The Business Case

In 1989 the Internet came online and disrupted the car buying and selling process by tipping the scales heavily in the consumer’s favor. The easy access to pricing and product information made shoppers better researchers and negotiators, and to an unprepared industry this shift was unsettling. Since then, manufacturers and their dealers have…

Hello and welcome to the final Beggs on the Used Car Market video blog for June and also for the first half of 2014, with data and insight from Ricky Beggs and Black Book. It is amazing how fast the days and weeks have been checked off the calendar. We have dealt with a spring market that was delayed, a spring market that extended into the middle of May, and an active new car sales market unaffected…

Well its been a long delay in the series but here is the next installation, Working the Deal...

I honestly hesitate to even include this in the series as often it will clash directly with the process that sales managers want to follow when desking deals.  However, the whole point of this series is to address those management teams that actually do hate internet sales and see it as a bottomless h*** of red ink.  If you do fall into a category that this rubs the wrong way, I…

It’s amazing. And I’ve seen it a hundred times. They don’t realize they’re doing it but they still do it. That’s for sure. I heard a salesman with his chest puffed out (as it should be) reliving the story of a terrific job done with the happy new owner of a car. The salesman DID do a great job. These people were cold to begin with and initially he could barely get…

Yesterday Google revealed “Android Auto ” its latest play in the connected car game. The new android-based screen-casting feature connects your smartphone directly to your in-car infotainment system…

Walk your inventory.

Start your day with a walk around the lot to see what inventory is available and where specific vehicles are located. Do any units need attention? Are they dirty and need a…

Professor Carol Dweck of Stanford University believes humans have essentially two mindsets, growth or fixed, and through her research with employees of Fortune 500 companies, she found that managers with a growth mindset are more innovative.

Why is this important? According to the…

When writing content – whether that content is a short, social media post or blog article, or a full-length feature article – form is just as important as the content itself. Proper spelling and grammar can dictate whether your content is received well or not. It’s not uncommon for readers to start reading an article or social media post that initially grabbed their…

Most auto shoppers start their search on the web but would it surprise you to know that the #1 online destination for women shoppers is your dealership’s website? That’s right, our research lists the top sites nationally that women visit prior to buying a vehicle. They include:

1. Dealership
2. Manufacturer
3. KBB.com
4. Consumer Reports
5. AutoTrader.com
6. Edmunds.com
7. Cars.com
8. Carfax.com
9. Craigslist.com

We also…

Sometimes the difference between making a deal, and missing a deal, is knowing one more thing to say. As a matter of fact, that’s the difference a lot of the time. If you know what to say to the customer, you sell them. If you don’t, your competitor is going to get their chance.

In 1989 or 1990, I was on the road selling workshops. I was visiting a big dealer in Northern California, trying to get him to send his people to an upcoming workshop and making absolutely no…

Looking for some of our elite here on this site to give me some guidance or suggestions.  I'm looking to hire anywhere from 4-6 official bird-dog reps for me to get some extra business in my name.  My question to everyone is are there "Ad" templates that you guys may have to share, and do you have an example pay structure for me to look at?  I am hoping to have my first 2 reps signed up by next week, just need to know what a fair pay scale may be.  Thanks for all your help everyone!  Keep…

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of Beggs on the Used Car Market. I’m Ricky Beggs, Editorial Director at Black Book. There have been so many events happening within the auto industry this past week that have a direct influence on the used car market. A few weeks ago a tremendous group of storms consisting of tornados and tremendously large hail passed right by the Denver airport. Fortunately the track of the…

Blue sky pricing remains very high as pricing floor forms; more sellers enter market; privates dominate, while public spend rises 9% year-over-year, according to The Kerrigan Quarterly Blue Sky Report

Irvine, CA, June 23, 2014 – U.S. dealership buy/sell activity dramatically increased in the first quarter of 2014, according to The Kerrigan Quarterly Blue Sky Report for Q1 2014, which was…

This article was written by NCM Institute instructor, Steve Hall and originally published on the Up to Speed blog.

Do you have 60 seconds to gain a service customer? Let me restate that: Do you have a structured 60 seconds to gain this customer? Why the emphasis on…

ARE GM RECALLS STARTING TO HURT SALES FOR GM DEALERS?*****************************************************************************

Initially the answer was NO it really didn't have any noticeable effect. BUT recently I've had a lot of dealers starting to tell me that the customers are beginning to defect because of the repeated bad news and new recalls almost daily. Personally, I think Mary Barra is doing a remarkably credible job…

Note: Thanks to AutoSuccess Magazine for allowing me to be their guest blogger this week.

One of the things that I think became readily apparent when the economy hit the skids in 2008 was the fact that a lot of the people that we call managers, really aren’t. When the economy is humming along and customers are pouring into showrooms, a lot of our deficiencies as an industry are masked. As a manager, as long as we’ve got plenty of customers on the showroom floor, everyone’s happy. Unfortunately that’s not a reality in today’s environment. What sales managers are doing when they…