After 20 years in the car business I have seen a lot come and go. When I started selling cars we did dealer trades on the ole' green screen computer. The fax machine was about as old as e-commerce is today. I have seen a lot of tips, tricks, tactics and techniques come and go. Never in the history of selling cars have we had so much opportunity the we could initiate for little or…

I found this post on a BMW message board and felt it was important enough to post in a few places.

The author of this post wanted a very specific configuration on a new BMW and couldn't get one from the two dealerships in his hometown. So he sent in an information request with every dealer within a 200 mile radius

and documented every bit of the experience for…

Example of a DealerRater Dealership Spotlight Featuring: Gene Reed Toyota…

Mike Elgan

Have you ever tried to get an older person to use Facebook?

We bought my grandmother an iPad for her 98th birthday last week. Tellingly, she was able to use it very

quickly and easily.…

How Much Is a Facebook Fan Really Worth?

"It's not what you have, but what you use, that makes the difference." -- Zig Zigler

I am no expert, but I'd say the #1 problem with dealerships today is that their process hasn't changed but the shopper has--or, more accurately, the dealership's lack of good process hasn't changed. As a dealer, do you have a process? Is it modern and in use? Then you're doing well, no matter what tools you have, and so better tools…

Have you checked your website using an iPad? I strongly suggest that you do because the number of iPad visitors to your website is increasing.

With the popularity of the device, you will need to honestly evaluate the experience for an iPad user and make any necessary adjustments.

In particular, search boxes and forms should be spaced appropriately to make it easy to use on the iPad. Buttons can be added on some pages to simplify the surfing…

A patent was awarded to Google in May that many are calling the Reasonable Surfer Patent. The patent was filed six years ago and granted on May 11, 2010.

I question the relevance of the patent since so much has changed in the past 6 years in regards to Google search and…

I am fortunate to have friends that are truly committed to helping me succeed in life and no one better exemplifies that better than Rick Ivone my trainer. In addition to being a true go-giver and an encouragement for my business, Rick has helped me to:

• Integrate exercise back into my life
• Realize the importance of feeding my body the right foods
• Shed 25 pounds of fat off my body since January…

First and foremost, it is critical for your dealership to set up standardized rules and guidelines for your employees to abide by when engaging in social networks.…

When was the last time you worked with a manager and said, “that person is a great leader”? Early in my career, I can honestly say I learned more about what kind of leader I didn’t want to be rather than the kind I do want to be. Unfortunately, I found myself learning and practicing management traits of those poor leaders. It wasn’t until someone cared about me enough to tell me “you’re a prick to people at times” that I realized I needed to do something about…