Trending Auto Retail News
Is Your Advisor Writing Bad Estimates?
I was consulting in a mid-sized GM dealership one evening. The service manager and I were looking through carefully prepared pre-write packets (menu, history, pre-write, recalls, MPI, and notes), to determine how well the service advisors had pre-loaded each...
The Vital Battle to Build a Character-driven Company
These are complex times for leaders. Our sense of decency continues to come under siege from an array of antagonists: indifferent and entitled workers, a generation that embraces no behavioral absolutes, and from courts and governments that treat religion hostilely...
You Can’t Manage What You Can’t Monitor
“In order to know where you are going, you have to know where you are.” “In order to grow, you have to know.” “What you treasure, you measure.” No matter how you say it, automotive industry experts all agree that you have to track the numbers if you expect to take...
Risky Business – Don’t Ignore Regulatory and Compliance Obligations
Every few months, I ask one of my law partners to share with you the issues they are seeing in their area of our motor vehicle dealer practice. This month, Rob Byerts, describes the myriad of regulatory and compliance issues with which he is assisting our dealers...
Another OEM Dealer Network Plan – Another Challenge for Dealers
Ford’s new plan for Lincoln Here we go again. Another manufacturer plan for its dealer network that invariably leads to more dealers being strong-armed into spending money or giving up their franchise. As of the date I write this column, Ford has announced that it...
Reverse Alchemy — Tips to Avoid Becoming an Empty Lot
Since manufacturers are only building on demand, are you aware that you could probably pile up all the gold in the world solely on the empty spots in your new car lot? The reason why gold is so valuable is because the total supply of world gold could be displayed as a...
SMAART Objectives for 2011 Planning and Execution
Now is the perfect time to begin planning for expense reductions in 2011 if you haven’t already done so. From the supplier and expense side of your business, if you are like most dealers, you have the following facts to contend with: Active management of expense...
Get Focused on More Effective Advertising
As we head into the holiday season, this is the perfect time to get focused on creating a more effective advertising message and media plan. I’d like to suggest a two-pronged program that will help you define both: focus groups and message management. Over the past...
Secrets of the Best Automotive Sales Consultants
Being in the industry for 26 years, I’ve had the privilege of talking to, working alongside with and managing some of the best sales people in country. Through the years, I’ve compiled a list of the common characteristics of this elite class of professionals – I’m...
Pay Attention to Your BSometer
Imagine playing golf in pitch dark. The acrylic golf ball has a glow stick running through the middle. This hard plastic ball flies substantially less than the normal Titleist. On the good side, as long as your shot isn’t in the woods or the lake, you can easily find...
Share Your Second Sense
As we all know, we wouldn’t be where we are if we weren’t good at something. If you’re like me, you probably have one good thing that you do better than most anyone else. And, if you’re really like me, then you have no trouble telling anyone what that something is. I...
Translate Customer Buying Motivations into Scheduled Appointments and Sales
With so much focus on generating leads for your dealership, it’s important to recognize that success isn’t measured by the number of leads generated. As always, the bottom line literally is the bottom line; the number of cars sold and total profit earned. Granted, to...
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