Tools to Increase Your Business Aren’t Worth Much Without Follow-up and Training

The recent NADA Convention is over. As always, there was plenty of information to gain and a lot of shiny objects being displayed. Dealers and major executives were out with their checkbooks looking for ways to increase their business in 2015. There were countless…

Hello and welcome to this week’s Used Car Market Report with insights from Black Book. Yes, gas prices at the pump are edging up, plus $.02 two weeks ago, and now a significant $.12 this past week. The national average is still a consumer friendly $2.19. Diesel was more stable and indications are this will be the case this year compared to gas. This past week was the first increase in diesel, at…

It seems as if every big event nowadays is live tweeted by brands seeking to gain free marketing on the back of these popular events. This last Super Bowl saw brands literally setting up war rooms filled with social media professionals, graphic designers and even lawyers, simply to post content in reaction to real-time events. For most events targeted by brands in this…

It’s Officially the Women Buyers Era...

OEM’s are increasing their advertising towards this powerful buying segment. Smart dealerships are too. Women bought an estimated 13 million cars at new car dealerships last year; an estimated 35,000 vehicles a day.

How many female “up’s” are converting to buyers at your store? If you aren’t tracking that number yet, we suggest you start accounting for sales by gender. The upside of your gross profit potential is tied to this.

The…

 Are your managers and sales associates well versed in the art of the T.O.?

I double dog dare you to visually inspect what you expect. If your team flunks these 7 steps YOU ARE MISSING LOTS OF BUSINESS! There are no reasons only excuses. This is 100% controllable. Managers must get back in touch with the "sales" side of "sales management."…

In the movie Field of Dreams, a ghostly voice tells Kevin Costner's Ray Kinsella character, "If you build it, he will come."

The first question you'll want answered is, "What is it?" In the movie, the 'it' was a baseball field, but it was actually so much more than that. In…

Phone Up Dialogue

Most car Salespeople are unaware of the value that phone ups bring to their business.  The phone up is the most reliable source for Customers who will end up buying a car.  Because of this it is…

Word on the street in the SEO world is that Google just had a big algorithm update that is finally starting to match what they've been saying for a while: mobile-friendliness is important for search rankings.

The move was first noted by Bronco's update watch on January 26th.…

 Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success! Henry Ford…

Our company has published it’s second annual report which showcases women are having empowering experiences at progressive car dealerships in the United States.

Women are responsible for buying over 13 million cars at new car dealerships; that’s an impressive 36,000 vehicles a day. Dealerships have to literally change gears, advertising, amenities and their sales strategies to attract this powerful buying force. “It’s a very competitive industry” shares Women-Drivers.com President,…

WE ARE ENTERING AN ERA OF CRM DOMINATION



- BY JAMES A. ZIEGLER, THE ‪#‎AlphaDawg‬

Third party Vendors are waking up to their worst nightmare. The party is almost over and we're turning the lights on. They…

Social media kicked off the New Year with some interesting updates geared toward increasing content exposure and diversifying communications tools. While some automotive professionals have expressed thatsocial isn’t selling cars, these updates may yet give us hope!

So far, here are 2015’s five social media updates your dealership…

Compared to a couple of years ago, the number of dealers who have some sort of mobile strategy is exponentially higher. As an industry, we're starting to really understand just how important mobile is, but there needs to be more action and less discussion, in my humble opinion.

Here's an article I wrote on…

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of the Used Car Market Report from Black Book. As you can tell we are again recording this market video blog via Skype while on the road. Where has the industry taken us this week? We are coming to you from the exhibition hall floor and the Black Book booth at the 98th annual NADA Convention and Exposition in San Francisco. Unfortunately there is…

In the world of automotive retail, dealerships are always searching for ways to increase leads. Whether they choose to pursue that goal through third-party lead providers, increase page rankings through better SEO, or various other ways, if there is a customer in their market who wants to buy a car, dealers want an opportunity to earn their business.

When a…

25 Things Veteran Managers Need to Hear

(But don’t want to…)

In life, we all need someone to just tell us the hard truth.  Even when it’s something we really don’t want  to know.  Call it tough love, a reality check, or the ugly truth..  It is what it is.

My wife is talented…

The arguments used to avoid trial closes are "pressure"and "turning customer's off". Rather than teaching the associates not to trial close, there is greater benefit in teaching them HOW TO TRIAL CLOSE.

After reading David's blog, and Grant's reply I pondered and decided to throw my hat in the ring...

For the past two decades it has been popular for trainers and manufactures to attempt to take selling out of the equation. By falsely…

Automax Recruiting And Training And Recruitment HQ Partner Up To Bring New Hiring Technology To Automotive Recruitment

Automotive Recruitment Has Gone From High Technology And No-Touch, To High Technology And High Touch With The Inclusion Of A First…

Are Your Phone Skills Costing You Money?

In reality when someone picks up the phone to call any business they have just taken the first step toward buying.  If they lose confidence in your dealership on the phone, chances are you…