Is your managed live chat solution everything you were promised? Maybe you were sold on the lofty ideal of unprecedented customer service (not mention the huge boost in leads). You loved the idea of making contact with your customers when they are first researching their next vehicle. But after a few months, you’ve noticed that you’re just not happy with the conversations that your outsourced chatters are having on your behalf. Not to mention the leads aren’t exactly flowing in,…

This article was written by David Ciamballa, partner with the Rawls Group.

You may recall an accident a couple of years ago  where a pilot encountered inclement weather while attempting to land in Buffalo. Following the accident, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a statement from which we learned that the pilots apparently lost focus as they were engaged in idle conversation while descending below 10,000 feet. By the time the pilots recognized they were in trouble…

If you ever want a crash course on the latest social media studies but don’t want to spend the money to do them yourself, just watch the Super Bowl. You have to assume that if companies are spending millions to produce and distribute 30 second spots for the big game, they’re going to research what’s working today.

This year’s…

Hello Fellow Dealer Elite members and friends.

It has been a while since I have had the time to put together a blog post of Dealer Elite because it has been a very busy year so far and to be honest I have not had the time. I took a look at the Auto News program today and to be honest was very surprised to see that companies from Chrysler Dodge Jeep Fiat customers are reaching the CEO of the company.

I must say I was also very happy that…

Attention Nissan Dealers

Nissan is rolling out a digital signage package for it's dealerships and the articles insinuate that it is mandatory for stores at a certain level of production. The cost of the system is $6500 for the first year on a three year agreement. For this price, you get a TV and a digital menu board that simply shows a menu and not much else. 

If you want additional systems, you can add more -- at the same price -- with the additional systems…

You keep hearing that dealers are making good profits in Buy Here Pay Here. You have decided that you would like to pursue the business. What is your next step? After all you may have been in the car business for years. You understand buying and selling cars. You know how to run a compliant Finance Department and a profitable shop. Isn’t BHPH or LHPH just other ways of financing cars?

The answer is not as simple as it might seem. A BHPH or LHPH operation takes…

A common lament in retail automotive dealerships around the country is that finding and keeping good employees is a real challenge. I will go even further to say that most employers, regardless of industry, probably aren’t satisfied with their hiring results. We’ve all heard the saying, ”If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten,” and my guess is this is the reason most employers continue to be confounded in this area. I heard…

http://bit.ly/XPEc7v

So, the fact that you are reading this proves ( well, maybe ) an advestigate fact.  That the "creative" and headlines of an advertisement could still be a factor even in the newspaper. Fact is, we all know that digital is very much alive and will be for years.  But what is happening in the traditional media world?  Is it a fact that newspaper is a dead medium?  You will find…

Recently I purchased a YUKON for my wife. I dealt directly with the DP & FI guys. Great experience overall...considering?

No 'Thank you note', no 'Service or Parts Reminder's', no Coupons or discount's for anything? Absolutely nothing for follow up. Instead of focusing on the sale; shouldn't we focus on the relatonship? IMHO!

I’ve started hearing the second worst advice coming from social media “experts” that I’ve ever heard. It’s just a notch above “buy thousands of fans and followers” on the social media advice scale.

If someone tells you to “be sure to post something X-times a day on social media even if you have to throw something up.”

I know…

Are you allowing the natural momentum of the automotive market dictate your performance, profits and income? For those of us who have lived through and understand the cyclical nature of our busines, what have we done to maximize our potential during upswings and minimize our exposure during down turns? Do we really know what our true potential is?

Over the past three years I have spoken with many dealers about selling cars to service customers... One of my best friends, Daymond Decker spends a good portion of his work time traveling from dealership to dealership all over the country training and implementing a process for converting service customers who have equity in their trade-in to sales opportunities. Starting…

There was a promise silently made by social media a few years back. It was so prevalent at the 2009 round of conferences from NADA to Digital Dealer that many might have thought that social media would eventually encompass the entire internet marketing required by a dealership to be successful. The…

http://www.internetsales20group.com



Make Money Mondays With Sean V. Bradley - Crush Your Competition With Surgical…

Everyone acknowledges that Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social media sites, but just how relevant it is still seems to be up in the air. According to recent studies, Pinterest was behind Marketing with Twitter and Facebook as well as Google+, but a new survey is offering a different opinion on the matter.

The Survey in question is the "Pew…