Archive for April, 2010
Why women rock…the auto industry
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
Women are a powerful force in the automotive industry. Not only do we buy over half of the new vehicles sold every year (54%), we influence up to 80% of all purchase decisions. This is on top of that fact that we account for 65% of service work done at dealerships. All in all we provide $200 billion dollars worth of buying power to the industry! Not too shabby for us ladies, if I do say so myself!
Despite this massive buying power that we posses, we still only make up 8% of car salespeople across the country. A lot of this could explain why so often women feel the need to bring along a male “security blanket” to help them shop. Hopefully you do not fall into this category but, if you do, it is really not surprising at all.
The fact of the matter is that women shop and buy differently than men. Generally, we are much more relationship based in our major purchase decision making. We want to buy from someone that we feel good about buying from. This is evident in the fact that we pay as much as $1,353 extra on vehicle purchases just to avoid negotiation! We would much rather find someone we feel comfortable buying from than drive all over town and haggle for the very best price.
This is not to say that we are poor shoppers. When it comes to buying cars, observations have shown that women tend to be more concerned with amenities, color, style and safety features, opposed to male counterparts that tend to care about performance, economy and price. Also, women take more time to research which vehicle is the correct one for their current situation, not which one they can simply get the best price on. The majority of the situations I run across on a daily basis involve the following: “Here is my situation…can you help me?” Ladies are looking for assistance, assurance and…a good deal.
So, you’re in the market – what do you do now? Realize that, as a woman you hold a lot of buying power. You make major decisions each and every day and buying a vehicle should be no different. Know what it is that you want and don’t be afraid to ask for it. Do your research to become more familiar with the vehicle in question and seek out answers to your questions. If someone makes you feel uncomfortable during the sales process, walk away because you deserve better. And, as always, if you want to reach out to me, please feel free: cihde@ewaldauto.com
P.S. I got all of my statistics from women-drivers.com. I would highly suggest you check-it out if you’re in the market!
Tags: Auto, automotive, Automotive Advantage, car buying, car dealership, car sales, Ewald, Milwaukee, Oconomowoc, women
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We need your help to support youth baseball in Oconomowoc
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
What a better way to start spring than Chevrolet, Baseball and the Sausage Racers! In the spirit of community collaboration and teamwork taught through youth sports, Ewald Chevrolet Buick has once again partnered with Oconomowoc Area Baseball Club through the Chevy Youth Baseball program that will include equipment donations as well as fundraising opportunities during the 2010 little league baseball season. To really kick off the event they have invited the Youth Baseball Teams and the Klements Sausage Racers to the Ewald Chevrolet Dealership May 8th.
Now in its third year in the Milwaukee area, Chevy Youth Baseball is an initiative that establishes a positive relationship between your local Chevrolet dealers and the communities they serve. Ewald Chevrolet Buick selected the Oconomowoc Area Baseball Club because of the league’s proximity to the dealership. Over the course of the season, Ewald Chevrolet Buick will donate team equipment kit items, which include: equipment bags, ball buckets, coaches’ padfolios, water bottles and t-shirts.
Ewald Chevrolet and Chevrolet Motors will also donate a Chevy Equinox which will be raffled off by participating teams, including Oconomowoc Area Baseball Club. Team and leagues that participate in the Chevy Equinox raffle keep 100 percent of the proceeds. Over the past three years local Chevy dealers have helped raise more than 3.6 million for participating leagues.
Last year’s winner of the new 2009 Chevy Tahoe was Doug Pierce of Oconomowoc. Doug purchased his winning raffle ticket through the Oconomowoc Area Baseball Club.
“We are looking forward to another great season with the Oconomowoc Area Baseball Club that will be filled with exciting games and an enhanced experience for the kids and the teams through the equipment donations” said Brian Ewald of Ewald Chevrolet Buick. “Chevy Youth Baseball is just one example of how committed our dealership is to supporting the youth and families in the Oconomowoc community.
I also wish to remind everyone to visit www.chevybaseball.com and vote for Oconomowoc’s zip code so that the children and the community can win a new ball diamond courtesy of Chevrolet and Scotts Lawn Care Company.” “It will be like hitting a double if we can win a ball diamond and have someone from the Lake Country Area win the Chevy Equinox” said Ewald.
“Chevrolet is a proud sponsor of Major League Baseball and Youth Baseball, it’s because of this relationship that we are able to host the “Kick Off Event” for the Oconomowoc Youth Baseball and have the Klements Sausage Racers at the dealership. Bring the kids to meet the Klements Sausage Racers and have your photo taken with them. We will gladly print or email them for you.” said Schutte.
For more information about Chevy Youth Baseball, visit www.chevyyouthbasebaseball.com.
For more information about helping Oconomowoc win a new Baseball Diamond visit www.chevybaseball.com.
For more information about purchasing raffle tickets to win the all new Chevy Equinox contact Steve Smith at snksmith@charter.net
Tags: automotive, Automotive Advantage, baseball, benefits, Chevrolet, Chevy, Ewald, Oconomowoc, youth
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Big Tent Main Event
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
Ewald Automotive Advantage is facing off against Kearns Motor Car Company this weekend in a competition to sell the most used cars. The race is to see who can move over 5 million in inventory. You’ll get $3,500 minimum trade-in on your vehicle, no matter what the condition and a $50 Menards gift certificate with every purchase.
Stop Johnson Creek on highway 26 and 94 for free food and drink plus drawings for Packer and Brewers tickets.
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We want to be Milwaukee’s best!
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
Over the past 46 years, the Ewald Automotive Group has worked hard to serve the Metro-Milwaukee area to the best of our ability. After this long record of service, we would like to ask you for one favor. Now through May 2, WISN.com is holding their annual A-List competition to find the best of everything in Milwaukee. For the first time ever, they are looking for the best new car dealership in the metro area.
All of us at Ewald Automotive Group would be humbled if you would be willing to take a few moments to vote for your favorite Ewald location. You can do so by visiting http://wisn.cityvoter.com/contests/spring-fever/4767/auto/dealers?page=2 and selecting which location you prefer to use. If for some reason you do not feel we are the best dealer though, we would love to know why you would not vote for us so we can continue to improve. However, for all of our loyal customers out there, we would like to thank you for an amazing 46 years and we look forward to many more!
Thanks,
Cortney
Tags: Auto, automotive, Automotive Advantage, car dealership, car sales, Ewald, Milwaukee, WISN
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The hurdles of being a manager
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
Sometimes I’m just too nice. I mean, normally being nice is a great quality to have, I have found it to help me out in business tremendously. However, when it comes time to manage employees, being too nice can be detrimental.
Now, as a manager, I have it pretty easy, I have little to complain about. I have been lucky enough to manage a great group of people. The main issue I run into is getting people to find stuff to do with their time. It is great when I give a task to an employee and they complete it just as I asked. However, if this leaves them extra time in their day and they decide to text or play on Facebook instead of working, this does not help me out. I want to be able to motivate my employees to find the next thing that needs to be accomplished and to start working on it.
Of course, this is a pretty good problem to have. In the past I have had employees that didn’t even get their assigned tasks completed. When an employee fails to follow simple instructions, I am left with little choice but to micro-manage and I HATE to micro-manage. I guess I do not understand what is so difficult about listening and completing the assignment as instructed.
However, these days are hopefully behind me now. What I really want to figure out is how to get employees to reach their potential. As I said before, it is great that you do your tasks just as you’re supposed to, but I am often left knowing that the employee can do so much more. The real trick I want to find though is how to get them to that next level themselves, instead of pushing them to go there.
So, my fellow managers, what has worked best for you? If there is possible training for my employees, or myself I would be open to that. Even if you can recommend a good book, that would be great. Or, if you have faced a similar issue with your employees, how did you handle it? I would love to learn from those that have faced this issue!
As always, feel free to respond privately: cihde@ewaldauto.com
Tags: automotive, Automotive Advantage, employee moral, employees, employer, Ewald, Human Resources, management, managers
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License plates galore
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010
My husband and I were super excited last week when we found out that Brewers license plates are now available for order. I’m not sure if we’ll end up getting them for our car or not but it is pretty cool to be able to represent Milwaukee and the Brewers like that. I’m guessing we’ll have to make our decision soon though, we like the retro plate the best and I have a feeling those will be going quick!
Upon hearing about the new plates, I decided to see what other license plates are available in the state of Wisconsin. I was amazed to find dozens of different plates for just about every interest, cause and service. To check them out for yourself, you can visit: http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/drivers/plateguide/special.htm. However, here is a sampling of a few of my favorites:
Celebrate Children: As a proud mother myself, I love the idea of supporting the Celebrate Children Foundation. Sure, the plates cost a little bit more but at least you know the money is going to a good place. Not only that, the plate then act as a mobile billboard for the foundation!
Endangered Resources: Our family loves the outdoors and enjoying all that Wisconsin has to offer. This seems like a great way to ensure that our beautiful nature will be around for generations to come.
Military Group: My husband served in the United States Marine Corps and I was always raised with a strong sense of gratitude for our men and women in the service. I know I feel a strong sense of pride whenever I see someone with a military license plate.
Packers: I mean, common, this is Wisconsin!
So I guess even if you’re not interested in the new Brewers license plate, there are plenty of options for you. Just save me a retro Brewers plate please!
Tags: Auto, automotive, Automotive Advantage, Brewers, car, car dealership, Ewald, license plates, Military
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