It is amazing to me that the vast majority of dealerships continue to pay sales consultants on gross profits.  Straight commissions comp plans no longer make sense.  Don’t dealers who pay sales people on the gross realize that there is this littl

In today’s high-performing dealership, the web is the strategic center. What does it mean to be web-centric? It means that everything is built around web-based systems. These web-based systems help to: • attract customers • ensure rapid, high-q

In a recent article, I presented the need for dealers to take a proactive approach to dealership reputation management. The premise of the article was that dealers who are in tune with the way customers prefer to do business should find ways to extol

In October, I unveiled an updated ACES (Automotive Continuum of E-commerce Success) chart at the well-attended 9th Digital Dealer Conference in Las Vegas. With the 2011 edition of this popular chart, we asked dealers to focus on thirty core activitie

It is no secret that customers are using the Internet to broadcast their buying experiences, and in doing so, directing customers toward or away from your dealership, many times without you knowing. More and more prospective customers are using feedb

It is stating the obvious to assert that core systems such as your Digital Response Management (DRM) system, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, dealer web sites, inventory management system, vehicle locator system and dealer management sy

Whether training recruits or re-training “old school” folks, we always warn them of who to avoid, including the waiters!  I mean that in two ways: The sales rep out front waiting on a deal with incomplete tasks on multiple fronts in your CRM rig

Recently, I went Sporting Simo Clay Shooting with my sons. The trapper sends out a pair of clays simultaneously. It first appears easy but actually is quite difficult because they fly fast and your senses become so magnified in making sure you hit bo

My first GSM told me that customers would tell me how to sell them – I just had to listen.  I’ve carried that belief with me throughout my career and continue to find that customers – both sold and unsold – are the absolute best source of in