Just caught up with an old Automotive News Jan 16th. Group One CEO Earl Esterberg article titled Hesterberg to Carmakers: Be Mindful of Margins. Found that to be amusing since Earl was 2nd in command at Nissan back in the mid to late 80's when Nissan was all screwed up. I remember they took us to Disney World to learn the Disney way. We then had a business meeting about one of the new models coming out. At that time dealers were allowed to ask questions. I remember like it was yeaterday. I…

The labor sales potential for any franchised dealer’s service department is first dependent on the units in operation (UIOs) for that franchise in the dealer’s market. Unfortunately, very few of the manufacturers provide this UIO information to their dealers. For a fee, vehicles in operation (VIOs) are available by zip code from R.L. Polk, Inc.

Since there are other estimates used in the calculation of labor…

How many ideas that get heard about the internet are really good ones? For most, the answer is: not many.  

  The focus of most internet endeavors on the table for dealers is on the wrong thing, and also the reason the results are unpredictable. For dealers they think the internet is a race to cut in the “up” line and have the first crack at the next customer. This is how we do it on the lot;  but the reason you want to have the first crack at a customer –…

While (I hope) most dealership websites won’t be affected by this, Google has recently announced they will begin penalizing websites that have too many ads at the top.  It's being called the "page layout algorithm" and affects sites that "don't have much content 'above-the-fold'", according to Google's Inside Search blog.

We've all clicked onto a site only to have to scroll down through the ads to actually find the content we are looking for.  This algorithm change will…

by Eric Schmitz

We are not doctors, but I love the idea of “First, Do No Harm” for working with dealers.  Even though that phrase is the common, but incorrect, quote of the Hippocratic Oath for Physicians, it still conveys a lot for the proper doctor/patient relationship—and it also means a lot for vendor/dealer,…

If you have salespeople, that know how to sell, but the results are not up to the stores expectations, call them out on it!!! Case in point; Just recently, I had a salesman, good guy, works every day, tries very hard when he wants to and a positive attitude when he wants to have one. I just didn’t have that wow feeling with him on a…

The notion of a dealership’s employees having ownership of the organizations customer lists or communications is a frightening one. The question of ownership of work product, email and even actual customer lists is being called into question by BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies being adopted by many businesses, including auto dealerships.

A 2010 US Supreme Court 9-0 ruling declared that employees are not entitled to privacy if they use an employer’s issued device. The…

Sound familiar? I’ve heard this several times during my travels the last few weeks and it didn’t matter what part of the country or what franchises.

I was at a long-time Ford client last week, started working with them in September of 1997.  They are coming off of another great profit year, but January had started off a little slow.

I noticed the Sales staff was a little down and in conversations the main topic was that there was very little traffic and that the Dealer needed…

As you get your 2012 marketing campaign underway, don't forget about LinkedIn, a powerful marketing and communications tool with over 35 million registered users.

Savvy business professionals use LinkedIn to connect with other industry leaders, exchange ideas, and participate in relevant groups. The following is a notice to all of you LinkedIn members who connect your…

• Over 80% of lost revenue on repair orders is due to the oldest 10. This program addresses this fact and places them as a target that cannot be ignored. The Target Ten open orders will be on a report from the DMS identifying the oldest 10 open orders. The information will be filled out every Monday and reviewed by the entire team during the week. The mission is to do whatever is necessary to close these orders. Most manufactures now expect warranty to be processed within a month so any…

(This is part 1 in a series)



Recently a student asked me what attributes compel an individual to be a great salesperson in the retail automobile business.  As I pondered the question I inquired of the student how he would describe a "Great Salesperson."  He immediately answered, "One whose sales production always leads the board, whose grosses…

When I started my retail automotive consulting practice in 1987, I chose to state as my unique value proposition, "Guaranteed 1,000% Return on Investment." During my first few years as an independent consultant, I was shocked to learn that very few of my potential dealer clients had a clue about what this meant. So I would explain that, for example, if the dealer would invest $2,500 in professional fees with me, I would provide a money-back guarantee that I would assist in increasing the…

Problematic Economy!!! No Jobs. Unemployment.  For who? if 90 percent of Americans are working, what is the problem?  We would take 90 percent odds in almost anything in life, right!!! We need to change the culture in the work place, point blank, period!!! What does that mean? Start with yourself. What are you…

“It only takes one bug in the potato salad to ruin a picnic,” according to one of the little old ladies I went to church with as a child.  As I move further away from a precocious child and closer to being a sweet little old lady, I am realizing that she was not registering a complaint about church picnics but planting a seed of wisdom that would develop as I grew older.  One little bug can ruin the…

By Autumn 2003, I had (a meager) seven years of Internet Automotive success under my belt.  I was managing a nine-franchise Internet Sales Department that encompassed five rooftops in Portland OR and Vancouver WA.  New Car sales were really starting to get brutal.  Every other conversation…

One morning I was shaken from my deep sleep by the deep growling of the trash truck’s engine followed by the skidding sounds of my neighbor’s trash can coming to a screeching halt in their driveway. Realizing I did not push my overflowing trash can to the road; I valiantly sprung out of bed and barreled out of the door hoping it was not too late. I stood…

After hearing all the hoopla over true cars Ive seen nothing from a dealer, writer, or a contributor on why they dont warn about the factory as they are about TRUE CARS. First in my opinion would you give anyone or any company access to your DMS system allowing them to have access to your customer data???? Most dealers service departments are gold mines for sales and there best inventory of customers are there best service customers. Thats because in most cases 50-75% of there service…

"With today's fast paced world, it's time for our service advisors to upgrade as well.  In order to stay current and successful they are going to have to make a small change with their follow-up."…