By Autumn 2003, I had (a meager) seven years of Internet Automotive success under my belt.  I was managing a nine-franchise Internet Sales Department that encompassed five rooftops in Portland OR and Vancouver WA.  New Car sales were really starting to get brutal.  Every other conversation contained the words “Dave Smith” and “Kellogg, Idaho”.  We pursued, and received, very few pre-owned vehicle inquiries and credit inquiries were only pursued if they were for A or B tier customers. And then I got the phone call that would change the direction of my career. The phone caller had submitted an inquiry on a new car.  But he was pretty sure that he wouldn’t qualify for financing, so he was calling to see if there was any way for him to purchase a vehicle. His story reminds me of the deals we started seeing in 2008 - really great customers, with really big problems.  He was going through a divorce, his ...

  I remember sitting in my office at Robberson Ford two years ago.  It was a beautiful day not unlike today, clear but cold.  I was having a terrible conversation with a gentleman who had submitted an inquiry on a pre-owned vehicle.  He’d been a mortgage broker for the previous 25 years, and, like so many of the real estate affiliated customers I’d been talking to then, he’d fallen on hard times.  His story was pretty sad.  Big fat house in Bend, OR, second home in Tahoe, delinquent mortgages on both. Audi A8, Porsche Cayenne, both 90+ days late.    Under water in the homes, upside down in both vehicles.  No income for months, so definitely no cash down.  He just desperately wanted there to be a good answer.  I certainly didn’t have one for him.  And I’ve thought about that guy many many times over the past two years, wondering what ultimately happened and how he facilitated his vehicular need...

What would you rather do – perform better (ie: close more or generate more gross profit) from your current opportunities to do business OR generate more opportunities to do business.   For me, the answer is obvious.  Unfortunately, many of the dealer contacts I’ve been making don’t seem to respond as well to offers of methods for doing better as they do generating more traffic.  And I want to talk about why not.   I had a conversation yesterday with one of our industry’s leading movers and shakers regarding marketing products and services to dealers and what the “hot buttons” are in today’s dealership climate.  We agreed that “Traffic” and “ Decreased Expenses” (which I equate to lower cost per customer) and “Enhanced SEO” were all high priority issues for the automotive community.  I’d probably throw in “Social Media” and “Reputation Manage...