Ever walk into a McDonald’s and just watch their process at work? If not, take the time to observe next time you visit one of these iconic fast-food chain restaurants. You’ll witness employees, who average just $10.12 per hour*, move with the brisk pace, tempo, and synchronicity of a well-trained team as they interact with each other and their…

The retail auto business is stressful for all departments. In normal times, employees work 50+ hours per week simply to keep up with the demand from both customers and management. However, during the current pandemic, all departments are working harder than before to not only make a living but also to keep up with the expectations of their…

Top-of-the-line Environmental Protection Product company recruits fixed ops director with 26 years of experience to lead expansion team.

Columbus, OH – October 5, 2020 – ZipDeal, a streamlined, post-sale, pre-F&I vehicle delivery system for automotive dealers, today announced…

Top-of-the-line Environmental Protection Product company recruits fixed ops director with 26 years of experience to lead expansion team.

Columbus, OH – October 5, 2020 – ZipDeal, a streamlined, post-sale, pre-F&I vehicle delivery system for automotive dealers, today announced…

Correcting My Contribution to the Battle Between Buyer and Seller

I spent 31 years in automotive retail, in every variable role from used car salesperson to GSM, then GM and Dealer Principal.

For most of that time, I was a part of and supported the combative culture the car business created.

• I was a master of small…

Many people over time have gone on blind dates. Sometimes those dates were set-up by friends and scheduled for one person to meet the other with the two having no knowledge of each other. Sometimes the one being set-up by their friends has some information about who they will be meeting and sometimes both parties have some prior knowledge of each other. The…

Fast-growing company taps industry innovator to head up its national expansion…

Anyone in retail car sales learned early on that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Most everyone has at least one story in which they did and lost a sale. If you look, many of today’s millionaires don’t dress like millionaires. Just take a look at Mark Zuckerberg who sports a t-shirt and jeans daily. That being said, in today’s digital world, first…

When the pace of change in your industry exceeds that of your business, the end is near.

Find yourself desperately trying to hold on to control of the customer and the purchase experience while the world evolves all around you? Join the crowd. The traditional automobile dealer is at a crossroads. A defining moment of truth. The actions…

For anyone unfamiliar, User Experience (UX) is a term referring to the interaction that a user has with a website, application or product. The goal of UX design is to create an easy, efficient and smooth experience for the user. A happy user is a returning user and customer retention has never been more…

The COVID-19 Pandemic has accentuated the need for automation across most service and manufacturing industries and the automotive industry is no different. There are countless tedious repetitive, task laden manual processes within automotive sales and service that greatly benefit from automation and its best application is to make business processes…

Today's Environment

Do you ever get fed up with the chatbots that keep appearing on websites even after you have shut them down?  Well, many websites could use some chatbot best practices! That is just one of several things I find that need to be fixed on dealer websites to improve the consumer experience.

I don't know how many of you have gone and tried to navigate your dealer website. In many cases it is confusing and an absolute nightmare. It is…

A great article in CBT News cites that almost half of customers who state they are loyal to the selling dealer go elsewhere to service their vehicle. Only one-third of all vehicle services are performed at automotive dealerships. And we know brand loyalty and…

The latest and greatest digital shift since COVID-19 hit has reshaped the retail landscape faster than could have been imagined. It has brought new opportunities and challenges alike. Major retailers are closing physical storefronts and investing heavily in digital platforms with very…

Automation has become a key element of digital transformation.  This shift could replace nearly 70% of manual, repetitive tasks, according to a Brookings Institute Report. Automation, in fact, has been slowly transforming the…

Customer experience can make or break a dealership. It is a term often used when making marketing strategy plans, but is it front of mind for every dealership employee; especially those who communicate with customers directly? If your sales and BDC staff are relying on old school phone and internet techniques, it’s not. The language salespeople use with…

From sales to finance, and IT to marketing, workflow automation can liberate almost any departments from the burden of tedious manual processes. A workflow automation process begins with a clear objective and ends at process evaluation. I have already discussed the handful of ways in which dealers are already using automation so let’s take a look at how…

Kevin Systrom, one of the co-founders of Instagram attributes the creation of the powerhouse Photo Application and social network to a particular yet simple life event. He had chosen to study in Italy his Junior year of college, and a professor had replaced the state-of-the-art modern camera he had around his neck with the iconic but ultra-simple Holga…

One of the most popular metaphors in business is how leaders are the pilots of their organizations: in the driver's seat, handling turbulence, and getting employees and customers to their destination. This is an easy metaphor to apply to automation, especially since aviation’s adoption of automation follows a similar path as it does with the automotive…