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HOPE MILLS, N.C.  — RevenueGuru.com contends that dealers squander more than $1 billion in profit annually on "bad marketing purchases and poor execution," but the site said it has a myriad of solutions to help.

RevenueGuru.com is offering 10 free training programs that dealers can use to bolster their marketing performance, while also gaining free white papers, videos and a "toolbox" that can aid in complex marketing decision-making. 

"Every time I take someone through the math that led to that number, they quickly realize that any realistic estimate is well over $1 billion," suggested Jennifer Renno, president of RevenueGuru.com. "It is time for those of us who charge dealers for our services to step up to the plate and serve them with free training and certification."

RevenueGuru says its training is geared toward general managers, general sales managers or those at the dealership "regularly" in charge of marketing decisions.

"We noticed that the first few programs were also being used by junior people at dealerships trying to advance their careers," Renno stated. "Education tied to aspirations requires corresponding certification, so we recently added a free marketing certification test."

Officials called the online tests "difficult." Every time the user takes the test, it is adjusted.

If a test-taker passes, the person receives a printable confirmation and has his name listed on RevenueGuru.com. However the site does not include the names of those who fail the test, nor does it list the number of attempts for those who do pass. 

"Most leaders at the store level are sales experts, not marketing experts," Renno added. "This is a serious problem with real money being squandered away, and the growth of online opportunities will exacerbate the problem going forward. The industry is loaded with commercial messages disguised as training. Dealers clearly deserve better than that."

Officials said Contact At Once provided a free training series for users of its chat product on how to maximize the service. RevenueGuru.com produced the series.

"We were proud to produce those training programs for Contact At Once and hope other vendors, manufacturers, and dealer groups will step up to do more for their stores," Renno concluded.