You keep hearing that dealers are making good profits in Buy Here Pay Here. You have decided that you would like to pursue the business. What is your next step? After all you may have been in the car business for years. You understand buying and selling cars. You know how to run a compliant Finance Department and a profitable shop. Isn’t BHPH or LHPH just other ways of financing cars?

The answer is not as simple as it might seem. A BHPH or LHPH operation takes…

A common lament in retail automotive dealerships around the country is that finding and keeping good employees is a real challenge. I will go even further to say that most employers, regardless of industry, probably aren’t satisfied with their hiring results. We’ve all heard the saying, ”If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten,” and my guess is this is the reason most employers continue to be confounded in this area. I heard…

I’ve started hearing the second worst advice coming from social media “experts” that I’ve ever heard. It’s just a notch above “buy thousands of fans and followers” on the social media advice scale.

If someone tells you to “be sure to post something X-times a day on social media even if you have to throw something up.”

I know…

I think we can all agree, good communication is key to healthy personal relationships.  Its no different when it comes to relationships between a dealership and their customers.  A good example, sales professionals who stay in contact and effectively communicate with their customers during and especially after the sale will always be the top performers.  By staying connected, they are building long-term relationships which will result in future benefits.  For the sales professional, those…

The Universe Made Car Sales People And This Is Who We Are!

 

I am proud to be a salesman, because more than any…

There’s always a risk when it comes to aggressive advertising and marketing that many are unwilling to take. On television, radio, search, and display ads, there will be those who do not appreciate what you’re putting in front of them. On social, this is greatly amplified because people have the ability to respond.

It is nearly impossible to post…

“How about a magic trick? I’m gonna make this keyword disappear.”

*SMASH*

“TA DAA! It’s…It’s gone.”

The famous scene from The Dark Knight applies very nicely to black hat search engine optimization tricks today. Those who are still trying to “beat the system”…

How would you rate the skill sets of the sales staff at your dealership? Let’s review a few of those skill sets:

• Phone skills — taking inbound calls and making outbound calls

• Follow-up skills — Following up sold and unsold customers with an organized game plan utilizing multiple streams of follow-up methods

• Marketing — Utilizing a planned and sequenced marketing campaign utilizing multiple media methods for low- to no…

Fact #1: February 6, 2013, I phoned and made an appointment at local chain aftermarket shop for my bride to bring her car in Saturday, February 9th, 2013 at 9:00 a.m. for an oil change and tire rotation.

Fact…

This article was written by NCMi Instructor, Steve Hall.

Being an instructor at the NCM Institute has some definite advantages. I am blessed with an abundance of information, from all levels of the dealership. Week by week, we get to interact with owners, general managers and department managers. Not only do we share our information and best practices, but listen and learn about what is going on in your…

When putting together strategies and making adjustments (and the occasional complete overhaul) of social media pages, processes, and content, there’s nothing better than to get a client truly “plugged in” to the social media world. There’s an excitement that surrounds it, particularly after a couple of weeks when the results…

California recently joined New York in requiring that all sales commission pay plans be in writing. This may seem like common sense since many dealers realize that from a legal and practical standpoint, all commission agreements should be in writing whether it’s required or not.

Even if you already utilize written pay plans, the questions are how well are they…

On November 19, 2005, a day after having surgery, I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma cancer. I would compare receiving the news to going to the dentist and being numbed. However, this numbed my whole body. For 20 minutes I rushed through all kinds of thoughts and emotions – shock, anger, “why me?” questions, sadness.

After the 20 minutes, I made a big decision. I decided to live. I decided that all of the emotions and thoughts I was experiencing were not supporting…