It’s been a few months since I have written for SEL. I had to take a short ‘sabbatical’ to hunker down and focus on a major phase of development and updates on our own site.

It’s nice to get back to blogging but I have to admit that I feel a bit off the pace. Writing is like exercise; once you are out of practice the first time back takes longer and…

A couple of hours ago, I made note of a photo that Brian Pasch posted of empty shelves at his local grocery store.  That photo reminded me that I’d meant to cover a back-to- the-basics concept that I struggled with while doing some research last week.

First off, let me tell you that I LOVE CARS.  I have loved…

In May, 2010, Matt Cutts denied that social signals had an effect on search rankings. In December of the same year, he declared that they were actually starting to work in the buzz and signals they were able to get through social media into the site authority factor of their ranking algorithm. Six months later, Google+ was born.

The Penguin Update and subsequent tweaks to it have changed the way that search engine marketers approach aggressive optimization. The days…

Unless you're some sort of crazy selling machine, keep reading!

Contrary to what the title of this article suggests, I am not going to write about how to sell less. Rather, I will focus on some of the simple steps to the sale that often go overlooked that prevent more deals from being closed. In vehicle sales, the amount of units you push directly affects the amount of money you collect so it’s crucial to keep yourself in check so that you can constantly strive to kick your sales up a…

There are 13,000 different voter districts in the United States and each one has its own rules and regulations. As HR administrators and employers, the important thing to know is whether or not your state requires employers give their employees time off for voting. Most do, and even some with pay.

Here’s the state-by-state list of employers who are mandated to give their employees time off to vote, re-posted as it appears on the …

For some time now I have chided myself for not chronicling the random and not so random thought that courses through my brain on a daily basis.  A child of the "teach English by forced journaling" era, perhaps I believe that every thought must be put to print lest you deprive the future of your all importance consciousness.  Or perhaps, like everyone else in our current narcissistic culture I believe that my thoughts and ideas have meaning beyond the confines…

It can be a challenge to keeping track of every visit, contract in transit, trade appraisal and every follow up call due. While technology improves our ability to manage these processes, nothing takes the place of a well structured save-a-deal meeting.

Here is…

Good morning Dealer Elite Members.....

As I travel around North America and speak to salespeople, customers, managers, owners and BDC reps I am always surprised by how often salespeople are prevented from selling vehicles buy not asking great questions.

The situation usually starts after a salesperson has spend several hours with the customer and asks for the order. The customer usually says something like, I need to speak to my wife, my friend, my dad, my…

I thought it might be a nice gesture to share what I think are three major mistakes made by dealers when buying direct mail.  

1st.  Buying for the budget.  Many dealerships buy just because they have budget left to spend.  This on it's own is not the problem.  The problem lies in the fact that normally when this is the case they will just buy any piece that has a current theme on it and expect it to win.  An example would be, right now November is coming up and dealers who…

Greetings, everyone!



I often hear this in dealerships and it drives me crazy: “Today with the Web, clients know more about cars than the salespeople!”

And the sad fact is that this is often true… How can this be?  Do sales staff not have the same access to the Internet and do they not have the latest information at all times?

It’s an open secret that consumers have drastically…

Not riding along on the demo is without a doubt the most damaging part of the sales process. If you read my article titled “Trade In, The Secret to the Sale” and you are following those guidelines I give you props!! If you have not read it I would suggest that you read it and make it a part of your process for it tends to help with…

It seems as though YouTube is usually left to the waste side due to Dealers feeling as though it takes too much time or effort in keeping up their channel, or even more so coming up with a subject to talk about without making it sound like an advertisement. Getting inspired to make a video can be as easy as capitalizing on the people and customers that surround you daily, even your inventory can make an appearance, but how?

You need to evoke…

It's all about Content

Steve Jobs, the best salesman ever, changed my life…

The most trusted name in live chat brings the top ten blogs and auto news stories right to you! We monitor industry trends, current events, and the auto dealer community every week to bring you the top ten blogs and automotive stories from around the globe. In this weekly edition – Einstein belongs to the world, Google visits the Grand Canyon, and the…

I ran across an obstacle with a dealer's Facebook page the other day. They were heavily supporting the local chapter of the March of Dimes and had some great pictures and videos compiled by the staff. None of this was on their website, Facebook page, or anywhere in their social media presence.

"We aren't…

I get the privilege of hearing sales people every day when they're talking to customers. Whether it's folks in a dealership, or folks at a restaurant during lunch; EVERYONE IS SELLING SOMETHING!

The problem is, most people just flat suck at selling. Don't get me wrong, there are some really fantastic sales professionals out there but just because your title says "Sales _______" it doesn't mean that you know how to sell.

Many salespeople confuse 'telling' with…

The NLRB is moving closer to defining a final position on when an employee?s social media postings qualify as protected activity. It has recently published a helpful report detailing the outcome of 14 social-media cases, including its first ?Facebook firing? decision.



In this case, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) upheld an earlier decision that a luxury car dealership lawfully fired a sales person over a Facebook post. The employee had violated the company?s social media…