By Frank Peterson I started my career in sales, spending over 13 years at Mobil Oil Corporation, before opening my own business. I know, personally, the importance of hitting quarterly and annual sales goals and turning a profit. But I also learned how important it is to plan for the long haul. In fact, it was that long term planning ...
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Make the most of customers’ micro-moments
By Ezequiel Arredondo Have you noticed in the last year how we seem to use our phones and other digital devices much more frequently? Last year’s surge in digital usage has resulted in our digital interactions becoming more fragmented and sporadic. But did you know that many of these seemingly meaningless interactions are opportunities to connect with motivated buyers? These ...
Read More »The Power of 20
By Myril Shaw As a provider of F&I and Compliance excellence, we are always looking to make the best better. As part of that quest for continual improvement, we get excited when we find dealers who are hungry for growth. We find them most often in 20 Groups. Full disclosure here before we go any further. We do not facilitate 20 Groups. ...
Read More »Winners do quit. Here’s when.
By Mark Overbye Want to stock up on Virgin Cola? Gone. How about buying some Virgin Vodka? Also long gone. Care to purchase an automobile from Internet retailer Virgin Cars? Shuttered in 2005. Perhaps you want to book a flight on Virgin America Airlines? Can't do it. And you get the idea. Super entrepreneur Richard Branson has started over 100 companies. And he’s ...
Read More »Want to strengthen your customer service? Use social media
By Ezequiel Arredondo We’ve said it before, and we’ll gladly say it again: Shoppers contact your dealership to shop for boat models, but they stay for the customer service. As the buying process becomes increasingly digital, how does this impact dealers’ approach to serving their customers? It turns out consumers have an increased expectation for boat dealers to provide digital ...
Read More »Compliance is not a manual – not even a Red Flags Manual
By Myril Shaw "We need to make sure our store meets compliance standards, we need a Red Flags Manual." Well, unfortunately, having a Red Flags Manual does NOT make a store compliant. In fact, it doesn't even, by itself, demonstrate a "good-faith" effort to address compliance issues. So why does any of this matter? Nearly 60 million Americans have been impacted by identity ...
Read More »Create better customer connections through emotional marketing
By Ezequiel Arredondo The term “emotional marketing” does not do justice to the persuasive power that this marketing tactic grants your dealership. While it may sound very heartfelt—and it certainly can be, if that’s your goal—emotional marketing pertains to any type of persuasive messaging that’s used to tap into people’s emotions and form a connection. Over the years, studies have ...
Read More »A Culture Success Story
By Bill Yeargin If you look up Culture Warrior in the dictionary, next to it you will see a picture of Paul Singer. Paul is the president of Centurion and Supreme Boats and has led an incredible transformation of his company. Centurion and Supreme are both boating brands with esteemed histories. Centurion has been an innovator for decades and was ...
Read More »Open Letter to President Biden
By Bill Yeargin Dear President Biden, You have a tough job and get a lot of advice. I hope you don’t mind me sharing some thoughts: COVID-19 – I know this is your Administration’s top priority, but I want to encourage you to do all you can to get the vaccines distributed. We are all ready to get back to ...
Read More »Are you appealing to the “right” brain with your sales and marketing?
By David Gee Our audiences today are time starved and in control as never before, and we must work smarter to reach them, whatever it is we are "selling." And bombarding them with large amounts of infill and information is not the path to move, persuade, convince – and sell. Research in neuroscience tells us that reasons lead to conclusions, while emotions lead to ...
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