The growth of knowledge in a Wiki community depends on your participation. The information in the wiki showcases is intended to be purely factual. With regard to company information, we are looking for history, events, and other facts about the company that would give dealers a glimpse of who this company is and what they stand for. To view the companies and products that have been rated, first click the "Vendor Rating" link located at the top of the screen to the right. On the left hand side, choose the category of the company or product that you want to review, choosing from either CRM, internet leads, inventory advertisers, search marketing, or websites. Clicking on the link will display a list of companies that offer products or services in that category. Selecting a company or product will allow you to view the information. If you would like to edit the information, click "Edit" to contribute. Remember, the site is based on honesty. The name of the person who most recently updates that information will be tagged to the information they wrote, allowing users to see who you are and what you are about. The moral of the story: Be honest and factual! Product pages should also be strictly facts and unbiased information. This is the place to describe products, not tell why it's the best or why one should buy it. If you have opinions on the product, those belong in the ratings and reviews, not the wiki showcase.

strategy rating is the best way to endorse (or reject) other strategies that you'vetried and have comments about. You can also see what others have rated the strategy as well as an average of all the ratings. Their average rating is posted to the right of the strategy titles when viewing the list of strategies posted in the Strategies page. For more information, select the strategy you're interested in. This takes you to more information about the strategy, where you can see the average dealer rating and what percent of the time it is recommended, both on the right side of the page. To add a rating, select "Rate this strategy" under "Dealer Rating" on the right side of the page. This gives you information about the strategy, followed by the opportunity to comment on the strategy, select a rating based on a 5 Star Rating Scale (1 = poorest, 5 = best), and select yes or no regarding if you would recommend it. When you're all through, click the "Rate it" button. Now your rating and comments are added and the rating is averaged with the rest for that strategy.

strategy sharing is an excellent avenue through which you and the other professionals in the industry can share strategies that produced results in the automotive world and those that didn't. To view the strategies that others have posted, click the "Strategies" link on the very upper right hand corner of the page. This brings you to the Strategy home page where you can select the option to view recently added strategies, or strategies specific to particular departments including parts, service, new or used cars, or internet or BDC. Select whichever department you are interested in, bringing you to a list of all the strategies posted relevant to that department, with information including the strategy title, date it was posted, and average rating. Click the strategy title to find out more information about that specific strategy. Any of the pages in the "Strategies" departments allows you to add your own new strategy. Simply click the "Add New Strategy" link at the bottom right. Here, you can indicate what your strategy does and what departments and disciplines it relates to. You can also title your strategy, describe it, and explain what results you gained from it. If you like, you can also upload any documents pertaining to it, perhaps an illustrated picture of how the strategy works or maybe a graphic depiction that shows empirical data demonstrating the results. When you're through, click "Post My Strategy." You can also add your own strategies to the site after you'velogged in, by accessing the "My Strategies" link on the left hand side of the page. Next, click on the "Add more strategies" link on the upper right hand corner and continue as stated above. To view the strategies you'veposted, click the "My Strategies" link, where all the strategies are listed, including information such as the date you posted it, its title, and the ability to edit or delete it at anytime.

Experts from all over the country are talking about industry. So, what are they saying? To find out, check out the blogs by clicking the "blog" icon in the upper right hand corner. This directs you to a list of the most recently added blogs, as well as information about the bloggers themselves. You can click on the author of the blog's name to find out information about the blogger, or clicking on the title of the blog will give you the full blog posting. To browse a list of all the blogs posted, click on the "blogroll" to the left of the page. Again, select the author of the blog's name to find out information about the blogger, or click on the title of the blog to give you the full posting of the blog. Here's how the blogs works: Blog contributors from all over the country share their expertise about the industry along with some flair of personality. Only assigned people are designated bloggers. Generally speaking, any DrivingSales community member can leave a comment in response to a posted blog; however, the blogger has the ability to accept comments about their blog or not. Their blog, their choice. If you're reading a blog about something you really like and want to know what else is out there, you can select a category to the right and find more blogs written by that author in various categories. You can also browse the author's blog archive, located to the right. In case you're super jealous and LIVE to blog about the automotive industry, have no fear. Or maybe you have some important news to share, but don't have the time or energy to be a consistent blog—no worries. We'vegot options for both. Simply contact us at contasus@drivingsales.com (We know, it took us a long time to come up with that one.)

Endorsements are a great way to recognize the capable, committed, and productive professionals in our industry, and it's simple to do! Simply access the profile page of the individuals you would like to endorse through your phonebook, your network, or by searching them out, and click on the "Endorse [Name]" link under their contact information. Next, type in the endorsement you would like you leave about them. It can include anything from your transaction experience, their pleasant demeanor, their level of professionalism, etc. When you're through ranting and raving about how great the person is, click the "Endorse" button at the bottom and you're all set! That endorsement will be sent to them and visible for all other colleagues to see how wonderful they really are. You can see endorsements about individuals as well as all the endorsements that individual has made for others. This feature is great for you to be able to see who your trusted colleagues recommend working with. This information is located in the same spot where you endorse individuals. Access the profile page of the individuals you want to see endorsements for and click on the "View's other's endorsement for [Name]" or "View [Name]'s Endorsement for others" under their contact information. This will bring you to a list of the endorsements. Click on any endorsement for more information about the specific endorsement. In order to view the endorsements that others have left for you, go to your "My Profile" page and click the "View other's endorsements for You" link to access the list of endorsements people have left for you. Then you can click on any endorsement for more information about the specific one. You can also view the endorsements you'vemade for others by selecting the appropriate link on the "My Profile" page.

start by logging in to DrivingSales and click the big, fat, green "GROW" button in the middle of the "My Home" page (you can't miss it). This takes you directly to the bulk invitation page where you can enter the contact information of individuals you want to invite into your network, including their names and e-mail addresses. There is a default message that will be sent to each individual (underneath where you enter in the contact information), but feel free to modify it if you wish. When you're ready to invite them, click the "Send Message" button at the bottom and sit back while your network expands exponentially. Thanks to the bulk invite, it doesn't take any time. Now if they choose not to accept your invitation, that's an issue we can't take care of; However, once they do, their contact information will be added directly into your Phone book. And that's how you grow your network. If you'd like to see who you'vealready sent invitations to, click the "My Invitations" button on the left side of the page. The "Sent Requests" tab will show you a list of all the individuals you'veinvited, the date you sent the invitation, and the status of the initiation (either accepted or sent). If you click on the "Received Requests" tab, you can see a list of requests that others have sent you!

The collaboration feature allows you to share your task information with other associates. This is beneficial for tasks that involve multiple people. To collaborate on a task, simply click the "Share" button when creating a task and select the individuals with whom you want this task to be shared, or enter in their e-mail address in the second box, and click "Share". You can share individual tasks, entire projects, or complete roles. When your associates have completed and updated tasks that you share with them on their own To-Dos List, that information will be automatically indicated on your to-do list! You pick and choose what to share, so you don't have to worry about everyone else seeing all your activity.

After logging in to DrivingSales, click the "My To Dos" link on the left hand side of the page. Begin by selecting "Add New Role" under the "Roles" heading. This will allow you to categorize different roles in your life for which you have projects to complete, such as your role at home, at work, or any other job or role you may identify with. Enter in your role title and a brief description of what that role entails. Click "Add". This will add your role and bring you back to the "My To Dos" home page. Now that you have indicated a role, you can input different projects to complete within that role. To do this, click the "Add New Projects" link under "Projects". This will allow you to add a project title and information for that project. Don't forget to select which role this project is related to, right after you enter the project title. After you'vetitled and briefly described your project, click "Add" to add it to your list of projects. Now this project is listed under the "Project" organizer toward the left hand side. Now comes the fun! The "My To Dos" page is automatically set to default at your to do list. If you are not at this page, click the "To-Dos" link under "Statistics" on the left hand side of the page. Once here, click the "Add New To-do" link on the right side of the page. Now you can enter different tasks you need to complete. To do this, type in the tasks title, select which project it is for, enter a description (if you wish) about the task, when you started (or plan on starting) it, and the deadline. Click "Add" and you have your first To-do! Every task that you enter will be shown on your To-do page with all the information about it, including the title, start date, and deadline. By clicking the "Edit" button, you can modify the task at any time. You also have the option to share the task. When you'vecompleted the task, select the box to the left hand side of the task title and click "Complete" at the bottom. Now that task shows as completed. Congratulations! Under "Statistics" you can view the number of roles, projects, tasks, completed or uncompleted tasks, and shared information you currently have in your To-Dos. For more details under each category, click the link specific to the category in which you're interested. At any time, you can modify the selection of tasks viewed on your page by selecting which view option you prefer from the drop down box at the top. This allows you to view all your tasks, only uncompleted tasks, or only completed tasks. Furthermore, you can choose to view only tasks under a certain project. Simply select the project for which tasks you want to view under "Projects". The same applies for viewing all to-dos under a specific Role, except you click the role you're interested in, not any specific project. Any way you look at it, your projects, tasks, and life can now be easily organized with the "My To Dos" feature.

The phone book easily keeps track of the contact information of all the connections in your network. And it's easy to use! Any time you accept an invitation to be directly connected to someone, or they accept and invitation of yours into your network, their contact information is automatically inputted into your phone book. And you didn't even have to do anything extra! Whenever they update their contact info, you will automatically receive an update in your phone book (and keeps your contact info current in theirs). You will receive network updates if they get promoted, change employers, or share updates to their network. How about that! Your phone book is displayed on the right hand side of the "My Home" page. To access the contact information of an associate, simply click on the name of the person you want the information for, and their information is displayed in a business card! When viewing their information, you also have the opportunity to edit their information, delete them from your phone book, download their information directly to your computer, or view their full profile by clicking the respective icons below the business card. You can also add people directly into your phone book. To do this, access the "My Home" page and click on the "Add New Contacts" icon under "My Contacts". Enter the contact information, click "Add" and the contact is added directly into your contact manager. These people are not invited to your network unless you expressly invite them otherwise, but you have direct access to all the information you previously entered.

No matter what page you are on within the site, there's a big, blue search bar at the very top. Here you can enter in information about individuals that you're looking for. Simply type in the information and click "Find". If you are looking for specific individuals type in their first or last name (case sensitive) and select "First Name" or "Last Name" from the drop down box to the right. Select "Find" and scope the results. (Or if you are just looking to invite other people who have the same first or last name as you do, this is a good method to use as well.) Maybe you can't quite remember the name of someone you worked with, but you know what company they worked for. Or, perhaps, you want to see who of your colleagues from a specific Company are on the network. No problem! Simply type the name of the company in the blue search bar, select "Company" from the drop down box and click "Find." You can also enter any of this information on the "My Home" page under "Search Network." Your search results will yield all individuals who meet the search criteria. Their names will show up in blue and if you want to view their profile page click their name. Now you can browse their profile and even endorse them. But don't forget to invite them to your network!