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Autocorp's Blog offers digital retail, marketing, technology and sales strategies for automotive dealers.
Volkswagen to Build its First Overseas Battery Manufacturing Plant in Ontario
Marketing

Volkswagen to Build its First Overseas Battery Manufacturing Plant in Ontario

Volkswagen has announced that it has selected Ontario as the location for its first overseas battery manufacturing plant. This new plant will play a key role in Volkswagen's plan to shift towards electric vehicles, as it will produce batteries for their upcoming electric models.

The Keys to Becoming a Top Sales Producer
Marketing

The Keys to Becoming a Top Sales Producer

For decades, the motto of the automotive industry has been one of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Then we were hit by the pandemic and the industry had to adapt in a major way in order to survive. The result of this was dealers were forced to create a digital retail process. This also meant salespeople had to change how they operate on a daily basis and adapt to this new digital retail environment.

11 Tips to Sell More Electric Vehicles
Dealership

11 Tips to Sell More Electric Vehicles

Canadian drivers are increasingly choosing electric vehicles as a means to save money on gas and lessen their environmental effects. As a car dealer, this gives you a chance to sell more electric vehicles (EVs) and possibly turn them into one of your dealership's main sales focuses.

5 Ways to Maximize Your CRM Opportunities
Dealership

5 Ways to Maximize Your CRM Opportunities

Your customer relationship management (CRM) software is arguably your most important dealership tool. A good CRM software encompasses everything from marketing, lead nurturing, customer relationship building and more. It’s also an amazing tool for tracking your employee's performance and maintaining contact with both customers after a purchase and service customers.

FAQ About EV Batteries Your Team Should Know
Dealership

FAQ About EV Batteries Your Team Should Know

Electric vehicle (EV) sales are on the rise in Canada and we're seeing more and more manufacturers put a focus on releasing new electric vehicle models. One of the most common questions consumers have about buying an EV is regarding electric vehicle batteries. EV batteries, as opposed to conventional car batteries, are made to store and discharge enormous amounts of electricity.

How To Be a Leader at Your Dealership
Dealership

How To Be a Leader at Your Dealership

In order for any car dealership to be successful, it needs to have good leadership. A manager needs to know more than just how to sell a car, interact with customers and efficiently manage time. They need to know how to be great leaders and steer their team to success.

The Importance of Training at Your Dealership
Dealership

The Importance of Training at Your Dealership

In order for someone to be a successful car salesperson, basic manufacturer training and learning how to deal with common objections aren’t enough. If you want to have incredibly well-trained salespeople and reduce your turnover rate, you’re going to want to implement the following 3 things in your training program.

4 Traffic Hacks to Get More Customers on Your Website
Marketing

4 Traffic Hacks to Get More Customers on Your Website

Finding the right strategy to drive traffic to your dealer website can be challenging. You'll be well on your way to generating more leads if you can persuade visitors to your website who aren't even looking for a car but are merely attempting to find out more information on the car-buying process.

How to Get Your Dealership Ready for Black Friday
Marketing

How to Get Your Dealership Ready for Black Friday

Black Friday is just around the corner (3 weeks away)! It’s one of the busiest days of the year for dealerships because so many people are trying to take advantage of Black Friday car deals. If you can go into Black Friday with a well-thought-out strategy, you can make this year's Black Friday your best one yet.

Beating the Inventory Shortage By Selling Experience Over Brand
Dealership

Beating the Inventory Shortage By Selling Experience Over Brand

If you’re able to give customers a car-buying journey that’s easy, transparent and seamless, you’re more likely to close more sales, regardless of the vehicle brand they buy. The vehicle inventory shortage has caused many dealerships to stock vehicles of other brands just so they have vehicles on their lots. This creates the concern for managers that if they’re not selling their brand, how do they sell?

How To Mystery Shop at Your Own Dealership
Dealership

How To Mystery Shop at Your Own Dealership

Whether your customers are working with you online, over the phone or in person, they want their time to be respected and they want to be treated well. Seeing how your team operates from a customers perspective is the best way to figure out what your strengths are and where you need to improve. You can do this by mystery shopping at your dealership.

So You Closed a Deal, Great Job! Now What?
Dealership

So You Closed a Deal, Great Job! Now What?

There are many simple things you can do to instill loyalty in your customers and keep your customer retention rate as high as can be. The following practices will help you bring back customers for their first, second and third service appointment, all the way until it’s time for them to buy their next vehicle. 

How to Get Customers to Sell You Their Cars
Dealership

How to Get Customers to Sell You Their Cars

We know the inventory shortage a real problem that has left many Canadian dealers in vulnerable positions. Successful dealerships have learnt how to properly manage their lots by finding the perfect balance between bringing in new inventory to keep things exciting and selling enough cars to keep themselves in a good financial position.

Tips To Help New Salespeople Sell Cars
Dealership

Tips To Help New Salespeople Sell Cars

Being a new car salesperson is an intimidating process for anyone. The stigmas present today in the automotive industry make it increasingly difficult for new car salespeople to feel comfortable. As a sales manager, it’s critical that we train our new salespeople to not just be adequate at their jobs but extremely successful.

How Using Influencer Marketing Can Help Your Dealership
Marketing

How Using Influencer Marketing Can Help Your Dealership

There's a growing trend where influencers are using their platform to promote products/services for businesses who are willing to pay them, this is known as influencer marketing and it’s already being used by many Canadian car dealerships.

3 Car Buying Trends That Have Changed Since Covid
Dealership

3 Car Buying Trends That Have Changed Since Covid

When Covid hit in 2020, the automotive industry was forced to adapt. Shutdowns across the globe created shortages and uncertainty which significantly affected the operation of dealerships. As we seem to be in the “post-covid” phase, it’s important for dealers to understand the shifts that the pandemic caused in the industry.

How to Compete With Online Retailers as a Car Dealership
Marketing

How to Compete With Online Retailers as a Car Dealership

The rise in online car retailers has drawn the attention of the automotive industry largely over the last decade, but when Covid-19 hit, that rise increased exponentially.

5 Sales Manager Strategies to Get Your Team Organized
Dealership

5 Sales Manager Strategies to Get Your Team Organized

For sales managers, trying to keep your sales team organized can be an extremely difficult task. In order for sales managers to successfully organize their team and processes, they’re going to need to develop strategies.

SEO Explained: Why You Need to Use it at Your Dealership
Marketing

SEO Explained: Why You Need to Use it at Your Dealership

If you can consistently focus on the practices required to improve SEO, you will see an increase in organic traffic to your website. Organic web traffic comes from people using a search engine like Google, Bing or Yahoo to find information.

The Characteristics of a Good Salesperson and a Great Salesperson
Dealership

The Characteristics of a Good Salesperson and a Great Salesperson

Just like any skill, there are people who are good at selling cars and there are people who are great. The difference between good and great ultimately comes down to a couple of small factors that make big differences. In this article, we’re going to go over the characteristics of a “good” car salesperson and the characteristics of a “great” salesperson.

5 Reasons to Use Digital Marketing at Your Dealership
Marketing

5 Reasons to Use Digital Marketing at Your Dealership

As shoppers use the internet to research and buy vehicles more and more, it’s critical your dealership can accommodate them both virtually and physically. Your dealership needs to do its marketing in a way that reflects the usage of how people interact with each medium whether it be social media, radio advertising or signs in public.

How to Take Advantage of All Your Sales Opportunities
Dealership

How to Take Advantage of All Your Sales Opportunities

Missed sales opportunities happen more than you think and definitely, more than you’d like to admit. Many of these opportunities are missed because we didn’t recognize them early enough and others come and go so quickly we don’t even realize there was an opportunity.

How To Use Video To Sell Cars
Dealership

How To Use Video To Sell Cars

Now more than ever, it’s crucial for car salespeople to utilize video in their sales process. Some customers prefer to do as much of the sales process online or over video. Therefore, as an industry, we have to adapt and use the power of video to sell cars to the customers who prefer to buy more virtually. 

8 Habits That Successful Car Salespeople Have
Dealership

8 Habits That Successful Car Salespeople Have

Regardless of the industry, successful salespeople have habits and routines that allow them to perform at their very best. In this article, we’re going to go over 8 habits that successful car salespeople have.

Four Ways AI Will Change Dealer Websites
Dealership

Four Ways AI Will Change Dealer Websites

Technology is moving at an unprecedented pace and it’s changing the way industries operate, including the automotive industry. What was once thought of as impossible, AI (Artificial Intelligence) is becoming increasingly popular, and will only continue to grow until its a staple in most industries.

5 Tips for Great Vehicle Inventory Photos
Marketing

5 Tips for Great Vehicle Inventory Photos

Car shoppers are spending more time online doing their research and scouting dealer inventories before they ever walk into a dealership. Knowing this, you need to make sure the photos of your inventory are top-notch. There’s a massive difference between an inventory photo of a car with no thought or planning behind it and a well-thought-out photo.

Five Google Ad Myths You Need to Know
Marketing

Five Google Ad Myths You Need to Know

If you’re looking to increase your customer base, lower costs of advertising and accurately target potential customers, you’re going to want to learn how to effectively use Google Ads. Be careful though, because there are a few misconceptions we’ve heard over the years that can significantly hinder your success using Google Ads.

BMW Recall’s Over 1 Million Vehicles Worldwide Due to Fire Risk
Dealership

BMW Recall’s Over 1 Million Vehicles Worldwide Due to Fire Risk

Last Wednesday, BMW announced a recall on over 1 million vehicles worldwide due to a fire risk stemming from certain vehicle engines. This is the third recall the German automaker has had regarding this issue since 2017.

5 Reasons for a Customer to Choose Your Dealership
Dealership

5 Reasons for a Customer to Choose Your Dealership

Have you ever thought about what separates you from other local dealerships? As a dealership, you need to critically think about why a customer would be drawn to your dealership over the next dealership. In this article, we’re going to go over five things that will bring in new customers to your dealership.

10 Creative Car Sale Promotions to Increase Sales
Marketing

10 Creative Car Sale Promotions to Increase Sales

When your goal is to bring in more customers to your dealership, there’s no better way to do that than running a sales promotion. While many dealerships rinse and repeat the same promotions throughout the year, we think it’s usually best to mix it up. That’s why we came up with 10 sales promotions for dealerships to use throughout the year. 

How to Set Up Your Finance Manager for Success
Dealership

How to Set Up Your Finance Manager for Success

In the dealership world, when a salesperson closes a deal, they typically receive all the glory. While they definitely deserve recognition for the closed sale, one person that’s often forgotten about is the finance manager. In a 2018 study done by National Automobile Dealer Association (NADA), it was found that finance managers penetrate on average 90% of new car deals and 74% of used car deals.

10 Common Customer Objections and How to Overcome Each of Them
Dealership

10 Common Customer Objections and How to Overcome Each of Them

Whether you’re a salesperson, finance manager or customer experience specialist, you’re going to deal with customer objections every single day. Successful salespeople understand that this is an inherent part of the job and develop their skills to be able to handle objections appropriately and effectively.

Building Rapport With Customers = Selling More Cars
Dealership

Building Rapport With Customers = Selling More Cars

Despite years of industry-wide improvements including modified sales processes, training and brand image, the stigma around car salespeople is still strong. It doesn’t matter if you’re a salesperson with the highest moral compass and ethics, you still have a stigma cloud over your head because you're a car salesperson. The only way to make that cloud disappear is by working with each and every one of your customers ethically and professionally.

How to Sell More Cars With a Test Drive
Dealership

How to Sell More Cars With a Test Drive

As a salesperson, you need to ensure you can facilitate a test drive that will have your customers wanting to buy the vehicle. In this article, we’re going to go over the purpose of test drives, how to prep for a test drive and the necessary steps to take after the test drive is complete.

Tesla Recalls Approximately 80,000 Cars in Canada
Company News

Tesla Recalls Approximately 80,000 Cars in Canada

On February 1, 2022, Tesla issued two recalls on their vehicles affecting approximately 80,000 Canadian vehicles. One recall was due to a “rolling stop” defect and the other was due to a faulty seatbelt chime. 

10 Steps to Achieve Success with Email Marketing
Marketing

10 Steps to Achieve Success with Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of the oldest marketing techniques, and it continues to be one of the most effective marketing strategies if done correctly. It can help you find new leads, build or maintain a presence in your industry, increase traffic to your website and improve the relationships you have with customers.

Nissan Recalls Nearly 800,000 Vehicles for Fire Risk
Company News

Nissan Recalls Nearly 800,000 Vehicles for Fire Risk

On Monday, January 31st, 2022, Nissan announced they will be recalling approximately 793,000 vehicles due to an increased fire risk. The automakers recall is for Nissan Rogue SUV models between 2014 and 2016. Of the total amount of vehicles recalled, 104,464 units were sold in Canada.

How to Overcome a Slump in Car Sales
Dealership

How to Overcome a Slump in Car Sales

Regardless of the industry, if you’re a salesperson, you’re going to have both hot and cold streaks. When you’re on a hot streak, everything just seems to fall perfectly into place as you continue to rack up sales for the month. When you’re on a cold streak, everything that could go wrong goes wrong and it’s easy to get into your own head.

Selling Cars To Millennials: Their Habits and What to Expect
Dealership

Selling Cars To Millennials: Their Habits and What to Expect

In order to succeed as a salesperson in any industry, you need to understand the customers that you work with. The way you sell a car to a millennial will be different than how you would sell to a baby-boomer. If you know the values of millennials and their buying habits, you should be able to tailor their sales journey in order to close the deal.

How to Increase Car Sales with Text Messaging
Marketing

How to Increase Car Sales with Text Messaging

Today’s car customers want quick answers, and one of the best ways for them to get quick answers is via text messaging. It’s been recorded that fast responses convert a lead to a sale 164% more than slow responses.

4 Things to Get Your Dealership Ready for the New Year
Dealership

4 Things to Get Your Dealership Ready for the New Year

The last two years have been challenging for dealerships across the globe. As great businesses do, many had to adapt with the times to minimize the impact Covid has had on their dealerships.

7 Ways to Boost Your Dealerships Online Presence
Marketing

7 Ways to Boost Your Dealerships Online Presence

As more and more customers are moving online to buy cars, you need to evaluate whether your dealership is able to keep up with the online needs of your customers. If you’re not able to meet the online needs of your customers, you’re going to lose out on a lot of business.

5 Reasons Your Website is Losing You Customers
Dealership

5 Reasons Your Website is Losing You Customers

In today’s digital age it’s critical as a dealer that you have a well-optimized and designed website. Your website is literally a digital extension of your showroom and if your website is a mess, it reflects poorly on your dealership.

3 Ways to Reduce Employee Turnover at a Dealership
Dealership

3 Ways to Reduce Employee Turnover at a Dealership

It’s not uncommon for car dealerships to have a hard time retaining employees for long periods of time. According to Automotive News, on average, a sales associate usually stays at a dealership for just over two years. 45% of dealerships have an average employee retention rate of more than 3 years, but that number drops when we’re looking at employees who work in sales roles.

The Biggest Challenges Dealerships Face in 2021
Dealership

The Biggest Challenges Dealerships Face in 2021

Whether you’re a salesperson, sales manager or general manager, working at a dealership has many challenges. These challenges come in the form of competing local dealerships, a reputation of haggling, the ability to bring in new customers and of course the most current challenge; operating during a global pandemic.

The Three Most Important Things Customers Look For
Dealership

The Three Most Important Things Customers Look For

As a salesperson, it’s your job to know your product, sell your product and most importantly, make your customers happy. In 2021, it doesn’t matter how great your product is or how well you can pitch your product, if you can’t make your customers happy, you’re not going to have much success selling.

A $17 Billion Chip Plant is Being Built in Texas
Company News

A $17 Billion Chip Plant is Being Built in Texas

Samsung just officially announced they’re building a $17 billion advanced chip factory about 30 miles from Austin, Texas. The decision to expand and build a major chip factory comes from the massive global chip shortage that has significantly affected the automotive industry.

GM Dealers Now Selling Trucks Without Heated Seat Options to Overcome Chip Shortage
Dealership

GM Dealers Now Selling Trucks Without Heated Seat Options to Overcome Chip Shortage

For the year 2022, some drivers are going to have to go without heated seats if they choose to buy a select few GM vehicles. The massive automaker recently announced that they are suspending both heated and ventilated seats on select vehicles and trims for the entire model year of 2022. The announcement stems from the global chip shortage and will also affect select models from Chevy, GMC, Cadillac and Buick.

6 Social Media Tips for Your Dealership
Dealership

6 Social Media Tips for Your Dealership

In 2021, regardless of what industry you’re in, if you’re not using social media to spread awareness and increase engagement around your business, you’re missing out on a massive opportunity.

Following Up With The Customers That Abandon the Digital Experience
Dealership

Following Up With The Customers That Abandon the Digital Experience

As we continue to navigate through the obstacles of running a dealership during a pandemic, one thing is becoming increasingly clear; digital retail is becoming a permanent staple in automotive. This isn’t to say that soon, all of your customers will go through the car buying journey completely online, in fact, many of them will eventually abandon the online experience entirely.

Dealers: What You Need to Know About the Car Chip Shortage
Dealership

Dealers: What You Need to Know About the Car Chip Shortage

As we all know, the chip shortage has caused a significant decline in our industry, and unfortunately, it’s not going away anytime soon. The percentage of new vehicles shipped to Canadian dealerships was down by almost 30% in February 2021 compared to February 2020.

7 Ways to Make Your Customer’s Experience A Great One
Dealership

7 Ways to Make Your Customer’s Experience A Great One

Buying a car is an overwhelming experience for many people, but it's your job to keep your customers at ease throughout the process. In order to do this, you need to understand what the customer is feeling and what the common concerns are so you can directly address these concerns.

Introducing Our Newest Partner: EDealer
Company News

Introducing Our Newest Partner: EDealer

Today, we are excited to announce our newest partner, EDealer. EDealer is a name that is synonymous with innovation in the automotive industry, something that we here at Autocorp.ai aim to do. By joining EDealer’s Certified Partner Program, our AVA Credit tool provides even more information on your eID verified customer such as credit range, inquiry history, and current auto loan information; all without affecting your customer’s credit score!

The Elephant in the Room When Shopping for a Car 🚗

The Elephant in the Room When Shopping for a Car 🚗

It's estimated over 93% of automotive deals require some form of leasing or financing. Yet less than 2% of online visitors complete credit applications.

Our Statement on Residential Schools
Company News

Our Statement on Residential Schools

We understand that this topic of residential schools needs to be addressed with sensitivity, and in no way are claiming to be experts in history around this injustice. We must recognize the painful history of the residential school system and the suffering it inflicted on generations of Canada's Indigenous people. This is an act of reconciliation that we all have a responsibility to realize.

The Best Digital Communication Channels for your Dealership
Dealership

The Best Digital Communication Channels for your Dealership

Most of your staff nowadays uses digital communication channels in their personal lives, but not always in a professional setting.

How To Increase Trade-In Lead Conversions
Dealership

How To Increase Trade-In Lead Conversions

Like any type of lead, the hottest lead can still fall short if the person at the dealership receiving the lead doesn’t handle it promptly, properly, and professionally.

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