Small businesses, especially ones that operate locally or regionally, need to be on social media. I don’t think anyone disputes this anymore; it is so true that it has become axiomatic. The problem comes from businesses not knowing what to do once they’re on social media. We’ve published guides here and you can find hundreds (heck, probably thousands) of others…

ActivEngage was honored with another award earlier this week, the Tech 200. Each year, information services company Lead411 compiles a list of the top revenue-producing startups in technology. This year’s list ranks companies…

Brand You: Never Trash Your Competitors

So many of the things that are important are pretty darn simple-minded truisms. And I’ve 

spent the last 35 years of my life stating and re-stating, often in very high volumes, the

obvious.

And so, here goes another one: Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, regardless of the

circumstance, regardless of your personal experience, never…

Our industry and all businesses lost a great innovator and motivator on Wednesday with the passing of Zig Ziglar.Zig was one my "Motivational Mentors"and an individual who could change your thought process with one simple saying or quote.His first book,"SEE YOU AT THE TOP" was one of my first reads in my infancy in the automobile business in the mid-seventies.His simple approach to mental "cleanliness" and daily positive mental attitude helped shape my career and kept me on the right track…

It May Be Time To Kill Your Business Model Before Your Business Model Buries You

Think about this….How often do you readjust your business model? Unfortunately, there are some dealers that are still living off the same business model that they have had twenty years ago. Not to say this is a bad thing but tends to lead to missed opportunities.  

This raises a key leadership question: Why do leaders wait too long to modify or abandon their business models?…

They say timing is everything. In social media, quality of content is almost everything. The rest of it does come down to timing.

This is Part II of the series on timing. Please read…

Facebook makes us smile, shudder, squeeze into photographs so we can see ourselves online later, fret when no one responds to our witty remarks, snicker over who got fat after high school, pause during weddings to update our relationship status to Married or codify a break-up by setting our status back to Single.

- TIME, May ‘10

Source:…

Robert Gruen, CEO of Higher Gear Speaking At The Internet Sales 20 Group In Chicago On CRM Best Practices from Dealer Synergy on Vimeo.

Today, some excellent training from Steven Resell on how to research and write a blog post quickly.

We have have featured Steven several times on this site and while he is not one of the best known internet marketers out there, I have always considered him one of the best teachers.

In fact, I love the fact that he doesn’t come at you with all…

Welcome to Part 4 of a live dealership case study.  This is the final chapter of a 6 week project.  You can catch up by reading part 3and previous chapters as well.  In this chapter we will discuss what the dealership is now doing and what they have accomplished in the 6 weeks that I have spent working with…

Webinar on Tuesday, December 4^th, at 2 p.m. EST provides a crash course on the rules of compliant customer communications, including education on state and federal regulations

Daytona Beach, FL –November 28th, 2012 – DMEautomotive (DMEa), the science-inspired, results-based automotive marketing leader, announces its upcoming webinar hosted with WardsAuto on…

In the ever changing auto world, the one item that does and will always remain a constant is the necessity of quality people. This of course begs the question how do I get the most qualified and professional individuals?

Now don’t go beating yourself up looking for an answer to that question. Instead spend some time finding an answer to the following; why do I not have a file of qualified candidates to choose from already in my possession?

Does your reputation precede you? Do…

As a manager, and a business owner I am constantly amazed at how people hold themselves back.   One thing I noticed recently and I think is probably an epidemic in this country, is that people get very very caught up in their comfort zone.  I have developed a speech for these people and have had much success with it. ( especially sales managers)   Simply take your employee that is living in COMFORT and tell them that what you want them to do for the next 30 days is just focus on getting…

I just saw that Zig Ziglar has passed away.  My sincerest condolences to his family.  He was a great asset to the industry.

Most companies are paying to rank for some keywords, but many ignore their own brand name when setting up their pay per click (PPC) system. On the surface, this makes perfect sense. Why would you pay to rank for the one term you’re pretty much guaranteed results for? If your company name is fairly unique, you are going to be on the first page for a search of it, right?…

I absolutely love the video below. It isn't that it's so useful that people will love it; as used car buying tips go, it's rather light on real zingers or anything outside of common knowledge. It isn't the production quality; this is a well-made video, but nothing outstanding compared to other motion graphics.

The…

A Promise Made Should Always Be Kept

My office here at home faces the street and across the road I see two men building a home that is every bit 5000 square feet. Everyday no matter what the weather may be, the men brave the cold and the rain to accomplish the task of building the home. Yesterday I walked over to speak to the men…

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Zig Ziglar passed away today after a short bout of pneumonia. Physically he may have departed, yet his spirit will endure for generations to come.  No matter where we were spiritually, personally, or professionally, we could always be assured that Zig had an encouraging word for us-the appropriate quotes coming just when we needed them most. Steve…

Threatened by boll weevils and parched land, George Washington Carver set out to discover another crop that could be planted in the place of cotton; the lowly peanut was all he could come up with. Heeding his advice, peanuts were planted, yet no one knew what to do with the peanuts once they were harvested. Faced with the quandary, Carver smashed, cracked, and peeled…

Univision in English? Finally It Gets in Step With the Hispanic Market

Trends Show that Spanish Is Not the Best Way to Reach Most U.S. Latinos

It must not have been an easy decision for Univision, the Spanish-language media giant, to join ABC in creating an English-language TV network and digital…