Q

Conference & Expo: October 14 -16, 2025
DealerPoint: April 9-11, 2025

Q

It Turns Out You Can Fix Stupid Part 1

I suspect like most of you have, I calculated that stupid wasn’t fixable — after all someone famous — comedian Ron White — I think said that.  On the other hand, ignorance was fixable, or so I figured. I saw stupid as an inhe
Aug 22, 2010

Living with Factory-based Ordering Systems

A little over four years ago we looked at the up and coming factory-based inventory management programs that were just coming online. The overall objectives, as stated by the vendors, were to improve the quality of dealer inventories and increase fil
Aug 10, 2010

‘Kick Butt & Take Names’ Marketing

Don T. is a second generation import dealer who regularly sends me e-mail updates on success milestones at his family’s dealership. “We’re ahead of last year for the past 3 months,” says Don, “and we’re looking for the best August ever!
Aug 1, 2010

Don’t Write It in Sand, Carve It in Stone

Every time I do a 20 group, dealer state association meeting or anything where a group of dealers are gathered without their managers, I start hearing what used car managers will not do or adhere to, or what they want as policy. I have some recommend
Aug 1, 2010

Preparing for Change – Don’t Lose Data or E-mails

Changing DMS or CRM providers is hard enough. Your employees don’t like change and it seems like you never get all your data from your old system into the new system. Two things that you might not have expected during the change is a loss of archiv
Aug 1, 2010

Voicemail – the Forgotten Tool

In past articles I’ve shared my belief that the best way to immediately improve sales is simply getting better at what you do with existing leads, particularly interacting with customers. Statistics show that well executed communications with the c
Aug 1, 2010

The Power of the Word

What is the impact of word choice on sales? In a word, dramatic. When a customer submits a lead to a dealership, it is best practice to execute a multi-vehicle price quote within 10 minutes. It is also best practice to follow with a phone call in 10
Aug 1, 2010

A Story of Lost Loyalty….and How to Regain It

  Polston_Fixed Operations August10   The following is a true story. I took delivery of my new vehicle in January 2009. It was a smooth process and overall a pleasant buying experience. The salesman thanked me for my business and then he stuck his
Aug 1, 2010

Would You Be a Fan of Your Dealership on Facebook?

While there has been much written about every business’s need to dive head first into social media – and even a few articles recently that attempted to put a dollar value on a Facebook fan – nearly all of these discussions miss the mark for
Aug 1, 2010