Marketing & Advertising
3 Tips for Bridging the Customer Expectation Gap
Dealers are great at creating expectations. They advertise their dealerships as family owned, friendly, hassle-free and low-price leaders. These promises are what motivate the customer to call in the first place. Then the expectation gap opens up. Typical problems...
Inspiration isn’t Enough!
The gender gap in the automotive industry is not a gap at all; it's a canyon. The Catalyst Knowledge Centre of Information states that women occupy only 26.6% of positions in the automotive manufacturing industry and only 16.9% of executives in vehicle manufacturing....
Margin Compression Takes A Bite—How Will You Bite Back?
For many dealers, margin compression in used vehicles has been a bit like a leaky water line. The truth is, the line’s been slowly dripping for years. But no one really noticed it until now—after a ceiling or wall has started to bubble, crack or crumble. Dealers’...
A Mystery Shop for a Major National OEM (Part 2)
Last month, I introduced Part 1 of a two-part article series on a national Mystery Shop that Dealer Synergy conducted for a major OEM. We shopped dealerships across the country and evaluated them on communication KPIs. Part 1 focused on KPIs for phone calls and...
NO, Dealers! You Don’t Need Work-Life Balance.
According to a recent study of young executives by HubSpot, one in two people say that they need to improve their work-life balance. One in two people are WRONG. Dead wrong. This idea that success is about “finding balance” is as flawed as it is dangerous. I get it....
Relationship Development With People Is the Key to Your Success
Would you agree that great people drive greatness and without good people, your business is just a sound check getting ready for the real show? I do and that is the message I wish to expand upon. There is a long-standing concept going around that states; this new...
Six Steps to Promote People Properly
Some leaders excel at picking others for promotion and development while others lead their organizations into chaos or ruin with poor choices in this regard. Following are principles from two men who were, arguably, two of the best people-pickers of the last...
Are You a Student, a Disciple, or a Disciple-Maker?
By Charlie Polston, Automotive Customer Retention and Profitability Consultant, BG Products, Inc. This article is for leaders—dealers, general managers, and service managers—the men and women who have been given a sacred trust to shepherd their employees and the...
The One Thing That Changes Everything in F&I
F&I has been experiencing a tremendous amount of turbulence in the marketplace. Consumer advocacy groups, agents, vendors, and even certain lenders are challenging the roles and responsibilities of F&I managers. For many dealerships, F&I is on the verge of...
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