Albany, N.Y. – March 14th, 2016 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) today announced new features in its dealership management system (DMS) Accounting Suite. The updates are designed to streamline processes that typically involve countless hours of labor by accounting personnel. New features include inquiry screen data entry, automated inter-company accounts payable, automated inter-company general…

It’s time for a reality check. I’d like to begin with pointing out the fact that more often than we realize, the correct solution to a problem is both obvious and…

The car business is a people business. Because of that, dealerships see customers from a variety of backgrounds, income levels and credit histories. And, for a salesperson or manager, there’s nothing more disheartening than to spend a lot of time with a customer just to discover that they are credit challenged. Despite that, many dealerships will do their best to land the…

Digital dealership system

When a customer comes to a dealership to have the car serviced, they need something to do. Most of them will grasp for their phones to kill the time, but you can use the advantage of having them in your waiting room by offering them content. Content can be displayed on your dealer TV using the amazing technology of digital signage.

How…

I left a 35 year career in automobile retail management eight months ago. I worked as a GM at Dick Hannah, one of the greatest dealer groups in the country, and I loved every moment of it.

I have had many mentors in my life, (grateful every moment for all of them) but I was told by a specific mentor to constantly look in the mirror. To take a look at our…

In video marketing, many people think that to simply start making videos is enough. While it’s certainly a great start, there’s actually a lot more to it. In fact, I’d even go so far to say that simply beginning to make video at your dealership is more like showing up for your first day of football practice. The coach didn’t simply split everyone into two teams and have a…

Here is an excerpt from my new book:

"I’m always amused when I get around a bunch of car guys and they start talking about “gross average”. Most of the time, they are omitting pack from this discussion. The reason is that it’s assumed that a dealers pack only affects gross when it’s too low. Who is making more money, Tom Turner or Gary Grossman?

Tom has a $500 pack and a $1500 front end gross

Gary has a…

One Price Selling – What Are You Waiting For?

Most Dealers are closer to a One Price Selling sales process than they may realize. If you’re an excellent pre-owned dealer you’re basically not negotiating. You must price your cars to market to get leads. On the new car side, the customer is setting the prices. With new tools that allow prospects to literally buy the car from home, negotiating power is shifting to the consumer.

The number…

Syd Micheal started a new group for sales professaionals, it is free to join and you can win prizes.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/cardawgsauto/

check it out and ask to join

Dealership valuations skyrocket; Van Tuyl, Berkshire Hathaway acquisitions have major impact; new entrants outpace publics by over 4 to 1

Irvine, CA, March 9, 2016 – U.S. dealership buy/sell activity reached record highs in 2015[1], with activity by new entrants outpacing public company acquisitions by over four to one, according to The Blue Sky…

Are you distracted?

 

One thing you can accept as certain is that our lives are full of distractions. You might be so determined to accomplish your to do list and yet at the end of the day not much is been completed. Let’s look at some logical ways to control the largest time waster that we all…

If you love cars, you would certainly have come across terms like speed, torque, power, acceleration, RPM and so on; a car’s performance is assessed using these factors. Among all the car related technical terms one stumbles on, speed and torque are the most…

Find Your Motivation 

Today, I'm diving deep into the entrepreneurial mindset and what it means to be truly successful. There is more to being a successful business owner than money, and am sharing his own personal experiences to help you decide what your driving force for success is.

Tune in to the all new Think Tank Tuesday to learn the three successful phases all businesses experience and to learn how you…

Welcome to this week's edition of Black Book Market Insights, with in-depth analysis of used car and truck valuation trends and insights straight from the auction lanes. Click here to download the full…

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (March 8, 2016) – According to Black Book® data, the average price of a used vehicle for model years 2010-2014 declined -1.1% during February. Cars declined -1.1% and trucks declined -1.2% during the month. 

Full-Size Pickups led all vehicle segments with the highest depreciation on the month at -2.7%. Vehicles in this segment include Chevrolet Silverado, Dodge Ram 1500, Ford F150, the Nissan Titan and the Toyota Tundra. Vehicles in this segment entered March…

An excellent article on Customer Experience Insight shared an analogy that resonated with me as it can be applied to automotive salespeople. The article compares salespeople to trees and states that only 10 percent of salespeople are considered evergreen; are strong and productive no…

I visit and review at least 100 automobile dealer’s website every day. It has become clear to me that every dealer is doing a variety of things to get customers to knock on their door, to engage with the dealer and give the dealer permission to make contact with the customer. Big red buttons that say “Apply Now!” Or pop ups offering “$100 off your purchase.” Or, the most…

How Dealers Can Eliminate Deficiencies with More Accurate Attribution Tracking

Through endless digital and…

Albany, N.Y. – March 7th, 2016 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today that two of its senior executives will be presenting workshops at the 2016 NADA Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas, NV. Mike Esposito, President and CEO, will present Create a Top Workplace to Increase Customer Loyalty, and Dave Druzynski, Director of Human Resources, will present Proceed with Caution! Social Media in Hiring and…

For car owners, leather upholstery poses a serious challenge. Few car owners know the right way to keep the leather parts in their cars in prime condition. When you consider the fact that caring from the interior of your vehicle is as important as taking care of the…