Are leads from live chat really leads?

If you are the general manager of a dealership that has never used automotive live chat service or software, you’re probably…

You cannot manage what you can’t measure.  As more and more consumers flock to your dealership website, you must focus your attention to optimizing the ease of which your prospects obtain information about you. …

ActivEngage was honored to have its CEO and Co-Founder Todd Smith featured as a keynote presenter as the Ignite! Dealer Summit. Todd’s workshop highlighted more than 17 easy to use and powerful online tools and …

What ever happened to record players? How about Beta tape players? Anyone remember pagers? Here's a good one,typewriters.

One thing is for sure nothing is forever. No matter how useful or advanced, it too will one day be obsolete.

Now in my mid 30's, (o.k. late 30's) I remember thinking how hip and cool my…

I've started this discussion in a few different places online, and I wanted to get this forum's take on what constitutes a third party lead.

Sitting here writing in my office in Richmond, it never occurred to me that there might be some confusion around that term. I should have gotten a clue when DrivingSales.com eliminated the "Third Party Leads" category from their product listings and …

I visited a client at their dealership this past week. After my full day review which included time to meet and train their staff, I was asked by the Dealer Principal: "Just How Far Behind Are We?".



This is actually a common question that I get asked…

Good morning automotive dealers, Internet Sales Managers and Marketing Guru's,

First of all thank you for taking the time to take a look at my post this morning I appreciate it. The BDC experts work with a large number of dealerships all over the world and when I see something that works well I like to share it with the automotive community. I will be doing a more comprehensive post later this week. Here are some tips, which will help you Crush It on Craigslist, or other…

I'm gonna honk my own horn here and tell you all how pleased I am to be able to say that I am running the number one Kia internet department in the nation. Now this is not official, but for the last 90 days, my Shottenkirk Kia Internet Sales Department is running the best numbers in not only our region, but the nation as well.

Our conversion rate is 24%...This means that of all the Kia leads we get, my department closes 24% of them. Now that's what I call “Low hanging fruit.” what a…

All too often what we think are strategies are mere tactics and are driven by technology vendors want to sell us. I put together this 2.5 day class for our clients and perspective clients on Strategies to help them better define their own strategy online & off.

This is a 2hr version of a 2.5 day class.

 …

I've been seeing a lot of posts lately about upcoming fall conferences and events. These posts are typically not altruistic. They're written by people with vested interests in specific events, whether that's because they're a speaker or they're the host. Now it's our turn.

For people interested in learning and are considering attending one of these events and aren't sure which to attend, I've created a graphic comparison of the three events specifically being held in October 2011 that…

Things are moving fast these days.  Business is conducted at the speed of a mouse click.  To gain a competitive advantage and have any chance at success, you not only have to know who your competition is, but you need to understand them as well.  Too many managers, owners, and top executives have lost sight of the real competition out there.  So, just who is the real…

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…

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…

Nicki Allen of Classic Mazda and Classic Chrysler Dodge Jeep of Denton gives new perspective to some traditional ideas in the automotive business.  A focus on new technology defines a new attitude for these Texas dealerships. Click the image above for the full feature.

When I first started working in the industry over 25 years ago now, I always asked this question. We know that customers "Hate Buying Cars" for the most part. We also know that like visiting a dentist, lawyer, or doctors office they would not be in a store unless they were servicing their car or needed a new or used vehicle.

So the question is why is it that customers who visit the showroom don't buy cars?…

How can car dealerships all over the world get more appointments that show up at your automotive dealership? In order to determine the answer to this fantastic question, we need to look at the problem first.

The problem is: salespeople, managers, service writers, even BDC representatives are not giving customers a reason to return the dealership. They may be calling the customer back, but best intentions rarely get you to the finish line.

The question is what are they…