While the majority of my time is now spent trianing new salespeople, I still get to work with experienced teams on occassion.  I enjoy this break, especially during this time of year.  It's always easy to get new people to set high goals becasue they're still excited about their new career and want to make a great impression.  Getting veterans to set goals is more like trying to get a college student to be done with a major paper BEFORE the night before!

As an expert in human personal…

What are you doing this Thursday?  Besides eating and some football.  Some will travel a bit and some will stay home.  But too many may find themselves forgetting that this day is more than just a day off in the busy lives of those in the car business.  I'm hoping to change that.

This year I am thankful for the new associations I've made.  I am grateful for all of those who took the time to teach me more about this business as I grew.  I want to sow my appreciation to the hundreds of…

Even trainers have days when the message is not about how to sell a car or increase gross.  There are plenty of things much more important than that.  While the passion for training is what drives my colleagues as well as myself, today is different.  Monday morning I will be in a dealership helping hire and train, but today is a day to step back and acknowledge those who contribute so much more.

As a veteran who served as Viet Nam was winding down, I am so much happier at the respect…

After more than a few weeks on the road, I needed a haircut.  I've been blessed (or cursed) with a full head of hair that grows very fast.  I am not all that keen on having my hair cut in spas, salons, etc.  But I do admit that going to the franchise Sports Clips is fun in a manly way.  You get to watch ESPN and they give you a massage after your cut.  And, I really like the hot towel on my face.

Because it's my birthday this month, I received an email from Sports Clips reminding me…

Winter 1982.  I was the F&I manager for a Chrysler, Plymouth, Jaguar, Deloreon dealer. (One of my better career moves.)  It was also a time that was very troubling for Chrysler.  They had gotten their loan (bailout) from the government and had cut back on their field support.  We got the memo that some of each dealership staff would volunteer for the New York Auto Show.  Each of us would have to go to the city and spend two hours at the Chrysler booth. (And we still had to pay for our…

This is my first day back after a five week road trip.  I had the priviledge of working with some top dealers to help them staff their sales team with trained recruits.  But, that can also be a curse if the dealer simply sends them on to the floor, wishing them luck, adn hoping for the best.  My job and that of many of my colleagues at other companies is to help new people build a solid foundation for each of the dealers to build upon.  In other words, I am only the beginning.

When…

When you think about all that goes in to creating a professional in the auto industry, what comes to mind?  Usually things like, training, dedication, persistence, confidence and motivation come to mind.  All of these are important and valuable components essential for any professional, but they can't be effective without the one element that ties it all together.  You have to care.  Smarter people than I have…

When you are working a deal, how do you direct your sales people?  Do you insist they follow your steps to the sale?  Regardless of whether you have 8, 10 or even 12 steps, you have a specific process to increase the chances of success in selling and retaining that customer for a long time.  So, why don't you do that when…

Each week I am involved in some type of training with dealers.  The vast majority of the time it's in helping recruit and train new sales people to help round out a sales floor.  But, every now and then I get to work with "experienced" sales people.  Every session begins exactly the same.  I discuss goals.  When I do, you can almost hear the eyes rolling back into their heads.  I begin by asking the same question - "What do you want to earn this year?"

Usually I get a range…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Dealer Resource Group Is Please To Announce That Senior National Trainer - Anthony Bartoli Is A Featured Speaker At This Year's Digital Dealer Conference.

If you are attending this year's conference,…

Do you know the one thing that happens before 100% of the closes salespeople succeed at?  If you discover that secret, you'll see an increase in your own closing ratio, or in your ability to drive your sales staff to repeating successful months over and over.  The real beauty is, once you discover the secret, you have it.  It becomes yours to use any time you need it.

This powerful secret will also work to help you improve yourself, increase your skills and develop your team…

Last week I was busy leading a class of new salespeople through our 21st Century Sales Program(c) and as with all of my classes, one or two students always emerge as leaders but, not always the ones you'd think.  There are the ones who are eager to participate, but they aren't necessarily the leaders.  Others seem to know the answers to all the questions, but that may not mean leadership.

The ones that stand out are often in the background.  But, if you recognize them, you…

That's a tough question.  It can put many people on the spot and get others thinking, perhaps to reeavluate life's priorities.  Maybe, as we end the week, this is a bit to tough a topic even for those who participate.  For those of us who served in the military, the answer is as simple as we do it for our country.  Now that we're civilians, perhaps the answer changed.  At this point in my life, the list is short - My father and mother, my son and daughter, and my best friend since I was 2…

You've just gotten comfortable at the dinner table.  The food looks great and it's one of the rare occassions where the whole family is there.  The conversation is interrupted by a ringing phone and on the other end of the line, "Good evening, my name is_______ and I hope I haven't interrupted anything but I have some fantastic news about your eligibility for  more insurance coverage..." 

How excited are you about calls like that?

Yet, if you have a family, a…

I'm a baseball man.  I could give up watching all other sports if the season went all year round.  It's a great sport to watch because on any day, someone could literally come out of nowhere and change the season.  As a Lifetime Yankee fan, being around when Bucky "Bleepin'" Dent took the Yanks past Boston to win another series was incredibly satisying.  Seeing it again with Aaron Boone two decades later brought back those same feelings.  Yet, neither one of them will ever be considered for…

Training.  It's an important element to any successful department.  While it's my livelihood now, when I was managing dealerships, I think I missed a lot of opportunities to be a better trainer.  Standing in front of a room for an hour or less delivering a technique or other instruction, just didn't create the improvement I was looking for.  Later in my career, many managers confirmed that belief with their own experience.  While multi-day training programs, with notebooks and class…

Before you begin recruiting, interviewing, or hiring for the position of Internet Manager/BDC/Internet Director, there are three crucial things you must do first.

1)  Determine the hierarchy of the store.  Who will this person, in a new department, be reporting to?  Often anyone from sales managers to salespeople believe they can delegate work to someone in the Internet department while the top stores usually have a director or GM as the only entity that presides over the…

Business has begun to pick up.  You've lost some people due to the previous year's slow down.  You've added a franchise.  You want more coverage.  All of these are legitimate reasons to begin a hiring campaign to add sales people to your team.  But, other than the cost of advertising, are you prepared for the "real hidden cost" of hiring?

There are two directions to take when beginning a campaign.  You can go for experience or you can train new salespeople in the style of…