As I was pulling out of Mount Pleasant this morning on my way to the big city I tuned in sports radio 810 WHB for Track Talk with The Racin' Boys. Usually I listen to them on the internet each Saturday since the second hour can only be found on their website, but that would not be an option today so I drove as slow as I could to not lose the signal as I headed east.
Today's guest was Humpy Wheeler who is now attempting to form an alliance of short tracks across the country called Speedway Benefits to consolidate marketing opportunities and to drive down costs by purchasing as a group rather than individually. Conceptually it is a fantastic idea and if anybody can pull it off it would be Wheeler and as I listened to the interview the more I became convinced that it would be a good thing for all tracks to get involved. The Racin' Boys were obviously enthused as well as rather than challenging Humpy with any tough questions they, as anybody would have in their position, encouraged Wheeler to continue with his description.
And then he said something that totally lost me.
I can't quote it exactly because I was driving and had no way to write it down immediately, but essentially the statement was that promoters currently buy supplies from the box stores. But as a member of his alliance, Speedway Benefits would buy directly from the manufacturers and then drop-ship the supplies to each track resulting in a savings of 300% over the current costs.
What? SAVINGS of 300%? That's not even mathematically possible unless Humpy and his crew is going to be shipping out supplies free of charge and include a roll of hundred dollar bills in the shipping cartons!
I am in Sales and if I sat across from a prospect and stated that I could save him up to 300% over his current costs he would either rightfully say "bulls$*t" or he would ask me to immediately present a contract specifically stating these savings so that he could lock in his new found source of revenue before they dragged me off in a straight jacket.
I am hoping that Humpy meant to say "up to 30%" and just made a mistake during the interview. If not, and he stands by his claim, then I would run for the hills.
As I said earlier, the mission of Speedway Benefits is a good one, but the road to pulling together more than 1,000 short tracks, some of which are currently members of sanctioning bodies who have their own deals with tire manufacturers, etc., may be a little more of a task than even Humpy Wheeler can imagine. Peace in the Middle East is a nice goal as well, but trying to get all involved on the same page and keeping them there?
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