There is no way around it, you need a Facebook page. Now, far too many companies and dealerships fail to realize that simply having a Facebook page isn’t in and of itself much of an accomplishment. After all, there is a tremendous difference between having a sword, using a sword, and being a skilled and highly trained swordsman. Creating a Facebook page isn’t magic. Keep in mind that about 1 billion (yes with a “b”) people have sat down at a computer and created a…

5 Compliance Checkpoints

By Gil Van Over

Let me start by saying that the overuse of tired clichés is one of my pet peeves. I detest them in sportscasts, and I’ve grown a little tired of those clichéd lists magazines put out each year with predictions for the coming year. So, I apologize upfront for the list I’m about to share with you now.

Just so I can live with myself, I’m calling my compilation a checklist. I’ll cover the top…

http://www.autosuccessonline.com…

This Book is for You Stupid by Mat Koenig is now available for Amazon Kindle and Kindle Reader Apps (iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and PC) for only $9.99.

Get your digital copy from Amazon at http://j.mp/stupidsalesbook or grab a paperback copy from Createspace at http://j.mp/stupidsalesbookorder

Recently, I conducted one of my sales seminars where I spoke about ideas that center around the following skill sets — sales, people, life and marketing. Some of the attendees at the program had been to three, four or more of my seminars in the past. In listening to the results of many of the repeat attendees, it struck me like lightening what the most important word I heard over and over in their successes: action.

In a series of recent sales meetings, I explained a…

Depending on your perspective of the month,  you either have 6 more or 6 days left. It is your choice to either take action and focus on the making the most of your opportunities or instead you can choose to stand around, in the ring of mediocrity, and explain to others what did, should, or could've happened the previous 20 days.…

What is for the good of the store is sometimes an unpopular choice for the employees. It requires them to do more than what they are currently doing.  It asks them to solve problems, take initiative, and complete more tasks.  It is very common that salespeople will care more about what is “in it for them” than what is in the best interest of the dealership.  At no point should a salesperson’s unwillingness to execute tasks supersede what is in the best interest of…

Public Broadcasting Service PBS Premiere of American Experience Presents Henry Ford Tuesday, January 29^th, 2013 9:00 – 11:00 PM on PBS – A Review

At the NCM Institute Center for Automotive Retail Excellence, the training that we provide in our Service Management courses focuses primarily on strategies and tactics. However, we have discovered that the effective execution of the strategies that we teach is most often hampered by an important missing ingredient:…

In constant pursuit of keeping up with the Marketing Jones Family, I came across a book by David Cummings and Adam Blitzer called Think Outside the…

Have you set your goals for the year?  I sure hope so!  With almost one month on the books and the rest to follow suit, it is so very important to have those goals set early and revisited often.  Maintaining that important path to where you want to be and what you want to accomplish is so imperative to your success.  Setting your goals up right away can be so beneficial to you and your surrounding staff wherever you may be.  It will help push the others that are in your environment to do…

It’s this simple. When given the choice between being ranked in the top 5 for good keywords or being ranked #1 for a great keyword, I will (after asking for further qualifications and some examples) almost always opt for the former. Search has changed dramatically in the last couple of years. As a result, above the fold for many is normally better than at…

Those who know me would likely agree that I am a massive data junkie. Don't believe me? My twitter profile even says it so it must be true! I'm not exactly sure when or how my…

First Class Educators (FCE) has agreed to sponsor two Scholarship Awards for selected dealerELITE members. Shown below are the details, terms and conditions.

1. Scholarship Request Submissions MUST be from a car dealer, dealership…

Think of how much selling vehicles has changed in the last several years. Now think of what is being taught in most dealerships regarding the road to the sale. Considering the education and interaction that occurs before the customer ever gets to the dealership, most sales training is outdated. One key difference maker can be the customer’s trade-in.

I am not referring to the trade value in monetary terms, but in informational and relational terms. Let’s examine a few facts.…

The news broke this week about a Louisiana marketing company that has been permanently banned from automobile advertising and marketing in North Carolina. Since Arizona, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oregon and Pennsylvania joined North Carolina in bringing the case, there will likely be repercussions for the vendor in other states as well.

On the surface, it looks like a…

Mary Kay Ash said, “There are three types of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened.” Today, you are standing in the hallway of Life; one hand is pulling the door of yesteryear,…

In many dealerships, the thought of putting together a compliance program is similar to contemplating a diet and exercise regimen: you know it’s something you need to do or eventually it will catch up with you. Like getting in shape, keeping up with regulatory changes can seem like a daunting task – not to mention costly. Many compliance programs on the market are quite…

Back when I started my first "Buy Here Pay Here Lot" in the good ole days.

I started my first Note Lot in 1975 when you could buy a good note toter for $700 to $800.

you would sell 30 easy per month with 0 advertising.

Sell the car for $500. Down at $2995.00 to $3995.00 just whatever you felt like pricing the car at that day, and get $25.00 per week.

So you sold a car $500 down your out of pocket is $200 to 300. Dollars so you would recoup your money back…

I knew it would happen sometime in 2013. I’m glad it happened sooner rather than later.

For a while, many of the smaller bloggers such as myself have been preaching about how search, social, and content marketing are all actually a singular activity that can be broken down into a proper repeatable…