MADA Dealer member, Academy Ford Sales, recently celebrated 50 years with Ford. Academy hosted friends and family at a lovely reception on October 19th. During the evening, John Felice, of the Ford Motor Company presented Tom Lynch with a plaque commemorating his 50 years of service to Ford as a Maryland dealer.     

Mike and Tom Lynch accepting a commemorative plaque from John Felice of Ford Motor Company.

Congratulations to Tom and Michael Lynch on this special milestone!

MADA recently presented a concise and business-focused Health Care Reform seminar earlier this month. Our speakers, Susan Relland from American Fidelity and David Kelly from Kelly Benefit Strategies, presented great information to all of our guests. Susan focused on the federal portion of the legislation, highlighting the most pertinent issues for business owners. David focused on state-level policies and the specifics that will affect us here in Maryland.   For being such a large and expansive federal program, both speakers did a truly excellent job of putting it plain and simple for our attendees.   

Susan Relland presenting to a full audience

MADA would like to thank Susan and David for donating their time and expertise. It was truly an educational and enlightening morning!

The Motor Vehicle Administration recently sent an alert in response to questions about the amount of processing fees for paperwork a dealer can charge. The fee limit increased on July 1, 2011, to $200 and will increase again on July 1, 2014, to $300. Maryland dealers should also be aware that the optional processing fee to consumers is taxable and must be included in the 6 percent excise tax calculation.

Dealer questions may be directed to mvabusinesslicensing@mva.maryland.gov.

#1: A 21st Century Process for Closing More Sales-For Showroom & Internet Sales Managers! 

Date/Time: Thursday, October 25 at 1:00 p.m.

Presenter: Jennifer Suzuki, President of eDealerSolutions
Cost: $149.00 per person

Recently Jennifer Suzuki presented a smash hit Webinar on how to move prospects from email, to the phone and ultimately to a face-to-face appointment in the showroom. You learned how to create more qualified 'ups'!

Now learn Jennifer's 21st century process for improving your ability to convert that 'up' into a profit-producing sale. As Sales and Internet managers, you spend a lot of time and money creating those closing opportunities for your sales staff. Now learn Jennifer's process to help guide your sales people to higher closing ratios.

You will learn:

• The proper staffing levels for your dealership sales departments
• Phone call structuring tips for all sales people
• How sales people can create 'added value'
• A process for managers to wring more value from the add-on features of call tracking and CRM systems
• Plus 10 more Key Closing Tips for dealership Sales and Internet managers  

Date/Time: Thursday, November 1, 2012 at 1:00 p.m.

Presenter: Paul Gillrie of The Paul Gillrie Institute

Cost: $149.00 Per Person

Dealership data processing costs are huge! But according to expert Paul Gillrie, much of what you get invoiced for every month can be either unnecessary or just plain wrong.

Join this session and learn from Paul's insight and analysis of thousands of dealership DMS bills. Find out where you are over-spending...find out where you are getting charged for services you do not use!

You will learn:

• How your monthly bill compares to other dealers paying for similar services
• How discounts and benefits negotiated need to be continually checked
• What typical items appear on monthly bills but are no longer used - what can you cancel
• Are increases in rates allowed under your agreement
• Can you get refunds for over-payments