It’s not really black cats and witches on the streets this Halloween that you should fear: What about possible monopoly power in the hands of a few companies that could seriously hurt your dealership’s business this Halloween? And every day?

Now THAT trick is scary.

History can show us a clear parallel to how cartel, or monopoly, power may be…

Do you have a CRM? Did you know that, on average, most major CRMs only see usage of 25%?

Let that sit there for a minute. You pay 100% but you . . . use 25%.

Is it your fault? Maybe. Likely. Sure.

• Your salespeople won’t use it.
• And you won’t make them.

And so you pay 100% of the bill for 25% product…

Car Buying and Emotions, Part I

Women shop and buy cars for a number of reasons, but regardless of the reason, emotions are involved in every step. The emotional range can start with excitement about the prospects of a new car, to apprehension when signing papers, to frustration when taking a car in for service.

Why Emotions Matter

During the buying process, your customers will experience a range of emotions. You know this. It is important…

Do you shy away from giveaways and win-a-prize type mailers? If you’re like most dealers, you probably do. Giveaways are frowned upon for fear of attracting customers who are more interested in winning a prize than buying a car.

Customers come into your dealership daily. When asked if they need help, the normal response is: “No, I’m just looking.”…

Most companies view content marketing as a means to rank higher in search engines, establish thought leadership and engage with their audience. Content, such as newsletters and blogs distributed via email and social media channels, enables businesses to stay top-of-mind with clients and prospects. It can be used to educate existing customers and any prospects investigating a…

We don't have an "accountability culture" in the car business, and we need one. Badly. For great examples why, just look at the sports we love that are so successful!

The NFL keeps stats on players that boggle the mind and produce hours and hours of ESPN commentary; basketball hinges on free throw percentages that can haunt a player’s (and team’s) season; and, from…

| by David Metter

“Just because it can be counted, doesn’t mean it counts,” said Tom O’Regan, CEO of Madison Logic in a recent IAB study. “As you rise up the…

Remember when airbags were a feature? Heck, remember when side airbags and even mp3 players were a feature?

Those days are gone; at least on the Swapalease.com marketplace.

The national online car leasing marketplace has reviewed its complete inventory of vehicles and decided certain features of yesterday are so common today (or irrelevant) that it will no longer include them as a searchable check box for visitors and members. Here is the complete list of…

We lose sales every day because we have no Accountability Culture: We have lost accountability. To understand how that happened, and what to do about it, we have to look back.

We all romanticize the Rolex-wearing old-school salesman from “back in the day”: in the business for…

In most dealerships a dispute inevitably arises between salespeople over a sold customer. Perhaps it’s because one salesperson initially assisted the customer and a second closed the deal and delivered the vehicle while the first was off for the day. And what happens when a customer visits multiple times and perhaps a third salesperson is involved?

Most…

I bet that title got your attention. Imagine a world where automotive manufacturers prohibited dealerships from producing and publishing video content of any vehicles during dealership sales events. That would seem a little ridiculous, right? Social media can produce great results and lead to sales. However, if the manufacturer mandated that dealers couldn’t publish that…

When you're busy working on your computer, what do you do when you see a little pop-up message notifying you that it's time to download an update? If you're like most people, you click on "Try Again Later," or "Try Tonight." You don't want to be bothered with having to download and install software updates.…

You've probably heard the term "Doing good is good for business." Many studies support this statement. Companies that become involved in their communities and support good causes enjoy tangible benefits, including:

• Increased employee engagement, morale and…

The Internet has infiltrated your classic Road to the Sale—did you know that?  Think about it this way:  Would you let your salespeople lot-drop dozens of UPs without a turn?  Would you let them yell at, confuse, or manhandle your shoppers on the lot?  Or, worse yet, would you let them ignore your shoppers?

Your website does this EVERY DAY.  Take a second to ask…

Have you stopped and considered how much money people are spending on their cars outside of the dealership? What if we could capture even a fraction of that number?

There’s a race going on between manufacturers to create the lowest maintenance vehicles. While this is great for customers, it’s…

One of the common characteristics that I have noticed is how people impose limits on what they can do with their life. I recall a time when, I heard family members say regularly “I’ll never be anything but a blue-collar worker”. I have heard people say they will never be in management or they can’t do…

A recent article in Automotive News reports that the three-year employee retention rate at dealerships reached a new low, dropping by 2%. In fact, the study showed that only 1/3 of sales consultants stay at a dealership for 3 years or longer. The…

Does your dealership brag about your reputation? Do you constantly explore new ways to improve your interactions with customers and employees?

Brag Boards

Women rely on reviews 50% more than men and especially like reviews by other women. Reviews act as your 24 x 7 brag board by letting others hear the voice of…

Performing these regularly occurring sales manager activities will insure we are investing enough in our dealership’s most valuable appreciating assets – our people.

● Have a notepad when desking deals 

– Take notes for debriefing our sales associates, don’t rely on memory alone.

● Debrief each deal 

– During a deal is…