A recent Customer Satisfaction Pulse Study conducted by BARE International indicated that more than 40 percent of vehicle-sales conversations do not gather key information. The research found that dealership personnel didn’t gather information such as what the buyer is looking for, how the vehicle will be used and how much a buyer is comfortable spending. […] [Read More]

Over the years, the Internet role’s in car research opened up greater access to information and pushed more of the consumer decision-making online, DealerRater chief executive officer Gary Tucker said in an interview here at the NADA Convention. Choices that were largely offline-based — what am I going to buy? What price is fair? What […] [Read More]

Feedback from recovery professionals who attended this year’s North American Repossessors Summit (NARS) highlighted how much the event was successful and demonstrated the ongoing improvement and evolution of the space. Organizers of the event hosted by American Recovery Association indicated that the summit ushered in a “new era” for the recovery and remarketing industry. From […] [Read More]

Melinda Zabritski watched her credit-market workload at a previous post steadily increase with responsibilities in the automotive space. The topic, as well as the people connected to vehicles and how they are financed, prompted Zabritski to seek her current position as senior director of automotive finance at Experian Automotive. “No offense to other areas of […] [Read More]

While an enthusiastic NASCAR follower, Kathy Williamson acknowledged she had never been to an auto auction prior 2003. Although the vehicles in the auction lanes don’t travel nearly 200 mph, the pace at which Williamson helped to develop technology leveraged in the wholesale vehicle space still moves pretty fast, too. Williamson and her husband purchased […] [Read More]

Five trends uncovered in new research from CDK Global reinforced how much vehicle shoppers are willing and likely to start the buying process online. In a recent survey, CDK found that nearly 70 percent of shoppers expected to find the ability to configure a payment on a dealership website, and 83 percent indicated that online […] [Read More]

When asked to name some of the people she finds professionally inspiring, Leslie Vander Bann points to Richard Branson, Elon Musk and Sheryl Sandberg, among others. “These individuals won’t accept ‘no’ for an answer,” said Vander Baan, a 2016 Women in Remarketing honoree. “They are not limited by their own imagination and they engage in interesting […] [Read More]

To be a strong leader, Connie Suozzo said, one doesn’t always have to be at the front of the pack. Often, it’s about empowering the talent around you. “It’s my belief that great leaders do not always need to stand on the front lines,” said Suozzo, who is senior director of operations at RMS Automotive […] [Read More]

Alexi Venneri recognized when she oversaw advertising for the Van Tuyl Group that all dealerships, not just her employer at the time, needed assistance with social media. That’s when Digital Air Strike began to take shape at her kitchen table. At that traditional gathering place, Venneri leveraged her extensive automotive and marketing background to formulate […] [Read More]

When Debbie Stokes gets time away from the office, one of her hobbies is golf. While certainly a game of precision at any point on the course, each of its different tasks — driving, chipping out of a sand trap, putting, etc. — requires a diverse set of skills (and clubs, for that matter). The […] [Read More]