Vehicle shopping is getting more challenging than ever. The Internet is both a source of information and confusion. There are many so called “experts” sharing tips with consumers but rather than inform they often only serve to scare the public rather than educate them about the auto buying process. In a car-buying transaction the salesman [...]

Consumers are taking control online.  This is nothing new to most of us in auto retailing. Over the last 12 years the average consumer can glean extensive information, reviews, pricing, availability and ownership history on just about any product you can think of.   Since autos are a major purchase item we have gotten extensive scrutiny [...]

You’ve all seen the annual “Trust” surveys showing auto sales as one of the least trustworthy professions. The good news is we are moving up the ladder. The bad news is we, as Americans, have lost trust in many professions and institutions. We have lost trust in our politicians, our financial institutions, our medical providers [...]

Over the last few years I have been fortunate to meet and speak with hundreds of Internet Sales Managers from new car dealerships all over the country. Without an exception they all loved what they were doing and were overly optimistic about the future of the Internet and how it could better serve their customers. [...]

Online social networks are increasingly providing an impact on Internet users in North America. Not only are consumers flocking to these sites, but they are getting recognition from businesses too.  This past October Microsoft Corporation invested $240 million (US) for less than a 2 percent stake in Facebook.com. That investment in the small, privately owned [...]

Bill would like to be your friend, Carla wants to be a connection, Ralph wants you to join his group, Phil wants to invite you to his blog show, Jeff invites you to subscribe to his RSS feed! This is the lingo of online social networking, and if I get one more invitation to recommend [...]

People do business with people they trust. A customer on the dealer’s lot meets the sales associate and either feels comfortable with them or doesn’t. If the customer trusts the sales associate the chances of a sale go way up. It’s that simple. So, how do you convey a message of trust on a web [...]