Recently, I competed for the National Title of Ms. US Forestry Queen and heard several times over the weekend, “You are an extraordinary woman!”  I am humbled and appreciative of any complement, but this one makes me giggle a little on the inside.  Why do I giggle?  Thank about…

I feel fortunate to see so many different dealerships and how they do business. One of the things I hear often is the staff doesn’t have the time to perform processes correctly. The reality is without the right processes so much time is wasted with no way to place the cost of doing business that way. The advisers scramble to put out the latest fire pulling a technician off this job to work on that job. They feel the battle of their job is to act…

Before I get into what this blog is about I think it might be better to tell you what this blog isn't. First, I won't be discussing why you should be blogging, I'll take the fact that you are reading this as a sign that you already know you should. Second, it won't be a technical how -to-manual of setting up and maintaining blogging software. In this post…

Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov famously tantalized his dogs by ringing a bell to alert them that food was about to be served. The dogs, soon wise enough to associate the sound of a tinkling bell with a big juicy steak, began to salivate each time the bell tolled.

This associated behavior is known as “classical conditioning,” and the parallel between the doghouse and the dealership cannot be clearer. Obviously, the incoming…

Franchise lawyers say the franchise laws have changed little in response to the increasing

business being done online.

While some franchise experts say the relevant market

area hasn't changed--that dealers still do business within about a 20-mile

radius--the factories are stepping into a regulatory vacuum and policing

Internet sales. One example is that Honda allows service contracts to be

promoted but not sold on…

Sales managers: help your sales staff to gain customer commitment!



When was the last time a salesperson came back from a demonstration drive and told you (the sales manager) that he or she has gained commitment from the customer, so you stacked up a 4Square presentation (or whatever it is that you use) – only to see the prospective customer walking out the door a couple of minutes later?



Do you find this happens quite a lot or even some of the…

We have a saying at VinSolutions “Bad data in, bad data out”, meaning even with all of the technology we have today, if your customer information is incomplete it is not worth keeping. One of the biggest challenges we have in setting up new accounts in Implementation is getting good data from another CRM/ILM. Every CRM/ILM has their own formats of exporting data and let’s face it; they are reluctant to give you the data you…

As one who launches three to four e-mystery shops per week, I get to see the marketplace from a perspective far different than the one I had when I worked at a store.  I’ve learned that a lot of what, in my selling days, I thought was good material actually contains a message far different from the one intended – and that the message that comes across is not always a good one. 

Judging by some of the follow-up emails I get from dealerships today, many stores still have the…

DealerElite's own Chris Saraceno reports back to Mike…

According to the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, over 75% of Australian households have converted to digital TV.

While the initial take up was slow digital TV has accelerated recently thanks to the ongoing Freeview…

When it comes to Super Bowl advertising, auto marketing expert Max Steckler has one piece of advice for auto dealers: don’t forget about breakfast.

What does he mean? “The Super Bowl is the dance,” Steckler, Vice President of Advertising Products for ADP Digital Marketing, explains. “That’s where the courtship between advertisers and consumers begin.  It’s a…

Speaking as someone that has been on both sides of the car business, referring to retail and remarketing I have to say that I am continuously amazed.  I get to speak to used car managers, general managers, dealer principles, wholesalers and rewholesalers on a daily basis in several states.  What I have become aware of is the amount of effort, money and training that is expended in the new car environment to increase profits.  How can we get more gross in the front…

John I have tried to post these comments to your original post.  It keeps popping up that the post has exceeded 40,000 characters and will not accept the post.  According to Word this post has 3,596 characters.  I believe the 40,000 limit is for the whole post.…