CBT Automotive Network Podcast

On today's special edition of CBT News, we're happy to have Cody Lusk, President and CEO of the AIADA and the newly installed 2019 chairman, Howard Hakes. Cody and Howard discuss challenges facing the auto retail industry, including tariffs, consumer confidence, and trade.

7 Common Leadership Challenges that Managers Face and How to Overcome Them | “Partnership” is the New Automotive Industry Buzzword | Best Practices for Evaluating Your Dealership’s Ad Spend

Today on CBTNews.com - Tuesday, March 19th, 2019:

7 Common Leadership Challenges that Managers Face and How to Overcome Them - Bruce Tulgan, RainmakerThinking

CBT welcomes back Bruce Tulgan, Founder and CEO of RainmakerThinking, popular author, and management consultant. On today's show, Bruce discusses what he calls 'the undermanagement epidemic'. He breaks down the seven common leadership challenges that managers face, how to identify under management at the dealership and practical strategies to improve your leadership skills.

“Partnership” is the New Automotive Industry Buzzword

When it comes to the future of the automotive industry, the word “partnership” is starting to enter the conversation. In the past, automakers looked at one another as rivals, but today they are considering the benefits of merging. One famous example is Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. What was once seen as an “impending failure,” has expanded into a bustling success.

Best Practices for Evaluating Your Dealership’s Ad Spend

Marketing is critical to all businesses. The titans of industry spend billions of dollars on annual advertising. For example, the Coca-Cola Company. Coca-Cola, a company that brings in several billion dollars every year, spends over $1 billion on ads. Every company has the potential for growth. The goal of advertising is to first establish a need. Your business meets that need. Ideally, when someone needs a car, it’s your dealership they think of first.

CBT welcomes back Bruce Tulgan, Founder and CEO of RainmakerThinking, popular author, and management consultant. On today's show, Bruce discusses what he calls 'the undermanagement epidemic'. He breaks down the seven common leadership challenges that managers face, how to identify under management at the dealership and practical strategies to improve your leadership skills.

Evaluating Your Dealership's Marketing Team and Advertising Spend (Part 2) - Glenn Pasch | Mazda Changing Things Up With New Appointments | 3 Reasons It’s Still Ok to Call Your F&I Staff ‘Managers’

Today on CBTNews.com - Monday, March 18th, 2019:

Evaluating Your Dealership's Marketing Team and Advertising Spend (Part 2) - Glenn Pasch, CEO of PCG Digital

On today's show, we continue our conversation with Glenn Pasch, CEO of PCG Digital where they have recently done over 50 audits with dealers to get a true and accurate sense of how they utilize their marketing and lead handling strategies. We explored the findings with Glenn and got his insight into what successful dealers are doing right, and how to see bigger returns from your marketing budget.

Mazda Changing Things Up With New Appointments

Tuesday, Mazda announced several leadership changes to its North American Operations. The current CEO and President of Mazda North American Operations (MNAO), Masahiro Moro, will be assuming the position of MNAO’s Chairman and CEO come April. To fill the void in MNAO presidency, Jeffrey Guyton, the current President and CEO of the company’s European branch, is being brought in to oversee business in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

3 Reasons It’s Still Ok to Call Your F&I Staff ‘Managers’

Titles. Do they matter and if so, do they matter to the person who has the title or the person interacting with them? In dealerships, as in most businesses, the staff has titles dependent on where they fall in terms of authority. Director, manager, salesperson, service advisor, parts counterperson, and clerk. These are the titles customers see the most at the dealership. There is movement among some in the dealer industry that has suggested that one position in particular should have a complete overhaul of their title within the dealership…the F&I manager.

On today's show, we continue our conversation with Glenn Pasch, CEO of PCG Digital where they have recently done over 50 audits with dealers to get a true and accurate sense of how they utilize their marketing and lead handling strategies. We explored the findings with Glenn and got his insight into what successful dealers are doing right, and how to see bigger returns from your marketing budget.

CBT News Week In Review for Friday, March 15th, 2019:

How the Integration Between Lyft and Xtime Can Benefit Your Dealership - Matt Schwartz, Sr. Director of Strategy for Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive just announced plans to integrate Lyft’s ride-sharing service with their service experience platform, Xtime. This partnership will elevate an area of business becoming increasingly important to dealers as service revenue now accounts for 49 percent of dealership profits, according to NADA researchers. Here to tell us what this integration means for dealers and consumers is Matt Schwartz, senior director of strategy and managed services at Cox Automotive.

The Importance of Evaluating Your Dealership's Marketing Team and Advertising Spend - Glenn Pasch, PCG Digital

Jim recently caught up with Glenn Pasch, auto marketing expert, and CEO of PCG Digital. They discussed the importance of re-evaluating your dealership's marketing team and spend. They tackle questions like 'who should make up the marketing team?' and 'what should I try to accomplish with every campaign?'. You won't want to miss this interview.

President of CADA Tim Jackson on Fuel Efficiency Standards, Warranty Reimbursement, and the Innovative Dealer Summit

There’s been a lot on the agenda for dealer associations to contend with so far this year. On today’s show, we take a look at Jim’s recent conversation with Tim Jackson, president, and CEO of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association. They discuss Colorado’s fight for lower fuel efficiency standards, warranty reimbursement, and the Innovative Dealer Summit happening later this month. 

How Retail Auto Needs to Change in Order to Attract Top Tier Talent - Don Hall, VADA

Every dealer knows there are ways in which the auto industry needs to change in order to attract talented employees, especially women. On today’s show, we check out Jim’s recent interview with Don Hall, president and CEO of the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association. In addition to talking about recruitment, Don and Jim discuss federal changes in gap insurance and other big agenda items for 2019.

How Retail Auto Needs to Change in Order to Attract Top Tier Talent - Don Hall, VADA | Trump Budget Aims to End Electric Vehicle Tax Credits | Six of the Most Innovative Current and Upcoming Connected Car Features

Today on CBTNews.com - Thursday, March 14th, 2019:

How Retail Auto Needs to Change in Order to Attract Top Tier Talent - Don Hall, VADA

Every dealer knows there are ways in which the auto industry needs to change in order to attract talented employees, especially women. On today’s show, we check out Jim’s recent interview with Don Hall, president and CEO of the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association. In addition to talking about recruitment, Don and Jim discuss federal changes in gap insurance and other big agenda items for 2019.

Trump Budget Aims to End Electric Vehicle Tax Credits

Slipped in amongst other budget saving measures in the 150-page 2020 fiscal year budget proposed by the Trump Administration was “Repeal the qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle credit.” According to the data provided in the proposal, if tax credits for electric vehicles (EV) were cut, the government could save a whopping $2.5 billion by 2029.

Six of the Most Innovative Current and Upcoming Connected Car Features

The days of just using your car to get from Point A to Point B are over. Today, cars are not only collections of gears and steel, but they are also becoming as technologically innovative and connected as the average smartphone. Today’s cars have features that make common and everyday tasks much easier and straightforward. As OEMs start to infuse more technology into today’s cars, it is likely that consumers will walk into your dealerships with more technology preferences and questions. So, what can you expect to see more of regarding car connectivity? Read on for some of the most innovative connected car features in current and upcoming car models.

Every dealer knows there are ways in which the auto industry needs to change in order to attract talented employees, especially women. On today’s show, we check out Jim’s recent interview with Don Hall, president and CEO of the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association. In addition to talking about recruitment, Don and Jim discuss federal changes in gap insurance and other big agenda items for 2019.

President of CADA Tim Jackson on Fuel Efficiency Standards, Warranty Reimbursement, and the Innovative Dealer Summit | Auto Loan Interest Rates Continue to Soar | Interview Tips When Hiring F&I Managers

Today on CBTNews.com - Wednesday, March 13th, 2019:

President of CADA Tim Jackson on Fuel Efficiency Standards, Warranty Reimbursement, and the Innovative Dealer Summit

There’s been a lot on the agenda for dealer associations to contend with so far this year. On today’s show, we take a look at Jim’s recent conversation with Tim Jackson, president, and CEO of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association. They discuss Colorado’s fight for lower fuel efficiency standards, warranty reimbursement, and the Innovative Dealer Summit happening later this month.

Auto Loan Interest Rates Continue to Soar

Auto loan interest rates continue to go up, according to a recent Edmunds analysis, with rates reaching their highest in a decade. Looking at the data collected, the annual percentage rate (APR) inched up from last year’s 5.19 percent on new cars to 6.26 percent, marking a 1.7 percent increase from five years ago. For used cars, the climb was more modest, with the APR in 2014 being 8.47 percent and the current one 8.95.

Interview Tips When Hiring F&I Managers – What to Look (and Listen For)

There is plenty of room for debate on whether or not you should hire for F&I from inside the car business or an outside hire, so I won’t go into that here. But for the same reason that the interview process of a buyer is a critical part of success in F&I, so too is the importance of the interview for the F&I manager. This person must be the right fit and yes, sometimes you don’t know until you get them in front of a buyer, but by watching for specific things during the interview, you can help increase your chances of a quality hire that fits your store best.

There’s been a lot on the agenda for dealer associations to contend with so far this year. On today’s show, we take a look at Jim’s recent conversation with Tim Jackson, president, and CEO of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association. They discuss Colorado’s fight for lower fuel efficiency standards, warranty reimbursement, and the Innovative Dealer Summit happening later this month.