As 2011 quickly comes to a close, I've been taking stock of my year and making plans for 2012. Without going into personal details, 2011 was a difficult year for me both personally and professionally as I was left feeling underwhelmed in many-a-situations. 

 

If you don't know me, CarChat24 is only one of the businesses that I do social media for. I also write for a blog related to Autism, and assist a Life Coach with her daily needs. Plus, I have a day job in which I…

Jim,

I couldn't agree more!!! The business model True Car,Zag and others like them operate under is flawed because the only person that truly wins is them.

Does the customer win?... No because the dealers have to post a price hundreds, if not thousands below what we pay for the car to get the consumer and then we either have to eat that loss or figure out a creative way to get back to profitability. In my opinion not the smooth customer experience they…

Groundbreaking program dramatically expands the number of vehicles eligible for certification and increases consumer confidence and purchase protection  

Venice, CA  --  Mota Motors…

For many years consumers have been complaining about the buying experience at the local dealership and have often compared the experience to pulling teeth without the benefit of a painkiller. However, in the post internet era where easy access to information has changed the way that vehicles are bought and sold, consumers have expanded the radius for what they consider their local dealership to include those within the length of time they are willing to travel to avoid the hassle and to get…

Recently I saw a customer come into the dealership for service. This person was traveling to deliver dogs around the country in his diesel pickup truck. The trailer had 22 dogs on it as he pulled in for service because the engine was running rough and he could not continue. The time of this visit was around three in the afternoon. My truck is running poorly and I need help. The manager stated well at this time he would not get going today but he would have some idea of diagnosis. He…

Good morning,

I have another article I wanted to share today. It’s all about making sure your customers are coming back to your dealership after the initial sale. Oftentimes, customers will make a purchase, and you won’t see them again for a while, if not ever again.

While the majority of my time is now spent trianing new salespeople, I still get to work with experienced teams on occassion.  I enjoy this break, especially during this time of year.  It's always easy to get new people to set high goals becasue they're still excited about their new career and want to make a great impression.  Getting veterans to set goals is more like trying to get a college student to be done with a major paper BEFORE the night before!

As an expert in human personal…

http://www.twitter.com/karinabradley…

More and more we are finally seeing dealers slip away from the stereotypical cliché of what a “car salesman” should be or look like…

… And what a better world that is!…

Let's face it. In the real world, big corporations have an advantage. They have more money for national television ads. They have armies of people marketing and advertising their products and services. They have name recognition and branding. None of this matters (as much) on the web.

The internet gives a venue for small businesses to have more equal footing with the larger…

BlogHer.com and J D Power asked both men and women to describe their range of emotions while going through the automotive purchasing cycle.  Both genders listed “excited” as the primary emotion with men at 71% and women at 74%. Women were also more nervous (53%) during the process than men (42%) and less confident (30%) than men (37%).

However, when we filtered the same question results through those who had used either blogs or social networks to help with car information prior to…

1) No Dealer shall allow access by any Vendor to their business data (DMS, CRM, etc.) without restrictions to specific data needed and on the use of such data by the Vendor for only providing a clear and very strong business advantage to the Dealer.…

I decided to write this post after a comment I left on my Facebook Profile, it stated:

The Law Of Profitable Returns: As long as the value of your goods and services exceeds what was paid for them, then the profit received will always…

You’re always One Choice away from changing your life…

Think about this for a moment…

one choice, just one, can change your life forever.

Simply put, your life today is what your…

Every customer that walks into that door should be greeted with a smile and a welcoming statement. You never want a customer to feel ignored. No matter how busy you are, it only takes a few seconds to stop and let them know you aknowledge them and will be with them in a minute. You want them to feel good about the decisions they are about to make in sales or service. Customer's want to know they are investing their money in the right places. There is nothing worse than buyers remorse. If you…

I used to think the word "IF" was one of the most ambiguous words, I know now that it is now definitely the word "FREE" .

We got things for Free so We gave away our data in exchange for Free.  I'm not going to throw stones at anyone or any entity but without a doubt my dad was right when he said, "pay now or pay later, nothing is free".  I'm sure we've ALL heard…

DealerOn.com, the premier auto dealer website provider is expanding its executive team to further accelerate the steady growth trajectory of its business.  DealerOn, Inc., a leading online marketing company serving the retail automotive industry – today announces the appointment of Gerard J. (Jerry) Petrotto to the newly-created position of Chief Sales Officer.…