So many trainers like to tell you when they started in the business, how great they were and how they single handedly saved a manufacturer from near ruin. Not my thing. I’m simply stating that I sold my first vehicle for a dealer in January of 1979 for the purpose of this article. What I’m sharing, I’ve participated in, witnessed or at least saw from a distance. In other words, I was there.

    As I got to be about 6 months into the sales end of the business, domestic dealers were…

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We've all heard that expression, "The tail is wagging the dog." In retail, that usually means our sales staff is dictating management rather than the other way around. Usually, the fix occurs when new management or a new training process comes in and everyone gets to start on the same page. However, the decision to change process or change personnel is at the dealer level.

Lately, a much larger tail has been dominating the countryside and predicting the end times if we continue as we…

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©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…

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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…

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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…

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Full Disclosure Menu Selling or Not?



You would think with the magnifying glass on car dealerships around the country today, F&I managers would take heed of the importance placed on full disclosure selling. You would think they would understand why disclosing a base payment, the APR, the term and all buying numbers prior to offering other product options is critically important.





Unfortunately, there is still confusion regarding “full-disclosure” menu… Continue