Sell Like It Was Yesterday

I have loved the automobile business since the day I sold my first car in 1987.  I remember collecting that commission check, as an 18 year old kid, who was in shock and awe that someone would pay me that kind of money to do something that I loved.  It was a simple time; look out the window, make sure you never miss an up, do the walk around, the demo drive, the service walk and make sure if you cannot…

How I can prove Direct Mail is still the strongest advertising ROI there is in the Auto Business BAR NONE!

A short back story: 

I started in the car business back in 1987 as a young kid who wanted to learn all I could about this business. One thing I caught on to quickly was that whenever we had a “Mailer” sale going on, I wanted…

A long time ago I read a book called "Death by Meeting" it was a great book written by Patrick Lencione.  Although the book was filed with great concepts and ideas, I remember taking away one thing from it; Don't meeting yourself to death. Instead, actually go do something. 

I teach everyone around me to actually ask themselves in any down time of the day at all "What should or could I be doing now".   Have the one minute manager meetings, get the heck out of them and go put…

Don't commit digital Suicide.   

Sitting in a few conferences over the past few weeks, I have been able to confirm my suspicions.  There are many dealers and vendors that think tradition media is dead.  They are on the road of committing digital suicide for dealers all over the country.  If you are lucky enough not to be infected by this yet, you will be able to dominate your market easier than ever.  I should mention…

There are many conferences and I have been blessed to be a part of some of them lately.  My take on Advertising is quite a bit different than most.  And so, ironically, I became involved in a conference as different as I am.  The Automotive Super Conference in Charlotte NC March 13th and 14th is yes, a Biblically based conference.  But, since I am probably the least biblically based speaker I thought I would share why this conference is "for everyone." 

I was involved in this…

So, the fact that you are reading this proves ( well, maybe ) an advestigate fact.  That the "creative" and headlines of an advertisement could still be a factor even in the newspaper. Fact is, we all know that digital is very much alive and will be for years.  But what is happening in the traditional media world?  Is it a fact that newspaper is a dead medium?  You will find…

When you make advertising decisions as a manager or an owner of a dealership, I am certain you have felt a few of these things before.  You probably wonder if you are making a "good buy" or maybe you wonder if there is anything else you could spend your budgeted money on.  If you are the owner and have managers making the decision,  I know you are wondering…

Do you remember faxing in credit apps, doing deals on a hand shake and scheduled deliveries 5 days later when the customer got his check from the bank?  Maybe even remember this business before the internet and dealer track?

Then you are an old dog.....

As I reach the 45 year old milestone this year, I have never felt younger in so many ways.  Why would you as a car guy read any further along in this post when I am talking about feeling young?   Because for me…

Those of you who know me at all know I do not dabble in little projects often.  I like to spend my days breaking records, thinking big and planning attacks on the competition.  That said, it is always good to have a plan in place to follow that has been carefully crafted to do all those things.

This is my plan for 2013 and you are welcome to…

As a manager, and a business owner I am constantly amazed at how people hold themselves back.   One thing I noticed recently and I think is probably an epidemic in this country, is that people get very very caught up in their comfort zone.  I have developed a speech for these people and have had much success with it. ( especially sales managers)   Simply take your employee that is living in COMFORT and tell them that what you want them to do for the next 30 days is just focus on getting…

I am going to cut to the chase here because your time is valuable and reading on and on....and on the ramblings of a “expert” is not really how you make money.  I will show you how to DOUBLE your business and it is no joke.  With no reservation I will tell you I have done it time and time again.  It takes two main ingredients and a commitment to the “success recipe”.  

The ingredients are the hardest to find really.  I have walked away from many a deal…

I thought it might be a nice gesture to share what I think are three major mistakes made by dealers when buying direct mail.  

1st.  Buying for the budget.  Many dealerships buy just because they have budget left to spend.  This on it's own is not the problem.  The problem lies in the fact that normally when this is the case they will just buy any piece that has a current theme on it and expect it to win.  An example would be, right now November is coming up and dealers who…

After going in an out of dealerships for over 20 years, you start to see ( like superman sees through buildings) the good, the bad and the ugly without even looking for it.  Each store has it's own characteristics and to the untrained eye it all looks like the same things are going on.  Some dealerships are just lucky right?  How can they be selling 50 cars more a month than the average dealership in that area?  Must be product....No wait, maybe location, no has to be  the 'deal" the…

Todays Turbo Charged Dealer World Blog is a core training element that should be visited over and over again.  Probably something we all know, but just great to keep in the "top of mind" awareness section of the brain.

I have been asked multiple times in my life how do I make every dealership I go to head in the right direction?  I think the answer is really simple and always hope it comes across as humble as possible.  Here it goes.

There are three key elements…

It is spring time in the North East.   Beautiful weather and time to really enjoy the selling season.  I enjoy this time because it give us a renewed energy and fire to market and brand our cars.   A dealership I consult for has a nice used inventory.  We put some signs on the sides of the cars and as I walked the lot I noticed that we had a 4x4 pick up truck quad cab and a nice one, a little older but really nice.  It had a huge 24X48 graphic on it that said $269.00 a month.   I thought…

I thought this was awesome!!!!!!!  The concept is the same now a days, stay…