It’s not unusual for a visitor to Jennifer’s Auto Sales and Service, an independent dealership in Spokane Valley, Wash., to find Dealer Jennifer Johnson in her facility’s fully-equipped kitchen cooking up a pot of spaghetti or baking cookies for her staff and customers
Don Reed - After spending the last nine years working with hundreds of dealerships all across our country, I have discovered an amazing phenomenon permeating fixed operations. One could compare this phenomenon to cancer. The good news is this cancer is 100 percent curable for every single dealer who really wants to be cancer-free! The cancer is called “Lack of Accountability.” I find maximum accountability for everyone’s performance in the sales department ...
Greg Goebel - It has been a while since I have used a running analogy for special finance, but based on recent events in my life and the auto industry, I feel there is no better time than the present. Prior to taking up marathon running in late 2007, it had been many, many years since I was identified as an athlete, so regardless of whether or not you run, this article is still very apropos ...
Jennifer Murphy - Although the August 1, 2009 enforcement date for the Red Flags Rule is upon dealers – provided the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) doesn’t delay it at the last minute again – many dealerships have yet to comply. For those who still need to put their Red Flags program in place, here’s a sampling of the products available on the market to help you become compliant ...
David Keller - What a month it has been! For the past three to four weeks, we have been busy assisting our GM dealers who received a “non-renewal agreement” letter to effectively close their new GM franchises down by October 2010 ...
Dealers have a sort of love/hate relationship with compliance, especially in terms of their Web sites. Before manufacturers implemented standards for dealer sites, there was a kind of “Wild West” feel to things ...
Jennifer Murphy - While some dealers have had a Web presence for years, CarSmart in Kansas City, Mo., didn’t have one until April 2009. Co-Owner Ted Heater, Jr. said, “We were in business for 11 years and didn’t have … any kind of Internet presence … Business was always so good by our direct mail, TV and radio campaigns, nobody would have had time to do a Web site. Now, [with] a 40 to 50 percent decrease in business, well, I have a lot of time now.” ...
Thomas B. Hudson - I was conducting an on-site dealership compliance audit of a buy here pay here store, looking over the dealership’s sales and F&I process from A to Z in an effort to decrease the dealership’s potential liability for violations of state and federal law. It’s a good thing that it was only lil’ ole me probing this dealership’s operation. If, instead, an FTC SWAT team had descended on the car lot, the dealer would be out of business ...
Jim Rucker - You have the cars. They want them. How do you bring them to you? How can you stand out from your competitors? With marketing budgets being cut, many dealers are looking to the Internet to “spend smarter.” There are still obstacles. With hundreds of vendors and marketing firms flaunting their products, it’s possible to spend more online than offline. Luckily, there are only three areas you have to cover to make sure you’re geared for success ...
Kimberly Long - If you ask some dealers, the purpose of a dealership’s business development center is to manage leads and set appointments. However, that’s not quite the approach taken by Copeland Toyota in Brockton, Mass. The dealership operates on a customer service philosophy of full disclosure, and while one of the functions of its BDC is indeed setting appointments, its primary purpose is to operate as a buyer’s advocate ...
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