Trending Auto Retail News
Menu Pricing: An Art or Science?
I just finished up an initial round of service advisor training for a large dealer group and was surprised to see that not only did they not employ properly constructed factory based maintenance menus, they were not even aware of the benefits to both service and parts...
Why Don’t You Do It a Different Way?
Last month, my article focused on helping you hold your people accountable to your service processes. Odds are your dealership has sound processes in place, but is it time to do a process “makeover?” In other words, is it time to update and refresh the process? Or, as...
Backdating Contracts Could Mean Mass Rescission
Way back when I was living with my parents, as the oldest child, I felt a certain responsibility. Dad was in the Air Force and mom managed one of the restaurants on base. They worked hard to provide for our family doing an outstanding job. My job within our family was...
Give your Customer a Choice
It has been said that the arrival of a lead is the “moment of truth”. At that moment, the customer has put you on trial. The lead has been sent to you, but it’s also been sent to two to three other dealerships. Which dealer will respond first? Which dealer will...
Make it your Year
How it happened so quickly I don’t know, but it’s time again to reflect and make necessary changes to ensure a more profitable year. As I began the self assessment, I examined the obvious areas where change is warranted and completely necessary. Then, as I outlined...
The Consequences of Making Goodwill Repairs
Many dealerships or manufacturers have a formal or informal policy with respect to “goodwill” or customer satisfaction repairs. Usually dealers perform these repairs because a problem is not covered under warranty, the warranty covering the vehicle has expired, the...
Too Much Technology Can Produce Inefficiencies
How many times have you wished you had an extra hour or two in a day to accomplish everything that you’ve scheduled? The old adage “Time is money” cannot be understated. For a car dealership, a typical day may include a sales meeting, walking the lot, following up on...
Diligent Follow Up
The first word or attribute that comes to mind with “follow up” is tenacity, because to be successful in today’s market, more is needed beyond picking the low hanging fruit. I have developed and adopted my own practical application, helped thousands do the same and...
What is Insurance Company Loyalty?
If you asked 10 people what loyalty means you would probably get 10 different answers. Certainly many couples have a different interpretation of the concept of loyalty, as do business partners. Insurance companies invoke the need to be loyal, maybe more than anyone....
The Year of the Bull Rider
I did a little research prior to writing this article on something I know a little bit about, bull riding. One of my cousins ventured into being a bull rider at a very young age. In a rodeo the toughest contender is the bull rider. I learned you know the ones that...
Advertising Opportunities for 2011
A little secret. For almost 20 years, some of America’s best dealers have been writing these advertising columns, letting me take the credit. I’ve developed an informal roundtable of some of the brightest young minds as well as seasoned legends in the car business...
Contract Management to Reduce Costs and Risks — Do you know where your contracts are?
How many supplier contracts does your organization have? Where are your contracts located? When do those supplier contracts expire? Which of the contracts will automatically renew? These are questions you have probably asked at one time or another. If you don’t know...
Join us for Digital Dealer Las Vegas 2021