Car Buying Consumers Are Maintaining Their Economic Optimism Driving Increased Demand for New Vehicles

US consumers are apparently becoming more upbeat about the economy, as the Consumer Reports Index in April 2011…

New Vehicle Sales Up 19% YOY in April

April 2011 new-vehicle retail sales are projected to come in at 948,100 units, which represents a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of 11.1 million units,…

ADM Professional Community Blogging Contest

Announcing the first Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community Blogging, Forum and Video Content Posting…

1) Every customer is an "Internet Customer".  With upwards of 90% of people car-shopping online, don't focus on the 10%.  They're ALL educated by the Internet now.

2) The Internet isn't "going away"--either your business is going to absorb the Internet and all it means, or the…

Ever wonder why a sales consultant who is a rockstar on the floor fails on internet sales, and a rockstar internet sales consultant fails on the floor?  It isn't because they don't want to sell vehicles; they clearly can do that.  This happens because of a communication skill-set issue...

While studies vary on the subject, the scientific consensus is that during face-to-face communication, body language and tone-of-voice play the most important roles in what the customer…

The 7 Habits of Largely Ineffective Salespeople

     It is with my sincerest apologies to Stephen Covey that I write these words.  As I review his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and consider the simplicity of most of its contents my mind goes to the insanity of our industry.  I trust you will receive this in the spirit in which it is intended.

     The 7 Habits of Largely Ineffective Salespeople is a compilation of vast…

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

The rose, the symbol of love, beauty and romance can teach us a thing or five about social media. I bet you never looked at a rose and thought, wow rose that's deep. But in this post I am going to share with you five insights…

“Reputation Management” (RM)??  I was part of the first group of folks who started using this term, as far as I know, and I have come to strongly dislike it:  A great reputation is created with great customer service; it isn’t managed.  However, if, by RM, you mean that you need to let the world know about your…

The Kansas City Business Journal announces VinSolutions as a winner in their fifth annual Champions of Business™ Awards Program.

Overland Park, KS – April 28, 2011 – VinSolutions, an industry-leading developer of Internet-based Customer Relations Management (CRM) and Internet Lead Management (ILM) software, has been recognized by the Kansas City Business Journal as a Champion of Business™. The program honors Kansas City-area companies that have exhibited sustained excellence. The…

Compare the automotive industry from only a year ago to today or from ten years ago to today and we all will have the conclusion and understanding that this industry is ever changing and evolving.  No longer is the car standing on the lot at a dealership a guarantee for a sale and no longer can you just stare out the window of a dealership waiting for business.

Digital shopping and digital living has created a very unique challenge for dealers. It now makes your…

Blame It on the Youth

Written by Brian Solis - If you want to know where the future is headed, sometimes telling clues reside in how the youth of the world interact and share with one another.

With the rise of the Golden…

1) Reputation is advertising.  Good or bad, you don't buy it, but you pay for it one way or another.

2) Reputation begins with customer service that people must talk about.  If you fail at great customer service and…

(This is basically an expansion of a comment I made on a previous post, but thought it was worth repeating)

1) Great technology is not success; it is only part of process or marketing, or both.

2) Great marketing alone is not success; it only prolongs less-than-best results.

3) Great processes + great marketing = great…

I've had the fortunate opportunity to run dealerships, work face-to-face with hundreds of dealerships nationwide, as well as with numerous dealership suppliers, be they CRM/ILM companies, advertising/marketing agencies, lead gen companies, etc.  And while I am often impressed with some really great ideas and technologies they create, at the end of the day, are we just making some very simple processes overly complex?

For example, when I help dealers maximize internet lead…