I was recently invited to be a guest lecturer for an entrepreneur class at the University ofCincinnati. In the question-and-answer portion of the program, the professor asked me to sum up what I felt was the most important message I could stress to the class. My reply was one word – ACTION.

At a sales seminar I was giving, I was going over low- to no-cost marketing strategies designed to increase leads for sales people. At the first break after the marketing section, one of…

Great managers view themselves as coaches more than managers. There is an old adage: “Lead people and manage things.” There is a fine line between creating and utilizing systems and processes and micromanaging details without emphasizing the power of personal interaction.

Good systems and processes should allow employees to raise their performance by giving them confidence in their direction and lessening the burden of the manager and coach from having to constantly inform…

As the economy improves and everyone looks to increase market share, dealers are struggling to take advantage because they can’t find enough good salespeople.  As a result, the customer experience suffers, guests are not logged into the CRM, and sales opportunities are missed.  But there are 3 places where good salespeople can be found:

1) YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA

If you are seeking a younger, more technologically advanced salesperson you have to go where they are – online. …

Have you made the commitment that automotive sales is your career choice? Unless you commit, it’s impossible that you will take the necessary steps to create the business you desire. Long-term thinking in addition to short-term goals are keys to continued success.

When you first enter into a sales position, 80 percent of your time is spent acquiring customers and 20 percent of your time is spent maintaining those customers. Eventually, with the right efforts, that model…

Who is Jason Becker you might ask?  Before I tell you I want to let you know that the reason for this post is because I am tired of hearing people tell me that they cannot do something or that things are impossible.  I hear it from sales professionals at dealerships.  I hear it from people that I meet in social environments that tell me they are looking for a job after I mention the possibility of car sales.  I even hear it from people in my family who sometimes make excuses instead of…

The first step in advancing the productivity of your staff in using the phones is a better understanding in the importance that the telephone can play and how it affects your business. Often a lack of the right attitude is displayed in the treatment towards the receptionist position. The receptionist is usually hired without any guidelines that would be used to hire for an important position. In your dealership do you have personality profiles, set interview questions and guidelines to hire…

In the car business, just about every dealership has "that" employee. You know, the one that complains about everything. The one that's never happy. The one most sales trainers, consultants and managers would call "cancer". The advice that 99% would give in regards to "that guy" who, no matter what you tried, just isn't positive and seems to hate everything would be to fire him. The last thing you need is some jaded veteran salesman spreading dissension and negativity around your…

Are you the CEO of your company? If you’re a sales person, and you answered no to this question, think again. To be successful you must have a CEO mentality. All successful sales people view themselves as a business within a business. Never forget that the company you work for writes and signs your check, but you fill in the numbers. Always take responsibility for everything. You are the CEO.

What does a CEO do?

First of all, a CEO designs a marketing…

 After watching back-to-back, lopsided losses, it’s safe to say that my 9-year-old son’s basketball team has plenty of room for improvement. From the opening tip off, the track race from one end of the court to the other began as my son’s team helplessly tried to keep up with their competitor. As I watched the game, I began to smirk-not because my son’s team was…

Many times people say they don’t like to negotiate; yet, they still shop around and never pay full MSRP. Most people act in their own best interest. And most people who say they don’t like negotiating, actually still want to.

There are three things you should always listen to in this business:

1. What people say.

2. What people are trying to say.

3. What they really mean.

Often, what people are saying is they ‘hate’ to…

Do you believe in luck? Do you consider yourself a lucky person or are you waiting for your ship to come in? There is a difference between luck and randomness. You should create your own luck and remove the randomness of your results.

Recently, I conducted a sales meeting for a business. Before I gave the meeting, I entered the meeting area before the sales team arrived and I taped a $20 bill to the bottom of a chair. During the meeting, I asked everyone to stand up and then…

Each year thousands of new-hires sit through a dealer’s orientation and basic skills class to learn how to sell cars. In many cases that is the full extent of focused training they will receive in a career that will be an exception if it passes the 6-month mark.  Even the ones who survive are likely to end up with one year of experience many times, rather than…

An additional area of concern is within the CRM Inventory Tool. In our experience, not every store uses the Inventory Tool to its fullest capability.  The basics of having pictures, custom comments, pricing, aged inventory, hits, leads, etc etc, should excite every dealership sales manager within a store.  All of this extremely valuable information is essential to not only helping drive leads to your store, but also managing and caring for existing leads and converting them to…

You probably answered “no.” Who wouldn’t? I wonder how your customers would answer that question. Do your customers think you, your product and your business are boring? People want to be entertained. Entertainment = Sales. Boring = Broke.

Your customers get their news from FOX News and USA Today, their food from drive throughs, their coffee from Starbucks, their money from ATMs, their exercise from 7- minute abs DVDs and their information from the…

I collect vintage sales training materials and included among the items I've collected are many of the old phongraph record and filmstrip materials.

I was looking through some of these the other day and found one that the box it should from Chevrolet in had never been opened and that got me to thinking.

I have found there is resistance by dealers and dealership managers to spending money on training. It is understandable when much of the time the materials are…

This day didn’t seem much different than the other 196 school days. I mindlessly walked my 5 year old daughter to class, stooped down to kiss her goodbye and turned to walk away until one of her classmates called out to me, “Look what I drew!” Toothlessly grinning from ear to ear, she proudly showed me her drawing- a drawing that only the artist could interpret its rendition. Giggling as I marveled at her masterpiece, with Ooo’s and Ah’s, Lacy proceeded to grab a clean…

It is impossible to restrain and if unleashed it will spread like “wild fire”! What am I talking about...? [Passion] or should I say Pass-it-on? It is contagious…it breeds the must have ingredient in success and that is MOMENTUM!

Let’s talk about the importance of momentum --- often called The Big Mo ("Big…

1. Manage things and lead people.

Processes should be defined and managed daily. People should be lead by example daily. Management by strict control inhibits star performers and eliminates creativity of intelligent people. Feelings of manipulation are caused by strict control. Control, manipulation, and disrespect keep many dealerships from moving to another level of performance.

2. Speed of the boss = speed of the team.

If the boss has a…

What an amazing video! Here is proof that compelling imagery can elicit deep emotion. By capturing the essence of father / son conflict and their mutual passion for cars, this Subaru ad connects with viewers on many levels.

Now is a good time to look at your marketing to see how you can use emotion to…

What is hidden wealth? Hidden wealth is an unused, dormant or under utilized part of your business that contains great value. All businesses have at least one hidden wealth. Even the best businesses in the world contain hidden wealth. The key is to determine your hidden wealth and begin to mine the potential gold that lies therein. All businesses are different. Each business should require their leaders to conduct a concerted effort of introspection and egoless honesty to determine what…