or industry expert.

Smith said he’s concerned about the new financial reform legislation being considered in the U.S. Congress and hopes that by the time the Sept. 20-22 convention comes around they’ll be enough information out there where dealers can discuss it’s possible impacts on business operations.

“I’ve been sending out letters and making calls to my congressmen and senators,” Smith said. “It’s frustrating, because you typically get back these canned letters or responses that don’t even pertain to the issue you wished addressed. But I keep doing it because the squeaky wheel, gets the grease.”

Smith said he’s on track for 100 sales, but the average has been 85-90. He said he’s well-capitalized now, but knows what it’s like to be looking for capital and that’s why he enjoys attending the Leedom event.

“That’s where you get that kind of information,” he said. “There are other shows out there, but they only scrape the surface. The Leedom show is run by dealers and people who really understand this business.”

Smith said inventory prices keep rising, and it’s been a drain on his operation. He wants to know more about alternate ways of finding inventory, and how others are coping with the rising prices in the face of the BHPH business model. He said Chuck Bonanno, conference chairman, has told him there will be a panel discussion on this very topic.

Mark Barr, owner of The Motor Zone in Williamstown, N.J., said he believes attending conventions and conferences is very important because it broadens a dealer’s perspective.

“It’s really easy to get bogged down in your own day-to-day operations and you’re only hearing yourself and your employees and not stepping back and getting a bigger picture from different perspectives,” Barr said.

Barr is a member of both a Leedom dealer Twenty Group and a finance company Twenty Group.

“I want as much information about this business as possible,” Barr said. “It’s a tricky business in good times, and by attending these meetings and conventions, I’ve learned about issues, policies and ways of doing business I didn’t even know existed.”

Barr said his finance company business has shrunk as a result of the economic downturn in the past two years. The company was buying notes from four franchise dealerships and doing 90 contracts a month. That has been cut down to 30 deals. Sales at his BHPH store, however, have been strong and the portfolio is performing better.

“We’d been expecting that,” he said. “We moved down the food chain a bit. We were putting $8,000-$9,000 ACV vehicles on the road and getting $500 a month payments. Now we’re putting $3,500 ACV vehicles out and getting $80-$100 a week. The portfolio is performing better and we have less risk. These are the discussions I like to have with other dealers and you can only do that at a Twenty Group meeting or a convention.”

Barr said he likes meeting with vendors at the shows as well. He said he met with a couple of software providers at the last show he attended and was able to sit in on a brainstorming session. He not only learned a lot about the software he all ready has, but may have helped contribute to future upgrades and new products.