All Blog Posts (12,628)

Internet Leads vs. Trigger Leads

With all of the new technology and cutting edge techniques of marketing it’s important to be ahead of the game and have the latest and greatest advertising plan in place, but it’s also important to spend your budget wisely. Most people are usually divided when it comes to making a decision on how to spend those advertising dollars, which leads me to the topic of this discussion…which do you prefer, Internet Leads or Trigger Leads?

The popularity of Trigger Leads has rapidly increased…

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Added by Jennifer Moore on March 2, 2011 at 11:36am — 2 Comments

Warranty Labor Rate

Your effective labor rate for customer pay service work is variable and certainly differs from your posted "door" rate. Your warranty labor rate is fixed for at least one year and normally increases after a labor rate review. Your single biggest customer pays a fixed dollar amount for every single labor hour you charge them, yet you continue to attempt to manage a variable rate for every other customer, while you overlook… Continue

Added by Christopher Akin on March 2, 2011 at 11:35am — No Comments

I Walked A Mile in Their Shoes…….

I did it, I actually did it, I leased a new car on-line. Why is this so amazing? Here is a little background on me:

- Age 16, lot attendant (1967 Camaro, private party)

- Age 22, Salesperson (1987 Suburban, private party)

- Age 24 Sales Manager (Demo)

- Age 28 General Manager (Demo)

- Age 30 Chevrolet Dealer (Demo)

- Age 37 Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge dealer (Demo)

- Age 44 Consultant…

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Added by Kip Miles on March 2, 2011 at 9:03am — 9 Comments

"You are the most important person employed in our free enterprise system."

I am Jackie Daniel Cooper, “Danny Boy”, to my Dad and Family. My vocation has been the retail automobile business since Dad gave me the opportunity to shine shoes at the dealership he operated, Easterby Dodge in 1963, Greenville, SC. Originally my business plan at 6 years of age was to shine the shoes of my Daddy’s salespeople … I realized early on they were better…

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Added by MANNY LUNA on March 1, 2011 at 11:30pm — No Comments

The Car Dealership Kingdom: Are You a Hunter or a Farmer?

BDC: Turning Digital Automotive Leads into a Lucrative Customer Base

Richard Rikess, Certified Performance Improvement Consultant for ADP Digital Marketing

You’ve invested in a great new…

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Added by The Cobalt Group on March 1, 2011 at 3:16pm — No Comments

Digital Dealer Early Bird Registration Extended Until Friday 3/4!

Hi DealerElite members!

Congratulations on hitting the 5,000 member milestone! I'm sure that's just the beginning.

A quick note to let everyone know that early-bird registration for the 10th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition has been extended until Friday, March 4, 2011. I promise this will be the last extension of that rate so make sure to register before Friday to…

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Added by Arnold Tijerina on March 1, 2011 at 1:00pm — No Comments

Calling All Fixed Operations Managers

Is it possible to increase online service appointments by 300%? I didn't think so but I found out that you can by making some simple changes to your existing website!

Can you increase total service appointments by 10-15% with an inexpensive change to your website? Yes you can.

What would your service business and profits look like if you achieved…

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Added by Brian Pasch on March 1, 2011 at 8:50am — No Comments

Auto sales may approach ‘clunkers' highs as U.S. rebounds- Bloomberg reports

Great news! See the whole article:

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110228/RETAIL01/110229868/1489

Added by Kip Miles on February 28, 2011 at 5:53pm — 1 Comment

Focus on the Goal in Your Dealership's SEM

What’s your ultimate goal in running a search engine marketing campaign for your car dealership? To get more clicks on your ads? To lower your cost per click and get the most for your money? To get more conversions when people fill out forms to get a quote? All of these things work step by step closer to your ultimate goal: to sell more cars. That’s what it comes down to.

An…

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Added by Paul Potratz on February 28, 2011 at 5:00pm — No Comments

Volume or Gross?

After a decade in the automotive business, I've heard mixed emotions about which is more important. Now obviously, they both are. What am I talking about? VOLUME or GROSS!

It comes down to 3…

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Added by Mike Myers on February 28, 2011 at 10:30am — 30 Comments

Part 1 – What Social Media Agencies Don’t tell you – The perils of running competitions on Facebook

Social Media Marketing that typical agencies don’t often talk about or let’s say ignore conveniently. Because, Social Media is a new canvas and experiments are always happening, it is fair for us to assume things but there are certain times when you need to understand what the guidelines are.

You disagree or not – it’s a fact that when brands embrace social media, they’re taking a huge risk putting all of their valuables out there in the open.

Good social…

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Added by MANNY LUNA on February 28, 2011 at 4:38am — 1 Comment

John at Bestautopros FB Page

For daily jolts of automotive recruiting & service sales training information.

Please "Like" my FB Page http://tinyurl.com/64tgvjb

The Automotive Economy Is Improving, GREAT PEOPLE are in demand and I can help you in your quest to find the best!

Added by John J. Dillon Jr. on February 27, 2011 at 2:52pm — No Comments

5 Steps to Make an Unhappy Customer Happy Again

We’ve all heard the basic rules of customer service. But they deserve repeating before we discuss how to resolve a customer complaint.

___

Rule #1: The customer is always right.

Rule #2: If the customer is ever wrong, reread Rule…

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Added by MANNY LUNA on February 27, 2011 at 12:39am — 2 Comments

Go to the next level now

I am thankful to have had the opportunity to work at my past location for five years. That opportunity allowed me creative freedom to make a substantial difference in the betterment of the automotive industry.

Although I finished 2010 with an 87.8% retention rate; which happened to be the highest first year retention in the entire Nation for the Nissan Corporation, I realized several months ago that I had taken the store as far as I was able to take it.

In those 5…

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Added by Ryan C Hall on February 26, 2011 at 3:00pm — No Comments

CarMax Gets The Star Treatment For Their Adwords Campaign

Recently one of my clients asked me how he can get his Google Adwords listings to include the review counts as shown above for AutoPartsWarehouse.com. I wanted to write a post to make a distinction between Google Seller Rating (shown above) and the newly released Google Boost. Google Adwords should be a part of all dealer's…

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Added by Brian Pasch on February 26, 2011 at 8:00am — No Comments

“If I've got correct goals, and if I keep pursuing them the best way I know how, everything else falls into line. If I do the right thing right, I'm going to succeed.”

Each day as you wake up, make the decision to strive to do what's right.

Approach your life…

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Added by MANNY LUNA on February 25, 2011 at 11:44pm — 1 Comment

Fuel Cost Comparison Close

Now, more than ever, is the time to use the Fuel Cost Comparison Close. The best calculator we could find online is

http://www.carlocate.com/AutoTools.aspx

Today we closed two customer's who wanted to take the numbers home and "crunch them". In one example, the calculator showed the customer saving $115 per month in fuel savings. The customer was hung up on paying $35 per month more than they budgeted…

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Added by Brett Corcoran on February 25, 2011 at 5:16pm — No Comments

Today is number 56. There are 309 days left in this year.

It’s the end of February. Are you happy with the results you achieved this month? Is your year on track to be better than last year? Are you concerned or content? Lets review 3 possible answers and see which one fits you.

For you the month of February in the Service Department was Great! You hit the Goals you set for HPRO, EFL and Profit Margins! Your CSI has never been better! Overall, you could not have done any more. Congrats! And, March looks like it is going to take off as well!… Continue

Added by Leonard Buchholz on February 25, 2011 at 1:00pm — No Comments

How much do you really know about your shoppers?

80 % of car buyers research online before buying and online advertising is expected to grow at least by 20 % each year. Rich Media doubles conversion rates and triples click through rates. Rich media sources like a video is 181 % more affective than a banner ad. These are only a few statistics and in my mind tells you where your head should be in the game, How much do you really know about you internet shoppers? How long does the average internet auto shopper client shop? Up to a year from… Continue

Added by Lizelle Landino on February 25, 2011 at 11:22am — No Comments

Automotive Leasing to grow?

This is great news indeed, especially for this Dealers who Manage their Social Media; 80% of Americans trust what they read in Social Media, 18% trust what they read in advertising

Gen Y is not interested in the 'old model' of 'owning' a vehicle, they realize it is a highly depreciating item that is more lifestyle appliance than a lifestyle statement.

Great Article from AN:…

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Added by Kip Miles on February 25, 2011 at 9:40am — No Comments