One of the things I like to do when I visit a dealership is to grab a manager and ask him/her to come with me and find their best salesperson. I then ask the manager to role play the dreaded question with his/her salesperson: “What’s your best price?”

I don’t have to tell you what kind of reply I usually hear. It strikes me as odd that most…

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Below is a script I’ve come up with over the years to better help me get more appointments. Unfortunately, so many salespeople and BDC agents (even managers) seem to fumble this necessary skill. The good news is this script, when used properly, can be a great tool to add to your toolbox and help you get more commitments over the phone and email. It’s written…

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I've been asked this question so many times, so I decided to put together my own personal guide to share. Do with it what you will. Accept it, challenge it, modify it, it's at least a starting point. It's attached as well. Enjoy!

PDF…

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I had the luxury of being able to watch a rookie sales manager T.O. his first customer and it reminded me of a few things I've learned along the way.



He was our top salesperson for a few years and took a promotion to management recently. He's good at what he does and it was natural for him to go out and perform his first T.O. When he went out there, he went with confidence and purpose. He wore his best smile and greeted the customer professionally. Where he was located in the…

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April 1, 2014

Mike's Picks and Commentary

FREE Stuff!



Happy April Fools Day! No joke, but I've found a few "freebies" you'll want to take advantage of right here on DeallerELITE. Who doesn't like free stuff?…

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I recently had an experience at my store about a girl trying to buy a car. She came in to our store and had all the typical defensive walls up. She seemed to be very cautious and deliberate with almost every action and word she said. It just seemed as if she was nervous and intimidated with coming to a car dealership on her own. But little did we know, she had a plan and was prepared to "do battle" with us when it came time to discuss the…

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I had the great pleasure of being part of the AutoCON team this year for the first annual event. It was held at the Aria hotel and casino in Las Vegas earlier this September. During the conference, I was able to see all my automotive heroes speak and they all inspired me to become even better. Some of them…

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I want to touch on something I'm starting to see in my dealership. Just a quick summary, I work in a "negotiation-free" store where we display upfront pricing and make buying easier. With that comes some other changes in our culture; sales not paid on gross profit but units, and the way we hire among other changes. The way we hire and WHO we hire is what I want to…

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Many months ago I hired a BDC rep who proved to be one of the best I've ever had. Her name is Trish Keller, and is a dE member. She possessed very good writing and communication skills, a great personality, and excellent phone skills. But that later changed when she was plagued by something unforeseen and debilitating.

You see, Trish had woken up one day, before we ever met, with a tingling sensation in her left arm. The next day it was completely numb. She since had multiple…

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Hey dE! I don't get to blog much since I'm always working on making dE the best website ever, but since I'm working my 3rd 8:30-9er, I figured I can spare a few minutes.

 

I was sitting here doing my work as usual when hunger struck. Was thinking a Snickers bar would do the trick. So I got up to walk to the vending machine. Mind you, I love Snickers! So I got out my dollar bill and saw…

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Or QR?

 

As I was working on dealerELITE the other night, something occurred to me while playing with QR Codes... why do some technologies fail, and others prosper? Do we as a consumer/user have something to do with…

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After a decade in the automotive business, I've heard mixed emotions about which is more important. Now obviously, they both are. What am I talking about? VOLUME or GROSS!

 

It comes down to 3…

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I've been battling an uphill battle for months telling my dealer group

social networking and social media is the future and we need to keep

working it. They want to sell cars NOW, and I get that. However, I've

been having a hard time putting the facts behind the social work I do

for my store. I believe the sale will come, but not soon enough. The big

questions is... does social networking REALLY work to sell more cars?

What are some of the real-world thoughts out… Continue

I’m often asked “what makes an Internet department successful”? To be honest, I’ve never been able to directly answer that question with a simple answer because so much must be considered when it comes to defining the steps that lead to success. One thing is for certain in my mind: there are two basic doctrines involved when it comes to starting an internet department. The first one allows technology to do the steps needed to make more sales. The second embraces technology to assist in a… Continue

I have been using video as a vital business tool for our online guests here at Kelly Nissan for a while now. I would like to share some of the things that have worked for us.



TOOLS: iPhone, YouTube account, Internet



When a customer inquires about a vehicle online, we like to shoot a quick walk-around video of the vehicle for them to view. This is not an uncommon practice these days with dealerships who are Internet savvy. However, what I think sets us apart is how quickly… Continue