You can’t spell social media without “me” or “I”. The entire medium has become, through its own nature, a very me-centric platform. People only post as it relates to themselves, their business, or their beliefs, blasting forth their very own personal news channel that they deem worthy enough to share.

Foursquare is one of the newest social networks, specifically designed to cater to those through a mobile application. Simply put, in its most common, understood form, Foursquare gives users the ability to:

1) “Check-in” to different places or add new ones worth visiting
2) Let their presence be known to their contacts and the online community
3) Lay claim of ownership after multiple visits to the same location
4) Earn “badges” for usage levels
5) Leave tips and shouts for future visitors of the establishments

This can all be accomplished through the typical geo-locating (geo-targeting) found on mobile devices. Early adopters of this platform will be at the ...

It's not the wand that makes the magic happen, but the magician who wields it.  All of the tools, solutions, and leads in the world may be necessary to stay competitive, but it is the people you employ that make you profitable.   If a dealership is only as good as the people speaking to their customers, we must make sure we have the right people representing us in the first place.

One of the fundamental problems on our sales floors is that it is just too easy to get a job.  Candidates walk in, fill out an application, prove that they have a pulse during an interview, and are hired on the spot.  This has to change.  This builds no value in our dealerships, our profession, or our industry.  We must require applicants to earn a position rather than just getting it.

As a trainer, dealers always ask me "What is the magic bullet out there?  What will help me sell more cars?"  They are likely looking for a solution/tool/CRM/website/campaign, but the true magic bullet is a great...

With the new year upon us, it is time we sit down and determine the ROI of our past (and recent) online marketing initiatives. What has worked for you? What hasn’t? What is your social networking resolution?

Are you going to dedicate your financial resources (ad budget) to the failed or fledgling programs of yesteryear or try your hand at all of the digital marketing tactics you read so much about daily? If it isn’t working, at what point do you cut ties, end your relationship with the old school vendors, and spend time on a more worthy venture such as social media?

If you want to succeed on a social networking landscape, you must first put yourself in your customer’s shoes. You must share their mindset. “What is in it for them?” you have to ask yourself. You need to show a benefit to the consumer for joining you on these networking sites. Stop worrying about what is important to you and start realizing what is important to your audience. This is the greatest o...

With this year's Thanksgiving in our rearview mirror and the holidays just down the road, I think it is time we industry folks talk about what we are thankful for.
As I've been holiday shopping - or as it is known in the politically incorrect world of the Webb household "Christmas shopping" - I see a nation who isn't scared of spending their hard-earned dollar. Gift-giving is going strong and online orders are already blowing away numbers from past years. (Now if only we gave to charities as generously as we do our distant family.) All of this money being thrown around should make us grateful to work in an industry where we not only provide a necessary service, but there is forever a need for our products.
Be thankful that everyone eventually needs a car.
Be thankful that people still walk into your showroom everyday.
Be thankful that your owners are still spending money to attract customers into the store.
Be thankful that more and more ad dollars are seeing their way into dig...

Far too many ideas seem like good ideas after a frozen margarita with a Coors Light chaser. However, I am pleasantly surprised to find myself struck with enlightenment as I sit bar side at a Chili’s. I am out to dinner alone after delivering a successful on-site training for a dealer client. As any consultant will tell you, these dinners on the road are commonplace and very little changes from city to city.

When across the bar does my curious eyes spot a sales process secretly displayed for the bartender at this Chili’s establishment. Within moment’s I arose from my stool to see what was the matter. I was incredibly pleased to see a list of steps to follow for this bartender that closely resembles our very own road to the sale. The Chili's Steps to the Upsell, so to speak.

I’ve attached this picture so you can follow along as we compare proven best practices. I have made it easier for you by spelling out each step they've provided to their employees.

Chili’s...

We know the faltering economy is one of the many factors that brought vehicle leasing to a standstill. Nowadays, you have to be artistic to put an educated shopper into a lease because the dramatically lagging financial market has made it disadvantageous for them.

In years past, it wasn’t the troubling economy that slowed leasing, but the public’s negative perception about the programs. Leasing remained a very profitable way to put customers into a vehicle and, if handled correctly, see them again in a few short years. Truth be told, if the lease was structured correctly, it was a smart way for many consumers to drive a vehicle as well. Having spent some time in the finance office myself, I can say there is a reason that management and finance staff preferred to lease their vehicles too. Dealers did not do themselves any favors, though, when they took advantage of those payment buyers and converted them into unnecessarily long term leases. T...

 A zany car salesman takes an unsuspecting customer on a pretend test drive that still turns out to be the ride of his life.  Craziness follows.  Another Joe Webb (DealerKnows) "car guy" creation.
 

By no means am I going to detail the one thousand "best practices" for advertising a dealer's inventory.  That would take two full days of typing and I simply don't have it in me.  Actually, this is a question that I would like to pose to all of you DrivingSales readers out there.  You will see I discuss my beliefs, but I'd like to hear from you.
I was perusing my Saturday morning edition of the Chicago Tribune, checking out the car ads.  (Yes, I still get the newspaper, though I don't know why considering I read the news online before ever opening up the printed papyrus.)  What caught my attention was not how many local dealers are still advertising in a dying medium (ridiculous), but how many dealers were actively promoting how large their inventory was of certain models.

The common practice of detailing how many vehicles you have in stock (by model) has been widely used for quite some time.  Not too long ago, when dealers could do no wrong...

There is the age-old saying that “you can’t believe everything you read”.  Well, that thought process has expanded.  With the glut of internet “consultants” in the game, I believe you must add “don’t listen to everything that is taught”.

There are two widely-held, overly-preached beliefs that can cause irreparable harm to your ecommerce objectives and bring about online irrelevance.    Dealers that adopt these incorrect ideas must have a death wish.  Instead, disregard these poorly-conceived trainings and stand strong – Charles Bronson-style.   Unfortunately, these are not “old-school” tactics that these “trainers” are teaching, but instead, they are new-school philosophies oversimplified.  I will detail these two bits of bad advice.  When an “expert” walks into your store spouting this nonsensical bologna, do yourself a favor and stick to your own belief...

Twitter is the new buzzword. A hundred newfangled words have been created off of its sheer essence (twitterific, twitterfied, tweets, etc). I still can't get the word "twoughts" to catch on...I wonder why.

I needn't be worried, though. I personally don't believe that twitter will be a mainstay in the social networking community for long. Simply put, the scope of it isn't grande enough to compete with the big boys. Sure, Twitter is gaining more and more users. Heck, it has doubled in the past year.
However, eMarketer states that the greatest majority of its users were between 45-54 years old. How that relates to auto dealers? If that average age of your new car purchaser was 54, you are likely to go the way of Oldsmobile. Twitter is not skewing as young as it needs to and dealers should take note.

I've been on Twitter for months and do, indeed, leave the occassional tweet. That being said, a Nielsen Online Media study reported that 40% of all users don't return from t...

I have a distinct feeling that some dealers believe achieving online success may be a flash in the pan. These dealers (owners) must have a chemical imbalance passed onto them from their fathers and family members before them to believe e-commerce is a trend. Many struggling owners learned from an older generation that didn't have to adapt as quickly to newfound technologies and, therefore, lived well by sticking to tried and true advertising mediums. There is a major problem facing many of today's owners that has a greater affect on their long-term goals than the economy does. It is their judgment. I can only assume this problem is genetic.
I hear from ISM after ISM across the country that buy-in from ownership continues to be difficult. Dealers just won't know what they don't want to learn. Many dealerships have one person handling incoming leads. They buy a few third party leads, place some inventory on an AutoTrader or Cars.com, and have a mediocre website. These dealers a...