Imagine a dealership that only tracks closing ratios against write-ups. That team may or may not be doing a solid job. If the write-up percentage against walk in traffic is good, then the team is performing. If the write-up percentage is poor, the de

I was recently on a trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil doing a used car school for Fenabrave (Brazil’s NADA). On the way to Brazil, while waiting in line at the food garden in the airport, I met a gentleman from Germany also traveling to Brazil. He and I st

What dealers can expect through the arbitration process By the time you read this article, the deadline for Chrysler and General Motors dealers to seek a reinstatement of their franchise pursuant to new federal legislation may be near or already pass

The Federales mess up again When I first stated following this development, I was reminded of a bad joke, modified to be (as much as I despise it) politically correct. “How many consultants does it take to change a light bulb”? Ten, one to hold t

Dave Parrott, 52, Internet sales manager for Global Imports BMW-Mini in Atlanta, the top-selling BMW store in Georgia and No. 1 in the Sonic Automotive Group, says an eye toward continuous improvement, adoption of the best available technology, and a

Juan Teran, the 42-year-old sales director for Dewey Ford and Dewey Dodge Jeep, both located in rural Ankeny, Iowa, takes his inspiration where he can find it. He freely admits to converting from a typical “bricks and mortar” car guy to an Intern

Incoming National Automobile Dealers Association Chairman Ed Tonkin is a second-generation dealer from Portland, Oregon, who says he wants to help reshape NADA into a more efficient organization and involve more of the 62-plus directors around the co

I find simply observing processes to be quite constructive. Sometimes just stepping back and carefully viewing how methodology is being carried out, yields the discovery needed to solve agonizing evils — and can be more effective than all the p

About 10 years ago I wrote my first article in Dealer magazine on the concept of “spiral integration.” The objective is to utilize each advertising medium’s greatest strengths to complement and enhance the effectiveness of other mediums and pro