What are you working on today that is helping you build something meaningful for tomorrow?

Or, does your day consist of going through motions that are essentially exercises in futility? If so, why is that? Is it simply a result of not having a plan? Are you doing what you truly love? Do you feel that you don't have the resources available to you?

We all have our core responsibilities - the daily grind. But this doesn't mean you can't build on something bigger with regards to your personal and professional development? You need to bake in value with everything you're doing, doing so inspires those around you while also raising the level of service you're providing.

Awareness, education and skills building is the new cool. The ability to find and consume helpful resources has never been easier.

Whether you want to learn how to improve your tennis game, understand the mechanics of the long term supply cur Read Post

Last week I hosted a webinar for KPA marketing called "40 Tips in 40 Minutes." This was an updated version of a DrivingSales Executive Summit workshop held last fall. 

A major theme today is process, but as your proceses begin to tighten and your experience grows, you still need to be aware of new tools and tactics to continue improving and stay in the right frame of mind.

So, my goal of the webinar was simple - give visitors as many helpful takeaways as possible to add them to your current routines. 

Check out the deck and hopefully you'll walk away with at least one item that can help you and your marketing efforts within your dealership. If you want even more context around each item and to listen the full recording of the webinar, contact Becky Ross at KPA and they'll help you with the info.

And of course, if you ever have a question, feel free to shoot me an email or follow me on twitter @emiltsch 

All links in th Read Post

Great leaders know how keep their sales people motivated. They understand both their individual and professional needs. Do you know the best ways to motivate your staff for the best results possible? 

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I am so excited for NADA 2013! I'm more exctied this year than any other year I've attended for several reasons.

In years past I attended NADA as a dealer. The size of the event is simply overwhelming and figuring out what to do and where to go can be a daunting task. Then, once you hit the floor, you're approached by every vendor who pick out your "dealer" badge with alarming accuracy.

This year will be different - not only for my experience, but also for the attendees. I'll be in the DrivingSales University booth helping share the philisophies and strategies behind our industry leading educational platform for dealers.

What's going to be so different? For starters, the DrivingSales University booth (#2315) will allow dealers the ability to see how their current lead handling process works. This simple activity will glean massive insight into how your sales process begins, where the areas of improvement exis Read Post

 

Last weekend I had the opportunity to speak to a 20 Group in Chicago - a group that has met annually for nearly 25 years. A very experienced group set in their ways. Yes, I was concerned with what I was about to show them - and how they would respond.

 

Fortunately, I was met with a group of professionals that came willing to learn. Their thirst for information was incredible.

 

Our day started off by talking about lead handling processes and the 16-Points every dealership needs to have in place - made famous by Jared Hamilton from his Process, Structure & Marketing industry overview. Nearly every dealership does two of the process points consistently - they take the lead in and they try to close the lead as hard as possible, that's about it. These efforts are incomplete a majority of the time. 

 

True opportunities for change and dealership improvement happens between these two actions. I believe these are amo Read Post

Yesterday I shared this tongue in cheek image of how dealers can make money on Facebook. Sure, it's worth a few laughs, but it's also meant to get you to think about what you and your staff is actually doing on Facebook. (and other social sites)

 

If you're a sales person spending any amount of time on Facebook, you need to seriously evaluate what it is you're doing there. Here's a few questions to ask yourself - doing so will help frame your activities and keep your head focused on the important things: (Like creating amazing buying experiences and selling cars!)



Why do you use Facebook during the workday? Most likely you're procrastinating. Figure out what your purpose is - if you don't have a purpose, find one. Mine is to simply stay current with tech, digital & marketing news. 

What are you reading while you're there? At this point of the game, you've probably seen all the cute kids, funny cats and hilarious Read Post

Do you refresh your home screen apps? What about folders on the home screen? I don't use folders anymore, that's the digital equivalent of the junk drawer in the kitchen. But I do like to keep things fresh. 

 

My home screen has a few new additions to most used: (And they all have the same theme, location based & contextual aggregation) 



Grokr: This is a great solution for pulling in those pieces of content that are relevant to you and also leverages location based info to help provide weather and traffic data. The headlines, trending info and personal trending topics are all pulled in from your connected social accounts. Don't like what you see, change your preferences on your other social networks. I'm seeing content for movies, apps and headlines from my key sources, pulled together elegantly into one spot. And yes, standard social sharing features apply to the content consumed. 

Spun: Same deal as above, but focused Read Post

Every year I enjoy putting my neck on the line by trying to look into the future of our our wonderful industry, play Carstrodamus and see what lies ahead for us. Some ideas have been dead dead on: The importance of local search and social content sharing and location based marketing services. Others were a little early: HTML5 and NFC. A couple were either just wrong or haven't happened yet: Path being acquired by Facebook. Read Post

Very rarely do I ever rant about something, but enough already with the obsession about Klout and your score. This debate continues to drone on and I'm simply tired of hearing about what Klout "means" - I'll tell you what it means: Nothing.

Sure, it's very easy to complain about something. I learned at a young age that if you're going to complain about something, you better be prepared to change it. Otherwise, keep you mouth shut and deal with it. That's why you don't often hear from me in this tone. My experiment is over, I've learned a ton and I believe I've made something that can have the same natural impact as it relates to your professional activities. (More on that shortly.) 

 

I understand we all desire adulation and some form of self-actualization. Ask yourself, is getting Klout and seeing your score fluctuate truly satisfying these needs for you and is it beneficial in any way?

 

This has created a Read Post

So, we've got some new things brewing for the DrivingSales community. This week, I'll be providing previews of the new features coming within our redesign of the DrivingSales website, what they mean to you and how you can benefit from the great stuff we're making for you.

For starters, one major change is the layout and presentation of the content you'll see on the home page. Rather than just pushing the most recent blog post down your throat when you arrive, we want you to see the content you're most interested in and also be able to interact with it faster and easier than before. Click to see full size image.



The forums section is now front and center to connect you with the topics, content and solutions you need to - as efficiently as possible. We understand your time is valuable; consuming content shouldn't be difficult. Click to see full size image.



We also understand that you don't read everything on every page. Most often, you& Read Post

Everyone in the car business seems to have a opinion about TrueCar's CEO Scott Painter. Everyone seems to have the right answer or solution to the problems associated with TrueCar's business model. And of course, everyone has a question about what's going on with their current activities. 

Well, Jared Hamilton is giving you the ability to ask questions about TrueCar's views on the industry, their new business model and anything else you want to address. DrivingSales has always been a conduit of premier access to the best events, people and resources. We encourage your involvement to help make this year's DrivingSales Executive Summit the best ever. 

And, in typical DrivingSales style, here's our full disclosure and transparency on a hot issue: Topics and sponsors at DSES are requested by the dealer community. The topic of TrueCar and their business model was also requested. So, we did what we do best and Scott Painter agreed to an Q&A sess Read Post

Joe Webb is at it again with another comedic, yet real, take on what's happening inside dealerships every single day.





Are you giving your customers the information they're seeking? Or are you still trying to "get them in?"
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Check out these stats regarding teen texting and driving. Statefarm insurance is taking a strong position on reducing this public health risk by adopting a supportive and positive approach towards teens. September 15th, 2012 is Celebrate My Drive day across the US. Check it out to see how you can participate and help reduce the number of teens texting and driving. Click image to enlarge Kudos to Andy Oberright from Harris Interactive for his awesome work on this. ... Read Post

How on Earth is facebook going to succeed within the mobile space? 



There are nearly 500 million facebook users on their mobile devices currently. The question everyone keeps raising, including those who bought facebook stock anytime after the IPO, how is facebook going to monetize these users.

I have a hunch: Doing something nobody else can even come close to doing within the mobile advertising space. Now that facebook has all of our personal data, they have a huge opportunity now to leverage that data, but it also poses an incredible opportunity for digial marketers because of the fact click through rates are higher on mobile devices. (14% higher actually) 

As users access facebook via their mobile devices, they're also accessing the site via different methods. They're not using their data networks, they're using WiFi. Initial estimates place WiFi traffic being over 50% of all web traffic by the end of 2016.

Why is that so important? Advertisers can Read Post

Who's the reigning king of low-cost incoming sales calls? Google Adwords or the YP Local Ad Network? A news study released shows that the YP Local Ad Network came out ahead - with an average cost per call of $46 vs. Google Adwords with an average cost per call of $88. The study compared 56 different companies receiving calls from both sources. 77% said they had a lower cost per call from the YP ads. Read Post

Who doesn't love a good prediction? That is, unless you're bad at making predictions, like these two gems. "With over 15 types of foreign cars already on sales here, the Japanese auto industry isn't likely to carve out a big share of the market for itself" - Business Week, 1968. "Remote shopping, while entirely feasible, will flop. Because women like to get out of the house, handle merchandise & change their mind. - Time Magazine, 1966 (Completely writing off eCommerce even before it was invented) Read Post

 



Search has become such a big part of our online vernacular. Our online world consists of so many stategies and tactics. Besides worrying about knowing what it measns and how it can impact our business, we have to worry about where we're getting our information from.

 

Search engine optimization has evolved from being regarded as a cult-like practice only a select few would dabble in several years back. The needle has moved from old-school keyword stuffing and wild-west syle on-page optimization to a near real time pulse of Google's algorithm update that now factor in dozens of on-page and off-page ranking factors. And now, we're beginning to see the importance of social content and the impact mobile behavior has on consumers. And even more change is coming.

 

We understand the importance of this change and it's impact on your business strategy, which is why we’re very excited to bring you SEO all-star and CEO of SEOmoz, Rand Fi Read Post

 

Location based marketing services boosts word of mouth for your business.

By now foursquare fans have noticed the new changes made to the app; newer users may not have noticed much yet, but here's a quick overview to show how you can get more out of the leading location based marketing platform.



Foursquare made significant changes and improvements in response to how people have been using the app over the past year or so. While total users have passed 20 million, less people are actually checking-in. So, what are they doing?


Social discovery

Searching

Adding reviews/tips


Turns out, people still don't want to share their location - in real-time. However, they do want to find tips, leave ratings and reviews and find where other people are at. Foursquare has made it even easier with their new designs. Notice how easy it is now for a user to click eithe of the heart symbols.

What are you doing to ensure customers favortire your venue? 



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We will continue to experience significant consumer behavior changes as mobile smartphone conversion continues. One area of opportunity for automotive dealerships is the ability to leverage location based marketing services activity to increase engagement, drive loyalty and improve overall exposure. Foot traffic has always been difficult to monitor - location based services provide another opportunity to connect with this unique segment of consumers.

Check out the presentation I gave at the Automotive Bootcamp in Las Vegas last week: Location & Mobile Will Change Everything.




Location & Mobile Will Change Everything on Prezi


Are you prepared to connect with your mobile customers?

Original post: WhatDidEricSay.com - follow me @emiltsch
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Here's an excellent infographic comparing Mobile Apps vs. Mobile Web to demonstrate which one is better for your business. I've often said that the mobile web is for searching while mobile apps are for doing; be sure you're spending your resources on the solution that makes the most sense for your goals.

Cheers to Jeff Pease, one of our amazing new graphic designers, for nailing this infographic - beautifully done Jeff!

Click to view full size.


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We're fast approaching the 2012 DrivingSales Executive Summit. This event is known for bringing automotive audiences the best of the best with regards to current speaking talent and topics. And this year we're planning on nailing it again - but we need your help! 



We provide an impressive line-up of industry professionals for breakout presentations covering a wide range of segments and topics. Here's a list of ideas to jumpstart some brainstorming: 


Conversion Optimization & Best Practices

Top SEO Ranking Factors for 2012

Advanced Google Adwords Strategies

Advanced Fixed Ops Marketing

Social Commerce

Online Consumer Behavior

Mobile Apps/Mobile Strategies

Non-Automotive Customer Interaction Strategies

Local Search Strategies

Google Analytics & Webmaster Tools

ROI & Social Analytics


So - what kind of topics would you like to see presented during the breakout presentations at this year's Driv Read Post

So, now that we have all submersed ourselves within the social landscape, opened up a multitude of social network accounts and shared every last innocuous detail of our daily activities - what's next? We've progressed beyond connecting with our friends, familiar connections within our industry and creating fragmented lists of people.

I believe Social Discovery is one of those "what's next" opportunities. We now have the ability to connect with a massive layer of individuals based on the expanding social graph. We're connected friends of friends, by interests and most importantly by location. 

I spent six years positioning myself within my dealership's respective markets as a "trusted car guy." Even though I wasn't necessarily selling vehicles directly, I was selling our brand and showing our salespeople how to improve their digital presence, build trust and connect with customers in new Read Post

Doung Frisbee, head of Automotive, Global Vertical Marketing at Facebook, published a great overview of a recent research study conducted within the automotive market. He covers the importance of relationships, social connections and influence with regards to the activity between automotive brands and shoppers while providing some excellent advice on how it can improve. Here's his original post:    Everywhere I go, people ask me about changes in the automotive industry. Increased competition, shrinking margins, alternative fuel technologies, in-vehicle infotainment and new business models have all changed the industry dramatically over the last few years. But in every market I visit, one thing remains the same. From manufacturers to dealers, everyone echoes this sentiment: the car business is a people business. It is a relationship business and a word-of-mouth business. Building strong connections with customers has always been a cornerstone for success in th... Read Post

Hurry - grab your FREE copy of Guy Kawasaki's newest book: What The Plus! (Google+ for the rest of us)  Whether you're already on Googl'e+ or you haven't even heard of it yet, you'll want to dive into Guy's latest book - he was kind enough to share this free dowload link, but there's a limited amount available. (It worked when I used it today - the link expires April 25 if it doesn't exhaust all copies)  Seach and social are colliding. Find out why Guy is just as exceited about Google+ as he was about Apple 25 years ago! Download What The Plus! by Guy Kawasaki ... Read Post

You'll definitely want to tune into this exclusive interview with GM's Director of Social Media, Mary Henige. The interview is courtesy of two highly respected marketing communications professionals Hugh Macken and Deirdre Breakenridge. Be sure to follow them on twitter & check out their blogs - top notch quality. (I had the pleasure of meeting Deidre last year at an RIT symposium where she delivered an excellent presentation)  Listen to internet radio with Hugh Macken Live on Blog Talk Radio Here's an excerpt of Hugh's blog post as well:  Henige, a 25 – year corporate communications veteran at GM and award-winning corporate communications professional, outlined the company’s approach to social media as it relates to both internal and external stakeholders. In doing so she stressed the importance of an empowering corporate culture that has provided the foundation for strong levels of internal communication. It’s that... Read Post

Jared Hamilton has done it again. He has been busy at the drawing board trying to solve the problem of bringing together W-Fi services, tablet applications and fixed operations. Its something every dealer and consumer has been asking for buy didn't even realize was a problem yet. The solution: The Brake iPad. The Brake iPad is simply a new type of brake pad made from Rhodium. When installed with the proprietary DrivingSales installation package, and integrated with the accompanying iPad app, it harnesses the energy created while the brakes are applied and creates a Wi-Fi signal - turning your vehicle into a free hotspot for up to 7 devices. "Jared has high expectations of the team, so we went out and solved a problem that hasn't actually occurred yet." Said Eric Miltsch, Director of Product Strategy at DrivingSales. "We're all about genius innovation here - we simply call it 'genuvation', humbly added Shaun Raines, Executive Director of Drivi... Read Post

    Dennis Galbraith is known for his groundbreaking data management techniques. He is taking the entire data management technology segment by storm with his new data tool, the dGlove.    This masterpiece of innovation simply slides onto your hand like an ordinary glove, however this is no ordinary glove. Once you put it on, you'll notice items such as basic mouse controls, a pause button, power switch, USB charging stations and an LED really bring some robust features to the table. "I envision the day where everyone attending the DrivingSales Executive Summit will be wearing the dGlove," said Dennis Galbraith, dGlove Founder and Director of Revenue and Business Intelligence at DrivingSales. "Users will have the ability to access their website data by simply moving their hand around in several complicated gestures wherever they may be - in their car, walking down the street and even in the bathroom. It's all very natural... Read Post

DrivingSales is shaking up the QR Code industry with its revolutionary DqrS System - Driving quick response Sales. Dealers can now order DqrS full-body vehicle wraps for the entire inventory. Customers can scan vehicles wrapped with the DqrS from up to one half-mile away to access vehicle information, browse dealership websites and schedule test drives.  "We're so stoked to be the first to market with a QR scan solution that solves a major problem for customers - the desire to scan QR Codes from long distances," said Jared Hamilton, CEO of DrivingSales. "I keep hearing people say they love scanning QR Codes, but they don't like being restricted to being 2 inches from the car, they want the flexibility of being 2,640 feet away as well." Ric McCoy, QR Code expert, was impressed with the results from his early beta tests. "I ordered DqrS wraps for every car on my lot. Sure, it took one week to wrap all the cars, but it was time well spent.... Read Post

    I recently spoke with Dan Moore, Founder and President of Smart Web Concepts about the news announcement of being chosen to join Facebook's Preferred Developer Consultant program. These are the type of relationships that can help drive further innovation for the retail automotive market. Here's a few items from our conversation that I felt the rest of the community would be interesting in knowing.   EM: When did you learn about this FB dev program - and what is it really all about?   DM: Smart Web Concepts learned about the open enrollment in October of 2011 and we submitted our application in November 2011 for the Facebook PDC.The Facebook "PDC" Preferred Developer Consultant Program is designed to have a selected group of outside companies improve the Facebook experience through apps, page enhancements, and tools. EM: What are you hoping to gain from being involved with this program?   DM: SWC's ... Read Post

A very interesting location based marketing discussion popped up online recently. A screen shot of a Mercedes Benz dealership's foursquare venue was posted online by DrivingSales community friend Aaron Strout. (Two-time DSES keynote speaker & Location Based Marketing for Dummies co-author)  Joe Webb and I share some of our thoughts below. EM: Aaron posted this picture to highlight the creative tip usage by a large brand. Tips are an extremely important element of the foursquare platform as this is where deeper levels of consumer value can be found. As more brands get involved, even more value can be passed along. However, in this situation, a tip left by Edmunds.com may not be viewed as being helpful for the dealership.  The tip reads: "Think twice about trading in your car. You'll get more for it by selling it yourself." Aaron called out the unique usage of this element and it's ability to help consumers - exactly what foursquare wants to ... Read Post