Automotive Advertising News

When you read a lot you come across a wide range of articles and information that raises an eyebrow and makes you say "hmmmmm".

Queue the music video

This is a short list of 7 Decisions made by Technology companies that make me say "Hmmmm." There will be more, and feel free to add your own. As a note, these are not in order of importance, and while the actual numbers or dates may be off -- the points are still the same. I'm blogging, not submitting a…

Shortly after I began writing this post, an article popped up on my Google Alerts about another dealer group, accused of deceptive marketing by their state attorney general’s office, having to pony up a six-figure settlement. Not surprising at all, I’m used to seeing these types of articles on a regular basis. Another…

Hey I would like to know if I am being paid properly. When I came to my dealership they were putting out about 6-10 vehicles out of the internet department. Then I was hired to be a one man show. I answer all of the internet phone calls, make the appointments, upkeep the websites, as well as drive vehicles to the body shop, etc. Since my arrival we have put out 15 cars the first month, and 21 cars the second.

 

I am being paid $600 and $75 per unit sold with no demo vehicle,…

Sales Training:

Traditionally we train our salesmen to act on rather than act with the customer. Say the right lines, the the right word track, and the customer will buy. If the customer doesn't buy then we didn't say the

right thing. Hard sales focuses on an outcome. I have been to numerous sales trainings over the years and usually it starts with loud music and a man yelling at the attendees trying to pump them up. Nothing wrong with building excitement and confidence, but…

If you are a business owner its important to understand and improve your online reputation. If you hired an internet marketing agency most likely they would understand, check and suggest improvements. But if your marketing vendor has not given you … Continue reading →

The other day a long time friend shot me a note to say that my Facebook account was hacked.  I really appreciated the call but when I checked my account, it was not hacked.  I had allowed the “would be hacker” permission to post on my Facebook page. What had happened was that I saw [...]

?First Class Educators has announced a NJ date in the 2012? Pit Stop Marketing tour. The Pit Stop automotive marketing conferences offer hands on workshops, demonstrations and thought provoking dialogue by marketing experts, trainers and vendors to help dealers operate more…

?First Class Educators has announced a NJ date in the 2012? Pit Stop Marketing tour. The Pit Stop automotive marketing conferences offer hands on workshops, demonstrations and thought provoking dialogue by marketing experts, trainers and vendors to help dealers operate more…

You have been reading (hopefully) that on or around April 24th, Google rolled out another update to its search algorithm code named "Penguin". This update was to enforce it's existing terms of service guidelines regarding link quality. This update is important to car dealers who have been working hard to increase their search…

You have been reading (hopefully) that on or around April 24th, Google rolled out another update to its search algorithm code named “Penguin“. This update was to enforce it’s existing terms of service guidelines regarding link quality. This update is important to car dealers who have been working hard to increase their search visibility for [...]

 

Choosing the Right Screen: Part 2 in the Series Whether it's a new dealership, adding screens or finally updating that tube TV -- the choices of TV's in the market place is large and the same size TV can range in price by as much as tenfold. The only way to determine which TV is best for you is to narrow down the choices and then look at your budget. When considering a screen for a professional…

To all Dealer Principals or General Managers reading this post, "Are you tired of having a dozen+ stand alone reports to review each month?  Are you challenged to know how to leverage vendor reports to make business decisions?"

How many reports are generated each month by dealership vendor partners? My…

Posting your most relevant news on social media websites has proven to be the most effective way to brand your dealership and get the message across to your local readers. Sites like Blogger, Posterous, etc., are a great source of … Continue reading →

Your dealership has been in business since the '60s and has always gotten a fair  amount of repeat business. Mostly customers who want to get out of a lease because they are over miles or customers whose miles on the car makes getting a new car a good idea--they would get a great trade value or a low payment. The dealer General Manager estimates that if he could identify these customers and contact them through telemarketers or mailers that could produce up to ten new deals per…

This is the second in a series of articles on management training.

A few of my team had been asking me about helping train them on what it means to be a great manager. I created and am teaching a 8 week workshop with them on…

I am pleased to invite Dealer Principals, General Managers, and Dealership Executive Managers to the Napa Valley Executive Retreat on September 15th and 16th, in the beautiful Napa Valley.  

First Class Educators is hosting this special event for dealership executives this fall and I will be one of the featured speakers.  I love wine and the Napa Valley so this is a perfect match for me!?…

When Lewis and Clark first crossed the Great Plains they wrote in their journals about the sheer size of the buffalo herds. Some stretched for miles. Think of sixty thousand large hoofed animals moving as one. The ground would shake and the sky would darken from the dust. We know how that turned out.

The Good Ol' Days:

In the '80's and '90's, Before Internet,  the customer didn't have Edmunds giving them an invoice on the vehicle. Dealerships operated with impunity and the power…

I was just thinking about something that really amazed me about a month ago.  I was out with a friend of mine at a mall doing some shopping.  We were at Macy's and decided to take a look at their collection of sunglasses. 

Both my friend and I enjoy nice things and do not play around…

I love to surprised myself. I am always tinkering with the way I do things, better time management, better communication etc. I was leading a management training workshop for some of my team and I realized that I am missing a few small things.

I needed to take the time to reflect on if I am following my own advice. Do I "walk the talk" as one of my employees…

Multiple Strategies To Meet The Needs of Dealers

One of the greatest benefits of the Boot Camp Experience is that the conference attracts industry leaders to share their strategies in an intimate setting.   Workshop classroom seating is limited to 40 people which gives everyone a chance to ask questions and engage with the subject matter expert.   With…

Mobile Adwords campaign investments are becoming an important aspect in dealership digital marketing strategies.  Smartphone advertising is a unique opportunity to get to the top of the smaller screen which consumers view multiple times a day.  If a business is marketing to consumers that would search…

Automotive SEO company, IntelliFusion Technologies entered into its 9th year of strategic partnership with Microsoft. With the help of this partnership products and services for Automotive Dealers like Automotive Advertising Network are being continuously being developed and promoted to realize … Continue reading →

Registration for the 2012 Automotive Website Awards (AWA) begins today, PCG Consulting has announced. Automotive vendors have thirty days to submit their product for consideration for an award in one of seven categories.

The fifth annual Automotive Website Awards presented by…

Dealers and Automotive Advertising Companies have seen quite a few changes in Google Search algorithms. What we used to see in the early 2011 is entirely different from what we see today. We now have Google Places, Google+, adding and … Continue reading →