Love him or hate him, Tesla’s Elon Musk is brilliant. As both a businessman and a marketer, he has created a loyal following of brand advocates – some of whom don’t even own the products he sells. There are consumers literally willing to wait years just to purchase a Tesla vehicle. He recently launched a car into orbit, which is now on its way to Mars -- the man continues to…

Albany, NY – April 23, 2018​ – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems has integrated its dealership management system (DMS) with Dealer Wizard, a provider of database intelligence solutions for auto dealerships. Dealerships that use both Auto/Mate’s DMS and Dealer Wizard’s suite of equity mining, performance metrics and service drive solutions will benefit from the real-time data exchange…

It’s hard to imagine commerce without diesel fuel. From the ships that carry cargo across the oceans to the trains and trucks that haul those goods to their ultimate destinations, diesel fuel is what makes all of it possible. However, that power used to come at a heavy environmental price. Although diesel’s extremely high energy density made it the fuel of choice for heavy-duty vehicles for a long time, its high sulfur content resulted in serious air pollution problems and contributed to…

Dealers using the new AuctionACCESS Mobile App will be eligible for discounted Black Book Digital

Black Book, a division of Hearst that provides industry-leading used vehicle valuation and residual value forecast solutions, announced today it has partnered with AuctionACCESS, a leading dealer…

This week, Jeff discusses the key to making an extra 5-10% income: having a strong follow-up program! Don't allow yourself or your process to become automated, don't rely on one approach for everyone, and always remember that NOTHING exceeds personal contact between you and your customer. With just five steps, you'll see higher retention, higher sales, and higher survey scores! Copyright 2018 Wm Jeff Cowan

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Study after study finds that word-of-mouth is the single greatest influencer when it comes to marketing. Providing a consistently excellent customer experience, then having those customers go out and tell their family and friends about it is the marketer’s holy grail. According to many, it’s perhaps the easiest and least expensive way to acquire new customers while also…

Recently Facebook announced that it will stop using data from third-party data aggregators to supplement its own data that it uses for ad targeting. What does this mean for car dealers?

Until this announcement, Facebook collected data from three sources which it used to accurately target its users with ads. These sources were:

• Facebook’s…

According to Black Book® data, the average price of a used vehicle for model years 2012-2016 depreciated in value by -0.4%, an improvement from February’s level of -1.1% due to a continued stronger-than-expected spring selling season. Cars increased in value by +0.6%, while trucks decreased -1.1%. All vehicles are averaging a 12-month change of -15.0%.

For the second-straight month, Sub-Compact Luxury CUVs showed the largest depreciation in March at -2.6% (February showed -2.8%).…

Men and women communicate in different ways and have different expectations when buying a car. Therefore, it’s critical to incorporate different contact strategies into your communication methods with your women customers.

1. Know the difference between talking and communicating. There’s a big difference between talking to and communicating with women. Communication builds trust, and trust matters to women. In fact, trust ranks as the #1 reason women choose their…

People are very careless on the road. Accidents occur all the time. These cases are very common in the court and they are dealt with all the time. However, things and condition change when it comes to trucks. The case tends to take a sharp turn as you would then need to provide more details at the court. Here are some of the factors that will help you understand why the process takes a lot of time. Go to RRinjurylaw.com/ for further…

Have you wanted to be in sales but you're not sure if it's the right fit? Sales is rewarding, challenging, and fast-pace, but it also is not for everyone! Stay tuned to hear the four points that will help you determine if this role is meant for you. Copyright 2018 Wm Jeff Cowan

Click HERE to watch!

Website: thejeffcowan.com…

Dealerships can expect higher performing placements and faster turnaround times

Hearst Autos, the most trusted platform for consumers to research and shop for cars, announced today that it has joined the CDK…

Lease Approval Ratings Continue to Improve in March Following Steady Monthly Approval Increases in Q1

Swapalease.com, the nation’s largest car lease marketplace, reports car lease credit applicants registered a 67.3% approval rate in March, a rise from the February rate of 65.2%.

March experienced a higher number of applicants with qualifications that led to more approvals for taking over another…

As an industry, we’re witnessing the largest shift and money grab in history -- from the likes of Carvana, Blinker, and Fair, to the possible entrance of Amazon into car buying.

And now, another huge retail company has decided to jump in… but in a way that dealers may be overlooking.

Walmart recently launched a used-car buying service in…

“If you are out to buy car insurance first car policy then there could be few things which you need to know before you start researching your options. Typically, new cars can be purchased in 3 different ways-outright payment, finance or lease.” 

Depending on the…

Are you ready to tee off for some new training? sw Service Solutions "The First Step" series gets your advisors ready to sell on the drive.

Urbandale, IA—April 16, 2018—Flick Fusion announced today that Lehel Reeves has joined the company as Director of Partnerships and Business Development. In his new position, Reeves will oversee the creation and management of synergistic partnerships that will raise awareness for Flick Fusion’s leading video marketing technology, and increase sales and create…

Protective Asset Protection, a provider of F&I programs, services, and dealer-owned warranty programs, announced today results of its latest survey addressing dealer concerns and opportunities with F&I product offerings. Behind financing, additional F&I offerings represent the second-largest opportunity for margin growth for dealers (57.6%).…

Albany, NY – April 16, 2018​ – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems announced today that it has been awarded a 2018 Top Workplaces honor by the Times Union. Auto/Mate ranked as a Top Workplace in the midsize category, and also took home a Special Award for Managers. This is…

Typically, a dealership will invest over $40,000 to get a technician certified to master status. To keep this technician current will require investing additional thousands in training every year. Historically dealerships haven’t attempted to maximize this investment by sharing with less trained newer talent. With the shortage of new technicians entering…