I want to take a couple of minutes to discuss with you the phenomenon affectionately known as "The 90 Day Wonder". For those of us unfamiliar with this phenomenon, let me 'splain it to you.

The 90 day wonder is the sales associate, brand new to the business, who starts out like gang-busters. Who, for the first couple of months, lead the field. Then,…

EMPLOYMENT AD FOR CAR DEALERS 



Wanted unambitious person sales position. Low Pay - Long Hours - Must Work Nights and Weekends - AND must be able to withstand consumer abuse and ridicule. You must be educated, and clean cut, well dressed with no drugs or bad habits. People with families preferred.



MAN, WHO…

Ever since reviews have risen in popularity, dealerships have mostly focused on written reviews -- they were the most prominent in search engine results and on third party sites.

This worked pretty well for a while. However, with the rise in the importance of reviews, some companies chose to act unscrupulously and falsely boosted their reputation by posting…

When I talk to dealers that are disappointed with their email and direct mail marketing results, my biggest question is this:

Why would you send out an email offer to your customers that you would not PAY to send out via direct mail or other methods?

I see it happen all the time. A dealer sends out an email for something such…

My Largest Lesson

One of the greatest privileges in life is doing something you love. Coaching dealerships fixed operations for improvement is truly something I love however, today I’d like to share my largest lesson with you.



Understand that everyone has parts of what they do that they don’t enjoy. For me the task I don’t enjoy is marketing and sales. I’m sure all of us of been…

Getting your customer’s attention and engaging with them can be a tough task these days. There is so much competition from other marketers -- customers are constantly barraged with messages from every side and in every way.

Social media reach has decreased, digital marketing is ever more challenging and direct mail sometimes goes straight into the trash. This…

DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENTS: MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION

As the recession loosens its tight grip on our economy and businesses, vehicle sales have begun to steadily climb nationwide.  As a result, a very important decision is looming for auto dealers.  Many of the customers that are purchasing today are doing so for the first time in several years. As…

By Eduardo Aragon

Sales Pros: If you’re not selling at least 2-6 cars off Facebook a month, you’re doing it wrong.

Dealerships: Suppose you have 10 people on your floor and they sell 2-6 cars extra, each – Facebook is time…

Today's Women's Wednesday is a rich historical look back reflecting on 50 years of women and automobiles. Its is a great way to view the huge industry and cultural shifts that have taken place in five decades. Fom A to Z. Here are just a few of the trends and events that changed the marketplace and…

I Don’t Get No Respect



The comedian Rodney Dangerfield used this line often in his monologue getting untold millions of people to laugh. It’s much more serious when it gets down to our dealerships.…

Chris Saraceno, co-founder of DealerElite and partner of the Kelly Auto Group, shares with us his "theory of fives," http://goo.gl/7S3wbv

When your corporate DNA is healthy, every component of your business moves forward in harmony.

Check out my article on…

Are You Overwhelmed?



Life in the dealership world is hectic and many times overwhelming for the staff. The emotion of this weighs heavily on the individual with the effects going well beyond the job and into family life.…

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…