In a new car and truck dealership, what is a good payplan for a secondary finance manager with 3 secondary salespeople under him? Also, how would you pay the salesperson who first greeted the customer?  There always seems to be discord between the primary dept and secondary department. Are there any suggestions to bring harmony to the 2 departments?

Any and all suggestions are welcome

Part 2 - Collections Promotions

As I said in the first part of this series here, properly designed promotions are more fun than advertising. Promotions should involve your employees, your customers, friends, family, neighbors, etc. All promotions should be done in a festive atmosphere. Plan the promotions so that as many customers as possible are…

Hello Auto Dealer People, this is Brett Houchin with Used Car University. I wanted to let everyone know that we have the Used Car University Facebook Page up and running, and we would love to encourage everyone here to come by, LIKE our page and comment and contribute to any discussions, posts, blogs, photos or video to help educate each other and anyone who can find the…

It is easy to sell more cars in the Buy Here-Pay Here industry. All you have to do is say “Yes”. The challenging parts are knowing which customers to say “Yes” to and how to collect the balance of the loan.

In order to make that decision, there are 10 Key Characteristics that are important…

The D.C. Circuit ruled last week that President Obama did not have "recess appointment" authority to appoint members of the National Labor Relations Board in January 2012, the same time as he appointed Richard Cordray to be Director of the CFPB.  Cordray was also a recess appointment.  The Court ruled that Congress was technically in session.  This ruling will be appealed but it may slow down some of the CFPB's initiatives including its auto finance initiatives.  Cordray has indicated that…

I have been receiving numerous solications from "Hold Check Companies" offering 100% approvals,ect,ect. FOR FRANCHISED DEALERS I would strongly urge you to talk to your lenders before you institute any type of program for hold checks.

Unless times have changed and I doubt they have, it is a violation of the covenants of your dealer agrrement to accept hold cheks. When you act as the lenders agent you certify that the terms and conditions expressed in the contract are 100% in…

This is a story about a phone call I received several months ago from a service director who had recently attended our NCM^® Institute class, Principles of Service Management I. Although not her real name, I’m going to call her “Debbie” throughout the…

One rule I have heard over the years is that your inventory size should be 1 1/2 times your monthly sales total. What do other dealers think of this number and is it optimal ?

Hey everybody, my name is Derek Robinson. I have been working here at Medlin Hyundai in Rocky Mount, NC for about 3 months and have sold 10 cars total. The biggest problem that I seem to be having is starting a customer database. I am a very friendly person and have no problems talking with people and I know the product well. Everyone here has been selling cars for 4 or more years and most are averaging 6-8 cars a month with one selling 10+ every month. I have only been in the car business…

I've written a lot about the importance of having a mobile friendly auto dealership website given the increase in smart phone usage, but when your dealership sends emails, are you also taking mobile into consideration?

A recent study by Knotice, an on-demand marketing software and agency, shows that 36% of emails were opened on a mobile device (tablet &…

There are tools. Tools are great if used properly. The biggest challenge with tools is that they can be turned into a crutch that actually takes away from the exposure of the post. In other words, you can "tool yourself out of the message" by overusing them or by using them improperly.

Today's webinar was…

An alarming trend has arisen on the Internet side of automotive sales and it is called "Email Template Theft" (ETT for short). This may be happening to your Internet sales team right now or your team could even be the guilty party. Have you ever received an internet lead who never responded and just seemed downright suspicious? Could these leads have been submitted by your local competition?



As an Internet Director, it certainly happened to me (in both Indiana and California). This…

If I wanted someone to just take my order and deliver, I would go to a fast food drive thru.  When I go to have my car serviced, I want service.  I believe that service advisors are more than just order takers or the message delivery system between a consumer and a technician.  Think about it?  An advisor according to …

It is an age old diametrically opposed argument. On one side, we have technology. On the other side, we have personnel.

I can't sell anything without a great Multipoint Inspection.

I can't sell anything without a professional Sales Process.

I must have both in order to be…

I am interested in getting feedback on payment sharing programs that you may participate in such VAC or Car Financial's program. Please share the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Thanks,

Chris Shearer

No different than numerous dealers, a client of mine, 25-year dealer Mohammad Ahmed―president of Northend Motors in Canton, Mass., in the Boston area―had numerbous positive reviews, all collected legitimately through very satisfied customers, stripped from his Google Places listing. Before this action, his dealership rated a score of 28 out of 30, which by Google standards is defined as “Extraordinary to Perfection.”

Removing his 145 legitimate positive reviews…