Trending Auto Retail News
Develop a Red Belt Mentality
The people in your organization will shape its culture, starting with the attitude, mindset, behaviors, character, and competence of the leader. In turn, your culture they shape will ultimately determine your results, for better or worse. That being the case, it’s...
Will your Garage Insurance Premiums be Going Up?
Last week I saw an article in Business Insurance Magazine predicting increasing insurance premiums for 2011. While the article did not specifically mention auto dealership garage insurance, there is reason for concern. The article went on to blame this uptick in the...
Developing the Right Training Program
Whether you are training new sales consultants or just want to upgrade your sales team’s skills, deciding between online and instructor-led training can be a challenge. In the end, the decision boils down to four factors: content, quality, effectiveness and cost....
The ABCs of Common-Sense Advertising
‘Tiny’ wrote me a great letter recently on the ABCs of common sense advertising. ‘Tiny’ is a lawyer-turned-car dealer who married into an ‘automotive’ family in 1985. His real name is Pete but most of the world knows him as ‘Tiny’ from the days he topped 350 pounds....
Get Rid of the Scripts – Master Communications
Business development seems to have many perceptions of its functionality. From my experience, Business development is more than a department. It is a mindset translated into a team’s actions or process. The foundation of business development is based on product...
Protect Yourself with Out of Area Deliveries
I’ve had the pleasure to travel to or live in other cultures, mostly because of my dad’s career in the Air Force. I’ve lived in Okinawa and Germany, South Carolina and Texas, California and Illinois. Each of these areas or countries has differing ideas about life and...
Use of Non-OEM Parts in Repairs Could Expose your Dealership to Liability
Many dealerships perform bodywork and mechanical repairs on vehicles which have been in accidents. Generally these repairs are paid for by insurance companies who are doing their best to repair a consumer’s vehicle for the lowest possible cost. One of the ways many...
Customer Pay Service Work is Declining – That’s Great News for You
As an automotive professional, you always want to stay informed on the latest trends in the industry. Economic forecasts, social behaviors, stock market fluctuation, and shifting political winds are all contributing factors in helping you “know what’s going on.” Be...
The Challenge of Scale, Span and Shift
Today’s progressive auto dealer faces three difficult challenges: limited scale, broad span and significant marketplace shift. How he responds to these three challenges will determine how successful his dealership will be. First there’s the issue of scale. A...
Get Creative! Become an Automotive Story Teller
So, you’ve been assigned the responsibility to write the vehicle comments on behalf of your store. While this may be Internet Sales 101, it is more than apparent that dealers can use a refresher course now and again. As I research dealership after dealership and do...
In Unfamiliar Territory You Need a Roadmap
With the end of 2010 in sight, it’s time for proactive dealers to begin finalizing their plans for 2011. Where will you be this time next year? What new products, services, processes or procedures will you pilot? What will be the makeup of your team? Are you planning...
Dynamic Heat Sheet Automation
One of the first tasks that I had in a dealership was typing the daily heat sheet. The fact that I “typed” the heat sheet indicates how old I am and that I still remember this task shows how much of an impact this daily heat sheet had on me. For a young person, the...
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