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I am hearing a lot of discussion about True Car and ZAG. I continually scratch my head and wonder if desperate dealers are doing the marketing limbo "How Low Can You Go?"
Are we so bad at what we do that we have to line up and pay vendors to lose money? AND, who is giving these people access to your data that is used against you?
Who owns these companies and what might be their ulterior motive? Sometimes I ask questions to which I already know the answer.
Am I wrong?
What do you think... JIM
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Ten Areas We Need to Concentrate on to Bring This Monster to It's Knees...
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Great question Matt, just how many of these 'Dealer Council' members are from AutoNation Stores? Would someone please research that?
The TrueCar National Dealer Council is comprised of dealer principles, automotive executives, general managers and also internet sales managers that are using our product daily. We tried to invite members from all areas of the business and four of the members are not TRUECar dealers. We will have our first meeting next week where we will preview to the council our new dealer portal changes and solicit feedback on how to continue to make our product better for our dealers. I have previewed our upcoming changes here at Digital Dealer with many past and current TC dealers and the response has been very positive. If you are at DD today please stop by our booth and we will preview the changes for you as well.
I wonder if a prerequisit was your dealer group had to be a TC / ZAG dealer? Are any of those on the council not currently a TC dealer?
And for that matter, haven't heard from old 'voice' of TrueCar, Scott Painter, in quite a while.
Gary Marcotte, Chairperson for TrueCar's National Dealer Council. said "I'm excited to chair the TrueCar National Dealer Council and I look forward to working with my fellow Members to ensure the dealers' voice is heard," I hope more than the dealer voice is heard I hope the dealer council is consulted before True Car sends out public messages that damage dealership reputations (for past behaviors, that for years, have not been a part of the way any dealers do business).
TrueCar National Dealer Council list of members:
Anthony Clemons Internet Sales Director Friendship Hyundai
Bill Walsh Jr. Owner/ Dealer Principal Bill Walsh Automotive Group
Chris Birmelin Owner/Dealer Principal Healey Hyundai
Chris Koster Director of Business Development
Superior Automotive Group
Chuck Olsen (Independent Member)
Corporate Sales Manager Boucher Automotive Group
Dan Duddridge Operations Director Cabe Toyota
David Green General Manager Tom Williams Lexus
Gary Marcotte (Chairperson) Automotive Retailing Senior Executive
Jae Park General Manager Keyes Hyundai
Jeremy Alicandri VP of Corp. Development Habberstad Auto Group
Jeremy Beaver General Manager Capitol VW Capitol Fiat
John Hopkins General Manager Jay Toyota-Scion
Ken Graham (Independent Member)
Owner OneSource Automotive Solutions
Patrick York Chief Operating Office Gillman Auto Group
Phil Bonfanti General Manager Lakewood Fordland
Ray Reilly Regional Performance Manager Larry H Miller Group
Richard Cvijanovich Owner & General Manager /
Dealer Manager Subaru Superstore / Acura of Tempe
Shaun Kniffin eCommerce Director Germain Motor Cars
Todd Reiselman General Manager Ed Martin Automotive Group
Tom Gibson (Independent Member)
Chairman Emeritus Asbury Automotive Group
Tony Rimas Executive Vice President Red McCombs Automotive
AutoNation getting more involved in TrueCar:
http://www.automotivedigest.com/content/displayArticle.aspx?a=86695
The former AutoNation senior VP of marketing and e-commerce heading the new TrueCar "national dealer council".
As the famous C+C Music Factory put...Things that make you go Hmmm...
This one is sure looking and quacking.
@Jason, You're right on the money with your post! The fastest sale I saw was working for a boat dealership. Guy walked into the showroom, had a printout of the listing, walked up to the boat, and the salesperson greeted him. He asked if there was any room in the price, and the salesman said no. It was a price leader, so the salesman didn't lie. The guy said ok, I'll take it, and fifteen minutes later walked out, paid cash, done deal. The salesman was stunned, but I wasn't. I was their IM, and I told him all the stuff you see me doing, the photos/videos, has a purpose. I explained that, and this ties your two blog paragraphs together, the sale starts with the online listing. That's where it's starting, not here in the showroom, but out there on the internet. This was five years ago, and honestly, I feel validated in what I've been saying to dealers, and even real estate professionals. The online listing presentation, if done correctly, will do all the selling for you. In a recent Boating Industry article, they refer to these customers as "stalkers".
"According to his research, younger buyers are “stalkers” of information. They do extensive research on a product before they even enter a showroom, so when they get to a salesman’s desk, they’ve already sold themselves on the boat. They’re often ready to make a transaction and in many cases, they’re not interested in building a relationship with the salesman before writing a check. Boomers, on the other hand, are big fans of relationship building, and they also put a lot of stock in the value of a company’s credentials. They’ll often tout their business’ achievements and tell its story. And that’s when the conversation can sour."
Here's the link to the article, Boating Industry Magazine
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Posted by Ralph Paglia on April 4, 2018
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