Black Book, a leading provider of electronic data and insight to the automotive industry, today announced the appointment of Chris du Toit to vice president, Product Management. The announcement was made by Tom Cross, president of Black Book, and the appointment is effective immediately.



In this newly created role, du Toit has responsibility for leading product strategy and product management for all Black Book product offerings. du Toit will focus on enhancing existing products as…

(I originally posted this on LinkedIn; thus the first few paragraphs were intended for those readers who might not enjoy working with and in car dealerships the way those of us on DealerElite do.) 

Before diving into this topic, I want the readers to understand why dealerships are so near and dear to my heart. While it’s true that I…

One of the biggest lessons I learned when working at the dealership was that you can't do the same things on the phone or in chat that you would do when you're talking to a person face-to-face. We often discuss controlling the transaction and leading our customers down the right path, but if they're not in front of you, the control-factor is often…

Mistakes Businesses Make With Internet Marketing

With all the information out there, it is not surprising that people make mistakes when they are trying to put together a marketing plan online. In fact, some people think they're doing the right thing, and feel discouraged when the…

Cars.com Employee Responds To The Internet Sales 20 Group Invite...

Unfortunately, Chip Withrow responded to the Video Invite to set the record straight for 200+ dealers at the Internet Sales 20 Group in New York May 18-20 

I don't think that AutoTrader.com and Cars.com will respond. Why? You said you were looking for responses from lead providers…

Credit Card Brand Rate Changes Effective April 2015

Typically, if the card brands are going to make any rate adjustments they will do so in either April…

Google has come up with a new factor to include when calculating rank and this time it has nothing to do with mobile. On this week's Hard Facts, see what your company needs to be doing to stay on top.

Reputation management has been around for longer than the internet. It's not new. In the past, it's been considered public relations, branding, customer service, word of mouth; the list of different components associated with old school reputation management is huge.

In the automotive industry, it's become a buzzword that encompasses all of these things to…

Introducing the new Black Book Market Insights, a weekly report capturing the latest vehicle valuation trends straight from the auction lanes and reported as it happens by Black Book’s team of editors. The data, trends and insights delivered weekly in this report will help you make the right decisions to identify growth opportunities and maximize profit potential. This week is the second issue, covering the latest trends and data impacting the automotive industry here in late…

     As I shined my shoes for work this morning I reflected on the many pairs of shoes I have shined preparing for a day's work on the car lot. The many different styles and brands of shoes I have been through. I reflected on the many things I have witnessed in all those pairs of shoes. The many lessons I have learned.

The many people I have met in those shoes. The many different personalities and faces.

The many deals I have sold, penciled, or closed.…

A recently published white paper covered yesterday in Automotive News titled, “How to Convert Used-Car Shoppers to Buyers,” draws a bold conclusion that flies in the face of traditional used-car merchandising dogma.  That is, the study found ‘nine’ to be the optimal number of used vehicle photos, and that cars…

http://www.internetsales20group.com 856-546-2440 

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Dealer Elite Partners With The Internet Sales 20 Group 7 In New York & Chris Saraceno Is A Featured Speaker!  

http://www.InternetSales20Group.com 856-546-2440

Make Money Mondays with Sean V. Bradley - Automotive Sales is a Six Figure Job

If you want to be successful in the Automotive Sales industry and generate six figures per year… you need to work hard, work smartly and be…

BY: Dave Benson



Which Step In The Road To The Sale Is MOST Important?  

At many of my workshops, I ask this question… Which Step In The Road To The Sale Is MOST Important?  

Many say the close, many the meet and greet and needs analysis, and many say the presentation and demonstration. Everyone having good reason why their pick is the right answer.  

So what’s the RIGHT answer?  

Hi I’m Dave Benson from Reaching Your Potential, and in this episode of…

I learned something very important this week. Everyone who has the automotive industry in their blood is a "car guy". It has nothing to do with your gender. In the 21st century, most gender roles are meaningless, even in our industry.

We've had the pleasure of hiring two of the best car guys in the industry in the past year. Last year (almost to the day) we…

Salesperson%20Activities%20Tracker_v2.pdf

You cannot manage results; you can only manage activities. When activities are habitually performed and flawlessly executed, the results take care of themselves!

Sound activity-management requires that you do the following:

• Develop, document, and implement the processes that are critical to…

My primary goal as a PR Professional is to assist my clients in achieving the most exposure possible and build top-of-mind brand awareness among their potential customers, namely auto dealers. To help better understand how to best position my clients for success, last year, I did a little research into how dealers perceive vendors and their practices.

I…

MUNICH (Reuters) -- BMW may surrender its position as the No. 1 global premium brand by unit sales to rival Audi, although it will retain the title if sales of Mini are included, CEO Norbert Reithofer said.

"We would like to remain leading premium automaker, also in terms of volume," Reithofer told journalists today at the company's annual results conference in Munich.

However a push by…

As I approach the completion of my first full year on the vendor side of the car business after spending the previous several years at dealerships, I can say with a certainty that the timing could not have been better. It has nothing to do with me. My circumstance happened the way it was supposed to happen and I'm thankful for that.

The reason that the timing…

As website communication tools go, chat has grown at the fastest rate of adoption on car dealer websites for years. It’s not new, but more dealers are embracing what chat can do for them to engage with people visiting their website.

There are two primary reasons that it wasn’t a fad that died away like so many other website addons over the years. First, it is…