As we have heard more and more about here on Dealer Elite of late, It's the women who have the power when it comes to buying cars.It's not that they have gotten more power-they have always had it-it's just that we stupid men are finally starting to pay attention.

Mr. Natural's buddy-Gillon-has taken a stand on this, as can be heard and seen below.

True? False?…

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…

Interactive session provides deep dive into social/digital strategies that help dealers sell cars; Early-bird registration now open!

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – June 18, 2012 –Facebook and Google will present at the fourth annual DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES), the most authoritative digital marketing event for innovative dealers.…

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…

Automotive News!

http://paper.li/ipdmail/1339189680

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…

It’s mid-month our  goals are in place now for nearly 2 weeks and many of us can begin to see the…

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…

Thank you again for your reception to my initial blog on DE. Today I thought I'd speak a little bit about the very first part of our sales process.

The meeting of a potential client is a very important step in determining several key pieces of information, gaining the client's "buy-in" of yourself and your dealership, and to begin the rapport-building that is necessary to success.

What are you saying to your customers, and what are they responding with? "Hello is there anything…

(Appears on the Car Chat 24 blog. But I wrote it. Promise! :)  )

I remember many a training class with one of the best automotive trainers I’ve ever encountered. While every one else moaned and groaned about going to a training class instead of being able to make calls (read: surf the internet), I was excited to learn new things.

Because of this love for training, I’ve picked up some incredible…

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Check out this blog by Dan…

We all want to spend our advertising funds in the most efficient way possible and after reading this, you’ll probably want to stick to mobile advertising or add it to your budget. Nearly three in four mobile users (74.0%) say they fully pay attention to mobile ads while browsing the Web, either on a regular (35.3%) or occasional (38.7%) basis, according to a recent survey from Prosper Mobile…

Technology has revolutionized the car business. The advent of cheaper computing power, more sophisticated software, and the accumulation of data has made it easier to describe customers, understand trends, and evaluate campaigns. 

Right now there are few companies that can evaluate buyer behavior; companies that are true solution vendors. Dataium is a true solution vendor. What Dataium does is track the buyer across websites defining the "path to purchase". Let's say that…

VinSolutions is giving their automotive dealer customers 20 tickets to the 2012 Major League All-Star Game in Kansas City through a contest designed to promote its All-Star of Savings Marketing Package and the local event.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Enter to Win MLB All-Star Game Tickets at VinAllStars.com

VinSolutions, a leading developer of web-based CRM and ILM complete dealership marketing solution software, today launched its…

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…