Why you don’t have to be a car guy to sell cars
Posted On February 8, 2019
Can you run a successful car dealership if you’re not a car guy? If you answered no, you might want to listen to Ty Bullard. Bullard, our guest in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” runs Joe Bullard Automotive Group, a successful dealership of Acura, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Cadillac and Ford in Mobile. He is third-generation in the business, and he will be the first to tell you: He’s not a car guy. “I can’t drive a stick-shift,” Bullard says. “We’re not car people. We’re people people. As soon as you can realize this business has… Read More
Categories: Automotive, Blog, What's Working with Cam Marston, WorkplaceA Passion for People and Service, Cars are Just the Product
Posted On January 21, 2019
Third generation president of the Joe Bullard Automotive Group, Ty Bullard frankly tells us that he’s not a car guy. Torque ratios? No clue. Horsepower? Unknown. But he knows service, knows how to deliver it, and knows how to lead his team in delivering it. His customers come back because Ty and his team solve their problems, not just sell cars. And his passion for aggressively pushing his company forward is evident in the words he chooses and the energy behind those words. Take a ride with us as we meet Ty and learn what motivates him and what his… Read More
Categories: Automotive, Libsyn, Podcast, Succession Planning, What's Working with Cam Marston
Do millennials have us motoring to a sharing economy?
Posted On July 12, 2017
How important is your car? Most of us would say, “very.” We are a nation that loves the freedom of private automobiles. It may surprise you, then, to hear that 30 percent of millennials who responded in a Goldman Sachs survey had no plans to buy a car. Another 25 percent said that while a car was important, buying one was not a priority. This particular section of the survey appears to have focused on Goldman Sachs interns, so we can assume many of them were in New York, where having a car is not a priority for many, many… Read More
Categories: Automotive, Generation Y / Millennials, Product Design
Your brand don’t matter. You better bring it.
Posted On August 17, 2016
Generation X is, in many ways, the forgotten generation. Its numbers lag well behind Baby Boomers and millennials. It has not yet reached the concentration of wealth amassed, as a group, by the Baby Boomers. And it no longer gets to decide what’s cool, as it has passed that torch to the millennials. But Generation X is still a valuable and sought-after market. And they apparently like to drive SUVs. Companies like Ford, whose Explorer Sport is a top-seller among Gen-Xers, are aggressively targeting the latchkey kid generation, Forbes automotive contributor Dale Buss found, and they have solid reasons for… Read More
Categories: Advertising, Automotive, Generation XBuying process goes from grass roots to social circles
Posted On June 25, 2013
If Gen X put buying power in the hand of the consumer – relying more on independent research and word of mouth referrals from friends than on company-crafted advertising – then Millennials are putting it in the hands of everyone. That is, not just their family and friends, but their Facebook friends, Twitter followers, etc. In fact, according to NBC News, a recent study conducted by eBay indicated that 20% of young motorists would be willing to conduct a car purchase entirely via a mobile device. While that may be a more extreme stance, the survey results underscore the younger… Read More
Categories: Automotive, BlogChevy Rolls Out Cars for Millennials
Posted On January 17, 2012
Following extensive market research, Chevrolet has designed two new models just for Millennials. As we’ve noted before, Millennials have proven to be less enthusiastic about automobiles than previous generations. They put off getting drivers licenses and say they prefer other forms of transportation. To make a car that Millennials could love, GM surveyed about 9,000 of them and then factored their input into two new designs, which were unveiled last week. GM enlisted MTV’s Scratch division to identify features that would appeal to the next generation of buyers. Among other preferences, they found that they love social media and connectivity…. Read More
Categories: Automotive, Product DesignBoomers Still Buying Cars
Posted On May 15, 2012
The love affair between Baby Boomers and their cars has never grown cold. Boomers, the first generation with a car in the driveway for every driver in the family, continue to be automakers’ steady date. While Millennials have been relatively reluctant to embrace their own sets of wheels, carmakers have had no trouble wooing their parents back into showroom time and time again. According to a study by JD Power and AARP, older generations now account for 6 in every 10 new car purchases. For American carmakers, Boomers make up over two-thirds of all their customers. On the flip side,… Read More
Categories: Automotive, Baby BoomersMillennials Transform Car Buying
Posted On August 9, 2012
We’ve noted here that Millennials have a different attitude towards cars than previous generations and they have a different approach to retail and buying, as well. An analysis by MSN Autos explains how Millennials are changing the way we buy and sell cars. Dealers and sales associates should take note because Millennials will account for 75% of car purchases by 2205. They currently account for almost 40%. Some of the characteristics of Millennials in the market for a car: They don’t like to haggle. They know what they want and what it’s supposed to cost. They do detailed research on… Read More
Categories: Automotive, Blog, Generations