Many dealers and managers outside of the service department don’t realize how incredibly busy a service advisor (SA) is throughout their day. Keep in mind that these are front-line employees dealing directly with your customers. They have an extremely important role in the dealership. In fact, it could be argued that a SA has more influence on a dealership’s livelihood when…

There’ll be a lot going on at NADA100—and to see everything you want to see, it’s important to make a plan.  It all starts with Carnival on January 26, and it won’t stop until the last person’s off Expo floor.  But don’t worry; I’ve got you covered, and I won’t let you miss a thing.  Here’s what you need to know and where you need to go:

• Kick it off with Carnival. …

When it comes to video, most dealerships tend to think of it for purely sales department use, and sometimes in service. From communicating with customers via personalized emails, to live video walkarounds, video is certainly an excellent way to engage customers and increase VDP views. It is also a great tool for the service department to better explain and illustrate service…

If you utilize paid search, you’re probably paying “Google Tax” without even realizing it.

So what is “Google Tax?”…

Reviver reinvents the 125-year-old metal plate as an Internet of Things, connected car platform; rPlate™ hits the road in California, Florida, Arizona and Texas in 2017, other states to follow

Detroit, MI - January 9, 2017 – The first-ever, interactive digital license plate debuts today at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit during Automobili-D, a new event showcasing…

Don’t get caught up in the post-holiday blues! You’re definitely not alone.

We all know that January can be a slow sales month for just about any business. It can be easy to get discouraged and anxious when you're not pacing to meet your monthly sales goal.

There are so many ways you can boost your sales without increasing your ad budget, and I’ll start off by saying that social media is going to be your best friend! Social media is a great way to start…

Chapter 4: What to See in the City

It’s almost time for NADA100, and that means we’re all about to get a little taste of New Orleans!  It’s a city that’s rich in history, fun, food, and nightlife, so it’s tough to know where to start.  To help you out, I did a little digging, talked to some friends in the know—and, of course, vetted some places…

One of our favorite shoe sanitizers is the SteriShoe. The SteriShoe is the first product on the market that can safely and effectively sanitize the insides of your shoes using a germicidal ultraviolet light.

This is especially useful for those who may suffer from chronic athlete’s foot, nail fungus, chronic foot odor, chronic shoe odor and people who are…

As we make our New Year’s resolutions and reflect on 2016, which was a less than perfect year for our industry, filled with recalls and declining consumer confidence due to lack of parts availability to quickly fix these recalls, I thought it may be a good time to look ahead to 2017. In that spirit, I’d like to offer some simple tips that can help improve the service…

Today, the Big 3 automakers account for only 44% of the market – a 26% decline from 2 and a half decades ago. In this short amount of time, consumer loyalty is no longer within reach, as the average customer retention rate across the industry has sunk below 50%. This amounts to dealers losing more than half of their customers each year.

Why the sharp…

Today’s customer will scrutinize every aspect of their customer service experience in your store. We don’t just make buying decisions based on necessity; we buy things that make us feel and look good. We buy things our friends have had a good experience with or that have high ratings and reviews. We want the best service and products we can afford and we want…

It's easy to make a compelling argument that franchise auto dealers are at significant risk of going through a serious downturn, very similar to big box retailers like Macy's, J.C. Penny, Sears and even Nordstrom. Nordstrom is known for its exemplary customer service, liberal return policy and in-store amenities. The company also prides itself on selling apparel that buyers see as unique, fashionable and worth a premium price. Nordstrom's floor traffic is down, causing serious…

Cybersecurity is more than just a buzzword that's hanging over from the election. This issue is a real threat to every small business, including dealerships. You may think your network is protected with a firewall and anti-virus software, but that won't stop sophisticated hackers from gaining access to your emails, your data, your customer records…

One of my core beliefs is that life is a process. Even at times people don’t believe they have a process, they do it’s just a bad one. Well hidden in the path to success is a process also, that we want to look at with more detail today.

I’ve noticed countless times individuals with great talent and ability that don’t perform well on a daily basis. Their…

WEAK LEADS

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You say there's No Such Thing as Weak Leads. Sounds good! BUT, actually there is such a thing as "Weak Leads".

Leads from Lead Providers have a known probability of closing. Some leads close at 3% and other leads have a probability of up to 18%, and the lead providers know which are which.

“I know we are bad on the phone but I never seem to get around to fixing the problem.”

Catch 22  (noun)

         1. a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions.

LET'S BEGIN

The first in our series on the dire need in the car business for telephone sales training.

Traditionally telephone sales…

Remember those days when customers would come in to the dealership saying “Well Kelley Blue Book is saying my trade in is worth $xxx” after you opened them up at $2,000 below that KBB figure? Sure you do. You cannot forget how many times you wanted to say “No problem. Call …

According to Black Book® data, the average price of a used vehicle for model years 2011-2015 depreciated by -2.4% in December. Cars overall saw depreciation of –2.7% versus trucks, which saw –2.3% depreciation. All vehicles are averaging a 12-month depreciation change of –17.3%.

In December, Compact Vans saw the largest drop in value at –6.1% on the month, the largest single-month drop of any segment over the last twelve months. Vehicles in this category include the Ford Transit…

When looking at the future of the auto industry, specifically retail, it’s easy to get caught up in the “shiny objects” and focus on all the cool technology such as autonomous cars, ride-sharing, virtual reality sales, and all of the “disruptors” that are entering the space.



This can serve as a bit of a distraction and, as a result, many tend to stop thinking…