In the world of car shopping, a common frustration has emerged among prospects: dealerships that can't be bothered to answer your questions but have no problem flooding your inbox with unwanted marketing emails. This scenario often feels like a slap in the face to customers who simply want straightforward information, only to be met with a barrage of automated responses. …

Let’s face it: every dollar you invest in your dealership needs to come with a return, and that goes double for the money you spend on boosting sales performance. As competition between dealerships is becoming ever fiercer, savvy owners and GMs are looking for new and innovative ways to increase profits with the most cost-effective strategies. 

There…

You wouldn't believe the horror stories I hear from friends and family about car shopping. But guess what? They're not the only ones. As a lifelong retailer, I've seen firsthand the internal circus creating such a frustrating customer experience. Here's a dirty little secret: a lot of the blame falls on lazy managers who simply don't care. …

As showroom traffic slowly drops and customer habits change, your sales team’s phone skills are becoming more important than ever for maximizing revenue and hitting monthly sales goals. Customer service, in-person appointments, long-term loyalty, and higher sales and service engagement are all critical benefits you’re relying on your team’s phone skills to…

When I recently set out to purchase a new car, I was starkly reminded of the vast chasm between the ease of digital browsing and the actual car-buying process. My career as a sales consultant had not prepared me for the frustrating reality faced by today's car buyers—a journey marred by outdated sales tactics, poor communication, and a startling lack of transparency. …

You’ve been going over your dealership sales team’s KPIs and it doesn’t look good. You’ve been spending on training, but nothing seems to work. What’s going on? 

It could be any number of things, but there are a few obvious places to start. In most cases, revenue opportunities are left on the table because of inefficient or dated sales practices that…

Are we still pretending that "unlock the [dealer name] price" is a treasure trove hidden on a dealership website? It’s 2024, and the cat is well out of the bag: most often, the price you see online is the price you get. Yet, the charade continues. Customers click through hoops hoping to reveal a special sales price, only to find it layered with conditional discounts—OEM Loyalty Cash, Military Savings, or OEM Finance cash—that may not apply to them at all. And let's not forget about…

One major component of any automotive Owner’s or GM’s due diligence is a constant and ongoing evaluation of your sales team members’ skills, growth, consistency, and quality of delivery. If you don’t invest in training upkeep, their skills slowly become outdated and develop holes, and that means one thing for your dealership: lost revenue opportunities. …

The days of selling at or above MSRP are numbered. What once seemed like an industry standard is now as antiquated as dial-up internet. Dealerships banking on extracting top dollar while delivering subpar service are finding their approach increasingly untenable. 

Today's consumers aren't merely purchasing a…

Picture yourself excitedly browsing a car dealership’s website and clicking on your dream car's vehicle display page (VDP). You're greeted by glossy images, detailed specs, and an array of options beckoning you to take the next step. Call us, chat now, schedule a test drive, apply for financing, or simply inquire — each button promises a gateway to your new car. But here's the catch: despite these myriad options, most roads lead to a dead end. …

Imagine the anticipation of a customer eagerly awaiting a response after inquiring about their dream truck. The clock ticks, the excitement builds, and finally, an email notification pings. But disappointment sets in almost immediately—not only is the response late, but it's also laden with grammatical errors, spelling errors, punctuation errors, and glaring negligence. …

Evaluating your team’s performance is one of the most difficult and time-intensive jobs facing any management team. It takes effort and money to do the work yourself, and the data can be flawed for any number of reasons.

There are several training options available, but many of them can’t give you true insight into what your team can do to…

Cold calls are one of the toughest sales pitches in any business. They are fraught with unknowns, and employees have to be prepared to answer sharp questions and navigate interactions on the fly. 

They’re also a solid part of any sales plan, and if your team is close to a monthly goal, they can be the difference between clearing the bar and falling…

Let’s face it: automotive sales are becoming increasingly competitive and impersonal with the growth of the online industry. Customers are savvier than ever about getting the best deal, and traditional dealerships are looking to offer greater value through personalized service and better customer experiences. 

Between COVID and pressure from digital…

Online brokers are increasingly eating up market share in the automotive sales industry. The traditional ways for brick-and-mortar dealers to attract customers are changing, and 70-80% of all leads are coming from the phone or the internet. Tomorrow’s dealer sales solutions need to focus on perfecting phone communication…

All the talent in the world can’t replace solid car salesman training. It’s an ongoing process, and it’s got to be done right or your dealership’s profitability will suffer. 

As a successful owner or general manager, you know what it takes to make a sale, but …

As an auto dealer general manager, you’re responsible for everything from bringing the newest inventory onto the lot to making sure the employee bathroom gets cleaned. No matter what you’re dealing with today, somehow, some way, all of it contributes to the one overarching goal of the business: making sales. And when it comes to the bottom line, one of the biggest parts of your mission is training and coaching your team into world-class closing machines. …

You’ve hired some wonderful people to help your dealership sell vehicles, but the numbers just aren’t where they should be. Why are the KPIs not spiking? The first place to look is training. Talent is important, but if it’s not supported by disciplined on-brand messaging even the best team is going to struggle. 

Every dealership needs training…

Natural salesmanship can take an associate a long way in any business, but there is always a breaking point where the intuitive drive to sell has to give way to disciplined messaging centered on customer concerns. However, the automotive world is not just one of many examples where this is true—it’s a gold-standard space for conscious branding, active training, and carefully scripted phone interactions to maximize sales. …

It’s a busy Saturday afternoon at your dealership, and the phones are ringing off the hook. In the middle of the flood of incoming calls, there’s Steve, your star service advisor. He’s juggling conversations, developing sales opportunities, and keeping customers happy. What makes Steve cool as a cucumber on the week’s busiest day? He receives phone training for automotive service advisors, memorizes excellent scripts, and spends regular sessions with a hands-on coach. …