Customers Always Receives Exceptional Service, that’s what I mean by CARES. Does your dealership do just what it has to do or does it go the extra mile for every single customer? These days, people are unimpressed by businesses doing just enough to get by, they want exceptional service!

Are you exceeding their expectations? Are you addressing their needs thoughtfully and in…

Losing a friend stinks; losing a client costs you money; people unliking your Facebook page is both! Historically, people have had a somewhat negative opinion of car dealers in general, and not many of them want to be friends with a dealer on Facebook. However, when you get the chance to build that relationship, that relationship that may one day lead to a sale, so don’t…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBANY, N.Y. – September 29th, 2014 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today the integration of its dealership management system (DMS) with MaximTrak Technologies' F&I Suite. Auto dealers using both systems may now benefit from a real-time, bi-directional exchange of information that speeds up the F&I…

“To err is human; to forgive, divine” – Alexander Pope

Mistakes happen, people realize this. Nobody expects a business to be perfect, as everyone has bad days. However, how you handle these mistakes is the secret to formulating long-term opinions of your…

This article was written by Robin Cunningham and was originally published on the NCM Institute Up to Speed blog. 

Is it just me, or does it seem like so much of what we take for granted in life is a zero-sum game?…

I'd like to have a heart-to-heart with dealers and high-level managers at dealerships, because I am genuinely curious about something. You are all focused on customer loyalty these days, as you should be. It takes genuine effort to earn--and keep--a customer's loyalty. You implement best practices, train your employees, try to keep your employees happy and motivated so…

When developing an employee retention strategy, a business must ultimately consider salaries. There’s no doubt that a long-term employee will feel slighted if a new employee joins at a higher pay. Chances are they may even feel slighted if the new employee receives the same wage. In the automotive industry (and business in general), it’s increasingly acceptable to see…

This article was written by Steve Hall. 

Follow this Recipe for Better Results

Summer in Kansas City is the time to smoke, grill and barbecue. The other day I was putting together my special rib sauce and it occurred to me that cooking is a lot like managing. Cooking when you have a great recipe is a lot easier –­ and the results are consistently better ­if you’re…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBANY, N.Y. – August 25th, 2014 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today that it will be hosting its first annual User Summit for auto dealer clients on Friday, September 19th in Albany, NY. More than sixty dealers and managers from dealerships around the country are scheduled to attend, where they will learn the newest features of Auto/Mate's dealership management system…

This article was written by Bob Sloan and was originally published on the NCM Institute Up to Speed blog. 

Car count is one of the primary metrics for measuring growth in the service department. An increase usually leads to additional shop hours produced and gross profit. A decrease is a call to action to determine the cause(s) as well as develop a plan to…

ALBANY, N.Y. – August 11th, 2014 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) is celebrating its fortieth anniversary as a leader in dealership management system (DMS) technology. Auto/Mate was originally developed as an F&I system and was introduced to auto dealerships by Wang Laboratories in 1974. Over the past forty years Auto/Mate has evolved into one of the industry's premier DMS solutions and has twice been voted the "highest…

This article was written byJoe Basil and was originally published on the NCM Institute Up to Speed blog. 

As the great recession started to unfold in 2008 and 2009, gasoline prices rose above four dollars a gallon, the banking and housing industry began to collapse, unemployment rose and auto sales fell off the charts. Those dealerships that came…

Basic text email absolutely stinks for many of the applications we typically use it for in the automotive industry. There, I said it! Do I have your attention now?

There’s a reason I’m saying this and I think you’ll agree after hearing me out. The fact of the matter is, text communication causes fights. When is the last time you sent your wife, girlfriend, husband, or boyfriend a text message that was completely taken out of context? For me it’s daily, sometimes, even…

This article was written by Robin Cunningham and originally published on the NCM Institute Up to Speed blog.

I think it is safe to say that every business operator is planning, forecasting, or at least hoping to increase their sales and profits in whatever business he or she is involved in.

In the retail automobile business, that growth can come in many forms, such as:

• Selling more new or used…

ALBANY, N.Y. – July 28th, 2014 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com), a premier dealership management system (DMS) provider, has received a "Platinum" award in the 2014 Auto Dealer Monthly Dealers' Choice Awards. This year marks the first time that Auto/Mate was honored with a top ranking in the magazine's annual award program that recognizes the industry's best product and service providers as selected by hundreds of…

Manny Luna

CEO/Founder

VL Digital…

This post was originally written by Paul Stowe for the NCM Institute Up to Speed blog. Click here to view the original article.

Mr./Ms. Dealer:

There continues to be a great deal of misconception in sales managers’ thinking about why they’re not able to increase used vehicle volume. Industry metrics confirm that those…

It’s unfortunate that so many members of the automotive industry when approached with a genuine request to be of assistance, are prone to wondering  “ What do you want from me?” or “What are you selling?”  I blame the all too common and frequent hidden agendas that often occur in B2B and B2C interactions.

We already understand that a single loyal…

Professor Carol Dweck of Stanford University believes humans have essentially two mindsets, growth or fixed, and through her research with employees of Fortune 500 companies, she found that managers with a growth mindset are more innovative.

Why is this important? According to the…