Auto News

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are more digital opportunities for dealers and customers than ever before. Car buyers want to get as much of the shopping experience and transaction process done at home before they head to the dealership. In order to capitalize on these digital opportunities, Sean Gardner, instructor and trainer for the Joe Verde Group, says salespeople need to have the right skills and processes to sell the customer a car however they want to...

With all of the digital tools at customers’ disposal, dealers are seeing an influx of leads as more consumers pursue online transactions. However, not all of those leads are high quality. Here today to discuss how dealers can best identify the quality leads that come in is Kevin LeSage, director of digital marketing of Autotrader. According to Kevin, right now dealers are seeing fewer 'tire-kickers.' Close ratios are increasing and overall, the shopper is more serious about buying a vehicle....

General Motors’ chief financial officer Dhivya Suryadevara has left the automaker for an executive role at Stripe, according to a press release on August 11th. The global technology company for processing online payments has been acquiring human capital in recent months that includes Mike Clayville from Amazon Web Services and Trish Wash out of Voya Financial. Suryadevara enters Stripe as the CFO. In the Stripe press release, Dhivya Suryadevara said, “I’m very excited to join Stripe at a pivotal time...

This week, one of our viewers sent in the question: What’s the best advice I can give a salesperson just starting out in the business, who has never been in the car business? Dave Anderson, leadership expert and President of LearnToLead, says it's tricky because new employees hear a lot of advice from many different voices. Whenever a person starts in a new industry, there is a tendency they'll want to fit in immediately. Especially, when it comes to the younger...

As one of the earliest hotspots of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., the state of California adopted some of the strictest business regulations and guidelines in hopes of quickly curtailing the spread of the virus. Dealers like Hilary Haron, owner of Haron Motor Sales in Fresno California, had to hastily adapt to a whole new way of conducting business while trying to keep her employees and customers safe.  After a very quiet March and April, Haron sales associates were...

There’s a lot to look forward to when it comes to fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) like safer roads, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, less traffic, and more time for riders, to name a few. However, while we are on our way towards that future, we aren’t quite there yet, as a new AAA research report makes clear. The report looked at how well active driving assistance systems (ADAS) perform in real-life road tests. What they found was not encouraging for...

Customer loyalty is the foundation for any successful sales and marketing strategy at your dealership. The Pareto Principle, a widely cited stat, confirms this as it states that 80 percent of your profits come from 20 percent of your customers.  It is in your dealership's best interest to focus on developing car buyers into customers that come back. However, this practice is easier said than done.  There are many factors at play, especially today. From having to create messaging for multiple...

Last Thursday evening, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio made some controversial statements in a press conference regarding whether New Yorkers should purchase or own vehicles in city limits. When the topic of mass transit during the COVID-19 pandemic came up, de Blasio told reporters, "cars are the past, the future is going to be mass transit, biking, walking…I’m never going to own a car again, I can tell you that much." He later admitted, "People are concerned...

Unifying your team under a strong company culture and value system is crucial to building a successful, functioning business. This means, employees today need encouragement and empathy in order to thrive and be motivated. Here to explore this further is Dr. Paul White, business psychologist, best-selling author of “The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace”, and president of Appreciation at Work. "Yes, we need to motivate ourselves, there's no doubt about that, but also, people who succeed tend to...

According to NADA Data 2019, revenue in dealership service departments is steadily growing statistic. Between 2013 and 2019, dealerships’ total service and parts sales have increased from $42.3 billion to $62.5 billion US. The average customer-pay repair order sits at $311. Two out of three car owners find it increasingly difficult to find a trusted mechanic for their cars, citing ‘recommending unnecessary services’ and ‘overcharging for services’ as the top two reasons for their mistrust. However, there seems to be...