Charity + Super Bowl + Cars.com = a quick newsworthy post.

Cars.com has a cool charity promotion their running with their Super Bowl ad. Dealers are of course encourage to participate.

What’s it about?

Car.com will be giving the massive audience of Super Bowl XLVI the power to make a big difference in the lives of kids and young adults through its “Cars Cares” campaign.  During the Super Bowl this year, when the Cars.com commercial airs, viewers who use the popular Shazam App to tag the ad will earn $1.00 for one of seven charities in contention for a maximum $100,000 donation from the site.

How very generous of Cars.com.

The maximum $100,000 donation will be given to the charity which receives the most votes on the Cars.com Facebook page between January 26 and February 13.  Eligible organizations were selected for the work they do to drive confidence in kids.

Each organization has a unique focus on educating youth and providing programs and services that drive self-esteem, positive decision making and healthy behaviors

“It was important to us to identify organizations whose culture and values match our own and to give our community a voice in deciding which organization should be the recipient of our first Cars Cares donation.” - Mitch Golub

Votes can be cast daily through February 13, and the winning organization will be announced on Monday, February 20, 2012.

The charities are:

• Adopt-A-Classroom helps underfunded teachers by providing them with community partners and funding to purchase the tools, materials and supplies they need to help students learn as effectively as possible in today’s classrooms.
• Alliance for a Healthier Generation works to address one of our leading public health threats – childhood obesity. Through its nationwide efforts the Alliance works to positively affect places that make a difference to a child’s health: homes, schools, doctor’s offices and communities.
• Cameras For Kids Foundation brings the gift of photography to underprivileged teenagers living in foster facilities across the United States. By use of digital cameras, these teenagers build up confidence, self-esteem, artistic talent and gain a skill set by learning about the fundamentals of photography through workshops, photo shoots and Fine Art Photography Exhibits.
• Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) inspires children to be lifelong readers by delivering free books and literacy resources to underserved children from birth to age 8. Through the dedication of more than 400,000 volunteers nationwide, RIF motivates children to follow their dreams and achieve their full potential.
• SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) empowers teens to stand up for positive, healthy choices.  SADD students work to keep their peers safe and help them avoid making destructive decisions around underage drinking, drug use, risky and impaired driving, and teen violence and suicide.
• Scholarship America believes that every student deserves an opportunity to go to college regardless of their financial status, and since 1958 has awarded more than $2.7 billion to 1.8 million students across the country.
• VH1 Save the Music is a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music education programs in America’s public schools, and raising awareness about the importance of music as part of each child’s complete education. Since 1997, VH1 Save The Music has provided $48 million worth of new musical instruments, donated to more than 1,800 public schools in more than 100 cities around the country, impacting the lives of more than 1.8 million public school students.

So Sunday during Super Bowl XLVI, be sure to have your Shazam App loaded and ready!!

Cars.com Super Bowl Charity – You’re Encouraged to Participate! is a post from: Internet sales manager training

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DrivingSales Vendor Ratings CONTEST – The Winners are…

Last month we helped promote the DrivingSales vendor ratings CONTEST, so of course we would highlight the winners.

It was great to see a few DealerRefresh members in the winning circle. A quick Congratulations to our good friends Aaron Holland, Larry Whitson, and Jeff Collins for winning the Driving Sales weekly contest drawing and receiving a $100 Amazon gift card each!

But big winner of the MacBook Air is  Michael Baker from Antioch Auto Center! <– some juice for ya

Mike will be receiving a brand new, straight from the store, 11-inch MacBook Air. Mike, you’re going to love it! I’m typing out this post on my 11-inch MacBook Air. Be sure to check out this thread once you have that baby fired up for our members suggestions on what apps to get for your new MacBook Air.

The DrivingSales vendor ratings is catching on, as I quote Mike – “I have totally used your Vendor Ratings to look up other vendors and products that we might want to use”

The prizes and contests are one thing, and we have a lot of discussions here on DealerRefresh Forums about different vendors and services,  but it’s also great to have an additional organized place where dealers can see how other industry services stack up against each other in one place.

Thanks to all the DealerRefresh members that have helped contribute to the DrivingSales vendor ratings. Remember, you can rate your vendors all year long – once per quarter for each vendor. Each review makes the database more robust and better informs dealer
decisions.

Again, congratulations to Mike Baker as the grand prize winner of a brand new MacBook Air!

DrivingSales Vendor Ratings Contest Winners Are… is a post from: Internet sales manager training

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Happy Holidays from DealerRefresh

Here’s to a safe and joyous holiday season for you and yours. The year is about over and 2012 is right around the corner. What a year it’s been but, that’s for another post later next week…

We leave you with this Holiday Poem from one of our long time readers… (trust me you’ll want to read this)

2011 Night Before Christmas

‘Twas the night before Christmas
And the showroom was still,
Many cars were delivered
But the profit was nil.

Each deal earned the sales staff
A mini commission,
So most of them lived
At the town’s homeless mission.

Things used to be better,
They earned greater pay,
‘Twas before pricing “fairness”
Was put into play.

See, their dealer was sold
On the “New” way to sell,
(But as soon as that happened
Their gross profit fell.)

“If you sign up with us,
You’ll get leads near and far,
And we won’t charge a penny
If you don’t sell a car.”

“Transparent” and “open”
And “good for us all”
Were the buzzwords they used,
It meant “Profits must fall.”

“If you’ll give us access
To your sales information,
We’ll know what you’ve sold
And your month’s obligation.”

“Oh, and one other thing,
That we’ll need for our site
Is your rock bottom prices
So our bell curve is right.”

So the dealer said, “Sure,
We can sell ‘em real low,
Make it up with more volume,
How the cash, it will flow.”

So they dropped down to invoice,
Gave the holdback up too.
Threw the dealer cash in,
Just the “fair” thing to do.

And with each car they sold,
They went more in the hole,
And that “pay for sale” fee
Really took it’s own toll.

So this night before Christmas,
As the jingle bells chimed,
The dealer sat wondering
Why his losses still climbed.

“I’m moving more units
At all of my stores,
But with red ink like this,
I’ll soon close my doors.”

Then finally it hit him,
“My, I’ve been such a sap,
Fell hook, line and sinker
For this transparency crap.”

“I don’t need to publish
my net net net price
Just to bring in more business.
That was all bad advice.”

“It doesn’t make sense,
Why it’s nonsense to pay
Someone else just to give
All my profit away.”

“And to make matters worse,
the man said they will do
the same thing with my
Finance and insurance too.”

“Oh, this madness must stop,
We’re not Sam’s or Best Buy.
We’re relationship builders,
Not ‘Here’s your car, now*goodbye.’ “

“If I treat buyers fairly
and provide a “good” deal,
My great service and people
Will still have appeal.”

“If I lose a few deals
To the guy down the street,
I will sleep better knowing
My employees can eat.”

“I will cancel tomorrow,”
He said, smiling with joy.
“Let them go find some other
Industry to destroy.”

-Lightenup

Happy Holidays from DealerRefresh is a post from: Internet sales manager training

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We have a lot to be thankful for not the least of which is YOU, our DealerRefresh community members and readers.

I want to let each of you know I am thankful for all of you that contribute to DealerRefresh. I am thankful for Jeff and Alex providing such a great tool for all of us. Thankful for Uncle Joe’s wisdom and not afraid to call anyone out. – Eley Duke

Thank you Eley! Click here to join in on Eley’s thankful post.

We THANK EVERYONE for your support while hoping you have a blessed Thanksgiving Day as we look forward to the future with you.

Speaking of the future; as we’ve progressed over the years with a nice and steady organic growth, expect to see some great changes over the next few months. We have a lot of surprises in queue that will allow DealerRefresh to continue on as the TOP visited and most engaging community in the industry.

We’ve seen industry blogs, forums and publications come and go over the last 6+ years. Some come in and like to bloat about their numbers and members while others like flooding your inbox and placing industry experts on double secret probation. Others like to copy and paste articles from other publications. “Inspired, edited and revised from the original article” = lazy plagiarism for all the wrong reasons. And a select few are on a true mission to help dealers exceed with no ego behind their actions.

Alright, shame on me for taking what is supposed to be a Thankful tone and turning into a small rant.

Lets not also forget to thanks our current DealerRefresh sponsors. Their support and advertising is another reason why we have the funds and resources to continue on at the level we do. So PLEASE take a moment and not only click on their ad but take some time to visit their website and see what services they have to offer. You never know what new services they might be providing that could help you achieve some great results for 2012.

Turkey Coma? As I type this I believe I’m in and out of one myself. While you have some extra time sitting there on the couch reading this, check out what you may have missed on DealerRefresh over this busy holiday week..

What you may have missed here on the Blog

You Have an Evil Customer Sabotaging Your Dealership – Malinda Terreri, President of 1to1 News wrote a great article around the good and bad of email collection. Dealers need to be careful with alias email addresses such as  “Does Not Have” – DNH@a.com and “Would Not Give” WNG@1.com

New Version of Google Analytics Released – Google released their new version of Analytics. Several great additions like real time traffic monitoring.

Is WHAT You Stock a Marketing Decision? – Ed Books originally posted this in the forums and the conversation continues. Don’t miss out on this one!

Middle Management is Killing your Sales – Joe hits the nail on the head once again with this timeless post around middle management. This is example that Joe references is happening each and every day.

Google Enters Into The Automotive Lead Business – and change begins.

What you may have missed over in the Forums

What do Honda and Justin Bieber have in common? – A post about dealership email newsletters, and it’s getting good.

Why Would Anyone Post Helpful Hints to DealerRefresh? – Well, why would they?

Do you take your own photos? – A timeless thread that continues on with some great examples

Do you pay for an ILM & CRM tool? – Believe it or not, some dealers are still using a separate ILM and CRM. Are you?

Enjoy and have a great Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from DealerRefresh is a post from: Internet sales manager training

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Contact at Once Dealer Chat Contest: ONLY 4 DAYS LEFT TO ENTER!

Don’t forget – Contact At Once is holding a Chat Contest for dealers over in the DealerRefresh forums.

What are some of the proven ways you’ve found to turn a website ‘looker’ into an appointment or sale using chat?

How To Enter
Post your best piece of advice along with a chat transcript that demonstrates your technique over in the DealerRefresh forums  by Monday, November 21st.

The Prize
Five individuals will receive a $100 Starbucks Gift Card and everyone else who participates gets a $10 Starbucks Gift Card.  That’s a lot of caffeine!

Click here to get started!

Contact At Once Dealer Chat Contest – YOU WIN! is a post from: Internet sales manager training

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Wishing everyone a great 4th of July full of fun, cookouts and fireworks.

If the dealership is open today, enjoy and sell a few cars in-between eating burgers and hotdogs off of the grill – the general manager will be serving up at noon, around the side of the building.

The Dealership Grill

There’s no excuse for any dealership to NOT have a nice grill sitting on the side of the building. However I bet some of the worse grills have residency at dealerships across the US this 4th of July. And of course it’s rare we plan to use the grill until the day of…

What does your dealership grill look like?

Happy 4th of July is a post from: Internet sales manager training

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Rent cars from real people.

Not totally relevant to DealerRefresh, but here’s a neat concept I would have never thought of…

Rent a Vehicle from complete stranger by the day or hour with Getaround.com. Browse all sorts of cars shared by people in your neighborhood. Really!

Heck, you can earn some cash money with the service too.

Share your car and earn money while you’re not using it. Sharing your car just 15 hours per week can earn you an extra $350 each month.

Reserve your rental car using their iPhone app.  Don’t have an iPhone? You can do everything from our website, but you’ll need to meet the car owner to pick up the keys.

I don’t know about this one – very interesting concept but I can only imagine some of the people that would want to rent a car for a few hours…

I did find a cool 2010 Fusion Red Tesla Roadster to rent.

Head over to Getaround.com and find a car to rent for a few hours…

What car would you rent for a few hours??

Rent a Car From Someone Nearby with Getaround.com is a post from: Internet sales manager training

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Love him or hate him, no one can deny the tour d’force known at the moment as Charlie Sheen. Though he has brashly “beeped” his way through numerous media interviews and lost his job on Two and a Half Men, he has become an overnight sensation on Twitter. Now, you too can drink #tigersblood, live with #goddesses and #earnyourself as you read Sheen’s thoughtful posts online. But he isn’t just tweeting phrases, he’s adding video through Ustream in a webcast known as Sheen’s Korner (100 million views in two nights time), adding pictures through tweetpics and even advertising for an intern that can down tiger blood with the best of them.

Here’s the truly amazing thing about the entire circus, Sheen has skyrocketed to 2 million followers on Twitter in a week’s time. That’s two million people clamoring for his “wisdom.” While I don’t advocate for living like Charlie Sheen, I do advocate for marketing like him. Some things to note:

1. He doesn’t just tweet, he uses every tool at his disposal, video, pictures and more.
2. He’s using controversy to his advantage and redirecting the discussion based on his own ideas, not the media.
3. Even though he’s lost a prime time show, his popularity is brighter than ever based on his social media prowess.
4. Sheen has definitely created a brand around himself and is using it with lightening force.
5. He truly does drink tiger blood.

My guess is Sheen will come out unscathed and more in demand than ever. #U’vebeenwarned.

How the Hashtag Saved Charlie Sheen is a post from: Internet sales manager training

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A GONGRATS to Rob, Digital Sales & Marketing Director/Superstar for Marazzi Motors in Fort Myers, for hitting the cover of January edition of Digital Dealer Magazine. Rob is a regular contributor here on DealerRefresh and member of the DealerRefresh forums.

Rob has been profiled several times in several other publications including DealerAdvantage and of course here on DealerRefresh.

Follow Rob on twitter @robfontano

Rob Fontano – Congratulations on the Cover Story for Digital Dealer Magazine is a post from: Internet sales manager training

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Here’s to a Joyous holiday season from everyone here at DealerRefresh to you.

A new year is right around the corner as are many changes for DealerRefresh in 2011 – so keep your eyes open, keep reading and if you have yet to become part of the dealerrefresh forum community, do it now before you miss out.

If, for any reason you need a break from all the festive food and family in-laws, dig into the blog archives or jump over into the dealer forums and join in on a discussion.

See you in 2011!

Happy Holidays from DealerRefresh is a post from: Internet sales manager training

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Share the wealth!