My last post on the blog talked about everything I know about the OFA GM Program.  At that time we were in the peak of the 2018 model year.

As we enter the busy spring selling season I’ve had a lot of questions about if this partnership will continue with the 2019 Sierra and Silverado 1500’s.

I mean it’s a completely redesigned truck so maybe we won’t be as fortunate with the 2019 model year trucks, right?

Well, at the time of writing this I’m pleased to inform you that O.F.A. members can still take advantage of big savings on both the light duty (1500) trucks and of course the might HD’s (2500 + 3500).

Why don’t you publish the discounts on your site?

Unfortunately, we are not allowed to publicly post this.  But put it this way…. If the deals weren’t worthwhile why would we be doing so many 🙂

Inventory levels on 2019 Heavy Duty Trucks are getting LOW!!

If a nice 2500 Duramax Diesel is something you’ve been putting off purchasing until the late summer I strongly suggest you reconsider.

The 2019’s have been built out for almost a month.  This means what you see is probably what you get.

We had 15 Heavy Duty trucks on our lot at the start of April.

Sold 6 in April.

This means we have 9 2019 HD trucks to do us for the rest of the year.  

Now I know some of you are waiting for the brand new redesigned 2020 HD truck BUT I highly doubt you will see discounts and rebates like we have on 2019’s for a long long time.

Can you Quote me a 2019 O.F.A Deal?

My team of truck pros can provide you with options, availability, and of course numbers.  Please provide as much information as you can in your initial inquiry.

Remember that you need an O.F.A. membership to qualify for this program.  Please call 1-800-668-3276 to receive your official letter.

Please use this contact form to get started.

One of the best partnerships General Motors has secured is definitely with the O.F.A.

That stands for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, not the Ontario Farmer’s Association which is what everyone (including myself) had initially thinks.

I can’t tell you how many customers walk through the doors of Truckville (Ernie Dean Chevrolet) who are clearly farmers and know nothing about the O.F.A. program.

Which is a shame because they could’ve missed out on MASSIVE savings if they were not informed.

I decided it was time to write about my experience with the O.F.A. program at the dealership I manage.

Ernie Dean Chevrolet Buick GMC is located right smack dab in the heart of Farm Country….Alliston Ontario.

Heck, our annual festival is called the Potatoe festival.  Most of the guys I grew up with and am still good friends with are local potatoe farmers.

A lot of them had no idea about this deal or how it worked.

So here is the jist……

The O.F.A. is the largest general farm organization in Ontario.   That claim was made right here on their website.

They have over 37,000 farm families across the province!!!

There is definitely power in numbers. 

In this video I take a trip to the 2018 Toronto Auto Show on my quest to explore the new 2019 Chevrolet Silverado, which will arrive at our dealership August/September.

Since close to 60% of all of our sales are Chevrolet and GMC trucks, we are beyond excited for the arrival of this vehicle.

Unfortunately, they wouldn’t let me inside the truck to showcase the push button start, big ass back seat, super secret compartments in the back seats, and of course the upgraded High Country trim.

Boo.

I was fortunate enough to catch a 4 minute presentation on some of the highlights of the new truck.

Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube Channel if you want updates when new videos go live.

What’s different on the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado?

Here is an article I published on the Ernie Dean website – 10 Reasons to Love the New Silverado

Thanks to my driver and camera man Brian for helping out with this VLOG.

Marcus speaking at our Toronto event

After 3 years of hosting Kijiji’s annual DealerTalk conference in Toronto it’s time to GO WEST!

Following up on our 3rd sold event in Toronto we decided to take the show to Calgary on October 1st and showcase some of the best speakers on the circut for our Western Canadian dealerships.

Alberta consists of some of our most loyal and progressive dealers on Kijiji so it was a no-brainer to host the event in cow-town.

What you need to know:

When: Thursday October 1st

Where: Arts Common, Calgary, 205 8th Avenue S.E – Visit Website

Time: 8am Registration.  Event Duration 9am – 130pm.  Half Day event

Food? Of course!!! Breakfast and Lunch is provided

How Much?  Only $99 per ticket.  $89 if you buy multiple tickets.  Buy tickets here (only 150 available)

Marcus Sheridan to headline again!!

So after hosting 3 of these conferences I haven’t been moved as much by any speaker as I was by Marcus Sheridan.  Okay, that’s a lie.  Theo Fleury was unreal last year but it’s pretty hard to compare those two topics.

I’ve been following Marcus for the last few years and his story about turning his swimming pool company around back in 2008 using content marketing is one of my favourites.  Marcus brought some real interesting perspectives to what he though was wrong in the car business.   If you aren’t reading his Sales Lion blog you need to start.

Basically customers want transparency and our industry is still having a real hard time with this.   However, there are a few good examples out there and Marcus is sure to sprinkle those real life examples into this talk.

Marcus is going to be super high intensity.  Don’t be surprised if he doesn’t spend more than 5 minutes on the stage.  Instead, you can find him wandering around the audience getting right into the thick of things.

I chopped up his Toronto presentation into 5 minutes to give you an idea of what you’re going to experience.

You can the entire speaker line up and agenda on the Dealer Talk website — DealerTalk Website

I am super excited to announce that we have added one of my favourite car peeps to the 3^rd annual Dealer Talk Conference.

Unfortunately my man Robert Wiesman had a conflict so we were faced with a hole in the speaking line up.   Hopefully we can get Robert up to the great white north in the future.

I don’t remember exactly when or where I discovered Laura Madison.   I’m thinking it was around 2013.

Right away I could tell that she was bringing some new heat to the auto biz that very few had a real grasp on.

Personal Branding is something I’ve always bought into.  Once upon a time when I was working in the dealership,  I often wondered why the local realtors had billboards, websites, and flyers.

Why didn’t this happen in the car business?

Both professions are 100% commission and I know (from experience) that you can use some of these marketing/promotional expenses as a tax deduction.

I thought you were supposed to treat the car business as your own business.  That was always the pitch in the interview right?

Without further ado, I’m so happy to announce that we are back at the gorgeous Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto for the 3rd Annual DealerTalk Conference.

This event is key for anyone in the car biz that wants to up their digital game and get some inspiration from some of North America’s best speakers.

Why I couldn’t resist the Four Seasons….. Again

• One of the coolest main rooms in the city.  Every speaker I have talked to absolutely loves presenting on this stage
• Big venue but feels intimate, perfect for 300 people
• Unreal food
• Lot’s of extra rooms to use for charge stations (phone), media, and of course mingling
• Sweet cocktail area for the happy hour… or happy two hour 🙂

The only thing we had complaints about in the past, was the price of the Four Seasons rooms for our out-of-town guests.  This year we have set up a deal with a close by hotel that is going to provide us with a special DealerTalk rate.

Sign up for the Insider’s List to get updates on hotel specials

Since the event is on a Friday this year, why not stay for the whole weekend!  Maybe the Leaf’s will be in the playoffs.

Probably not.

I promise there will not be snow in May.

Why did you move it from March to May?

• Less conference competition
• Too close to March Break
• No more competing with the annual Mining Conference in Toronto.  I’m being serious.  It was impossible to book hotel rooms in Toronto when 5000 miners from around the world flock to the big smoke
• May is much nicer to make a weekend out of than March. Let’s be honest

I will be publishing multiple blog posts leading up to the event so keep checking back in.  I’ve also setup this Insider’s List for anyone that wants alerts or updates

Sign up for the Insider’s List

Anything different you want to see at this year’s DealerTalk Conference?

Chime in below in the comments.