Some dealers miss opportunities to gain acceptance of service recommendations or upsells simply because consumers do not know why they are needed or important. Many advisors share the “canned” description. However, if the customer is not right in front of you it can be hard for them to understand what you are going on about and so they decline the…

Anyone in sales can probably agree that leaving dozens of voicemails a day that are never returned is the most frustrating part of automotive phone sales. The average voicemail return rate is 4.8 % and sales reps spend about 15% of their…

Up to 95 percent of today’s shoppers go online to research vehicles. But they still want a personal connection. According to the Local Search Association, 61 percent of new and used vehicle shoppers call a dealership once they’ve completed their online research. This number is likely to grow due to the prevalence of smart phones and click-to-call…

Today's customers expect and demand a fantastic experience. From initial research to the showroom visit, delivering a great experience at every touchpoint will give you a distinct advantage over your competition and help you win deals.

My last blog, 7…

While much has been written about how the “bots” are coming and will threaten to automate everyone’s job, the reality is that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is about automating mundane tasks to improve the customer experience and better scale human interactions for solving the complex and unique issues.

Machine Learning (ML) is all about feeding…

Shaping great customer experiences and setting more appointments begins with one of the first critical moments, the phone call. The first impression of a call is more important than ever. After all, it’s a lot easier for consumers to hang up the phone than walk out of a dealership.

To have a fighting chance of setting appointments and closing new…

"There are two ways of meeting difficulties: you alter the difficulties; or you alter yourself to meet them," ~Writer, Phyllis Bottome.

For those of you that know me, or if you have followed my blogs for a while, you probably know that customer service is a passion of mine. I genuinely…

When you consider the most valuable player at your dealership, who comes to mind? The dealer? The GM? The top-performing salesperson? What if I told you it's your receptionist. Yep, the person who is probably at the low-end of your pay scale. They are potentially working part-time, and maybe even new to the job, and you might even have a hard time remembering…

Click-to-call campaigns are everywhere. Your dealership is likely running several now. As such, you’re familiar with Google reports that show your click-to-call rate and cost-per-click. You likely base some of your future ad spend on these metrics. But what if I told you this is flawed data that doesn’t accurately reflect what makes your phones…

Every dealership wants to increase website traffic, that’s why they spend thousands of dollars per month on advertising agencies to run email marketing, pay-per-click advertising, and social media campaigns. Typically, agencies include search engine optimization in service packages to snag organic search traffic. Yet, organic search often feels like the…

You know to protect your dealership computer system from hackers, but what about your phone system? Phone hacking is common and often overlooked until you get hit with fraudulent charges. According to the Communications Fraud Control Association, phone fraud costs companies over $4 billion each year. The majority of that cost is due to toll fraud;…

I often meet with auto dealers of all sizes across the U.S., and what I’ve seen is that very few realize how many opportunities they are missing due to unhealthy phone systems. Various research has shown that calls outpace internet leads by as much as 4:1 due to mobile devices and click-to-call buttons, but many of those calls go…

Rising interest rates and stagnant incentives point to a slowing new vehicle market through the end of the year. NADA predicts new vehicle sales will decline at least one percent, and probably more. Used car sales are picking up. But not at a velocity to make up for the loss of new vehicle sales. What should a dealer do? Some may need to lean on the parts and…

Dealerships lose hundreds of sales opportunities every year because of missed or mishandled phone calls. On average, a dealership fails to connect with 33% of incoming calls. For every 100 calls, that means you’re missing out on 33 potential deals! Phone calls are three times more likely to convert than other types of leads. It’s crucial to fix your phone…

As countless studies will attest, the effectiveness of texting, email, social media, and multiple other digital…

 Next generation tools enable dealers to contact customers

in under 6 seconds, converting leads into sales

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calf., January 7, 2018 - fusionZONE Automotive, LLC, the…

Have you heard that direct mail is dead? I think it's fair to say that mass mail is dead, but direct mail still has a place in your dealership's marketing strategy.

Quite simply, it's about reach. Most dealerships can reach about 50 percent of their customers via email alone. When they add social channels like Facebook and Instagram, that reach…

Many dealerships subscribe to some type of call tracking service that records incoming phone calls, however, many sales managers neglect to listen to the calls on a regular basis. Typically, it’s not until the end of the month when they’re trying to squeeze out those last few units for the month, that the call tracking service comes to mind. They listen to calls and then,…

Are you a talker or a texter? Or do you prefer sending emails? February 2017 data show that US smartphone penetration surpassed 80 percent in 2016 (source: ComScore), making this growth the largest so far. However, the most basic…