I had a little extra time on my hands last Fourth of July, due to the fact that the Pepsi 400 at Daytona was cancelled due to, of all things, smoke (from the Florida fires).
Standing in line in front of the J.C. Penney store at the Cedar Hills Shopping Center in Jacksonville, FloridaŠwearing a Beatle haircutŠa genuine bleeding madras shirt with button-down collar and a hanger loop ŠWeejunsŠand London Fog jacket.
There has never been a time in automotive history when it¹s been more critical to get our dealerships to a higher level of professionalism.
It is almost a cliché to say that automotive retailing is evolving at a breakneck pace, but it¹s true. And much of that change is the result of improvements in computer technology.
The importance of choice to inter-family relationships is based on the theory that, as individuals, we are for the most part responsible for our feelings and attitudes.
In these days of dropping interest rates, it seems that floor-planning sources are besieging many of our clients. However, there is more to this decision that just interest rates. Since most dealers buy at least some of their physical damage insurance from their floor-planning source, the cost and coverage provided must be a part of the equation. As you will see, this part of your analysis may change your decision if the increased insurance costs and decreased coverage outweigh the reduction in interest rate. As a general rule, manufacturers¹ floor plans cost less and sometimes even provide broader coverage than the insurance market generally offers. The paragraphs that follow should help you complete this puzzle.
Even though the cost to replace highly trained or longtime employees is staggering, the only time most managers give serious thought to employee retention is when a valued employee hands in a resignation.
According to some of the most profitable automobile dealers in the country, consistency in both expenditures and Œcreative¹ is a major factor in successful advertising.
What are your five best selling used vehicles? If you write down your favorite five vehicles and then ask your sales managers, buyers, and salespeople to do the same - you¹ll probably come up with ten to twenty different models. How can you be sure that you are stocking what sells in your area?
Starting from humble beginnings, growing up on a farm near Oakboro, NC, O. Bruton Smith has come a long way, evidenced by his annual inclusion in the Forbes 400.
On June 18th and 19th, over 500 dealers, managers, lenders and other sub-prime industry participants attended a special finance seminar and trade show, put on by Dealer Marketing Services, entitled, ³Maximizing your Profit Potential in Special Finance.²
Over the last five years, two areas of the automobile business have grown in leaps and bounds: the secondary finance business and computer technology.
PR is one of those terms that can stand for several things, and it seems that everyone has a slightly different interpretation of its meaning and usefulness within the marketing mix.
In my last article I wrote on many of the benefits of a Business Development Center. Many of the dealers and managers I have spoken with because of that article voiced common concerns. As a result I have decided to repeat the answers in this issue.
On the road to a sale there are two very important steps. One we covered in the last issue of DEALER magazine and that is the presentation. The other is the demonstration drive.
Automobile dealerships dabbling online and considering the Internet as a marketing option have come to realize it is no passing fad.
If you travel up I-75 from Atlanta, 45 miles to the north, you will run into Adairsville, Georgia and Parkway Ford. Sam Smith has built this small town dealership into a motorsports powerhouse.
There is a vast automotive business world beyond new automobile franchises, and my colleagues, it is BIG!
Measurement and statistical analysis is a big part of running any successful business. When a company¹s staff knows what the achievable standards are and then keeps score, the outcome is usually good.