Office Management is compiling all of the numbers to generate Service Management commissions over the next couple of days.  There are factors that you control as an ongoing basis...there are others that you do not address until after the fact.  Did your Warranty Administrator submit for the maximum allowable dollars (100%) vs. their peer indexes this month?  How much is being applied to your policy adjustment account because of claim non-payment or claim debit? 

In Fixed Operations,…

First of all, Happy Labor Day weekend to everyone!

Now…..why are so many of you “laboring” so hard out there?

Why is it that so many managers today have to do more with less, and get better results from limited resources, more than ever…

Within the past year, Maryland has been hit by an earthquake and a hurricane (in the same week!), as well as a huge snowstorm, all fairly uncommon occurrences in our state.  While DealerOn, both the office and our employees, were lucky enough to dodge any real damage, it definitely made us all think about how prepared we are for these kinds of emergencies.

DealerOn had enough warning before Hurricane Irene (and dodged…

I've been seeing a lot of posts lately about upcoming fall conferences and events. These posts are typically not altruistic. They're written by people with vested interests in specific events, whether that's because they're a speaker or they're the host. Now it's our turn.

For people interested in learning and are considering attending one of these events and aren't sure which to attend, I've created a graphic comparison of the three events specifically being held in October 2011 that…

When we all first started our careers in the automotive business, we began to learn the basics of our jobs.

We all learned different skills such as, greetings, fact finding, product knowledge, the steps to a sale, word tracks, phone skills, prospecting and networking skills, closing skills, follow up skills and so on.

We all got better…

By Todd Vowell, CEO, Buy Mail Direct Inc

Every now and then, you have one of those conversations that just "effects" you in ways you can't explain.  In the past 30 years, I have talked with at least 10,000 Car Dealers, GM's, and GSM's. But for some reason, some conversations just grab you in ways it…

Here is a question for Service Managers and/or Fixed Operations Directors:  How much time do you spend reviewing your warranty department on a daily basis?  If you are performing the tasks and duties that are the responsibility of your warranty administrator, then you need to re-evaluate who you have in that position.  Are you simply assisting with those duties?  Have you placed too many other tasks upon your warranty administrator?  (i.e. cashiering, phone operator, service drive assistant,…

The essence of escapism, True entertainment movie of the 70’s, Jaws, of the 80’s Top Gun. Rock groups like Aerosmith, AC/DC, Rush, U2. They have the ability to appeal to people decade in and decade out.

People can watch these movies and listen to these bands with passion, like time has the ability to stand…

I believe dealers need to look very hard at who is extracting data from their DMS systems. There are a lot of vendors out there today that will visit a dealer with the idea of sending zip code driven leads to the dealer and the payment for the lead is made after the vehicle sells. In theory, this makes perfect sense, except for one little hiccup. In order to match the lead and the vehicle sold the vendor requests access to the dealership's sales data in the…

In the Wizard of OZ, when Dorothy and the gang get to the gates of the Emerald City, they don’t have an easy time of getting down to business – the gatekeeper saw his job as keeping people out – not welcoming them in.  Personally, when I take my vehicles in for service, I appreciate being greeted right away, in the parking lot, at…

I am a vertically enhanced female which I normally see as a benefit, except when I am trying to buy clothing.  Most of the clothing options for women do not come with a choice for inseam or length.  This often leaves me in the dressing room wondering if I can pull of this dress being too short or do these jeans look like capris or a fashion faux pas.  I am stuck in a world in which one-height-fits-all…

For most organizations…the process of interviewing…hiring…and training a new employee…doesn’t last long…

Most organizations feel that they have hired a competent individual…and the individual will inspire themselves to learn and grow…

The sad part is…organizations expect ALL employees to come out of a pretty little gift-wrapped…

Manufacturers can debit a warranty claim if it is determined that the technician recorded excessive efficiency during the repair (typically +125%) - excessive efficiency is an indicator of cutting corners or fraudulent repair practices.  When a manufacturer reviews/audits repair orders, one of the things that they look for on the accounting copy of the invoice is the actual time worked vs the time flagged/submitted for payment.  When they see a repair order with…

During his fifteen year selling career, Joe sold 13,001 cars full retail, belly-to-belly, one car at a time.

When I was a teenager, I had to have some extensive surgery that landed me in a wheel chair for a few months.  Recently, one of my physical therapist from that adventure found me on Facebook and was compelled to share his story of that short part of my life.  He was a new therapist when he took on my case and had heard how hard teenagers can be in cases like mine.  He braced himself for a healthy dose…

Belly-to-Belly Sales Works

No sales techniques is as effective as sitting belly-to-belly, chatting, and liking who you are hanging out with. Think for a second… Have you ever created a long-term, highly profitable client via email? No. And, you never will.

The Internet is a great marketplace, a fabulous marketplace for connecting intent and offers.…

Once again we approach a milestone in the year that many consider one of the best times to buy a car. Huffington Post and The New York Times called Labor Day the best time to…

I've gone through tons of resumes for different positions that I've had.

At one point I was hiring someone to replace me. Others, I was looking for quality candidates to work in our BizDev Department. I'd have to say that about 90% of the applications/resumes had "Multitasking" under skills. 

While some hiring managers look at this as a real…