We are not doctors, but I love the idea of “First, Do No Harm” for working with dealers.  Even though that phrase is the common, but incorrect, quote of the Hippocratic Oath for Physicians, it still conveys a lot for the proper doctor/patient relationship—and it also means a lot for vendor/dealer,…

After more than a few weeks on the road, I needed a haircut.  I've been blessed (or cursed) with a full head of hair that grows very fast.  I am not all that keen on having my hair cut in spas, salons, etc.  But I do admit that going to the franchise Sports Clips is fun in a manly way.  You get to watch ESPN and they give you a massage after your cut.  And, I really like the hot towel on my face.

Because it's my birthday this month, I received an email from Sports Clips reminding me…

Rockville, MD--DealerOn, the premier auto dealer website provider, announces that two of their auto dealership customers have been awarded Dataium Website Performance Awards for October 2011.  Dataium uses various performance metrics collected from participating dealership websites to recognize auto dealerships and their website providers for their online performance.  Volkswagen of Lithia Springs was awarded the…

In the effort to make a sale some sales approaches can lack some very serious ingredients. Pushing a customer without qualifying their needs and not providing honest feedback is like covering a wound with a temporary bandage.

Definition of BAND-AID: offering, making use of, or serving as a temporary or expedient remedy or solution

It is a salesperson’s job to sell, but quality selling always…

Reminder...

AutoDealerTarget Roundtable - TONIGHT with Featured Guest +Mike Stenger ...Join Us LIVE 10pm Eastern or watch at http://autodealertarget.com/roundtable

My new post covers "Duck Hunter's"

You may wonder what does duck hunter's have to do with the automotive business. 

Well, I see more and more employees and even managers hiding in the weeds till pay checks come out, and guess what?  All of a sudden you see your employees and yes even managers stand up out of the weeds and say,…

I had a customer yesterday that was very hot for a 2011 Prius V.  I demoed them, test drove and wrote them up.  All was settled until we got to the value of thier trade.  He had an 2001 Crown Vic with 98000 miles on it...could not get over the objection of HIS opinion and value of his trade.  I tried everything.  Talked about the 11's being gone by the time he came back and having to pay MSRP for the 12's..etc.  Finally my manager kicked me off and sent in the "big guns" salesmen and HE…

Another end of the month has come and gone. Are you still preparing your numbers? Already turned them in? Have you had the conversation with your GM or Salespeople about how this month is going to be better than last month? I've had a ton of those talks with my superiors who expected me to do better than a bad month, or even better than a good…

The “Car Biz” an industry that made you reinvent yourself a little bit and step outside your comfort zone…

So I ask you… Why step back in?

I don’t know about you but I didn’t want to grow up wanting to be a car salesman…

But here I am and it’s been a good ride so far…

Growing up if you would have asked me what I…

Differentiation.   What is it?  I don’t know about you but I am sick to death of people throwing the word differentiation around with no specific, precise course of action.  It is essential that we accentuate specific differences between us and the stereotype of our industry.  From the outside looking in, all dealerships look the same and do the same things in…

Our jump from 30 Used per month to 130 was no accident.  A year ago we priced by gut or by rule.  "Add $3000 to our inventory price" is what many dealers continue to subscribe to.  We found religion with Dale Pollack and Vauto.  Of course there are other tools out there.  I like what Dale Pollack has to say and thus went with his product. (no, they didn't pay me to say this).  Our experience selling used cars is that we could spend any amount of money in the local "Auto Shopper", local…

Winter 1982.  I was the F&I manager for a Chrysler, Plymouth, Jaguar, Deloreon dealer. (One of my better career moves.)  It was also a time that was very troubling for Chrysler.  They had gotten their loan (bailout) from the government and had cut back on their field support.  We got the memo that some of each dealership staff would volunteer for the New York Auto Show.  Each of us would have to go to the city and spend two hours at the Chrysler booth. (And we still had to pay for our…

Doug Van Sach named vice president strategy and analytics; Robert Silberman heads CRM and product strategy for automotive marketing leader

Daytona Beach, FL – DMEautomotive, the industry leader in science-based, results-driven automotive marketing, today announced two key appointments to further bolster its expanding Strategy and Analytics team.  Consumer behavior and data…

Before the most recent explosion of internet marketing and technology advancements, car dealers would rely solely on referrals and word of mouth. Then, as the internet grew, online auto sales leads were born and changed the way business development worked. Many dealerships made the costly decision to create an internet department to handle these leads. Others paid their salespeople premium salary to work the leads when they weren't in the showroom selling cars.

Regardless of…

Some people have heard me say this in the past

“It’s not your website provider’s job to give you a working website. It’s their job to give you a functional one; it’s your job to make it work”

What does that mean…REALLY?

     • It’s Your Job – to know what keywords to rank for

     • It’s Your Job – to create good…

WINNING THE PRICE WARS

As most of you know, I have over 150 One Price Selling dealer clients. In talking to dealers who are interested in this selling process, I always hear, “My market is different. We have a number of dealers who just give cars away. How can I compete?” For starters, most markets aren’t that different - they are highly price competitive - therefore, you don’t want to compete solely on price. You want to create a differentiated sales…

Today in our sales meeting...the testosterone and jokes were so thick you coulda cut it with a knife....I decided a few weeks ago that I would use these opportunites to develop the "thick skin" skill in me...you know the one?  Where you don't let rude or mean customers that no matter what you say, they are going to be upset type?  It's been helpful to decide not to take things personally in this male dominated industry that is full of customers who decided a long time ago that car dealers…