Do you spend massive amounts of time cold calling leads with little results? There's a simpler, more sophisticated way to reach your prospects on their phones without the time investment that cold calling takes.

This method can also be combined with email and other digital channels to send similar messages across…

RCS

We’re all familiar the use of directories, and they can be fine for link building. But using them over and over again isn’t real company sh*t. Real marketing value comes from listening to what the target consumer is searching for and building content around those queries. Essentially, we should strive to become the go-to resource for clients in the industry. Strategies that create content which have customers coming back for more…

Dangerous Adwords Marketing Advertising SEM Strategies and Stats…

Written By: Debbie Hemley

Twitter is a powerful social networking platform and one that has become a go-to choice for businesses of all sizes and industries.

In recent months, Burger King and Jeep’s Twitter accounts were hacked and became the subject of many articles and conversations, online…

Written By: Russell Grant

From speakers at NADA workshops to automotive manufacturers in trade publications to vendor product advertisements online, everyone is talking about how big data is changing the future of marketing in our industry. But most of the GMs I talk to aren’t nearly as concerned with the marketplace and the direction it’s taking, as they are with their business and where it’s going. They want to know two things—how can big data save me money and how can it sell more…

This article was written by: Russell Grant

From speakers at NADA workshops to automotive manufacturers in trade publications to vendor product advertisements online, everyone is talking about how big data is changing the future of marketing in our industry. But most of the GMs I talk to aren’t nearly as concerned with the marketplace and the direction it’s taking, as they are with their business and where it’s going. They want to know two things—how can big data save me money and how…

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…

First Class Educators (FCE) has agreed to sponsor two Scholarship Awards for selected dealerELITE members. Shown below are the details, terms and conditions.

1. Scholarship Request Submissions MUST be from a car dealer, dealership…

I have the honor and privilege of traveling this great country of ours and working with all types of BHPH dealers on a consulting, training, and 20 Group basis. I am a firm believer that we learn more from our mistakes than our successes. When I first started to put this article together, I made a list of the most prominent mistakes I see BHPH dealers make. Problem was, the list was about 1,001 mistakes long. Most if not all of which I had made as a dealer myself.

After looking over…

Here’s your dilemma: One of your top performers--maybe a vehicle sales consultant, maybe a service advisor, maybe a technician, maybe an F&I producer--just advised you that he really wants to become a manager. Although you don’t really want to lose his production, you know that if you don’t appropriately address his request and desire, he might quit and leave, or maybe worse, he might quit and stay.

Here is what else probably bothers you about this situation;…

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,…

The walls are a physical barrier.  The walls also represent a conceptual barrier to many.  The walls, whether physical or conceptual, separate.   And, that is bad!   The           walls act like demarcation lines that shouldn’t be crossed lest you dare enter into foreign or perhaps even enemy territory.  The rules of engagement crossing into or between these walls may be an…

NCM Associates was on hand at NADA 2012 with the express purpose to open a dialogue with attending dealers and managers to listen to their issues, concerns, successes, and desires relative to their automotive dealership operations.  It was a great opportunity for us to connect with dealers inside and outside the NCM family and as always, the conversations were compelling in many ways.  In particular, one dealer told me about his vision for developing his future leaders, which I found to be…

I have always believed there is a valid reason why dealership website designers include a “Used Vehicle Specials (UVS)” page in their master plan. Because if I were a used vehicle prospect cruising dealers’ websites, when I click on “Used Vehicles” and a drop-down appears with one of the choices being “Specials” (or “Featured Vehicles”), I would certainly go there first before taking a deep dive into the overall used vehicle inventory. However, most dealership managers must not think that…