Join us March 23, 2020 for the first edition of BDC…

Rising interest rates and stagnant incentives point to a slowing new vehicle market through the end of the year. NADA predicts new vehicle sales will decline at least one percent, and probably more. Used car sales are picking up. But not at a velocity to make up for the loss of new vehicle sales. What should a dealer do? Some may need to lean on the parts and…

As countless studies will attest, the effectiveness of texting, email, social media, and multiple other digital…

Dealerships are always struggling with the decision on whether they need a BDC or not. Some try and succeed, but others try and fail. Why does this happen? How is one dealership’s BDC succeeding when other BDCs are failing and returning to status quo after a significant investment? The following are four reasons BDCs fail and solutions for making your BDC a…

In the race to make a sale, dealerships often rely on templates in CRMs. These templates – including autoresponders – can hurt a dealership’s chances of communicating effectively -- or at all.

The response rate for leads is very low in the automotive industry. How much time do your salespeople or BDC agents spend calling a new lead, or sending an email, fail…

The sheer volume of leads many dealerships receive can be overwhelming. And, not only do they have to respond (hopefully quickly) to any new leads, they are also expected to follow up with those leads with a “buy or die” mentality. I can guarantee you that whoever is responsible for following up with leads can quickly be overwhelmed by their to-do list in the…

Videos of happy customers generate more online reviews and website visits  

Newport Beach, CA – September 10, 2018 – In the six-month period from February through July 2018, Downey Nissan, California’s #1 volume Nissan dealer, experienced a viral lift of 627 percent in their social media marketing program, attributed to videos sent out by Vboost, an automotive…

Communication is vital to business, that’s a given. In retail, businesses must be responsive, provide a great customer experience and stand by their products or services. But what happens when businesses fail at that? They get complaints.

A customer ordered some copper from a business that promised it to be of the highest…

Many dealerships subscribe to some type of call tracking service that records incoming phone calls, however, many sales managers neglect to listen to the calls on a regular basis. Typically, it’s not until the end of the month when they’re trying to squeeze out those last few units for the month, that the call tracking service comes to mind. They listen to calls and then,…

So you've decided it's time to differentiate your dealership from the competition, and that video is the way to do it. Your next probable question is, do you produce, distribute and market the videos yourself, or outsource some, if not all of these functions?

The answer to this question is, it depends. We've got dealers who are successfully doing both. In my…

How do you communicate with your customers? Social Media must be a large part of this, as it reaches customers where they are and is becoming a regular segment of the advertising budget (and growing with each quarter).

But is it effective?…

If you're a GM or dealer principal I have to ask: Do you have any idea what your BDC is doing right now? 

A few weeks ago a general manager I’ve known for some time was bragging about the performance of his group’s Centralized BDC. He was almost gushing about how well they were doing and how there was no conflict between the BDC and the various floor teams. He told me…

When handling Internet leads, the lack of response by customers, the appointments that don’t show and the unrealistic expectations often frustrate internet managers and dealers. Show and closing rates in the low to mid-teens is not uncommon, compared to the total number of leads received.

I thought I would share some best practices from my observations working…

Quick Quiz: If you’re part of an automotive dealer group comprised of anywhere between 2 and 290 stores and you do not run a centralized sales BDC, then you’re:

• A) Wasting Money
• B) Losing Sales
• C) At a Competitive Disadvantage
• D) Not Leveraging Your Economies of Scale
• E) All of the Above

If you answered E, congratulations! You’ve recognized the downside of sending your inbound leads and phones to those black holes…

While I tend to do a lot of phone training, it’s not my favorite skill to teach.

This is not because my phone skills training lacks substance or robustness or even uniqueness – it provides all three (and you can even get most of it for free online) – it’s because that no matter how much phone skills…

At virtually every dealership 20 group I address, at least one dealer will ask the question I hear most often with respect to internet sales:

“What’s the best internet sales structure for a dealer today: End-to-End; a BDC; or giving the leads to the floor?”

I’ve been asked this question over and over again since 2009; and until early 2014 my answer was always the same: “Any of those will work, provided you and your sales managers support the efforts.” This was true then and…

I have just joined dealerelite, and, based on the varying opinions of the benefits of a BDC, decided to share this with all of you rather than just posting my opinions on the different blogs I have read.  Enjoy!

http://www.dealerstrong.com/7-bdc-elements-healthy-dealership/

7 BDC Elements For A Heart Healthy Dealership

Several years ago, when there was a…

If you’re like most dealers I speak with lately, you’re either looking to add a Business Development Center (aka BDC) or trying to find ways to make your current BDC more successful? If so, then there are just a few simple “must haves” that are truly non-negotiable if you’d like your BDC to succeed today and over the long term.

MUST #1: BDC’s Must be Profit (not Cost) Centers

The primary reason BDCs failed in the past is they simply weren’t very successful at…