In September 2015, AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson announced that AutoNation would discontinue selling any vehicles – new or used – with open recalls. This new policy includes not just those vehicles intended for retail, but also vehicles headed to wholesale buyers. The decision, while admittedly costly, is one that Jackson believes is the right decision as consumers buying…

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In an unprecedented move, AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson recently announced that AutoNation will no longer sell any vehicle with an open recall – new or used. According to Automotive News, this effectively grounds up to 10 percent of AutoNation’s…

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 Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success! Henry Ford…

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April 1, 2014

Mike's Picks and Commentary

FREE Stuff!



Happy April Fools Day! No joke, but I've found a few "freebies" you'll want to take advantage of right here on DeallerELITE. Who doesn't like free stuff?…

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I had the great pleasure of being part of the AutoCON team this year for the first annual event. It was held at the Aria hotel and casino in Las Vegas earlier this September. During the conference, I was able to see all my automotive heroes speak and they all inspired me to become even better. Some of them…

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Many months ago I hired a BDC rep who proved to be one of the best I've ever had. Her name is Trish Keller, and is a dE member. She possessed very good writing and communication skills, a great personality, and excellent phone skills. But that later changed when she was plagued by something unforeseen and debilitating.

You see, Trish had woken up one day, before we ever met, with a tingling sensation in her left arm. The next day it was completely numb. She since had multiple…

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Glynn Rodean

Mike Schuett…

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Before the Internet, automotive dealers had more control of the customer. The only place customers could go for pricing information was the dealership. Now of course they could ask their automotive expert friend or uncle, but they really had no idea how pricing really worked in the automotive industry.

Today with the Internet, and sites that provide invoice pricing customers are more informed then they have ever been. The carmakers also have sites to provide customers will all kinds…

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"Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein

 

"Practice: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting BETTER results." -  Mike…

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How to uncover the real objection in a car deal?

That’s the question isn’t it! You have done the road to the sale; you have taken a look at their old car. Your customer loves the new car and just won’t sign. You have followed them up and the customer isn’t calling you back. Now what should you do?

You take it to the next level, you have the manager speak to them, and you even call them every day for a week, still nothing. What is the next step?

 …

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The biggest mistake salespeople, sales managers and BDC staff make is that they let notes in their CRM or on paper convince them not to call customers back. As I always say you need to get the consumer out of you before you make the call. Someone is going to be sold and the question is who. How can you expect to re-motivate customers to visit the dealership if you are not convinced when you call them. The question is are you selling them or are they selling you?…

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The customer has been in your dealership; as usual your team could not for whatever reason sell them a vehicle. In 80% of cases this is the reality right?

The next step for most Salespeople, Sales Manager and BDC representatives is to offer the customer a better deal, a better trade in value etc. The problem with this game plan is in most cases it's not enough to motivate the customer to come back to the store. In addition if it is you and I both know the discount is a starting point…

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When I first started working in the industry over 25 years ago now, I always asked this question. We know that customers "Hate Buying Cars" for the most part. We also know that like visiting a dentist, lawyer, or doctors office they would not be in a store unless they were servicing their car or needed a new or used vehicle.

So the question is why is it that customers who visit the showroom don't buy cars?…

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The BDC experts Proactive Dealer Solutions doesn’t need to tell you that you deal with challenges every single day at your dealership. The question isn’t if the question is how do you deal with what we like to call “challenging opportunities” when they occur.

What not to do:…

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Hey dE! I don't get to blog much since I'm always working on making dE the best website ever, but since I'm working my 3rd 8:30-9er, I figured I can spare a few minutes.

 

I was sitting here doing my work as usual when hunger struck. Was thinking a Snickers bar would do the trick. So I got up to walk to the vending machine. Mind you, I love Snickers! So I got out my dollar bill and saw…

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Or QR?

 

As I was working on dealerELITE the other night, something occurred to me while playing with QR Codes... why do some technologies fail, and others prosper? Do we as a consumer/user have something to do with…

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I’m often asked “what makes an Internet department successful”? To be honest, I’ve never been able to directly answer that question with a simple answer because so much must be considered when it comes to defining the steps that lead to success. One thing is for certain in my mind: there are two basic doctrines involved when it comes to starting an internet department. The first one allows technology to do the steps needed to make more sales. The second embraces technology to assist in a… Continue