Agent Entrepreneur had a great year in 2010. Since the release of our first publication on the first of July last year, our readership level has peaked 53% over the past six months. And we are expecting to see even greater results in 2011. We will be seeing many of our advertisers, contributors and readers at the upcoming NADA conference in just few short weeks, and soon after, in conjunction with F&I and Showroom on March 8-9, we will be co-media sponsors of the Agent Summit in Las Vegas. What a great way to start the year!

Because we had such a successful year, I want to say thank you to all of the people who have made it happen, including those of you behind the scenes here at VMS Publishing, our advertisers and our contributors.

I also thought what better time than now to highlight the top 10 stories of the year, and wanted to mention to those of you who put long hours in putting your ideas, experiences and expertise on paper, that all articles that we received were nothing short of excellent and remain to be viewed, regardless of being in the top 10 or not. Thank you!

The following are the top 10 articles from 2010. Clicking each link to read the article in its entirety.

#1) 13.3 Ways to Help your Dealers Sell More Products

The focus of every independent agent must be on helping their dealers improve overall F&I performance and profits, not just on getting that dealership to sell more of their products. Your agency must be perceived by your dealers as their F&I partner with the resources, expertise and commitment necessary to help them maximize F&I income. …

#2) Agent Evolution in a Changing Automotive Landscape

“What is it you do?” That was the seminal question posed by dealers that plagued me when I first started calling on them 20 years ago. My original answer was: I was a “credit insurance/service contract” representative of XYZ Company. Dealers quickly categorized me and sent me on my way unless they were desperate. I …

#3) Separating your Agency from the Competition

“Don’t just think better: Think different!” – Harry Beckwith, Selling the Invisible The continued growth and success of any agency depends on closing new business. Certainly, every agent entrepreneur must constantly focus on generating additional business through increased productivity and product sales within their existing accounts. However, the acquisition of new accounts through referrals, prospecting …

#4) The Best of the Rest

Traditional F&I products or “legacy” products like service contracts, GAP and credit insurance form the backbone of a dealership’s F&I offerings, but are arguably the most difficult conquest products for an independent agent. How does an agent distinguish himself from his competitors when everyone essentially sells a slightly different version of the same thing? Enter …

#5) The Rules Have Changed: Considering the Three New R’s

Want to bring true value to your client or dealer partner? Provide them with the following essential components for capturing the full F&I profit potential on every traffic source: the Internet, phone and walk-in. The initial components, Product Drives PVR and F&I Participation Throughout the Sales Cycle are designed to update the F&I and sales …

#6) A Simple Idea to Boost a Dealer’s F&I Performance

One of the key functions agents and F&I product providers provide to their dealer clients is help improving F&I performance. A unique part of that function is to help implement policy improvements that the F&I staff may not have the ability to accomplish within the political structure of the dealership. One of the most critical of …

#7) The Integrated Industry: Software Fact or Fiction

Agent entrepreneurs make decisions every month about which menu/reporting company they should recommend to their dealers and effective DMS integration is crucial to this decision. For this reason, Agent Entrepreneur spoke with some of the leading menu/integration providers to discuss the state of DMS integration. Although roadblocks still exist, progress is being made. No doubt, …

#8) Creating an Implementation Plan for Improved Performance

Do you have an image of your dealer’s potential that your dealer never seems quite able to achieve? Are you having performance issues at stores where they pay little or no attention to your recommendation? When was the last time you visited a store after discussing a specific procedure, policy or process only to find …

#9) No Demo, No Sale

“I understand how important doing a good demonstration of the vehicle is, but everybody is different, so how do I know what to do each time?” That’s a great question because when you mix quantity (how many demonstrations you give), with quality (a great demonstration for each individual customer) – that’s when you really improve …

#10) The Art of Selling

When assessing a process for successful selling, don’t overlook the value of providing a service to your customers. The catch is that putting the customer’s needs first is not easy if you don’t know what their needs are. Most customers have no idea how products offered in the finance office can benefit them. Therefore, having …

Again, though these are merely the 10 most read articles, there are many more very interesting and quite informative articles that fulfill every goal that Agent Entrepreneur has set out to attain – and that is to assist automotive and power sports agent professionals in making the right decisions for their business by delivering ideas, information and inspiration for success. In 2011, we will continue on this path and are taking this mission to the next level through the Agent Summit, where we hope to see you all.