According to rbr.com "Cox will be borrowing $100 million on its current credit lines to close the deal."

This does not mean that the Autotrader.com purchase of VinSolutions was valued at $100 million, it just needed this cashflow to complete the deal. 

There were so many numbers thrown out there about how much VinSolutions sold for, but we may never know that exact number right now.  This article shed some light on the background financing of the transaction so I wanted to share it on DrivingSales.

Here is the full scope of the article, and if you click on the image you can go to the original story.  

According to rbr.com "Cox will be borrowing $100 million on its current credit lines to close the deal."

This does not mean that the Autotrader.com purchase of VinSolutions was valued at $100 million, it just needed this cashflow to complete the deal. 

There were so many numbers thrown out there about how much VinSolutions sold for, but we may never know that exact number right now.  This article shed some light on the background financing of the transaction so I wanted to share it on DrivingSales.

Here is the full scope of the article, and if you click on the image you can go to the original story.  

PCG Digital Marketing today announced that Lizelle Landino has joined their digital marketing agency as a Dealer Advocate.

Lizelle is an active member of the automotive industry where she has held numerous roles in management, operations, and sales.

Brian Pasch, CEO of PCG Digital Marketing, commenting on the news said,

“Lizelle’s energy, passion, and knowledge are perfectly matched to serve auto dealers. Our new Digital Marketing Assessment service is a perfect compliment to Lizelle experience in finding successful vendor independent solutions for dealers.”

As a Dealer Advocate, Lizelle will be assisting dealers with creating effective digital marketing and operational strategies with help from the PCG team. Lizelle will serve both in the field as well from PCG’s corporate offices in Eatontown, NJ.

Asked why she chose PCG, Lizelle responded,

“PCG has a strong reputation for high quality marketing, training, and consulting services for car dealers. I wanted to work with a company that was focused on serving dealers with customized solutions. PCG will enable me to flourish and extend their brand to dealers who want to grow their business online.”

PCG is expanding their national sales and marketing team to meet the needs of the automotive marketplace.

Lizelle will be attending the PCG Pit Stop conferences to meet with dealers in each local market, so make sure you check out the updated conference schedule at http://www.pcgpitstop.com.

PCG Digital Marketing today announced that Lizelle Landino has joined their digital marketing agency as a Dealer Advocate.

Lizelle is an active member of the automotive industry where she has held numerous roles in management, operations, and sales.

Brian Pasch, CEO of PCG Digital Marketing, commenting on the news said,

“Lizelle’s energy, passion, and knowledge are perfectly matched to serve auto dealers. Our new Digital Marketing Assessment service is a perfect compliment to Lizelle experience in finding successful vendor independent solutions for dealers.”

As a Dealer Advocate, Lizelle will be assisting dealers with creating effective digital marketing and operational strategies with help from the PCG team. Lizelle will serve both in the field as well from PCG’s corporate offices in Eatontown, NJ.

Asked why she chose PCG, Lizelle responded,

“PCG has a strong reputation for high quality marketing, training, and consulting services for car dealers. I wanted to work with a company that was focused on serving dealers with customized solutions. PCG will enable me to flourish and extend their brand to dealers who want to grow their business online.”

PCG is expanding their national sales and marketing team to meet the needs of the automotive marketplace.

Lizelle will be attending the PCG Pit Stop conferences to meet with dealers in each local market, so make sure you check out the updated conference schedule at http://www.pcgpitstop.com.

In December of 2010 I shared with the automotive community on blog post which detailed my first impressions on my meeting with the combined BZ & Cobalt website development and marketing team in Seattle. My December meeting was shortly after ADP completed their purchase of Cobalt and after a few key decisions were made on their product strategy.

Rewinding my mental tapes, I recall conversations from industry peers, which basically said, “Any potential benefits this acquisition would deliver to customers would be delayed by internal politics and egos.”

My meeting with the team in Seattle however gave me a very different impression. I wondered if my optimism would be disappointed by another historical acquisition gone badly. The streets of the automotive industry are littered with failed mergers.

I commented in my blog post that the egos were in check and that everyone wanted to get this merger of technology and process “right” the first time. The energy in the room was very positive and the team candidly asked for my feedback on what dealers needed and where their products could be improved. I left Seattle optimistic.

May Brings New Announcements & Technology

Fast-forward to this past week where I had the opportunity to see the results of the new combined ADP team. I was not disappointed. The decision to create a unified platform for BZ and Cobalt customers was made immediately after the merger and work started shortly afterwards.

I put down my thoughts in a 13 page whitepaper that you can download at http://www.dealer-seo.com. Let me know what you think about my observations and if you are a Cobalt dealer, you should check out the new software interface.

In December of 2010 I shared with the automotive community on blog post which detailed my first impressions on my meeting with the combined BZ & Cobalt website development and marketing team in Seattle. My December meeting was shortly after ADP completed their purchase of Cobalt and after a few key decisions were made on their product strategy.

Rewinding my mental tapes, I recall conversations from industry peers, which basically said, “Any potential benefits this acquisition would deliver to customers would be delayed by internal politics and egos.”

My meeting with the team in Seattle however gave me a very different impression. I wondered if my optimism would be disappointed by another historical acquisition gone badly. The streets of the automotive industry are littered with failed mergers.

I commented in my blog post that the egos were in check and that everyone wanted to get this merger of technology and process “right” the first time. The energy in the room was very positive and the team candidly asked for my feedback on what dealers needed and where their products could be improved. I left Seattle optimistic.

May Brings New Announcements & Technology

Fast-forward to this past week where I had the opportunity to see the results of the new combined ADP team. I was not disappointed. The decision to create a unified platform for BZ and Cobalt customers was made immediately after the merger and work started shortly afterwards.

I put down my thoughts in a 13 page whitepaper that you can download at http://www.dealer-seo.com. Let me know what you think about my observations and if you are a Cobalt dealer, you should check out the new software interface.

Part of me does not want to write this post because I have written about the importance of Google Places in the past.  Part of me says that I need to send another reminder out because of my experience at a 20 Group presentation today.

This article is not specifically about Google Places but a mirror into the failure of OEM dealership education in regards to digital marketing.

Of the 20 dealers in attendance at today's meeting:

• - Over 50% of the dealers had less than 10 reviews posted on Google Places
• - One dealer did not have a Google Places listing
• - Three dealers had yet to claim their Google Places listing
• - Over 60% of the dealers did not include the "Used Car Dealer" category
• - Over 70% of the dealers were missing appropriate photos and videos.
• - Over 90% of the dealers had the wrong geo-targeting setting

Google Places is Significant

I'm not listing these statistics to embarrass anyone but Google Places is the #1 free source of online traffic and leads for a car dealership.  For example, a Miami Honda dealer's Google Places page shows 37,000 times a month. 

Guess what?  What appears on Google Places impacts ALL of a dealer's advertising dollars because when someone searches for a dealership "name", Google Places is right at the top of the search results with "a story". 

What is the story your Google Places page is showing?   Consumer reviews have a big part in how this story is played out.

Dealers in The Dark

My experience today is a reflection of the state of our industry.  The rate of change in digital marketing strategies has not been matched with OEM education.  In fact one dealer executive named Chris asked me:

"Brian, our OEM has not informed us on the importance of Google Places, consumer reviews, or showed us how to leverage Google for advertising.  Is any other OEM doing a better job at educating their dealers?"

I did not have an answer for Chris.  Most every time I speak at 20 Group meetings, the very basics of today's digital marketing strategies are NEW revelations to dealer principals and General Managers.

The fact that most dealers in the room had no training on inspecting their #1 source of free traffic, Google Places, is an indictment of delayed or broken OEM educational processes. 

Is Google Places important?  Would you like thousands of free advertising impressions and visitors to your website each month?

I Decided To Be Part of The Solution

I love speaking at conferences and 20 Group events because I want to be a part of the educational solution.  I love the fact that organizations like DrivingSales and PCG Digital Marketing have great conferences scheduled throughout the year to assist dealers build knowledge and strategies to leverage the Internet.

But Chris's question was sincere and demands further thought. 

My candid presentation may have made him feel exposed, uncomfortable, and uninformed.   He was one of the dealers who had a Google Places listing that was not claimed.  I think he was very glad that I brought it to his attention.

But it's not just Google Places that had dealers looking cross eyed!

Google Boost?  What's that?  Bounce Rate?  What's a good percentage?  Google Webmaster Tools? What?  Retargeting?  What's that?

You get the idea.  Dealer's in attendance were puzzled at some of these phrases and they should not be.

The more I travel the more I am convinced that dealers are READY to learn and READY to change but the OEM's are not nurturing their franchise dealers in a TIMELY manner.

OEM Education Has Failed

It's time for our industry to admit that our educational processes have failed to keep the dealer community up to date with leveraging the #1 source of advertising and branding; the Internet.

That's why I continue to beat the drum; dealers need to invest in educating their entire executive team.  That includes Dealer Principals,  Fixed Operations Managers, Internet Sales Managers, Marketing Directors, and of course the common acronyms GSM and GM.

I should be attending 20 Group meetings to address more than the basics but I can't because the basics are NOT being covered.

Dealers who want to invest in education will be rewarded.  Where should Dealer Principals and General Managers start?  

• 1.  Visit www.drivingsalesexecutivesummit.com and book your executive team for October 9-11th in Las Vegas.
• 2. Visit www.pcgpitstop.com and send your tactical team to a regional training event in great cities like Chicago, Dallas, St. Louis, Huntington Beach, Seattle, Vancouver, and Toronto.

Waiting for your OEM to provide training that is timely is like waiting for the Easter Bunny.  If you want chocolate, go out and get it.

If you want cutting edge, timely education, register and engage at places that offer what you need.

Part of me does not want to write this post because I have written about the importance of Google Places in the past.  Part of me says that I need to send another reminder out because of my experience at a 20 Group presentation today.

This article is not specifically about Google Places but a mirror into the failure of OEM dealership education in regards to digital marketing.

Of the 20 dealers in attendance at today's meeting:

• - Over 50% of the dealers had less than 10 reviews posted on Google Places
• - One dealer did not have a Google Places listing
• - Three dealers had yet to claim their Google Places listing
• - Over 60% of the dealers did not include the "Used Car Dealer" category
• - Over 70% of the dealers were missing appropriate photos and videos.
• - Over 90% of the dealers had the wrong geo-targeting setting

Google Places is Significant

I'm not listing these statistics to embarrass anyone but Google Places is the #1 free source of online traffic and leads for a car dealership.  For example, a Miami Honda dealer's Google Places page shows 37,000 times a month. 

Guess what?  What appears on Google Places impacts ALL of a dealer's advertising dollars because when someone searches for a dealership "name", Google Places is right at the top of the search results with "a story". 

What is the story your Google Places page is showing?   Consumer reviews have a big part in how this story is played out.

Dealers in The Dark

My experience today is a reflection of the state of our industry.  The rate of change in digital marketing strategies has not been matched with OEM education.  In fact one dealer executive named Chris asked me:

"Brian, our OEM has not informed us on the importance of Google Places, consumer reviews, or showed us how to leverage Google for advertising.  Is any other OEM doing a better job at educating their dealers?"

I did not have an answer for Chris.  Most every time I speak at 20 Group meetings, the very basics of today's digital marketing strategies are NEW revelations to dealer principals and General Managers.

The fact that most dealers in the room had no training on inspecting their #1 source of free traffic, Google Places, is an indictment of delayed or broken OEM educational processes. 

Is Google Places important?  Would you like thousands of free advertising impressions and visitors to your website each month?

I Decided To Be Part of The Solution

I love speaking at conferences and 20 Group events because I want to be a part of the educational solution.  I love the fact that organizations like DrivingSales and PCG Digital Marketing have great conferences scheduled throughout the year to assist dealers build knowledge and strategies to leverage the Internet.

But Chris's question was sincere and demands further thought. 

My candid presentation may have made him feel exposed, uncomfortable, and uninformed.   He was one of the dealers who had a Google Places listing that was not claimed.  I think he was very glad that I brought it to his attention.

But it's not just Google Places that had dealers looking cross eyed!

Google Boost?  What's that?  Bounce Rate?  What's a good percentage?  Google Webmaster Tools? What?  Retargeting?  What's that?

You get the idea.  Dealer's in attendance were puzzled at some of these phrases and they should not be.

The more I travel the more I am convinced that dealers are READY to learn and READY to change but the OEM's are not nurturing their franchise dealers in a TIMELY manner.

OEM Education Has Failed

It's time for our industry to admit that our educational processes have failed to keep the dealer community up to date with leveraging the #1 source of advertising and branding; the Internet.

That's why I continue to beat the drum; dealers need to invest in educating their entire executive team.  That includes Dealer Principals,  Fixed Operations Managers, Internet Sales Managers, Marketing Directors, and of course the common acronyms GSM and GM.

I should be attending 20 Group meetings to address more than the basics but I can't because the basics are NOT being covered.

Dealers who want to invest in education will be rewarded.  Where should Dealer Principals and General Managers start?  

• 1.  Visit www.drivingsalesexecutivesummit.com and book your executive team for October 9-11th in Las Vegas.
• 2. Visit www.pcgpitstop.com and send your tactical team to a regional training event in great cities like Chicago, Dallas, St. Louis, Huntington Beach, Seattle, Vancouver, and Toronto.

Waiting for your OEM to provide training that is timely is like waiting for the Easter Bunny.  If you want chocolate, go out and get it.

If you want cutting edge, timely education, register and engage at places that offer what you need.

Car dealers are standing at a fork. The fork is deciding which path to take to bring their business the the next level of success and prosperity.

For some, this next level is new car sales and others it is used car sales.

Yet for other dealers it may be accelerating their Fixed Operations revenue but let me suggest that all dealers are standing at a fork in the road.

The path to take at this fork in the road for many dealers is not clear.

In fact, many dealers are coming to realize that what they have been doing for the past 10, 20, or 30 years is NOT working any more.

The lack of clarity comes in many forms. One humorous theme, which is actually not funny aside from its commonality with dealers across the country, is that Dealer Principals are looking at their monthly CRM sourcing reports and wondering why their "walk-ins" and "drive-by" sales counts continue to increase while they move portions of their traditional media budgets to digital strategies.

Didn't digital marketing promise greater accountability and tracking?

Can anyone same Amen to this phenomena? Is something broken here?

Dealers Are Standing At The Fork

If you don't recognize you are at the fork in the road to success, can you identify with any of these statements?

1. Is the car business not fun for you anymore and you are frustrated on how
   to attract more traffic to your dealership without spending a ton of money.
2. Your website gets thousands of visitors but you convert a small amount
   into leads and sales.
3. You can't seem to reach the next level of Fixed ops and your not sure what
   else to do besides direct mail.
4. You are not sure how to manage your reputation online or why it is so
   important.
5. You're not really sure what SEO, SEM or Social media is and you are not
   sure how to implement any one of these.
6. You continue to buy more leads for a lot of money and you are getting very
   few sales from them.

It's Time To Make A Change

I want to thank Tracy Myers, CEO of Frank Myers Auto Maxx, for recommending Jimmy Vee and Travis Miller as keynote speakers for the 2011 Automotive Marketing Boot Camp.

Their presentation was the single most eye-opening messages that I have heard at any automotive conference in the past two years. Jimmy and Travis are the founders of www.Richdealers.com.

Their best selling book "Gravitational Marketing" should be a must read for all car dealers. But my accolades mean nothing if car dealers did not connect with their message. But they did.

Some of the most respected dealers in attendance at the Boot Camp were either clients of their firm or signed-up shortly after the conference. Why? Because these two thought leaders encouraged dealers to look at their business in a different way.

These two men made it very clear which path dealers should take for their business. At first I was not sure if their message was truly innovative but on further inspection they are truly brilliant marketers. You owe it to yourself to be able to make that judgement call.

How Are You Looking At Your Business?

• - Are you a victim or a victor?
• - Are you an authority on cars in your market or a just another car dealer?
• - Are you leading your marketing strategy or is it outsourced to OEM approved vendors?

The message I have for dealers is to step back and be honest with their vision for their dealership. I believe the solution for deciding which fork to take is education. Dealers need to invest in education and consult with industry leaders to help guide their success, which means they have to set aside their egos.

Dealers need to feel comfortable with asking for help.

Dealers do not have to call me. They don't have to call Jimmy or Travis. They need to admit that things are changing much faster than they can handle. They need to find people that they like and trust to lead them to the next level of success.

Outstanding Dealer Education

Where can dealers get the type of education that can lead them to the next level? Let me give you two suggestions:

1. DrivingSales Executive Summit - October 9-11th in Las Vegas.

• - Premier event for Dealer Principals and Executive Managers
• - The Conference Attracts World Class Thought Leaders
• - Invaluable Networking With Solution Providers Not Bullshitters
• - Details: http://drivingsalesexecutivesummit.com

2. PCG Pit Stop Conferences, with dates in these cities:

• - June 11th and 12th Chicago
• - July 9th and 10th Dallas
• - July 16th and 17th Huntington Beach
• - August 13th and 14th St. Louis
• - September 10th and 11th Toronto
• - September 17th and 18th Vancouver

To register for any regional Pit Stop Conference, visit: http://www.pcgpitstop.com . Special discounts are available for multiple employee registrations from same dealership.

The DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES) and PCG Pit Stop conferences provide both education and access to industry leaders which is exactly what dealers need to succeed. If the ONLY input they get is from vendor sales professionals, they could be lead down the wrong fork in the road.

Closing Thoughts

1. Regardless on how busy you think you are at your dealership, the MOST expensive decision you can make is limiting your direct educational exposure and getting your team out to high quality educational workshops.
2. The MOST disastrous mistake you can make when creating a marketing strategy is to COPY what all the local dealers are doing.
3. If running your dealership is not fun any more, call Travis and Jimmy and see how you can experience an Enjoyable, Simple & Prosperous (ESP) business once again.

You are at a fork in the road.

If you need advice on which path the take just ask. I'll be the first to offer my personal assistance to gain that clarity that you need and there will be other on this forum that will offer assistance.

You just need to ask.

Brian

Brian Pasch, CEO
PCG Digital Marketing
http://www.pcgdigitalmarketing.com
brian@pcgdigitalmarketing.com
732.450.8200

Car dealers are standing at a fork. The fork is deciding which path to take to bring their business the the next level of success and prosperity.

For some, this next level is new car sales and others it is used car sales.

Yet for other dealers it may be accelerating their Fixed Operations revenue but let me suggest that all dealers are standing at a fork in the road.

The path to take at this fork in the road for many dealers is not clear.

In fact, many dealers are coming to realize that what they have been doing for the past 10, 20, or 30 years is NOT working any more.

The lack of clarity comes in many forms. One humorous theme, which is actually not funny aside from its commonality with dealers across the country, is that Dealer Principals are looking at their monthly CRM sourcing reports and wondering why their "walk-ins" and "drive-by" sales counts continue to increase while they move portions of their traditional media budgets to digital strategies.

Didn't digital marketing promise greater accountability and tracking?

Can anyone same Amen to this phenomena? Is something broken here?

Dealers Are Standing At The Fork

If you don't recognize you are at the fork in the road to success, can you identify with any of these statements?

1. Is the car business not fun for you anymore and you are frustrated on how
   to attract more traffic to your dealership without spending a ton of money.
2. Your website gets thousands of visitors but you convert a small amount
   into leads and sales.
3. You can't seem to reach the next level of Fixed ops and your not sure what
   else to do besides direct mail.
4. You are not sure how to manage your reputation online or why it is so
   important.
5. You're not really sure what SEO, SEM or Social media is and you are not
   sure how to implement any one of these.
6. You continue to buy more leads for a lot of money and you are getting very
   few sales from them.

It's Time To Make A Change

I want to thank Tracy Myers, CEO of Frank Myers Auto Maxx, for recommending Jimmy Vee and Travis Miller as keynote speakers for the 2011 Automotive Marketing Boot Camp.

Their presentation was the single most eye-opening messages that I have heard at any automotive conference in the past two years. Jimmy and Travis are the founders of www.Richdealers.com.

Their best selling book "Gravitational Marketing" should be a must read for all car dealers. But my accolades mean nothing if car dealers did not connect with their message. But they did.

Some of the most respected dealers in attendance at the Boot Camp were either clients of their firm or signed-up shortly after the conference. Why? Because these two thought leaders encouraged dealers to look at their business in a different way.

These two men made it very clear which path dealers should take for their business. At first I was not sure if their message was truly innovative but on further inspection they are truly brilliant marketers. You owe it to yourself to be able to make that judgement call.

How Are You Looking At Your Business?

• - Are you a victim or a victor?
• - Are you an authority on cars in your market or a just another car dealer?
• - Are you leading your marketing strategy or is it outsourced to OEM approved vendors?

The message I have for dealers is to step back and be honest with their vision for their dealership. I believe the solution for deciding which fork to take is education. Dealers need to invest in education and consult with industry leaders to help guide their success, which means they have to set aside their egos.

Dealers need to feel comfortable with asking for help.

Dealers do not have to call me. They don't have to call Jimmy or Travis. They need to admit that things are changing much faster than they can handle. They need to find people that they like and trust to lead them to the next level of success.

Outstanding Dealer Education

Where can dealers get the type of education that can lead them to the next level? Let me give you two suggestions:

1. DrivingSales Executive Summit - October 9-11th in Las Vegas.

• - Premier event for Dealer Principals and Executive Managers
• - The Conference Attracts World Class Thought Leaders
• - Invaluable Networking With Solution Providers Not Bullshitters
• - Details: http://drivingsalesexecutivesummit.com

2. PCG Pit Stop Conferences, with dates in these cities:

• - June 11th and 12th Chicago
• - July 9th and 10th Dallas
• - July 16th and 17th Huntington Beach
• - August 13th and 14th St. Louis
• - September 10th and 11th Toronto
• - September 17th and 18th Vancouver

To register for any regional Pit Stop Conference, visit: http://www.pcgpitstop.com . Special discounts are available for multiple employee registrations from same dealership.

The DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES) and PCG Pit Stop conferences provide both education and access to industry leaders which is exactly what dealers need to succeed. If the ONLY input they get is from vendor sales professionals, they could be lead down the wrong fork in the road.

Closing Thoughts

1. Regardless on how busy you think you are at your dealership, the MOST expensive decision you can make is limiting your direct educational exposure and getting your team out to high quality educational workshops.
2. The MOST disastrous mistake you can make when creating a marketing strategy is to COPY what all the local dealers are doing.
3. If running your dealership is not fun any more, call Travis and Jimmy and see how you can experience an Enjoyable, Simple & Prosperous (ESP) business once again.

You are at a fork in the road.

If you need advice on which path the take just ask. I'll be the first to offer my personal assistance to gain that clarity that you need and there will be other on this forum that will offer assistance.

You just need to ask.

Brian

Brian Pasch, CEO
PCG Digital Marketing
http://www.pcgdigitalmarketing.com
brian@pcgdigitalmarketing.com
732.450.8200