So the sky is falling – What lands on your head is up to you.

The economic realities of today are brutal and greatly affect the service and repair industry.  When you’re out of work or underemployed, you may simply not have the cash to perform needed maintenance and repairs.  Those of us fortunate enough to have enough work all know someone who does not, and that…

Customers never buy things based on price alone........

If you don't believe me take a look at Starbucks or Apple computer. What dealerships need to realize is customers can buy vehicles anywhere and most brands have great product lines as well. The question is what are you doing to attract new customers and maintain your existing customers by creating an amazing customer experience. Think about your local high end hotel, that dry cleaner or grocery store that…

I received this email about eight hours ago from an employee of DealerTrack.  They asked me that I kept it discreet so I will not be mentioning who it was that sent this to me.  It is amazing that DealerTrack's own employees have certain opinions about DealerTrack selling ALG to TrueCar.  Does it mean that DealerTrack's own employees are against this deal too?  I know that I myself could not work for a company that would allow something like this (no matter how much money I was getting…

We are developing a sales process for Truecar customers and thought we'd share it with the community.…

I have been reading about truecar over the last week or so. There have been strong opinions on each side of the issue. The reality is truecar is here for now and probably will not be going away for quite some time. I don't have time to wait. I need to sell cars right now.

Question: A sales call comes in and the customer says they have a truecar certificate to a dealer that is 50 miles away. Then the question from the customer is "will you honor the truecar price?"

How would you…

When computers first started making their way in the 80's, I abolished it, including my college days during floppy discs. Then came "The Worldwide Web' Still in retail mid-20's and still the youngest selling Bick/Isuzu as NCM, still blown off. I moved all the Buicks to the back & drove all the Rodeo's & Trooper's up to the front....guess what? That's right, it worked...what a miracle. Tired of being tapped on the head like a little boy, I left! I did govt. work, counted beans, all…

Here's the second in an ongoing series of weekly social media tips:



Social Media Tip #102~ Be Real.



Your Facebook fans have 'liked' your page voluntarily - and they can just as voluntarily 'unlike' your page if you do not maintain a positive, interesting, engaging presence. One very simple yet effective way of retaining fans is to just be yourself.

Here's how: ask yourself, 'What would I like to read about, look at, get involved in, if I were a fan viewing my page?'…

What is a social object? A social object is a conversation piece that inherently generates conversation and action around itself. A social object can be just about anything, it can be a news piece, a cause such as ending world hunger, a passion such as the love one has for their favorite football team, or even a lifestyle such as…

Facebook is free to join and build a page, but it's definitely not free to use effectively. Time is money. Advertising is money. This infographic by our partners at Column Five Media for Flowtown breaks down the true costs of Facebook marketing. Click to enlarge.…

Often customers that bring a vehicle in for service purchased it somewhere else at another dealership. There are many causes for this however let's look at this example in more detail. First understand the purchase has already been made and will not be up for discussion. You cannot change the past. That being said there is nothing to gain for your service department to show this customer anything but your best. With a positive service visit it is likely when deciding to purchase their next…

Folks, if so please contact me Joseph DiGiore at Dealer Wizard (813) 712-5691 I will show you how we do it.

12/09/2011 - TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 9 2011 -- One of the biggest challenges for auto retailers is to recruit, train and retain top notch professional managers…

You know the old saying, "throw everything up against the wall and see what sticks?" I probably don't need to tell you this, but that shouldn't really be your mantra when it comes to creating an automotive marketing campaign.

Still, and…

So I was searching on True Car for a model in my area and look at the pricing data.

So correct me if I am wrong.

True Car grabs pricing data based on transactions. These transaction prices are based on SOLD vehicles. After I added the Seven Cars in the example for the highs and lows, the "Good Price" does average out close to $37,794. …

Sucker Punch

When I arrived in Atlanta in 1982 with my mattresses tied to the roof of my 'buy here- pay here car', you might say I was 'street tough' and 'world wise'... certainly not the warm and fuzzy, cuddly, kinder gentler Ziegler you've all grown to know and love. I used to say we couldn't have a class reunion till all of my friends got out of…

CarChat24 will provide hosted Free Advanced Auto Dealer Chat Software for (“All Car Dealer’s NEW or Used”) after final Beta testing. Expected release in late January to early February. Hosted Advanced Chat software designed for Car Dealers FREE!

Anyone interested in this always free version should go to the appropriate URL below to register. Once we launch we will send…

Now that Google+ is open to businesses, many are trying to figure out the best way to utilize this new social media portal (including DealerOn).  I’ve gathered some of the more common mistakes that businesses are making to shorten the learning curve for auto dealerships.

Like all other social media sites, not posting on a…

Making the decision to have auto dealer chat on your website is considered by many successful dealers to be a great one. It enables you to interact with your website traffic and get a feel for what your customers are looking for. It isn’t enough to just have the software on your website, however. In order to generate high quality car sales leads, you have to know how to use auto dealer chat.

 

First and foremost you have got to have a website. This seems…