Featured Articles - June 2009

• - 8 ratings

  License Plate Recognition Technology Transforms Ability to Locate Skips  - Must Read

  

  Peter Salinas

  Buy here-pay here dealers know that the one type of loss that hurts the bottom line the most is the skip. While delinquencies and repossessions stifle cash flow, it’s the vehicle you cannot locate to put back on the lot or liquidate that costs them the most. Often, these vehicles remain in the same or nearby communities, but the consumer has moved, refuses to answer calls, contact the store or is purposefully concealing the vehicle. Sometimes the vehicle leaves the state.

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• - 33 ratings

  Open Letter to America from a Chrysler Dealer  - Must Read

  

  Industry Releases

  May 16, 2009

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• - 10 ratings

  Technological Innovations Drive Finance Express  - Must Read

  

  Peter Salinas

  Last month Leedom Group announced its two latest financial products, ACH Collector and the Leedom Convenient World Prepaid Visa Card, are now tightly integrated with Finance Express (FEX), a Web-based provider of dealer management software and technology solutions for auto dealerships.

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• - 17 ratings

  We Live in Interesting Times, Don’t We?  - Must Read

  

  Chuck Bonanno

  To say there is a lot going on in the world is the understatement of the century. It is amazing to watch world, national and local news and events. Our world is moving and changing so fast, it is dizzying. Trying to figure it all out, make it make sense, understand what each event means to you and your business is difficult, if not impossible.

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• - 4 ratings

  Find Ways to Save on the Internet  - Must Read

  

  Jennifer Finlay

  From selling to buying, researching, wholesale and retail, where would we be without the Internet? It makes our businesses more efficient by allowing us to do things faster than ever before. Many of us access the Web via a handheld PDA or laptop. The Internet keeps us linked to our business at all times, as well as the competition. Even the smallest dealers now have Web sites fully equipped with credit applications, wish lists, service bulletins and advice, and a variety of other lead potential. But my question for buy here-pay here dealers is this, “Once you make the sale, how do you insure that you will get paid?”

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• - 2 ratings

  Open Invitation to Former Franchisees  - Must Read

  

  Chris Leedom

  It’s been a whirlwind the past few weeks. My last two Twenty Group meetings have taken me to Costa Rica and Kiawah Island, S.C.; I’ve had LFS meetings in Chicago and Utah; and I’ve been up to our AutoMaxx stores in Georgia several times. Oh, by the way, I married Lisa Favitta (now Mrs. Leedom) last week, and shared an incredible wedding with family and friends. Lisa and I would like to publicly thank the hundreds of people from throughout our industry for their cards, e-mails and letters of congratulations. Your kind wishes mean a lot to us, as we prepare for an incredible around-the-world honeymoon. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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• - 2 ratings

  Today Not Like Tomorrow or Yesterday  - Must Read

  

  Dr James Garvin

  Okay, we’re through tax season, past Easter, and the Memorial Day Weekend has come and gone, so now what? Well, we are getting ready to head into the summer season, which is traditionally a slower time in our industry. However, we may want to start re-thinking that perspective. The wrenching convulsions of the economic upheaval appear to be settling, and outside of the franchise dealers getting solidly kicked in the side, most of the ugly economic news, and fallout, has sort of settled in and been absorbed. Brief note here, that doesn’t mean other bad news isn’t out there, but the biggest glut of it has come and gone.

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• - 3 ratings

  Be Sure to Market the Team of ‘Me’  - Must Read

  

  A.J. Ager

  Dealer’s around the country are working hard to take advantage of the networking Web sites, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube excuse to talk to people you haven’t seen in years.

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• - 2 ratings

  Consumer Interest in GM, Chrysler Remains High Despite Bankruptcy Filings  - Must Read

  

  Industry Releases

  Despite Chrysler’s bankruptcy challenges and General Motors Corp. filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, consumer interest in Chrysler and GM cars has remained steady over the past year on automotive shopping site Cars.com.

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• - 2 ratings

  Smoothing Out the Internet Bumps  - Must Read

  

  Alex Kurkin

  While the Internet started off simply as a source of what most would consider too much information for consumers and better equipping them to negotiate a transaction, it has now become more than

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• - 3 ratings

  Tweet this on Twitter! What?

  

  Peter Salinas

  I admit it. I Tweet.

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• - 2 ratings

  E-tail to Retail, Selling on the Internet

  

  George Dans

  Okay, you are the lead genius and you figured out how to get the Internet lead in so now how do you sell them? Do you just meet them, bring them into your office, write them up and attempt to make a profit? How many times have you heard that you can’t make money off an Internet customer? You can, but it’s going to be hard if you shortcut the selling process.

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• - 4 ratings

  Rapping Man-Baby in Diaper

  

  Nick Ferri

  Dealer: “I have a Web site. I don’t need to advertise.”

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• - 6 ratings

  A Pendulum Might Be Swinging

  

  Thomas Hudson

  I’ve been at this legal stuff since 1973, long enough to have seen several cycles of de-regulation, under-regulation and over-regulation. We’ve enjoyed a pretty good run of de-regulation and under-regulation. That period is slamming to an abrupt halt.

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• - 4 ratings

  21 Traits of a High-Performance Culture

  

  Dave Anderson

  High-performance business cultures emerge by design not by accident. They are created with intent. Following is a list of 21 traits by which to measure your own culture. Make note of which listed traits are inherent in your organization and celebrate and reward them. Pay particularly close attention to where you fall short and assemble a plan to attack these deficiencies. Building and sustaining a high-performance business culture is not a destination thing, it is a daily thing. You should never expect to “arrive” at an optimal destination. Instead, understand that you are engaged in a long-term work that will challenge you, frustrate you, stretch you and ultimately fulfill you.

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• - 4 ratings

  The Company You Keep

  

  Emily Beck

  So, how can you land yourself on your state attorney general’s radar? Here’s an example.

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• - 3 ratings

  You Have a Web Site. Now What?

  

  Mauricio Acevedo

  Standing out as an automotive retail dealership is harder every day. One of the newest ways of accomplishing this is by advertising on the Internet. Every DMS company does the virtually the same thing as far as providing an easy-to-use dealership Web site. Most sites are created automatically and manage inventory through the DMS inventory module itself, which makes managing the Web site easy to use for the beginner.

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