Facts Not Feelings with Brooke C. Furniss

No one has ever done that. It would take a miracle. There is a one in a million chance. How often do we hear this, yet these against all odds events happen? You all know I am a sports nut, and as I look at the landscape recently, we have had numerous “there is no way” this can happen…happen! The Buffalo Bills returned the Opening Kickoff off for a touchdown on the first play since Damar Hamlin’s i...

Happy New Year, everyone! As we embark on a new year, instead of dwelling on the challenges and setbacks of the past year, let's focus on what we can do to take care of ourselves and others in the present and set ourselves up for success in the future. After the recent scare involving Buffalo Bill's Safety, Damar Hamlin, it is important to enjoy every moment and make the most of all the...

As we wrap up another year and look towards 2023, it provides us an opportunity to start thinking about our resolutions. What do we want to start doing? What do we want to start doing better? What habits do we want to cease? When it comes to automotive, what tops your resolution list? What should be at the top of your New Year Resolutions List for 2023? Dusty Sutherland, Client Success Manager for...

This past weekend Chris and I snuck away and had little staycation. No computers. No work. Just us, our beloved city of Chicago, and of course the frigid Chiberia temperatures. Our focus is often swept up in the rat race and we ignore what is truly important. Sometimes we take for granted the people who are always there for us without even realizing it. Are you doing this at work? Are you doing th...

In September, I had the opportunity to sit down with our Super Mega Panel of Sarah Ciociola, Hannah Lifson, April Simmons, and Laurie Halter and discuss advertising even when inventory is less than ideal. In light of the changing market, the topic of how now is not the time to hold back advertising dollars is more prominent than ever as we near the end of the year. December always proves to be the...

Recently, I've attended quite a few meetings about Merchandising. As a result, this made me wonder what else we are doing to light our money on fire with our spending. How much is a video worth if a picture is worth 1,000 words? What about a bad photo or video? A few years back we were looking to build a home. For some reason, we decided to look at homes to buy for a very short period. During...

There has been a lot of buzz lately around CDP, CLV, and for some reason adding more acronyms to our industry that already has more than NASA! Back in August I had the pleasure of sitting down with Steve Apicella, Chief Executive Officer of Strategic DX - Your Dealer Experience, and we covered many topics, including Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). Considering the current landscape, it seemed a good...

What an awesome show we had with Bob Lanham on Friday! What were your top takeaways from MRC? In our discussion, we talked about how it's okay to have differing opinions and how this can help us all grow. If we continue to stay in our echo chambers, we can’t grow to full potential. It should go without saying that how we go about offering and discussing our thoughts must be in a professional...

We have the top takeaways from the Modern Retail Conference for anyone who was at the gorgeous Eau Palm Beach Resort and Spa in person and attended the three days of jam-packed content of workshops and keynotes, watched it virtually and furiously took notes, or had a little FMO because they could not attend. Let's face it, Thanksgiving has come and gone, and any notes you took are lost! In or...

60 minutes, four quarters, 90 minutes, whatever the game, you have to play to the very last second. You have to play to the very last whistle and until the clock hits double zeros. How many last second shots have we seen, last second field goals, walk  off home runs? Now let’s take this the other direction. Yesterday, instead of getting the ball back and giving the freight train Derrick Henry, Rya...

After a glorious week in sunny gorgeous Palm Beach, Florida, we are back in Chiberia and 2 degree weather. There was no easing into it. We went from being on a high being surrounded and being taught by the best and brightest minds to being slapped in the face with the cold harsh reality of…cold…pure harsh windchill Chicago Cold! We will have a full recap of the show in another episode. It never ce...

Tuesday morning at 9:58 AM, is this the 100th or 300th time you've checked your eBlast with your heart pounding and hands sweating before you hit Send? Every single time a marketer sends an eBlast, a little panic attacks ensue! At least 50 times we read the content and still need a Xanax to survive! I have been there. I’m gonna let you in on a little secret, if that eBlast doesn’t go out righ...

There are few things you need to know about me. I’m a Sneakerhead. I have a very eclectic range of music, & believe R&B, true R&B, may be the best genre ever. Next to Js, my only other addiction is Diet Dr. Pepper. The other thing you must understand about me is I'm loyal to a fault. I'll protect my friends & loved ones at all costs. This same loyalty extends to my client...

It is Halloween and in true Halloween fashion the power went out right before coming on live! (insert scary do-do-do-do music)! While we are not possessed over here, we do want to stay with the festive Halloween theme! I was never a big fan of Halloween growing up. I know you are probably thinking to yourself, “Wwwhhhaatt?! Free Candy = Good! Dress up as your favorite superhero every year, awesome...

Consider the last time you rented a car or returned a car to the dealership. What happened to the information on your phone in the car? Did you delete it? In addition to you, how many other passengers left their phone information on the car while you were in it? Are you truly aware of what your car knows about you and what others have access to if you don't delete your data? Over four out of...

It is Monday and yours truly saw something she thought she would never see. Game 4 tickets for ALCS were slashed from $211 to $20. The New York Yankees are notorious for having some of the highest if not the highest ticket in baseball, yet all Yankee fans knew the fate. The question is why, and how the hell does this relate to automotive?! Let’s rewind to Friday and our conversation with Steve Roe...

CRM…and we lost the audience. Seriously, Brooke? You are REALLY going to talk about Customer Relationship Management tools?! Well not exactly. More like, engagement. How to do more with less. Why we should change our mindset & start viewing CRMs as an engagement tool rather than data management tool. Could you imagine simplifying the process and having the time to actually datamind your databa...

Are we all settled in *cough* detoxed from a week in Vegas? I slept all day Sunday! For all the calls & texts I missed yesterday, I was out cold in our Theater Room as Red Zone lulled me to sleep! Whether it's Conference or 20 Group (insert groan here), I always find it key to address the Red Shiny Object Syndrome. There were a lot of new cool gadgets that maybe you saw. Some may actually...

Anyone else collapse into their bed last night and by the time their head hit their pillow were out like light? Pick me, pick me! Three to four days of jammed pack of content, connecting, and catching up with old friends and new ones that will go down as old ones with the passing years. I stand in awe of the talent, the brain power, and the overall incredible-ness of the humans in this industry th...

It’s Monday and we are on our way to Viva Las Vegas Baby for Digital Dealer! Can’t wait to see you all there. Before we hop on a plane, let’s chat about Friday and our chat with Better Vantage Point’s Tom Kline. What did you learn? What insights did you gain? What was your take away? This week I am so excited to meet and see so many of you in person. Launching Leaders first annual kick off is this...

Tom Kline from Better Vantage Point & I've been speaking about GLBA for bit. Last week I dove into the Facts Not Feelings archives where Chris Tragesz, a cyber security forensics specialist, sat down with me at the first of the year in “What’s the Biggest Risk?” Following up from “We're Gonna Need A Bigger Megaphone,” Tom & I are diving into GLBA & ripping off the Bandaid. Wh...

There's a chill in the air. Pumpkin Spice cars are back in season. October and Fall are here. Not to scare anyone, but we’re 82 days, 10 Hours, 17 mins, & 10 Seconds, 9 Seconds…away from Christmas. Apparently businesses know this because Mariano’s had Advent Calendars at the grocery store yesterday...insert facepalm emoji. Speaking of being prepared and Christmas lists, did you catch Scot...

Partner or Vendor: which provides more business value? Do you really regard yourself as a true partner at the dealership or at your agency? Are you truly engaged with your role, or do you merely check the boxes and collect a check? Do you know what it takes to be a partner? Do you listen to understand each other’s needs? Do you call only when it benefits you? Are you seen as an authoritative resou...

End of month, bring it! After Friday’s episode “Outsourced BDC: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly” with Robin Wilson, I think we are all ready to take on the world! I love how she knows who she is, knows the importance of being a trailblazer and leans into it, and does everything possible to move this industry forward. Robin will be the first to lend a helping hand to whomever needs it. Robin and I’s co...

How many “leads,” or what I like to call business opportunities, does your BDC (Business Development Center) receive in a given month? As the owner, manager, and overseer, are you aware of the resources it takes to provide your teams in order to handle the volume? Maybe you have been contemplating outsourcing your BDC or simply have questions about how outside BDC’s work. Robin Wilson, Founder of...