About AutoCon 2012

The 2012 Automotive Connections Conference & Exposition (aka AutoCon 2012) is brought to you by Automotive Media Partners, LLC. (AMP). AMP is a company led by Ralph Paglia, Chris Saraceno and Mike Myers who represent the largest online communities for Automotive Professionals.

The Automotive Digital Marketing (ADM) community website…

Marketing to Women Case Study: FIAT of Austin Lisa Copeland, General Manager



FIAT of Austin sales numbers are still steadily rising with a startling 63.7% of vehicles sold to women car buyers.



FIAT of Austin sales numbers…

Last evening, as I was thumbing through my April issue of National Oil and Lube News (NOLN), I began to reflect on why and how the folks in the independent automotive repair and maintenance business managed to take such a large chunk of service business away from the franchised dealers. Well, in truth they didn’t take it away…we gave it away…years ago…based on our focus on warranty work, our prices, and our indifference to the service…

General Motors has long been a staple of the American automotive industry.  Facebook is the latest billion dollar IPO.  Why is GM pulling ten million dollars a year in advertising from Facebook?

On the surface, this looks like GM is retreating saving advertising dollars.  When you dive into the issue, many wonder if the government run company is staying away from investing in the publically traded company for other reasons.  GM states that the risk to advertise is not worth the reward…

In April, 2012, Google began rolling out major changes to their search algorithm. The update, known as "Penguin", had dramatic effects on many of the searches that people do on a regular basis. In the automotive industry, the effects were felt by thousands of dealers. Some moved up if they had quality SEO practices being employed on their sites. As a result, others moved down.

This graphic goes into a little detail about the philosophies that dealers and their search partners should…

I love to eat and I don't miss very many meals, but just because I can halfway cook, doesn’t make me a world-class chef.

Similarly, just because someone has…

Saw this post on Smart Money and wanted to share it with my dE followers: what do you think about the article's opinion that investors should bet on Google, rather than Facebook?

And what does this mean for those of us in the automotive industry -- many automotive companies use both platforms effectively, but the debate continues over which platform has better long-term potential - in this…

There's a great article here called …

 It's just common sense that having less accidents and injuries means reductions in work comp insurance costs. Less accidents and injuries also translates to less absences and more productivity in your workplace. But beyond common sense (and KPA's 26 years of experience providing enviroment and safety sofware and services)  a new  study validates the importance of being proactive in preventing injuries and accidents.

This is the continuation of the mini case study focused on the objectives and challenges of building a process to measure and manage OTDBs in the operating departments of an NCM client dealership group. Today I’ll be focusing on the vehicle sales departments in general.

The sales management staff had decided that OTDBs needed to be first divided into five major categories: (1) first-time walk-ins; (2) Internet leads; (3) blind phone inquiries; (4) proactive salesperson appointments;…

Attitude is a key factor in high sales performance.

Regardless of the number of years spent selling, or level of understanding one has in regards to sales techniques or strategies, without a strong conviction in oneself, the prospect's conviction in moving…

Another Way To Make More Money Selling Accessories

As another way to show our commitment to help you make more by selling accessories Insignia Group provides easy to use word track…

Contagious!  PASS-IT-ON

It is impossible to restrain and if unleashed it will spread like “wild fire”! What am I talking about...? [Passion] or should I say Pass-it-on? It is contagious…it breeds…

Automotive service and repair is a $215 billion a year industry.  Change is either an obstacle or an accelerant to getting your fair share.  Or rather, your response to change is the determining factor.  Change at the local level as well as global shifts may be out of your control, but you can respond and adapt.

Lay of the Land

The…

Over the last 15 years, NCM Associates has provided hundreds of educational programs that delivered unparalleled training to thousands of dealers, general managers and department managers. However, there is one area in which we have admittedly fallen short…focused leadership training. Up until now, our primary focus has been on the “nuts and bolts” of dealership management. However, the NCM Institute faculty members, as well as many of the dealership personnel that…

With the exception of your home security system, success is not predicated on a “set it and forget it” mentality. 

Pilots don’t just set a Boeing 767 in the air and then go have a drink with the passengers until it’s time to land, nor do coaches design a game plan for tonight’s game and head…

I was visiting a dealership repair center recently, and while sitting in the customer lounge working on my laptop, I couldn’t help but identify with some of those “waiters”, who during my 30+ years in retail, I referred to them as just that…”waiters”. I watched and recognized emotions of restlessness, uncertainty,…

It was early in the morning still dark outside…I was wide awake thinking about my day and like they often do ideas began to fill my thoughts. I reached and grabbed my phone and started sending myself reminders and emails of the ideas while they were fresh and clear in my mind not wanting to forget even the…

I personally can't imagine not performing a walk-around.  A walk-around is where I start building rapport with my customers and most of all start my upselling.  Also, when you have your customer join you in your walk-around it elimates policy claims on scratches and dents as well.

Results for me have been high CSI scores, 50% increase in sales (wipers, tires, recommended maintenances, filters, rotates, and most of all, building…