When I started in this business those were the only three things you needed to succeed: asphalt, octane and a Cross pen. It was an interesting time September 1971. I had gone to several new car dealerships in my little home town of Columbus, Georgia.

A few years back I authored an article for Dealer magazine exploring the two basic types of customers considering the purchase of a vehicle. The ‘Wanna Buys’ who are interested in trading up for no other reason than they just ‘want to,’ and t

Phil Cash believes that a good Internet sales manager is more likely to sell 16 units a month if he’s working 65 leads than if he’s working 120. How can that be? Why doesn’t more leads turn into more sales? Phil, the Internet director at San Ta

  Customer satisfaction is a big deal at Rich Ford. It’s such a big deal, when one irate customer threatened to drive her Expedition through the window of the dealership, Dennis Snyder, Rich Ford’s president, convinced her to come work for t

I have had the privilege in my automotive career since 1971 to see a lot of old brands go out and a lot of new brands come in, with many model changes.  I, like many of you out there, suffered in 1980/81 with a Chrysler franchise and all the problem

Do you remember this slogan? AdAge.com ranked it one of the top “Slogans of the Century”, along with: “Just do it” (Nike), “Tastes great, less filling” (Miller Lite), and “We try harder” (Avis). “Let your Fingers do the Walking” w

  Customer satisfaction is a big deal at Rich Ford. It’s such a big deal, when one irate customer threatened to drive her Expedition through the window of the dealership, Dennis Snyder, Rich Ford’s president, convinced her to come work for t

I have had the privilege in my automotive career since 1971 to see a lot of old brands go out and a lot of new brands come in, with many model changes.  I, like many of you out there, suffered in 1980/81 with a Chrysler franchise and all the problem

Last week I participated in a mediation conference and explained to a consumer that the “issue” they were experiencing with their vehicle was not caused by a defect, but instead actually was a normal operating condition of the vehicle and a by-pr