The secret paths on the journey to sales success do not exist.  There are no hidden doorways that inherently lead to a pool of wealth.  The trek requires tenacity, perseverance and commitment and is no place for the weak spirited. The route is littered with mediocre, unfulfilled promise…

Many people choose to stand in; those who do fall in line, conversing between the should’ves and the could’ves. When you stand in, you play it safe attempting to minimize exposure of any liability, risk, or mishap- anything that could make you look foolish. When you stand out, you expose yourself to all of the risks- becoming the sole beneficiary of…

They don’t trust you.

We both know it’s largely unfair, but they don’t trust you. 

You’ve seen all the polls where buyers say if they could bypass the dealership and buy directly from the manufacturer they would.  They trust the OEM, but they don’t trust you.

A couple weeks ago, I heard a Ford maven say this (I’ll paraphrase): “The more your outgoing emails resemble Tier 1 emails, the more prospects trust you.”   By gawd, he’s on to something.…

Another Coach is working with a SMgr who asks his salespeeps to submit a short activity summary at the end of each day. Not everyone does this and this SMgr is frustrated. Thoughts?

One point is missing. This will only pertain if this isn't a rebellious bunch who don't believe in accountability and it all…

How do we get our people, the culture, aligned with the strategies so that everyone is committed to the strategy?  How do we unleash the creativity, resourcefulness, talent, and energy of our team to come together? 

Momentum can carry a team through the most challenging times.  If the foundation is void of fundamental leadership skills, the team can decelerate quickly at the first…

There are two pains you will feel in your life…

The pain of discipline…

Or the pain of regret…

The pain of discipline…requires us…to do all…

The recent changes with Google Places make a strong case why dealers need a marketing strategy that is continually updated based on market conditions and changes in search/social.



I've been flooded this week with calls and emails asking for guidance on how to adjust…

The 11th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition is excited to announce that our keynote speaker will be Erik Qualman, best-selling author of "Socialnomics"!

Erik Qualman has recently advised/given keynotes with the following: Coach, Facebook, UGG Australia, Starbucks,…

True self-worth stems from within

You can't be lifted up by anyone or anything any higher than

you're willing to lift yourself up.

You can't be put down by anyone or anything any lower than…

In a first, a dealership in Michigan partnered up with Groupon to offer Groupon’s first car buying groupon. The deal offered was $500 off the purchase of a vehicle for $199. Keep in mind that Groupon typically takes 50% of the price of the offer (in this case about $100) if the Groupon is successful (ie. meets the minimum purchase requirements). So in the event that the minimum of 10 deals were…

TO LAUGH IS TO RISK APPEARING THE FOOL

TO WEEP IS TO RISK APPEARING SENTIMENTAL…

Remember those old movies about the dark dank rooms that unwanted children were forced to live in.  They were left to fend for themselves, poorly fed, and ignored until they were old enough to go somewhere else on their own.  While some of these movies became musicals, an orpahn's life was not a pretty one.  How about those who have been left by the wayside when their salesperson moves on?  Are they just being ignored until they move on?

Orphan owners may be the most ignored…

As a sales manager, I hosted a daily sales meeting like every good sales manager should.  Like all good salespeople do, the sales team would come to the meeting with their list of “should-haves” and “could-haves” if only “blah-blah” was true.  This would often take the wind right out of my sails and tarnish the…

Social Networking has transformed from a way that college kids could keep in touch to a main stream tool for capitalism.  Social Media is one of the newest tools available to the global economy as more and more businesses are adopting Social Media Marketing Plans.  With an audience of over 500 million users, Social Media has become the platform for engaging with clients and prospects on a real time and…

Coaching…or should I say…continual coaching… is THE… most important ingredient in running a successful business….

But with so much time…effort…and money being spent on coaching …why isn’t it more effective??

Let’s take a look at coaching as a whole…

It goes without saying…that coaching …as with…

How can this be? How can success and failure be one in the same? That doesn’t make sense. Does it?

Professional Baseball Player- Gets up 5 times in a game and strikes out, all 5 times. One would agree his performance was a failure. He is a professional, which makes him successful. Right?

Professional Golfer- Has a round of 80. Eight shots over par. A very bad day, for professional golf…

The biggest mistake salespeople, sales managers and BDC staff make is that they let notes in their CRM or on paper convince them not to call customers back. As I always say you need to get the consumer out of you before you make the call. Someone is going to be sold and the question is who. How can you expect to re-motivate customers to visit the dealership if you are not convinced when you call them. The question is are you selling them or are they selling you?…