CHECK OUT OUR DAILY NEWSCAST ON CBTNEWS.COM
CAR BIZ TODAY The Official News Source of The Retail Automotive Industry
October 2014
ISSUE 8
Entire contents ©2014 Car Biz Today. All Rights Reserved.
THE POWER
THE NATION’S LEADER IN CPO SALES OF TWO CONTINUES TO MAKE BOLD MOVES Before letting that prospect walk out the door without buying a car from you, consider partnering with another salesperson – or your sales manager – to help you close the deal. Having a selling partner can increase your dealership’s profits, not to mention your paycheck. Joe Verde offers practical advice on selecting a partner and guidelines to make it a win-winwin proposition.
JOE VERDE ...see PAGE 24
MAKING THE RIGHT TRAINING
DECISION JEFF COWAN ...see PAGE 32
SELLING TO THE
EVOLVED CONSUMER BILL WITTENMYER
Ricart Automotive has been dealing for more than 61 years, and has enjoyed its share of years as a top dealer for its original franchise brand. Owners Rhett and Fred Ricart built on the legacy left by their father Paul Ricart Sr. Through the years, the Columbus, Ohio, dealership has gone from a small Ford franchise to a thriving 24-store auto group, and now back to a single-site mega auto group. Located on an enormous 67-acre site, the dealership operates six new car franchises and The Used Car Factory, one of the largest pre-owned dealers in the country. General Manager Rick Ricart, Fred’s son, has taken on most of the daily operations of the group, and is incorporating some creative and innovative ideas to push Ricart to the next level. Reducing the number of leads the dealership generates (you read that right) is one reason they have increased their sales every month for the past two years, according to Rick. Having the service department and preowned department operate as one unit is another brainchild of the younger Ricart. Rick discusses his family’s history in retail automotive, his following in the footsteps of his grandfather, father and uncle, and the dealership’s reluctant entry into the pre-owned market. ...see PAGE 20
Rick Ricart, General Manager
...see PAGE 18
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 1459 Pewaukee, WI
INSPECT WHAT YOU
DATA WORTH PROTECTING
EXPECT
SALLY WHITESELL
CBT NEWS 5 Concourse Parkway Suite 100 Atlanta, GA 30328
Steve Cottrell, founder
Companies provide training for their employees for a reason – to create consistent processes and procedures. Consistency and quality are what keep customers coming back. Your dealership should be no different. Sally Whitesell explains why training employees and then setting up accountability processes is vital to your company’s growth and customer satisfaction index.
With the heightened concern over data security, computer hacking and privacy concerns, it’s more important than ever for dealerships to protect their data. But Steve Cottrell of DealerVault says there’s another reason dealers should take control of their data. They run the risk of losing proprietary information by allowing vendors unlimited access to their data.
...see PAGE 34
...see PAGE 16
RIGHT DATA RIGHT + DATA + PowerDealer PowerDealer : Know the: Know math the math RIGHT NOW RIGHT = NOW = Demo PowerDealer Demo PowerDealer at ® today ® today at jdpower.com/powerdealer jdpower.com/powerdealer RIGHT RESULTS RIGHT RESULTS JDPPowerDealer_OnlineAd2_7inby1in.indd JDPPowerDealer_OnlineAd2_7inby1in.indd 1 1
9/18/14 1:36 PM