Dealer Suicide  (continued)
In fact it is a more frequent occurrence, especially today, than anyone
may wish to consider.  As difficult a subject as this may be, it’s an
important one to have awareness of.  We can never know which one of
us may have the opportunity to help a fellow dealer who suffers from
feelings of suicide.
During my time in business I have worked with and known well three dealers who have died by their own hand.  In each
instance the factor that triggered the final act was financial disaster.  Whether it was unrecoupable loss, an out of trust
situation, failure to make payroll or the inability to procure the needed capital or replacement floor-plan required to
sustain the business - in each case the dealer felt unable to ask for help early on.  In the last few months alone there
have already been several more dealer suicides emanating from the magnitude of the problems auto dealers
everywhere are confronted with.  And this is only what has been publicized.
Copyright© 2008-2009 Automotive Dealers Network. All rights reserved.
Nancy represents franchised automobile dealers by
orchestrating dealership sales and closures for those
wishing to divest, facilitating targeted acquisitions on
behalf of buyers and determining the true market value of
their business.  They have been successfully serving auto
dealers for over 25 years, with great professionalism.
    So it is hard not to wonder – can this business be worth dying for?  One dealer who took his own life spoke
    with a friend shortly before and described his life by saying he had come from nothing, grown successful and
    wealthy and could not return to his beginnings.  I doubt his wife and young children would have agreed with that
    way of thinking.

    There is something about our industry that makes it difficult to deal with normal human emotions.  Perhaps it is
    always being in control, existing in a business that thrives on assertive activity, aggressiveness, competition, pride
    and ego.  When things go precariously wrong, Dealers often won’t go to their friends, family or even a fellow
    dealer.  And with no where to turn, one’s perception of the world and ability to make good decisions fails.

    People often say when confronted by suicide that they cannot understand, that it could not have been that bad,
    and that the deed itself is the ultimate act of cowardice.  I have said such things myself until I took the time to
    learn more about suicide and I hope that the next time I meet a client with symptoms that I might recognize them.

    There has never been a market or economy like the one we are in today and every single auto dealer is in a
    difficult situation.  If your business is in such a state and you or someone you know is suffering from
    insurmountable stress and feel as though there is simply no where to turn, then please stop for a moment to
    consider these few things.
    Realize that if you have more stress and pain than you can cope with now - that does not mean
    you are weak or flawed.  It does, however, mean that your pain exceeds your own resources for
    dealing with it and the result is often manifested in feelings of suicide.  Professionals who
    understand suicide describe it as simply an imbalance of pain versus coping resources.  Above all
    remember that suicide is a morally neutral event and it is absolutely not, in the circumstances we
    are addressing herein, a defect of character.

    People turn to suicide to seek relief from pain.  Yet once dead what will you feel?  While no one
    really knows, wouldn’t you need to be alive to experience the relief you seek?  And who knows if
    we travel into death with a clean slate or if we carry our guilt, remorse and sadness with us.

    The tragic inevitability of our industry today is that many dealers will have no way to save
    themselves from going out of business either softly through resignation and liquidation or harshly
    through bankruptcy and they will need to develop the skill and fortitude to deal with such an
    outcome.  If you are in despair over your situation, find someone to talk to immediately.  You will
    need to ask for help and here are some ways that you can try.
SUPERIOR DEALER SOLUTIONSsm
Nancy Phillips
President/Nancy Phillips Associates, Inc
email: nphillips@automotivedealersnetwork.com
    Seek out a proven friend, fellow dealer, family member or trusted advisor
    Call a psychotherapist
    Call 1 800 SUICIDE
    Look in the front of your phone book for a crisis line
    Send an anonymous email to The Samaritans at Samaritans.org
    Read How I Stayed Alive When My Brain Was Trying To Kill Me :  One Person’s
    Guide to Suicide Prevention by Susan Rose Blauner

For help with any issues relative to the continued viability of your dealership, dealership exit strategies, dealership sales
and floor-plan issues contact Nancy Phillips.