JIM ZIEGLER NEEDS YOUR HELP ... THIS WEBINAR IS COMING UP THURSDAY  AND I AM ASKING MY FRIENDS TO HELP GET THE WORD OUT. PLEASE, RE-POST THIS EVERYWHERE AND INVITE YOUR FRIENDS AND CONTACTS TO SIGN UP FOR THIS WEBINAR... THANKS -…

The retail automotive world demands a lot, including long hours, working holidays and little flexibility in schedule. Most dealerships require 1 or 2 “bells” per week, (working open to close) and don’t include many weekends off, as Saturday and Sunday are typically busy days, when consumers have time to shop for a vehicle.

 A recent blog post on the…

How do you communicate with your customers? Social Media must be a large part of this, as it reaches customers where they are and is becoming a regular segment of the advertising budget (and growing with each quarter).

But is it effective?…

I am very excited about our new service manager two day seminar set for June 11-12 in Cleveland Ohio. This course is designed to be a hands on positive approach to real life in dealership service departments. It’s great for rookies and experienced vets that desire improvement.

The charge is only $795 and your manager will return with an action plan…

Take Flight to INSIGHT!

As announced on AutoDealerLive: Courtesy of Car Lister, the first 50 dealers and managers who fill out the contact form at http://insightcustomerloyalty.com/freeairfare/ will receive…

Customer Loyalty and Retention Conference to provide complimentary two-night room stay with paid registration for all dealership attendees.

INSIGHT15 Customer Loyalty and Retention Conference will be held on March 24-26, 2015 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, FL. The Insight Media Team, united with its media…

WE ARE ENTERING AN ERA OF CRM DOMINATION



- BY JAMES A. ZIEGLER, THE ‪#‎AlphaDawg‬

Third party Vendors are waking up to their worst nightmare. The party is almost over and we're turning the lights on. They…

What's a better investment, a studio apartment in Midtown Manhattan or one space on your used car lot?

Written By: Garry House

In the second quarter of 2012, the NCM Institute (NCMi®) formed a training partnership with Automotive Internet Management (AIM). AIM has conducted five “Bridging the Internet Sales Gap” training workshops under NCMi sponsorship. After personally auditing two of these sessions and receiving client-dealer feedback from all of the sessions,…

There’s a famous Seinfeld episode where George is at a very low point in his life.

Nothing is working and he doesn’t know what his next step should be.

You can watch it here: http://youtu.be/cKUvKE3bQlY

What would happen if YOU did the opposite of what your instincts (fear) tell you? If what you’ve been doing has been delivering the wrong results, what would…

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…

In the second quarter of 2012, the NCM Institute (NCMi®) formed a training partnership with Automotive Internet Management (AIM). After personally auditing two of these sessions and receiving client-dealer feedback from all of the sessions, I’ve become convinced that dealers and their sales management teams need to “raise the bar” on their expectations for Internet closing ratios.

At NCMi, we have always believed and…

Recently, I’ve been busy out in the field doing what I love most—rolling up my sleeves and working on-site with client-dealers, which is something I don’t have much time for in my position as director of the NCM® Institute. Recently, though, I’ve had the opportunity to work with two exceptional dealership groups who are committed to going “from good to great.”   

I know I’ve been remarkably fortunate, over my 25+ years in training and…

A sound Internet/BDC operation is a key component of every successful automotive dealership. The question is, what makes a sound Internet/BDC operation? When the NCM Institute decided to sponsor a dealership Internet/BDC training program earlier this year, we decided upon one of the recognized e-Commerce experts in the retail automotive industry,…

Early in my retail automotive management career (back in the late 1960’s), I was fortunate to meet a renowned sales and management trainer. His name was Clint McGhee, and his training disciplines and materials provided the foundation of sales success, not only for my dealership, but for many others as well.  Following is one of Clint’s mantras, with which I may have taken a little editorial freedom:

“Avail yourself of every training opportunity.…

           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…

It’s time for a continuation of the mini case study focused on the objectives established and challenges faced in building processes to develop, measure and manage OTDBs in the operating departments of an NCM client automotive dealership group. In our article titled OTDB Measurement and Management – Part Two, published on March 20, 2012, I discussed the structure of the vehicle sales department and the general expectations that we defined and communicated to the members of the sales…