These gals were at the fair. When I found out they were Korean, I could not help but tell them that my dealership has Kias. They were quite excited about this, and when I told them we also had Chevrolet, they were quick to mention how popular Chevrolet is in…

The argument is PPC or NOT? Is it necessary to buy pay per click advertising? How do I optimize my site so that I'm on the first page of every search engine several times without PPC?  The key to click through is conversion, some experts say that being the 4th or 5th or even 6th link down on the search page has the highest conversion rate, but how do you get there?  Well my friends this is a long and intricate conversation.

Can it be accomplished to be on the first page of…

“Concentrate…..concentrate….”  The instructors voice is intense and close to my right ear.  I concentrate.  I try to remember the 7 or so things he has just taught me. I squeeze the trigger as slowly as I can.

It’s a little Smith and Wesson M&P compact.  It is at home in the gun safe with a variety of sibling guns used by my husband for trap and skeet shooting.   I take it out every so often and go to the gun club range and shoot at some paper…

Just saw this article on Business Exchange about Nissan's "Most Innovative Year Ever." The company is really delving into social media to help promote five new vehicle launches. The article makes a good point: it's not so much the social platform that's important (Twitter & Facebook are in their heyday now but may be replaced or become less popular as time goes on), but rather the use of social media in general that's important. Now that fans and clients are accustomed to interacting…

Hearing about Klout.com? Is it showing up in your Twitter feeds, Facebook news feed, on Google+?

Klout is becoming bigger and bigger for those who want to know where they stand with their Social Media reach & influence.

So, what exactly is Klout? 

The Klout Score measures influence based on your ability to drive action. Every time you create content or engage you…

Check out the latest blog by Jenn Mayer and learn all about search engine marketing and click through rates.

If your company is involved in pay-per click advertising, click through rate, or CTR, is one of the most important metrics to measure. Click through rate is defined as the number of times a given ad is clicked on divided by the number of times the ad is…

In a recent blog post of mine, I highlighted some research done on mobile ads and if it is worth a dealership to spend money on it. Today, I am here to tell you why you should have a mobile site for your dealership (if you don’t already). Some 12.6% of total website traffic was generated via mobile device in the fourth quarter of 2011, up 102% from the 6.3% recorded a year…

SEO author and superstar joins keynoters Billy Beane (of ‘MoneyBall’ Fame), Facebook and Google at industry’s most authoritative profit-building event for innovative dealers

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – July 2, 2012 – DrivingSales today announced that Rand Fishkin will join the keynote line-up at the fourth annual DrivingSales Executive…

I just checked my Gmail account and saw that CarWasher is now following all my boards on Pinterest.

What’s Pinterest? It’s been described as the coolest (or should that be the hottest?) online social media platform around. Users can create their own pinboards and share the contents by uploading images, pins from other sites or re-pinning photos from other…

Auto Dealer Chat Software is a Game Changer

Some technological advancements are designed to make life considerably easier.  Other technologies not only simplify life, but also serve to boost revenues for the companies that adopt them.  Quite often being first to implement a new technology comes with a myriad of significant benefits.  We see this…

If you want to Sell MORE Cars…

Remember “Macro” Versus “Micro”…

Do you remember as a child being asked what you wanted to be when you grew up? After being asked the question, your eyes instantly glazed with excitement as you stared into the abyss of your future. You were too ignorant to understand how and too young to understand why-you just knew that you knew; you were determined.  How high was high,…

Hello to all my dealerElite friends:

We may all think that September is a long way off but it will be here before you know it. I'm sure all dE members would like to invest in our careers by attending one of the the fall conferences in September or October. I personally recommend attending AutoCon2012 on September 5-8th. DealerElite will be hosting this convention in partnership with ADM.

If you have not visited the conference website,…

There have been some excellent insight into that subject by members, so I think I'll throw my hat in to the ring.  I think you you want to know who your competitor is, the first thing you need to do in the morning when you awake and before you turn out the lights in the evening is look in the mirror.

Do you understand what buyers are looking for today in a salesperson? Does your dealership have a process in place that keeps the buyer on the right path? Do you have the…

In today’s market with customer privacy regulations at an all time high, it is important to ensure your networks security.

Many dealerships are opting to go with wireless equipment to make working with customers easier and more versatile. For example, many service departments use wireless tablets to write up customers on the drive encouraging up-sells during the greeting and walk around.

Using wireless technology can be great tool and place your dealership at the top if it is…

That question often depends on who you ask.  Salespeople will talk about the dealer up the street or across town who is absolutely giving the cars away.  F&I will talk about lenders who seem to favor other dealers and cost them deals.  Managers will discuss factory incentives, advertising, and the like.  But is that what we're really up against?

 

After 33 years in the business and over 15,000 salespeople and managers trained, I think there's more to competition than we…

When I was teaching the Sonic Dealer Academy from 2001 through 2008, my co-instructor, Steve Hallock, became famous for asking each class why they thought we spend so much time talking about the service department. He would explain that it’s because, at a 75% gross profit margin on labor sales, the service department offers, by far, the greatest incentive to increase sales. "So why bother?" Steve would ask. "Because it’s only75…

Marketing experts agree that online video is the wave of the future and to some extent may replace television altogether. eMarketer predicts that 169 million people (71% of US internet users) will be watching online video each month by the end of 2012. This sizeable market share should not be overlooked as their attention is easily captivated through Pre-Roll Video, a short video…

I created a video that gives a brief overview of the Google Cars program, officially called the Google Commercial Unit For Cars (CUFC). A few more details on the program are now available but dealers still have a number of questions left unanswered.

Take a minute to watch the video and see my comments at the bottom of this page.…

Before I decide to make a purchase on any big ticket item,  I search the company’s name in Google and see the rating  the business received. I also read a couple of the customer reviews. I, like most shoppers, am turned off by bad reviews. Shoppers are using the Web now, more than ever to research and review companies.

Which rating service should dealerships pay most attention to? Google and here’s why:

I googled a local dealership here in Orlando, and the first…