Correcting My Contribution to the Battle Between Buyer and Seller

I spent 31 years in automotive retail, in every variable role from used car salesperson to GSM, then GM and Dealer Principal.

For most of that time, I was a part of and supported the combative culture the car business created.

• I was a master of small…

A great article in CBT News cites that almost half of customers who state they are loyal to the selling dealer go elsewhere to service their vehicle. Only one-third of all vehicle services are performed at automotive dealerships. And we know brand loyalty and…

Happy customers, happy sales teams, happy dealers

I will keep this brief, (I hear ya sayin …”YEAH RIGHT!”) in fact I will likely struggle to get in 3 or 4 paragraphs…the idea is super simple, but could be very impactful for most dealers.

As you know, margins continue to shrink in new car sales, and we…

Creator Lindsay Automotive Realizes $800 Increase in PVR Profit and Up to 28% Increase in Protection Product Sales Using ZipDeal’s Personalized Customer-Driven Delivery Process

Columbus, OH – August 3, 2020 – ZipDeal, a streamlined, post-sale, pre-F&I vehicle delivery system for automotive dealers, launched today. Created by dealership owner Steve Lindsay, and helmed by industry veterans…

The average dealer leaves over $250,000 on the table each year for every 100 units sold per month. That’s right, a quarter-million dollars. Surprised? That’s what your dealership sacrifices when you don’t offer Environmental Protection Packages (EPP), also called paint & fabric packages, to 100% of customers 100% of the time. Consider these…

I was CC'd on this email today from the Dealer Principle of a major domestic…

Have you heard?

“Automotive Sales Professionals are Terrible on the Phone”

..... Really??

So, I had yet another in a long series of epiphanies regarding the business I love as I continue to get older and more exposed to the wise….

Ask most anyone….you will hear that the better the sales representative, the worse they are at handling inbound and outbound calls effectively. And some degree that may be…

Step #1

Never allow your staff to choose between a customer in person and a customer on the phone.

Your customer will always lose.

• Showroom Receptionists are often facing the main entrance, and are the first person to be seen by a customer coming in. Too often they are unable to greet, or even…

Your Customers are Mad as Hell, and They Won’t Take It Anymore!!

Conquest and Retention are both driven by the Caller’s Journey

Great new is...we are clearly in recovery. The risk is, as Jack Jackintelle, President of the Rick Case Automotive Group, recently stated in his presentation to the Automotive Leadership Roundtable, is that we go back to reading our financial statements from the bottom up. There has…

Automotive Dealerships have been amongst the companies that had to book the highest losses due to the worldwide economical crisis and it's aftermath. Since then they have managed to make a huge comeback especially during 2011; both manufacturers and dealers are expanding their businesses at a large pace and business' are recovering to pre-crisis states. The surviving dealer body has become nimble and able to respond to all new marketing demands.Among those are the increased demands of…

I'm prepping for a big strategy meeting with a dealer group. So I decide to verify my hunch that there is big opportunity in training the call handlers for better Appointment Set, CSI, Retention and all that good stuff. I decide to listen to a bunch of calls from some of the top performing dealerships in the country, to help identify the skill differences and training opportunities.

Then it hit me......How could I have missed this for so long?? 

The…

OK.... here it is....  the vast majority (and I know you may be the exception!) of talented Sales Reps, and Sales Managers flat out suck on Sales Calls. Don't throw rocks at me yet....

The most common successful Sales Rep is a great influencer.... super at helping customers make good choices and delivering units. In fact, if it weren't for the common disease we seem to share (and I come from the floor), A.D.D., we would all be lawyers. If it weren't for our other…

Stop the Profit Leak

ANSWER THE PHONE!!

With the next Digital Dealer Conference promising to be chock full of the latest in Digital and Social Marketing strategies, I can’t help but ponder the obvious. We are learning great new ways to drive traffic to our dealerships with the commitment that the buying experience will be extraordinary. And the good news is its working! For too many of us, the bad news is the same…..its working.

With…