In (part 1) of this blog, we talked about the experience you receive when you go to a restaurant for lunch.

Now….lets talk about setting the “Level of Expectation” in your Dealership’s showroom.

Today’s customers demand a process that is both professional and transparent!

Today’s customers also want the process to go as…

To me, we’ve all clearly moved past the Reputation Management phase:  Now, it’s “Reputation MARKETING”.  Before I explain that, let’s talk about where we have been so far with Reputation Management.

Reputation Management is the ability to monitor and defend your online reputation.  And, although folks gaming the system have been rightly and roundly…

I try to spend at least a little time each day reading forums and blogs from outside the auto industry because I think there is a lot to learn from other business communities.  Today, I found an interesting question up for discussion, and would like to pose the same to you.

What would it take for you to leave the auto industry?

 …

I started some advice for Nancy Simmons in another section and it grew into a story I think some of you might find interesting.

Nancy is developing tailored CRM software for a client. I had the opportunity to do the same thing for my own dealership twenty years ago. Here's my advice and story to her:

At the point at which a prospect is willing to identify themselves to a dealership as a prospect they become HOT prospects, all of them. They may be saying I'm not currently in the…

Wow, it’s a new year for the car business ! Our industry has been dormant for five years and this is our year of return. How fortunate are you to be in an industry where you have no where to look but up. You are fortunate my friend, and capitalize on this opportunity for yourself, your family and your business. Remember your employer’s business is an extension of your business and you need to make this flourish. I want you to be aware the car industry is due for a 20% increase this…

Scholarship Provides Further Opportunities to Empower Women in the Automotive Industry. 

PCG Digital Marketing’s ‘Pit Stop’ tours are bringing cutting edge digital marketing training to car dealers in the US and Canada. The Pit Stop tours provide marketing tune-ups in social media, lead management, Google maps, microsites, mobile websites, CRM processes, Google Adwords, automotive SEO, fixed operations and integrated advertising…

We have all had the experience of going out to a restaurant for lunch.

The process is nearly the same in every restaurant.

• First we are greeted at the door
• We are then guided to an open table
• We are then given a menu to choose from different options
• We are asked if we would like anything to drink while we look…

     Got your attention didn’t I?  Some of you are offended, some are intrigued and others are just wondering what nonsense is being spewed by this dork.  In any case, you’re reading.  It was recently brought to my attention that one of the greatest sales books ever was penned by none other than “Dr. Seuss”.  I’m talking about “Green Eggs and Ham”.  It’s brilliant in its simplicity and the entire focus is on the tenacity of one “Sam-I-Am”.  To start,…

Dr. King believed “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he

stands at times of challenge and controversy.” What is a motivational quote for most was a creed for Todd Beamer and…

Reputation Management requires you to have a great online presence so you grow your business and make an impact in your market. Credibility is everything in business. A bad reputation means bad business, and bad business means lost revenues and low sales numbers. Every customer represents an opportunity.

Boost your Online Presence Visibility and searchability. Appearing on the first page of search engine results with intriguing content and good reviews…

That is the phrase that can pop a salespersons bubble faster than anything!

This is a great way to turn the focus on the sales proccess and how important it is to never skip a step or to never show the customer all of the choice in vehicles that fit just above or just below what they are looking at on the lot. It may be a lack of investigating the way the customer is going to use the…

I'm gonna honk my own horn here and tell you all how pleased I am to be able to say that I am running the number one Kia internet department in the nation. Now this is not official, but for the last 90 days, my Shottenkirk Kia Internet Sales Department is running the best numbers in not only our region, but the nation as well.

Our conversion rate is 24%...This means that of all the Kia leads we get, my department closes 24% of them. Now that's what I call “Low hanging fruit.” what a…

Made you click from the title or the picture, didn't I?  Well, this article is about Pay-Per-Click (PPC), but a short story first to explain my point:  When I had my entertainment company ten years ago, we always laughed at the long-standing joke that naming a band “Free Beer!” would make all the honky-tonk signs read “Free Beer Tonight!”—ensuring strong attendance.  I still…

All too often what we think are strategies are mere tactics and are driven by technology vendors want to sell us. I put together this 2.5 day class for our clients and perspective clients on Strategies to help them better define their own strategy online & off.

This is a 2hr version of a 2.5 day class.

 …

Last month I posted a discussion, "When's the Last Time you saw an Evidence Manual", I was delighted to trigger some positive discussion.  

Are you having your customer sign a "Release Form" to use their photo, image, testimonial and / or video?  I have attached a pdf of a generic form I used to use and have signed in the Business Office.  Please have it reviewed by your counsel or advertising agencies.  It is always wise to exercise due…

Alexander H. Leighton says..."morale is the capacity of a group to pull together persistently and consistently in pursuit of a common purpose.

Something that has always been apart of the automotive industry is the group of tough love managers and owners... you know the ones that pull the team together for a meeting and all hell breaks loose, Screaming and Yelling and demoralizing the group like that is going to get them pumped up? I know everyone in the industry has seen it…

(Originally published on Dealer magazine)

How can you solve ANY problem that you might have???

There is a very simple process…to solving any and all problems…

The process… is basically 4 steps…

And you are going to need to write out your answers…to every step of the process…

So get yourself some paper and a pen…or type it out on your…