In the August issue of Digital Dealer magazine, I introduced the concept of “Digital Marketing Independence” and asked the question “can dealers do it all themselves?” The short answer, for those who did not read that piece, is simply “no,�

Having polled dealer friends for thoughts on ‘what’s working,” I thought I’d share a few of the best ideas: “We want to buy your car!” Dealers have had great response from incorporating a “we will buy your car for cash” message in the

The growth of technology and particularly the Internet has made it possible for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), like car dealers, to accomplish much of their marketing and advertising without outside assistance. For example, every dealer sh

I was pleasantly surprised to attend a sales and marketing conference and the keynote started his speech with the following: “The most significant variable in every sales situation is the gender of the buyer, more importantly, how the sales person

A few years back I authored an article for Dealer magazine exploring the two basic types of customers considering the purchase of a vehicle. The ‘Wanna Buys’ who are interested in trading up for no other reason than they just ‘want to,’ and t

There are three primary factors in staffing that will shape your business destiny.  They are your levels of clarity, empowerment and accountability.  Clarity: having well-defined job descriptions AND a 40,000 foot view of your Corporate Play Book,

Do you remember this slogan? AdAge.com ranked it one of the top “Slogans of the Century”, along with: “Just do it” (Nike), “Tastes great, less filling” (Miller Lite), and “We try harder” (Avis). “Let your Fingers do the Walking” w

Salesperson Rick escorts prospective customer Sandra to the door and shakes her hand then turns back to his office. Rick (to himself): “That went great. I managed to hit every selling point and ask all the important questions. I’m sure she’s co

Two years ago I wrote an article on the importance of local dealer research, and why “throwing your advertising budget dollars against the wall,” hoping some of it will stick just won’t work anymore.  Well, of course it might work, but certain