AutoSuccess Apr09

Listen to Our Industry Experts at www.AutoSuccessPodcast.com

April 2009

pg27

pg19

pg24

marketing solution

sales & training solution

leadership solution

feature solution

AutoSuccess Magazine is published monthly at 3834 Taylorsville Rd., Building A, Ste. 1B Louisville, KY 40220; 502.588.3155, fax 502.588.3170. Direct all subscription and customer service inquiries to 877.818.6620 or [email protected]. Subscription rate is $69 per year. AutoSuccess welcomes unsolicited editorials and graphics (not responsible for their return). All submitted editorials and graphics are subject to editing for grammar, content and page length. AutoSuccess provides its contributing writers latitude in expressing advice and solutions; views expressed are not necessarily those of AutoSuccess and by no means reflect any guarantees. AutoSuccess accepts no liability in respect of the content of any third party material appearing in this magazine or in respect of the content of any other magazine to which this magazine may be linked from time to time. Always confer with legal counsel before implementing changes in procedures.© All contents copyrighted by AutoSuccess Magazine, a Division of Systems Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited without express written consent from AutoSuccess. AutoSuccess may occasionally make readers’ names available to other companies whose products and/or services may be of interest; readers may request that names be removed by calling 877.818.6620. Printed in the USA. Postmaster: Send address changes to AutoSuccess Magazine, 3834 Taylorsville Rd., Building A, Ste. 1B Louisville, KY 40220.

address:3834 Taylorsville Rd.Building A, Ste. 1BLouisville Kentucky 40220

phone / fax:877.818.6620 / 502.588.3170

web:AutoSuccessOnline.comAutoSuccessPodcast.com

team:Susan [email protected]

Thomas WilliamsVP & Creative [email protected]

Dave DavisEditor and Creative [email protected]

Brian AnkneySales-Improvement [email protected]

John WarnerSales-Improvement [email protected]

general information:[email protected]

eNewsletter: [email protected]

helping to support...

April 2009

FACEDEALERSHIP

An Interview By SusanGivens

FOCUSHold Everyone Accountable - All of the TimeStephenR.Covey

08

14 MAXIMIZE TODAYLawsonOwen

18

22

26

THE GOOD NEWSABOUT TODAY’SECONOMICENVIRONMENTJoshWeaver

HOW TO MAKE TRAINING PAY OFFJohnBrentlinger

GO THE EXTRA MILE AND ENSURE LOYALTY WITH WOMEN CUSTOMERSJodyDeVere

FIELD TRIPSteveBrazill

ARE YOU ADINOSAUR?MarkTewart

10

16

17

32

DEVELOPING THE THANK-YOU NOTE HABITTomHopkins

LEVERAGING POSITIVE REVIEWSChipGrueter

THE KEY TO STOCKING YOUR USED CAR LOTDalePollak

THOUGHTS ABOUT CRM - DO YOU NEED ONE?HowardLeavitt

‘BILL AND MARY AREN’T HERE RIGHT NOW...’The Hardest Part of a Sales Professionals’ Job is Handling VoicemailSeanV.Bradley

THE POWER OFPERSONALIZEDGRATITUDEMarcSmith

Your customers are on the move.Are you keeping up with them?

We provide the most current email addresses, phone numbers and physical addresses on a monthly basis.

By having current data in your DMS system you will be reaching customers with every marketing campaign you initiate... distancing yourself from your competition.

That means more profit potential for every department in your dealership.

DMS Update automatically insures all of the information in your DMS system (such as ADP or R&R) is current, accurate, and in compliance with the latest government regulations. 1-866-702-1566

www.dmsupdate.com

DMS UPDATE

UnlimitedUpdatingPackagesstarting as low as $199per month

Are you looking forcustomers who aren’tthere?

OF

THE

DON’T LET YOUR STYLE GET IN THE WAY OF YOUR SUCCESSMattBaker

DEALERITISKevinCunningham

BUILDING TRUST IN A MISTRUSTED INDUSTRYA Front Line-Ready Technique For Building Trust FasterPaulWebb

33

34 WINNING WORDSFour Powerful PhrasesPaulCummings

28

30

36

www.autosuccessonline.com

StephenR.Covey

FOCUSHold Everyone Accountable - All of the Time

leadership

solu

tion

08

In prior columns, I’ve talked about an “execution gap” in

organizations, the gap between setting a goal and achieving it. To close the execution gap, leaders must practice four disciplines of execution:

1. Focus on the Wildly Important Goal2. Create a Compelling Scoreboard3. Translate Lofty Goals into Action4. Hold Everyone Accountable — All of

the Time

I’ve dealt with the fi rst three disciplines in previous columns. Once you have identifi ed your “wildly important goals,” posted the scoreboard on them, and translated them into action, hold everyone accountable — all of the time.

How Could We Fail?Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan tell of a conversation they held with a CEO whose strategic initiative had failed.

“This was the brightest team in the industry,” said the CEO. “No question. We had two off-site meetings, did benchmarking, got the metrics. Everybody agreed with the plan. I empowered them — gave them the freedom to do what they needed to do. Everybody knew what had to be done. . . . How could we fail?

“Yet the year has come to an end, and we missed the goals. They let me down; they didn’t deliver the results. . . . I don’t know what to do, and I don’t know where the bottom is” (Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan, Execution, Crown Business: 2002, pp. 13-14).

This CEO had a good plan, good metrics, good markets and good people. So what went wrong?

The Bottom of the Execution GapAt the bottom of the Execution Gap is the lack of accountability. In the Industrial Age, the theory was that people performed to expectation — or else. With the rise of knowledge work, the theory changed. Because of the nature of knowledge work, goals get blurry, workers have more autonomy and they tend to choose their own work priorities. Most leaders are deeply confl icted about how to manage knowledge workers: Do I spell out what’s expected and then crack down? Or do I let workers choose their own way and hope for the best?

Organizations that execute with excellence invariably have strong accountability systems.

The data indicate, however, that such systems are not very common. In a recent study, more than 12,000 U.S. workers were asked to describe accountability within their organizations. Figure 1 shows the results.

a. We routinely report to each other on our progress toward goals.

b. I meet at least monthly with my manager to review progress on my goals.

c. We hold ourselves accountable for staying on budget.

d. We hold ourselves accountable for reaching our commitments on time.

e. We hold ourselves accountable for delivering quality results.

f. None of the above.

These are key symptoms of weak accountability for commitments:Haphazard reporting. Only about two in fi ve (41 percent) of respondents talk to each other routinely about progress toward their goals.Little if any accounting to management. Only about one in four (26 percent) meets at least monthly with a manager to review progress on goals.Little budgetary discipline. About a third (31 percent) say they stay on budget.Deadlines met half the time. A few more than half the respondents (58 percent) indicate that they keep commitments in a timely fashion.Quality results? One in three says that no one cares much if they deliver with quality.

If sharp execution requires precise accountability — and it does — then the typical organization is in trouble. “This is a formula for failure,” say Charan and Bossidy. “You need accountability for results — discussed openly and agreed to by those responsible — to get things done.”

The Fourth Discipline of ExecutionTeams known for excellent execution are also known for “mutual accountability.” They feel themselves accountable not only to owners, bosses and supervisors, but to each other. They have clear roles in executing a few core goals, and they regularly and often answer to one another in keeping their commitments.

That’s why the fourth discipline of execution is to hold everyone accountable — all of the time. Those who practice this discipline do three things extremely well:

1. Hold frequent accountability sessions — at least weekly

Frequency is crucial. Most knowledge workers aren’t asked to account to their managers even monthly. It is so easy to lose focus on key goals without intense and frequent focus. New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s turn-around team met every day in a “morning meeting” to keep key goals in constant sight.

2. Focus on the “wildly important goals.”

Many goals are important, but only a few are “wildly important” — that is, crucial to the mission. Examine the scoreboard on those crucial goals. Ensure that everyone agrees precisely and individually on what to do this week to move those goals forward.

3. Clear the path for each other. The notion that the boss holds the

subordinates accountable, that accountability fl ows only one way, is not characteristic of an execution culture. On a real work team, everyone accounts to everyone else. Everyone has individual tasks, and everyone encounters obstacles. If I’m the leader, I clear the path for you by getting you resources or approvals or making important contacts. In turn, you clear the path for me by giving me technical assistance or research data.

Only organizations that execute with excellence can sustain results over time. Practicing the four disciplines of execution is truly a key to superior performance.

Stephen R. Covey, Ph.D., is co-founder of FranklinCovery, and is the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. He can be contacted at 866.892.6363, or by e-mail at [email protected].

Figure 1Which of the following statements best describes the accountability within your organization?

a. b. c. d. e. f.

41%

26%31%

58%

64%

16%

Dear Dealer:

Are these comments you have heard in your daily meetings lately?

Here’s what we are known for:

Driving uality tra c ith our uni ue rotected conce ts

ringing credit scores into your sho room

Delivering es ill uy today commitments to your sales des

and closing deals on your sho room oor

harging you o

Call us today at 1-866-546-2820

r log on no to www.impactdirect.com

e loo or ard to s ea ing ith you soon

Josh Weaver

We NEEDsomething

different.We NEED to bring in

some tr f th t e

n get bo ght

n s h e tightened

he st m i er e did e

h d nothing b t gift see ers.

We NEED something that

i bring in BUYERS.

Light up your phones. Fill your showroom. Sell Cars.

R E C E N T I M P A C Treo ned Dea er So th Bend ndiana

329 Unique Calls200+ A ointments ith 165+ U s42 Deliveries in 3 days!

TomHopkins

DEVELOPING THETHANK-YOU NOTE HABIT


10

I learned the value and power of thank-

you notes early in life. When I was a young child, my parents occasionally went out with friends for dinner. Invariably, when my parents returned from an evening out, I saw my mother sit down at her little desk in the hallway as soon as she got home and begin to write. One night I asked her what she was doing. Her answer came straight out of Emily Post: “We had such a wonderful time with our dear friends this evening that I want to jot them a note to thank them for their friendship and the wonderful dinner.” My mother’s simple act of gratitude — expressed to people who already knew that she and my father appreciated and enjoyed their friendship — helped to keep my parents’ friendships strong for their entire lifetimes.

Because I understood that building relationships is what selling is all about, I began early in my career to send thank-you notes to people. I set a goal to send 10 thank-you notes every day. That goal meant that I had to meet and get the names of at least 10 people every day. I sent thank-you notes to people I met briefl y, people I showed properties to, people I talked with on the telephone, and people I actually helped to own new homes. I became a thank-you note fool. And guess what happened? By the end of my third year in sales, my business was 98 percent by referral. The people I had expressed gratitude to were happy to send me new clients as a reward for making them feel appreciated and important.

I understand that you may not be comfortable at fi rst with starting the thank-you note habit, so I took the time to write out 10 situations in which sending a thank-you note is appropriate. Then, to help you even more, I’ve drafted the notes for you.

1. Telephone Contact “Thank you for talking with me on the

telephone. In today’s business world, time is precious. You can rest assured that I will always be respectful of the time you invest as we discuss the possibility of serving your automotive needs.”

2. In Person Contact“Thank you. It was a pleasure meeting you, and my thank you is for the time we shared. We have been fortunate to serve many happy clients, and it is my wish to some day be able to serve you. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call.”

3. After Demonstration or Presentation“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to discuss your upcoming automotive needs with you. We would be honored to serve your needs now and into the future. We believe that quality, blended with excellent service, is the foundation for a successful business.”

4. After Purchase“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to offer you our fi nest service. We are confi dent that you will be happy with your new vehicle. My goal is now to offer excellent follow-up service so you will have no reservations about referring others to me who have similar needs as yours.”

5. For a Referral“Thank you for your kind referral of John and Mary Smith. You may rest assured that anyone you refer to me will receive the highest degree of professional service possible.”

6. After Final Refusal“Thank you for taking your time to consider letting me serve you. It is with sincere regrets that your immediate plans do not include purchasing from us. However, if you need further information or have any questions, please feel free to call. I will be happy to keep you posted on new developments and changes that may benefi t you.”

7. After They Buy FromSomeone Else “Thank you for taking your time to consider our vehicles and service. I regret being unable, at this time, to prove to you the benefi ts we have to offer. I will keep in touch with the hope that in the years ahead we will be able to do business.”

8. After They Buy From Someone Else, But Offer to Give You Referrals “Thank you for your gracious offer of giving me referrals. As we discussed, I am enclosing three of my business cards. I thank you in advance for placing them in the hands of three of your friends, acquaintances, or relatives that I might serve. I will keep in touch and be willing to render my services as needed.”

9. To Anyone Who GivesYou Service“Thank you. It is gratifying to meet someone dedicated to doing a good job. Your efforts are sincerely appreciated. If my company or I can serve you in any way, please don’t hesitate to call.”

10. Anniversary Thank You“Thank you. It is with warm regards that I send this note to say hello and again, thanks for your past patronage. Please call me with any questions you have about your existing vehicle or the latest advancements in our newer models.”

The power of expressed gratitude is immense. Put this tool to work for you today!

World-renowned master sales trainer Tom Hopkins is the chairman of Tom Hopkins International. He can be contacted at 866.347.6148, or by e-mail [email protected].

marketing

solu

tion

featuresolution

12

13

An Interview bySusanGivens

EricBolstad CrystieLucero ChrisCarlson

How Scott Robinson Honda Revamped Their Web Site to Compete With Some of the Nation’s Top Dealers to Win

They compete against some of the highest-selling dealers in the country, in a time of economic downturn, when technology is changing the landscape faster than most dealers’ ability to keep up with it. With all these reasons to “go along with” the recession, Scott Robinson Honda is winning. The third-generation family owned dealership has more than doubled its sales from Internet leads, and generating an incredible amount of appointments made from online customers.

AutoSuccess recently talked with General Manager Eric Bolstad, Marketing Director Chris Carlson and Internet Sales Director Crystie Lucero to see how they did it, and why they believe the best is yet to come for their dealership.

AutoSuccess: Eric, describe your dealership’smarket area.Eric Bolstad (general manager): We are a metro Los Angeles dealer, in an above-average affl uent community (one of the nearby communities, Manhattan Beach, is one of the most expensive areas to live in the state of California). There are seven or eight other Honda dealers within 30 miles, and two of those dealers are in the top 15, if not the top 10, for overall sales in the entire country. We’re on a major thoroughfare, and currently, there are eight or nine dealers still on the boulevard.

AS: Sounds like pretty stiff competition. What have you done to increase your share of the market?Chris Carlson (marketing manager): We spend at least 85 percent of our marketing budget on the Internet. We don’t do much, if any, print. We don’t do radio or TV. We’ve done a ton of video search using TK Carsites, and a lot of little things like press releases on relevant things about what we’re doing with the store. We’ve revamped the BDC for a more thorough process on handling leads that come in.

AS: Prior to that, how were sales?EB: Two or three years ago, we were what you’d call a traditional dealer. We didn’t really have a BDC. We had an Internet department, which consisted of Chris, Crystie and another employee. They were responsible for handling their deals from start to fi nish. They’d work the numbers, and they’d deliver the vehicles. Through the help of Dealer Synergy, we put in a BDC, which Crystie has been in charge of, and hired a bunch of call center representatives to make as many appointments as possible, and it’s proved to be a huge success. We are getting somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 to 80 percent of appointments shown to appointments made. It’s incredible.

CC: We went from selling 30 to 40 vehicles a month between the three of us before to as many as 90 now, with six people making phone calls and turning leads over to the showroom.

AS: Any surprises in that process?Crystie Lucero (Internet manager): In the beginning, it’s hard to have everybody on script, because we were used to doing things one way, and then we changed everything, so it was a little tough getting my older employees to change how they were doing things. But once they saw results from it, everyone was all for it.

Also, before, they didn’t have to make a certain number of phone calls; now we have 100 calls a day minimum, and they can see the results from that. They can see people come in and buy cars from that. Everyone is on board now and doing a great job.

AS: What role has your revamped Web strategy played in the dealership’s success?EB: Everything, if you ask me. The problem is that third-party lead providers are so expensive, and your closing percentages on them are very, very low — if you can get 10 percent you’re considered a god in the industry, but face it; most of us can’t get that. So we

spend a ton of money trying to recruit customers into our dealerships from other Web sites and a lot of dealers don’t spend the time or the necessary energy to invest into their own Web site and make that your biggest marketing tool.

To me, the Web site is the face of the dealership. The stronger your Web site, the stronger your Web presence, the stronger you appear in search engine optimization, key word search, videos, etc., I think the more successful you’re going to be.

I know for a fact we’re one of the very few dealers who have the guys dedicated to maintaining our Web site on a daily basis. We decided to make this move about two years ago, and it’s proven to be a huge success because there’s so much data, so much information that you’re trying to share with the consumer when they come to your Web site that it has to be accurate, has to be up to date, it has to have the latest and greatest specials and incentives that you have to offer to your consumers to get them in, but at the same time, it also has to tell a story about who you are as a dealership and what you’re all about. What do you stand for? I think we’ve done an outstanding job of doing that and have had huge success because of it. CC: And we give a lot of credit to TK Carsites. I’ve already seen a huge spike in lead generation for our Web site since we’ve been using them. The leads that the new Web site is generating for us are almost double of what we were getting a couple of months ago. Dealer Synergy also helped us implement a strategy for optimizing our Web site with microsites and video search engine optimization.

EB: I spend a lot of time looking at other dealership’s Web sites, especially my competitions’, and it’s amazing how, when you click on their specials, it says “come back soon” or “under construction.”

We’re a little “mom and pop” dealership, third generation, so for us to compete in a market that’s dominated by corporate chains and multi-franchise type operations, it’s not easy. It’s like David going up against Goliath. But we’ve found a way to knock the big guys down a little bit, and that’s the Internet, maximizing our Web site and bringing as many people to that Web site as possible. We get it. We’ve seen how the Internet has changed the car business, and we’ve decided to roll with it instead of fi ght it.

AS: Describe your sales process.EB: When a customer has an appointment scheduled through the BDC, the BDC representative will set the appointment with a specifi c sales manager on duty. When the customer comes on the lot and they’re greeted by a sales associate, the customer will say they have an appointment to see one or our sales managers (they ask by name), and right then and there the sales associate knows the customer had an appointment made through the BDC.

At that point, the sales associate will walk the customer in and introduce them to the sales manager, and the manager will come out and basically say, “Hi, welcome to the dealership, what is it you’re interested in?” At that point, they’ll turn it back over to the sales associate and say “he/she will go out and show you the vehicle, and answer any and all of your questions, and when you’re ready to come back down and get serious, that’s where I’ll come back into play and work all the numbers for you.” It’s very non-invasive, very inviting, very welcoming. The customers seem to like it because they always like to know there’s a manager working on their behalf, and

from that point, it just follows the normal sales process.

CL: We also have a digital appointment board that we put their names on. They come in and they can see themselves on the board. It’s very personalized.

AS: What about other departments? Has your new Web strategy helped your fi xed operations?EB: What was really neat with TK’s “Power of Five” strategy is having a spot for service, body shop, and parts department. We have videos of each department explaining where, when, why and how to use us, along with current specials.

That was critical when we launched a customer rewards program. That program has been huge for us. You have to think of it as, if you had a chance to talk to somebody who has never been to your store before and ask them why they should do business with you, that’s what we use our Web site for.

CL: Using that value package is one of the things we go over in the BDC with every single customer we speak to — the value package, what makes us different and why you should do business with us. We do that every single phone call.

AS: What have you found that works best togenerate leads?EB: Specials, specials and more specials. On our home page, we treat it as our billboard, featuring whatever it is we’re promoting, we’re defi nitely noticing phone calls from that, with people coming to the store saying “I saw this particular special on your Web site, and that’s what I’m interested in.” We make sure that everything is up to date on the Web site and it’s plentiful.

AS: What do you think is the main thing that lets you stand out from your competition?EB: The traditional dealer I don’t think is this deep into the game. I think they’re still fi ve years behind the technological curve. I remember going to NADA last year and being in a meeting where the speaker was talking about the use of video on your Web site, and out of 150 dealers in the room, I was the only person in the room who raised their hand when he asked who was using video.

A lot of traditional dealers are still going to fi ght the Web. They still think that things are going to go back to the way they were in the 1980s, and that’s not ever going to happen. I think it’s only going to get more Internet driven as time goes on.

For more information about the progress of Scott Robinson Honda, contact Joe Turner, the executive vice president forTK Carsites. He can be contacted at 866.432.8618, or bye-mail at [email protected].


14

LawsonOwen

MAXIMIZE TODAYToday. Now. That’s all we have.

In today’s market, we’ve got to “love the one you’re with.” After all, it could be the last “up” you get.

These diffi cult times could be a blessing in disguise, though. For entirely too long, we’ve been able to get by in our business with very little, if any, real management. It’s time to get back to basics, the “blocking and tackling” of management.

We have got to learn to maximize today. Maximize every sales opportunity available to us, beginning now. That means every fl oor up, every phone up and every Internet inquiry. This begins with a sound process for every lead source. A sound process has “early and often” managerial involvement. Remember, managers “trigger” deals and a manager can’t trigger a deal if they’re unaware the opportunity exists. This awareness is critical to effective opportunity management.

Forget about business development centers; every dealership needs a business development initiative. By “initiative,” I mean, “what is our plan, our process, to maximize every lead source we have? What is our plan to maximize every lead we’ll get today?”

An effective initiative consists of three critical components:• Education — Managers and sales

reps alike should have a complete understanding as to what the process is, what their role and responsibility is within the process, what’s expected from a production and performance standpoint and how to execute the process.

• Process Implementation — This is where most organizations fail. Every dealership has a closet full of great ideas or things “we used to do.” Process implementation is about doing the things we know we should be doing. We must implement and maintain our processes every day. It’s never “set it and forget it.” That’s not management.

• Performance Management — We’re either getting the results we want or we’re getting excuses. Performance management is about tracking our results, both as a group and individually.

At a minimum, a management staff should

leadership

solu

tion

be able to quantify the following metrics:

If you can’t, that’s a problem. “I don’t know” is too expensive in today’s market.

Here’s a few management techniques, per lead source, that enable a management team to be more involved.

Floor Ups• Manager “Meet and Greet”

— Managers get involved immediately during the initial interview process. This aids in proper qualifi cation, vehicle selection, increase demos and early rapport building.

• Multiple Contact Numbers/E-mail — If we can increase our accessibility to the customer, our follow up will become more effective and more productive. Concentrate on cell and work numbers.

• 100 Percent Managerial TO — Most stores talk a good game, but few actually have a TO policy in place which is expected and followed. Many allow customers to visit the showroom, spend time with sales reps, and sometimes even drive vehicles, then leave without speaking with management.

• Management Closes Every Deal – Let’s not leave it to chance; managers go down on every deal. Remember: Managers “trigger” deals.

Phone Ups• Receptionist Phone Log — Even

if your organization has digitally recorded calls, you should still have your receptionist track incoming sales calls.

• Go For the Appointment — Regardless of what sort of vehicle the consumer is looking for, regardless of whether we have the specifi c vehicle on our premises or not, everyone calling in should be encouraged to schedule an appointment or to visit the store.

• Track Incoming Call Performance — Knowing how many calls, who handled them and what the end result was is as critical as tracking our fl oor traffi c.

• Management Sign Off — Just as we do a “Manager TO” for fl oor traffi c, we should also have a manager sign off on all incoming sales calls. If we feel management involvement is important, then we must incorporate that step into our internal processes. We want to force or make managers aware of each and every sales opportunity.

Internet• Response Time — Our goal for

responding to Internet inquires should be now. But realistically, it needs to be less than 30 minutes. As an industry, our average response time is around 6 1/2 hours, and 30 percent of all inquires go unanswered. We can do much better.

• Quality of Response — How effectively we communicate with the consumer is really where the rubber meets the road. Currently, about 75 percent of customer questions go unanswered, we very rarely sell the benefi ts of choosing our product or dealership and we almost never offer alternative vehicles. How well are you communicating with your inquiries?

• 90+ Day Internet Process — You’ve got to have a 90+ day follow-up process, which incorporates e-mail, phone and direct mail (when possible). This process must be very specifi c, meaning it tells you by day which e-mail to send, which phone call to make and which script to use.

Now, more than ever, we as managers must manage. Lead management should be at the top of everyone’s “things to do” list. Remember: Managers trigger deals. You have more opportunities on a daily basis than you are probably aware of. Make it happen.

Lawson Owen is the managing partner of Proactive Dealer Solutions. He can be contacted at 866.900.8945, or by e-mail at [email protected].

Floor Ups Phone Ups Internet Leads

# Of OpportunitiesDemo %Write Up %Sold %

# Of Opportunities% Name and Numbers% Appointments% Show% Sold

# Of Opportunities% Contacted% Appointments% Show% Sold


16

ChipGrueter

LEVERAGING POSITIVE REVIEWS

marketing

solu

tion

It’s no secret that consumers value

the opinion of other customers. The buzz generated from other satisfi ed customers often carries more persuasion than advertising messages direct from the dealer.

Dealers are doing the work to direct customers to write positive reviews about their experience online. The next step for dealers is to take advantage of their unique opportunity to leverage reviews written by customers on third-party review Web sites and share them with potential customers.

Gather Positive ReviewsThird-party review Web sites provide information such as detailed customer quotes, rating scores and the total number of positive reviews. Dealers may also look at these sites to see how they stack up against their competition.

The information gathered from this new medium can help dealers promote their reputation in all their advertising.

Traditional AdvertisingDealers have a visual advantage to show the third-party review Web site in a television spot and emphasize their current rating score. In a radio spot, dealers may direct listeners to see what customers had to say for themselves by visiting a specifi c Web site. In print ads and direct mail pieces, the dealer may highlight their rating or quote customer testimonials from the review site.

New MediaNew media forums offer dealers a great way to connect the user to their own Web site and to the positive reviews on a third-party site. In every instance below, the dealer may provide a link to direct the reader.

Dealers should promote positive reviews on their own business’ Web site. They may share quotes, ratings or stats on their homepage or even add a testimonial page to the navigation bar. Dealers may encourage their sales team to add testimonials and the review page link to their social networking

pages — such as Facebook, MySpace or Linkedin — to the dealership Web site’s biography pages, or to blog postings.

Electronic newsletters and direct e-mails are forms of communication the customer has requested to participate in. Because these mediums provide direct communication with the customer, dealers may add a permanent link directing customers to see the latest reviews.

More dealers are adding videos to their own Web sites, have posted them on YouTube and have them running in their showrooms. Unlike other ads, there is no time limit on a dealer video. This medium is a great place to incorporate third-party reviews and the dealer’s rating. The dealer can also walk customers through the process of searching for reviews or adding their own.

Chip Grueter is the president of DealerRater.com. He may be contacted at 866.618.8572, or by e-mail [email protected].

DalePollak

THE KEY TOSTOCKING YOURUSED CAR LOTI think it is safe to say that if you checked

most dealers’ used car inventories, more than 70 percent of their vehicles match their franchise brand. Nevertheless, I am going to make the bold assertion that in the vast majority of cases, no more than 50 percent of a dealer’s used inventory should represent their franchise brand. A dealer absolutely needs to have some brand vehicles, because potential buyers may still show up looking for these vehicles. However, I don’t believe this is reason enough to allow these vehicles to represent the vast majority of your used inventory.

The basis for my assertion begins with the recognition that no brand holds the monopoly on “hot used cars” in the market. In addition, the Internet makes it extremely effi cient for buyers to fi nd used vehicles that are located anywhere — not just at their new car franchise brand locations.

For example, if you are a Ford dealer who stocks a hot vehicle like a Subaru Impreza, prior to the Internet, no shopper would think to stop at your lot to fi nd the Impreza. But as we have come to understand, today’s buyers shop differently. They are more likely to go to the Internet, type in their ZIP code and the words “Subaru” and “Impreza” than drive to the local Subaru dealer. And, it’s important to acknowledge that the Internet’s search engines have no regard for dealership franchise brand when returning search results. In other words, the Subaru Impreza on the Ford dealer’s lot will show up right along side the other Subaru Imprezas.

One reason that had prevented dealers from stocking non-franchise used vehicles in the past is what I call the “gotcha” experience. We’ve all had the misfortune of buying a vehicle, not of our brand, that we thought was hot. Once we showed the vehicle to a few customers, we came to the realization that because we didn’t really understand the nuances of the brand, our vehicle lacked a critical attribute (such as a certain trim),

or a particular piece of equipment (such as navigation or rear entertainment), and that was a deal breaker. Gotcha. However, the “gotcha” experience is no longer a good reason to work only in the zone of your franchise brand’s comfort and familiarity.

Today, tools exist that will identify the hottest selling vehicles in your market in the past 45 days. And, unlike products that report registrations after they’ve been through the state DMV, this new technology identifi es the supply and retail demand of every vehicle in every market. Moreover, it identifi es the hottest vehicles down to the level of year, make, model, trim and equipment confi guration that virtually eliminates the “gotcha” risk.

So, if your franchise brand doesn’t hold the monopoly on the hot used cars in your market, the Internet makes it entirely effi cient for you to fi nd a buyer for that off-brand car as well as for that buyer to fi nd you. And if technology allows you to identify the hot vehicles at a level of specifi city to reduce the “gotcha” risk,

shouldn’t you agree to stock other fast moving vehicles?

I say the resounding answer is that “you must.” In fact, I would suggest that not doing so keeps your dealership locked to the fortune or misfortune of your new car franchise brand. Moreover, you are ignoring the benefi t that technology has created. Every dealer would love to have the ability to order and stock the hottest new models from each manufacturer, but this is not possible. But, you can stock any used

vehicle that you want and this is absolutely under your control; you should capitalize on the opportunity.

Dale Pollak is an author and the founder of vAuto. He can be contacted at 866.867.9620, or by e-mail [email protected].

the #1 sales-improvement magazine for the automotive professional

17

marketing

solu

tion


18

PaulWebbsale

s&tr

ain

ing

solu

tion

BUILDING TRUST IN A MISTRUSTED INDUSTRYA Front Line-Ready Technique For Building Trust Faster

A little-known secret to increased vehicle

sales are your prospect’s eyes, ears and feelings.

Knowing whether your prospect relates to the world — with pictures in their head (visual), through words they hear and say (auditory), or a combination of both that causes an emotion and feeling, or “gut response” (kinesthetic) — can help you talk your prospect’s language. This is how people prefer to learn, and how they prefer to buy. When you change your communication style to match with the customer’s style, you’ll be able to manage your prospect better and close more deals.

Here’s a test. Talk to a number of people you know. Ask them a question that forces them to ponder their answer for a second or two before speaking. Note where their eyes go before they respond:

• 35 percent of the population relates to their world visually through images in their mind. They will divert their gaze to their upper left as they think and recall the information in their mind.

• 25 percent of the population processes their world through words and hearing. They keep their eyes level when pondering something while diverting them to the left or right.

• 40 percent use both visual and auditory cues, and rely on their gut feeling. Their eyes will go down as they search their mind for the answer to a question.

Please note that everyone uses all three all the time — it’s just that most people have a tendency to use the one that is the “most” comfortable for them, especially when purchasing a high-ticket item like a vehicle. It’s at that moment during the sales cycle that salespeople and managers need to be sensitive to the one the customer prefers.

You might recognize this strategy of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP. “Neuro” refers to the brain. “Linguistic”

means “talk.” “Programming” is input and output — how we learn and how we express ourselves to others. It’s the learning part that is important, because it’s also how we buy.

When we can recognize how we, and others, receive and process information, we can better match our communication style to theirs. Result: We build trust faster and sell more vehicles. Why? People like to do business with people they like and trust — and NLP builds trust faster.

When we’re speaking our prospects’ language, we put them at ease faster, build trust more rapidly and in general have clearer communications with them. We understand them better, and they, in turn, understand us. Switch your communication to match how the client learns and buys and you’re in their head, building trust faster.

This process also can help you as a sales manager: Switch your style of communication to match with the staff. You have to have handouts for every sales meeting ; if you don’t, the visual salespeople don’t see what you’re saying.

Using NLP in the showroom, lot or service lane can help you build rapport with a customer in one-third the time:

• Visual people, when they talk, will make “see” statements: “I see what you’re saying”; “I’d like to see a brochure”; “I saw your ad”; “Can you show that to me?”

• Auditory learners will make “hear” statements: “I hear what you’re saying”; “I’d like to hear more about…”; “Let me ask you a question and you can tell me what to do.” “Other customers tell me it’s the best service.”

• Kinesthetic learners make “touch” statements: “I feel that way, too”; “Do you have a brochure?” “I’d like to get a better handle on my fi nances”; “I’ll visit the dealership to take a test drive.”

Your job as the successful salesperson

and manager is to be sure you match your communications style with the prospect’s. For example, you greet the prospect in the showroom. Prospect says, “I’d like to talk (A) about the used pickup truck.” If your response is, “Great, let me show (V) it to you,” you’ve just stepped on your own foot. The better response to this type of auditory prospect would be, “Great, let’s sit down and talk (A) about it for a few minutes. I’d be glad to explain (A) things to you. People have been saying (A) the greatest things about that vehicle. Wait until you hear (A) what they’re saying (A).”

Your prospect’s appearance is another cue to how to best handle him or her. Being that visual and kinesthetic learners focus on visual elements, they tend to present themselves as more button-down and sharp dressers, with more attention to visual details. Auditory prospects may not be at all concerned about their physical presentation as much as a visual learner / buyer.

If you don’t know what a customer’s communication style is, do all three. Who would it appeal to? Everyone.“I’ll show (V) you the benefi ts . . .explain (A) things to you . . .so you’ll feel (K) comfortable.”

Teach this line to your sales staff as the “transition statement” when returning from a test drive. You’ll get more people to come into the dealership for a write-up. How? One of the words will appeal to the client and you’ve covered all the bases by using all three in the statement. Years ago, we were all trained to say “follow me” to get the person to come into the dealership. That’s a great word for the kinesthetic client but misses the visual and auditory client. The above statement gets all three.

Paul Webb is a principal of Street Smart/Paul Webb Training. He can be contacted at 866.500.5827, or by e-mail [email protected].

Do you really know your business? To

know your business, you must know all the operating metrics as well the core of your business model. Business is part art and part science. Knowing the science part makes the art much easier. Many dealers are still operating under an outdated business model that can no longer be supported in any economy, especially under the current economic conditions. The only way to change the outdated model is to ask more questions, better questions, measure everything possible as often as possible and then take action to improve every day.

Every question you ask about your business causes you to reevaluate your business. Most dealerships are good at working in the business, but the great dealerships are great at working on the business. Most dealers are under the assumption that if everyone just does more, then the business will grow. The reality can be the opposite. You can be like a hamster on a wheel running harder and harder but getting the same or less results. In today’s marketplace, that outdated model will cause your business to be eaten alive.

In baseball, there is a phrase used in coaching pitching mechanics called “slow to go.” In business the same analogy is true. You have to slow down to ask the right questions, evaluate the right things, think in different directions and take different actions to speed the success of your business. The days of showing up, advertising a lot and working hard as a model for success are gone.

The following are important metrics and questions to understand and take action on everyday that can lead to success.

• Why should someone buy from your dealership? Be very specifi c. Ask yourself “Who cares?” to each answer to see if it is defi ning and specifi c enough

• What are the strengths of your business?

• What are the weaknesses of your business?

• What are the opportunities for your business and marketplace?

• What are the threats to your business and marketplace, and how can you not only deal with them but utilize them to your advantage?

• What is the business within your current business that could be created?

• What are the segments of your marketplace that are underserved?

• Is there a way to add to or plus anything within your business?

• Is there a way to subtract or minus anything within your business?

• Is there a way to speed up or slow down the experience for your customers?

• Is there an entertainment value to your business or experience?

• How many walk-in opportunities are there?

• How many phone opportunities do you have?

• How many presentation/demonstrations?• How many opportunities closed?• How many opportunities delivered?• What are the totals and averages of all

lead sources?• What percentage of your sales converts

to ongoing service customers?• What percentage of your customers are

inactive customers?• What percentage of your sales are

repeats?• What percentage of your sales are repeat

customers?• Do you have an ongoing and at least

partially automated system for follow up of your customers?

• Do you have a system to convert sales from service?

• How many forms of lead generation and marketing can you list?

• What are the production levels of each employee for every department? Everyone needs a metric to measure

performance no matter the job.• What three improvements in your service

sales process would increase dollars per repair order?

• Do you have a quantifi ed, complete and ongoing process to recruit employees?

• What is your education and improvement program for your employees?

• Have you quantifi ed clear ongoing communications for the expectations of your employees?

• Do you have formal feedback channels for your employees?

• Do you know the breakdown of performance for your used inventory by model, price range, conquest models, trade-in vs. acquisition, and return on investment for days in stock?

The above questions are just a few of the questions you should ask every day. The days of being a good entrepreneur but just an OK business person are gone in the car business.

There once was a day where an auto dealer could possess a strong entrepreneurial spirit and skills necessary to start a successful auto dealership. A dealer can no longer run his dealership by the seat of his pants. Today he must also have strong skills at running the business day to day that involves utilizing data derived from good operational metrics and questions. There are a couple of old sayings in the car business. “The car business is a very forgiving business” and “Car dealers can make money in spite of themselves.” Both sayings are outdated and no longer true. If a dealer does not work harder on the business everyday than he does in the business, then he will quickly become a dinosaur.

Mark Tewart is the president of Tewart Enterprises. He can be contacted at 866.429.6844, or by e-mail [email protected].

MarkTewart

ARE YOU ADINOSAUR?


19

sale

s&tr

ain

ing

solu

tion


22


22

In every dealership, no matter what the

product, whether the economy is soft or if sales are booming, there is nothing important as training. Excellence in any fi eld demands proper, continuous, intense training.

Question is, how do we get maximum results from training? I could tell you that there are three things you must do, I could offer a 10-step program or I could go over 21 obstacles to training success. Or, I could make it easy and just tell you the truth. The truth is that here is one rule and only one rule that always insures that training will be successful and you will get a continuing return on your investment. I am assuming here that the training you choose is real, it is up to date, and it is reality based. Here is the one rule that will always insure success: All of your managers must be completely involved in the training.

Everything rises and falls on leadership. If you are doing training now, and it is not working, all you need to do is check and see if all your managers are attending every training session. The thing that kills any training the quickest is when your managers underscore how important the training is by not even bothering to show up.

If you want training to work, your managers must be completely involved in the training. What does “completely involved” mean? 1. All of your managers will attend all of the training sessions. Failure to show up by managers will simply and immediately stop any benefi ts to the training. If your managers will not attend the training, don’t waste your time, money and effort with any trainer. Here is what happens when managers do not attend the training sessions:a. Salespeople realize that training is not

really important. They complain, they rebel, they resist the idea of learning

and growing, then they complain to the managers that the training is not working.

b. The managers have no idea how the salespeople react during the training sessions. The salespeople with bad attitudes and 20 years experience ruin the training for the ones who want to learn and grow and make more money.

The managers never know the truth because they never attend the classes. Not only does the training not work, the people who want to learn and grow will quit, and you’re stuck with the bad attitude people who don’t want any competition on the fl oor or on the Internet.

c. The managers who don’t attend the training sessions do not learn and grow with the salespeople, and any new, reality-based training techniques, when used by the salespeople, are met with ridicule by those managers. Any good that the training would have done is then canceled by the managers who would not attend, and learn, and grow and change.

2. All of your managers will learn and grow and change along with your salespeople. When a manager believes that being a manager allows them to ignore growth and change — that they are so smart they don’t need to learn anything else, that training is just for the salespeople — you have a decision to make. The most depressing statement for a trainer to hear at the beginning of a training program, from the manager is, “I have been doing this for 30 years and I know what works. See if you can teach these people something.”

When that managerial attitude prevails, no amount of time, effort and money spent on training will ever make things better for that dealership. If your managers refuse to learn, grow and change along with your

salespeople, don’t waste your time on training. It simply won’t work. Managers who are stuck in the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s are not qualifi ed to run today’s dealerships. The only advantage you have in today’s marketplace is the ability of your people to learn and grow and change with the times. 3. All of your managers will learn the training well enough to teach, help and reinforce the training process with your salespeople. Everything, including training, rises and falls on leadership. Your managers are your leaders, and they must set the tone for learning, growing and changing for your salespeople. Your salespeople simply cannot learn and grow and change for the better if your managers are holding them back. The key to success in the dealership — both with salespeople and with customers — is to have a group of managers who are willing to learn and grow and change along with their salespeople. When your salespeople learn new material better than your managers, what does that say about your managers? If the fi rst duty of managers is to help their people reach their full potential, how can they achieve that goal if they are not willing to learn and grow along with the salespeople? The answer’s simple: they can’t.

There is only one rule for making training pay off this year. Your managers must be completely involved in your training programs. With all other things being equal, the only advantage you can possibly have in today’s economy is a group of people, managers and salespeople who are willing to learn and grow and change. When your managers accept that challenge, your people will follow.

John Brentlinger is a sales and management trainer, executive coach and author. He can be contacted at 866.859.6504, or by e-mail at [email protected].

JohnBrentlingersale

s&tr

ain

ing

solu

tion

HOW TO MAKE TRAINING PAY OFF


24

JoshWeaver

THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT TODAY’S ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

The “good news” you say? What

is this guy, nuts? Well, not really; I do think there are some good things that are coming or will come out of the current challenging environment we face today in the automotive world. “What could they possibly be,” you ask? Well, consider these points:

Once We Make it Through This, It Probably Won’t Happen Again in Our Lifetime.No one has to tell dealers today that the environment is tough out there. How many times have you heard the talking heads say “We haven’t seen a fi nancial crisis like this since the Great Depression!” Well, folks, that ended approximately 70 years ago. Although there are surely some exceptions, the majority of people reading this article right now were not even born yet. The point is, this too shall pass, and once it does it will be over and probably never rear its ugly head again, not to this degree.

This Will Make You a Better Dealer, General Manager, Manager. We all know what happens when things get tough in a dealership. The microscope comes out. Right now, I would guess the

scope is bigger than ever and it’s sitting on your dealer’s desk every day. That’s not all bad. Things you take for granted in good times are now coming to the surface. Your vendor contracts are being reviewed. During these times you’re going to fi nd out who your real friends are as it pertains to vendors, banks, etc. Non-gross producing positions are reviewed, sometimes eliminated. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in favor of people losing their jobs, but I am in favor of a healthy business; therefore, although painful choices are being made, in the long run that is good for the business, which is good for the majority of employees. The fat gets cut out and the operation gets lean. You will remember this when times are good again, and they will be.

The Government Seems to Get It.I’m sure that point raises some eyebrows. But whether you are a Democrat, Republican or independent, the U.S. government is throwing a lot of things at this economic crisis. They are not overnight

cures, nor are they perfect. But in time, the good news is they are probably going to work. Interest rates are lower than ever, liquidity is being pumped into the banking sector at record speed, manufacturers

are being supported, and banks are being supported. I understand what has been done is controversial, and I understand that, odds are, credit is tighter than ever in your showroom right now. But what if we had done nothing? Would you have all the lenders available that you have left? Would your manufacturer be in bankruptcy, or even worse, extinct?

Cars Are Being Sold. I talk to dealers all over the country every day. Yes, its tough out there, but dealers and managers who are engaged in their business are selling cars and having good months. This past weekend, my company ran an event for an independent dealer in South Bend, Indiana. The month prior, the store had sold fewer than 60 vehicles. During the weekend event, we delivered 42 units. Why? Our event certainly provided a lot of opportunities, but guess what: The staff at the store was excited to be selling cars. They wanted to be successful, they wanted to hang the deals, work the customers for down payment, etc. They were having fun. These are all the things that you have to do during good times or bad to make coin in this business. Is your staff doing this? Are they remembering that this is the greatest business in the world and excited every day? Are you?

Remember what you did in the past to be successful. Try to ignore the latest negative headline regarding the economy. The economy you really need to be concerned about lies between the windows of your showroom. Get excited; remember why you love this business in the fi rst place. Good things will come out of today’s challenges.

Josh Weaver is the president of Impact Direct. He can be contacted at866.401.5961, or by e-mail [email protected].

“Remember what you did in the past to be

successful. Try to ignore the latest negative

headline regarding the economy. The economy

you really need to be concerned about lies

between the windows of your showroom.”

leadership

solu

tion


26

Now is the time to go the extra mile and

ensure loyalty with your women customers through creating a culture of customer service.

There is a high correlation between customer service and customer loyalty. A study by the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals

in Business found 70 percent of online customers rated themselves “very likely” to make repeat purchases from companies that respond to and resolve issues.

With these few basic tips you can create and maintain loyal female customers by making them feel like the most important customer

JodyDeVere

GO THE EXTRA MILE AND ENSURE LOYALTY WITH WOMEN CUSTOMERS

sale

s&tr

ain

ing

solu

tion

you’ve seen all day, no matter what the state of the economy is.

1. Focus on what you are able to do for her, and try to avoid saying there is something you are unable to do for her. If she has a diffi cult or impossible request, try suggesting the next best thing you can do for her. Admit that it might not be exactly what she was interested in, but that you have a way to help her.

2. When a woman is angry, let her vent fi rst. Remember it’s not personal. Do not interrupt her or start to speak until she has fi nished everything she has to say.

3. Defuse anger by saying “I understand that you feel upset or angry.” This will acknowledge the customer’s position and it gives the customer the sense that you care about what she’s feeling.

4. Remember her name and use it at various points in the conversation. Write it down if necessary so you don’t forget it.

5. Make sure you present an acceptable solution to her problem. Get her consent and agreement. This will confi rm where you both leave the issue.

6. Always end each contact with a “Thank you” or a message of appreciation for her business.

7. Follow up on your solution. Contact her at a later time, to make sure that her problem has been resolved and she is pleased with the outcome.

8. Ask if there is anything else that you can do for her. Taking the time to ask shows her that you value her business, this often results in increased business and a more than satisfi ed customer who will refer you to her friends and family.

No matter what the product or service is you have sold a female customer, you can be assured that she will appreciate it by making it personal by sending her a personal thank-you note. It may lead to referrals to friends and family when your attention to detail and customer service is passed on by a happy woman customer.

Jody DeVere is the CEO and president of AskPatty.com. She can be contacted at 866.849.9973, or by e-mail [email protected].

MarcSmith


27

THE POWER OF PERSONALIZED GRATITUDE

marketing

solu

tion

In a recent 20 Group meeting, I spoke

about the little things that can have a huge impact on sales with little or no additional investment. Just when you think that old-fashioned prospecting techniques are passé and are no longer a valid means of follow up and prospecting, you get a hand written thank-you note in the mail — and it’s effective.

That is exactly what happened to me recently after visiting a local repair garage to have some work done on my old truck. Yes, I have a Mercedes and a Lexus too, but sometimes you just have to have an old truck for odds and ends around the house. After having a brake switch replaced, I received a handwritten thank-you note from the manager a few days later, thanking me for the business. I don’t think he knew that when I arrived at his garage it was after hours. Notwithstanding, the technician diligently examined my truck, ordered the necessary part and repaired my truck — no questions asked. I was already sold on the service, but receiving the note was the icing on the cake. I must have told fi ve or six people about the service and the note I had received.

In today’s market, more than ever, it might not be a bad idea to get back to some good old “guerrilla marketing.” I have often said that nothing happens until you take action. Today’s sales professionals cannot afford to sit around and wait. There are three types of people: (1) Those who make things happen, (2) those who wait for things to happen, and (3) those who wonder what happened or wonder why nothing is happening. This is why getting on the phone regularly with your customers and having one-on-one contact is paramount.

So, if writing a handwritten thank-you note is so simple and effective, why doesn’t everyone do it? The answer is simple: Most people are not willing to do whatever it takes to be a champion. Sometimes it’s the little things that create the most success, but most people are unwilling to do them.

Getting back to a few good habits can make all the difference, including contacting your customers. I suggest the following: When contacting a customer by phone or mail, always have something to talk about, such as a service special, the arrival of a new model, special rates, a reminder for maintenance

or repair service or something about the dealership in general.

Several months ago I was out shopping in a Cole Haan store and purchased a pair of shoes. At the time, the salesperson was pleasant but not particularly memorable. That was until three days after my purchase, when I received a handwritten note thanking me for the purchase and letting me know that she would keep me informed of upcoming specials. Approximately three weeks later, I received another note thanking me again and letting me know about some new arrivals, not to mention a few specials that would be available in the near future.

When was the last time you received a handwritten thank-you from someone you did business with? How did it make you feel? And did it change the way you felt about the business and the service you received in a positive way. Get the picture?

When training and when conducting my sales seminars, I always tell attendees to take charge of their sales by applying just a few basic practices.

1. Have a written to-do list every day.2. Call back your 10 hot prospects. 3. Follow up by phone with 10 customers

per day. Follow this up with a handwritten note.

4. Three days after a sale, send a handwritten thank-you note.

5. Send another thank-you note three weeks after the sale, and ask for referrals.

If this sound like a lot of work, you are probably not at the top of the leader board every month, and you’re probably not making all of the money. Sure, there are many other social networking alternatives for prospecting, but don’t over look the basics. A phone call is free and thank-you notes are very inexpensive. Most dealerships will mail them for free. Think they’re time consuming? Think again. It takes less than a minute to write a three-line thank-you note, and three minutes to address the envelope, lick it and stamp it. Start today. Learn the power of a handwritten thank-you note and watch your sales grow.

Marc Smith is the president and CEO of Marc Smith International LLC. He can be contacted at 866.665.4479, or by e-mail at [email protected].

MattBaker

DON’T LET YOURSTYLE GET IN THE WAYOF YOUR SUCCESS

leadership

solu

tion

For many, advancing their career to a

leadership role is the ultimate personal and professional goal. Yet as people work their way up the leadership ladder, they can often be tempted by an endless need to feed their ego.

As these ego-driven leaders allow their self-image to outgrow their current position, they often encounter a number of unforeseen consequences, which will ultimately guide themselves, their staff and their company into a destructive downward spiral.

While this may seem unfortunate, it is all too common in today’s competitive marketplace. Yes, everyone has an ego to some extent, and yes, ego can be a powerful tool in achieving positive results. However, if left unchecked, ego can (and will) often lead us down a dark and dismal path.

Your greatest strength, overextended, becomes your greatest weakness. In this case, ego can prove to be an invaluable asset when driving performance. Yet it pays to be conscious of the fi ne line between confi dent and egotistical. For those who overstep these boundaries, the positives become outweighed by a personal need to override criticisms, and the inability to admit one’s faults, thus stopping personal and professional growth.

So what can be achieved by those leaders who choose to let their personal style interfere with success? Maybe just a bad reputation, or a few disgruntled employees? Unfortunately, it does not end there….

While the effects of these personal actions are often subtle, they can eat away at the dealership’s ability to urgently identify and address both obstacles and opportunities. Remember that the speed of the leader equals the speed of the team. In this case, the effects of an ego-driven manager or dealer can greatly compromise the speed at which the dealership evaluates and improves

performance. In the end, this downshift in momentum only paralyzes the entire staff’s ability to generate profi tability and growth.

To help better explain these points, let’s consider the potential problems faced by a professional basketball coach who just can’t seem to get his team up to speed. This coach is aware that his player’s performance isn’t up to par, which is in turn slowing down the development of the entire franchise. While he can acknowledge the fact that his players aren’t at the level they should be, he is unwilling (or perhaps uncomfortable) admitting that this lack of performance is his responsibility. His resolution to the issue is to wait it out, hoping that performance will improve over time. As I am sure you can guess, the team’s performance doesn’t improve and the issue now becomes escalated.

When asked why he can’t perform, the coach becomes defensive, blaming his under performance on a lack of talent or available funds to pay more qualifi ed players to join the team. Instead of choosing to admit his faults, the coach would prefer to risk the success (and perhaps the survival) of both himself and his players to satisfy his ego.

The truth is that often those who need to change the most are the ones who change the least. In the long run, what is this coach really risking by confronting his fears, admitting his weaknesses and asking for help? Perhaps he risks a temporary loss of pride, or personal embarrassment? Both are possible outcomes. However, what has gone unnoticed is the opportunity to improve upon himself for the betterment of his team and his franchise. Understand that, by asking for help to overcome challenges, you are not changing you, but rather how you do things. No one is perfect. We all have our weaknesses as well as our strengths. The key is in admitting these downfalls and committing to improving upon them.

Believe it or not, it’s OK to take a page out of someone else’s playbook. In fact, some of the best solutions often come from the input or actions of others.

Take Toyota and Honda for instance. As two of the industry’s leading auto manufactures, Toyota and Honda have set a new stage in auto manufacturing standards. By introducing more effi cient processes and economical product lines, Toyota and Honda have left the Big 3 and others re-evaluating their old ways in an effort to implement the new strategies developed by these current industry leaders.

In the long run, a lot can be gained by admitting personal downfalls, committing to improving upon them and looking to the advice of others in an effort to move yourself and your business forward. While ego can be a powerful leadership tool when infl uencing those around you, be forewarned of the negative implications of taking your ego a step too far. In today’s economic environment it pays to keep our ego in check. Only through revealing weakness can we really improve.

Matt Baker is the vice president of sales for G&A Marketing. He can be contacted at 866.618.8248, or by e-mail [email protected].


28

See for yourself. Get a FREE list of the hottest cars in your

market today at vAuto.com/results or call 888-536-4086.

— Jeff Green, Owner(and Aviation Enthusiast)Green ChevroletPeoria, Illinois

I know something my competitors don’t...the hottest cars in my market every minute.

People are even knocking on my door

to sell me the cars I need.

Live Market Stocking delivers vehicles to your front door.

Dealerships around the country are achieving record results — even in this economy — by stocking

with vAuto’s Live Market View. Know the used vehicles that are moving fastest in your market.

See exactly who has the cars matching that demand and send a request for purchase with

just one click. Like Green Chevrolet, you’ll see that you can increase your turn in any market

with Live Market Stocking from vAuto.

Green Chevrolet’sUsed Inventory

Turn

8

15

withvAuto

beforevAuto

“Believe it or not, it’s OK to take a page out of

someone else’s playbook. In fact, some of the best solutions often

come from the input or actions of others.”


30

KevinCunningham

DEALERITISle

adership

solu

tion

How long has it been since you’ve heard the

term “Dealeritis”?

During this cycle, in many of the 20 Group meetings, this term has resurfaced. One of our clients recently stated he could not believe he himself had dealeritis, as he is at the dealership every day, watching his daily DOC, other management reports and had regular manager meetings.

His business was profi table; he delegated to his key managers, and from all indications had very happy customers. He was involved in community projects and was spending time with his family and friends. He had worked himself into a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job with weekends off. Life was good.

It wasn’t until business got a little tighter, his inventories got out of line and the bottom line got smaller, that he decided to get out his offi ce and see what was really going on in his operation. In fact, what really got his attention was his fi rst red month in years.

Bottom line, he had been managing his dealership from the 10,000 foot level, felt good about his key people, had his manager meetings (in his offi ce), but there were days and weeks he did not walk around his dealership. After deciding he needed to get back to the real world, he started asking some basic questions about how deals were being worked, watched the advisors on the drive, and guess what he found: process evaporation.

Processes had changed to the point they were no longer effective or productive. This did not happen overnight. It was a little at a time as people made changes — or got too lazy — to do the right process.

He has now closed his offi ce upstairs, and moved to an offi ce downstairs overlooking the showroom and service drive.

I bet this story can be duplicated in many dealerships across the United States in recent months.

The following are some things dealers/operators are doing, now that they have moved either physically or mentally back onto the showroom:

• Arrive at the dealership at 7 a.m. at least two days a week to watch the dealership wake up. When you watch your

personnel arrive in the morning, you can almost tell what kind of day they will have at work — for you and for your customers.

• Park in the back of the dealership rather than in the assigned/reserved parking space by the offi ce door.

• Walk through the shop when you arrive and visit the technicians, advisors, parts and body shop people, and get to know them like you used to know them. They are great people and probably the hardest working, most dedicated and stable employees you have in your operation.

• Meet and greet some of the customers on the drive, and see if the advisors are really performing the “service drive process” that was so effective when the process was implemented.

• Go visit the offi ce personnel and see if the deals from yesterday are in the offi ce for processing. If you really want to know how the paperwork is fl owing, ask the offi ce personnel — they will tell you the real story.

• Attend at least two or three Save-A-Deal meetings a week. These fi ve- to 10-minute sessions will give you a quick idea of the intensity of your managers and desire to put deals together as a team of new, pre-owned and F&I managers.

• Make sure you are involved in your trade evaluation process at least two or three times a week, if you in fact have a trade evaluation process in place at your dealership.

• At least two times a week do an inventory walk; take your new vehicle and your pre-owned vehicle managers with you. Make sure your managers understand you expect these units to be on the front line or in the designated place you have for aged vehicles.

• Your offi ce is now where you can see and observe how your customers are being handled on the showroom fl oor, or on the service drive. You will now see fi rst hand how your customers are really being taken care of. If you see things getting out of control, you can now get involved with the customers.

• Don’t forget to spend some time at the desk working deals if you really want to see how deals are being worked in your dealership.

• Attend a technician meeting and a service advisor meeting. Find out what the real challenges are in the fi xed departments. You may fi nd out your people are asking for something they really need to be able to do their job more effectively.

• Conduct a weekly receivables meeting with accounts receivable, managers, body shop, warranty and F&I. Find out what is happening to your cash.

• Review and approve all pre-owned wholesale units sold. Find out who is buying, and what kind of profi ts or losses you are obtaining on each unit. This will also let you know quickly if your pre-owned vehicle manager is packaging vehicles to cover specifi c losses.

• One evening, drive home the oldest pre-owned vehicle in inventory. Chances are you will fi nd out why it has not sold.

• Make sure you stay late or until closing at least one night a week. After you leave the dealership, the intensity will change unless you have cloned yourself.

• Drop in unexpectedly some evening or at closing time to see how quickly the lights go out even when there may be customers on the lot or possibly in the showroom.

There are automobile dealers even in today’s market conditions who are growing and generating a respectable bottom line. The common denominators of these particular dealers: They are really involved in their operations by doing many of the above listed tasks on a daily basis. Plus, they have a mixture of positive and highly charged enthusiasm in everything they do.

Remember: No one loves your dealership like you do. Do not forget to have fun and enjoy this great business. You have done it all before and it got you to where you are.

Kevin Cunningham is the director of business development for NCM Associates. He can be contacted at 866.618.9035, or by e-mail at [email protected].


32

SteveBrazill

FIELD TRIPIn my years as a sales manager, I had a habit

of sending salespeople out to shop for cars. I’d pick a slow day, then send one or two off to distant parts of town to shop dealerships of their choice for the purpose of observing other salespeople in action. The next day they would be required to report their observations in the morning meeting.

My people always hated it — until theydid it.

Then they’d come back with stories. Most were of the how-not-to-do-it type (a commentary on our industry): muffed greetings, failure to ask for the customer’s name, painful lack of product knowledge, weak closes, no closes and an amazing variety of generally unprofessional or bizarre behavior. Inevitably, the storyteller would get to a point in the story where he would say something like “And then this guy (the salesperson at the other dealership) said/did . . . and it was terrible.” My salesperson would pause, then say “Sometimes I say/do that to my customers too. I never realized how badly it comes across.” Pause. “I’m not going to say/do that anymore.”

Of course, every now and then someone would meet a real pro and we’d get reports of a positive nature. “Wow. This woman was great. Talk about making it look easy. I always struggle when I get such-and-such objection, but when I threw it at her she . . .” Those stories usually ended with a comment such as “That worked so well on me, I can’t wait to try it.”

My role in these meetings was to simply keep the storytelling and subsequent conversation on track and moving forward. Occasionally, I would try to help connect the dots between an element in a story and a training issue, but salespeople are smart. Give them a chance and they’ll pick the bones in every story clean of nutritional material.

Imagine what would happen if sales managers, general managers and dealers had to go out every six months and see the vehicle-buying process through the customer’s eyes. If you work in one of those positions, how long has it been since you

went out as Joe Public to buy a car? If it’s been over a year, maybe it’s time you went on a fi eld trip. Observe the general level of training, listen to the overworked word tracks that sound so much alike from store to store, watch for ways your (presumed) effort to buy is thwarted by the people and processes you encounter. Then come back to your store and write the reasons why your store is better than the dealerships you visited. I suggest that you write them because writing is more demanding than thinking out loud, and if you can’t fi nd the words to clearly state what those reasons are, perhaps they are less distinct than you would like to think.

A popular author was once asked what made his stories so exciting. His response was simple: “I leave out the boring parts.” It’s easy to imagine that his experience fi ghting through the boring parts of other author’s

stories contributed to his determination to gain a competitive advantage by eliminating them from his own work. If you regularly observe the ways your competitors make the car-buying process more diffi cult than it needs to be, you should be able to turn that knowledge into competitive advantage as well. Contrary to the opinion of cynics and weak salespeople, most customers go to dealerships because they really want to buy a car. Why not make it easier for them to buy from you? An occasional fi eld trip can help you improve the shopping experience customers receive when they come to your store while giving you a signifi cant competitive advantage.

Steve Brazill is the chair of automotive marketing for Northwood University, Texas Campus. He can be contacted at 866.861.1515, or by e-mail [email protected].

sale

s&tr

ain

ing

solu

tion

Innovative e-newsletter solutions.

866-964-6397 imnLoyaltyDriver.com

THE FORECASTCALLS FOR

A DOWNPOUR OF NEW BUSINESS.

IMN Loyalty Driver floods your dealership with interested customers and prospects.


33

The current buzz is that having a CRM

is a necessity to succeed in today business world. The buzz is correct — but proceed with caution. A good portion of our fellow dealers do not even know what the letters “CRM” mean, (Customer Relationship Manager) so how can they make a decision to spend resources based on poor knowledge of the process?

CRM applications have many meanings, depending on the buyer or seller. It is an umbrella phrase that covers many individual applications. Contact managing, lead managing, e-lead managing, e-mail support, desk tool, marketing capability, inventory control manager and in some cases, your DMS. You then have stand-alone systems, partially integrated and totally integrated within your DMS.

Trying to steer a heavily featured DMS through a CRM application requires more than most dealerships can manage. You should look at the many stand-alone applications that solve the collection and use of data versus an integrated system. Speed is essential in selling cars; do you want a high-powered aircraft or a bi-plane from the last century? In my opinion the stand-alone CRMs are the specialists in the use of the application, and produce the best results.

How does the dealer know what will work best for his operation and his staff? As a dealer, you must take the time to learn how the systems that are pitched will work within your dealership. It seems that almost every dealer has a knowledgeable I.T. person; that’s fi ne, but does he or she have sales experience? Knowledge of technology is fi ne must be married to sales expertise and knowledge of how the sales process works. You need a Trinity: a champion, a process and technology.

Many end users look at feature content, they look at the matrix on the back of the software box or on a Web site and pick the application with all the features. Mistake. You will never

use all the features, but you will surely pay for them. Unused features cost money and training time that takes away from the selling process. Staring at a computer wondering what to do is more costly than staring out the showroom window waiting for the next up. What are you trying to accomplish? What is the end game? It should be “How do I sell more cars with the help of technology?”

If you were asked to profi le each of your clients, could you? Take the time and conduct a simple exercise. Instruct your controller to print out a sample of your customer database. Prove that you are the exception and that your database is not corrupted with duplications and incorrect contact information. If you use that database as a starting point to enter the CRM world and have not paid attention to the basic database management, you will fail. Invest in a dedicated person and process so that your database systems will be error free. You must make a decision that maintaining a clean database is as important as locking the doors when you leave for the day. How much is each customer’s personal information worth? What do you currently pay for prospect lists to market to in your area? Is the cost more than maintaining a clean database? The highest return of investment is from your own customer database.

The profi le that you are looking for should supply the buying patterns, birthdays, anniversaries and current contact information of your clients. Have you ever had the need to know detailed information about your clients? How would you use the detail to increase your sales rate? Knowing what to do with the data has to be one of the main reasons to enter the CRM world. A CRM should be able to not just collect data but also be able to manipulate the data so as to target the clients and increase your odds in closing more deals.

A number of years ago I attended a Ford seminar. The seminar’s curriculum included team management, customer satisfaction and database management. In the process

we were exposed to a variety of high-end retail businesses. One in Dallas had built a client base throughout the United States and maintained a digital database that was consistently updated with fresh data. When a client called for services, employees were instructed to ascertain that their current information was correct, contact information, clothing sizes, and family information etc. Each customer is unique and when he or she feels that they are the only one you care about, the sale becomes an easier task. Data is king. Collect it and combine it with service to the client and you will increase your business.

Many dealers believe that maintaining the deal information is the goal in customer information. What good are the fi nancial numbers if you don’t know your customer? The R in CRM stands for “relationship” between you and your clients. Understanding those relationships between you and your clients is paramount in making a CRM work. If you do not get it, stay away from CRM products. Save your money.

Spend the time and calculate what it costs to get traffi c to your showroom. Is it $500 per up as an average or more? This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg of costs to the dealer. Remember to total up dealer ad group charges, yellow page insertions, Internet costs and time spent by your personnel to place and monitor the process. All the money that a dealer spends to create traffi c is wasted if the traffi c is not collected as useable data. If you think that paper logs, duplicate up sheets, matchbook covers and your memory is the best technology, you will fail. Move into the 21st century and use the CRM that works best for your staff and that will be used. Make the commitment to invest in your future and your future will be successful.

Howard Leavitt is the president of AutoRaptor. He can be contacted at 866.618.9053, or by e-mail [email protected].

HowardLeavitt

THOUGHTS ABOUT CRM- DO YOU NEED ONE?

marketing

solu

tion


34

PaulCummings

WINNING WORDSFour Powerful Phrases

This article is dedicated to all the

men and women who lay it on the line every day as automotive sales professionals. I am speaking directly to the two percent of automotive sales people who treat their opportunity as a career instead of a job. The business of sales requires guts and courage to build a career where your only guarantee of success is based on your own effort. I actually fi nd it stimulating to know that I am 100 percent in control of the commas and the zeroes in my world. Motivation comes easily when you realize there are no guarantees in the business of sales. The brutal truth is that most of the people in our chosen fi eld don’t honor their profession with the seriousness it deserves. For those of you who have and continue to strive for a real career, this article is for you.

After 90 days of low performance, my dealer was poised to relieve me of my duties. Knowing I needed to stay employed, I pleaded to keep my position. The bottom line was that I didn’t know what I was doing. My training program consisted of the following statement: “Here is your pen, the cars are outside, and product tapes are in the back. Go get ‘em, tiger.”

I was learning in the most expensive way possible for any dealer — I was practicing on real, qualifi ed customers and failing miserably. In retrospect, this is certainly not the most advantageous way for any person to begin a new career. Wanting to win more than you can imagine, I requested training and I was granted the opportunity to go to a one-day sales seminar in Shreveport, Louisiana, instructed by Tom Hopkins.

As I arrived at the hotel in Shreveport, little did I know the events of the day would forever change the course of my life. Tom Hopkins was the most polished instructor I had ever been in the presence of in my

short time on earth. Words fl owed out of his mouth in a silky smooth fashion, yet his approach it didn’t seem contrived or disingenuous. I was amazed at his level of skill and I must admit I was wondering in my own mind, “Can I ever be this good?” Then the words came fl owing out of his mouth that changed my world and perspective about the business of sales. “If you wish to be the best in sales, you must practice, drill and rehearse the words and phrases in this book until you indelibly inscribe them in your subconscious mind.” Instantly, I was dialed in; I had been practicing in athletics my whole life and this I knew I could do.

The Surgeon’s ToolsJust like a surgeon uses a scalpel to operate, we must use words in the same way. The only difference is our task is much more diffi cult because the surgeon is allowed to put his patients to sleep before he or she begins. There are no objections from a surgeon’s customers. Quite the contrary we have to do our work on living, breathing, well-educated, well-prepared individuals who will object at a moment’s notice. Unlike the surgeons’ customer, our customers can stand up and walk away at anytime. All of these variables mandate that we become highly skilled. We have no choice but to master an array of words and phrases so we can handle the ebb and fl ow of communication. If we are unwilling to build and develop a powerful selling vocabulary, we are incapable of being a world-class professional at the business of selling.

Four Powerful Phrases That WorkYou will fi nd below four phrases that come from our “Telly Award” winning sales program. As you read through the phrases, recognize that all can be used in a myriad of different ways when communicating with a customer. The key is to practice, drill and rehearse the words and phrases until they

become second nature:

• “It is our Stated Policy to treat every visitor to the dealership as an honored guest in our home, every day, every time, without fail, no exceptions.”

This phrase should always be used at the end of your greeting sequence to set the tone for a positive automotive purchasing experience. This will give you a competitive advantage:

• “In your opinion, do you feel the (x) will meet your expectations?”

This powerful phrase is magical because you can always ask a customer for their opinion. This allows you to take the customers’ temperature at anytime during the sales process:

• “Can you see some value in that?”

This dynamic question has made me a fortune over the course of my career. Most sales people fail to build real value and some build value during the presentation. World-class sales professionals always confi rm the value with a question. Remember: Value that is confi rmed is value that will be paid for by the customer:

• “No Problem — I would be happy to (x).”

These are customer-friendly words that keep the customer moving forward in the process. When they make a request, always use this phrase as a means of providing them a positive solution.

Paul Cummings is president and CEO of Paul Cummings Enterprises. He can be contacted at 866.865.3171, or by e-mail at [email protected].

sale

s&tr

ain

ing

solu

tion


36

SeanV.Bradley

One of the toughest parts of an Internet

coordinator or Internet manager’s job is actually getting the prospect on the phone. Seriously, this may truly be the hardest part. Statistics show you will only reach between 11 to 15 percent of people who you attempt to call.

Think about this in a different way:

or the prospect will not have time to talk, or they bought elsewhere or changed their mind. The likeliest scenario is that you will get their voicemail. That’s right — the majority of the Internet sales professional’s job is leaving voice mail messages, and leaving a lot of them.

The problem here is that most dealerships never train on how to leave a great voice mail message, so most sales people leave the same boring message every time. “Hi, this is Sean from ABC Motors. Please call me back at 555-1212.” Or they might say something like “Hi, this is Sean from ABC Motors, I have been trying to reach you to see if you are still interested in a car….” Over and over again, just like Jim Carey from “The Cable Guy” movie. It becomes very annoying very fast. Please remember that the average buying cycle is between 45 to 90 days. That means your prospect is still looking for a car a couple of days after they sent you the Internet purchase request form.

Leaving a great voicemail message should

be one of the critical skills that every sales professional has in their repertoire. Either it comes naturally, or it needs to be learned and cultivated. You have to leave great voicemail messages.

You really need to learn how to leave the most exciting, engaging, best voicemail messages on the planet. Let me throw one of these reality statistics at you: The average Internet customer researches or visits between fi ve to nine other dealership Web sites besides yours. And remember that their buying cycle is between 45 and 90 days. Now, think about how many dealerships are calling them and leaving voicemail messages. Think about how many voicemail messages they are going to receive before they make their decision. Your message must stand out. If you leave the same boring, dreary, drab and annoying voicemail messages that the majority of your competitors are leaving, you are done. Just write off that sale and resort to your alternative strategy: prayer. Yes, pray that all of your competitors screw up so you can make the sale. I think you get the picture now; it’s very important to leave a great voicemail message for your prospect.

Here are some tips to help you become the voicemail master:

• First and foremost, you want to create a library of voice mail scripts. That’s right — a library, just like you should have a library of e-mail templates.

• You want to make sure that you diversify your voicemail messages. I suggest coming up with about 20 to 30 different voice mail messages. Keep them exciting, relevant and memorable.

• Keep track of the effectiveness of these voicemail scripts by implementing a national call monitoring tracking number for each individual voicemail message. Using a unique toll-free number for each voicemail script allows you to track the effectiveness of each script. You can now

see per day, per week, per month, per quarter which script worked and at what time of day and which day of the week.

• Practice your scripts in front of co-workers to make sure they fl ow. You can also use friends and family to get their reaction.

• Be sure you have some compelling calls to action in each script. “. . . I know you called about the blue Mustang, but we have four other comparable vehicles with rebates or incentives that can save you about $1,000….” Now that will get their attention.

• Adjust the tonality of your voice throughout the message. By that I mean sound excited about your message. Be truthful, but get excited about the options you can offer them. How can they get excited if you aren’t emotional?

Put yourself in their shoes and try to fi gure out what going to motivate them. Again the goal is to get the appointment and meet with them face to face to personally help them meet their wants and needs. You can talk about favorable credit terms available in the message in case they are a payment buyer. Talk about the availability of the certifi ed pre-owned units that come with a warranty to fully protect them during their ownership of the vehicle.

Apply the Ben Franklin principle: “Speak of what benefi ts others.” Share with them a few of the reasons they want to do business with your dealership and don’t resort to, “I have to sell three more units to make my bonus, so I can cut you a great deal.” They will buy for their reasons, not yours.

Sean V. Bradley is the founder and CEO of Dealer Synergy, a nationally recognized training and consulting company in the automotive industry. He can be contacted at 866.648.7400, or by e-mail at [email protected].

‘BILL AND MARY AREN’T HERE RIGHT NOW...’The Hardest Part of a Sales Professionals’ Job is Handling Voicemail

Between85 to 89%of the attemptsyou make to prospects will not get answered,

marketing

solu

tion

AutoSuccess Apr09

Education

Transcript of AutoSuccess Apr09