The 7am Brief: Dealer Playbook

1. Your Morning Stack

It's 7am. You walk in. Here's what you need to know in the first 15 minutes before the sales team lands:

The Three Layers of Yesterday:

How many deals closed. Which lender. Which salesperson.
Which deals are still pending (stips, underwrites, funding delays).
Any buyer-back issues. Any deals rolling to today.

Today's Appointment Block:

How many ups are scheduled (by salesperson, by lot position).
Which are fresh leads vs. repeats (repeat conversion rate matters).
Any service-drive trades or equity calls booked.

The Red Flag Scan:

Any deals stuck in last-mile lender routing? Who needs follow-up?
Compliance alerts (title status, lender doc gaps, stip deadlines).
Salespeople with zero pending deals (too much retail, not enough wholesale).

2. The Lender Matrix Check (5 Minutes)

Your lender roster is not static. It shifts every month. Which lenders are hot. Which are tightening. Which stips are exploding.

The Weekly Pulse

Pull this every Monday morning:

Lender	Deals This Month	Avg Stips	Trend	Action
Capital One Auto	18	2.1	↑ Loosening	Route MORE subprime here
Santander	12	3.8	↓ Tightening	Hold inventory; don't force
TD Auto	8	1.4	→ Stable	Your prime workhorse; nurture it

The Matrix Discipline:

Don't send a deal to a lender based on what worked 6 months ago. The window changes. Route to lenders who are buying TODAY. Your lender relationship manager gives you data monthly — use it by Tuesday or it's stale.

3. Aged Inventory Clock

Used car inventory depreciates. Every day on the lot is money leaving your pocket. Know your clock.

The 60-Day Death Spiral

This is the curve every dealer lives with:

Days 1–15: Prime window. Full retail. Highest margin. Do NOT discount.
Days 16–30: Secondary peak. Still at retail, but tightening. Market is thinning.
Days 31–45: Clearance zone. 5–10% discount. Urgency messaging begins.
Days 46–60: The red line. Depreciation + floorplan costs exceed margin. MOVE IT NOW.
Day 61+: Dead money. Every day costs you money. Auction it or write it off.

Your Daily Aged Report:

How many units are in each window? If 30% of your inventory is over 45 days, your buying model is broken. If 10% is over 60 days, you have a dead pile.

The 45-Day Decision

By day 45 on every unit, make a decision. Retail with discount? Wholesale? Auction? Keep it in the lot beyond 60 days only if there's a reason (waiting for a specific buyer, pending collision repair).

4. Stip Pipeline (What Needs Funding Today)

A deal is not a deal until it funds. Stips are the distance between "approved subject to" and "funds in your account."

The Daily Chase List

Every morning, pull this report:

Deal ID	Customer	Stips Pending	Deadline	Assigned To
#4821	Maria Santos	Title, Proof of Residence	Today (5pm)	F&I Team
#4819	David Chen	Insurance Binder	Tomorrow	Admin
#4815	Rosa Gonzalez	Inspection Waiver Signed	Tomorrow	F&I Team

The Rule:

Stips due TODAY get called by 10am. Stips due TOMORROW get called by EOD today. Every missed deadline = one more day of floorplan interest + one more day of customer ghosting risk.

5. Equity Call List (Service Drive & Database Mining)

Your service drive knows more about used cars than your lot. Your database is full of repeat customers. Equity calls are the cheapest acquisition you have.

Daily Priorities

Service Equity: Who came in for a $300 oil change and is driving a 2019 model with $3k–$6k equity? Call them TODAY.
Past Customers: Filter for customers who bought 3+ years ago. They have equity and a relationship with you.
Trade-In Pool: Which 5 customers are most likely to buy right now based on service history + time since last purchase?

The Assignment:

One person owns the equity list every day. They call the top 10 names by 11am. Results go into a pipeline. A single equity call converts 15–20% of the time. At $800 per deal front-end gross, that's $1,200–$1,600 per 10 calls. You can't afford to skip this.

Your 7am Checklist (Print & Tape to Your Desk)

Yesterday: __ deals closed | __ pending | __ buyer-backs
Today: __ appointments scheduled | __ fresh ups | __ trade calls booked
Lenders: __ are loosening | __ are tightening | Update routing matrix? Y/N
Aged: __ units over 45 days | __ units over 60 days | Move plan updated? Y/N
Stips: __ due today | __ due tomorrow | Chase list sent to team? Y/N
Equity: __ calls made today | __ scheduled for tomorrow

The 7am Brief