Ever since the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) passed the Safeguards Rule, customer information security has been a hot topic over the past several years for auto dealerships.   The FTC mandates that auto dealerships have a formal, written, and revisable program specifying the steps taken to protect customer’s personal information and prevent unauthorized use of such information.  The three objectives needed in a Customer Information Security Program are:

1. Secure and insure the…

Since we are in the automotive business, it makes sense to take a look at Grant Cardone's new show, Turnaround King. In case you missed it, Grant and his team entered Gold's Gym in NJ and Straub Buick GMC in his first two episodes.

What…

What’s with all this talk about social media? I’m sure it’s just a passing fad like carrier pigeons and the telegraph. Here are three reasons why you should NOT use social media.

1. I Believe in Traditional Values I’m a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy. I don’t run with a fast crowd that’s always fiddling with their electronic do-dads in public. I…

Sales letters are important tools for effective interactive marketing, lead generation and sales opportunities.  Often, the first impression made upon a customer is from a sales letter.  Selling is like dating.  Imagine you are on a first date, would you present your best one-size-fits-all-everyone-is-the-same-generalize-for-the-masses romance package?  The only impression you would leave on that date…

Many new car dealers know that something is not right with their service departments or for that matter with their dealership business model as a whole. Customer loss rates are at all time high, "Right To Repair" legislation is seemingly hanging over like a "sword of Damocles" and profits margins are shrinking across the board. I bet in almost every franchised new car dealership, management meetings are being held to discuss how to tackle these challenges and I can imagine the nature of some…

Last October at the Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas keynote speaker Chip Perry, the CEO of AutoTrader.com, addressed a capacity crowd of dealer principals, GM’s, Parts Managers/Directors and e-commerce personnel declaring  dealer ad costs (per-vehicle) are projected to go down over the next four years.

Have you ever heard an advertising executive predict ad costs to go down? Neither…

Those that know me or read my professional blogs know that I'm a GREAT believer in processes, and that I consider that many, many dealerships' profits would increase dramatically from just making THOSE EXISTING PROCESSES WORK FOR THEM.  And we never want process to fail us, sure, but it's especially painful when we've gotten a customer in from a call, landed them on a…

Hello Everyone!

Well after trying various employment for about a year and a half, I found my way back to Kelly Ford in Melbourne Florida.

I have been in the auto industry for about 11 years and did very well for many years.

Having been employed there in 2001 and seeing an add on on a job site recently, I can best describe the feeling of

being re-employed at Kelly as "coming home".

Many dealerships speak of integrity, but Kelly Ford walks the…

Don’t look back. Stop living in the past. The human body doesn’t have a rearview mirror, for a reason.  Capture the moment, it’s the selling season, 2011. Business is happening.  Are you pulling out all stops? People are out buying vehicles. This next 6 months, is going to be awesome. Are you closed?  Do you have a 90 day business plan? Are you putting…

Boca Raton, FL - (June 20, 2011) -- PSCars.com  today announced that it is now licensing three core components of its online vehicle shopping technologies to help dealers offer more compelling features for online shoppers on their own dealership websites.

“When we’ve shared our technologies with dealers, we inevitably hear the same question: ‘Can I get this for my website?’” says Dan Kodsi, PSCars.com CEO. “Our decision to license these…

This day is where Father’s proclaim their day,

and Dad’s have their say.

Dad by its pure definition,

is the informal meaning of Father.

Oh I get it, informal means not official or ceremonial,

I choose to be a Dad- a father why bother.

There are no ground rules, no real definitions a Dad has to go by,

no rulebook…

For the past three years I have used my account at Compete, Inc. to monitor sites like DealerElite and ADM... The following charts and monthly traffic analysis is provided by Compete, Inc. which is the same marketing research company that Google frequently utilizes to measure and report on website traffic and engagement by Internet users.…

Everyone in the dealership, should understand turning cash quickly, is very important!! This, in my professional opinion, is extremely important to all dealerships. Everyone can take responsibility. The quicker the cash is in, the easier it is to run these money eating businesses.

Some helpful tips:

1. Contracts:

   What…

...Okay. Two easy steps.

Ready for this one? Get a pen, I'll wait.....

.....

...

..

.

.

.

Step One:

SET THE GOAL.

Step Two:

GET STARTED. NOW.…

Modesty is over-rated. 

It's okay to stand in front of the mirror or your peers and proclaim that you're going for sales person of the month.  It's okay to claim to achieve the highest gross in the coming month.  Simply put, it's okay to choose the prize.  Actually, it's better than okay.  It's essential.

Choosing the prize means you understand what it takes to get there.  Deciding on excellence and the benefits that come with such an achievement causes one to understand the…

Most dads’ have a toolbox.  Some fathers actually use their toolboxes and other toolboxes collect dust.  Some fathers have giant roll around toolboxes and others have small handled boxes.  When you open up a father’s toolbox, the variety of tools varies from father to father.

As salespeople and management, we all have a toolbox so we can “fix” things. Our toolboxes may…

This week, two American luxury brands, Lincoln and Cadillac, began rolling out facility redesign initiatives, at significant expense for their dealers.

The question is, do facility redesigns help dealers sell more vehicles?

Ford Motor Co. began talking to its Lincoln dealers last year about the investment they would have to make in their stores if they wanted to continue selling Lincolns. A meeting last week in Detroit with approximately 120 Lincoln dealers…

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