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…

The customer experience at your dealership is more important than ever before. With start-ups aiming to take away sales by luring customers with promises of a hassle-free buying experience, customers are starting to realize that they no longer have to sit at a dealership for hours. In fact Amazon France just sold a car…

January 1, 2017 — The Mar-Kee Group announced that 10-time National Automotive Dealers Association speaker and President of the Mar-Kee Group, David Martin, will present a sales training workshop, “Marketing Opens the Door: Closing Seals the Deal” at the 2017 NADA Conference & Expo. 

"Yesterday's closing techniques will no longer work with the tech savvy buyers,…

Getting your pricey automobile transported from one place to another is bound to give you uneasy sleep, even if you’ve sought a professional service for it. That’s because it’s common for first time seekers of this service to commit mistakes. These mistakes are about, not negotiating properly, and assuming things. On the contrary, here’s what you must do:

Compare Prices

There’s immense…

Are you having trouble making your Service Department more profitable? Don’t waste any more time not taking action! Click below and sign up for a free review of your fixed operations! My team will put you in direct contact with Me! I will personally review your Fixed Ops. completely free of charge….Now is the time to stop worrying and take action!

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People who shop online receive amazing discounts and deals on a wide variety of products, including automobiles. It’s no longer unusual for shoppers to purchase cars on the internet . There’s just one small catch – shipping. The process of shipping a car you bought online isn’t easy. In fact, it can turn out to be a very expensive and complicated system unless you have prior knowledge. You need to know the right methods if you want to pull off the job…

The Emergence of the Digital Dealership

Over the years I’ve helped numerous sales and service departments evolve to meet the needs of today’s tech savvy digital shoppers. While none have been bold enough to launch a completely digital sales process, it’s certainly on their radar as most of them realize they will have to change in order to survive.

So why isn’t F&I evolving?

Want to make enemies in an F&I…

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 report.

This week’s Black Book Market Insights report shows increased depreciation in luxury vehicles. Trucks as a whole had a greater average depreciation this week as compared to cars. However, two vehicle segments within the truck segment had solid retention and even increased their…

The consumer is the life-blood of any business, and franchise auto dealers must implement consumer centric solutions that will encourage consumers to conduct business with your dealership(s).

As you read a few of the customer quotes below, it's important to note that consumers are conducting business with dealers that are geographically located further away, and dealers that are located closer to the consumer aren't winning their business. Why? Dealers that provide Service Customer…

Driverless cars have captivated everyone's imagination and rightfully so. They are a true paradigm shifter and they have the potential to change the world. The vast majority of people would say for better while there are also those who say it will be for the worse.

There are also realists who see the potentially, but who see quite a few obstacles that will probably take much too long to solve and that might actually cause people to cool off the idea. The author of this article is…

Imagine that you attend a classical music concert. This concert has a 90 piece (90 musicians) orchestra and a conductor (the leader or guide) that communicates to the orchestra on how to play the next note(s). Now take a look at the sales department of an automobile dealership. The department has managers that usually consist of a general sales manager, one…

Auto dealers are well known for their huge support to local communities. Especially around the holiday season when they do many good deeds including toy drives, donations to food banks and a variety of other activities that have special meaning to those particular dealers. It’s noble not to “brag” about the great things we do as businesses. In fact, many repeat good-deed…