If I live whispering the words, if only,

I will live a life that bears no fruit and ends quite lonely.

My dreams and fortunes are waiting to be found,

all I have to do is flip those 2 words around.

Going from a wish to a demand,

puts my future back in my hands,

the plane of success only I can land.

If only I had fortune and fame,

I can, only if I develop a reputation and build…

A boy walking in Manhattan asked an older gentleman, “Can you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?”  “Yes,” the man replied, “Practice!”…

Does this conversation sound familiar?

Bob: “Hey Joe, it’s GREAT to talk to you. How are you on this OUTSTANDING day? How is the weather where you are, old…

One question I hear more often than others is, “How often should I post to my blog?” But to answer this question there are so many other related factors to consider it will take you burrowing down a deep rabbit h*** of other similar topics, such as:

1. Why would a car dealer want to blog?
2. What is blogging and how is it different from…

Don't miss the next Digital Dealer Webinar featuring an encore of another of our most popular sessions from the 10th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition!

Ralph Paglia, VP Digital at Tier 10 Marketing, will be sharing his session "Integrated Social Media for Car Dealers" tomorrow 6/2 at 11:30am EST. Register HERE!

Check out the promo video for the 10th Digital Dealer…

This year, I made a trip to Japan, which was a year long adventure in coordinating and planning with a group of college buddies.  Despite a tragic earthquake and tsunami followed by a real nuclear threat, we continued to plot and chart our big adventure.  It was during all this adjusting, forecasting and…

In the most challenging economic climate in a generation, the influence of the media on the consumer’s attitude to spending has made the job of the auto dealer that much more difficult.  The advent of social networking, such as Twitter and Facebook have not only empowered consumers with information but also provided a global outlet for feedback both positive and negative.



Whilst many of the principles of selling in the automotive sector remain valid, the industry has needed to…

I am so excited for what is about to happen in the world of Social Media... We are about to launch the "Social Outbreak" tool.  We will be fully integrated with Facebook on this, so the ride is expected to be a thrill.

What is it?  It is a tool that will allow you to build a Facebook page or multiple pages that will rival those of Coke and Aflac.  They spent tens of thousands of dollars, this ap will be about 100.

What if your facebook page were able to do lead capture work? …

http://www.dongraffautomotive.com

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/don-graff/14/896/a39

One of the issues I hear about frequently from my client dealerships is that of sales staff retention. Let me venture out onto the limb to suggest that, just perhaps, the requirements for a sales…

To be convicted is to be found guilty and given a sentence of a specified time, with the chance of rehabilitation. When convicted, there is still hope; it means all is not forgotten; there is still another chance. This is not the case when something is condemned; being condemned means to be found incurable, lost, with no chance of being restored. When a home is…

 Yesterday, I went to a store with my wife to get 1 (one, ONE) thing. As luck would have it, I found myself standing behind my wife looking at an aisle full of little girl’s shoes. The choices were overwhelming; they should put an, “Enter at your own risk” sign up for men entering this aisle. There were all styles of shoes; styles called strapies, flats, sandals,…

I just discovered that in the past sixteen months I have launched more than 225 mystery shops.  Wow.  I didn’t realize there had been so many.



You’d think after 225+ mystery shops a guy should have some profound observations and conclusions to share about mystery shops, right?  I don’t know about the profound part, but, yeah, you’re right, it seems that a person should have some observations and conclusions to share.

So I’ve spent the last couple hours…

This is an article I wrote for HubPages about some best practices of top Internet Sales Professionals and ironically it seems we all are becoming Internet Sales Professionals...

http://hubpages.com/_1y255dewe5ec9/hub/Secrets-of-Successful-Automotive-Internet-Sales-People

Let me know what you think!  And by all means, feel free to share this…

1) Rapport Gets'em in the Door:  Smile!  Shoppers buy from people they like and trust, and that process begins from the first moment on the phone.  Be and sound happy and interested, and they will be, too.  They can see your smile through the phone, and always give it to…

Many American’s believe Memorial Day is a day for family parties, or community gatherings to mark the beginning of summer vacations. To a veteran or member of our military it has nothing to do with parties or vacations, it is deeper and more personal; it is a day to remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in the name of…

1) Don't Forget to Still Answer the Sales Calls Correctly: An inbound sales call on average is much more valuable than an Internet lead. Studies show that nearly 8 out of 10 shoppers who contact us from our web presence call us for that first contact. Just because Internet Leads might be easier to…