Our store has always been a bottom line price store. It has worked out very well for us in the past and continues to work well with the exception of one thing, internet pricing. 

     We have always used the exact same price when we do price quotes for internet leads as we have our bottom line price for a walk-in customer. Our strategy has always worked on used cars because we price our cars so aggressively. Our strategy should work on new cars because we also price everything aggressively but it seems like we are losing the pricing war online.  We are still pretty competitive on most cars, but we seem to be getting killed on pricing when it comes to the expensive stuff ( F-150's, Superduty's, etc ).

     We are considering of implementing a totally different pricing strategy and starting an internet pricing matrix aside from our current pricing matrix. We are nervous to do it because this is definitely unchartered waters for us, but at the same time realize it is the only way we can keep our competitive edge. I was just wondering if most dealers have special internet pricing like we are considering doing? If so, what is your internet pricing like relative to invoice on the more expensive vehicles? 

     Our store has always been a bottom line price store. It has worked out very well for us in the past and continues to work well with the exception of one thing, internet pricing. 

     We have always used the exact same price when we do price quotes for internet leads as we have our bottom line price for a walk-in customer. Our strategy has always worked on used cars because we price our cars so aggressively. Our strategy should work on new cars because we also price everything aggressively but it seems like we are losing the pricing war online.  We are still pretty competitive on most cars, but we seem to be getting killed on pricing when it comes to the expensive stuff ( F-150's, Superduty's, etc ).

     We are considering of implementing a totally different pricing strategy and starting an internet pricing matrix aside from our current pricing matrix. We are nervous to do it because this is definitely unchartered waters for us, but at the same time realize it is the only way we can keep our competitive edge. I was just wondering if most dealers have special internet pricing like we are considering doing? If so, what is your internet pricing like relative to invoice on the more expensive vehicles? 

     We are currently doing some mystery shopping to compare several things at our dealership to other dealerships. The main intent of the mystery shopping is to compare processes, level of training in sales people, and pricing. As we have done this we have found that, although we are really aggressive on pricing and trade allowances, we are definitely on the high side when it comes to fees.

     The 2 fees I'm referring to are probably standard fees at the majority of dealerships. We charge a documentation fee and an additional fee for vehicle theft registration (VTR) or "etching". I'm not going to tell you what we charge for those for the fact that I want to see where everyone else comes in at and I don't want anyone judging us :). We are a large Ford franchise, so I want to make sure we are comparing apples to apples. If you respond back to my post, let me know what you charge for both fees or if you even have both fees. Also, if you don't have VTR or etching, what do you charge and what is the product? It would be great if you mention the size of the store that you work at and whether or not it is a new franchise. Hope to hear some good feedback.......

     We are currently doing some mystery shopping to compare several things at our dealership to other dealerships. The main intent of the mystery shopping is to compare processes, level of training in sales people, and pricing. As we have done this we have found that, although we are really aggressive on pricing and trade allowances, we are definitely on the high side when it comes to fees.

     The 2 fees I'm referring to are probably standard fees at the majority of dealerships. We charge a documentation fee and an additional fee for vehicle theft registration (VTR) or "etching". I'm not going to tell you what we charge for those for the fact that I want to see where everyone else comes in at and I don't want anyone judging us :). We are a large Ford franchise, so I want to make sure we are comparing apples to apples. If you respond back to my post, let me know what you charge for both fees or if you even have both fees. Also, if you don't have VTR or etching, what do you charge and what is the product? It would be great if you mention the size of the store that you work at and whether or not it is a new franchise. Hope to hear some good feedback.......

    We are having a tent sale that we started over Labor Day weekend and runs through the next couple of weeks. The purpose of the tent event is to stir things up a little bit around here and get the sales guys excited about something. We have kind of felt like things had been really dead and boring around here lately, so we decided to put together this used tent event.

     Here's what we have done to liven the place up so far: We put a huge tent on our used car lot with banners and balloons, we bought tons of food and drinks for both customers and our sales guys, we created a "wheel of love" that every customer that purchases a used car gets to spin, and we put together a pretty aggressive spiff program for the sales guys. The wheel pays out tons of prizes that are paid for against the gross of the deal so there is technically no cost attached to each prize. Our goal is to do this whole thing for a relatively cheap cost but still make it fun at the same time.

     The only issue is that I still feel like things aren't near as exciting around here as I was hoping. Does anyone have any ideas above and beyond the ones that I mentioned that would help liven this place up over the next 2 weeks? Keep in mind that I don't have tons of money to throw at this promotion): Let me know what you guys think...

    We are having a tent sale that we started over Labor Day weekend and runs through the next couple of weeks. The purpose of the tent event is to stir things up a little bit around here and get the sales guys excited about something. We have kind of felt like things had been really dead and boring around here lately, so we decided to put together this used tent event.

     Here's what we have done to liven the place up so far: We put a huge tent on our used car lot with banners and balloons, we bought tons of food and drinks for both customers and our sales guys, we created a "wheel of love" that every customer that purchases a used car gets to spin, and we put together a pretty aggressive spiff program for the sales guys. The wheel pays out tons of prizes that are paid for against the gross of the deal so there is technically no cost attached to each prize. Our goal is to do this whole thing for a relatively cheap cost but still make it fun at the same time.

     The only issue is that I still feel like things aren't near as exciting around here as I was hoping. Does anyone have any ideas above and beyond the ones that I mentioned that would help liven this place up over the next 2 weeks? Keep in mind that I don't have tons of money to throw at this promotion): Let me know what you guys think...

     I did a post last week on "not missing customers" and we are still deliberating what is going to work best for our store. I have always worked at this dealership the entire time I have been in the car business and we have always had an open floor policy. It has always seemed to work in the past, but now we are having some serious coverage issues as I talked about last week.

     I would like everyone's opinion on a closed floor vs. an open floor. I have only been exposed to an open floor and have formed my own opinions as a result. The problem I am facing is I feel like I need to make some changes but I am not convinced that a closed floor is our best bet. I'm sure their are pros and cons to both approaches. I would love some feedback from anyone out there that has worked under both systems so I can make a more informed decision

     I did a post last week on "not missing customers" and we are still deliberating what is going to work best for our store. I have always worked at this dealership the entire time I have been in the car business and we have always had an open floor policy. It has always seemed to work in the past, but now we are having some serious coverage issues as I talked about last week.

     I would like everyone's opinion on a closed floor vs. an open floor. I have only been exposed to an open floor and have formed my own opinions as a result. The problem I am facing is I feel like I need to make some changes but I am not convinced that a closed floor is our best bet. I'm sure their are pros and cons to both approaches. I would love some feedback from anyone out there that has worked under both systems so I can make a more informed decision

     We have had an ongoing battle with our sales guys to make sure the lot and the phone station (where they get sales calls and internet leads) are being watched at all times. The obvious reason for that is to make sure that we aren't missing any customers that drive through the lot. We switched to a new facility about 4 years ago and our lot/phone station coverage has been a constant issue. The old facility was set up to where you could easily see the entire lot from the showroom, so there was never an issue with customers going unnoticed.

     We have tried to institute a schedule for both the phone station and the "spotter station" to make sure we have a guy in both places at all times. Needless to say, it has been like pulling teeth to manage that schedule. We currently don't adhere to the schedule at all and rely on our guys actually doing there jobs and rely on us babysitting them.

     I'm thinking there has to be a better way to approach this issue, but can't really think of anything else outside of the worthless schedule that we have. I'm too busy to be babysitting everyone so any suggestions would be more than welcome. Maybe we need to build another facility that has a better view of the lot!!!

     We have had an ongoing battle with our sales guys to make sure the lot and the phone station (where they get sales calls and internet leads) are being watched at all times. The obvious reason for that is to make sure that we aren't missing any customers that drive through the lot. We switched to a new facility about 4 years ago and our lot/phone station coverage has been a constant issue. The old facility was set up to where you could easily see the entire lot from the showroom, so there was never an issue with customers going unnoticed.

     We have tried to institute a schedule for both the phone station and the "spotter station" to make sure we have a guy in both places at all times. Needless to say, it has been like pulling teeth to manage that schedule. We currently don't adhere to the schedule at all and rely on our guys actually doing there jobs and rely on us babysitting them.

     I'm thinking there has to be a better way to approach this issue, but can't really think of anything else outside of the worthless schedule that we have. I'm too busy to be babysitting everyone so any suggestions would be more than welcome. Maybe we need to build another facility that has a better view of the lot!!!