All Blog Posts (12,628)

Dealership chat solutions. What to consider and what to ask.

Dealer chat is moving from the early adopter stage into the mainstream as more and more dealerships look for ways to increase internet sales and reduce costs to acquire new dealership customers. The dealership's website has the highest potential for increased results and should be the focus of your dealership if you are looking to boost your online internet sales. Here are five areas of concern and some good questions you might… Continue

Added by Todd Smith on April 6, 2010 at 9:53am — No Comments

Future Visions Of The Auto Industry And Automotive Advertising; What Was and What Is - What Is Your Version Of What Will Be?

Auto industry social networks like AutomotiveDigitalMarketing.Com, DealerRefresh.Com, DrivingSales.Com, AdAgencyOnline.Net, DealerElite.Net -- and the list goes on -- all have different rules and protocols to create their unique identities in the auto industry and… Continue

Added by Philip Zelinger on April 3, 2010 at 5:48pm — No Comments

Engaging & Selling Your Lowest Hanging Fruit....The Customers in your Database.

Hello Fellow Car Guru's,

Well, here I am stepping out into the unknown. My first blog! I feel so strongly about the value I bring to dealers everyday, I wanted to talk about it. So...here goes !

When I speak to many dealers today, they are at a loss when it comes to utilizing a proven method of wrapping their arms around the thousands of customers in their data base. Yes, I know that you send letters. Everybody sends marketing pieces which are many times a quick overview… Continue

Added by Suzanne Lucas on March 31, 2010 at 8:17pm — 1 Comment

"It's Time."

Hope this inspires you and your team: I wrote it for the CIADA Insider Magazine this month, and have gotten a lot of nice emails from people saying it has helped them. Wishing you all the best, Tobias.

"It's Time."

I once asked an old man to say something wise,

and the words that unfolded - were a welcome surprise.

He started by saying, "Tell me, son - What is it you seek?"

"Success in… Continue

Added by Tobias Sedillos on March 25, 2010 at 8:30pm — No Comments

To Price, Or Not To Price - That Is The Question!

Every contributing member of Dealer Elite knows the answer - or they should; of course we need to give the customer the price. The real question is when, what and how!

One advantage that virtual showrooms have over real world showrooms is their ability to provide information - including price - more efficiently and in a more transparent manner. The problems start when we don't use that to our advantage as well as the customers who can now change the dealerships that they are… Continue

Added by Philip Zelinger on March 20, 2010 at 9:30am — No Comments

Women are the major purchasing influence

This is a great article that outlines the huge influence women have in making purchase decisions, cars inlcuded. Several quotes within the article come directly from Ford excecutives and are based on extensive research by the company. For example:

"Statistics prove...Women are directly responsible for 45 to 50 percent of all new vehicles purchased in the U.S, and they have a direct influence of up to 80 percent of vehicles they don’t purchase ..."

Read the… Continue

Added by Cathy Aron on March 19, 2010 at 4:29pm — No Comments

Destroy the Competition

Most people do not desire competition in business but then do little or nothing to eliminate it. You wouldn't tolerate fleas on your dog or termites in your house, you would eliminate them. Why not do the same with competition? This economy does not afford many to successfully compete for the same dollars. You can't afford to give your product and services away today so you have to figure out how not to compete. Now is the time to create situations where you are eliminating competition not… Continue

Added by Grant Cardone on March 11, 2010 at 5:56pm — 2 Comments

Using video for your online customers BEST PRACTICES

I have been using video as a vital business tool for our online guests here at Kelly Nissan for a while now. I would like to share some of the things that have worked for us.

TOOLS: iPhone, YouTube account, Internet

When a customer inquires about a vehicle online, we like to shoot a quick walk-around video of the vehicle for them to view. This is not an uncommon practice these days with dealerships who are Internet savvy. However, what I think sets us apart is how quickly… Continue

Added by Mike Myers on March 11, 2010 at 2:48pm — No Comments