As auto marketers start gearing up for 2015, news from the car industry continues to be good: car sales are expected to hit 16.77 million this year, outstripping both last year’s rate and the consensus forecast. But why stop there? The improved eco

Closing is defined as everything you say or do that moves the sale forward. In golf, games are won or lost around the green on the shortest shots, not on who can hit the ball the farthest on the first shot. The same is true with closing – “What�

The Many Ways to Increase Gross Profits At least once a month I get an inquiry from a Parts Manager or GM asking how they can improve their Parts Gross Profits by implementing a Matrix. When I ask them what they had in mind I initially get dead silen

Following a spate of recent (and ongoing) vehicle recalls from nearly every manufacturer, there appears to be an uptick in dealerships being “selected” for an incentive and/or warranty audit. Audit notices are critically important and should neve

“Psychology for the Fighting Man” was a basic leadership book issued in 1943. The leadership challenges illuminated for soldiers then is relevant today for F&I leaders: Aligning the individual’s “motives, emotions, aptitudes, attitudes, w

Buy/sell activity in the first half of 2014 rose 75%, with private acquirers once again leading the industry. The strength of auto retail sales, particularly in the luxury segment, continues to support strong buy/sell activity and high blue sky price

As a business succession planner, I encounter the full gamut of dealership business structures, Regular C corporations, S-corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies. I have had clients owned by public corporations and foreign corpora

Greenwashing is the practice of claiming that your processes are environmentally stainable without proof. Greenwashing is visible in every industry, and is becoming especially prevalent when consumers seek out environmentally sustainable auto facilit

I was recently asked to speak on the habits of highly effective office managers and controllers. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of training some of the best Super Controllers, many who have gone on to be CFOs, General Managers and even Deale