All things being equal, why should I buy from you? I posed this question to a salesperson in one of my workshops, and I watched his eyes grow as big as saucers. He hesitated, stammered, and finally said, "Because I will take care of you after you purchase." I smiled and said, "And how will you do that for me?" Again the same type of reaction occurred, and he said, "I will be available if you have any questions." I said, "OK, but everyone says that. Why should I buy from you?" He stammered,…

There was a promise silently made by social media a few years back. It was so prevalent at the 2009 round of conferences from NADA to Digital Dealer that many might have thought that social media would eventually encompass the entire internet marketing required by a dealership to be successful. The…

It may be the biggest change in the Google algorithm that very few people noticed. The reason they didn't notice is that the change has been slowly happening since February, 2011. Between Panda, Penguin, and the rise of social signals, word count of content is not…

Today, more than ever, online reviews can make or break your month selling vehicles.  We can search for online reputation management companies and we will get hundreds if not thousands of opinions on how to manipulate the system of posting positive reviews.  Many of these companies state that they have a secret to help your dealership look like they are flawless.  This is done utilizing a lot of smoke and mirrors.

Studies by consumer behavior and search experts say that 7 out of 10…

It's 2012, your a General Manager of a car dealership.  What are some things you need to be doing daily?  Here are a few easy practices that will help you build value in your dealership, increase profits and maintain high levels of customer satisfaction.  Rest easy though, these idea will literally cost you nothing but a little time and creativity.

Granted time and creativity are of immense value and that is exactly why these actions NEED your attention and participation.  Take a look…

What is an appointment worth?

There are a lot of ways to answer this question in the minds of many dealers. In my mind, this is a question about math.

The average dealer closes at least 60% of appointments that are set with the customer via the phone.

That same dealer averages at least 2k per copy…

OK, Please put your hand all the way up if you know how a micro site can help you sell cars?

Many ageless dealers might even be first asking themselves, “How can my actual site help me sell cars -let alone a micro site?”

All of these questions start with the same answer: “how much is an appointment worth to you?”

 …

How many ideas that get heard about the internet are really good ones? For most, the answer is: not many.  

  The focus of most internet endeavors on the table for dealers is on the wrong thing, and also the reason the results are unpredictable. For dealers they think the internet is a race to cut in the “up” line and have the first crack at the next customer. This is how we do it on the lot;  but the reason you want to have the first crack at a customer –…

Ok, let’s get ominous…

True Car – is going to eat us all. Oh, they are coming alright, they look nice enough but they are already RICH with profits that dealers refused to earn  themselves. I intercepted some emails from TrueCar (*not true) and these…

Industry Leaders,

    What would you think if I told you there was a “brand new” way to sell cars, and make customers happy...

It goes like this –

  When customers come on your lot you must stay hidden inside the store, lock the doors, and send no one outside. The customer will wander your lot for a bit, and sometimes they find something they want. Make sure not to interrupt this process! Do NOT attempt to give the customer(s) a reason to decide on…

I sell cars and it is very important to come to work with a positive attitude. Times seem to be tough right now. Stores are low on inventory and customers are few and far between. It is time to turn these negatives into positives. I wanted to give a perspective from the sales floor.

Customers and their methods of shopping seem to be evolving so much faster then the local dealership. The product is out there the…