In Demand Vehicles

January 22, 2011 by

Pain Point: How to Stock Used Vehicles Customers Want

Resolution: Stocking In-Demand Vehicles

Chances are you have someone on staff who fancies himself a used car expert. He’s been a valued employee. He’s been around forever. And, at the drop of a hat or before you can get out your Blackberry, he can tell you the price of a 2002 vehicle with 120,000 miles on it. You know who we’re talking about.

But there’s a problem: Nobody can know it all anymore. The digital revolution has changed how the game is played. Ignore the new rules at your own peril.

As the video below shows, there’s a new way to know and stock the vehicles that your customers want.

For more information, download our In-Demand Vehicles PDF.

Filed Under: Business Management, Sales / Leasing / Finance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Internet Response Time

January 22, 2011 by

Pain Point: Boosting Online Success

Resolution: Internet Lead Response Time

Your store managers and employees know how to handle “ups” on the lot. They’ve been doing it for years. There’s a system. And if it didn’t work you’d be out of business by now.

But what about the “ups” who visit your virtual store on the Internet? Are you happy with your online performance? More importantly, are you setting and measuring the proper benchmarks? Are you asking the right questions about your Internet ups and how your staff handles them?

For more information, download our Internet Response Time PDF.

Filed Under: Internet, Sales / Leasing / Finance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Used Vehicle Turn

January 7, 2011 by

Pain Point: ROI: Really Old Inventory or Return On Investment?

Resolution: Used Vehicle Inventory Turn

What does a dealership have in common with the produce section of a supermarket? Both want only fresh inventory.

Brown lettuce and mushy tomatoes are money losers. It’s the same with old inventory on your used car lot. The longer the vehicle sits, the more likely you’ll have to heavily discount it — just to get rid of it.

In the video you’ll learn about how to improve the pace of the “turn” of your used inventory and your return on investment at the same time.

For more information, download our Used Vehicle Turn PDF.

Filed Under: Business Management, Sales / Leasing / Finance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Internet Structure

January 7, 2011 by

Pain Point: Restructuring for Online Sales Success

Resolution: Internet Structure

Car dealerships have been operating for more than a century. There’s a wealth of knowledge about how to organize the store to succeed in the physical world.

But what about the virtual world? The Internet created a whole new game, one that constantly evolves and involves a lot more than your website. Is your team organized to play? Do you have people to fill the new positions on the field of play?

In the video, a leading expert discusses restructuring your store for online success.

For more information, download our Internet Structure PDF.

Filed Under: Featured Videos, Internet Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Vehicle Receivables

January 7, 2011 by

Pain Point: Cash Clot. Financial Defibrillator Needed.

Resolution: Vehicle Receivables

Clogged arteries slow down blood flow and lead to heart attacks. What’s true for the human body is true for dealerships where the lifeblood of the business is cash.

When a dealership’s financial arteries get clogged that slows the flow of cash into the store and could put the business on life support. Dealers have eight vital signs to monitor their financial health.

The video discusses the dangers posed by one of them and offers a prescription for treatment.

For more information, download our Vehicle Receivables PDF.

Filed Under: Business Management, Sales / Leasing / Finance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Brand Management

January 7, 2011 by

Pain Point: Is Your Reputation Getting Hammered Online?

Resolution: Page One Management

Reputation. It takes years and untold amounts of money to build a solid reputation. But only seconds to lose it on the Internet.

Brand damage usually refers to a product in crisis. But in the case of dealerships, the brand is the dealer’s name. It’s easy for dissatisfied and disgruntled consumers to go online and attack dealers. Nobody’s perfect and everyone makes mistakes but dealers put their dealerships in peril if they don’t defend their reputations online.

The video describes some of the challenges and solutions.

For more information, download our Brand Management PDF.

Filed Under: Internet, Sales / Leasing / Finance, Service Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Internet SEO

January 7, 2011 by

Pain Point: Is Your Website Lonely and Forgotten?

Resolution: Internet SEO

Your website looks great. And it should. You spent enough money on it. But is it as lonely as a pimply-faced teenager without a date on a Friday night?

The fact is that lonely websites make for lonely showrooms. There’s a lot of traffic on the Information Superhighway, but if it’s passing by your website without giving it a glance, you need to make some changes that will make it easier for you to “hook up” with potential suitors online.

The video shows how to not make your website more attractive but more visible.

For more information, download our Internet SEO PDF.

Filed Under: Internet Tagged With: , , , , , ,

E-Contracting

January 7, 2011 by

Pain Point: How to Stop Chasing Cash Every Day

Resolution: E-Contracting

Some of today’s dealerships opened their doors in a bygone era — selling horse-drawn carriages. Unfortunately, some dealers are collecting receivables at about the same pace as the horse and buggy era.

Today, we live in a tweet and text-message world. Failure to quickly collect vehicle receivables leaves many dealers in the frustrating and uncomfortable position of chasing cash every day.

Dealers need to collect at Internet speed, and the video points the way.

For more information, download our Cash Flow E-Contracting PDF.

Filed Under: Business Management, Sales / Leasing / Finance Tagged With: , , , , ,

Internet Conversions

January 7, 2011 by

Pain Point: Website Hits and Misses

Resolution: Internet Conversions

In baseball, a batter can’t just have a good-looking swing. He’s actually got to hit the ball. It’s the same with websites. It may look good. But what is its batting average? Is your site even getting to first base with potential customers? Is it striking out too much? And just as in baseball if a batter is not performing well, the manager makes adjustments. You’re the manager of your Internet team.

Watch the video for an explanation of why you should regularly check your website’s effectiveness.

For more information, download our Internet Conversions PDF.

Filed Under: Business Management, Featured Videos, Internet, Sales / Leasing / Finance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Contracts in Transit

January 7, 2011 by

Pain Point: Cash Flow Giving You a Sinking Feeling?

Resolution: Contracts in Transit

You’re making sales and showing a profit but the bank balance is close to zero or worse! If you’re in choppy financial waters, then somewhere in the store there’s a Bermuda triangle swallowing up cash and threatening to sink the dealership. As captains of the ship, dealers must locate the problem and chart a course to calmer waters.

Watch the video for info on one place to look, and how to navigate around the problem.

For more information, download our Cash Flow Contracts in Transit PDF.

Filed Under: Business Management, Sales / Leasing / Finance Tagged With: , , , , , ,

CRM

January 7, 2011 by

Pain Point: Boosting Be-Backs and Closing Ratios

Resolution: Good CRM

Dealers have lived the adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” But is your sales department giving up after the first try? Of course, it’s not your policy to give up. But sometimes practices and procedures, or the lack of them, produce the same result. Managers and employees need to know that the store’s success—and their jobs—depend on getting a second chance with people who didn’t buy on their first visit.

Watch the video for an explanation of why Customer Relationship Management is the way you “try, try again.”

For more information, download our CRM PDF.

Filed Under: Sales / Leasing / Finance, Service Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Used Vehicles Cash Flow

January 7, 2011 by

Pain Point: Is Your Cash Stuck in “Park”?

Resolution: Used-Vehicle Cash Flow

Running a dealership would be a lot easier if only your cash moved as fast the vehicles you sell. If only. Unfortunately, some of your cash is going nowhere fast. And some of it is on the fast track to depreciation. Where is it? Stuck in “park,” sitting on your used-car lot.

Used-vehicle sales helped many a dealer survive when new-car sales took a nose dive. But it only takes a few wrong turns for your used-vehicle inventory to put a significant dent in your cash flow.

Check out the video to see if you’re meeting NADA’s inventory guidelines.

For more information, download our Cash Flow Management and Vehicle Inventory PDF.

Filed Under: Business Management, Sales / Leasing / Finance Tagged With: , , , , ,

Risk-Based Pricing

January 7, 2011 by

Pain Point: Requirement for Credit Customer Notices

Resolution: Learning to comply with Risk-Based Pricing

Dealership F & I departments have a new federal rule they must comply with effective January 1, 2011. That’s when the new Risk Based Pricing Rule took effect. Congress mandated the rule when it passed the FACT Act in 2003.

The rule is designed to help customers understand the effect that their credit report has on the credit terms they are being offered. That sound simple enough but finding a way to implement the law’s objective in the real world proved to be far more difficult for the two agencies charged with writing the regulations: the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Trade Commission. NADA suggested the agencies find a manageable way for dealers to comply with the law. And they did.

Watch the “Dealer Deadline” video to learn more about dealership responsibilities under the new rule.

For more information, download our Risk-Based Pricing PDF.

Filed Under: Business Management, Featured Videos, Legal / Regulatory, Sales / Leasing / Finance Tagged With: , , , , , , ,