AdAgencyOnline.Net is a free automotive advertising resource / networking portal that shares best practices with automotive advertising agencies, auto dealers and automotive advertising vendors. Philip Zelinger is the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. and the host of the blog talk radio show “Automotive Advertising Experts†that is featured on the portal’s blog talk radio station WAAOL – All Automotive Advertising News All The Time. Tim Zierden, the Assistant Vice President and General Manager of software solutions for JMsolutions, will be interviewed by Philip for the second time on WAAOL to discuss their unique inventory management and marketing application – AAX™.
About Tim Zierden
Tim Zierden has been recognized by the auto industry as a leader in integrated, automotive web-based products and service. Tim is responsible for the strategic direction of JMsolutions’ AAX™ Inventory Management and CMX™ Customer Management Solutions software. Prior to joining JMsolutions, Zierden was vice president of trade operations for lanelogic. His responsibilities included overseeing all technology enhancements, trade desk operations and trading process. Zierden also spent several years as the operating partner for Flow Automotive, a multi-franchise new car store. He worked in all areas of the dealership from service to sales and built a successful team that was able to more than double the business.
As one of the founding associates of CarMax, Inc., Zierden gained significant expertise in the field of inventory management. He joined CarMax as a buyer in training and opened 10 stores, eventually rising to regional vice president of merchandising. Zierden’s region included the #1 and #2 volume used car operations in the country. He led both the technology and operational teams that created CarMax’s appraisal process.
About JMsolutions
JMsolutions (www.jmfe-jmsolutions.com) was established in 2005. A JM Family Enterprises, Inc. (www.jmfamily.com) company, JMsolutions (www.jmsolutions.com) develops and markets innovative, integrated software systems that help automotive dealers improve operational efficiencies throughout the entire sales and marketing process while maximizing sales.
JMsolutions offers its AAX™ inventory management suite; CMX™ customer management suite which includes DealerUps™ customer relationship management, ProCal™ desking, ProFi™ finance and insurance menu; and SMX™ sales and service marketing suite by DMEautomotive. It also provides dealers with related training and consulting services. JMsolutions serves over 2,500 dealership clients nationwide, including the nation’s top six dealer groups.
Headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Fla., JMsolutions has major operations in Dallas, Texas.
About Philip Zelinger
Philip Zelinger invested twenty five plus years in the retail auto industry as a general manager and dealer principal before shifting his focus to automotive advertising when he accepted a position as the C.O.O. of a national automotive advertising agency in 1998 before leaving to found Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. in December of 2001. Ad Agency Online L.L.C. is a national network of independent affiliated automotive advertising agencies, production partners and preferred automotive advertising vendors linked by the online communication / distribution system developed by Mr. Zelinger. As the author of two books on the auto industry, including a career training guide titled “How To Sell A Car,†Philip is a nationally recognized authority on automotive advertising and a respected speaker invited to conduct seminars and Dealer 20 Group meetings throughout the United States.
About AdAgencyOnline.Net
AdAgencyOnline.Net started reviewing automotive advertising vendors and new technologies after their introduction during the 2008 NADA Convention in San Francisco. In addition to providing free creative, hosting online Dealer 20+ Groups and providing links to “preferred automotive advertising vendors†the site also hosts several blog talk radio shows in addition to the “Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising†including the “Lunch With Ralph Discussing Automotive Advertising†and “Automotive Advertising Experts.â€
AdAgencyOnline.Net is supported by automotive advertising agencies, auto dealers, auto industry vendors and a growing number of O.E.M. representatives that rely on the site to find and review vendors, applications and new technologies to maximize their R.O.I. in a shrinking auto industry. The site features applications used in both virtual and real world selling processes including DMS and CRM applications provided by established auto industry vendors such as ADP and BZ Results. Ad Agency Online L.L.C has been engaged by a number of new automotive advertising vendors not yet recognized by the mainstream automotive advertising industry that have been featured on WAAOL including Argistics – AutoTransaXion, SiSTeR Technologies – Video CarLot, EveryCarListed.Com, DealMaker.Com, CityTwist.Com, Bulldog Marketing Technologies, LeadConverter, Gumiyo, Kihon Media, Ai Dealer, NeoSynergy and Laser Stream Video.
In advance of the interview with Tim Zierden to review AAXâ„¢ JMsolutions provided the following press releases to describe AAXâ„¢ in more detail:
JMsolutions Announces Favorable Returns for Large Pre-Owned Vehicles
Data Findings Cast Silver Lining in Truck-Friendly Markets
Deerfield Beach, Fla. (September, 19, 2008) – JMsolutions, a dealer-focused automotive technology products and services company, released findings today which show that pre-owned SUVs and trucks are earning excellent returns in traditionally “truck-friendly†markets. Successful used vehicle sales opportunities remain despite the nationwide general downturn in new SUV and truck sales. For example, in Dallas, Texas, nine of the 11 most profitable used vehicle models in August were full-sized SUVs or large pick-up trucks.
The data, based on nearly 62,000 vehicles retailed in the U.S. in August by dealers using JMsolutions’ AAX™ used vehicle inventory management system, also showed similar trends in other regions. The second most profitable used vehicle in the Washington, D.C. market was the Chevy Trailblazer, with the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and Dodge Ram 1500 respectfully rounding out the top 20 most profitable used vehicles. The Jeep Liberty held the number one rank in used vehicle profitability in the South Florida market.
“It’s clear that dealers who continue to utilize AAX and follow our inventory management philosophy are maximizing margins and ‘turns’ in their stores when buying and selling vehicles,†said Scot Eisenfelder, group vice president, JMsolutions. “The ability to adjust quickly and appropriately to the market is enabling dealers to reap the benefits on many vehicles that they may otherwise assume are losers.â€
“Rather than moving too far under the vehicle’s book value and risk making the trade for a new vehicle, dealers are proactively using their store’s AAX data to base buying and pricing decisions. This allows them to be more competitive on trades, winning more new car deals,†Eisenfelder continued.
JMsolutions Study Results Show “Core is Kingâ„¢â€
Dealers with more “core†inventory reap higher gross margins and increased inventory turn
DEERFIELD BEACH, FL. (May 19, 2008) – JMsolutions today announced the results of a study that shows that the average dealer who uses its AAX used vehicle inventory management solution and follows the system’s recommendations of vehicles to stock can see an average, verifiable increase in average retail gross and floor plan savings of $60,000 per year. “Core” vehicles are those which repeatedly sell faster at higher gross margins for the dealership.
“JMsolutions has long professed the advantages of using AAX and stocking the right, ‘core’ vehicles at the right price,†said Tim Zierden, assistant vice president and general manager, Product Solutions, JMsolutions. “We believe that dealers should be knowledgeable about marketplace pricing but, most importantly, they should look at their own store’s sales history to determine how that vehicle has performed in the past and at what price point.â€
The study, which looked at the performance of more 1,700 AAX™ dealers, also illustrated that a 10 percent increase in the average dealer’s core inventory units equates to a three-day improvement in retail age at sale and five-day improvement in average inventory age.
There are conflicting viewpoints on how best to price used vehicles to optimize the dealer’s return. Some recommend that dealers should base their pricing on how those vehicles are being priced in the marketplace or on the Internet. Others say that the dealer’s own transactional history is the best compass on which to base pricing decisions.
“We found that basing pricing decisions solely on marketplace pricing drives used vehicle retail prices down,†said Zierden. “We advocate using market pricing as a guide, especially as vehicles age. However, many dealers will miss profit opportunities if they focus only on other dealerships’ published Internet pricing. We show our dealers how to make better pricing decisions using their own data which is a much better indicator of what a vehicle should retail for at their store.†“We are confident that we’re leading dealers in the right direction with our stocking and pricing methodologies,†Zierden continued. “There’s no getting around the basics of good inventory management – and this study substantiates our philosophy that ‘Core is King’.â€
Zierden has joined a growing list of respected automotive advertising insiders to be interviewed on AdAgencyOnline.Net including; Clayton Stanfield from EBay Motors, Mark Boyd and Mark Dubis from CarFolks.Com, Jared Hamilton from DrivingSales.Com, Dale Pollak from vAuto, David Wassmann from NeoSynergy, Jerry Daniels from Automotive Broadcasting Network, (ABN), Terry Alling from Kihon Media, David Marod from LeadConverter, Mike Parsons from Laser Stream Video, Brian Hoecht from Ai Dealer, Ralph Paglia from ADP and host to the auto industry social networking community ADM, Jim Ziegler, motivational speaker and consultant to the auto industry, Jeff Kershner, ecommerce director for The Mile One Automotive Group and host of the auto industry social networking forum DealerRefresh.Com , Jeff Raab from the Detroit Trading Company, (DTX), Mike DeCecco from Dealer.Com, Ken Schwartz from CityTwist, Michael R. Spadafore from R. L. Polk & Co., Kevin Schwartz and Rick Rochon from AdSymetrix and most recently Scott Davis from Bulldog Marketing Technologies.
Automotive advertising vendors, automotive advertising agencies and auto dealers that would like to be considered as a “preferred automotive advertising vendor†on AdAgencyOnline.Net and/or to hire Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. should contact Philip Zelinger directly at pzads@bellsouth.net, call him at 888-796-2228 or visit AdAgencyOnline.Net at https://adagencyonline.net . Philip will also be conducting preliminary interviews with automotive advertising vendors in an open meeting during the 2009 NADA Convention in New Orleans to be held in the lobby lounge of the Ritz Carlton Hotel on Saturday evening between 5:30 PM and 7:00 PM. An invitation only dinner meeting will be held immediately after the open interviews for the advisory panel of a new auto industry social networking site – Auto Industry Insights – that Philip is helping to coordinate for his vendor/client EveryCarListed.com. To quote Philip Zelinger, “Help is only a click away!†###