I remember my first Consumer Reports customer. He came into the dealership looking for a used car, carrying a copy of the magazine and consulting it frequently. If a car didn’t measure up to the editors’ standards, my customer wouldn’t look at

BDC is one of the most incorrectly overused terms in the automotive retail environment. Far too often, the roles and responsibilities of the employees working in these “business development centers” are doing no developing at all. They are simply

As all of you are aware for 28 years I have been teaching you in class that “every used car has a story, but if you can’t tell it, you can’t sell it.” The importance of having a customer involved in their trade in is vitally important to the

Please open up your wallet, pull out a $50 bill, walk over to the nearest trash receptacle, and throw away your money. What do you mean ‘no?’ Of course, it sounds foolish, but that is what your sales team is doing with your money right now. There

In existence for only 20 years, Classic Chevrolet in Grapvine, TX, has been the number one selling Chevy store four consecutive years and is about to make it five. Much of that is due to the culture Owner Tom Durant created that his son Hagen, Classi

It’s hard to believe that virtually no one understood the concept of e-marketing just 15 years ago. In 2010 the digital transformation of every aspect of advertising, marketing and communication is mind-boggling. I asked CBC’s e-marketing expert

As the tools needed to compete for Internet sales proliferate, it’s become more difficult for dealers to assess their digital marketing efforts, ensuring that they are best equipped to outsmart the competition. New tools and features are regularly

You hear the name Bruce Qvale (pronounced kevallee) and probably think it sounds familiar. That’s because it is, especially if you have a fondness for exotic sports cars. The Qvale family maintains a long-respected and eclectic history within the U

Corina Diehl has been a dealer for three years, owner of the Diehl Auto Group in Butler, PA, a small town a few miles north of Pittsburgh. A devastating personal tragedy brought her into the business a year before the collapse of 2008 and 2009. Yet,