So you’re about to have a couple days off, what’s the last thing that you do before you leave the dealership? Let me guess, you set an Out-of-Office Assistant on your email right?   



Remember back to when you were dating…You send that girl a text message, and if you don’t get a response back within 5 minutes, you think something is up……

If you’re like most dealers I speak with lately, you’re either looking to add a Business Development Center (aka BDC) or trying to find ways to make your current BDC more successful? If so, then there are just a few simple “must haves” that are truly non-negotiable if you’d like your BDC to succeed today and over the long term.

MUST #1: BDC’s Must be Profit (not Cost) Centers

The primary reason BDCs failed in the past is they simply weren’t very successful at…

At virtually every dealership 20 group I address, at least one dealer will ask the question I hear most often with respect to internet sales:

“What’s the best internet sales structure for a dealer today: End-to-End; a BDC; or giving the leads to the floor?”

I’ve been asked this question over and over again since 2009; and until early 2014 my answer was always the same: “Any of those will work, provided you and your sales managers support the efforts.” This was true then and…

Welcome to this week's edition of Black Book Market Insights, with in-depth analysis of used car and truck valuation trends and insights straight from the auction lanes. Click here to download the full report.

 

In this week's report, the Black Book editorial team takes a close look at this past week's valuation trends. As we see the beginning of April finding the industry, there are some surprising segments finding…

Black Book, a leading provider of electronic data and insight to the automotive industry, today announced the appointment of Chris du Toit to vice president, Product Management. The announcement was made by Tom Cross, president of Black Book, and the appointment is effective immediately.



In this newly created role, du Toit has responsibility for leading product strategy and product management for all Black Book product offerings. du Toit will focus on enhancing existing products as…

Reputation management has been around for longer than the internet. It's not new. In the past, it's been considered public relations, branding, customer service, word of mouth; the list of different components associated with old school reputation management is huge.

In the automotive industry, it's become a buzzword that encompasses all of these things to…

By: Dave Benson

Push Beyond Your Feelings

The last thing I wanted to do was jump in the car and go to work. See I want to stay in bed. I wasn’t feeling too well, I was a little bit croaky in the throat. And I just wasn’t feeling on top of my game.



You know often, you might take the day off or even when you do go to the dealership, you just don’t feel “up” to everything that you got to do.



So maybe you avoid that…

BY: Dave Benson



Which Step In The Road To The Sale Is MOST Important?  

At many of my workshops, I ask this question… Which Step In The Road To The Sale Is MOST Important?  

Many say the close, many the meet and greet and needs analysis, and many say the presentation and demonstration. Everyone having good reason why their pick is the right answer.  

So what’s the RIGHT answer?  

Hi I’m Dave Benson from Reaching Your Potential, and in this episode of…

Credit Card Brand Rate Changes Effective April 2015

Typically, if the card brands are going to make any rate adjustments they will do so in either April…

Mistakes Businesses Make With Internet Marketing

With all the information out there, it is not surprising that people make mistakes when they are trying to put together a marketing plan online. In fact, some people think they're doing the right thing, and feel discouraged when the…

(I originally posted this on LinkedIn; thus the first few paragraphs were intended for those readers who might not enjoy working with and in car dealerships the way those of us on DealerElite do.) 

Before diving into this topic, I want the readers to understand why dealerships are so near and dear to my heart. While it’s true that I…

Cars.com Employee Responds To The Internet Sales 20 Group Invite...

Unfortunately, Chip Withrow responded to the Video Invite to set the record straight for 200+ dealers at the Internet Sales 20 Group in New York May 18-20 

I don't think that AutoTrader.com and Cars.com will respond. Why? You said you were looking for responses from lead providers…

http://www.internetsales20group.com 856-546-2440 

#is20g 

Dealer Elite Partners With The Internet Sales 20 Group 7 In New York & Chris Saraceno Is A Featured Speaker!  

I learned something very important this week. Everyone who has the automotive industry in their blood is a "car guy". It has nothing to do with your gender. In the 21st century, most gender roles are meaningless, even in our industry.

We've had the pleasure of hiring two of the best car guys in the industry in the past year. Last year (almost to the day) we…

The most amazing part about the internet and social media is that it has opened up communication between people and businesses that was never possible before. We now have the ability to talk to our customers and for them to talk to us in an interactive fashion, allowing for clear lines of engagement that can be both public and private.

For car dealers, this…

A recently published white paper covered yesterday in Automotive News titled, “How to Convert Used-Car Shoppers to Buyers,” draws a bold conclusion that flies in the face of traditional used-car merchandising dogma.  That is, the study found ‘nine’ to be the optimal number of used vehicle photos, and that cars…

Google has come up with a new factor to include when calculating rank and this time it has nothing to do with mobile. On this week's Hard Facts, see what your company needs to be doing to stay on top.

Introducing the new Black Book Market Insights, a weekly report capturing the latest vehicle valuation trends straight from the auction lanes and reported as it happens by Black Book’s team of editors. The data, trends and insights delivered weekly in this report will help you make the right decisions to identify growth opportunities and maximize profit potential. This week is the second issue, covering the latest trends and data impacting the automotive industry here in late…

http://www.InternetSales20Group.com 856-546-2440

Make Money Mondays with Sean V. Bradley - Automotive Sales is a Six Figure Job

If you want to be successful in the Automotive Sales industry and generate six figures per year… you need to work hard, work smartly and be…