I am sitting here this morning doing some final research and putting some finishing touches on the outline for my upcoming webinar on “Why pay for Reputation Management when you can get it Free” and it occurs to me I did the very thing I am railing against in the seminar… pigeonholed “Reputation Management” as monitoring the web for bad things people say about your dealership in the title and description on the sign up page for the…

This is a real story about resolving that last question (names are changed to protect the innocent)--it involves direct mail, but follow along because it applies to all dealer advertising:  The GSM at a dealer in a five-location dealer group challenged the direct mail results he was…

This is a true story told to me in 1996 BC (Before Computers) by my friend and sales trainer extraordinaire Diana Ball Cooksey. (http://www.dbcooksey.com/)



Diana was a busy working professional and single parent with little time for projects outside her day-to-day work and home responsibilities.  But she needed to buy some health insurance.  So she left voice messages after hours (this is the days before PCs, remember) with three agencies,…

It's amazing how many people have called to ask about the JC Penny and Overstock.com SEO scandal. Let me assure you that anyone who has taken my Automotive SEO classes or attended my workshops, the strategies that these unnamed SEO companies implemented is NOT anything I would have recommended.

I made a video to help car dealers understand that good…

Automotive advertising agencies gather online at AdAgencyOnline.Net to listen and learn from automotive advertising insiders who host a blog talk radio station -- WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time.  These automotive advertising experts will be discussing The Art Of The Deal In Vendor Negotiations on Monday, March 07th. 2011 at 12:00 Noon EST.  The show will focus on best practices for automotive advertising vendors who are actively negotiating software consolidations in the…

Originally published March 02, 2011 at Dealer Magazine

Last week, a California Court of Appeals judge determined that a dealer violated several California state laws and ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit that will have huge ramifications for dealers within the state. The ruling…

What is the role and future direction of Automotive CRM systems in car dealerships?

This questions will be answered by a panel of automotive professionals at the 2nd Annual Automotive Marketing Boot Camp. The CRM Panel Discussion is scheduled for 8:00 am Sunday morning April 17,…

Hi DE members!

I wanted to let everyone know about an upcoming Digital Dealer webinar on March 17, 2011 at 12pm EST/9am PST with Larry Bruce. 

10 free tools that will help you manage and monitor your online reputation

You know you need to do it. But managing your reputation online has always seemed…

Remember the 80′s and 90′s? Everyone in business then was so gungho. To build a business then you had to be great on the phone making cold calls, excellent at booking appointments, great at doing sales presentations, overcoming objections and using any one of the 17 closes you had rehearsed.

Some people in business actually enjoyed the thrill of the hunt.

They loved chasing down their potential new clients and finally overpowering them into saying…

Philip Zelinger, the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. and the host of the nationally recognized automotive advertising resource / networking portal AdAgencyOnline.Net, announced that he will be reviewing myNegotiation.com on his Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising blog talk radio…

With all of the new technology and cutting edge techniques of marketing it’s important to be ahead of the game and have the latest and greatest advertising plan in place, but it’s also important to spend your budget wisely. Most people are usually divided when it comes to making a decision on how to spend those advertising dollars, which leads me to the topic of this discussion…which do you prefer, Internet Leads or Trigger Leads?

The popularity of Trigger Leads has rapidly increased…

I did it, I actually did it, I leased a new car on-line. Why is this so amazing? Here is a little background on me:

-          Age 16, lot attendant (1967 Camaro, private party)

-          Age 22, Salesperson (1987 Suburban, private party)

-          Age 24 Sales Manager (Demo)

-          Age 28 General Manager (Demo)

-          Age 30 Chevrolet Dealer (Demo)

-          Age 37 Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge dealer (Demo)

-          Age 44 Consultant…

 I am Jackie Daniel Cooper, “Danny Boy”, to my Dad and Family. My vocation has been the retail automobile business since Dad gave me the opportunity to shine shoes at the dealership he operated, Easterby Dodge in 1963, Greenville, SC. Originally my business plan at 6 years of age was to shine the shoes of my Daddy’s salespeople … I realized early on they were better…

BDC: Turning Digital Automotive Leads into a Lucrative Customer Base

Richard Rikess, Certified Performance Improvement Consultant for ADP Digital Marketing

You’ve invested in a great new…

Hi DealerElite members!

Congratulations on hitting the 5,000 member milestone! I'm sure that's just the beginning.

A quick note to let everyone know that early-bird registration for the 10th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition has been extended until Friday, March 4, 2011. I promise this will be the last extension of that rate so make sure to register before Friday to…