©2016 By John Fuhrman, Director of Training OptionSoft Technologies

     Everyone’s talking about the cost of health care these days.  What does that have to do with an article in a magazine for successful dealers?  Bear with me for a moment.  Most dealers are of an age where it would benefit them to get an annual checkup.  Suppose you wanted only the best and most accurate information and bypassed your regular doctor.

     You visited an…

The $4,000 Tap

By John Fuhrman – Director of Training, OptionSoft Technologies

     There’s an old story that goes something like this.

     A dealer was getting increasingly frustrated with all the technology in his dealership.  He purchased all the best money could buy.  But, when it came to training and support, it never seemed to be in the budget.  So, people came and went, and the…

As many of you know, I've been involved in this industry since cars took leaded gas.  There have been many changes.  Some good, some not so much.  One thing that has seemed to be a constant is selling extended service contracts in your service drive has been an abject failure.  

Dealers get excited about it.  Service Writers train for it.  Sometimes it even takes off selling.  But, usually within weeks, sales slow to a trickle and then become a forgotten practice followed by the ever…

        It's no secret that those of us who train for The Dealer Resource Group, spend a ton of time on the road.  A lot of windshield time can make you listen to anything on the radio to just hear some noise and stay awake.  That happened as I was driving 11 hours to get to our last assignment.

           I'm hitting the seek button on my rental's radio for what seemed like hours when it finally found a station.  I heard that familiar twang of the guitar and knew this was a country…

There is an old expression, "You can't judge a book by its cover."  But, as the author of 10 books (#11 will be "Auto Sales for Dummies with Anthony Bartoli), I can tell you that statement is false.  My publishers spend almost as much on having a great cover design as they do on the entire layout process of the book.  Why?

 

They want to impress you into buying the book.  Now, some of my books have sold because they were recommended.  Others were sold because large organizations…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ADDITIONAL DETAILS: dealerresourcegroup@gmail.com

WILMINGTON, NC - NOVEMBER 20, 2012 - After careful evaluation, New York publishers John Wiley & Son have selected two of Americas top trainers to be added to the family of books known as the "Dummies" franchise.  Trainers John Fuhrman and…

We are proud to announce that once again, our founding partner and senior trainer, Anthony Bartoli, will be a featured speaker at the 13th annual Digital Dealer Conference.  Anthony will be speaking with Rich Lucy and discussing "How To Build An Internet Department From The Ground Up" (http://www.digitaldealerconference.com/s peakers/). 



In addition, dealers and vendors will be able to…

How many hours do your sales people spend at the dealership on a daily basis?  If you're like most dealers, there will be days when the staff works key to key.  Those 12 hour days can drag for some.  But, for those who have customers, it seems to speed by.

That said, how can dealers tolerate the speed merchants who call themselves…

What was your September like?  Or how do the year-to-date numbers look?  How is the sales force working out?  How many are left?  How is inventory?  Do you have enough of the right stuff?  How did you feel reading your last aged unit report?      

Those questions could have good answers or bad answers.  The future depends on what you're ready to do regardless of the answer.  This also applies to your entire operation.  How you answer the tough questions determine how you fare…

October 1, 2012 - New York, NY  Major NY Publisher Announces New Auto Sales Book - John Wiley & Son, the oldest professional publisher in the United States has announced another edition to add to it's highly successful "Dummies" franchise.  The "Dummies" books have sold millions of copies on a variety of subjects from technology to small business.  Their highly recognizable yellow and black covers are instantly recognizable and mean that the selected authors were…

I don't know about you but I'm a sucker for classic westerns.  Even though about 10 minutes into the movie, you can pretty much figure it out, I always enjoy the "old west" from Hollywood's perspective.  It was a simpler time.  Or was it?      

Back then, at least in the movies, there was always a point when the good guys were surrounded.  It always looked like there was no way out.  Or, as the cliche goes, "It looks like the end of the line."  Yet, seemingly out of nowhere a…

There is a statement we've all heard over the years in the car business.  It usually comes from the dealer or a senior manager.  When I hear it, it makes me crazy.  Now, I know that some of you will say that driving me crazy is a short trip, but this one makes me glad that I'm not on a roof when I hear it.  I might jump.      

It usually happens when I'm talking to a dealer.  We may be discussing a hiring campaign, an idea for advertising, a specific sales practice or even a way to…

Part of our marketing is to monitor help wanted ads for sales people.  I've seen some that should be very effective, but far too many are less than acceptable.  The only way to describe them is pure laziness.  The only other possibility is that the dealer is still running the sales department on "The Warm Body Theory."  That's where dealers who are stuck in the 1980's still believe that if they keep hiring warm bodies, eventually they'll end up with some "natural" sales talent.…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Additional Information - Email dealerresourcegroup@gmail.com.

DIGITAL DEALER CONFERENCE BRINGS AN INTERNET EXPERT BACK

WILMINGTON, NC  August 17th, 2012 - The Dealer Resource Group is pleased to announce that…

Every time they come on I'm drawn in.  I root for people in sports I either have never seen before or still don't understand.  But, my favorite part of the Olympics is when they share the journey that each athlete had to make to get there.  When they share how obstacles had to be overcome, sacrifices had to be made, and most importantly, goals that had to be set.  When one hears the stories of these special athletes, it's difficult to complain…

That first day at the beach was always exciting.  It was a TOO day.  Too much food.  Too much water.  And way too much sun.  It often made the second day at the beach a depressing stay in the house day.  Everyone new you were burnt and would try to slap you on the back or grab your arm to watch you cringe.  Yet, we did it every year because we knew the effects would only be temporary.  In a couple of days the burn turned to a tan and then by vacation's end, you began to peel.  It was as if…

Flying is a part of the job.  Even dealers have to fly to auctions, meetings, conventions, etc.  Over the last 17 years I have noticed a remarkable lack of courtesy, kindness and even basic service toward passengers.  What kind of training are the employees receiving?  More importantly, what type of leadership by management are they seeing?      

I had the pleasure to need to book two trips on a major (U.S.) Air line.  My daughter was taking a trip that took her from…

I just returned from my nephew's wedding.  He is the first of our family's next generation to marry so the pressure was on to create a standard to follow.  Being my brother's son, I was excited to go, visit with family that we don't see often enough and most importantly, to honor my nephew and his new bride.  From the rehearsal dinner to the church, and ultimately to the reception, it was perfect.      

Not just for all it had.  It was perfect for the things that were…

You've decided to go outside your dealership to get something handled.  After a lot of thought, you realized it would be better to spend money with the right experts and handle things once, than to save money on paper and take your people away from what they do best for you.  Many times that's exactly what you should do.  But how do you know you have the right company for what you really need?      

To help you see how to rate a company or service, I will be using…

That question often depends on who you ask.  Salespeople will talk about the dealer up the street or across town who is absolutely giving the cars away.  F&I will talk about lenders who seem to favor other dealers and cost them deals.  Managers will discuss factory incentives, advertising, and the like.  But is that what we're really up against?

 

After 33 years in the business and over 15,000 salespeople and managers trained, I think there's more to competition than we…