Whether addressing a 20 Group or consulting in a dealership, I am constantly asked questions like this: “So, Steve, what cool, new digital marketing sources are you seeing out there and what do you recommend?” The answer to this question always contains two parts: First, I tell them about the cool, new stuff I’m seeing; […]
The Best Gift for High School and College Students Got a millennial (or younger) in your life you care about? Worried they might graduate equipped for nothing more than a lifetime of narcissism and entitlement? Think it’s time for them to learn how to put on their big boy or big girl pants and […]
Slowing Sales? The First Expense You Should Cut Is Your Phone Training! Wait… what? Did I just read what I think I read? Yep. If you’re a car dealer looking for ways to save money in the face of current market softness, I honestly recommend (for most of you) that you eliminate your phone […]
There’s an SOS message being broadcast from parents and employers that seems to be getting louder every day: SAVE OUR SNOWFLAKES! Snowflakes, for the uninitiated, is a term thrown about by members of both major political parties in America to describe humans on the other side of the political extreme who seem easily offended. […]
What Your SEO (and Maybe Your Website Vendor) Doesn’t Want You to Know! If you’re an average car dealer – and I do mean just average – you’re likely wasting more than $25,000 every year on basically worthless Search Engine Optimization (SEO). For some of you, you’re actually the victims of outright fraud; though for […]
Got Millennials? Then you need Sh*t Sandwich. Bar none, Sh*t Sandwich is the must-have book if you’ve got people in your life (children, coworkers, employees) who think the world owes them everything and/or that life should be fair. I know, I wrote it. The advice in Sh*t Sandwich is simple to follow and easy […]
There is no “rule” in your dealership more harmful to your long-term success than that asinine, unwritten guideline that basically gives half the deal for any previous customer to the salesperson who sold them the last time. Ugh. I wrote “rule” in quotes, because this isn’t so much as rule as a copout on […]
Instead of being an 11- or 12-part, 3+ hour ordeal where your salespeople treat the prospects like suspects, the best road-to-the sale is actually controlled buying process: Controlled, in that your salespeople must remain fully in control throughout; Buying, in that the customer must feel like they’re buying, not being sold; and Process, in […]
BREAKING: Fort Lauderdale, FL, June 19, 2017 – Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) jolted the automotive retail industry this morning when it announced plans to buy giant AutoNation (NYSE: AN); introducing more uncertainty into a sector already faced with massive disruption on the horizon ranging from online car sales to autonomous vehicles. The $5.33 billion deal, a […]
Did you know that some of the nation’s best dealers have been closing their appointments that show at better than 80% for years? It’s true. Moreover, it’s actually not that hard to do – provided those at the top of your organization are truly committed to implementing a simple, repeatable process that works. The […]
There’s a strangely popular and wholly inaccurate post going around LinkedIn and other social media that generates tons of likes and shares – this, despite the post’s complete break from reality. I suppose it’s liked so much because it attempts to equate the demise of every industry to bad customer service and not technology; even when […]
When it comes to online vehicle specials, I’m flat out embarrassed for more than half of the dealerships I work with. There are even times that I actually want to ask: Why do you even have links to your specials pages on your website? If you’re a typical dealer, your specials pages can be […]
The good news about trying to create a great car buying experience is that there are similarities among all great dealership experiences that can be studied and adopted. Understanding what these are and why they make for a great buying experience allows you to easily include them in all of your store’s sales processes. […]
Tablets, as I wrote in the previous post in this series, can help your sales team stay on track with a great process – one that also happens to provide a great buying experience for the customer. The right tablet (or kiosk) software, configured correctly, simply won’t allow your team to merely “check boxes” […]
Post our selling price online? Never! We’re not a one-price store!!! Posting a competitive price online – at or very near the price you ultimately expect to sell a vehicle for – doesn’t make you a one-price store; although it does make you more desirable and trustworthy in the eyes of today’s connected customers. […]
How to be the Best DMV Clerk Ever! Looking for advice on how to be a good person – one that others will want to do business with – despite dealing with the dumbest people on the planet all day? Hoping to garner some knowledge about treating others with dignity even when you hold […]
If you’re indeed ready to create a great buying experience in your dealership, you’re probably wondering what steps you need to take to make this happen. That’s understandable, because although you agree change is necessary, we all know that change (especially in automotive retail) can be disruptive. Therefore, your goal should be to figure […]
In the evolution of car dealer websites and what these should include, we’ve gone from arguing over whether a dealer should include more than a single used car photo (when I was with Dealer Specialties in 2003) to ditching configurators in favor of actual new car inventory (when I ran Reynolds Web Solutions in […]
Today’s old car dogs will surely react with utter disdain and perhaps even great vengeance and furious anger when they read that I not only believe Do-It-Yourself F&I is the future, but that dealers who fail to embrace this trend will find themselves struggling to create a buying experience that customers love (and are […]
It’s not enough to have a website that you like, or that you think “looks cool;” your website is not a brochure, nor is it merely an inventory listing service. Your website, when created and managed properly, should be the Number One lead and traffic source for your dealership. To ensure that you’re truly […]