Quick Tips to Navigate the Uncertainty in Automotive Retail The good news is that there is never a dull moment in automotive retail, and the great news is that the craziness and uncertainty we’re facing today will surely create some good habits for many dealers and their salespeople. How Can Dealers Forecast Future Vehicle Sales […]
Live By 4 Simple Rules, Sell More Vehicles The automotive retail market has swiftly moved from one where vehicles sold based on availability to one based on control. That is, we are back to a “normal” market where your sales team’s ability to grab and maintain control of your prospects can make the difference between […]
In a “Normal” Market, Discipline Sells Cars There’s no doubt the easy sales our teams made from 2020-2023 destroyed any commitment to fundamental processes in most dealerships. Moreover, the order-taker market removed a key driver of sales in “normal” times: Discipline. Discipline sells cars; and discipline is what you need to reintroduce if you’re struggling […]
Are Your Car Deals Dying in the Trade Walk? Let’s be honest. Most of your salespeople aren’t even doing a proper Trade Walk, are they? They’re running out to the customer’s vehicle alone and getting the VIN and mileage, right? Guess what? Your deals are dying in the Trade Walk. Conducting a proper Trade Walk […]
Leveraging Facebook to Move Metal Did you know there are dealers today who are actually moving metal with their free posts on Facebook? Moreover, because these efforts are measurable in Google Analytics, they can quickly tell what’s working and what’s not. If your website traffic from your organic (free) posts on Facebook isn’t driving real […]
Real Automotive SEO should be on the Endangered Species List Each month I analyze the digital marketing effectiveness for more than 50 rooftops. Most are long-time dealer-clients, some are newer clients, and a few are one-off automotive OEMs, dealers, or groups searching for quick answers to their dwindling traffic, lead, and/or sales numbers. During the […]
The Automotive Market is Back to Normal… and it’s Crazy! For anyone who began their automotive retail career after March 2020, all I can say is, “Welcome to Normalville!” Yes, it seems like every Fresh Up wants to know every detail of the deal before they will even consider taking the test drive. …like every […]
What We Learned from 200+ Car Dealer Service Department Mystery Shops Our team has conducted over 200 service mystery shops so far this year, and the great news is most were handled properly. Our shops included phone calls, chats, contact forms, and service schedulers – all with the goal of efficiently setting a service appointment […]
What the Auto Industry is Getting Wrong About the Carvana Experiment Many in the automotive industry are not surprised at Carvana’s downfall. (I’ve been writing about the reasons they would fail and the absurd comparisons to Amazon since 2017.) A few, like Jim Zeigler, were vocal about their doubts very early on. Many, however, are […]
Muscle Memory: The Key to Selling More Vehicles in any Market You’ve probably heard the term muscle memory applied to professional athletes. It describes those who’ve committed to their craft and practiced something so many times that their actions become automatic. The game “slows down” for them; they hold an advantage over their opponents; they’re […]
Turn Your Order-Takers Back Into Sales Pros Let’s be honest. Since about August or September 2020, your salespeople have had it pretty easy. Your cars, trucks, and SUVs have been selling themselves… often at prices above MSRP for new cars and at historically elevated prices for used. Most salespeople became order-takers. They quit making calls, […]
Digital Retailing: Lessons from the Winners Among my regular duties over the last several years, I’ve been working with OEMs and dealers to fine tune their digital retailing efforts. Throughout this time, I’ve seen everything from utter failures to smashing successes. The failures were most often due to a lack of buy-in and (believe it […]
It’s the Perfect Time to Start Leading Again Yesterday, I wrote about how the inventory shortages presented a perfect time to restart your sales processes. Because, of course, once inventories begin to normalize, you’ll want solid sales processes in place if you plan to grow market share and hold more gross than your neighboring dealers. […]
It’s Time to Revisit Sales Processes Congratulations! You and your team have likely enjoyed the greatest run of net profitability in the history of your store! Of course, so has every other (non-Carvana) dealer in America. What a great (and weird) time it was to be a car dealer. Tight inventories created discipline at the […]
Is Selling a Vehicle Above MSRP “Price Gouging?” (Don’t worry, you won’t have to read this entire post to learn how I feel about calling this practice “price gouging.”) Ugh. I am truly sick of seeing post after post about some new car dealer “price gouging” because they added a $6,000 “market adjustment” to a […]
Just Don’t Screw It Up: The Key to Delivering a Great Customer Experience in 2022 I’ve written before about how Chick-fil-A’s reputation for delivering a great customer experience is not about solving issues, it’s about avoiding issues in the first place. Add in some manners, speed, and efficiency, and you’ve got Chick-fil-A’s secret recipe for […]
The Great Car-Buying Experience: Telling is Only Half the Equation Even before the pandemic, many dealerships were beginning to focus their marketing and messaging away from low prices toward providing a better customer experience. Certainly, the lockdowns and resulting (now fading) rush to at-home test drives and (still in its infancy) online buying sped up […]
What’s Your Plan When Inventories Normalize? Today (if you’re like most dealers) you’re selling everything you stock and you’re making the highest grosses on both new and used vehicles that you’ve made in years; perhaps decades; perhaps ever. Of course, while many sales managers will chalk this up to their superior desking skills, the truth […]
What Does Real SEO for Car Dealers Look Like? Last month I published a post to urge automotive retailers that Now is the Time for Real SEO. In that post I detailed how a new client was being hoodwinked by a well-known SEO provider; and while that post alerted dealers what to look for to […]
Car Dealers: Now is the Time for Real SEO First, a few quick Search Engine Optimization (SEO) definitions in layman’s terms: SEO: The practice of optimizing a website to appear higher in the free (organic) search results on sites like Google and Bing. Typical Automotive SEO: A gigantic waste of money. Real SEO: Actual work […]