Dealer OPS & Leadership
10 Traits of a Top-notch Leader
Every couple of years or so, I enjoy presenting a compelling list of leadership traits for reader-evaluation. While there is no perfect list of great leadership traits—and I could never fit a complete inventory into the confines of this column even if there were—the...
Consumer Reports Index: Americans’ Financial Woes Lessen Dramatically
Rising Sentiment, Higher Planned Spending Portends a Busy Holiday Season for Americans and Retailers YONKERS, N.Y. -- The Consumer Reports Index, an overall measure of Americans' personal financial health, revealed a major decline in the financial difficulties faced...
Penske Automotive Reports Used Unit Retail Sales Increased 20.4%
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. --Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG), an international automotive retailer, announced today record third quarter adjusted income from continuing operations and related earnings per share. For the third quarter 2012, adjusted income from...
Do your Due Diligence
A little effort now can save a lot of money later The most common calls I get are usually related to new managers or major obsolescence issues, but every so often I am asked to review the inventory of a prospective buy-sell dealership. I have to admit that I have...
Edmunds.com on American Suzuki Filing for Bankruptcy
American Suzuki announced late yesterday that it is filing for bankruptcy and will withdraw from the U.S. market. Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell offers the following reaction: "No one should be surprised by this announcement, given Suzuki's lackluster...
10 Questions to Ask when Hiring a Social Media Manager
The day has come and you’re ready to hire a social media manager. You’ve come to the point in your store’s marketing growth where you have many social channels, lots of conversation and can’t find the time to write valuable content or review your metrics. You agree...
Five Used Vehicle Challenges to Address in 2013
In the past several months, I’ve spent a great deal of time discussing and researching the current and future challenges confronting dealers. This work has fed my upcoming third book, “Velocity overdrive: The road to reinvention.” It highlights how dealers are...
Why Fight Santa Claus? Be Santa Claus!
Nothing turns my stomach more than a retail business person who whines the old saw ‘you can’t fight Santa Claus.’ For the past 30 years I’ve worked with great dealers that turned their respective marketplaces upside down by doubling, tripling and even quadrupling...
Interview with Jim Seavitt, Dealer Owner, Village Ford, Dearborn, MI
Not many dealerships can say their original showroom’s façade was designed by Henry Ford, or that the chandelier hanging there now was a gift from him. Then again, not many dealerships are candidates for the national registry of historic buildings. But, Village Ford...
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