News about the FIFA World Cup and rock-star soccer players have been making headlines lately. One of the hottest player’s of the moment is Cristiano Ronaldo, who’s not only an exceptional player but a major brand ambassador for big hitters like Nike. So, how can you brand your dealership like Ronaldo?

BE 2 PERSONAS

According to Nike, Ronaldo is known as two people: the superstar soccer player…

As Appeared in the June 2014 issue of Auto Dealer Monthly

Everyone knows how important the chain of command is in the military. But during battles, emergencies and other times of duress, it's not always possible to run decisions up and down the chain of command. This is why soldiers are empowered by something called the Commander's Intent. The military commander gives his leaders a clearly defined goal (the mission) and the forces needed to accomplish that goal, along…

This article was written by NCM Institute instructor, Steve Hall and originally published on the Up to Speed blog.

Do you have 60 seconds to gain a service customer? Let me restate that: Do you have a structured 60 seconds to gain this customer? Why the emphasis on…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBANY, N.Y. – June 16th, 2014 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today the integration of its dealership management system (DMS) with SMI's DriveService and DriveSales solutions. For auto dealers using both solutions, the integration ensures that customer information updated in the DMS will be updated in SMI's customer…

Unquestionably, the Internet has changed used vehicle shopping habits and as a result, many dealers have altered their manner of presenting and pricing pre-owned cars and trucks. Today’s successful used vehicle merchant recognizes the changed market realities and adapts accordingly. In order to ensure that our vehicle makes it to the prospect’s “short list,” we must have an aggressive, competitive pricing policy – but we must also have a sales process that effectively…

In case you weren’t aware, this week is Automotive Service Professionals week. Established in 2001 by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE), this week celebrates all of the men and women who have chosen automotive repair as their profession. Automotive Service Professionals week offers a great opportunity to recognize your service department…

This article was written by Mark Shackelford and was originally published on the Up to Speed blog.

Do you find yourself constantly concerned about retaining your employees and trying to hire the right people to take care of your customers?

There has been an awful lot of discussion about this topic and how to become better at your hiring…

Every single day salespeople come to work. They come with a purpose or an…

The key to achieving good ROI with social media and social marketing lies in the business understanding of how to correctly use CRM as a process and not just software. The secret is in their understanding of the R in CRM as a process for establishing meaningful relationships. The challenge however, is that as businesses seek out technical solutions as a means of automating…

25 Things Veteran Managers Need to Hear

(But don’t want to…)

In life, we all need someone to just tell us the hard truth.  Even when it’s something we really don’t want  to know.  Call it tough love, a reality check, or the ugly truth..  It is what it is.

My wife is talented…

The knowledge that dealership professionals possess is inadequate to do the job for which they are hired. These individuals receive the bare minimum training necessary for them to interact with clients during the in-dealership sales process and in most cases, no more. This approach to professional development is wreaking havoc on all of the other processes that…

This article appeared in the March 2014 issue of Auto Success magazine.

If your dealership consistently receives higher-than-average CSI scores, you may believe that a good percentage of your customers are happy and therefore loyal. But you may be wrong. Customer satisfaction and customer loyalty are two completely different…

"I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man."- Jay-Z

What most people don't realize is that even a living person can become a brand. This is a basic staple of advertising and sometimes it needs to be asked: what exactly is a brand? In a…

This article was written by Robin Cunningham of the NCM Institute and originally published on the Up to Speed blog.

At the NCM Institute we conduct our …

A recent Automotive News article covered the decrease in trained automotive service technicians graduating from vocational schools. Not only are the vocational schools producing fewer graduates in the automotive repair field, but the training they…

Process improvement programs from TQM, to EDGE, to EXCEL, to CEE & more…all these acronyms represent the manufacturers’ commitment to proactively impact the customer experience across their diverse distribution channels. The objective for all is the same; implement systems & processes that will equip their dealers with tools and strategies, which they will in…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBANY, N.Y. – May 19th, 2014 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today that Five Star Dealerships, an auto group in Aberdeen, WA has transformed its culture to one of managerial empowerment and has increased productivity with the help of reporting and dashboard features in Auto/Mate's dealership management system (DMS).

"Any time you make a big change like…

Millennials are extremely tech savvy. They are a different breed that will significantly affect the customer experience, the speed of change, and your dealership’s bottom line. So, it’s critically important to develop a plan not just to deal with the buyer but your internal customers as well.

Key Point #1: Millennials multitask, walk, talk, listen and…

In a heartbreaking video titled “The Importance of Appearances,” a social experiment unfolds that sets up the same scenario with two very different people. In the first scenario, we see a person dressed as a homeless man collapse in the middle of a busy sidewalk, as if he were ill, and begin to cry for help. The pedestrians look curiously, but continue to walk by the man as he lies there for over 5 minutes with no assistance. The second scenario shows the same incident, but the person is…

Whether you are a football fan or not, unless you have been living in a cave you have probably heard a lot about Johnny Manziel and Tim Tebow.  What Tebow and Manziel have in common is that both are former Heisman Trophy winning college quarterbacks.  What they both also have in common is that they are both very much hated and reviled by so many.

From the outside looking in, they are polar opposites in many ways. Tebow is publicly very religious and Manziel is not. Tebow is…