This was some tough news to swallow today.  Chip is a consummate professional and a tremendous visionary, and a great guy to be around.  With the years and years of success under his belt he seemed to know every employee's name and a little personal piece about them and went out of his way to make you feel welcomed.  
Best of luck to Chip in his next venture.  I hope it consists of a bit of rest though because he hasn't stopped since the 90s!

This was some tough news to swallow today.  Chip is a consummate professional and a tremendous visionary, and a great guy to be around.  With the years and years of success under his belt he seemed to know every employee's name and a little personal piece about them and went out of his way to make you feel welcomed.  
Best of luck to Chip in his next venture.  I hope it consists of a bit of rest though because he hasn't stopped since the 90s!

Chip is one of the founders of automotive digital marketing and a major force in shaping the business world we live in today.  I was always impressed with his strategic mind.  He is a master of using research to advance both industry understanding of consumer behavior and Autotrader's interests.  And, as others have noted, he was the consummate gentleman - approachable and courteous to dealers and competitors alike.  I, and my peers at Cobalt, wish him well.

Best of Luck Chip in your next endeavor, look forward to catching up with you at next conference.

Best of Luck Chip in your next endeavor, look forward to catching up with you at next conference.

Chip has changed the way an industry works- his acquisitions and leadership has brightened the lives of consumers and dealers.
My hat is off to this industry giant!

Chip has changed the way an industry works- his acquisitions and leadership has brightened the lives of consumers and dealers.
My hat is off to this industry giant!

Chip has changed the way an industry works- his acquisitions
and leadership has brightened the lives of consumers and dealers.
 My hat is off to this industry giant!

Am I the only one who is a little bit stunned by this?

I agree. I have met Chip several times and he was always pleasant, polite, and a real gentleman. I found him to be very sincere in being willing to listen to the needs of dealerships, even though there were certainly times we disagreed. Best of luck Chip, I'm sure you have something exciting in store...

Great question: Do we treat leads as if they already bought the car?
I've been on the phone with a LOT of vendors this week, and many of them talked to me as if my business wasn't needed. Somehow, their timeline, their needs, their own talking points were more important than mine.
On the other hand, I switched my car insurance after 14 years with the same agent (whom I'd actually never met) because this new guy acted like he wanted my business. Good timing on the new guy's part, maybe, but business is always going to go where it's appreciated.

ZMOT is a 2D experience.
FMOT is 3D.

ZMOT sets up FMOT.
FMOT sells cars.

True ROI,
Since I'm not sure who you are or where you are coming from, the eBay study and my article are not talking about the same thing.  When you track leads, phone calls, and follow-through conversions from paid search investments, the ROI is very strong when competent campaigns are setup.  In fact, the latest updates to Adwords which includes free phone tracking numbers from Google, is exploding with tracking quality calls generated from PPC campaigns.  You can defend traditional advertising, and it has a place in a comprehensive marketing campaign, but PPC is not the biggest waste in dealer marketing budgets by far.

Many do not give credit to their $40,000 traditional advertisement.  GA will only tell you part of the story (most importantly the part they want you to see with regard to PPC.  eBay just released a study that completely contradicts this completely.  PPC dollars are almost completely wasted by "most' dealers.  They have no strategy and even when strategy exists what is the true ROI on those dollars?

Ed, Traditional media has a role in a comprehensive marketing strategy, but that is not the subject of this specific article.

automotiveseo I will say you completely underestimate the influence of traditional media #AutoMarketing http://t.co/Q2u1BK90zo0zo…

Well done Mike. Now I might identify your persona to be the "Psychologist of Automotive"  
I lean towards Aaron's comments. If you aggressively move to create a persona to market yourself, it is important that you can back up that persona with actual skills and strengths. Unfortunately (and I likely will not be popular for saying this), I think it is easier now more than ever with modern technology to create a persona that you are an "expert" in our industry or others, while not truly having the substance to back that up. How? With a few clicks and forms, I can build an astronomical Klout score in a specific area to identify myself as the expert, while also leveraging social media to do the same -  BUT my only true skills are how to game the system... Ouch! My persona probably just took a hit for saying what a lot of people think, but won't come out and say...
I do embrace the idea of focusing your efforts in areas you excel and enjoy, and then can share with others to benefit them as well, WHILE not limiting yourself to just one area. For me, I would hope that any persona I have came as a result from natural effort, and not artificial effort.
Keep up the great writing Mike, I enjoy it!

Great points Joe.   Entering that authority zone is fun but does indeed require commitment untouched by a casual observer.  It's not easy.  Ideally, you're seeking that next step because of your heart and honest desire.  The good news is that if you are, the ride to build your persona is fun, not a burden.

Thanks for including me Mike. Articles like this is what makes DealerRefresh my main stop for auto marketing content.

Thoughtful post Mike, TY.
My $0.02.  It all starts with knowing your strengths.   If you don't know your strengths, listen to your heart AND look at those around you.  When you wander into a conversation that fits your "authority zone" people will react to you differently because you act differently. 
When you find that special place that you enjoy, OWN IT.  No excuses.  Mike called me  Mr. Products.  Lots of people love bright and shiny products, they're fun. Loving something is easy, becoming an authority requires a depth of commitment that is mountains higher than the casual observer.  
Once you commit to your "persona", find opportunities for it to shine. This connects to an ol' Uncle Joe saying: "avoid opportunities that don't play to your strengths".  

Feed your persona... its hungry

dealerrefresh Where I think a lot of professionals fall short is that they use social media specifically for persona building, forgetting that a persona is not an end in itself. Others might struggle with the idea that their whole being should be summed up in a single phrase, when humans are more complex than that. I'm not suggesting that personal branding is the same as becoming a one-trick pony, but I think that misperception is what keeps a lot of people from doing it.
That's what I like so much about the Google+ Circles feature--it seems to be built around the idea that people should be able to share all the different parts of themselves with the segments of their network whom the content is relevant to. Perhaps, then, the problem so far has in part been with the social media platforms that seem to reduce people to one idea or another.
Great article, Mike!

Thanks for the mention Mike!  I always enjoy your articles!

Great article Mike! Thanks for the mention, made my weekend! Cheers.

One of the Mr. Products!  Ha ha.  Never thought about it like that.
This is a great article Mike and I, like Joe (I think I can speak for him), really appreciate the call out.