What Not

Ken Counselman

During my time as a salesman at Leikin Volvo, I had the privilege of working with Steve Ours, Jim Vanek, and Greg Schneider.  From the beginning, we were known as the Volvo boys.  Besides the daily beatings I received from the sales manager, and we developed a camaraderie which made for a good work environment.  However, when I took the position of internet manager, it was important to bring in someone who would fit in with the existing team.  I’m pleased to announce that we have found just the person we needed.

Ken Counselman brings over 14 years of sales experience to the dealership, his most recent experience being with Acura and Infiniti.  The first thing you notice about Ken is that he is calm and unassuming.  Customers don’t feel intimidated by his approach to sales.  This has already been evident by the ease with which he has already sold several Volvos.  Ken is 57 years old and resides in Maple Heights, Ohio with his three dogs, Pedro and Chico (chihuahuas), and Sasha (black lab/German shepherd).

If you would be interested in talking with Ken about a new or pre-owned vehicle, feel free to contact him at (440) 946-6900.

Last year I had a business card magnet made to replace my normal business card. I had it made for the Cleveland Auto Show thinking that people might put the magnet on their refrigerator and think of me first when looking for their next car. But after a year of using those, I ran out rather quickly. And some people asked for a normal business card instead so it would fit in their wallet.

2010 Business Card

This year, I decided to make a full-color business card. After looking at various creative business card examples on the internet, I decided that a driver’s license look-a-like would be the way to go. Thankfully, a talented friend was willing to do the artwork for me at a good price. I smiled for twenty minutes after seeing his excellent work! I still have a few edits to make (such as adding my email address!) but it should be done this week and sent to the printer hopefully in time for the Auto Show at the end of the month.

I’ve not tinkered with AndyRupert.com for some time due to my new responsibilities at the dealership.  However, Leikin Motor Companies is currently running full-page advertisements in two local papers and I thought it would be good to post those somewhere online for our customers to peruse.  Hence the new Specials tab at AndyRupert.com.

Looking for the best opportunity before you purchase a new car?  December is your best bet.  But don’t take my word for it.  Read the front page of the Business section of today’s Plain Dealer.

2009 Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG

In a recent article, Robert Schoenberger reports that car prices are going up!   What automotive analysts have found is that “inventory is down, incentives are down, demand is up.”  However, as the article points out, it is a good time to look for an end-of-the-year bargain on a new 2009 model.

“This year’s models are scarce, but several dealers still have some 2009 vehicles.  Most remaining 2009s have cash rebates on them.”  And “with demand for used vehicles high, you may be able to negotiate a better price for your old vehicle.”

That sounds pretty good.  But are any 2009 models still available?  Leikin Motor Companies has a number of 2009 models left, including a few Buick Lucernes, a Mercedes-Benz ML63, a Volvo C30, and a  couple Volvo S80s. But as the article mentioned, if you are looking for a specific color, you’ll have to decide between savings and getting exactly what you wanted in a 2010 model.

I’ve been working for Leikin Volvo as a salesman for the past 1½ years. It has been a good job but full of ups and downs as you would expect in this economy. To help boost my presence on the internet, I designed a website to showcase the cars that I was able to sell. That was an enjoyable project and has proven helpful to me and my customers. Later, when I began distributing a magnet business card with Andy Rupert.com emblazoned across the top, my co-workers started calling me, “Andy Rupert dot com.” (They even page me over the intercom as Andy Rupert.com now!) Even so, that all came in handy recently when the internet manager position became vacant. After several discussions with my manager and some of the others, I was interviewed and offered the job!

I started my new position Wednesday and have been very busy trying to get a handle on my new responsibilities. They involve maintaining the old and future websites as well as managing internet leads given to the salesman in the three showrooms at our dealership. It’s a good job but let me tell you that it takes lots of time. There was, however, time this morning for me to record a video of Trenton singing about my new job. I think you will agree that it was time well spent.

When things are slow at the dealership, this is how we try to attract more customers. Notice the string of small balloons in the upper right hand corner. Eddie tied five balloons end to end to attract more attention. Sunnyside Nissan (across the street from us) also put up balloons. BUT WE WIN WITH THE TALLEST BALLOON STRING!!!

I don’t know if it’ll bring in any more customers, but it’s got us watching out the window!

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UPDATE: We sold 8 cars today, so maybe it works, eh?