Dealer Panel: How Do You Encourage Employees to Volunteer Within Your Community?
Our Dealer Panel gives voice to dealers, GMs and sales professionals to share their experiences — sales techniques, new technology and ways to motivate staff — giving our readers the benefit of learning from their peers.
The Anti-Mentor: Blueprints for What Not to Do
It’s your first week as a new salesperson at the dealership. You’ve been shown around, received some training and you’re excited by the potential you see in the career ahead of you. It’s lunchtime, and you’re alone in the breakroom when one of the experienced salespeople sits at your table.
How to Maximize Your Digital Ad Spend
The shift from traditional advertising to digital advertising continues to grow. Today, it’s common for 90% of a dealer’s budget to be spent on digital channels. Yet, it’s very difficult for most dealers to directly attribute phone calls, appointments and sales to that ad spend.
Time is Money: Automating Vehicle Photos
Great pictures have always delivered faster turn rates and enhanced values. In today’s competitive market, having quality pictures online has never been more important to dealerships. A customer will never make it to your beautiful store to see your multimillion-dollar investment unless your pictures stand out from other stores.
4 Mistakes That Limit the Potential of New Technology
If people from a century ago were to peek into the modern-day world, the technology they’d see would seem magical: doorbell cameras, smart thermostats, artificially intelligent devices, self-driving cars.
Things to Consider When Selecting a Business Intelligence Solution
The first step in vendor selection is to decide upon a solution methodology: traditional or modern BI.
More Leads = More Sales, Right? Not So Fast
Whether your dealership operates on a buy-or-die or BDC model, having the skill to properly engage a customer, build value in the dealership and product and gain the customer’s commitment to do business in the showroom is paramount to the success or failure of business development for your store.
Background Screening, Access Fees and Pricing
Sometimes your background screening company may charge you something referred to as “access fees.” These fees are nothing more than a tax levied by a particular county or state to access either criminal records or Division of Motor Vehicle (DMV) records.
Sell or Buy First?
Who knew that Aristotle, the philosopher from Greek antiquity, struggled with the same question used car managers do: Which comes first?
Dealer Data Vaults: The Holy Grail of Data
If you’re like most dealerships today, one thing you are not short of is data. Regardless of which DMS you use, the system constantly collects data. Your CRM system does the same, as does your website and whatever third-party sites you’re marketing on.
Is There Really a Technician Shortage?
Employers today must have a very attractive offer in order for good technicians to respond.
Just Text Me
Text is now the preferred method of communications for U.S. adults. It has a 99% open rate compared to email’s 20% (at best), making it a far more effective form of communication. However, most dealerships’ websites still have countless clever — and annoying — ways to attempt to get a consumer to fill out a lead form.
