Mark Gilbert

Which dealership do you think will sell more cars? In 2025, you can either: 1. Keep spending to create interest with outdated methods like Predictive, In-Market, and Equity Mining lists. (80% THOSE PROSPECTS HAVE ZERO INTEREST OR INTENT) 2. Speak directly, one-to-one, with real customers who have immediate needs with Virtual Showroom. (100% OF THESE IDENTFIIED CUSTOMERS ARE ACTUALLY SHOPPING NOW) Consider this another way. Who's the better "up" the person at the supermarket in produce or the one on your lot? Who would you demand your salesperson greet? Why?

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🔍 Regularly Assessing Your Dealership’s Business Development Processes is Essential In the fast-paced world of automotive retail, standing still means falling behind. Completing a comprehensive assessment of your Business Development processes isn’t just a check-the-box activity—it’s a proactive step toward sustainable growth. 1. Market Dynamics Shift Constantly: The automotive industry is evolving faster than ever, with new customer expectations, technologies, and digital engagement channels emerging regularly. By assessing your BDC processes, you can ensure that your team is equipped to meet these changes head-on. 2. Improved Efficiency and ROI: By identifying bottlenecks, duplications, or outdated practices, dealerships can streamline workflows, maximize team output, and boost the overall return on investment (ROI) for BDC efforts. 3. Enhanced Customer Experience: A dealership’s BDC is often the first touchpoint for many customers. An effective, well-oiled process ensures each interaction leaves a lasting positive impression and leads to higher conversion rates. 4. Data-Driven Decisions: Routine assessments allow you to keep metrics front and center. Are you tracking the right KPIs? Are your benchmarks aligning with industry standards? Regular reviews provide a pulse on what’s working and what needs adjustment. How Often Should This Be Done? To keep your processes sharp, aim for a quarterly BDC assessment. This frequency ensures you’re responsive to seasonal trends, market shifts, and the continuous evolution in customer behavior. Invest in these regular assessments, and you’re investing in the resilience, adaptability, and success of your dealership. We provide on site assessments for both fixed ops and variable ops. Contact me directly to find out more. #AutomotiveIndustry #DealershipSuccess #BDC #BusinessDevelopment #CustomerExperience #AutomotiveSales #ProcessImprovement #CustomerEngagement #DealershipGrowth #AutomotiveTrends #SalesStrategy #Benchmarking #DigitalTransformation #AutoSales

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Automotive Risk Management Partners Brings 40 years' auto retail and compliance experience to help dealers protect themselves and their customers.

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Every automotive sales manager works their butt off to build a top-selling team, right? Yet no one is teaching dealership managers how to train their salespeople to perfection...  That's why you need to attend the Train The Trainer workshop in Dallas, TX on September 16-17th! Do training meetings with your salespeople feel unproductive? Maybe your outline, preparation, and motivation strategies could be better? At this 2-day interactive, powerhouse workshop, you'll learn: ✅How to evaluate your sales team's training needs ✅Important training mistakes to avoid ✅Activities to track for results ✅Accurate goals and measurements  ✅Best practices to prepare, motivate, and coach your team ✅So. Much. More. Attend this workshop to get fired up and be the best trainer for your dealership! Click the link or text us at (817) 479-5312 to reserve your spot. 🔥 https://lnkd.in/gFVbQPDu

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What is your biggest pain point in the dealership? High Interest Rates Aging Inventory Training CSI scores PVR Etc. We have a team of dedicated individuals who turn YOUR goals into OUR responsibility. Let's talk. #ads #sales #auto #finance #carsales #automotive #rv

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Attention Dealer Partners, Groups, Owners and GM's: Dealerships Challenge: The biggest challenges dealers have are finding ways to sell and service more with the team you have. You must hire and train salespeople, BDC, F&I, Technicians, Service Advisors, Management, etc. The question I have always had when I was in retail was after they're trained; how do I know if my team is helping me or hurting my business? It is dangerous to assume the problem is your staff. Turnover is costly. Who can tell me and give me the perspective I need to make the most of every opportunity? Answer: Your CUSTOMERS - Are you listening? Are you verifying that your team is responding quickly, treating customers well and following up properly? Are you communicating all customer interactions and looking at each interaction as an opportunity to sell more and build trust and relationships with your customers? Your customers will let you know! Imagine if you had the ability to listen to your customers and your teams at scale? I know it sounds hard to believe but we have been working on this for our dealers for 4 years now and are finally able to provide this insight when it comes to call, email and text replies in a way that was thought impossible just two years ago. Think of Google search and ChatGPT for your Dealership interactions. That's the Strolid Portal Let me know if you'd like to learn more. #welovetohelpdealers #wearecarguys #getstrolid #strolidportal #customerinsights #sellmore #Strolidgpt #strolidsearch #strolidsignals #nevermiss #vcon #conserver #conversationaldata

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What is your daily holding cost for Pre-owned and New inventory? Probably on the average of $60 - $100 per day. Time is money and each day a vehicle sits in your recon or PDI process, it costs you CASH. For over 14 years, Rapid Recon has helped dealers across the globe reduce the CASH DRAIN by driving vehicles to the front line FASTER. If you are taking 6-10 days to get vehicles to your front line, that's too slow. If you feel the need for speed, give us 30 minutes to show you why Rapid Recon is the King of Speed! Give me a call or text to 757.685.2916. We have value added solutions for both Preowned Recon and New Vehicle PDI. https://lnkd.in/d9_4RN4

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Interesting... Yesterday I had a conversation with a good friend of mine and we were talking about compliance. Moreso cellphones within the dealership. Depending on the region to which you operate shared information could be an extreme liability to the dealership. How many employees have taken a picture of a driver's license or have consumer information accessible to their cells? What about compliance laws for texting and emails? We live in a cloud based era, its everywhere and the financial implications are huge. This is why I am such an advocate for Company owned cells. Every single interaction involving a company should be through this and this device only. Having anything transmitted elsewhere you are just asking for a concern. Look as it as insurance, data privacy and security all wrapped up into one. The costs are minimal as are the returns with the liabilities almost completely being reduced. The example below is just one simple reason how this information could get on a personal phone.

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Any automotive dealers want to add this kind of profit while saving these kinds of dollars in tire claims? Or agents want to show they can make their dealers this kind of money? Contact me so I can show you how PermaSeal will do just that.

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Dealers who are killing it right now are ones that are turning their inventory quickly ♻️ You used to be able to get away with holding onto inventory 🗓️ Now we must get back to proper inventory management ⏰ GWC Warranty (an APCO Holdings brand) #automotive #automotiveindustry #automotivesoftware #dealership #dealerships #dealersolutions #leadership #leader #bell2bell #strategy️ #data #warranty

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Car shoppers research your dealership long before stepping foot into your showroom... So Cal is an aggressive automotive landscape with some of the nation's largest dealers with huge ad budgets competing for the attention of car shoppers. How does a small Ford dealer in the Inland Empire compete against the big boys? By realizing that car shoppers are searching for where to have their vehicle serviced after the purchase as much as where to get a great deal and asking for a review with EVERY repair order that is closed in their service department that's how! With over 8300 reviews, 90% percent being 4 and 5 stars, their autorepair-review site consistently shows up on page one for local Ford dealer search and gives this dealer a strong first impression to potential new car buyers as well as service customers. Want to know more? Lets talk...

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Once again I see the wisdom... Said with absolute SARCASM... Brett... I have a hard truth for you... You are a hypocrite. PLAIN & SIMPLE. Dealers like Vendors are in business for one reason and one reason only... To generate revenue. Both are trying to obtain this by offering a product or service to a prospective client base while maintaining an acceptable margin to conduct said business. This is not rocket science. Now... You say Dealers don't need another tool they need staff/recruitment. The question to me is why do say that. Let's analyse that first before we move on to the other parts of your statement. If you need staff there is a challenge with the leadership not the team. It's not that they cannot complete the tasks, manage the opportunities or convert. It's deeper than that. Did you hire the right people, set reasonable expectations, deliver on a payplan, create a culture of stability and growth? More often than not its the latter, not the former. The great dealers out there have people crossing the country to work for them. They have near zero turnover and net growth year in year out. Recruitment is NOT a challenge. If you have a challenge in this department what does it say about you? As for the statement about vendors... Want my attention... Give it to me for free, along with 24/7 support and a worthy ROI. Additionally don't call me, DM me or any other means of contact. Do you actually hear yourself? Maybe every customer at the Sutherlin Group of Dealerships should demand a free trial period of 90 days, with 24/7 service, weekly car washes, daily depreciation appraisals, and a guarantee that their immeasurable value needs to be met or you'll take the vehicle back. Add to this that you're team cannot sollicite them in any mean or manner. That wouldn't happen... So yes... You are a hypocrite. My advice to you is look long and deep into that mirror. Want the world to change? Start the change from within... As a good friend of mine has trademarked... "The truth only hurts when it should".

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Read the 2025 RV Dealer Industry Trends Report now: https://lnkd.in/dzVBMsf This year’s report is packed with exclusive data and insights from top dealers and industry experts, guiding you through the “uncharted territories” of RV dealership management in 2025. Inside the Report: ✨ Data as Your Greatest Resource – Leverage your DMS data to boost efficiency and make strategic decisions. ✨ The Digital Dealership – Embrace automation to streamline operations and set up for long-term success. ✨ Hidden Revenue Sources – Identify new revenue streams beyond unit sales to fuel growth. ✨ Cybersecurity & Continuity – Protect your dealership from disruptions and keep customer satisfaction high. Don’t miss out on these essential insights! Read the report and start charting your course to success in 2025. #RVDealers #DealershipTrends #RVTrends

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Check out this September’s OEM Insider article titled, Building Your Dealership Investment Team. This month’s article reviews potential sources of capital needed to purchase a new car dealership. Each month, I provide information to help dealer candidates prep for OEM approval. Download the article here: https://lnkd.in/gD6hpQX7

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Real-time data, 160+ micro territory specifics, condition insights, & configured business model. Time to trade up from your 90's trade tool ACV Auctions ACV MAX ClearCar

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#CoxAutomotive & #Vinsolutions Reviews Dealer Synergy & Bradley On Demand 🔥 Dealers, Managers & Automotive Sales Professionals, #CRM is one of the most important aspects of your entire Dealership and 92% of Dealer’s CRMs are broken, not set up correctly, not utilized correctly and have antiquated processes and content 😱 Let me know if you would like a FREE CRM Audit 🤔

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