Month: January 2015

SALES TRAINING IS MORE THAN JUST “GO SELL CARS” To be honest, “One Size Fits All” is a load of unvarnished malarkey even in the clothing business. But we are here to talk cars, not clothes, so I am referring to your sales presentation, not your suit. We talked before about outfits. (In this previous post).… Continue reading ONE SIZE FITS ALL?

This is by no means a complete tutorial on compliance. — You need to read and be familiar with the rules discussed, and interpret them for yourself, or contact an attorney for assistance.  The Federal Trade Commission’s guidelines for the Red Flags Rule includes this statement:  Each financial institution or creditor that offers or maintains one or… Continue reading FTC RULES COMPLIANCE

Free. Oil. Changes. That’s your key to profits. Did I mention they should be free? Free? You may ask, and I say yes, free. Here’s the math: The average cost of an oil change is about $20-$25. This includes the labor to do it. You can get that cost considerably lower buying both oil and… Continue reading THE TIP YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR

Did that need to be said? Well, yes. Too many BHPH dealers simply do not grasp that concept. There are a lot of BHPH Owners who have the attitude that all customers are liars who are all actively looking for a free car. One dealer says: “They ALL look to get out of making payments,… Continue reading THE HAPPY CUSTOMER HAPPILY MAKES PAYMENTS

We’ve been talking about your car lot as if it were a motor vehicle. Let’s go out to the service department and have a look under the hood. Twenty-three percent of businesses that fail identify “Not the Right Team” (NTRT) as a major contributing factor. We discussed previously about having the right finance team that… Continue reading THE RIGHT PARTS ON THE RIGHT CAR

So the “car” that is your dealership has been waxed, and the carpets and windows clean and bright. Now, let’s put the key in this thing, and take it for a drive. How does your business FUNCTION? Do all the gears mesh well, or is there a grinding noise whenever two things come together? Do… Continue reading THE TEST DRIVE

Put away the steam vac, and stow the window cleaner, this is not about that. This article is going to open the discussion about how a business “looks” on the inside, and how you interact with the public.   Last time, we talked about presenting the business. I hope you polished the outside. Now, let’s… Continue reading CLEAN THE CARPETS AND WASH THE WINDOWS ON YOUR BUSINESS

Anthony Melchiorri of Hotel Impossible always instructs the General Manager or Owner of the hotel to park in the farthest parking spot away from the building. Why? So they get the largest overview of the property as they approach it on foot. As you drive, even in a parking lot, you are preoccupied with operating… Continue reading PRESENTING YOUR DEALERSHIP TO THE PUBLIC

No Credit, No Problem, as the ads say. But No Credit Check = BIG Problem for you as a dealer. I fully understand that the clientele coming into the Buy-Here-Pay-Here lot have a low credit score. That is actually a given. But a consumer credit report is more than just a numeric score. This report… Continue reading NO CREDIT CHECK! YOUR JOB IS YOUR CREDIT! EVERYBODY RIDES!

I mentioned before that the Internet has almost completely replaced print media and airwave (Radio & TV) advertising. It’s true. Most newspapers that have folded (sorry) or gone to electronic –only versions put their position squarely on the Internet. We talked previously about Facebook. My mistake, I got this out of order. Too many dealers… Continue reading IS THE INTERNET PASSING YOU BY?