FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBANY, N.Y. – September 29th, 2014 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today the integration of its dealership management system (DMS) with MaximTrak Technologies' F&I Suite. Auto dealers using both systems may now benefit from a real-time, bi-directional exchange of information that speeds up the F&I…

How to perform in the Top 1%

I was talking with the woman I love yesterday. She loves me, yet, when talking about car salesmen, she is convinced their primary mission is to find a sucker. WHAT?? Those are…

ALBANY, N.Y. – December 9th, 2013 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today that its dealership management system (DMS) is now integrated with Innovative Aftermarket System's (IAS) suite of SmartDealerProducts for automotive dealerships. Dealers using both Auto/Mate's DMS and IAS' SmartDealerProducts solutions can now benefit from real-time information exchange between the two systems.

"A typical…

ALBANY, N.Y. – October 21st, 2013 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today that Scott Volkswagen, the largest Volkswagen dealership in New England, has saved more than half a million dollars since switching to Auto/Mate's dealership management system (DMS) in 2006. Scott Volkswagen's employees enjoy Auto/Mate's premier customer service while using the DMS system to streamline processes within their dealership; most…

CRYSTAL LAKE, IL, Oct. 15, 2013 – Automotive Compliance Consultants said today that given the era’s new focus on F&I practices, its DealersEdge webinar Oct. 24 is designed to provide auto dealers with tips for ensuring compliant F&I…

EMBRACE CHANGE

            The glass ceiling for women’s acceptance in the finance industry was shattered over a decade ago.

            According to the 2012 Catalyst Census of Women Executive Officers and Top Earners, which counts the number of women in upper management in Fortune 500 companies, women comprise over 18% of all executive officers in the finance industry, and 19% of board directors in the finance and insurance industries…

Written by: Rebecca Chernek

EMBRACE CHANGE

The glass ceiling for women’s acceptance in the finance industry was shattered over a decade ago.

According to the 2012 Catalyst Census of Women Executive Officers and Top Earners, which counts the number of women in upper management in Fortune 500 companies, women comprise over 18% of all executive officers in the finance industry, and 19% of board directors in the finance and insurance industries in…

AutoNation USA, the #1 publicly-owned automotive retailer, opened its doors as a mega “one pricing” pre-owned operation in 1997. It built elaborate showrooms; county records show one was 218,000 square feet. The showrooms included a café, a playroom and an aftermarket display platform.

Kiosks with computers were placed throughout the store enabling consumers to efficiently check out in-stock inventory or to submit a loan application. Customers were greeted at these kiosks by…

AutoNation USA, the #1 publicly owned retailer, opened it’s doors as a mega “one pricing” pre-owned operation in 1997. It built elaborate showrooms; county records show one was 218,000 square feet. The showrooms included a café, a playroom, and an aftermarket display platform.

Kiosks with computers were placed throughout the store enabling consumers to efficiently check out in-stock inventory or to submit a loan application. Customers were greeted at these kiosks by F&I…

Drive up to a dealership and you will most likely see a lot lizard. Their species is easy to spot. They tend to congregate in front of the dealership, smoking, joking, complaining and waiting to wait on someone. Notice I said waiting to wait on. These lizards are a curious species in how they tend to look for prey. The professional is a different breed. The professional tends to not wait on much or for long. The professional has goals, a work plan and is too busy taking action…

Two things keep people from being successful: laziness and the lack of leverage. The good news is that neither of these are incurable diseases, but they can be if left untreated. Let’s take a look at both and how to get rid of each one.

Leverage creates the tipping point that gets you moving and taking action. Leverage can come from wants, needs, fear, love, hate and other emotional triggers. All leverage points are good if you channel them correctly, even if they…

If you haven’t already done so, it’s that time to review your 2012 performance in detail. In what areas did you fall short of your goals and why? Where could you have generated greater gains and how? Don’t allow January to slip by without these facts in writing and a discussion of how you can best move forward in 2013.

A common F&I pay plan in the automotive industry is known as the grid. It compensates managers based on their per vehicle retail performance and products sold…

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…

 Is Front Gross $PVR Still a Relevant Metric?

One of our “poster” clients—with super market penetration, great customer retention, strong gross profit production, and excellent net-to-gross retention—doesn’t believe in focusing on front $PVR, at least in his new vehicle department. In fact, his business model is based on $-0- new vehicle “total front gross profit.” But please also understand the following:

• The New…

Think Tank Tuesday- Are You Missing Sales With The Wrong Messaging? from Potratz on Vimeo.

Are you missing out on sales because your marketing message is focused only on price points?  If you're only focused on price, you are not connecting with customers who are…

           Great article, Greg! I’ve been singing in the same chorus, but it seems that other members are either staying home or remaining silent. Both reasons denote an underlying sense of fear or helplessness or ignorance of the real issues.  It’s hard to change “old ways” but not impossible. Change is good.

            However, too many F&I managers are still being lumped into the same crock of criticism; some deserve to be there, but many more don’t. The dealership…

Starving for Attention

I’m sitting in the manager’s office. He’s got the blinds up and is pointing to the showroom floor.

“That’s him – third desk. Ed. When he started, I thought the guy would be a natural. Young, good-looking, knows the cars, knows finance, friendly, great recommendation… I think I must have spent $10K on getting him trained. But I don’t understand him. He’s making me look bad, like I can’t pick ‘em anymore. The other guys are starting to crack jokes.…

Entrepreneurs: They Embody the American Dream

The late Peter Drucker once said, “Entrepreneurship is neither a science nor an art. It is a practice.” CCI practices entrepreneurship.

Small business owners by the millions are eagerly waiting for the next election to learn how the upcoming years will effect not only their ability to grow and profit, but to continue toward the goals that are infused by their enthusiasm. They want to…