Defining Customer Experience for Long-Term Retention

When it comes to creating a successful sale, customers’ experiences matter from the moment they first engage with a dealership online or in person. Repeating successful experiences requires careful tracking and analysis of each experience to understand which experiences create success. Having that scalable success is the dance of sales, and finding an…

There’s a lot of buzz around subscriptions as a new ownership model, with various industry pundits forecasting major disruptions for dealers. I see things differently.

I believe there are several major barriers to subscription growth for non-dealers, and opportunities for dealers to thrive, should subscriptions break through as a significant ownership model.…

The goal of this is to help you find new and better ways to build a highly successful career in the car business and today I want to speak to you about selling in service.  The service department can be one of your best sources for finding buyers and if I was selling today I would sell more cars than the salespeople who spent all of their time taking ups.…

This week, Jeff covers one of his favorite closes- The Order Blank Close. While this close is a classic, it still provides an extremely high closing ratio. This is perfect to use when you haven't closed the sale, but you don't know why. Use this to get a "yes" or simply get an answer! Either way, you can't go wrong! Copyright 2018 Wm Jeff Cowan

Website: thejeffcowan.com

Click HERE to watch!…

What one person has the opportunity for an uninterrupted 10-20 minute conversation with your potential buyers and service customers?

Your courtesy shuttle driver. Is this a person you trust to represent your store? The benefits of a friendly, professional shuttle…

Jenny.

Tommy Tutone said it in 1981 and many of you reading this know that number. It’s Jenny’s number. And we remember it. Why? Sure, it was a catchy song and has become a staple in early pop music, but it does hold a hidden gem that every car dealer would be thrilled to possess.

For dealerships, customer information is only the beginning of…

When automobiles were first introduced into society, people didn’t know what to think. For the most part, early automobiles were reserved for the wealthy, while everyone else continued their transportation needs with the use of horse and carriage.

However, people were very curious about this strange new phenomenon of transportation. So curious, in fact, that…

The benefits of having a mobile check-in and MPI process in the service department have been widely confirmed. You’ve probably heard all about the three “T’s;” specifically transparency, timing and trust.  

However, one of the biggest unsung benefits is…

Have any of you had success with QR Codes? By some reports they are making a comeback. But, on the other side of the coin, on an episode of Shark Tank late last year, renowned venture investor Chris Sacca commented that QR codes are “the herpes of mobile technology.”

Yes, pretty harsh,…

$10 from every copy of ‘Assumptive Selling’ sold on Amazon in August 2018 goes straight to help Bryan & Tamarra Armstrong

 ...

Tamarra Armstrong, wife of the consummate Car Guy, Bryan, suffers from a very rare disease known as Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome (SMAS). Because this is a disease that affects fewer than 3 in every 1,000 people, the treatment options are limited; and all are very expensive.

“Bryan and Tamarra have always been supportive of anyone in…

Not All Discontinued Vehicles Depreciation Alike

Black Book, a division of Hearst that provides industry-leading used vehicle valuation and residual value forecast solutions, made available today a new analytics-driven report that looks at why certain vehicle models were discontinued over the last several years, and how they’ve retained their values since discontinuation. Click here…

This week, Jeff continues with his series on how to hire and develop great service advisors. After you've properly posted the advertisement for job opening and interviewed, the period between transition can be crucial. We all know the first day sets the tone- so you have to make sure new hires are prepared and excited! Stay tuned to hear Jeff's tips on how to incorporate training prior to the first day on the job. Copyright 2018 Wm Jeff Cowan

Website:…

Congrats! You’ve made the decision to purchase a motorhome. Whether it is for annual vacations, to give your family a chance at a nomadic lifestyle, or to replace your immobile home after retirement, buying a motorhome is a huge decision, and an even larger investment.

Before…

According to NADA the average salesperson’s productivity is slightly less than 10 units per month. The Rikess Group works with two of the largest volume dealerships in the country, and they need to have a minimum of 80 salespeople on staff to hit their volume targets. With customers physically shopping less than two dealerships, it would make sense that productivity per salesperson should be rising; but it isn’t! Why? It’s because of a vicious circle anchored by high turnover and low…

Creating a Service Drive Experience to Maximize Retention

Bringing a car to the service drive for maintenance and repairs is necessary, but few customers look forward to the task. Even the smallest repair can take time out of the day and create an inconvenience. Yet, for a dealership, service revenue is huge to the bottom line. And the best way to keep service revenue growing is to ensure your customers…

Stress could be produced by pretty much anything and everything these days. Simply one of the most stressful things in not having plenty time to do everything we prefer to do. And yet there are only twenty-four hours in everyone’s daylight. So how come is it that some people appear to find time for everything when we don’t?

Time management is one of the most significant lessons of managing stress that anybody could learn and everybody should. And learning it means that you can…

One of the things I like to do when I visit a dealership is to grab a manager and ask him/her to come with me and find their best salesperson. I then ask the manager to role play the dreaded question with his/her salesperson: “What’s your best price?”

I don’t have to tell you what kind of reply I usually hear. It strikes me as odd that most…

Below is a script I’ve come up with over the years to better help me get more appointments. Unfortunately, so many salespeople and BDC agents (even managers) seem to fumble this necessary skill. The good news is this script, when used properly, can be a great tool to add to your toolbox and help you get more commitments over the phone and email. It’s written…

Information From 

Milan AP: Reports

Sergio Marchionne, a charismatic and demanding CEO who engineered two long-shot corporate turnarounds to save both Fiat and Chrysler from near-certain failure, died Wednesday. He was 66.