I have spent more years than I would like to remember working in car dealerships. From starting as a sales person in a very large multi line store to running finance departments to a step or two backwards as an "internet manager" I have done most every job that a retail dealer can offer.

I have always been surprised at how blind and deaf some senior managers and owners can be. When the Internet first hit the scene, with it's different kind of advertising, pricing disclosure and…

OK.... here it is....  the vast majority (and I know you may be the exception!) of talented Sales Reps, and Sales Managers flat out suck on Sales Calls. Don't throw rocks at me yet....

The most common successful Sales Rep is a great influencer.... super at helping customers make good choices and delivering units. In fact, if it weren't for the common disease we seem to share (and I come from the floor), A.D.D., we would all be lawyers. If it weren't for our other…

Baseball is America’s game. It provides thrills, strategy, suspense, heroics and athleticism all in one.

As of the writing of this article, (September 22, 2011) the batting average for ALL Major League players stand at .255.

That translates into 255 hits for every 1000 at bats.

The player that has the highest batting…

Are you familiar with this term:  "bottom right hand drawer syndrome"?  If you are not, it will likely create a major headache for you and cost you a good deal of money...

What is this syndrome?  In years past, before manufacturers started reducing the amount of time they would allow a claim to age, many warranty administrators would shuffle difficult claims to a "special" place so that they could "re-visit" it at a later date...often that hiding place was the lower right hand drawer…

We all see the end results... the last second, game winning shot... the fame ... the glory ... the trappings of success... BUT do we really want to go through what it takes.



What am I talking about? ... I'm talking about Success... How ever YOU define it for yourself. Do You Really Want to be Like Mike?

Lee Kemp, an…

If I wanted someone to just take my order and deliver, I would go to a fast food drive thru.  When I go to have my car serviced, I want service.  I believe that service advisors are more than just order takers or the message delivery system between a consumer and a technician.  Think about it?  An advisor according to …

Are you trying to decide what your Social Media process should look like?

Are you trying to decide where to begin and what to do?

One of the easiest and most effective ways to use social media to enhance your dealership’s presence is to utilize video of your happy customers either taking delivery of their New or Pre-Owned vehicle, or video of their experience in your service department!

You first have to understand, social media is…

Why Ban Potential Selling Tools?

The point of restricting access to any website is to ensure your employees are spending their time wisely and getting work done. Why waste the effort of watching each employee’s every move if they aren’t having issues of productivity, especially when the most often restricted sites can be valuable…

I have worked in most positions in a dealership.  In each department, there are established procedures that are used to complete tasks to meet forcasted goals.  Sales use stringent procedures to ensure that cars are pushed across the curb.  Service departments use multiple procedures to generate upsales and high customer satisfaction indexes.  General office departments use precise procedures to keep all of the legal and accounting aspects of the dealership in order.

What about your…

As shocking as this might seem to my peers in the automotive industry, I am not much of a golfing fan.  The game of golf is something I tend to endure as part of my job.  I wrote a blog recently about how changing your attitude can change your pathway to success.  I decided to heed my own advice and take myself in for an attitude…

Kelly Blue Book, the self proclaimed “The Trusted Resource” is used by consumers every day!

According to KBB’s own site stats, “Over 13+ million visits generate more than 35 million pricing reports every month”

THAT is a lot of visits!

Have you ever had a customer come into the dealership with…

We all know by now that at the end of July, Google changed how they calculate star counts on Google Places.  (see previous post)

Dealers that relied heavily on Dealerrater.com, Yelp.com, or…

http://fixedopsnews.blogspot.com/2011/08/exceeding-expectations.html

What would a Service Professional do?



A Professional understands their Customers Expectations.



Now this has got to be the easiest “no brainer” post you have read in years! You would think that every person who works in the Dealership has heard of Customer Service (here’s a little hint: WE ALL…

Stop the Profit Leak

ANSWER THE PHONE!!

With the next Digital Dealer Conference promising to be chock full of the latest in Digital and Social Marketing strategies, I can’t help but ponder the obvious. We are learning great new ways to drive traffic to our dealerships with the commitment that the buying experience will be extraordinary. And the good news is its working! For too many of us, the bad news is the same…..its working.

With…

http://www.dealeretraining.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/in/stansher83

http://twitter.com/stansher

 …

I’ve been following closely, and reporting on, the recent uptick in activity being taken by the National Labor Relations Board in pursuing complaints related to employee terminations due to social media use. All of the previous articles, including the…

Dealer Elite's Exclusive Interview with "CarsDirect.com"





1.What is CarsDirect?

CarsDirect.com has been in the online automotive business for over 12 years now. We are one of the pioneers of selling cars online. As a leader in the online automotive community, we partner with dealers to give them access to our automotive network. Our network spans to nearly 100 automotive enthusiast and forum sites. We also own Autos.com, SellMyCar.com,…