Great infographic from peaksalesrecruiting - sales and marketing go hand in hand, and this chart has some interesting stats regarding social profiles, internet usage, and how people are viewing and sharing information. Also: techniques for better sales and PR.

Add your own to the list...…

Yes I said it…. But let me also say this...

I am Proud to be American... Proud of my Family... Proud to be in the "Car Biz"

Proud to be amongst my piers... The brightest... The most Positive... The most Supportive...

It is an honor and indeed priviledge to share and grow with the best... Some who have even been a big influence in my ongoing,…

Yesterday I conducted an interview with Scott Painter, CEO of TrueCar.  I asked him some tough questions and he candidly provided the answers. Answers that I didn't always agree with, but he did answer my questions.  I commend Scott Painter for reaching out to people like myself and Jim Ziegler. 



There is no doubt that Mr. Painter is very passionate about his business.  He believes in what he is doing and he's defending his vision, and I can't fault the man for attempting to…

ActivEngage was honored to have its CEO and Co-Founder Todd Smith featured as a keynote presenter as the Ignite! Dealer Summit. Todd’s workshop highlighted more than 17 easy to use and powerful online tools and …

Hello Fellow Dealer Elites,

     My first comment and I am still in awe of the big bad JMac. This is an awesome person, humanitarian, trainer, father and friend. I bought in on what the Mac Man was preaching and two weeks later I am getting ready to go into the dealer to "Show Me The Money Time".

     I cannot thank him enough for how he came to Cincinnati and gave us the goods, and also many of the class who also bought in, are also reaping the benefits, of being an Dealer Elitist…

Visit our All-New, Content-Rich Website at …

Very few dealers are both aggressive and effective in selling Extended Service Agreements (ESAs) after the new or used vehicle has been delivered. If you are so fortunate to be among this minority, you don’t need to read any further. Since most F&I departments don’t seem to have the inclination or motivation to work these post-delivery opportunities, let’s explore an alternate strategy…structuring a process to have our service advisors aggressively and effectively sell ESAs in…

GM Rolls out Mobile Websites for Cadillac and Buick/GMC dealers – today!

General Motors is announcing today that mobile websites are now live for all GM dealers in the iMR Program, adding mobile sites for those dealers with Cadillac, and Buick/GMC brands. Mobile traffic to dealer websites is growing rapidly and GM understands the importance of providing an optimized shopping experience for mobile website visitors. This enhancement was initially planned for 2012 and has been pulled…

Five days ago on dealerelite.net I posted this Blog titled True Car Pricing. I reviewed the snap shot of Seven vehicles SOLD in a regional area. Today I went back to TrueCar.com and reviewed "My Vehicles". Check out the difference when four cars got added to the metrics from 7 to 11 Regional Sold.

According to TrueCar, if I would have purchased this vehicle…

Health of a company culture is important internally, but also in how others, particularly consumers, view your brand. Healthy companies have values and follow these values in their everyday practices. Involvement in charity organizations can be a great way to facilitate healthy company values and promote teamwork, and also allows for a successful company to give back.

The holidays are an ideal time for giving, a time when decorating the office and…

Attitude, albeit good or bad is infectious; as a salesperson ask yourself, are you infecting your clients? Are you sneezing optimism on every opportunity or are you coughing doubt and pessimism spoiling your attempts in making a sale? The ABC’s of selling has traditionally stood for Always Be Closing. The acronym’s purpose is to remind sales…

The article indicates Acura is to roll out a sub $30,000 sport sedan.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-12/honda-wants-new-acura-ilx-to-help-keep-gen-y-out-of-lexus-bmw.html

So the sky is falling – What lands on your head is up to you.

The economic realities of today are brutal and greatly affect the service and repair industry.  When you’re out of work or underemployed, you may simply not have the cash to perform needed maintenance and repairs.  Those of us fortunate enough to have enough work all know someone who does not, and that…

Customers never buy things based on price alone........

If you don't believe me take a look at Starbucks or Apple computer. What dealerships need to realize is customers can buy vehicles anywhere and most brands have great product lines as well. The question is what are you doing to attract new customers and maintain your existing customers by creating an amazing customer experience. Think about your local high end hotel, that dry cleaner or grocery store that…

I received this email about eight hours ago from an employee of DealerTrack.  They asked me that I kept it discreet so I will not be mentioning who it was that sent this to me.  It is amazing that DealerTrack's own employees have certain opinions about DealerTrack selling ALG to TrueCar.  Does it mean that DealerTrack's own employees are against this deal too?  I know that I myself could not work for a company that would allow something like this (no matter how much money I was getting…

We are developing a sales process for Truecar customers and thought we'd share it with the community.…

I have been reading about truecar over the last week or so. There have been strong opinions on each side of the issue. The reality is truecar is here for now and probably will not be going away for quite some time. I don't have time to wait. I need to sell cars right now.

Question: A sales call comes in and the customer says they have a truecar certificate to a dealer that is 50 miles away. Then the question from the customer is "will you honor the truecar price?"

How would you…