(Part 1 – Assess them)

Pre-Owned vehicles are the life blood of any successful automotive dealership!

For some dealers, that don’t floor plan pre-owned vehicles, this is where a LOT of cash can be found!

So why is it that some dealers feel that the Pre-owned department takes a “back seat” to the New vehicle…

Want to make more sales or maybe just sound smarter?  Then learn which words make lots of people--from your peers, to your bosses, to your CUSTOMERS--cringe.  Spoken or written, these words lose you sales!

Irregardless.  It's a common word now that is most often misused as a synonym for "regardless"--and it is not.  It's a double negative of…

Do you know the one thing that happens before 100% of the closes salespeople succeed at?  If you discover that secret, you'll see an increase in your own closing ratio, or in your ability to drive your sales staff to repeating successful months over and over.  The real beauty is, once you discover the secret, you have it.  It becomes yours to use any time you need it.

This powerful secret will also work to help you improve yourself, increase your skills and develop your team…

I have spent more years than I would like to remember working in car dealerships. From starting as a sales person in a very large multi line store to running finance departments to a step or two backwards as an "internet manager" I have done most every job that a retail dealer can offer.

I have always been surprised at how blind and deaf some senior managers and owners can be. When the Internet first hit the scene, with it's different kind of advertising, pricing disclosure and…

Mark Zuckerberg and others announce revolutionary and supercool changes to Facebook.

According to Zuck in his introduction to the keynote:

• A record 500 million people used Facebook the same day. We’re connected now. The next era will be defined by the social apps that use these connections.
• PROFILE: The profile is the heart of the FB experience, and people invest a lot in their profile. The old 2004 profile: how you introduce…

If I wanted someone to just take my order and deliver, I would go to a fast food drive thru.  When I go to have my car serviced, I want service.  I believe that service advisors are more than just order takers or the message delivery system between a consumer and a technician.  Think about it?  An advisor according to …

Are you familiar with this term:  "bottom right hand drawer syndrome"?  If you are not, it will likely create a major headache for you and cost you a good deal of money...

What is this syndrome?  In years past, before manufacturers started reducing the amount of time they would allow a claim to age, many warranty administrators would shuffle difficult claims to a "special" place so that they could "re-visit" it at a later date...often that hiding place was the lower right hand drawer…

Stop the Profit Leak

ANSWER THE PHONE!!

With the next Digital Dealer Conference promising to be chock full of the latest in Digital and Social Marketing strategies, I can’t help but ponder the obvious. We are learning great new ways to drive traffic to our dealerships with the commitment that the buying experience will be extraordinary. And the good news is its working! For too many of us, the bad news is the same…..its working.

With…

It has been a personnel tendency, to spend so much intensified time in the work place. Being on time to learn, try to help others, giving my all out energy so we could have success. No matter what, you just want the best for everyone. When the customer keeps you late, it was always okay.  Someone needs a ride home 15 minutes out of your way, no problem. The manufacturer,…

Baseball is America’s game. It provides thrills, strategy, suspense, heroics and athleticism all in one.

As of the writing of this article, (September 22, 2011) the batting average for ALL Major League players stand at .255.

That translates into 255 hits for every 1000 at bats.

The player that has the highest batting…

About the 1st Automotive ZMOT Study

I've been profoundly impacted by a free book called "Winning the Zero Moment of Truth" by Jim Lecinski.  As a result of reading this book, I have created training materials, online workshops, and planning materials for car dealers on this…

OK.... here it is....  the vast majority (and I know you may be the exception!) of talented Sales Reps, and Sales Managers flat out suck on Sales Calls. Don't throw rocks at me yet....

The most common successful Sales Rep is a great influencer.... super at helping customers make good choices and delivering units. In fact, if it weren't for the common disease we seem to share (and I come from the floor), A.D.D., we would all be lawyers. If it weren't for our other…

I have worked in most positions in a dealership.  In each department, there are established procedures that are used to complete tasks to meet forcasted goals.  Sales use stringent procedures to ensure that cars are pushed across the curb.  Service departments use multiple procedures to generate upsales and high customer satisfaction indexes.  General office departments use precise procedures to keep all of the legal and accounting aspects of the dealership in order.

What about your…

As shocking as this might seem to my peers in the automotive industry, I am not much of a golfing fan.  The game of golf is something I tend to endure as part of my job.  I wrote a blog recently about how changing your attitude can change your pathway to success.  I decided to heed my own advice and take myself in for an attitude…

Are you trying to decide what your Social Media process should look like?

Are you trying to decide where to begin and what to do?

One of the easiest and most effective ways to use social media to enhance your dealership’s presence is to utilize video of your happy customers either taking delivery of their New or Pre-Owned vehicle, or video of their experience in your service department!

You first have to understand, social media is…

Why Ban Potential Selling Tools?

The point of restricting access to any website is to ensure your employees are spending their time wisely and getting work done. Why waste the effort of watching each employee’s every move if they aren’t having issues of productivity, especially when the most often restricted sites can be valuable…

http://fixedopsnews.blogspot.com/2011/08/exceeding-expectations.html

What would a Service Professional do?



A Professional understands their Customers Expectations.



Now this has got to be the easiest “no brainer” post you have read in years! You would think that every person who works in the Dealership has heard of Customer Service (here’s a little hint: WE ALL…

Dealer Elite members.......David Lewis & Associates is growing again and we have an opening for two more National Sales Trainers.  Candidate must have an extensive Automotive Management background, a dynamic personality and public speaking desires.

If you have a desire to explore this fantastic opportunity please email me your resume at dlewis@davidlewis.com, or contact me at 321-435-6000, ext. 213.

Kelly Blue Book, the self proclaimed “The Trusted Resource” is used by consumers every day!

According to KBB’s own site stats, “Over 13+ million visits generate more than 35 million pricing reports every month”

THAT is a lot of visits!

Have you ever had a customer come into the dealership with…