2018 is underway and with the New Year comes a lot of predictions on how the automotive industry will change.  Are you ready for these changes?

If you want to keep your dealership in the mainstream with car buyers it is necessary to keep abreast of what is going on in the industry and make necessary adjustments and improvements in your sales practices, your…

Phone Strategy Series Part 3

Talking to prospective customers on the phone is inevitable in the sales industry. If you are comfortable on the phone you are already ahead of many others who do their best to avoid this type of prospecting.

Getting on the phone with a potential customer doesn’t have to be a stressful situation, especially if you are prepared before you ever dial their number.

Knowing how to get someone’s attention and more…

Buying and selling today, regardless of what your product is, is drastically different now than it was 50 years ago.  Door-to-door selling is a thing of the past and most companies and products have ways to do most of the shopping or preliminary information harvesting online and without the presence of a salesperson.

This is becoming true in the automobile industry as well.  Manufacturers and dealerships are looking for ways to provide the customer with a fully online…

Phone Strategy Series Part 2

Talking to customers on the phone is a valuable tool to have in your arsenal.  This type of contact is also called prospecting calls.

Talking to a potential customer on the phone even just for five minutes can give you more information than multiple emails if you know how to handle those calls properly. Part 2 of our Phone Strategy Series covers the mistakes that can be made when calling customers. 

Oftentimes…

There are several ways to contact prospective customers in today’s digital world. Customers communicate with family, friends, and businesses via email, texting, telephone, and even snail mail. 

Despite the popularity of digital communication, there is still a lot of potential in talking to customers on the phone.

For the next few weeks, we’ll be focusing on…

In today’s society, people are busier than ever which makes getting in touch with them a challenge.

One of the best ways to connect with your potential and existing customers is through email but it could end up in their spam folder or they could just delete it, thinking you are just trying to “sell” them on something.

Despite these potential pitfalls, there…

One of the easiest ways to lose a sale is by not following up with your customers.  There is a fine line between pestering them and being there to guide them to the sale.

According to statistics posted by Dealer Refresh in August, 20171, as many as 90% of salespeople do NOT follow up with potential customers or even customers that have purchased a vehicle from them.…

Starting a new career in automobile sales can be both exciting and nerve-wracking, especially if you’ve never done it before. If you are new to the automobile industry, you may be thinking about the best way to interact with the customers that come to the dealership. There are many things you can do to be the best sales associate you can be.

It is not a secret…

What do you know about your dealership’s website?  The majority of car dealerships have websites that represent their businesses. 

Some websites can be elaborate:  customers can get approved for loans, get trade-in values on a vehicle they’re trading in, browse through new and used cars, and everything in between.  Other sites may be just simple advertisement sites. 

Whatever type of dealership website your place of business has, it is crucial that you know what is on…

Adaptability is an essential quality to have as a sales associate. When you deal with a lot of customers on a regular basis, there is not a “one-size-fits-all” way to handle each customer.

Unfortunately, not all sales associates understand this and make the mistake of having ONE way that they do business.

It is important to remember that customers are people,…

Being a sales associate can have many challenges, especially in the automotive world where there are several sales associates in one place all with the same objective…to sell cars.  It’s not enough just to show up in the morning, you have to be on top of your game in all areas so you can really shine.  There are several things you can do on a daily basis to stand out and…

Automotive dealerships use many different methods to obtain quality leads for their sales associates. Standard methods include referrals, organic traffic on the internet, and paid advertising, among others. One of the most overlooked and under-estimated means of getting better quality leads on a regular basis is through the FCR from your website’s trade-in tool.

Form Conversion Rate (FCR) is the percentage of site visitors that have completed and submitted a form on your…