I recently helped a friend celebrate his retirement by choosing which new car to purchase for his next chapter in life. As it turns out, his purchase mirrors a national trend that shows ‘baby boomers’ are purchasing more new cars than younger buyers. According to a study by the…

Webinar back by popular demand!!

How Service Advisors KILL Customer Retention hosted LIVE by Jeff Cowan!

Tuesday, Aug 27th at 8:00AM PST / 11:00AM…

"I want you to get 200 people to like this new page." he said to me, and he walked away.

I gave it a few minutes and I followed him to his office and sat down at his desk. 

"How?" I asked

"How, what?" he said.

"How do you want me to get these people to like the page?"

"Just get them to..."

I walked out of the office with no more information than I walked in with. I…

Are you a master or a student?

Do you know everything that you need to know to pass on your knowledge to others?

Recently, I spent four days on site at a dealer group consulting and training a brand new BDC Manager.  This BDC Manager is a remarkable individual with many college degrees and a lot of business world experience.  He was brand new to the automotive industry but not a stranger to call centers.  In…

Watch

By Frank Outlaw

Watch your thoughts, for they become words.

Watch your words, for they become actions.

Watch your actions, for they become habits.

Watch your habits, for they become character.

Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.

It's All About Conversion.

The Importance of Identifying the Anonymous Web Visitor at the ZMOT.

overview.

Website conversion is the key to all advertising, even that which doesn't take place online. Currently, retailers who previously focused their advertising efforts on TV, radio, print, and direct mail, must now also focus on…

Potratz was selected as a member of the inaugural Auto Remarketing Canada Power 100, an elite collection of the most influential companies in the used-car and remarketing business. The businesses selected as members of the Auto Remarketing Canada Power 100, will be featured in the fall issue of Auto Remarketing Canada Digital Magazine.

“We…

In the past, car shoppers understood that they would have to  trade their personal information in order to get specific information on vehicle pricing online. Today, they realize this is no longer necessary. As information has become more widely available and transparent, the consumer’s need to fill out a “Request A Quote” or “Contact Us” form on a website to obtain that…

As dealers continue recognize the benefits of either hosted live chat or chat software on their automotive websites, many still feel using in-house staff to handle the chats is their best option. With some proper planning and…

Flashy for its Time: 1930 Convertible Cabriolet

   Ford built about 5 million Model A sedans, coupes, roadsters, pickups and many other models between 1928 and 1931.…

A friend of mine has a saying: “The only thing keeping you from your goals is the bullcrap story you keep telling yourself.” As hard as those words are, I find them to be very true. My question for you is, what is the bullcrap story you are telling yourself about you and your business? It’s time to rewrite your story.

Everyone has built-in limitations in their brain. Everyone is conditioned through the teachings and messages we receive from parents, teachers, preachers,…

As I’m sure you’re aware, this week saw the annual return of Shark Week on the Discovery channel. In its 26^th season, the summer-event has gained a cult-like following for the Discovery Channel. According to the Today show, this single week of…

The NCM Up To Speed blog is typically reserved for “next practice” tips for better retail automotive management, but in this post, one of our 20 Group moderators, Joe Basil, pays homage to the source of our passion for this industry — the allure of the automobile and all it signifies. It stole our hearts and captured our imagination with dreams of speed, power and freedom on the open road. For Joe, the passion was sparked by the Chevrolet musclecars of the 1960s and 70s...

For all you…

By Jon Ellsworth

About 2 months ago, my wife’s car’s odometer finished its slow crawl to the 30,000 mile mark. Her oil change place, looking to capitalize on preventive maintenance, brought the milestone to her attention and provided her with a list of services that “should” be done at 30,000 miles. The total? $1,250 dollars!

Lucky for me, she…

As a manager, you face many different threats in today’s economy - shrinking budgets, slowed consumer spending, loss of key staff, etc. But one of the biggest threats to your dealership that can often get overlooked is complacency. Complacency can come in many forms and at many levels of an organization, but it all leads to the same thing: decreased production, lack of accountability, and reduced revenues.It can be felt on the front lines of the dealership with your sales team. Salespeople…

It happens every year during August, no I’m not talking about back to school shopping. I’m talking about Shark Week! First conceived in 1987, this has been cable’s longest-running promotion and spurred comedic parodies of the like. While other networks have tried to replicate the success of Shark Week, none have been able to build the same…

In my career in the automotive industry, I got involved in conferences fairly early. I’ve attended many conferences in my life as an Internet Director, as a vendor employee working a booth to helping with marketing and organization for the conference itself. I’ve done everything from being wined and dined as a dealership employee to doing the wining and dining for dealership…

Hiring the Right People is Imperative to Reaching Your Goals!

Over the years I have had the opportunity to be a part of many interviews.  As an outside consultant I have found it interesting to watch managers focus on many important attributes yet…

There are 3 types of personalities, and your personality could be affecting your income. Watch this week's Think Tank Tuesday now to find out which of the 3 personalities you have, and how you can make it work for your team to boost your sales.