Gene Daughtry - What business are you in? I think that is your first marketing question. I believe you need to decide what you are doing. Are you a BHPH operation that will sell some vehicles for cash, or are you a retail store that will carry the note on some cars? I know they are both “the car business,” but the marketing for each business model is very different.
Kimberly Long - In lean times, dealers must take measures to be certain they are maximizing each and every deal, and the F&I department is one of the main places to look for opportunities to increase profit. However, it also contains a potential landmine—compliance.
Don Reed - A significant number of dealers these days are becoming more and more aggressive in selling used vehicles. Some have even lost their new car franchises and now rely solely on used vehicle sales, along with parts and service sales to pay the overhead and hopefully provide them with a significant return on investment (ROI).
!["When it's all said and done and you do make a switch, it's a painful process, but because I let [the department managers] in on the decision-making process itself, they accepted that...](https://dealerimages.bobitstudios.com/upload/autodealermonthly/content/article/_migrated/BellM-compr-__-600x300-a.JPG)
Kimberly Long - If a dealership were a living organism, it’s safe to say the dealership management system (DMS) could be considered the creature’s central nervous system. There isn’t an area of the dealership the DMS does not touch; it holds huge amounts of the data necessary for the dealership to function—customer data, parts and vehicle inventory information, service history, financial data and much more.
Kimberly Long - Leasing is coming back in a big way. Just ask Ernie Boch, president of Boch Automotive, which has dealerships in Norwood and North Attleboro, Mass., covering Toyota, Scion, Honda, Ferrari and Maserati. “Leasing is really, really getting hot right now,” he declared.
Greg Wells - These days it seems everyone is talking about digital marketing, Internet leads, social media and CRM, but are we overlooking the oldest and most useful piece of technology in our business—the telephone?
Glynn Rodean - Communication is “a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behavior,” according to Merriam-Webster. While the definition does not directly mention listening, it is a key part of exchanging information.
Mark Dubois - No doubt you’ve heard the expression, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The flip side of that expression is more likely what we encounter in real life: If it ain’t working, fix it. At a recent buy here pay here performance analysis meeting in Tampa, Fla. I surveyed the dealers in attendance and asked them, “What is the single biggest challenge facing your buy here pay here business today?
Greg Wells - Most Internet sales managers or BDC staff will tell you the frustrating part of their job is customers who won’t connect. What you hear is, “We respond quickly, quote a great price, leave numerous voicemails, send several e-mails and never hear from the customer again.”
Harlene Doane, Jennifer Murphy - Technology changes so fast that it’s difficult to keep up, and that’s especially true when it comes to a dealer’s Web site. What was cutting-edge and met a dealer’s needs a year ago may now be lackluster in performance.
