So you may be wondering why I am wishing all of you a Happy 4th of July. I can hear the comments..."We are just finishing up April". "Doesn't he mean Memorial Day"

No I do not. I mean are you planning for the cars you are selling only 9 weeks from now? 

Dealers are so focused on the 30 day cycle that they…

                                                               It was January, 2011 when I first wrote about how $220 Billion Global King Kong GOOGLE goes offline with direct mail. Now, $100 Billion Global King Kong Jr FACEBOOK followed…

When a new Internet Sales Manager is hired there are usually too few leads in his queue. Mostly he gets a few "fresh" leads and then gets the last guy's old stuff--the dregs. But if he goes through the old leads a few might come to life. A few turn into deals--maybe 1-2%. How did that happen? It happened because the last guy "cherry picked" his leads; he concentrated on the few instead of the many. The last guy had a weekly strategy rather than a thirty to sixty day plan.  

Here's an…

Since I am new to the car business, i have to learn how to prospect one of my prospecting channels is calling customers that just left our service center.

so i was wondering if any one had a few suggestion on questions that i might be able to ask the customers while easing them into trying to get them back into the dealership to trade in their current car or buy a new one. any suggestions or scripts people might have would be great. 

I know each customer and situation is…

Check out this new blog post by one of our Graphic Designers Nicole Rothenberger as she talks all about the importance of QR codes and explains how to use them.

You all know how important an online presence is. But what about a mobile way to connect…

By now, you have already set up a business website. You are tweeting about anything and everything that comes to mind. You talk about the new inventory you have on your lot, the service specials your dealership is offering, the weather and even about your cat. After all this is said and done, you still have a handful of followers and hardly any interaction with them.



Based on research information hosted on the MIT website …

Spring Cleaning? Ya, me too. If you haven’t taken a look at your work area lately, step back and take it all in.

See that pile of papers on your desk? And those spare parts you were saving for the factory in the corner…how long have they been there? What’s up with that chair with the padding falling out? Are you saving that for someone special?

Hey, this is not limited to the Service Managers office. There are many GM’s and DP’s offices that look pretty darn close to that…

Company continues nationwide expansion; over $100 million in loan fundings in first year; over 1,500 dealership customers

Irvine, CA –  April 24, 2012 – CarFinance Capital LLC (http://www.carfinancecapital.com), a specialized provider of non-prime financing services for auto dealers, today announced the opening of a new office in Fort Worth, Texas, which is expected to…

Look for the "Yes!"--as "no" can find you without any help!

Do you often find yourself locking into what is wrong about something rather than what is right?  Both wrong and right are good to consider, certainly--however, what are you looking for?  A way to say "yes" or a way to say "no"? 

 

Looking for the "no" first is really…

Each season, like clockwork, I hit this mental block. 

I feel like I've reached my capacity and I have no new content to give, no no tips to provide, and no more help to offer.

Some call it seasonal depression, I call it a mental clutter. I think I'm an idea hoarder.

Throughout the year, I take tons of things in, recycle it, reword it, use it over and over again. This works for a while... but eventually, you need new material. I think of bands who…

Mom used to say, rather emphatically, “Don’t watch so much TV, you’ll ruin your eyes!”  That was back in the day of 3 channels when I would watch a ½ hour after school.  Fast forward to today when the average American spends 33 hours a week watching video on their various screens.  That’s like a full time job. 

Nielsen reports that internet video viewing is up 22%…

When someone says something to you, do you listen? I don’t mean do the words pass through your hearing canal, but do you listen to them? Do you allow the words to enter your brain and form a clear vision of what is being said to you? If you haven’t put this much thought into this, then there is a very good chance you aren’t listening to the things…

Studies show that the average salesperson is into negotiations within 3 minutes of saying hello.  Three minutes and they're talking numbers and hoping to close a deal.  What's amazing is, I heard that exact statistic when I went to my first sales training seminar in 1980.  So, nothing has really changed in over 30 years. 

Think about it this way.  Some of you have been reading my articles since I began.  That being the case, could you send me a check for $1,000?  You've received…

I like Facebook. It’s a nice place to check up on my friends, and see what’s going on that day.  I also check Twitter occasionally. Social Media is a great way to share pictures and news pertinent to me, but there’s one thing I don’t go on these sites for, and that’s to be sold on something.

I recently read a blog post on Hanafin Loyalty’s website, titled ‘An Open Letter to Millennials’ (you can find that blog post…

Free webinar April 26th at 2pm EDT; provides key strategies for battling market share loss to aftermarket chains and for growing customer loyalty

Daytona Beach, FL– April 20, 2012 – DMEautomotive (DMEa), the science-inspired, results-based automotive marketing leader, joins with WardsAuto to host a free webinar on April 26^th at 2pm EDT. Based on dramatic new…

Demotivation is the biggest problem any business can ever have. It is your biggest business success killer you can ever have. Have you recently questioned how motivated your staff is?  The motivated role models and examples of business excitement is not as affluent as you imagine. Motivation affects your staff and your productivity. Before you wonder what happened, I suggest taking quick inventory and ask what have you done lately to KICK the demotivation out of your business door??

Although this subject has been at the center of some very insightful debates recently, my opinion is a strong YES!  F&I departments in automotive dealerships should be playing a major role in the overall social media strategic plan, especially on Facebook™ and Twitter™. After all, the financial business office serves the public in so many beneficial ways; first as a…