Category: Columns

The auto show isn’t back — it never left

April 9, 2026

After years of disruption, record attendance and high-intent engagement show why auto shows continue to matter  For a while, I’ll admit, I wondered what the future held for the traditional auto show. The Vancouver International Auto Show had been on …

Engagement Is the new control

April 9, 2026

Why modern automotive sales live or die on connection In today’s automotive marketplace, engagement has quietly become the new form of control.  Not control in the old sense of pressure or persuasion, but control of relevance, attention, and emotional permission …

Swiss wisdom

April 9, 2026

Everything I learned about the car business, I learned from the Swiss I learned a lot living and working in Switzerland. I remember my first visit for a business meeting. I was waiting for a colleague outside the hotel when I …

Start fresh, start strong

March 6, 2026

Start the new automotive sales year with clarity and purpose As a new automotive sales year gets underway, what separates the most successful sales professionals from the rest isn’t merely the number of vehicles they sold last year — it’s the …

Handling the AI conversation

March 6, 2026

Dealers attending NADA 2026 heard AI promises everywhere. What should they take seriously now? The AI conversation in automotive accelerated rapidly in 2025. Some dealers moved quickly, others more cautiously. What mattered was whether restraint was deliberate, driven by learning, engagement, …

Are you ready to meet your clone?

March 6, 2026

How auto retail executives can build a thought partner to accompany them on their journey Senior leadership can be lonely. You’re expected to make fast decisions with incomplete information, navigate competing priorities, and maintain a consistent philosophy across dozens — sometimes …

Cash is king!

In a volatile market, strong cash flow matters more than booked sales or paper profits Today’s automotive ecosystem is volatile.  New tariffs, supply-chain disruptions, recessionary economic indicators and OEM spending restrictions have forced Canadian dealerships to work harder than ever …