Practical articles for dealership teams on the service drive, the sales floor and in the F&I office.
327 articles
Sales
Who needs an Evidence Manual? Everyone! Salespeople, Service Advisors, Managers, OEM Field Representatives ... as they all have valuable customer touch points. Jonathan Overton (@urduecksalesguy) of…
Ted Ings4 min read
F&I
Like a golf swing isn’t complete once you hit the ball, the F&I advisor’s involvement requires a follow through. The contracts are submitted and the deal is funded. For successful dealerships, the…
Ted Ings2 min read
Sales
Bear with me for a few moments and let me show you some simple steps to achieving your dreams and closing the deal of a lifetime. For the past 30 years or so, my life has been dedicated to helping…
Ted Ings6 min read
Service Drive
Fully autonomous cars that whiz passengers from destination to destination aren’t here, yet. But, already, there are advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) that take duties from the human behind…
Ted Ings4 min read
Sales
If you spent merely fifteen extra minutes each day gaining one new sales idea or sharpening a sales skill, within a few years you would become an industry leader. Did you know that? It’s the premise…
CPI2 min read
Customer Experience
Every year, J.D. Power ranks manufacturers according to customer experiences in the service department. In the most recent U.S. Customer Service Index Study, the top performers in the mass-market…
CPI2 min read
F&I
In each deal, the least amount of time spent is with the customer, but it’s definitely the most critical stage. The fourth phase in the financial services process the customer interaction, and the…
CPI2 min read
Technology
In the past, shops located in the middle of the country could go years without seeing a Toyota Prius or Honda Insight. But things have changed, and hybrid vehicles are no longer relegated to the…
Ted Ings3 min read
Leadership
The Power of Encouragement. “People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going faster and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.” In the…
CPI1 min read
Sales
Are Your Sales Meetings a Snooze? Just like the power nap, a "power meeting" can have the same positive effects on your sales consultants. Knowing that the traditional Saturday morning meeting can be…
Ted Ings4 min read
Service Drive
Across the United States, there’s a technician shortage. From New York City to Los Angeles, Fargo to Albuquerque, dealerships are scrambling to fill empty workbenches with experienced technicians…
CPI2 min read
BDC and Marketing
Just like any other vendor, your OEM is continuously asking you to sign up for marketing programs through their third-party firms. Before you do take the time to sign up for one of their many…
Ted Ings4 min read
Service Drive
Flat rate, the pay scale where technicians are paid by the job, has been the industry standard for many years. Most shops choose the system as opposed to compensating their technicians hourly. But are…
Ted Ings3 min read
F&I
An important role in the financial services process falls squarely on the sales consultant’s shoulders. The third phase is the transition between the sales and F&I departments. They are tricky waters…
CPI3 min read
BDC and Marketing
Purchasing a vehicle is often the second largest purchase a customer makes in their lifetime. Yet on the dealership level, we tend to become numb to it as if it were a simple, transactional purchase…
Ted Ings4 min read
Sales
“You’re selling enough accessories,” said no OEM ever. There’s always a push to increase accessory sales from district parts managers. It’s a booming industry on the aftermarket side, and OEMs want to…
CPI2 min read
Sales
General Motors announced Monday that it planned to idle five car factories in North America and cut roughly 14,000 jobs in a bid to trim costs. Spurred by low gasoline prices, Americans are snapping…
CPI2 min read
BDC and Marketing
In any type of retail business, whether it be automotive or fast food, employees are told the customer is always right. Well, today, I’m here to tell you that simply isn’t true. There are many…
Ted Ings4 min read
BDC and Marketing
Dealers want to convert their leads better. That’s according to the 2018 State of Automotive Marketing Report published by 9Clouds. Of more than one hundred dealers surveyed for the report, the number…
Ted Ings2 min read
Industry Leaders
When was the last time you read a book on organizational leadership or culture change? Are you still operating your business on strategies that we’re employed when your grandfather owned the…
CPI3 min read
BDC and Marketing
“Good Luck!” We hear it all the time. It’s a phrase used to wish people well in their efforts. But there’s another way to look at luck that may help you approach success more effectively. Maybe you’ve…
CPI2 min read
People
The marked inequity between men and women in automotive has been a far-reaching topic. CPI scratched the surface in a previous article, Where Are All the Women in Automotive? With less than a quarter…
CPI3 min read
Sales
You do not need to pull cars out of a vending machine to offer a world-class experience that is in alignment with today’s buyer. There are several other solutions within reach on the dealer level that…
CPI6 min read
F&I
Before the customer sits with the financial services advisor, remember, the role has changed, the deal needs to be worked up. It’s the job of the sales manager and/or the financial services advisor to…
CPI3 min read