JIM ZIEGLER NEEDS YOUR HELP ... THIS WEBINAR IS COMING UP THURSDAY  AND I AM ASKING MY FRIENDS TO HELP GET THE WORD OUT. PLEASE, RE-POST THIS EVERYWHERE AND INVITE YOUR FRIENDS AND CONTACTS TO SIGN UP FOR THIS WEBINAR... THANKS -…

5:30 AM and The #AlphaDawg is on the Point

SO YOU WANT TO BE A MANAGER... do you have what it takes?

First time in a long time I've been able to time stamp my Good-Morning Message at 5:30 AM. .... My visit to the Back Surgeon yesterday as an outpatient has me up and…

AutoHook powered by Urban Science announced they are providing all vendors with free and open access to their private offer and redemption API in efforts to streamline and advance actionable automotive data.

DETROIT, MICHIGAN (PRWEB) JANUARY 24, 2017…

DE%20%20Posted%20140916%20Sales%20Manager%20Tips%20and%20Strategies%201.pdf

Every business in existence knows what they do – or what product they offer and the associated features and benefits. Every dealership knows what they do best – which is obviously, sell cars. Successful dealerships equip their team with key players that know how to sell cars. But very few…

All things being equal, why should I buy from you? I posed this question to a salesperson in one of my workshops, and I watched his eyes grow as big as saucers. He hesitated, stammered, and finally said, "Because I will take care of you after you purchase." I smiled and said, "And how will you do that for me?" Again the same type of reaction occurred, and he said, "I will be available if you have any questions." I said, "OK, but everyone says that. Why should I buy from you?" He stammered,…

The $4,000 Tap

By John Fuhrman – Director of Training, OptionSoft Technologies

     There’s an old story that goes something like this.

     A dealer was getting increasingly frustrated with all the technology in his dealership.  He purchased all the best money could buy.  But, when it came to training and support, it never seemed to be in the budget.  So, people came and went, and the…

As many of you know, I've been involved in this industry since cars took leaded gas.  There have been many changes.  Some good, some not so much.  One thing that has seemed to be a constant is selling extended service contracts in your service drive has been an abject failure.  

Dealers get excited about it.  Service Writers train for it.  Sometimes it even takes off selling.  But, usually within weeks, sales slow to a trickle and then become a forgotten practice followed by the ever…

You might be someone who has recently started working for a dealership who sells cars, or you might be the owner of a dealership that is recently online. If this sounds like you, there are certain ways that you want to handle your business. It is important that you know how to handle your business and to guarantee that you get as many customers as possible.

An internet business is much different than owning a business that people walk into. The first thing is that you have to…

[With the on-again/off-again debate about Third Party Providers currently on (again), it seems appropriate to present this excerpt from our 2015 Online Automotive Leads mystery shop study.]

A high percentage of dealership desk managers still look at the Internet and their own internet sales teams as the enemy. For these shortsighted managers, the elimination of e-leads in their dealership might likely be viewed as a blessing.…

Making a strong sales presentation is crucial to closing more sales. Here are 10 tips to help you improve yours:

1. Acknowledge your customer’s requests and expectations.

Make sure they know you heard them. If it’s not appropriate to answer a question at that moment, thank them for the question and assure them you’ll answer it in a few moments. Never react as if they are interrupting your “pitch”.

2. Offer what they ask for, not what you…

FIRING A SALES PERSON

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This may generate some sparks, but; it is the way I see it and the way I teach it and the way I do it in the real-world. 

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When do you Fire a Sales Person?

Answer: You fire a Sales Person at that Point when you realize they are Never-Ever going to make…

On March 9, 1979, the men’s NCAA basketball tournament kicked off with a field of 40 teams, led by the top-ranked and undefeated Indiana State Sycamores. At that point, the tournament was a second-rate event that only hardcore sports junkies and fans of competing schools cared much about.

That all changed on March 26, when the Sycamores, led by senior forward Larry Bird, faced the Michigan State Spartans and their star guard, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, in the championship game.…

"We can't sell the cars for you, but we can help get you more opportunities."

I've heard that line dozens of times from many different vendors. I've actually said it myself at times over the last two decades on the vendor side of the automotive industry. Today, I'm here to tell you that it's not true. We…

Most dealers understand the importance of customer retention. They’re e-mail-blasting sales messages, sending direct mail, and their salespeople are combing over thousands of client records in their DMS, making phone calls to previous customers and orphan owners. The problem is that many dealers don’t realize that, all too often, those messages fall on deaf ears. Dealerships spend tons of money sending messages to customers that are mostly irrelevant because some vendor promised huge results…

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…

[Photo: Used North - Edmond, Oklahoma - 2004 ]

When I worked at Bob Howard Auto Group from 2004 to 2008, it was like dog years in regard to learning, as there were two new car managers and two used car managers under every rooftop and our Internet Department represented all 14 new car brands. So you can imagine picking up the phone and helping…

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the next down market in automotive retail is coming. No one knows precisely when – and none of us is certain what will trigger it – but, it is coming. Moreover, given the current market realities, it might be coming a little faster than most of us in the industry imagine. Take, for example, these fast facts:

• The average length of a new car loan in 2014 was 66 months.
• The number of subprime borrowers missing payments is at…