Sucker Punch

When I arrived in Atlanta in 1982 with my mattresses tied to the roof of my 'buy here- pay here car', you might say I was 'street tough' and 'world wise'... certainly not the warm and fuzzy, cuddly, kinder gentler Ziegler you've all grown to know and love. I used to say we couldn't have a class reunion till all of my friends got out of…

CarChat24 will provide hosted Free Advanced Auto Dealer Chat Software for (“All Car Dealer’s NEW or Used”) after final Beta testing. Expected release in late January to early February. Hosted Advanced Chat software designed for Car Dealers FREE!

Anyone interested in this always free version should go to the appropriate URL below to register. Once we launch we will send…

Now that Google+ is open to businesses, many are trying to figure out the best way to utilize this new social media portal (including DealerOn).  I’ve gathered some of the more common mistakes that businesses are making to shorten the learning curve for auto dealerships.

Like all other social media sites, not posting on a…

Making the decision to have auto dealer chat on your website is considered by many successful dealers to be a great one. It enables you to interact with your website traffic and get a feel for what your customers are looking for. It isn’t enough to just have the software on your website, however. In order to generate high quality car sales leads, you have to know how to use auto dealer chat.

 

First and foremost you have got to have a website. This seems…

As 2011 quickly comes to a close, I've been taking stock of my year and making plans for 2012. Without going into personal details, 2011 was a difficult year for me both personally and professionally as I was left feeling underwhelmed in many-a-situations. 

 

If you don't know me, CarChat24 is only one of the businesses that I do social media for. I also write for a blog related to Autism, and assist a Life Coach with her daily needs. Plus, I have a day job in which I…

Jim,

I couldn't agree more!!! The business model True Car,Zag and others like them operate under is flawed because the only person that truly wins is them.

Does the customer win?... No because the dealers have to post a price hundreds, if not thousands below what we pay for the car to get the consumer and then we either have to eat that loss or figure out a creative way to get back to profitability. In my opinion not the smooth customer experience they…

Groundbreaking program dramatically expands the number of vehicles eligible for certification and increases consumer confidence and purchase protection  

Venice, CA  --  Mota Motors…

For many years consumers have been complaining about the buying experience at the local dealership and have often compared the experience to pulling teeth without the benefit of a painkiller. However, in the post internet era where easy access to information has changed the way that vehicles are bought and sold, consumers have expanded the radius for what they consider their local dealership to include those within the length of time they are willing to travel to avoid the hassle and to get…

Recently I saw a customer come into the dealership for service. This person was traveling to deliver dogs around the country in his diesel pickup truck. The trailer had 22 dogs on it as he pulled in for service because the engine was running rough and he could not continue. The time of this visit was around three in the afternoon. My truck is running poorly and I need help. The manager stated well at this time he would not get going today but he would have some idea of diagnosis. He…

Good morning,

I have another article I wanted to share today. It’s all about making sure your customers are coming back to your dealership after the initial sale. Oftentimes, customers will make a purchase, and you won’t see them again for a while, if not ever again.

While the majority of my time is now spent trianing new salespeople, I still get to work with experienced teams on occassion.  I enjoy this break, especially during this time of year.  It's always easy to get new people to set high goals becasue they're still excited about their new career and want to make a great impression.  Getting veterans to set goals is more like trying to get a college student to be done with a major paper BEFORE the night before!

As an expert in human personal…

http://www.twitter.com/karinabradley…

More and more we are finally seeing dealers slip away from the stereotypical cliché of what a “car salesman” should be or look like…

… And what a better world that is!…

Let's face it. In the real world, big corporations have an advantage. They have more money for national television ads. They have armies of people marketing and advertising their products and services. They have name recognition and branding. None of this matters (as much) on the web.

The internet gives a venue for small businesses to have more equal footing with the larger…

BlogHer.com and J D Power asked both men and women to describe their range of emotions while going through the automotive purchasing cycle.  Both genders listed “excited” as the primary emotion with men at 71% and women at 74%. Women were also more nervous (53%) during the process than men (42%) and less confident (30%) than men (37%).

However, when we filtered the same question results through those who had used either blogs or social networks to help with car information prior to…

1) No Dealer shall allow access by any Vendor to their business data (DMS, CRM, etc.) without restrictions to specific data needed and on the use of such data by the Vendor for only providing a clear and very strong business advantage to the Dealer.…

I decided to write this post after a comment I left on my Facebook Profile, it stated:

The Law Of Profitable Returns: As long as the value of your goods and services exceeds what was paid for them, then the profit received will always…