There are many people in this world who would rather do time than to update the Apps on their tablet or smartphone. The conspiracy theorist in many of us feel if we elect to hit the Update All button, life as we know it will all come crashing down…and they couldn’t be more right. We may be dogmatic in working to protect our…

Let's face it. Facebook (and Google+) love pictures. It ranks at the top of the news feed food chain above text posts, videos, and links. It's the primary reason that many people visit Facebook in the first place. They want to see pictures of little Timmy sliding into third base, the places that their friends and family are…

As social signals continue to rise in prominence when it comes to search engine rankings, there has been a revival in the need for retweets. Google and Bing are assigning a certain level of importance on the sheer organic numbers that are gained when it comes to social sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Google+, and Twitter is the…

It's the Christmas season and Santa Claus is everywhere you look. It's also the time of year to reflect on the year past and look forward and plan the new year. Santa Claus is a great sales model in both cases.

First of all, Santa Claus rewards you based upon the past year. If you were a good boy or girl you get rewarded. Ask yourself if you were a good boy or girl…

This is a story about a phone call I received several months ago from a service director who had recently attended our NCM^® Institute class, Principles of Service Management I. Although not her real name, I’m going to call her “Debbie” throughout the…

The most trusted name in live chat brings the top ten blogs and news stories right to you! We monitor industry trends, current events, and the auto dealer community every week to bring you the top ten blogs and stories from around the globe. In this weekly edition –…

Like Y2K and Twilight: Breaking Dawn before it, the Mayan Apocalypse has thus far failed to bring about the end of the world. The solar flares didn’t fry us, the meteor didn’t send us the way of the dinosaurs, and Cthulhu remains slumbering his ancient slumber in the abyss. This surprising survival on the part of the human race has left many people asking, “What now?” Well, don’t…

The Handy Family of Dealerships has been around for quite some time. Established in 1952, Handy Automotive actually started out as Handy Truck and Trailer, a tractor trailer dealership. From this investment they were able to open John Deere farm equipment dealerships in Highgate Vermont. With time, they turned that dealership…

I had thought the days were behind us. Call it a hope, but I believed that the majority of businesses who were active on social media had pushed beyond the plague that once filled our feeds - the worthless post. I was wrong.

It was while auditing an…

 Business person reputation branding within team synergy will not only prove to brand the entire business better than ever, it will be the single most significant asset going forward in sales, service, every department, marketing, prospecting, communication, relationship, and retention world of every dealership business.

The Goal is '10'

Without a…

I had the pleasure of watching a very informative webinar last night that really brought home the importance of having a robust dealership presence online.

I truly enjoy studying the shift in advertising from the traditional way of doing business to the modern way of doing…

We teach,closing, if i could would you, build value, demo demo demo!, Well they are going to take what they are told and apply it in the least painful way for them. We need to make sure that they are well rounded and skilled at all of the steps in the sale not just certain sections. The rah rah meetings are not building skills.....and Skills make the dealership profit, Good CSI, and make life much easier for them and us!

Most of them are good people who really try hard, but in…

In light of recent developments, it seems that local Marketing Using Facebook is only going to keep gaining significance, so how can other services keep themselves relevant?

You may remember earlier this week, we wrote about Facebook announcing …

I just wanted to invite you all to join my new Automotive Marketing Community on Google+

This will be a place for folks to share ideas on Google+ for how they've been creative connecting with customers.

In January we'll be running a contest for the most creative ways Dealer's have had success with marketing. The top 3 winners will win a FREE month of AutoCapture ($399 Value).

Join today at …

After seeing the tremendous success that my last series of blogs "Transforming the Dealership" has brought in terms of visibility and feedback I have decided to start a new series to focus strictly on the BDC.  As a dealership trainer and consultant I am sure having an amazing fall and winter season this year because I am working with dealerships on extended full time projects.  I am talking about wrapping up my sleeves, putting in the hours, creating magic, and not…

I knew this was coming, Video trumps everything!

Having already ticked off many users in late 2012 with photo-licensing changes, sharing limitations, and an end to policy voting, Facebook plans to insert video ads into users’ News Feeds in 2013, according to a report.

Facebook plans to unveil 15-second video ads by April…

Is Bad Advice Costing You Money?

Watch this message on how to avoid Bad Advice.

Ed & Lon Safko Speak To Social Media For Auto Dealerships from Lon Safko on Vimeo.

If you've been in the business for a few years, you have plenty of stories to share with customers.  The best of the best combine their sales skill, product knowledge, and the ability to tell a good story.  People relate to a good emotional story, a similar situation that happened with one of your customers etc.   When I'm in a client store and take a turn for a sales person, I have about 30 seconds to get rapport with the customer.  I always start out with a good story instead of…