When was the last time you tried calling into your own--or another--dealership? Chances are high that the phone went unanswered, you were put on hold, routed into voicemail or were told that the sales or service person you're trying to reach is out to lunch.

The latest data collected from our call center agents is overwhelming: car dealers are missing way too many sales and service opportunities from lost phone leads. Behind showroom ups, these are the highest value inquiries…

As security breaches and data theft become more commonplace, businesses will encounter increasing regulatory and consumer pressure to protect that data. I’ve written numerous articles on the importance of data security in dealerships, especially when dealers share that sensitive customer information with their vendor partners.

According to a recent…

I am sure you know that the customer pay rate is a balancing act. Getting what you want must never exceed reality. Obviously a thousand dollars an hour looks great on paper, but with that rate you will most likely sell zero hours.

Click the link below to hear how to balance your…

I’ve written many times about the value of training and professional development to employee retention.  Training, in combination with a company culture designed to create engaged employees, can help make a dealership a force to be reckoned with. Employee retention has always been a pain point in the automotive industry, because many employees feel there is no job security.…

I am amazed at how many experts there are in the Automotive industry. Now I am being a tad bit sarcastic here so bare with me.

For the past 25 years of my automotive career I have been to numerous training seminars and they are almost always a repeat of something someone else said decades ago. However I very seldom read articles about building team morale up. This has been the biggest issue of every dealership that I took over. Yes I changed processes and the way a few things were…

Today we focus on customization when selling to women. When dealership personnel say that they “treat everyone the same,” what they really mean is that they greet prospects consistently and similarly with a sales process - whether in person or digitally. However, having the capacity and ability to treat each customer the same simply can’t be accomplished. It sounds nice as a concept, but after all we are humans, not robots. We can’t be shaped and programmed to treat…

Investing in self-managed live chat can be a big, yet profitable step for your dealership. It saves you money and allows you to connect with your online shoppers in a way that builds trust and starts lasting relationships before they even reach your physical store.

However, in-house live chat can be a bit challenging if you’ve never done it before. That’s why I’m sharing some quick tips to help any first-timers get started.

CHAT…

Let's call it what it is. This is a post about active digital marketing versus passive digital marketing. It's one that covers two of the types of marketing disciplines that are near and dear to my heart, but more importantly it lays the groundwork for an understanding of the various marketing styles and how we should classify them.

First and foremost, let's…

Wantalease.com, the nation’s first online car lease marketplace for new car lease deals, shows a growing number of car and truck lease deals offered for less than $150 per month. What's more, a few cars are even offered for less than $120 per month. The deals arrive as leasing continues to grow in popularity for consumers and dealerships.



The Chevrolet Cruze LT and the Ford Focus SE are both offered at $119 monthly in their current October Wantalease.com lease deals, highlighting…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Clearwater, FL--October 13th, 2014--AutoLoop today introduced Engage^TM, a call center solution proven to engage customers and increase sales and service profitability for auto dealers. Building on twenty years of call center experience obtained in the 2014 merger with CAR-Research XRM, AutoLoop Engage uses USA-based agents to manage all…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Urbandale, IA--October 13th, 2014--Flick Fusion (www.flickfusion.com), the industry's leading video marketing provider, today launched Autoflicks^TM for auto dealers, live action videos that provide car shoppers with a virtual test drive experience for every vehicle in a dealer's inventory. Autoflicks are available for nearly every make and model and are designed to drive customers to a…

ALBANY, N.Y. – October 13th, 2014 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (www.automate.com) announced today the final integration of its dealership management system (DMS) with Nissan's dealer communications system (DCS). The completed integration means that 100 percent of Nissan dealers using Auto/Mate's DMS are now able to communicate seamlessly with their manufacturer in parts, service, sales and accounting.

"We are pleased to be one of the DMS…

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of Beggs on the Used Car Market, with data and insights from Ricky Beggs and Black Book. From all of the reports and seeing the action first hand we know how active most dealers and remarketers have been this past week. The comments within the Black Book survey personnel summary reports this past week as compared to the prior week took on a…

htp://www.bradleyondemand.com 586-546-2440

Make Money Mondays with Sean V. Bradley - "Millionaire Mindset" - Car…

Virtually every dealership today uses their website, social media channels, and email to be a part of their “voice” when it comes to communicating with their customers and begin building a “trust” relationship long before the shopper ever visits their store.

The ultimate goal of each of these communications is to drive the consumer to your lot.  Your team is…

CreditPlus Brings Consumer-Qualified Payments to Front of Sales Process

Mission Viejo, CA – October 13, 2014 – eLEND Solutions™ today announced the launch of CreditPlus™, the next generation of its industry-leading online, interactive credit application platform. CreditPlus instantly pre-approves shoppers based on dealer-defined credit criteria and provides shoppers with direct, upfront…

I have a seasoned and largely successful internet team working out of a few centrally located stores. For the most part, I'm happy with their performance. However, I've noticed a slow decline in email quality in some of my staff over the last several months. Nothing egregious, rather the absence of that extra little bit of oomph that makes an email stand out.

So the talk I've been having is this: sending emails to iLead…

 Hope you enjoy! Please feel free to email me any questions at RobH@NextGenDealer.com