Chaz always made sure I looked good. For years I would drop by my local Men’s Warehouse to buy a couple of dress shirts, a pair of slacks, and sometimes a suit. Chaz always seemed to be there and he always seemed to remember my name. I don’t know how he did it, but he…

A girl walks into a gas station (no, this isn’t the start of a bad joke). 

Let me start again ---

I walk into a gas station wearing my dealership's polo on my way to work.…

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TrueCar Announces 10 Sponsored Scholarships to AutoCon2013!

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Written By: Robin Cunningham

Most Monday mornings I find myself standing in NCM Institute’s beautiful training facility welcoming a new class of retail automobile dealership managers who have come to Kansas City for formalized training specific to their job responsibilities. After introductions, I tell them something like: “We won’t be talking about what you think you have come here to learn until just before or…

In life, as well as sales, you have to pick a side-the side of clarity or one of confusion. Legendary Green Bay Packers coach, Vince Lombardi used to say, “It’s hard to be aggressive when you are confused.” When you are playing in a state of confusion, you are playing with the mindset not to lose instead of aggressively playing to win. It’s no secret, that our industry can be chaotic. In the middle of a demonstration the check engine light comes on, breaking the rhythm of…

A little background on our situation...

One of my many responsibilities at our dealership is to be in charge of our new and used vehicle photos.  I have a guy who works for me that handles the job well, but it falls under my purview. As we all know, we have to be on top of our photos and videos as they are the first thing that most customers see when…

Disney is beloved the world over and is recognized as a premiere family destination place. Whether you’re talking about the parks in Orlando, or California, people pay premium prices to be able to enjoy a little of the magic. But what makes Disney any different than the other amusement parks in the world? Many would say it’s Disney’s philosophy and…

There are those who were hurt by the recent Penguin 2.0 update by Google. If your rankings fell in the last month, there’s probably a black and white flightless bird reason for the drop. Thankfully, there are things that you can do to make things better.

Even if you weren’t affected by the change, you should still take note. There are nuances and…

Lost! Bought Elsewhere

Famous last words from the customer to help you be better next time. What value are you actually getting from a customer who bought a vehicle at another dealership? I say very little because at this point they are venting or pointing out where you failed in your sales process, but the truth is despite your best efforts to improve…

Bad management runs rampant in organizations. For my discussion I will focus on Automotive Sales and Finance Management. I say this because this is epidemic in many Industries and I don’t want to appear to be singling out Automotive Dealerships.

All emotions stem from insecurity and must be controlled because it has no place in a work Setting.…

I was consulting with a potential client yesterday and started looking at their Facebook and Twitter pages. Once a day, every day, they would post a question that had very little to do with anything at all. "What was the last movie you watched?"

Once a day, every day, they wouldn't get a response from anyone. It was awkward…

Despite NADA’s landmark victory in getting most auto dealers exempted from direct oversight by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), it looks like the agency has found a back-door way to make life more difficult for dealerships. The Bureau recently announced that lenders that offer auto loans through dealerships will be held responsible for…

As a car dealer, you’ve been thoroughly trained on all steps of a sale from greeting through negotiation and final sale. And, you apply these steps well. But, it’s a good bet that even armed with all of your knowledge and experience there have been more than a few times when you found yourself wondering, "What happened? I thought everything was going well and yet the prospect walked out the door."

Here, you will learn unusual but highly effective tips to help you focus on signals that…

I saw this great quote and had to share it with everyone. Our industry, Automotive, has had so many perception issues over the past 20+ years and we get really mad about most of the jokes right?

People say things like “that guy reminds me of a used car salesman” when they describe someone that they think is, well, less than honest.

For YEARS I would get so upset an debate these comments like “Hey, not everyone is like that stereotype from the 70′s movie….we’re people…

I'm "that guy." You know, the one who thinks that 4-stars is an amazing review coming from me, the one who hasn't rated anything a 10 out of 10 since my wife's Mediterranean pasta, the guy who wonders why his kid only got an "A" and not an "A+" on a test. There are more of us out there than you think, but there's a benefit to what I call…

The National Do Not Call Rules (DNC) have been around for quite a while but I find that a surprising number of dealership employees think that the rules don’t apply to them. I often hear statements like “Hey, we’re not telemarketers, we’re just doing follow-up”. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. So I thought it was time for a refresher on the rules and some suggestions on…

As we all know over 90% of consumers are online when researching and deciding which vehicle that he/she want's to purchase which leads to the inevitable that we must fish where the fish are.  Research reveals that effective Internet advertising not only provides dealers with greater reach to car shoppers but can also successfully attract car buyers from outside the…

The managers in your dealership must have a written job description with clearly defined responsibilities and expectations.

Having specific goals for the department is required. Daily action plans for selling, training, appointments, one-on-one coaching, save-a deal meetings, deal structuring, follow-up, etc will increase sales by 20 percent without spending more for advertising.

If you read biographies of successful people or businesses, one common thread…

The following case is a true case of ignorance and BAU. For years, we have been educating dealers of inherent pitfalls in their current sales processes. So, when I hear stories like this, I take it heavy. Especially because comments like "I've been doing business this way for years." Or recently, "I'm not afraid of..." Are not acceptable, since willful ignorance is not a legal defense. the number one challenge a dealer has is training quality people to meet the demands of today's consumers.…