The growth of technology and particularly the Internet has made it possible for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), like car dealers, to accomplish much of their marketing and advertising without outside assistance. For example, every dealer sh

A recent study released by J.D. Power and Associates really underscores the importance of when to ask the customer for additional service work (see graphic below). As you can see, if your service advisors time it right, they can greatly increase thei

Once, service and parts were considered as one… Back when our industry began, a little more than a century ago, most dealerships were primarily repair shops or custom coach builders. service, parts and body repairs were all together and the busines

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.

The area code on the caller ID was the same area code where the week’s consulting engagement found me. I assumed it was someone from one of the dealerships calling about something. To my horror, the voice on the other end started out with “Mr. Va

In my job, I often travel the country to speak to various automotive groups or facilitate classes for dealership personnel. When the topic of social media comes up during these events, usually a debate ensues over whether social media is a fad or som

I was pleasantly surprised to attend a sales and marketing conference and the keynote started his speech with the following: “The most significant variable in every sales situation is the gender of the buyer, more importantly, how the sales person

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

A few times each year, I ask one of my law partners to prepare a guest article for this column. BSM partner, Robert Bass, has graciously provided an article addressing an important but often forgotten aspect of any franchise sale transaction – valu