There is plenty of vanilla out there. As someone who explores various social media campaigns, techniques, and strategies on a daily basis, it gets pretty boring seeing the same old things being spun in slightly different ways. When something truly fresh comes along, I normally applaud.

When I saw Fiat's attempt at being bold on YouTube, I had to watch it again. And again. Each subsequent…

Contrary: opposed, opposite in nature, altogether different.

Several Indian tribes had warrior societies called Contraries or Contrary Warriors. The contraries were different in nature as well as actions, and were thought to be wise men. While being in the automobile business my whole adult life, I have observed and been a student of some of the more successful dealers in the business and have found that a lot of those dealers take a contrarian approach to their…

For the past 40-something years, a German Wolf Researcher named Werner Freund has operated a wolf sanctuary in Saarland, Germany, where he has personally raised more than 70 animals.

In 1972, Freund acquired the land to build his Wolfspark as a loan from the city of Merzig. The reserve currently houses 29 Mongolian and Arctic wolves. Most of the  wolves were acquired from zoos…

Shoppers are looking at MORE MODELS in their quest for a new car, according to the annual "Avoider Study" by J.D. Powers. Their 2013 data show buyers consider an average of 2.13 new vehicles during their shopping cycle, up from 3.1 in 2012 and 2.9 in 2011.…

Are you good enough?  The answer, of course is NO!  No one is actually as good as they could be.  I believe that every one, in every profession, has room for improvement.  Think of the best of the best in any profession you choose, and I can assure you they have room or improvement.  It may seem like they have some god given talent and are as good as it gets, and they may be the best, but they still could be better.

Let's use sports as an example.  Name the best player in your…

Today's Up To Speed article is contributed by Dave Anderson, president of Dave Anderson's Learn to Lead, an international sales and leadership training and consulting company. Prior to beginning Learn To Lead, Dave enjoyed an extensive and successful career in the automotive retail industry

Self-esteem is defined by the dictionary as: a realistic respect for or…

There is no question these days that your dealer site is one of the most valuable resources in your digital marketing toolbox. From your site, you have the ability to reach your largest traffic source and cater your message from page to page to meet the needs of individuals, groups and communities…

There are seven steps to make immediate change. These steps can be used to quickly increase sales by a more significant amount than you have ever experienced.

Step 1: Change the Environment

The military uses boot camp. Baseball has spring training. Football has training camp. The easiest way to bring about rapid change is to change environment. When you change environment, you change behavior. People tend to hold onto limiting beliefs and behaviors as long as they stay…

Growing up, my sister would call me a dummy. As much as I cringe to admit this, she was right. I am a dummy…..a crash test dummy!

In each incident, I was alone in the vehicle while sitting at a stop light, my standard transmission had been shifted into neutral, my foot was on the brake and I was perfectly still when….WHAM!!! Both vehicles were Japanese produced sports cars and sustained…

My first week in the business my sales manager handed me a 12-pack of cassette tapes from Jackie B. Cooper. Those fundamentals ring as true today as 30 years ago or whenever he made them. This message is priceless AND timeless. Enjoy!

 …

There was a time when the search engines rewarded content of all types. If a website syndicated content from elsewhere on the web and exposed it to their audience, it wasn’t as good as unique content but at least it didn’t hurt. Some of the content would be de-indexed as duplicate but the overall health of the domain itself was not harmed.

Today,…

When it comes to proper utilization of a CRM solution for dealerships, it must be accepted that every dealership has a unique customer base.  Unfortunately, in many cases, dealerships are unable to customize a CRM in order to pursue and reach their own unique customer base most effectively.  The reason for this in almost all cases is lack of training.  The advantage of having proper training on the full capabilities of a CRM system for dealerships is simple.  It leads to increased…

5 Minute Vehicle Appraisal

Your trade is probably the most negotiating leverage you have when you go to buy a car. Most car deals are made or broken from the value of your trade, so knowing what your car is worth is the most important thing you should know before you head to buy your new car.  A lot of people get into heated arguments over their trade from what they…

Today’s women car buyers wield $300 billion in spending power on their cars.  Their car buying behaviors are evolving dramatically, causing car dealers to seriously consider how they communicate with them.  To understand, engage and, ultimately, capture this market, dealers first have to look at the key indicators of a woman car buyer’s mindset, behaviors and buying patterns.  Otherwise, actions taken to attract them will not be optimized.

Key…

Goal setting is an important factor in growing your business. Goals provide direction, motivation and a clear way to measure your progress.

Without goals, and a process for tracking your goals, you may have difficulty seeing the big picture and staying focused. Goal setting helps you create a roadmap that can guide you from where you are right now to where you want to be.

The tips below will help you get started with goal setting for your dealership, focus on…

Since my post last week, Trust Me, I’m Your Vendor, I’m happy to say that some automotive marketing companies have reached out for advice on how to protect their dealer clients from advertising violations. This is a very positive step and I applaud…

5 Compliance Checkpoints

By Gil Van Over

Let me start by saying that the overuse of tired clichés is one of my pet peeves. I detest them in sportscasts, and I’ve grown a little tired of those clichéd lists magazines put out each year with predictions for the coming year. So, I apologize upfront for the list I’m about to share with you now.

Just so I can live with myself, I’m calling my compilation a checklist. I’ll cover the top…

Rarely do we come across a dealer today who claims to have a sufficient number of vehicle sales personnel. When adding the word “quality” to “vehicle sales personnel,” the dealers’ claims of staffing success turn pretty ugly. Why is it so difficult to attract quality people for automotive sales positions?

Several years ago, I was working with a client in Southern California and conducting one of my rare sales training meetings. The subject of the meeting was "Developing and Engaging…

This has been circling the web for a couple of months, but hit my inbox today. When you're tempted to let the challenges of life get you down, check out the courage, passion, and romance of Taylor Morris.

This tale is about an amazing young man who is a Navy explosives specialist horribly…

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