Community Features, Press, Newsletters and “How to”

Salt Lake City, UT, August 27, 2008 — DrivingSales (www.DrivingSales.com), the auto industry’s original best practices and social networking community, today announced the opening of the industry’s first vendor ratings system where auto dealers can rate and review their service providers in real time. This unparalleled ratings system offers dealers a neutral, online resource to learn about a wide array of products and services before making important purchasing decisions, via fellow dealers’ first-hand experience using the products. Vendors benefit by getting dealer feedback and the opportunity for dialog on this neutral, third party platform, as well as the chance to showcase their products and services to a broad audience of dealers.

DrivingSales members who are dealers can rate and reviews vendors in the newly launched Vendor Ratings section at www.DrivingSales.com. The ratings will be unveiled for DrivingSales members to view the first week of September.

“Dealers get calls from vendors on a daily basis, and of course, everyone claims that they offer the best solution,” commented John Johnson, owner of John Johnson Dodge of Boonton, New Jersey. “It takes a lot of time and energy on my part to properly evaluate proposals and verify these claims. What DrivingSales Vendor Ratings offers is a way to streamline this evaluation process, and essentially the opportunity to consult with many dealers, in one convenient place, who have experience with particular products and services. This is a great way to make informed decisions.”

While reviewers remain anonymous - only job titles are visible with the reviews - vendors have the opportunity to communicate with their reviewers via the DrivingSales Feedback Manager, which notifies vendors when they’ve been reviewed, among other features. Allowing for both private and public responses to dealer reviews, the Feedback Manager gives vendors the opportunity to reach out to dealers who may have had a sub-par experience and to make improvements, and also the chance to thank dealers for positive reviews and even request testimonials.

“Real time, online user reviews are enough to make any service provider a little nervous,” commented Mark Boyd, president of CarFolks and founding shareholder and board member of Auto Dealer Traffic, Inc. “But any proactive business person today knows the industry is changing with the times and online user reviews are an increasingly important method to aid purchasing decisions, for both consumers and businesses. This is a ‘take the bull by the horns’ opportunity – we’re actively encouraging dealers to join and submit reviews on DrivingSales. And if companies I’m affiliated with ever see less than five-star reviews, I view it as an opportunity to see what’s on the dealer’s mind and to make it right.”

Dealers can currently rate website providers, search engine marketing (SEM) services, lead providers and inventory publishers. Additional categories will be added for reviews in the coming weeks. DrivingSales will present ongoing awards for those vendors who receive the highest ratings in their relative categories.

About DrivingSales.com
DrivingSales is a community of automotive industry professionals, networking and sharing best practices to maximize their success. On DrivingSales.com, members post profiles, share sales strategies, and get access to relevant content contributed by industry experts, including blogs, videos, interviews, and more. Members who are dealers rate and review vendors, sharing their experience with the DrivingSales community; while vendors get the opportunity to provide feedback on reviews and showcase their products and services. DrivingSales empowers auto industry professionals to take their businesses and careers to a whole new level of success. Get connected at www.DrivingSales.com.

Paul Rushing 8-19-2008

The port of entry for several manufactures in Southeast Georgia, located near Brunswick, GA, has run out of room to store cars. They have set up an alternative storage area fifteen miles from processing, interstate access and rail transportation.

This picture was taken at the alternative storage facility located near the Golden Isles Speedway. New ground has been broken at the far end to make room for more vehicles as tractors work daily to grade and truckloads of recycled asphalt move in non stop. When asking permission to gain access to the race track to take these photos I was advised that they have only seen vehicles moving in and none moving out.

The estimated total of 5,000 vehicles consist mostly of Kia SUV and Minivan Products and with the addition of several more acres of storage the number could possibly top 10,000 in the coming weeks.

There has been no official press release as to the need for the expanded storage area located away from the main processing area. Phone calls and direct inquiries have gone unanswered.

Technorati Tags: auto industry news, brunswick port

Salt Lake City, UT, August 12, 2008 — DrivingSales (www.DrivingSales.com), the auto industry’s original best practices and social networking site, today announced its newest strategies and best practices contest: “Gas prices are up. Sales are down. What have you done in the last 90 days to increase your bottom line?” The purpose of the contest is to stimulate ideas for improving business in light of the current economic challenges many dealers face. The DrivingSales Strategies competitions invite the best minds in the automotive industry to share their knowledge with the community and provide valuable ideas to help dealers increase profit and improve operations.

“As a dealer and member of DrivingSales, I find the strategy postings by fellow members a great way to get quick ideas and inspiration,” commented Tom White, Jr. general manager of Suzuki of Wichita, Kansas. “You’ll find a dealership in a totally different part of the country, selling a different franchise, who is facing the same exact sales or staffing challenge that you are. And they’ve found a creative solution, which they write about on DrivingSales. It’s a great site to get fresh ideas quickly and easily.”

To contribute an idea or strategy, auto industry professionals must first become a member of DrivingSales at www.drivingsales.com, where they can then post their strategy or best practice in the Strategies section. Once posted, the strategy will be live on DrivingSales.com, where other members can provide a 1-5 star rating and written review, and recommend whether or not their friends would benefit from it. The prize for the winning entry is the new Apple iPhone 3g.

The contest closes and the ratings will be tallied at midnight on Wednesday, September 17, 2008. Members are encouraged to post their strategies as early as possible in order to receive the most ratings by fellow members before the contest closes. The winner will be announced on Monday, September 22, 2008. The first contest successfully generated a plethora of ideas that can benefit all areas of the dealership, including: new and used vehicle sales, parts and service, and Internet and BDC.

“They say necessity is the mother of invention, and we know that many of our members have developed really innovative methods to deal with the current environment of high gas prices and a slow economy,” commented Jared Hamilton, DrivingSales founder and CEO. “We’ve launched the next contest to tap into this wealth of knowledge and help during a particularly challenging time. As a continuously growing resource for dealers and the automotive industry, these contests are a fun way to engage community members and build DrivingSales’ ever-expanding content.”

About DrivingSales.com
DrivingSales is a community of automotive industry professionals, networking and sharing best practices to maximize their success. On DrivingSales.com, members post profiles, share sales strategies, and get access to relevant content contributed by industry experts, including blogs, videos, interviews, and more. Members who are dealers rate and review vendors, sharing their experience with the DrivingSales community; while vendors get the opportunity to provide feedback on reviews and showcase their products and services. DrivingSales empowers auto industry professionals to take their businesses and careers to a whole new level of success. Get connected at www.drivingsales.com.

Technorati Tags: Apple iPhone 3g, best practice contest, contribute strategies, increase your bottom line

DrivingSales, (www.DrivingSales.com), the auto industry’s original online community and social networking site, today announced the winner of its inaugural Strategies contest. Strategies and other best practices are an essential part of the DrivingSales experience, as members of this fast growing automotive community get the opportunity to demonstrate their expertise and benefit from the shared knowledge of their peers. Members who posted strategies competed for the best rating from fellow members, in a fun competition for sharing best practices. Nathan Scripps, director of sales for Jumpstart Automotive Media (www.jumpstartautomotive.com), submitted the winning sales strategy, entitled “The Long Spiff.”

The winning submission challenges dealers to think long-term about spiffs for sales people. Instead of strictly focusing on short-term daily, weekly or monthly sales, Scripps proposes incentives that reward staff members for repeat and referral business. In this way, sales people begin to view customers as life-time clients, rather than just one-time sales. (Visit www.drivingsales.com for the complete strategy.) For posting the winning strategy Scripps will receive a new MacBook Air laptop.

“From working with many dealers every day, I’ve got first hand exposure to the ups and downs they’re facing in today’s market,” commented Scripps. “DrivingSales offers an ideal forum for dealers and service providers alike to share effective, long-term ideas to help boost sales, cut costs, and more – something that is especially needed right now. It’s an honor to be recognized by a group of fellow professionals who are all focused on improving automotive sales and service.”

Members of the DrivingSales community rate Strategies based on their ingenuity, usefulness and effectiveness. A 1-5 star rating is used, along with written reviews and recommendations on whether or not they think colleagues will benefit from the idea.

“There was some stiff competition in this contest,” stated Jared Hamilton, DrivingSales founder and CEO, “with members providing a wealth of creative, proven ideas. The beauty of these strategies is that they offer a quick and easy reference to boost performance, not to mention great ideas for when you walk into your next sales meeting.”

The next DrivingSales Strategies contest begins next month, and the topic will be “great ideas and strategies for success in a down economy.” The prize will be the new Apple iPhone 3g. Visit www.drivingsales.com to learn more, to post a strategy, and get tactical tips from other automotive professionals.

Technorati Tags: contest, JumpStart Media, Nathan Scripps, Strategy

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Technorati Tags: crossover, crossover market, sales

Salt Lake City, UT, July 16, 2008 - DrivingSales.com, the auto industry’s original online community and social networking site, today announced that over two dozen industry experts have become frequent bloggers on DrivingSales.com. Member-generated content is a cornerstone of the DrivingSales community, and the site continues to draw industry thought leaders who are contributing best practices in their areas of expertise.

“The DrivingSales Blogs are a collection of the best blogs in our business – written by industry insiders who have a valuable opinion to share with our dealer audience,” commented Jared Hamilton, DrivingSales founder and CEO. “Our stance is: if you have value to add, we have an audience to share it with. Having just opened DrivingSales.com to the whole industry last month, we’re thrilled to see so many of the most respected names in the business already on board. We’re looking forward to having more join us in the common months.”

The following is a sampling of DrivingSales bloggers and some of the topics covered:

• Allan Cooper, an industry executive with over 25 years of global professional experience, recognized by JD Power and Associates as an Internet Visionary and Pioneer – on employee retention issues for dealerships

• Dean Evans, seasoned online automotive retailing executive and chief marketing officer for Dealer.com - on tactical ways dealers can capitalize on online retailing and Web 2.0 practices

• Rafi Hamid, industry veteran and former groups director of e-commerce for the Napleton Automotive Group - on all facets of enterprise automotive sales

• David Kain, dealership sales and process expert and president of Kain Automotive training and consulting firm - on efficient and successful retailing and operations.

• Dale Pollak, best-selling author of the pre-owned vehicle sales guide Velocity and chairman and founder of vAuto, Inc. - on pre-owned sales and other retailing strategies.

• The DrivingSales Blogs also include contributions from its editorial staff, including highly popular industry blogger and Internet manager Paul Rushing, and other associate editors who currently work within dealerships, who blog on the typical day-to-day issues dealers face.

• Other topics covered in the DrivingSales Blogs include: highlights from industry events and workshops; information on running “green,” environmentally-sustainable dealerships; as well dealership compliance issues; subprime sales; CRM; and more.

“DrivingSales offers an easy way for all of us in this business to pick up strategic and tactical best practices that we can apply immediately,” commented contributor Rafi Hamid. “Whether you are a new Internet sales manager, an account rep at a vendor, or heading up e-commerce for a large dealer group, DrivingSales is a great way to share knowledge, connect with colleagues, and improve operations.”

Read more about the DrivingSales bloggers at www.DrivingSales.com.

About DrivingSales.com
DrivingSales is a community of automotive industry professionals, networking and sharing best practices to maximize their success. On DrivingSales.com, members post profiles, share sales strategies, and get access to relevant content contributed by industry experts, including blogs, videos, interviews, and more. Members who are dealers rate and review vendors, sharing their experience with the DrivingSales community; while vendors get the opportunity to provide feedback on reviews and showcase their products and services. DrivingSales empowers auto industry professionals to take their businesses and careers to a whole new level of success. Get connected at www.drivingsales.com.

Technorati Tags: auto industry experts, dealership best practices

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Salt Lake City, UT, June 9, 2008 — DrivingSales.com, the auto dealer industry’s original online community and social networking site, today announced the launch of its first best practices contest. The inaugural event will put the brightest minds in the automotive industry to the challenge of submitting the best sales strategy or spiff. Members of the DrivingSales community will review and rate the strategies based on Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: Best Spiff Contest, MacBook Air