All ADM Member Blog Posts (4,295)

While at NADA, I heard quite a bit of buzz about mobile websites. Does my dealership need one?  If I already have one, do I need to actually optimize it?  Is mobile traffic really growing as rapidly as everyone says it is?  Should I be making my car dealership’s mobile website a priority to sell more cars?

The answer to all four of those questions is absolutely,…

I like my profile photo…. I do. It’s warm and friendly (at least to me it is).

However I cropped the best part of it out. The part that makes me look so warm and friendly. My family.

Here is my standard profile photo that I use for Linked In, Facebook, twitter, ADM, DealerElite, and darrinsmith.com;…

We have heard many times over, the final mental decision making process is triggered by emotion!  Love is a word today that is overused, misused, and abused, but definitely used in many levels of connotations!…

Finding, Connecting and Building Win-Win Relationships

Networking is the cultivating of positive, give-take relationships between two or more people that are beneficial to one…

There's not much to be said other than this is probably not a good idea.

BUY A REVIEW  "Click it for a really bad…

That’s what I heard most at NADA 2012. Dealers are re-building their Internet marketing departments and they’re pretty excited about it. For the first time in years, many dealers are hiring additional staff to help with increased Internet leads and increased sales. Yet they are doing so cautiously, and from what…

If you ask most people where buying a car is on their “comfort scale”, many reply somewhere between a root canal and chronic diarrhea.  Those of us in auto retail know how uncomfortable it can be and for years, many dealers have worked hard to fix that.  We all know the…

Bellingham, WA—February 13^th, 2012—AutoFerret.com announced today that vehicle sales data analyzed during the month of January 2012 reveals that its Automated Virtual Assistant (AVA), offers proven ROI for auto dealerships. Eight random dealerships that use AVA allowed AutoFerret.com to access their data for the purpose of analyzing ROI. The average closing rate on leads contacted by AVA was 27.8%, compared with an industry average of 6-12%. Additionally, AutoFerret.com…

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. – February 13^th, 2012 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today it has added Automated Dispatch and Electronic Repair Order (RO) functions to the Fixed Operations module in its dealership management system (DMS) software. The upgrade is a complete overhaul of the previous dispatch system, enabling hands-free, customized and flexible dispatching along with a more open electronic RO system…

Are You Among the Very Best SEO Companies in Automotive?

Dealers United is seeking an SEO vendor to participate in our very first members-only deal; and if your company is among the best SEO Companies in Automotive, then we want you to take part in our selection process.

Over the course of the next 30-45 days, the DU Team will vet, interview, investigate and select an SEO provider to present their offering to our dealer-members. While we already…

Dealer e-Process is looking for 30 dealers to take part in the Live Chat Challenge. These dealers will receive the award winning Dealer e-Process Proactive Live Chat for FREE for 30 days. The dealers that wish to participate are not obligated to sign any contracts for any monies.

www.LiveChatChallenge.com



The dealers who wish to participate must meet and agree to the following:…

Apparently, VW Beetles are transgender, and I didn't even know they were transitioning!

The VW Beetle spent the last few decades passing as a girl. She wore colors that ranged from pastels to colorful and fun to flashy. She even…

http://wp.me/p201s8-3a

Sometimes I have to look for verification on a calendar that it is actually 2012 and not 1992, and while it shouldn’t still surprise me it continues to do just that when I am confronted with the extreme disconnect that still exists between the evolution of the car business…

Today I looked at 20 dealers Google Analytics reports for the last 30 days and on average, about 20% of their website traffic is being labeled as Mobile visitors.  Here is an example of how this is displayed in Google Analytics. 

For some dealers their mobile…

Is TrueCar going on the offensive?



Take a look at this article that appears on page one of today's (Saturday, 2/11/12) NY Times Metro Section: "Car Dealers Wince at a Site to End Sales Haggling".



While it is great to see this topic covered by the NY Times it's a little disappointing to see that the reporter,…

PCG Consulting, Inc. announced the recipients of the 2012 Spotlight Awards following the 2012 NADA Convention in Las Vegas. The Spotlight Awards recognize the five best products at the Convention that fill important needs for car dealers.

The following companies/products were recognized with a Spotlight Award for excellence in…

Back by demand, VinWorx is coming back to Kansas City in June!  Not only would we like to invite you to PRE-REGISTER, we recommend it.  Here's why... 

For more information and to reserve your seat: http://www.vinsolutions.com/vinworx/

WHAT IT IS:

VinWorx is a…

I should expect cookies or baked bread, but a hearty welcome would be nice to hear. I am Kennith Self. I have spent the last 10 years helping car dealers sell more cars with advertising solutions that have worked. I am entering a new phase of my career, partnering with the leader in digital chat communications Contact At Once! I am very excited to be working with such a quality organization. I would love to talk with you about how we can help move the needle on your business. We have a…