"Negotiation is the art of reaching agreement by trust while lying."  -- Keith Shetterly, 2011

Wow!  My friends have pointed out that I needed another article for "trust-eroding" words and phrases--spoken or written--that can kill sales, so here comes Part 2 of what is now a series.  What do I mean by "trust-eroding"?  Well, that's best explained by going…

Want to make more sales or maybe just sound smarter?  Then learn which words make lots of people--from your peers, to your bosses, to your CUSTOMERS--cringe.  Spoken or written, these words lose you sales!

Irregardless.  It's a common word now that is most often misused as a synonym for "regardless"--and it is not.  It's a double negative of…

Google Places.  Facebook.  Twitter.  Foursquare.  Etc.  All free.  Car dealers have to love that price, right?

My caution is not about whether to use these services, as YOU MUST USE THEM.  It’s not an option any longer—it’s just a matter of when you can get to using them with the attention they deserve for the result you need.

My caution IS, however, about…

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…

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…

Here we finally have a car dealership using Groupon for CAR DISCOUNTS (Cadillac and Groupon).  People can purchase an amount off the car later for buying a coupon for a lesser amount now.

I tried to get four separate dealers to try this last year. I'll get…

Grand Theft Auto - Customer:  It’s not a video game—it’s your real profits.  How do other dealers steal your customers?

They park a PPC campaign on your dealership name.  They use your dealership name in their SEO work.  They hijack your Google Places results (just found and undid one of those!). …

1) Keep It Short.  People don't watch commercials, they Watch Shows and Put Up With Commercials.  And the Internet did NOT improve their patience!

2) Make It Fun to Watch and Share.  Entertainment is the largest video audience, NOT…

Those that know me or read my professional blogs know that I'm a GREAT believer in processes, and that I consider that many, many dealerships' profits would increase dramatically from just making THOSE EXISTING PROCESSES WORK FOR THEM.  And we never want process to fail us, sure, but it's especially painful when we've gotten a customer in from a call, landed them on a…

1) Rapport Gets'em in the Door:  Smile!  Shoppers buy from people they like and trust, and that process begins from the first moment on the phone.  Be and sound happy and interested, and they will be, too.  They can see your smile through the phone, and always give it to…

1) Don't Forget to Still Answer the Sales Calls Correctly: An inbound sales call on average is much more valuable than an Internet lead. Studies show that nearly 8 out of 10 shoppers who contact us from our web presence call us for that first contact. Just because Internet Leads might be easier to…

Silly title, yeah, but here's my point:  Is Autotrader's purchase of VinSolutions the "death knell" for other Website/CRM/Digital/etc. vendors in automotive?  Do I need do no more study or market homework for tool selection, and so I just have to call Autotrader to get all…

The Good Ol’ Boy Network (GOBN) of the car business limits us in how we apply experienced and/or capable people, how we run our dealership’s business, and in how we approach women in this business for everything from ownership, to manager spots, to sales positions. And, by doing all that, limits our success.  And our profitability.  Let me tell you my own experience with the…

One of my very good childhood memories is Mom writing Granny (her Mom) letters and Mom also getting letters from Granny.  Mom and Dad had moved us to Ohio for the better life that came then from factory work, so at the time we were far away from Granny back in Tennessee.  The telephone was still expensive and unreliable way back then, and Granny's phone was also a…

1) Hire some women!  Women buyers will, on average, prefer to buy a vehicle from another woman when they can--and women salespeople are awesome.  By the way, women salespeople will do a great job with male buyers, too.



2) Smile and understand their power.  Lots of women are on their own and…

) Be social:  Wherever two or more of your customers are gathered, so should your dealership be there also (to paraphrase), and that applies to social media.  And, if you're not there personally yourself, too, get on Facebook NOW--having a business page and not being on Facebook…