Having spent a large part of my career working mostly with auto dealers, dealer associations and to a lesser degree manufacturers, I am deeply saddened and somewhat angry at the current state of affairs facing the auto industry. Let me explain.
First of all, for the politically correct or squeamish, you may want to skip this post. Let’s start with the domestic manufacturers. The so-called Big Three of Chrysler, Ford and GM have done a much better job of building vehicles in the last several years. The gap between quality of a domestic vehicle and an Asian or European brand has in most cases vanished. The domestic vehicle is now often superior to the Asian or European Models they compete with. If you don’t believe me, check the amount of factory recalls for defects for each manufacturer and you might be shocked to see how the domestics stack up against the perceived quality leader Toyota. Check the rankings for...

I have a bold prediction. The seeds for the end of the economic recession have been planted. You are living in the beginning of the end of the down economy. Let me explain why I say that. Everywhere I go, people are doing business. Restaurants are packed, stores are busy, bowling alleys have an hour wait for a lane, entertainment venues are packed and people are buying four dollar lattes. We are a spoiled society. Being spoiled help bring us into a recession nd being spoiled will help bring us out. As a society we simply don't like to wait for anything and that includes waiting for a recession to end.
Big dumb companies helped create the recession but it will be smaller, smarter and more agile entrepreneurs that will help bring us out of the recession. Entrepreneurs get busy, take risks, adjust quickly and keep taking action. Entrepreneurs are not limited in ideas, productivity or ability to believe in their ideas and businesses. Entrepreneurs truly understand the abund...

How You Can Prosper In Any Economy
In the current economy many people and businesses are thinking in terms of survival rather than prospering. Your current dominant thought patterns accurately predict your future. The root of the word scarcity is scared and success and money never follow fear. The good news is that you can not only survive but thrive in this or any other economy.
The first thing you must do to succeed is to change the questions you ask yourself. Instead of asking how you can survive, ask yourself how you can thrive. Look for problems and the opportunity gaps created by the common problems that many are encountering. Every problem brings great opportunity. The glass is not half empty and the glass is not half full. The glass is always full. It's is full of a mixture of liquid and air. It's only the limitations of your philosophy and the training of your brain that keep you from seeing that reality. However, most people feel they are being positive if they see the glas...

There is one common denominator in every successful dealership and that is strong leadership. If your dealership is not doing well, look at the leadership and ask yourself the following question: Is my dealership being held hostage?
Weak dealerships are held hostage by bad employees. Bad employees don't execute the game plans they are given. Bad employees rebel against everything. Bad employees are consistently negative. Bad employees make excuses for weak production. Bad employees don't have a game plan. Bad employees don't try to get better.
Weak leaders allow bad employees to be bad employees. To use an old phrase, bad leaders don't inspect what they expect. I think if I hear one more weak leader of an underperforming dealership say "I want my staff to buy in" I will puke. Buy into what? Give me a break. It is impossible to have your staff "buy into" everything you ever do. Strong leaders sell the goals and plans of the company while also asking for indivi...

Notice the play on words in the title. This is a chapter title from my new book "How To Be A Sales Superstar." The idea of this chapter is to concentrate on your existing customers. Often salespeople and businesses spend so much of their budgets and time on conquest customers. However, the real gold is in your exisitng customers. Look at who bought from you int he past and who brought you to where you are.
I would invite you to identify the top ten percent of your customers. Your top ten percent will often provide the majority of your income, referrals and goodwill. What are you doing to reward these customers? What are you doing to create a continuity program that allows them to do business with you continually and more often? Create a broad based VIP membership program that rewards your best customers the most.
Also, invite all of your customers into your program and create a model of acension. By nature, the ego of your customers will often drive them to want to ascend t...