Businesses in every industry are using the Internet to increase their visibility and gain more loyal customers. Online advertising is a tool that you cannot afford not to use. By establishing an official company website, you announce to the public that your business is…

The 2016 NADA conference in Las Vegas proved connections are the single most important factor of this business, and any business for that matter. To lead, you must be able to connect with a team, and from there an audience, and beyond that, the world. The focus should always be on that first fundamental building block – the team…

Welcome to this week's edition of Black Book Market Insights, with in-depth analysis of used car and truck valuation trends and insights straight from the auction lanes. Click here to download the full…

According to Black Book® data, the average price of a used vehicle for model years 2010-2014 declined -0.9% during March. Cars declined -0.4% and trucks declined -1.3% during the month, demonstrating the peak of the spring selling season. 

In a sign that overall year-over-year depreciation continues to accelerate, the first quarter of 2016 saw vehicle depreciation of -3.6%, compared with -0.6% during the same time in 2015.

Full-Size Van led all vehicle segments with the highest…

Maximizing Shop Production

Before we get in to the meat and potatoes of maximizing shop production, let’s take a look at things in a simple applicable way. For this example let’s consider a shop that employs 10…

Taking care of our best customer…the used car department

What if you had a customer who brings you between 25 and 75 cars a month, not for just an oil change, but to look over each one and tell them what…

I want to share a few processes dealerships some do that removes the chance to gain new car sales through the service department. Don’t worry it’s never too late to change and grow!!

Did You Buy It…

Don’t Ask Don’t Sell

Without question every dealership wants to improve customer satisfaction and retention. With fixed operations gross profits more critical than ever we must look at ways to insure results. Simple as…

Technician Time

Technician time must be managed very well to maximize service and parts sales performance. Technician time cannot be stored, refrigerated, or put into a saving account. If it is not used during…

Understanding How the Numbers Work

Generally when I begin with a client, I have a casual conversation with the manager of…

Building Your Body Shop and More Advisor Stuff

This month we look at some ways to build repair order counts for body shops and…

The Lost Customer

Dealerships will spend thousands of dollars in advertising bring in new customers on low margin labor operations such as oil changes. This month let’s look at the placing the focus on retaining…

Defining Moments

We all have defining moments in our lives. Let’s look at some actions that must be taken to get the dealership to the next level of profits in your fixed operations.…

No Training…Really?

It is interesting that in the nine years I have been consulting and training most managers and advisors in fixed operations have received little or no training! Let’s look together at advantages and costs this lack of training will cost your dealership.…

According to a study by Colloquy, there are 3.3 billion loyalty program memberships in the United States, which averages 29 per household. Yes, loyalty programs are everywhere. From grocery stores, to gas stations and fast food restaurants, chances are high that a store you’re about to enter for the first time has a loyalty program. And the one thing that most of these…

The market is calling Beepi, Vroom and the Carvanna’s of the world ‘Disruptors.’ I simply call them evolutionary companies that will assist in gaining consumer trust and confidence with the car buying experience -- and ultimately with dealerships.  

Today’s technology has made it a snap to buy most goods online and this has conditioned consumers to expect…

This is an excerpt from my book "Synergistic Selling"  

 

C H A P T E R 8

Avoiding Slumps

Every sales manager, every owner, and every salesperson selling anything in the world will, at some point, cross paths with the dreaded slumps. These slumps are mentally and economically taxing. They can also be taxing on your family. And they can be difficult to crawl out of.

Usually, you will encounter a slump pretty early. And you…

If you’re like me, you continually attend a great number of events, seminars and meetings.  It seems that no matter what the key focus of an event is, somehow the topic of video weaves its way into the presentation or conversation.  Whether it is social or business, video has become the most compelling communication medium on the internet.  Let’s look at three key reasons for making video a must in your marketing plans.…

Facebook is Changing the Way it Does Video

Facebook is expanding it's video capabilities to include a new features that rival video search engine giants like Youtube and Vimeo. These new features will increase the visibility of videos you share and improve functionality for Facebook users.



Learn about all of the new advancements coming to Facebook on this week's Hard Facts. As always, if you have an idea for an upcoming episode, reply to this…