Today I was asked to answer this question, and it got me thinking... maybe you guys would like to give your input as well..

If someone is described as having a great "work ethic", what qualities, characteristics, or specific actions do you expect that person to exhibit?

Is Your Inner Voice Mouthing Off?

How to quiet your negativity script.

Core negative beliefs keep us stuck, frustrated—and often fat.…

The phone is still the strongest weapon for a sales person in their arsenal, and sales people need to use their sales skills to make the most of every phone call with a customer.

Answering a Phone Up/Lead

When you have an incoming call coming in, or also known in the car business as a phone up, you need to know how to capitalize on them.  When the customer is calling you on a specific product you have or offer they can be…

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, but the road to success is paved with a good plan. Many people wrongly confuse intentions with a plan. Both are needed for success, but on different planes. It takes intentions to form the mental attitude, but it takes a plan to bring your intentions to reality. An intention without a plan is like having a Lamborghini…

You can listen to (or download) the podcast here: AutoSuccess: The Podcast

Hope you enjoy it.

Have a great weekend!!!

For me, training camp is everday 365 days a year, always was, always will be. You cannot  afford to miss the oppurtunity for self development. In Life it means getting yourself ready for what you want to do to find the success you're looking for Find and Focus, Identify your goals and then create the plan.When my day ends the first thing I do is review and then make a plan for the next day . Everyday I train I tell my class , that having the ability to precisely defone the goals  and create…

In 1982 I had the biggest blessing ever in the car business.  "Bruce" hired me as a sales person.  Bruce was the GM of a small Ford store in NJ and I was still finding my way around the business.  All I knew for sure was that I wanted to be a sales manager.  At that time, I couldn't tell a good one from a bad one but I still wanted to be one. …

Office Management is compiling all of the numbers to generate Service Management commissions over the next couple of days.  There are factors that you control as an ongoing basis...there are others that you do not address until after the fact.  Did your Warranty Administrator submit for the maximum allowable dollars (100%) vs. their peer indexes this month?  How much is being applied to your policy adjustment account because of claim non-payment or claim debit? 

In Fixed Operations,…

First of all, Happy Labor Day weekend to everyone!

Now…..why are so many of you “laboring” so hard out there?

Why is it that so many managers today have to do more with less, and get better results from limited resources, more than ever…

Within the past year, Maryland has been hit by an earthquake and a hurricane (in the same week!), as well as a huge snowstorm, all fairly uncommon occurrences in our state.  While DealerOn, both the office and our employees, were lucky enough to dodge any real damage, it definitely made us all think about how prepared we are for these kinds of emergencies.

DealerOn had enough warning before Hurricane Irene (and dodged…

I've been seeing a lot of posts lately about upcoming fall conferences and events. These posts are typically not altruistic. They're written by people with vested interests in specific events, whether that's because they're a speaker or they're the host. Now it's our turn.

For people interested in learning and are considering attending one of these events and aren't sure which to attend, I've created a graphic comparison of the three events specifically being held in October 2011 that…

When we all first started our careers in the automotive business, we began to learn the basics of our jobs.

We all learned different skills such as, greetings, fact finding, product knowledge, the steps to a sale, word tracks, phone skills, prospecting and networking skills, closing skills, follow up skills and so on.

We all got better…

By Todd Vowell, CEO, Buy Mail Direct Inc

Every now and then, you have one of those conversations that just "effects" you in ways you can't explain.  In the past 30 years, I have talked with at least 10,000 Car Dealers, GM's, and GSM's. But for some reason, some conversations just grab you in ways it…

Here is a question for Service Managers and/or Fixed Operations Directors:  How much time do you spend reviewing your warranty department on a daily basis?  If you are performing the tasks and duties that are the responsibility of your warranty administrator, then you need to re-evaluate who you have in that position.  Are you simply assisting with those duties?  Have you placed too many other tasks upon your warranty administrator?  (i.e. cashiering, phone operator, service drive assistant,…

The essence of escapism, True entertainment movie of the 70’s, Jaws, of the 80’s Top Gun. Rock groups like Aerosmith, AC/DC, Rush, U2. They have the ability to appeal to people decade in and decade out.

People can watch these movies and listen to these bands with passion, like time has the ability to stand…

I believe dealers need to look very hard at who is extracting data from their DMS systems. There are a lot of vendors out there today that will visit a dealer with the idea of sending zip code driven leads to the dealer and the payment for the lead is made after the vehicle sells. In theory, this makes perfect sense, except for one little hiccup. In order to match the lead and the vehicle sold the vendor requests access to the dealership's sales data in the…

In the Wizard of OZ, when Dorothy and the gang get to the gates of the Emerald City, they don’t have an easy time of getting down to business – the gatekeeper saw his job as keeping people out – not welcoming them in.  Personally, when I take my vehicles in for service, I appreciate being greeted right away, in the parking lot, at…

I am a vertically enhanced female which I normally see as a benefit, except when I am trying to buy clothing.  Most of the clothing options for women do not come with a choice for inseam or length.  This often leaves me in the dressing room wondering if I can pull of this dress being too short or do these jeans look like capris or a fashion faux pas.  I am stuck in a world in which one-height-fits-all…

For most organizations…the process of interviewing…hiring…and training a new employee…doesn’t last long…

Most organizations feel that they have hired a competent individual…and the individual will inspire themselves to learn and grow…

The sad part is…organizations expect ALL employees to come out of a pretty little gift-wrapped…