Auto Dealer Monthly magazine released the findings of the 2011 Dealers’ Choice Awards in the April 2011 issue. This year’s awards mark the seventh year Auto Dealer Monthly has published the awards, which recognize the most highly regarded vendors, suppliers and finance companies in the retail automotive industry, as voted on by dealers and dealership personnel.



“Congratulations to all of this year’s… Continue

"We are doing our traditional marketing through print and TV and throwing in some other special events. In honor of earth day we are doing a 'Going Green' direct mail campaign offering a discount in order to switch customers over to our email reminder system.



We are also sponsoring a local 5K race to benefit the volunteer first aid squad and looking for a motorcycle rally [to sponsor] as well. In April, we will also be hosting a car care clinic for National Car Care Awareness month.…

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There are 7 Measurable and Improvable Key Performance Indicators that every Fixed Operations Director/Service Manager needs to be aware of.



They are RO Count, HPRO, Labor Gross Margin, Parts Gross Margin, EFL (Effective Labor Rate), Total Gross Profit and Total Net Profit.



When you have a constant update on these measurables and a mandate to improve their numbers you can have a really impressive Financial Statement at the end of the month.



Think about what a 10%… Continue

To all AutoDealerPeople.com members ...



I'm writing an article and looking for dealers excelling in one or more of these areas:



    * closing leads from manufacturer websites

    * generating/closing leads from non-manufacturer dealer-branded websites

    * generating/closing leads via microsites/landing pages

    * SEO - dominating page 1 of search results

    * driving traffic through PPC

    * blogging - quality content, regular posting, redeployed on… Continue

We have a saying at VinSolutions “Bad data in, bad data out”, meaning even with all of the technology we have today, if your customer information is incomplete it is not worth keeping. One of the biggest challenges we have in setting up new accounts in Implementation is getting good data from another CRM/ILM.…

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J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Contrary to Popular Perception, Consumers Say Upselling of “Unnecessary” Work by Auto Dealers is Rare

 

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.: 11 March 2011 — Despite some perceptions that auto dealerships routinely pressure customers to accept unnecessary maintenance or repair services, very few service customers indicate experiencing upselling by the dealer, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Customer Service Index…

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AutoNation Names Alison H. Rosenthal to Board of Directors

 

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 14, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --



AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN), America's largest automotive retailer, today announced that its Board of Directors appointed Alison H. Rosenthal as an independent director effective March 14, 2011. Ms. Rosenthal's appointment expands the AutoNation Board to ten members.



"We are very pleased to have Alison Rosenthal join…

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Your website is your online Sales Department.  From that perspective, what does your dealership Sales Department do with a new potential customer? 

• Welcome them to the store.
• Find out what they’re looking for – sales, service or parts.
• Help them get what they need.

Your website can’t “talk” to the customer, but it should present the possible…

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Almost daily, dealerships ask me how they can build their fan base on Facebook.  While having a lot of fans is good, keep in mind that you always want to increase quality not quantity. Making a commitment to managing Facebook is the first step.  The objective is getting BUY IN… Continue

How do you get over 87,000 fans on Facebook and more than 26,000 followers on Twitter almost overnight?

Take it to the streets!

That’s what the IMG Fashion people and some high profile fashion bloggers did as part of the 2011 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week publicity program for the…

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I am looking for an Area Manager in the Jacksonsville, FL area. If anyone knows a worthy candidate, please have the individual call me (949) 322-0373

 The keys to the kingdom lie in the palms of those who have the latest and greatest that technology has to offer.  This holds true for the automotive industry.  

 

What does innovative technology have in common?  It makes life easier.  Pick up your Smartphone and you can browse the web, obtain turn-by-turn directions via GPS and send a picture of your newborn to the grandparents across country.



Automotive technology should be able to perform the same number of…

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Let's look at some basic, sound qualities that the successful manager must have.



The first couple of qualities that stand out to me are dependability and integrity.



When someone is asked to take on the role of sales manager, the person doing the asking, normally the general manager or dealer, has to trust the new manager, and therefore has to… Continue

Running a successful social media campaign in the automotive industry, or any industry for that matter, involves keeping an eye on the website updates and improvements. With that said, Facebook has recently released its update on the comments plugin which can offer you some exciting features for your dealership's business page. 



These features include threaded comments, moderation controls, and being able to sync comments to your Facebook page. The ability to synchronize your comments… Continue