“Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” — *Jim Rohn*
What type of return on investment (ROI) are you getting on your time? In the automotive industry, time is the single most important commodity and yet ironically, it’s also the most poorly managed investment inside many dealerships.
We all hear the same phrase at every dealership: “There aren’t enough hours in the day!”
When I hear this, I have no doubts of the workload, but I do question the time investment strategy. We all know that time is money, but we do not invest in time. Start with this question, “How much have you actually invested in time management?” Have your leaders and managers synchronized meetings, planners, and calendars to align workflow? How do you protect production time from interruptions? Are interruptions and distractions being managed intentionally or are they accepted as part of the chaos? If we truly believe that time is money, then it deserves the same discipline, tracking, and improvement we give to gross profit, lead conversion, and CSI scores.
Busy vs. Productive
Activity does not equal accomplishment. You can be extremely busy and still be moving nowhere like spinning your tires on ice. Productivity requires traction, and traction requires discipline.
In dealerships, that discipline starts with structure:
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- Morning routines: Establish a positive tone for the day with clear and realistic priorities.
- Consistent meetings with a clear stated purpose that drives accountability.
- Protected time blocks: Limit interruptions and set times for follow-ups, customer calls, and training.
- End-of-day reviews: track wins, losses, and opportunities.
It takes planning and discipline to be deliberate with your time.
Tools of the Trade: Time Management Systems that Work
Here are a few dealership-tested strategies that deliver immediate ROI on time:
1. Standardize Shared Calendars: create a culture where everyone respects time as currency.
Use shared digital calendars like Google, Outlook, or your CRM so departments stay aligned and respect each other's time. Block interruption-free time to protect the hours meant for productions and everyone’s calendar must show this time. Limit meetings, huddles, or impromptu gatherings to scheduled times with clear agendas and with defined time boxes. Finally and most importantly respect others’ schedules, no matter what role you are in.
2. Plan Daily, Weekly, and Monthly
Plan your day like a closing process, intentional and step-by-step. Begin each morning with three key priorities and no more. Everything can’t be the priority. Mitigate distractions by leaving time to deal with the unexpected. At the end of the week, plan your next week and review the previous week to determine what moved the needle, and what needs additional attention. During your end of the week review, look out 30 days and update calendars. Use the 30-day reviews to identify time leaks. For example, what meetings, processes, or interruptions are costing you momentum?
3. Protect the Flow
Interruptions are the hidden profit killers. A 5-minute interruption can take 20 minutes to fully recover from. Empower managers to protect production time for their teams. Set established times for high-focus tasks like follow-ups, deals, or reports. Leaders must establish communication norms to reinforce time management: when to email, when to Slack, when to walk over.
The ROI of Time: If your time were treated like your money, how would you invest it?
Would you track where it goes, optimize its use, and measure its return. Wasted time is like a car revving up and in neutral, there is a lot going on under the hood but you're not moving. Great dealerships put the car in drive and run on disciplined action, not reaction. They plan, protect, and prioritize their time with the same rigor they apply to closing ratios and profit margins. In the automotive business, every minute has a cost, and every hour is an opportunity to win.
