Hello Dealer Elite Members......

It looks like Auto Trader needs money much like Facebook did a while ago, and you know how that has gone so far!

As I travel around the country ans work with dealers on maximizing leads, traffic and driving more sales I have noticed more and more that dealerships are looking for "FREE" or low cost ways to promote their vehicles. Sites like Craigs's List and kijiji (Ebay), are currently changing the online marketing…

A lot of dealerships think they are saving money by taking a good sales rep and making him/her a manager and not training them . The pay plans have shrunk for managers over the past year as well . The idea of paying people less and expecting more is a bad choice ranging from managers to internet people . 

 A planed sales training meeting  should be done every day . Very few meetings have the hooting , clapping and hollering any more compared to years ago…

Just in case you missed the recent announcement, from the Google Adwords console, car dealers can now target Mobile Apps as part of their paid display advertising campaigns.  

Google's purchase of AdMob in 2009 gave them access to AdMob's network of over 300,000 mobile apps.  The app categories that can be targeted are part of Google's Play and Apple's App…

It’s easy to become distracted by information junk food at work – especially when your work is the Internet. Last Friday I found myself passing the time at ActivEngage by watching an endless Youtube stream of “Call Me Maybe” mashups. My eyes glazed over as I counted down the minutes until I was free for the weekend. Suddenly I felt my…

Today, a good friend and associate Karry Moore passed away after a brave fight with Cancer at the age of 40.  

Karry Moore (left) and AJ LeBlanc (right) were co-founders of Car-Mercial, a company that serves the automotive industry with cutting edge video marketing and SEO solutions.

I spoke with Karry recently and his passion for…

Last night, AutoTrader filed registration papers with the Securities Exchange Commission to go public. The IPO is slated to start at around $300 million, and will be used to pay off debts, according to AutoTrader.

The company did not indicate how many shares (they will be common stock) or at what price they will be offered. Neither was a date provided, but it should happen before the end of the year.

We had heard rumblings AutoTrader was going to make this move either…

I’ll admit it. I fear bringing my vehicle in for service as much as visiting the dentist. I recently brought my car in for service, and for some reason, it reminded me of a routine dental check-up. Bear with me on this analogy.

Just like you want your teeth to stay white and strong, you want your car to run in tip-top shape. However, when the time finally comes to go back in for a check-up, you curl up in the fetal position, and softly cry (That’s what I do, at least, you may…

Good Morning Dealer Elite Members and Car Guys and Gals everywhere.....

As an industry we have had our ups and downs, our challenges and our opportunities. As I travel around North America I see the whole range of Owners, Managers, salespeople and customers. I also see examples in our industry and in other industry of how we can move the industry forward and change the process for the better. We have spend the last 30 to 40 years conditioning customers that we can sell in…

Let’s talk about the processes, the Playbook’s and All the ABC’s to closing, they all include how to identify and adjust to the natural tendencies of the three main personality profiles within in us all.  In today’s market exclusive let’s stop relying on our dominate traits. Focus more on understanding of what makes our customers tick, utilizing the self barometer technique, mastering the 12 foot rule and the genuine smile. Building confidence from consistent practice and performance, allows…

  As an industry professional for over 23 years and as a specialist in compliance and process management I am no longer surprised when I read of sad stories such as this. For the past 7 years, I and my peers have been at the forefront of promoting Compliance within the entire front end sales process for dealers. The number one risk to a dealer when it comes to Compliance is ambivalence. Compliance today is as much about preserving hard earned capital as it is about earning trust from our…

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Check out this blog by Dan…

I recently visited 2 different dealerships where I noticed that all of their used vehicles, other than cars that were covered by manufacturer’s warranties, were being sold “As-Is”. One of the dealers, a high-line establishment, had a number of very expensive pre-owned vehicles being sold without any warranty, including a low-mileage Bentley selling for almost $120,000. Maybe…

I've seen it happen all too many times. 

While working for one of New Jersey's best sub-prime lending car dealer, I was in constant interaction with the salespeople. As I became more and more versed in the daily functions, I learned which salespeople I could go to for straight answers, and which ones would beat around the bush, forward me to voicemail, or give me an excuse of why they couldn't give me the report that I needed.

More often than not, it was the low…

80% of motor vehicle accidents are preceded by 3 seconds of distraction.  3 seconds: that’s less time than it takes to read the last sentence.  Last week Myra Blanco from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute presented some of the break-through safety research they are doing to the Automotive Communication Council in…

As of 2012 Generation Y accounts for 40% of the car buying public, yet traditional methods of advertising don't reach them. Don't miss out on this growing and often ignored market.

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Having run my own brick and mortar businesses for a number of years I am very familiar with the ebb and flow of customers and their spending habits. I have always tracked sales, customer count, costs and how effective my marketing has been. Whenever I noticed any kind of downturn I immediately looked for answers.



If I were to have had an unexpected downturn in the last month or so I would have been scratching my head wondering why just like many of you may be doing right now. One of…

http://www.automotiveinternetsales.com

Discussing "Pay Plans", Commissions, Bonuses (And WHY) Inside an Automotive Internet Sales 20 Group - Sean V.…

Have you ever attended a workshop and had questions that you did not want to ask publically?  Did a workshop presentor spark your interests but there was not enough time to dig into specific questions you had?  You are not alone.  We have modified AutoCon to meet the feedback we received from automotive professionals.  They wanted more, and we delivered.

At the end of each full…