Stop and think about this for a moment: Conventional wisdom tells us that a retail operation — your independent tire dealership — is designed for walk-in traffic. So you spend money as an owner or manager on building a great store experience, attempting to drive in traffic with advertising, promotions, merchandising and signage. And all the while you’re keeping the search on for the next winning location for expansion. All good. Continue those efforts,

Tags: Doug Trenary, Sales training, SalesMind

Is someone knocking on your door to buy your business? If not, someone soon may. Mergers and acquisitions in tires are in high gear.

Tags: Ludwig Report, Saul Ludwig, Service revenues, Tire pricing, Tire volumes

The Automobile Dealers’ Association has provided an irresistible incentive to have its members really work to enlarge the organization,” read the item in the September 1920 issue of Tires, the predecessor of Modern Tire Dealer.

Tags: CJ's Tire & Automotive Services, Dunn Tire, Sports Marketing, Sullivan Tire Co.

Last month I wrote that due to sharply lower raw material costs during 4Q11, I would not expect to see any further tire price hikes any time soon. Unfortunately, that was a wrong call because predictability of future raw material prices is all but impossible.

Tags: Ludwig Report, Raw material costs, Saul Ludwig, Tire prices

No snow — that was the problem for dealers in northern climates in December as retail tire sales at those dealerships were very weak. Some reported to me that comp store sales volumes last month declined by more than 15%. Wow.

Tags: Ludwig Report, Saul Ludwig

Jim Blackburn Sr. is a man who doesn’t pass up an opportunity. And it was opportunity that took him from being an Archway cookie truck driver to the owner of a leading provider of new, used and refurbished OE wheels and hubcaps.

Tags: Blackburn's Hubcap & Wheel, Refurbished wheels, Wheel sales, Wheel Service, Wheels

I could never make a better teaching point than to offer some real results — increased sales, profits and new customers with their new dollars — that several retail store managers shared with me recently. It happened at a training session for one of my independent tire dealer customers, a client who has 12 stores.

Tags: Business insight, prospecting, Sales calls

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The most rewarding part of my 35-year experience in the automotive aftermarket has been people. I love cars. I love wheels, tires, service and customers. I love the interaction of connecting the dots to satisfy the needs within our industry.

Tags: Business insight, Wayne Williams

Every year, industry experts try to predict what will become the hottest items on the market, or what the latest advancements will be. I think the proper word is “futurecasting.”

Saul Ludwig has a sixth sense of sorts, which comes in handy when you are the pre-eminent analyst in the tire industry. He can see not only what is happening inside and outside the marketplace, but also how that affects the future.

Tags: Saul Ludwig, The Ludwig Report