I’m sure that most managers are familiar with the frustration that comes with discovering a salesperson decided a sale was not to be made without really working the lead, letting a perfectly good customer leave the lot. Perhaps the salesperson pre-qualified them and decided they…

Recently I was waiting in line at an airport, along with hundreds of other travelers. A couple appeared out of nowhere, shoving their way to the front of the line and complaining loudly, as if they were the only people affected by the long wait. When another traveler told them to get in line, the pair acted shocked, as if they had never seen all of us standing there.

I…

Change the Experience; Change the Results

The studies are clear:

• According to DrivingSales, 99% of buyers expect a hassle when they start the car buying process; and
• According to AutoTrader, only about 1 in 235 buyers actually likes the current car buying process.

While consumers have nearly…

In the first part of this series, I shared why Facebook Marketplace can help dealers sell more cars, the ways in which they can get started, and the questions they should be asking their vendors when getting this set…

Are you using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to grow your business? I’ve spent my career connecting advances in technology to business, and partner with dealers every day to help them use today’s tech to increase revenue and decrease wasteful ad spend. These dealers have figured out that AI and ML can help them identify people in their markets who are…

Automotive Professionals Gain Access To Precise Vehicle Values on Cars, Trucks, Specialty Vehicles

Black Book, a division of Hearst that provides industry-leading used vehicle valuation and residual value forecast solutions, today announced that its valuation data and specialty vehicle insights are integrated with Inovatec, a provider of industry leading lending platform.

Under the agreement, Inovatec clients and partners will gain…

It’s a foregone conclusion that to be successful in any particular skill takes time. A lot of time! Doctors must go to college for decades, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that those graduates enter the medical field after college as an “expert” physician. Ask yourself this question: How much time do I need to invest in myself to master a particular skill?…

It’s a Flat Vehicle Market! Oh the Humanity!

Newsflash: America has been in a relatively flat new vehicle market since early 2016; though apparently this event caught many dealers, the public dealer groups, and the OEMs off guard. Between increases in discounting to reports of some bloating inventories, the growth party enjoyed for nearly a…

A recent national report “Women Car Buyers Rate Women Consultants Higher in Dealer…

Use The Theory of 5 to Promote Success in Your Dealership – Chris Saraceno, Kelly Automotive Group

Every dealership is only as strong as their leader and being a good leader means positively adapting to a changing work environment. On today’s show, Jim Fitzpatrick speaks…

After an unprecedented period of sales volume growth, the prediction for a flat Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) in the coming years has significant implications for dealerships. As competition for new vehicles heats up, front-end margins will continue to decline, forcing more dealers to focus on back end profitability.…

This week, Jeff reflects on an exclusive interview to discuss the importance of creating sales on the service drive. While it may be a bit shorter, the information is KEY to a successful drive and professional mentality!

Click HERE to watch!…

Quick… make a list of the top five issues that are negatively impacting your dealership’s profitability that also have little to do with sales team turnover.

If you’re like many of the dealers I’ve spoken with over the last year, your list probably contains items like these:

• Mediocre Online Reputation/CSI
• Higher Discounting/Lower…

There you are, working on your to-do list, trying to create content for your dealership. You sit there and contemplate what you can write that will be relevant and interesting to your customers. But no ideas come to you. The more you think about it, the more frustrated you get, until you simply give up trying and move on.

Content marketing can be frustrating.…

Facebook Marketplace, while new on the scene, has quickly turned into a valuable sales channel for dealerships. Many dealers are finding great success in engagement as well as sales with consumers. Not just another third-party listing site, Facebook Marketplace has capabilities many other platforms don’t have. Chief among them is the ability for interested car buyers…

One of my college professors was famous for a crazy stunt that he pulled every semester. On the first day of class, he would introduce himself, take off his shirt and jump out the window. A few minutes later he returned to the classroom, calmly put on his shirt and asked, “Do I have your attention?”

 …

Did you know that less than 6 in 10 women car buyers report not being satisfied with the initial greeting at car dealerships? Last week, we discussed how to improve in-store guest engagement with 7 ‘face-to face’ suggestions.

However, when the initial interaction is via email or social media, your response is no less important. Digital communications have the advantage of being read when your customer has the…

For any business to grow be it a small scale or a large scale, there needs a team. Talking about the team it should consists of members that are quite experienced qualified and hold good knowledge in the field for which they have been hired. But often times being hiring managers, we tend…

It hasn’t been that long ago that customers were only able to handle customer service issues in person or by phone. Now, of course, there are many options for customers including social media, chat or through reviews. What would you do if a customer were standing in front of you paying you a compliment? Hopefully, you would thank them for the compliment and their business.…

Arguably, one of the most important marketing channels any dealership has is their website. Think about it. How much money do you spend simply to get customers there? When you combine all marketing efforts including, but not limited to, SEO, SEM, some third-party listing sites and more, dealerships spend tens of thousands of dollars (or more) per month.

Once…