1996 - 2003
Owner & President
IPublishers, Inc.
Des Moines, Iowa

I developed this company which provided websites, internet sales training, inventory management software, window stickers and buyers guides. I provided all sales, customer service, billing, all web design work. I also initiated the development of an innovative online inventory system for dealers. I spoke at national conventions and NADA 20 Groups, and provided sales training for our dealers. I personally signed over 200 Dealership Clients. I sold IPublishers, Inc. to ADSRUS, Inc. in January 2002 and stayed on as President until June 2003.

President
IPublishers, Inc.
Des Moines, Iowa

Managed the company with the goal to increase sales and grow our sales division. Set up a telemarketing office to provide leads to our salespeople. Oversaw web development to keep our company ahead of the curve by coming up with innovative products and services to offer. Created an Internet Sales Training Manual and Workshop for our dealers to keep them ahead of the curve and selling vehicles. Spoke at national conferences and held Internet Sales Training Workshops for our dealers.

During my tenure, I personally signed over 300 Dealership Clients.  My clients typically were not selling any vehicles on the Internet before my unique training courses. My average client generally increased their total sales by ten to fifteen percent and increased their closing ratios on internet leads to 25-30%. I know the auto industry and what it takes to be successful selling both online and on the bricks side of the house. I personally trained over 700 Internet sales people at more than 300 dealerships!

Christopher Ried has over 15 years of experience helping dealers succeed on the Internet. In 1996 Chris started IPublishers, Inc. a Website & Inventory company specializing in Auto Dealerships. When Chris sold IPublishers in 2002, IPublishers had over 300 Auto Dealer clients across the country.

Chris's clients typically were not selling any vehicles on the Internet before his unique training courses. His average client generally increased their total sales by ten to fifteen percent and increased their closing ratios on Internet leads to 25 to 30%. Chris knows the Auto Industry and what it takes to be successful selling online and on the bricks side of the house. Chris personally trained over 700 Internet sales people at more than 300 dealerships!

Chris has been a featured speaker at the Auto Retailing on the Web Conference twice. Chris has had websites featured in NADA's Auto Exec Magazine and Dealer Magazine. Chris used to write a monthly article for Dealer Magazine and the Dealix Online Newsletter. Chris has also done Internet Sales Training for Numerous NADA 20 Groups.

Creating drastic results for over 15 years, IPublishers is the total-package for successful online dealerships.

Our inventory systems are the most profitable, inventive, and cost-effective solution for auto dealers looking to take advantage of the internet as a marketing and selling tool.

We don't just build dealer websites, we help you design a web strategy that fits your dealership and allows you to easily create internet sales.

Simply put, we're your total package internet solution. What does that mean, you ask? Well, if involves your dealership and the web, we can make it work in an easier, more effective and cost-friendlier way.

Need a website? We build the best dealer sites available.

What about online inventory management? We do that too.

Web lead generation? Absolutely.

Feeds to 3rd party online marketplaces? Relax. We've got it.

Our staff are experts at making your web strategy a success. We think our inventory systems are the best you'll find, and we invite you to browse our site, take a test-drive, and learn more about us.

Our design team has built more dealer websites than we care to count. After years of designs, redesigns, design consulting, building images and animations, writing code and much more, they've mastered the science of building effective auto dealer sites.

How does IPublishers know exactly what makes dealer websites work? Because dealer websites are the only kind we do. Our design team listens to our dealers to build sites that meet their needs, and use their years of expertise to make those sites create leads and sales.

Inventory Integration

IPublishers sites are built around the most important part of your dealership: your inventory. The moment your customers access an IPublishers Precise Site, they're immersed in your vehicles, and are interacting with you and your inventory.

Our sites allow customers to schedule test-drives, view 3D vehicle tours, chat with the dealer, search your inventory, and much more.

Your Online Inventory

So, your dealership is online. You've got a website, and your cars, trucks, vans and SUVs are out there for the world to see. The problem is, the world can't find them if they're only sitting on your website, and you're not getting the kind of traffic you'd like.

Or maybe you're distributing your vehicles to 3rd parties, but you're not bringing customers back to your site, and you're not turning web-surfers into car buying leads.

Even worse, your site might be messy, hard to find, hard to search, and making it hard for customers to shop for your cars.

We get it. As pioneers in the online automotive industry we know the pitfalls of a bad internet strategy, and we know how to keep you from falling into them.

Check out the options below to learn how we can help.

Dealer Control Panel and Virtual Auto Lot

Dealer Control Panel and Virtual Auto Lot are the center of our inventory systems. Our clients use Dealer Control Panel to easily manage their inventory, their customers use Virtual Auto Lot to easily search their inventory and shop for vehicles.

Best of all, our system is entirely web-based! That means there is no software for you to install and configure, and you can access your inventory from any computer or device with an internet connection.

Distributing Your Inventory

One of the best aspects of the online auto market is the choices it gives your customers. There are a multitude of sites on the web where they can shop for vehicles and compare dealerships in their area.

If you're not on ALL of the sites where your customers shop, you're automatically giving the advantage to your competition. The problem is, it's impossible to manage a separate inventory on each site, and keeping your listings current can be a nightmare.

IPublishers makes it easy. We automatically feed your inventory to every possible site your customers are using, and we take the rocket science out of inventory distribution.

Craigslist & ebay Motors

You may have heard of dealers finding success by listing their inventory on CraigsList.com. This site’s popularity has grown massively over the last few years, and is a top online marketplace for people to find local goods and services, and especially new and used vehicles.

You also may have heard from or considered contacting 3rd party companies who offer to feed your inventory to CraigsList at high monthly rates, and even per-vehicle charges. If you’re thinking that using CraigsList to sell vehicles doesn’t fit your budget, we have the perfect solution for you.

Lead Collector

Do you know who's browsing your website? At IPublishers, we think you should.

Consider this: Your customers wouldn't shop for cars on your lot without introducing themselves. Shouldn't your web inventory work the same way?

Our Lead Collector system is the most powerful tool for getting the customer information you need. From forms to interactive elements, we have developed proven methods for you to turn your site viewers into leads, and turn those leads into sales.

Our system includes everything from a test-drive scheduler to financing applications, and much more. Our dealers love the unprecedented lead generation, and their customers love the ease-of-use and enhanced shopping experience.

3rd Party Leads

Your customers are shopping the entire internet. You should be selling on it.

IPublishers distributes your inventory to every available online marketplace, allowing you to reach the maximum number of car buyers.

It's simple: Each location your inventory is listed creates leads sales opportunities. We maximize your exposure, bringing in customers and building valuable advertising for your dealership and vehicles.

Unique Lead Tools

IPublishers' developers think outside the box to be the first and best inventory system to offer lead management products like these:

Mobile Lead Alert
Get text message alerts whenever someone requests information on your site from IPublishers' Mobile Lead Alert. Get text reminders of test-drive appointments, and stay ahead of your competition.

DealerTalk Express
Chat live with web visitors, track their vehicle browsing preferences, and create a lasting buyer relationship and a powerful impression. DealerTalk Express is an extremely valuable tool your customers will love.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Your website is only as good as it's search engine ranking.

You can have a great looking website that is rendered useless because customers can't find it. On the other hand, an ugly site that is optimized correctly will appear at the top of the major search engines.

IPublishers gives you the best of both worlds. We build great looking sites that are easy for your customers to use, and we make sure that your customers find you first.

We're committed to using the latest technologies and strategies to put you ahead of your competition.

IPublishers is proud to have been empowering dealerships on the web for over a decade.

We started at a time when people thought it was an insane idea to sell and shop for cars online, and there were very few companies like us. Things have changed a lot since then, and we've watched the internet transform the auto industry while we've helped dealers become successful in the new web marketplace.

We've been visionary in creating products that shape the way dealerships sell cars online, and we owe our longevity to our ability to earn the trust of the dealers we work with. At every level of our business, from our tech support to our design team, to our development staff, we listen to our dealers to make the web work for them, and to determine the future of the online auto industry.

We still represent many of our original dealers from over ten years ago — they're our friends and clients, and we're only as successful as the dealerships using our systems.

www.ipublishers.com

Home - Consulting Services - Ziglar Performance - Etail Experts - IPublishers - Contact Me!

Copyright © 2011Christopher D. Ried All rights reserved. Text, graphics, and HTML code are protected by US and International Copyright Laws, and may not be copied, reprinted, published, translated, or otherwise distributed by any means without explicit permission.