100% Biased Opinions
But it isn’t fake news
Email is your biggest loss of business
We’ve always known about our phone answering problems, but I rarely hear anyone talk about what we’re saying to customers via car dealer email. Did you know that you can measure all sorts of things around email marketing and email responses to discover who is doing it well and who isn’t? My favorite is to look at the […]
Are you a horse trader?
Are you a horse trader or a retailer? That’s a weird question isn’t it? During our first days on the lot our manager didn’t give us a history lesson on the car business. He taught us how to follow the road to a sale and maximize profit. And maybe he, himself, didn’t know where the […]
Who built the damn thing?
What drives the decision to build a new pencil tool for car dealers? For many vendors, the answer is simple, money. Historically, car dealers are pretty big spenders when it comes to flashy new “solutions.” Many failed salespeople, ex-GMs, and other dealership rejects skulk over to the vendor side and tape together a half-ass product […]
Surprise! Everything up front
How is your CRM working out for you? With the customer as the primary focus of your automotive CRM, your process is likely centered around building a relationship between the shopper and the sales agent or internet sales consultant. We do this because we are attempting to recreate the same interaction as we would if […]
Oh no. I’m a customer.
If one were to ask me what was the biggest life-changing event I’ve experienced I’m not sure I could say it was meeting my better half. Although she is certainly life changing, she wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for me becoming a car dealership customer. I was born a car dealer. My Grandfather founded the […]
Internet vs. Floor volume 57
This is a rant. It pisses me off to still see the sales floor referring to Internet customers and forms from the website as “Internet Department” things. When you still hear sales agents say “oh, that’s the Internet department” you know we have a problem. C’mon, people aren’t searching for your store in Alta Vista […]
I have to talk to my wife
Overcoming objections is Sales 101. Any statement, excuse, or mindset which prevents a car shopper from buying the car today is an objection. They range from legitimate hang-ups like not having the correct vehicle in stock, waiting for a tax return, or selling the current vehicle before buying a new one, to more obscure perceived […]
Why wait for a manager?
The archaic practice of lassoing a car shopper into the showroom and making them wait while the over-caffeinated salesperson scampers back and forth to the great and powerful Oz for price and payment negotiations… well… it sucks! You need a better pencil tool. Shoppers, in most cases, have done extensive research on the vehicle or […]