CBT Magazine June 2014

CAR BIZ TODAYJUNE 2014 Entire contents 2014 Car Biz Today. All Rights Reserved. ISSUE 4

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YOUR DEALERSHIP NEEDS A PETE ROSE

BIG MARKET SHARE

SMALL MARKET

Holm Automotive Center operates in a small market in Abilene, Kan., but Tim Holm, dealer principal, doesnt use that as an excuse not to bring in big numbers. By being committed to training and providing outstanding customer service, Holm and his team manage to capture a significant percentage of the market share in that area. As the recipient of DealerRaters highest honor in Kansas for three years straight, Holm has established a loyal customer base. In fact, many of the customers drive many miles just to do business with the dealership. Many other small-market dealers could learn a lot about raising the bar for their sales teams. And dealers in larger markets, who might take their traffic flow for granted, can learn a lot about making the most of every opportunity.

DRIVING STRONGER DEALERSHIP PROFITS

The Official News Source of The Retail Automotive Industry

CBTNews.com

The CFPB has raised awareness of the

importance of F&I income and the role

it plays in a dealerships bottom line. The need to partner with a vendor who can help you in

those efforts has never been greater. We interviewed Larry Dorfman, the highly-respected CEO of the extended service contracts company, EasyCare. The company has enjoyed three decades of helping dealers drive profits in F&I, sales and service.

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MULTI-CHANNEL MARKETING

JOE WEBBPresident of

Dealer Knows

see PAGE 20

see PAGE 14

MISTAKES THAT ARE COSTING DEALERS

THOUSANDSPaul Potratz

Epage 32

6 TRAITS YOUR EMPLOYEES AND NEW HIRES

MUST HAVEDave Anderson

Epage 8

IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU AND YOUR

SERVICEDEPARTMENT

Jeff Cowan

Epage 36

Tony Dupaquier

Epage 10

AVOID THE ZERO

see PAGE 26

Despite your opinion of Pete Rose the man, its hard to question his greatness as an athlete. Rose was one of those rare players that not only excelled on the diamond, but he also stepped up as a true leader of the Cincinnati Reds. That ability to play, as well as coach, has earned him a spot as one of the greatest athletes in baseball history.

Every dealership could benefit by having a player-coach someone who cannot only shine in the showroom, but also take on the additional role as a leader for other employees. As the manager, its your responsibility to find your leader that person who is willing to train others and lead by example. Who is

your Pete Rose?

Larry Dorfman: Chairman and CEO of EasyCare

CAR BIZ TODAYCBTNews.com June2

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CAR BIZ TODAY CBTNews.com June 3

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CAR BIZ TODAYM A G A Z I N E

Fathers Day always makes me pause and think about my father who passed away six years ago. One of my fondest memories is of him and his 1966 powder blue step side Chevy pickup. He was so proud of that truck and held onto it for more than 30 years. He fi nally sold it to a gentleman who spent a great deal of time restoring it. (See photos)

Riding in the back of that truck probably not recommended these days was one of my favorite things to do as a child. Its a wonder my brothers and I ever made it past childhood with so little regard for safety! My dad would drive slowly with me standing up and holding onto the roof, carefree, wind rushing through my hair, a few bugs in my teeth. Th ose were the days! (And yes, that is me posing in the back of that truck.)

I had to laugh when I saw the original bill of sale (pictured). Contracts are a little more complicated these days, dont you think? Back then, deals were made with a handshake and a promise. Th ats not common these days, but Scott Smith of Sonic Automotive Inc., and Larry Dorfman of EasyCare still do business the old-fashioned way. See the EasyCare story on page 14.

With Fathers Day on my mind, I asked Scott about the best advice his father, Bruton Smith, had ever given him. Hes given me so much good advice, he said. But Id say always do the right thing was probably the best advice.

Doing the right thing isnt always the easiest path to take, but its certainly worth the eff ort when it comes to running your dealership. Making sure your dealership is compliant in its operations is no small task. On page 12. Jim Radogna explains why you shouldnt be complacent when it comes to compliance. Dealers should focus on training employees to be compliant and ethical so as not to wind up in hot water.

As always, let me know your opinions of these and the other stories in this months issue of Car Biz Today Magazine. You can email me at [email protected]. We want to hear from you.

Have the best June ever!

Carol White | Managing [email protected]

Carol White

Letter from the Editor

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Vice President / COO Bridget Everett

Managing EditorCarol White

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Too often I hear dealers and agencies talking about the marketing e orts in terms of traditional marketing and digital marketing. What that has done is create di erent messages and confusion because one team - or silo - does not know what the other is doing. I have been working on changing the marketing-silo mentality in automotive digital marketing circles to get people to focus on their marketing e orts as a whole.

WHAT ARE MARKETING SILOS?

I spoke to a digital marketing manager for a mid-size dealer group the other day. We were discussing how to reallocate some of his marketing dollars and immediately the marketing silo language came out. We were discussing the bene ts of video pre-roll and possibly moving some of his marketing budget from cable over to this online video marketing product. When I asked him what cable spots he was running and how often were they running, he said that he did not know. He was not privy to that.

is brief exchange reinforced a symptom of marketing in automotive dealerships in general. I have seen a great many disjointed marketing e orts because o ine is not in tune with online. Too many times marketing silos rule decisions. I believe this was an outgrowth of leadership having an ad agency that handled all their marketing needs previously and as digital marketing began to grow, it was not something this ad agency could handle. is led to hiring a new agency to market online or worse, just getting products and spending money without having a strategic partner to guide the marketing spend. us two marketing silos were created and no one exchanged information.

WHAT IS A UNIFIED MARKETING APPROACH?

My goal is to change this dialogue and get people to focus on uni ed marketing e orts by looking at their marketing in terms of o ine and online e orts.

As my friend Darren Haygood of Dealer.com said, What is the goal of almost all of your o ine marketing today? To drive the viewer to your website where you have all of your online marketing e orts. So if both of your marketing teams are not communicating, then between o ine and online, how will that union work?

I agree. As I said to this manager, where is the traditional marketing silo sending the clicks? What is the message they are sharing? If it is not uni ed with your online e orts then the customer will receive a disjointed experience and you will lose potential sales.

WHAT SHOULD A UNIFIED MARKETING PROCESS LOOK LIKE?

ink of the shopper path from stimulus (o ine) and how/where it will drive interest online (website, research etc.).

Messaging of all marketing e orts should match in color and feel.

If o ine marketing e orts are sending them to a speci c page on the website or asking them to use a speci c number to call, be sure you can track the interaction back to the o ine asset.

Leadership has to treat both groups as a part of the whole marketing message. So if the path is o ine (TV, radio, print) to online (website, etc.) to onsite (banners, signs, posters) then you have a consistent path for the consumer to follow in order to do business with you.

THE FINAL PIECE: ONSITE MARKETING

e last piece to the uni ed marketing process that many dealers miss is what they are doing onsite.

When a customer takes the journey from o ine, to online and now onsite, does everything match? Too many times the onsite marketing is left in the hands of someone who just hangs the banners that the OEM sends. I hardly ever see any personality or something that ties into what the customer sees online and so this creates another wedge into the consumers mind that causes some confusion.

Find ways to promote your why am I di erent message onsite. Make sure the banners or o ers you have online are visible onsite. A few simple visible or tangible marketing pieces onsite will complete the journey for the customers purchase.

What needs to happen beginning today is that all marketing partners have to have a seat at the uni ed marketing table. All three areas - o ine, online and onsite - have to be uni ed because there is no other option for marketing success today. Take down the marketing silos or you will wonder next year why you are losing customers and revenue. CBT

ARE YOUR MARKETINGEFFORTSUNIFIED...OR STUCK INMARKETINGSILOS?

Glenn is a trainer at heart. He is a highly sought-after speaker, writer, coach and operations strategist, as well as a customer service fanatic. He has spoken throughout the U.S. and Canada, educating audiences on a variety of topics including business leadership, change management, digital marketing and the impact of this new technology on culture, business and society. Visit the website www.pcgdigitalmarketing.com.

Glenn PaschCEO of PCG Digital Marketing


Success magazine recently released a list of the 25 books that the editors consider to be the most important ones written on the topic of success. ere were really few surprises on the list for those who keep themselves motivated and educated on what it takes to become successful. ink and Grow Rich, How to Win Friends and In uence People, e Seven Habits of Highly E ective People are just a few that made it onto the list.

But what is success? What is it that makes people successful in their lives, in their careers and in the eyes of other people? Is it the accumulation of wealth and power as some would de ne it? Is it fame or popularity or great accomplishment? ere are several de nitions in the dictionary about what success is, but in my mind there is none better than this simple one: success is the accomplishment of an aim or a purpose. I like that de nition because it is something that can be measured and it is available to all those who care enough about their life and their future to not leave it to luck or chance.

Of course, there is always the J. Paul Getty formula for how to become successful:

Rise early, work hard and strike oil. at certainly is a great piece of wisdom for anyone who is hoping to become rich, especially if you live in Texas or North Dakota. But you had better make sure you

are drilling in the right place before you make plans of how youre going to spend all that money.

e great thing about being in the retail automotive business is that there is something for everyone. If you like people and have a desire to help others, it is a great career to meet new and interesting people every day, and help them achieve something that can be very important for their life and well being. If you like the potential to earn good money and develop a growing and loyal clientele, you can certainly do that in this business, as well. Selling cars for a living is one career that gives back in direct proportion to what you put into it. For those who consider the idea of going up the ladder to leadership in management, there is always room at the top for strong leaders in this business. Eventually, you may even decide that you want to start or buy your own dealership. at too, is available for those who want to make the e ort and sacri ce what it takes to become a dealer.

Truthfully though, the meaning of success is what it means to you. Whatever that may be, you are not likely to achieve it until you de ne it rst in your mind and then determine the cost of achieving it. Until you know what you are trying to accomplish, you probably wont know how to go about it or even whether you have

SUCCESS

done it or not once it is said and done. You may spend your whole life being frustrated at your lack of success because you never really took the time to nd out what success means to you.

Of course, you can always count on con dence to make a big di erence in your ability to succeed. e founder of our industry, Henry Ford, is often quoted as saying, If you think you can or you think you cant, youre right. If you dont think you can succeed, you had better tackle that problem rst before launching o into the actual process of making it happen. Until you believe in yourself, you are not likely to get anyone else other than your mother to believe in you. And thats not really a bad place to start. A little encouragement from Mom usually comes in handy when youre looking for a boost of con dence.

Map Out a PlanOnce you have decided that you believe

in yourself, step one for nding success is to decide what it is you want to accomplish in life. en make a plan on how you are going to do that in increments that can be de ned and worked out in short-, medium- and long-term goals. Success is only really de nable when you have an ultimate goal that can be accomplished by breaking it into smaller measureable goals and by working hard to accomplish those goals step by step, day by day and year after year. When you are ready to do this, there is a very high probability that you will know success in your life.

The Meaning of


ETo see more from David Lewis go to CBTNews.com

Educate Yourself e next thing I recommend is that

you educate yourself in the business and continue to do so every chance you get. Try to nd out what it takes to be successful in retail automotive and dont just read about it, act on what you learn. ere are a lot of great training materials that so many have to o er you. Dont expect to have a big return on a small investment when it comes to your career. Dedicate yourself to the process of learning and growing and you will gain con dence which will pay o , not only in your career, but in every area of your life.

Learn From Others ird on my list for success is to keep your eye on others who are successful, and learn from what they do. If you are familiar with my training materials you will notice that I often mention the people Ive met along the way who have made a lasting impression on me. ere are plenty of people in this business you de nitely dont want to emulate, but there are real winners who know what it means to be successful and who stay at the top of their game year in and year out. Often in life, the people you associate with can make all the di erence in how your life will turn out. Make the right choices when it comes to

who you listen to and who you decide is worth following.

Remember what the real key to success is in a business like ours. It is our customers that really de ne whether we are successful or not. Without satis ed customers, there is little chance of having a respectable career in this or any other business. Focusing our e orts on doing the best we can for the people we serve will usually allow the rest to take care of itself. Learn to have a win-win approach with your customers and I assure you, you wont regret it.

Find a BalanceFinally, I think balance is a good thing to

remember if you truly want to be successful. Learning how to balance things like family, career, relationships, work and recreation is extremely important for real achievement in life. Youll never see a U-Haul behind a hearse, so I dont recommend working yourself to death at breakneck speed in order to ll your o ce with awards and commendations or to just put more money in the bank. Stop and smell the roses once in a while. If you dont you will eventually wish you had.

Someone once said that success is the ability to take care of yourself and your family, and to have some left over to help those around you. I like that and it makes

sense when you think about it. Success is not the end of the story and neither is failure. It is what you do along the way that truly de nes whether you are successful or not. We all have our ups and downs and we learn to live with it and keep going.

Sir Winston Churchill said it well when he wrote, Success is not nal, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. Wherever you are today on your pathway to success just remember to keep your head up and start every day believing in who you are and what you can do. Who knows what you can achieve if you just stay in the game. Sometimes the key to great victory is just around the next corner. CBT

Since 1986 David has been training dealers, general managers, sales managers, F&I managers and salespeople on the Art of Inspirational Selling. His unique ideas have helped thousands of dealerships nationwide achieve their sales and management goals. David is the author of The secrets of Inspirational Selling, The Leadership Factor and Understanding Your Customer. Visit his website at www.davidlewis.com

David LewisPresident of David Lewis & Associates


e hard truth is that, regardless how hard you try, you cant teach talent; you must hire it in and develop it. In fact, you cant make yourself talented either, which is why anyone wanting to excel must pursue the talents they have, not the talents they want. Without question, everyone has a talent for something. Whats essential is that an employee has a talent for what youre paying him or her to do.

While its also true that talent is never a guarantee of performance, it does provide a great head start towards excellence. In fact, excellence is impossible without talent. is is why training an untalented person longer, harder and faster wont make that person great in a position where there is no natural ability or aptitude. e best you can hope is to make those employees less bad. Not very inspiring, to say the least.

You cant teach whats innate, nor can you make anyone driven. Drive is an inside job. In fact, drive is like talent, in that you cannot put inside of someone whats not there, you can only draw out what exists. You may certainly be able to temporarily change someones drive level with a deadline, incentive or threat; but without genuine internal drive, as soon as the external stimuli disappears so does the drive.

Most would admit its hard enough to change your own settled way of thinking and thus, the chances of changing someone elses prevailing outlook on life are remote. Of course, you can temporarily change someone elses mood based on how you treat them, but their natural attitudegood or badwill eventually wiggle its way back out.

At the end of the day, each of us is responsible for choosing our own attitude. While we cant choose what happens to us, we do have the power to choose how we respond; and negative, cant do people have a long history of making the wrong choices in this regard. Can someone change? Yes! Can you change them? No way!

Chances are good that weve all tried to in uence someones character with a good example, words of wisdom or a diatribe on ethics. But despite heroic e orts, we mortal beings remain incapable of changing the individual nature of another human being. Again, the question is, can they change? Yes! Can you change them? e answer remains: absolutely not! Much like attitude, character results from the choices people make and the values they embrace. You cant make those choices for them.

When you peel character back to the core, it becomes clear that many character aws are rooted in the desire for instant grati cation; shortcuts that take one away from pain and into pleasure without consideration of the consequences. Highly-talented people often fall into the trap of making poor decisions, reinforcing the principle that character protects talent.

Some folks have a strong internal drive and start the day with a ash, but run out of gas by mid-afternoon, or become overwhelmed when required to demonstrate the mental vitality to juggle multiple tasks simultaneously. You, nor I, can teach anyone the strength and vitality required for sustained physical and mental activity. While energy, like drive, can be a ected by external forces, it isnt sustainable through such means.

Neither drive nor energy compensates for a lack of passion. Many people have high drive and energy levels, but lack excitement or enthusiasm for what they do. As a result, they often feel frustrated and misemployed. Passion, like drive, can lie dormant in someone and may be aroused by a compelling vision, e most e ective way to assess whether or not a potential employee has these six traits is during the interview. Rigorous, in-depth interviews, anchored in highly-e ective questions, will help uncover the existenceor lackof these traits within someone. After all, when you dig into a job candidates life these six factors will either show up or not; success leaves clues and so does failure. And while you cant expect to nd perfect peopleanyone can get o track from time to timethe o track tendencies must, by far, be the exception rather than the rule.

e same reasoning applies when youre evaluating those currently on your team for future performance potential. Knowing that youll have a limited ability to impact any current team members without these six traits, you should be able to more accurately assess their ability to contribute to your organization in the future.

e bottom line is your life and business gets easier when you really, really, REALLY get the fact that some people wont change no matter what you do. CBT

ETo see more from Dave Anderson go to CBTNews.com

One of the most helpful lessons Ive learned, applied and taught clients concerning developing others is this: I can help make you more of what you are, but I cant make you something youre not. There are key and critical success factors you cannot change about others; nor can you teach them to others. If you have people on your team lacking these traits, the time, training and motivational efforts you invest in them will bring little or no return. Thus, its essential that you hire people who bring these assets to the table. There are six traits to look for when hiring someone into your organization. They are also a useful template to assess the growth potential of those already cashing your paychecks.

First, the good news: There are two key things you can teach others skills and knowledge. In fact, the defi nition of teach is to impart a skill or knowledge. You can teach technical skills, closing skills, knowledge of a product or system and the like.

Now, the not-so-good-news: The following six traits are factors you cannot change about someone, put inside someone or even effectively teach to someone. To maximize performance these traits must be inherent and then developed with consistent coaching, and within a strong culture.

1. talent \ta-lnt\ A special or natural ability or aptitude

2. Drive \drv\ An innate, biologically determined urge to attain a goal or satisfy a need

3. attitude \a-t-td, -tyd\ A settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something re ected in ones behavior

4. CHARACTER \ker-ik-tr, ka-rik-\ e aggregate of moral and ethical traits that form the individual nature of a person

5. ENERGY \e-nr-j\ e strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity

6. PASSION \pa-shn\ A strong feeling of excitement or enthusiasm for something, or about doing something

6 Traits Your Employees And New Hires Must Have

Dave is president of Dave Andersons Learn To Lead, an international sales and leadership training and consulting company. Prior to beginning Learn To Lead, Dave enjoyed an extensive and successful career in the automotive retail industry. He has presented more than 1,000 workshops and speeches over the past decade on sales and leadership development and has spoken in 15 countries. Visit his website at www.learntolead.com

DaveAndersonPresident of Learn to Lead


With front-end gross pro t being reduced by the factories and the competitiveness of todays market, dealerships are grasping for every available dollar. More dealerships are relying on the skills and e orts of the business manager to help maintain the pro tability of the front end of the dealership. One area many dealerships are diving into is the high mileage pre-own market. In the past, these vehicles would be wholesaled out of the dealership for those other used car stores to sell. However with todays pre-owned vehicle values out of the book, many dealerships are keeping and retailing these vehicles. And that can present a special challenge for even the most tenured business manager.

In too many cases, these vehicles are high-mileage and unable to be nanced by any traditional nance source. Due to the age of the vehicle, they may be ineligible for a service contract or the service contract may be 50-plus percent the price of the vehicle - and that is for only 24 months. Our traditional nance pro tability is not available on these vehicles, so most look at this deal as a zero and go on to the next one.

Avoid the zero. Most business managers look at and take into consideration their averages and have a great deal of pride in their average. Every time you have a zero deal, it kills your average. You know it. You hate it. Avoid it.

You must look into your ancillary products. In most cases, you have an opportunity to avoid the zero by justifying one of your smaller products. I know these do not have the higher pro tability you all desire, however at the end of the month, if you can sell something to only half of these customers and only average

ETo see more from Tony Dupaquier go to CBTNews.com

$200 on these deals, how much did it add to your department? I work with an upper level volume Asian import dealer who started selling this type of vehicle at the rst of the year. It was detrimental to the F&I numbers at rst because the business managers all looked at them as zeros. Sign them up and get them out. We put together a special menu format for these vehicles, did some additional training and even put a little note up that said, Avoid the zero. Last month he sold 61 of these cash vehicles and sold additional products on 47 of them. e dealership averaged $276 on the 47 vehicles for an additional pro t to the department of $12,972. Free money - by avoiding the zero.

e focus was on the products they could sell, road hazard, key replacement and windshield. Of course, not all vehicles were eligible for

all the products, however most everything is eligible for road hazard.

Please remember, these products are not to be used for vehicle reconditioning after the sale. In addition, many of the administrators of these products are looking for claims shortly after the contract has been sold. In some cases, the customers have told the administrator that they were told to give it 30 days and call in a claim that you lost a key and they will get you a new one. is is the type of situation that could be very costly to the relationship between the dealership and the administrator.

A simple way to generate some need for your products is a light trial close after disclosing the As-Is Buyers Guide. After explaining that the vehicle is being sold as-is with no implied or written warranty, and after reviewing the back of the guide of the components that may break during ownership, ask the customer to sign the Buyers Guide. When you separate the owners copy, just say, Wouldnt it be nice to have some type of coverage? Most will reply with some form of agreement answer.

Why are the customers purchasing a lower-price vehicle for cash? Did they save up? Is it all the money they have? Did they listen to a radio host who suggested it? Ask the customer. If there is an opportunity to o er them another vehicle and nance it, go for it. If not, regardless

of most customers

AVOID THE

ZERO


Tony began his retail automotive career in 1990 as a salesperson and went on to hold positions including business manager, eet sales manager, sales manager and general manager. Today he is responsible for the content, direction and marketing for the F&I Universitys training curriculum. Tony conducts various F&I and Advanced F&I workshops throughout the year in locations nationwide. He has presented to 20 groups and state, national and international dealer associations. Visit the website at www.afasinc.com

Tony DupaquierDirector of Training for F&I UniversityAmerican Financial & Automotive Services Inc.

A staple of Internet marketing, landing pages drive visitors to do what you want them to do. When used in tandem with Facebook ads, Facebook landing pages give you an opportunity to create more value and carry visitors further down the sales funnel.

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answers, the money they are spending on the vehicle will exhaust their cash. is is great information to know to justify your additional products.

Present your menu. ere is a good chance you may need to tell the customer the vehicle is ineligible for a service contract, however if it is eligible, make sure you do a strong presentation. I am nding your road-hazard program to have the highest results. is may also be due to the lack of two keys, and a windshield with a star or a crack already.

Focus on what you have available and what you can justify. If the customer is spending the majority of his cash to purchase this vehicle, what would happen if he has a at or destroys a wheel due to a road hazard? Drive on the spare for several months? With the road-hazard program, your tires and wheels are covered against a road hazard for up to ve years and it even has a road-side assistance program. Is it better to spend a few extra dollars than you planned, instead of spending less than you should if you blow out a tire and bend a rim due to road hazard?

We are in the best selling season we have seen in years. ese cash high-mileage vehicles are being sold and if you are not selling them at your dealership yet, be on the lookout. ere is pro t for the business manager in those vehicles. Just focus on avoiding the zero. CBT


A common rationalization used by some dealers to be less than diligent in their compliance e orts is, My insurance will cover any claim. Well, that theory took a serious hit recently when a federal judge agreed with two insurance companies that denied coverage in lawsuits against a large public auto group. e court found that since the dealerships employees intentionally misled customers, the insurers were within their rights in refusing to cover the claims.

A little history is in order. e auto group had been named as a defendant in at least three lawsuits concerning its sales to consumers of window etch. e suits alleged that the dealerships had failed to disclose that the price of the etch product was included in the amount of nancing they obtained and that employees told purchasers and lessees that they had to purchase etch in order to obtain nancing. In addition, plainti s alleged that the dealers provided them with forms with blank prices and the prices were not disclosed in any of the transaction documents.

e insurance companies had issued the dealer group at least three separate liability policies and each of the policies included an Auto Dealer Enhancement Package that provided liability coverage for sums an insured legally must pay as damages arising from an occurrence because of an alleged or actual negligent act or error or omission by an insured resulting from a violation of truth-in-lending laws.

e dealer group alleged that the types of claims and allegations made in the underlying suits fell within the scope of coverage provided in the Auto Dealer Enhancement Package. e insurance companies disagreed.

Heres why: liability policies typically cover only the negligence of the insured, and will not apply to results of willful or intentional acts by the insured. Common exclusions from insurance policy coverage can include:

Intentional wrongful acts Illegal or dishonest acts Intentional or knowing violation of any law, regulation, statute or ordinance Gaining of any pro t or advantage to which you are not legally entitled Claims arising out of false advertising or misrepresentation in advertising Antitrust, unfair competition, restraint of trade, unfair or deceptive business practices, or violations

of any consumer protection laws Claims against you that are brought by or on behalf of any federal, state or local government agency Claims arising out of any wrongful act committed with the knowledge that it was a wrongful act Claims arising out of the same wrongful act or series of continuous, repeated or related wrongful acts, alleging the same or similar facts

In nding for the insurance companies, the court stated, Fraudulent misrepresentations and nondisclosures were done intentionally with the full knowledge of and at the direction of the principals of the dealer as a pattern and practice of doing business. Ouch.

Now when you think about it, there are any number of compliance missteps that may be considered intentional under the above guidelines. A few that come to mind are payment packing, bait and switch advertising, price gouging, failure to sell at advertised price, falsifying credit applications you get the picture.

Heres the bigger picture: By training employees to operate compliantly and ethically, the dealerships exposure will be greatly limited, but more importantly, customers will be happier and sales will increase. I recently read this comment from a student enrolled in Automotive Career Training at the College of Auto Management that really hit the nail on the head:

First allow me to say that this course is defi nitely essential to the growth of the automotive industry as a whole! I am in my sixth year in the industry. In that time I have been a sales consultant, fl oor manager and an internet manager but at no point in time was I approached or sat down and discussed the ethics laws of how to rest assured that my practice was legal or law abiding. This leads you to believe that all is fair as long as the customer agrees and consents - whether they understand or not is not really my problem or concern.

Personally this course helped me draw the line between a great salesman and a crafty con artist per se. Just because you can get customers to say yes doesnt mean you did a good job selling them a vehicle. You could have done a great job of deceiving them during the whole process. After going through this course, I realized that a lot of practices that I thought were the car business actually are not. As a person who prides himself on honesty and

integrity, this course has opened my eyes to true accountability on what is legal and what is not legal (since the customer most likely doesnt know and the dealership may not teach you).

Also I know that this course will separate me from other candidates who do not have the knowledge. I know that I am an asset to a company and their practices in the case of an audit or any accusations that may face them knowing that me, as an employee, on any level, am well familiar with the laws and legal practices of the industry. So they can rest assured that I will not put their dealership on

the 6 oclock news.

I plan to take this knowledge and use it how it should be used! Help build trust for my dealership, build stronger relationships with customers, and advance my career the right way. Learn how to sell opposed to mislead.

Thank you for o ering this knowledge.So I ask this simple question: Is it better for dealers to

spend their time worrying about whether their insurance company will pay a claim if they get caught up in a compliance lawsuit, or train their people to think like the gentleman above? It seems to me that the answer is obvious.

In my humble opinion, the good hands people dealers should be focused on is not an insurance company - but the people who serve their customers every day. e rest will take care of itself. CBT

Before joining LAGC, Jim spent 15 years in dealership management as a sales manager, F&I director, GM, training director and compliance of cer. He was the founder and president of Dealer Compliance Consultants Inc., a national automotive compliance resources and training rm. Jim has used his knowledge and industry experience to develop unique, no-nonsense compliance and reputation management solutions for automobile dealerships of all sizes. Jim is a sought-after speaker and frequent contributor to several automotive industry publications. Visit the companys website at collegeofautomotive.com.

Jim Radogna

Director of ComplianceThe Lloyd Andersen Group of Companies Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, The College of Automotive Management

Are you in good hands?


On average, how many people per day do you talk to on the lot who even casually want to look at a vehicle? One to three? ree to ve? Five or more? Before you answer, dont just think about the slow days, include the busy days, too. And dont just think about the ups you get, think about the other types of people youve also sold in the past, and count them, too.

For example, have you ever had a service customer come up front and say, Dont waste your time with me, Im just having my oil changed, then two hours later sent them home in a new car? Of course, we all have. How about the lookers on their lunch hour? Same thing, weve all sold some of them a vehicle before. So count the ones you call ups and dont forget to count the service customers, the lunch crowd and the kid on the skateboard, too, because some buy

and its important to understand your true opportunity to increase sales.

If you are like the average salesperson in our classes and the 3,355 in our surveys and youre actually counting all of the opportunities you have to present and try to close youre talking to three to ve people on the lot on an average day. Do the math. If youre working about 25 days per month and talking to three people per day, that means youre in front of 75 potential buyers each month. If youre talking to four per day, thats 100 opportunities per month, ve means 125 per

month.

Is this a highball total? No, the only ball bouncing around is the lowball totals you put on the tracking sheet each month. e average salesperson freely admits to only logging 45 or

50, maybe 57 people per month not everyone.

Why does that happen? Maybe they forgot that service customers buy also. Perhaps

they would get chastised for only closing 10 percent. But mostly because if they log 50 and sell

10, it makes them feel better thinking they have a 20 percent closing to delivery ratio.

If you log all 100 though, youre stuck with your real closing average of just 10 percent. If you dont log all opportunities, thats too bad, because not counting everyone actually keeps you from getting better. e more accurately you track and the more you know about every selling activity and opportunity, the easier

it is for you to improve.

As our survey pointed out, you de nitely want more oor tra c. But even more importantly, you want the best oor tra c so you

can make more sales.

Im betting you said yes to every question and thats the problem. Why? Because if you compare the prospects your dealer can put on the lot with more advertising to the prospects you can put there with a few short and smart phone calls, #3 will actually make it tougher for you to increase sales. You can deliver either one out of ve or two to three out of four.

Take another quick look at the facts that matter to understand why it is so important for you to take the lead in your own career instead of waiting for your dealer to buy you another price-shopping, tough-to-close walk-in customer. en convert the facts into the real opportunity you have to sell more. Keep an open mind here and you will see how some salespeople really are doubling their sales and gross while most of their competition are still selling only one out of every ve.

Facts:- 78 percent of the people who look at a new or used vehicle end up buying, and 90 percent buy within one week.

- 71 percent buy because they like their salesperson. Ninety nine percent wont buy without a demonstration.

- 50 percent buy on the spot when they do get a good, targeted presentation and demonstration.

- 20 percent is the average closing to delivery ratio with ups.

- 60-80 percent is the average closing ratio with a repeat or referral customer you bring into the dealership.

Translation based on whatshappening now: 100 people per month x .78 percent who will buy = 78 buyers per month/per salesperson 10 sales per month on average (10 percent) = 68 lost sales per month

Translation based on what you could be doing instead: 30 repeat and referrals per month on the lotx. 70 percent that will buy= 21 deliveries per month

So talk to 100 and close 10 or pretend youre only talking to two per day and give yourself a 20-percent closing ratio. Dig in and learn how to ask questions and then learn how to develop your own business with people you have sold in the past, their friends, your service customers and the orphan owners in your dealership. ese are the easy sales.

ere is nothing tough about building your business. In fact, you can learn how in your spare time between those ups youre getting now. You can make your contacts in that down time, too. When you make the switch, you will:

Spend a career talking to the friendliest people Deliver more units and earn larger commissions Put in fewer hours selling 20 or more than the eight you are now selling Have a lot more fun selling cars so just do it!

Why even think about it? Just do it so you can sell more. CBT

ETo see more from Joe Verde go to CBTNews.com

#1 DO YOU WANT MORE FLOOR TRAFFIC? #2 DO YOU WANT TO MAKE MORE SALES

FROM THAT TRAFFIC? #3 DO YOU WANT YOUR DEALER TO

ADVERTISE MORE? #4 DO YOU WANT TO MAKE TWO EXTRA

SALES THIS WEEK?

Build Your BusinessCreate Your Own Floor Traf c

Joe has been in the car business since 1973. He has been the eight-car guy and the 38-car sales professional, a manager and dealer principal. His company was founded in 1985, and under his leadership, was rated the number-one training company again this year. Joe is a frequent speaker at NADA conventions and is in constant demand to speak around the world to automotive groups. Visit his website at www.joeverde.com

Joe VerdePresident of Joe Verde Sales & Management Training Inc.


3 DECADES OF HELPINGDEALERS DRIVE THEIR F&I PROFIT

Three decades ago, Larry Dorfman didnt know a whole lot about the auto dealership business. But the one thing he knew all too well was the extremely uncomfortable feeling he got every time he and his car wound up in the service department of a dealership or a repair center.

Rewind to 1984. Its safe to say that, at the time, there might have been a certain level of mistrust among consumers when it came to having their car serviced. Back then, I was uncomfortable taking my car in to a dealership or repair shop, said Larry Dorfman, CEO of EasyCare. First of all, youre scared to death of what the problem is, especially if you have to have your car towed, he explained. en you wait for the phone call telling you what the problem is, and nd out there are other problems you didnt even know you had. at sneaking suspicion that the repair technician might have sabotaged the car to wrangle another repair was always there. en theres the cost of repair. Its a vehicle owners nightmare.

Dorfman saw a golden opportunity to turn that perception around, and build a level of trust among consumers that had been missing in the industry. is year, with a shelf full of industry awards, more than ve million customers served and $2.6 billion in claims paid to date, EasyCare is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

An acquaintance introduced Dorfman to the idea of extended service contracts, which was a relatively new concept at the time. A consumer at heart, he recognized a solution to the fear and uneasiness associated with taking a car in for service. I saw an opportunity to put knowledgeable technicians in front of customers. As a consumer advocate, our motivation was to help them get the repair done at a reasonable price. In 1984, under the Automobile Protection Corp., brand, Easy Care with the leadership of Dorfman, his wife Cathy

and partner Martin Blank hung its shingle and started o ering vehicle service contracts directly to consumers.

Today, combined with their sister company GWC Warranty with which they merged in early 2013, the company works with 1,800 new franchised and 3,000 independent dealers in providing their customers with a wide array of award-winning bene ts. Some of those are DriverCare (coverage for leased cars), Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP), Dent Repair, KeyCare (key replacement)

and two new bene ts EasyCare Pre-Paid Maintenance and EasyCare Select Plus, a

product that combines four to six di erent bene ts into one bundled package.

Four years after its inception, EasyCare completed a highly successful IPO and in 1999 was acquired by Ford Motor Co. Under the Ford umbrella, EasyCare became nancially stronger and tripled in size, but still managed to maintain its entrepreneurial and innovative focus. We learned a tremendous amount from Ford about how to become a bigger company, but with a small-company mentality. We never lost

our entrepreneurial and innovative focus, said Dorfman.

Fords nancial woes in those days led Dorfman to pursue a management buyout of EasyCare. I have to give credit to (Fords CEO) Alan Mulally who came on board in 2006 and wanted to get back to the core business of making and selling cars. In 2007, in a partnership with the equity rm Stone Point Capital, Dorfman and his management team purchased the company back from Ford. We had a fantastic relationship with Ford and we always look very favorably on our years with them.

With the company back in the hands of its original founders, EasyCare continues to thrive. Its outstanding customer service and top-notch bene ts have secured its title as the only vehicle service contract company on the Motor Trend Recommended Best Buy list. EasyCare products are easy to sell because customers recognize the Motor Trend brand, said John Bommarito, president of Missouris largest dealership group, Bommarito Automotive Group. ey stand behind their products. And even though they are a very large company, they o er very personalized support across all levels of the organization.

at personalized support is what separates EasyCare from the rest of the pack, according to Dorfman. e same people who founded the company still run it. Even after 30 years, his business card still has his home phone number on it. We dont even have a written contract with them, said Scott Smith, president, chief strategic o cer and director of Sonic Automotive Inc. We have been doing business with them for so long that its just a gentlemens agreement. Anytime that weve ever had any situation to come up, we just pick up the phone. Larry has a very can-do attitude and always tries to nd a way to make things work.

Dorfman gives credit for his companys success to its employees. In fact, EasyCare was named one of the Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces in the U.S. for the past three years. is annual award recognizes top employers that display leadership and innovation towards engaging their employees, and are truly committed to creating positive, thriving work environments. e average tenure of its employees is around 13 years, which says a lot about their commitment to reaching company goals. Of the many areas in which a company can be awarded for excellence, employee engagement is the one we most value, said Dorfman. EasyCare was also recognized as one of the top diverse, multicultural businesses in Georgia by DiversityBusiness.com.

With more than 400 employees and 120 independent reps, training is not something the company takes lightly. EasyCare runs at a rapid pace and its leaders are always on the lookout for the very best people in the industry. We dont bring new hires in and give them a day of training and send them out on the road or sit them down at a desk. Our training process is extensive, comprehensive and engaging, explained Dorfman. We are very clear on what our goals

LARRY DORFMAN, CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF EASYCARE

VENDOR PROFILE


we sta it its really an amazing labor of love. Weve gotten rave reviews on the last two. e 2015 event in San Francisco is going to be spectacular, he promised.

is level of commitment extends to customers, also. For the past three years, EasyCare was the winner of the Torch Awards from the Better Business Bureau of Greater Atlanta for community service. In 2010 the company also won highest honors for customer service, and in 2011 it was runner up for marketplace ethics. Its customer care center was designed for its customer service representatives to communicate with contract holders on the dealers behalf. Follow-up with renewal customers and those who did not purchase coverage at the dealer is an added bene t for the dealers. Many service and F&I departments are not prepared to perform follow-up e orts, said Dorfman. Were getting contracts into customers hands and turning customers back to their dealerships.

According to Dorfman, one of the more challenging problems dealers face these days comes from those companies that dont have the customers best interest at heart. ose companies send false renewal notices and sell the least amount of coverage for the most money. Many times, the customer thinks the dealer or the factory sent the notice to them. So they show up with a service contract that covers practically nothing, said Dorfman.

Our philosophy is to protect the EasyCare customers by letting them know their contract is expiring and give them the opportunity to purchase a renewal. Many times the customer will say Ive had my car for four and a half years. I think Im just going to look into buying a new one. We have an entire process in place for giving that lead to our dealer to sell.

As EasyCare saw signi cant changes in the business, and the huge contributions dealers are making to their local economies and communities, the leaders decided it was time to tell what is truly remarkable about the car business and created www.lovethecarbusiness.com. is collection of real-life stories from industry leaders, dealers and

consumers showcases all that is great about the business in response to all the negative press that has been out there over the years.

EasyCares mission to provide a fair, friendly fast and fun experience to every driver has helped the industry come a long way from the early days of mistrust at the dealership. And it will most likely be the driving force for the next 30 years. CBT

and core values are. Our mission is to help others succeed. EasyCares core values: fair, friendly, responsive, focused and engaged took its leaders many hours of meetings to create. De ning who we are and what we do creates consistency. All our employees know how to make decisions based on our core values. You can ask anyone in our building what our purpose is and they can tell you. ere is no gray area. Happy employees make happy customers.

Joe Serra, president of Serra Automotive, one of the nations top-10 privately-held automotive groups, has been an EasyCare client for more than 15 years. Larry and his organization are always looking for ways to help the dealer. eir products are on-point, just what the consumers are looking for, he said. ey are a joy to do business with. If you have a question, youll get an answer. ey are very responsive.

EasyCares service to its dealers and customers doesnt stop with just o ering vehicle coverage and bene ts. It takes it a step further by o ering training in all areas of dealership management including marketing, risk management and underwriting, to name a few. F&I managers in the companys network are well-versed in the EasyCare story, and why its the best product on the market, said Dorfman. In addition to o ering in-dealership training on service, sales, management and leadership, the company o ers an online training program, EasyCare VT, which reinforces the live training.

Not only does EasyCare employ its own team of trainers to work in the stores, it has also partnered with some of the industrys top trainers to provide additional support for any department within a dealership. Dave Anderson of Learn to Lead, Je Cowan with Je Cowans Pro Talk and Alan Ram are the very best trainers in the business, said Dorfman. We can help dealerships identify what area they want to improve, and bring the right partner into the game.

EasyCares desire to provide top-notch training to its dealers led to the creation of the Best Training Day Ever seminar, which was rst presented prior to the 2012 NADA Convention.

We wanted to collaborate and bring even more to our dealers, said Dorfman. We created it, we sponsor it (along with several other companies),

From left, John Marks, CFO; John Lee, president; Larry Dorfman, chairman and CEO; and Mike Curran, COO



Three decades ago, Larry Dorfman didnt know a whole lot about the auto dealership business. But the one thing he knew all too well was the extremely uncomfortable feeling he got every time he and his car wound up in the service department of a dealership or a repair center.

Rewind to 1984. Its safe to say that, at the time, there might have been a certain level of mistrust among consumers when it came to having their car serviced. Back then, I was uncomfortable taking my car in to a dealership or repair shop, said Larry Dorfman, CEO of EasyCare. First of all, youre scared to death of what the problem is, especially if you have to have your car towed, he explained. en you wait for the phone call telling you what the problem is, and nd out there are other problems you didnt even know you had. at sneaking suspicion that the repair technician might have sabotaged the car to wrangle another repair was always there. en theres the cost of repair. Its a vehicle owners nightmare.

Dorfman saw a golden opportunity to turn that perception around, and build a level of trust among consumers that had been missing in the industry. is year, with a shelf full of industry awards, more than ve million customers served and $2.6 billion in claims paid to date, EasyCare is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

An acquaintance introduced Dorfman to the idea of extended service contracts, which was a relatively new concept at the time. A consumer at heart, he recognized a solution to the fear and uneasiness associated with taking a car in for service. I saw an opportunity to put knowledgeable technicians in front of customers. As a consumer advocate, our motivation was to help them get the repair done at a reasonable price. In 1984, under the Automobile Protection Corp., brand, Easy Care with the leadership of Dorfman, his wife Cathy

and partner Martin Blank hung its shingle and started o ering vehicle service contracts directly to consumers.

Today, combined with their sister company GWC Warranty with which they merged in early 2013, the company works with 1,800 new franchised and 3,000 independent dealers in providing their customers with a wide array of award-winning bene ts. Some of those are DriverCare (coverage for leased cars), Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP), Dent Repair, KeyCare (key replacement)

and two new bene ts EasyCare Pre-Paid Maintenance and EasyCare Select Plus, a

product that combines four to six di erent bene ts into one bundled package.

Four years after its inception, EasyCare completed a highly successful IPO and in 1999 was acquired by Ford Motor Co. Under the Ford umbrella, EasyCare became nancially stronger and tripled in size, but still managed to maintain its entrepreneurial and innovative focus. We learned a tremendous amount from Ford about how to become a bigger company, but with a small-company mentality. We never lost

our entrepreneurial and innovative focus, said Dorfman.

Fords nancial woes in those days led Dorfman to pursue a management buyout of EasyCare. I have to give credit to (Fords CEO) Alan Mulally who came on board in 2006 and wanted to get back to the core business of making and selling cars. In 2007, in a partnership with the equity rm Stone Point Capital, Dorfman and his management team purchased the company back from Ford. We had a fantastic relationship with Ford and we always look very favorably on our years with them.

With the company back in the hands of its original founders, EasyCare continues to thrive. Its outstanding customer service and top-notch bene ts have secured its title as the only vehicle service contract company on the Motor Trend Recommended Best Buy list. EasyCare products are easy to sell because customers recognize the Motor Trend brand, said John Bommarito, president of Missouris largest dealership group, Bommarito Automotive Group. ey stand behind their products. And even though they are a very large company, they o er very personalized support across all levels of the organization.

at personalized support is what separates EasyCare from the rest of the pack, according to Dorfman. e same people who founded the company still run it. Even after 30 years, his business card still has his home phone number on it. We dont even have a written contract with them, said Scott Smith, president, chief strategic o cer and director of Sonic Automotive Inc. We have been doing business with them for so long that its just a gentlemens agreement. Anytime that weve ever had any situation to come up, we just pick up the phone. Larry has a very can-do attitude and always tries to nd a way to make things work.

Dorfman gives credit for his companys success to its employees. In fact, EasyCare was named one of the Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces in the U.S. for the past three years. is annual award recognizes top employers that display leadership and innovation towards engaging their employees, and are truly committed to creating positive, thriving work environments. e average tenure of its employees is around 13 years, which says a lot about their commitment to reaching company goals. Of the many areas in which a company can be awarded for excellence, employee engagement is the one we most value, said Dorfman. EasyCare was also recognized as one of the top diverse, multicultural businesses in Georgia by DiversityBusiness.com.

With more than 400 employees and 120 independent reps, training is not something the company takes lightly. EasyCare runs at a rapid pace and its leaders are always on the lookout for the very best people in the industry. We dont bring new hires in and give them a day of training and send them out on the road or sit them down at a desk. Our training process is extensive, comprehensive and engaging, explained Dorfman. We are very clear on what our goals

LARRY DORFMAN, CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF EASYCARE

VENDOR PROFILE


we sta it its really an amazing labor of love. Weve gotten rave reviews on the last two. e 2015 event in San Francisco is going to be spectacular, he promised.

is level of commitment extends to customers, also. For the past three years, EasyCare was the winner of the Torch Awards from the Better Business Bureau of Greater Atlanta for community service. In 2010 the company also won highest honors for customer service, and in 2011 it was runner up for marketplace ethics. Its customer care center was designed for its customer service representatives to communicate with contract holders on the dealers behalf. Follow-up with renewal customers and those who did not purchase coverage at the dealer is an added bene t for the dealers. Many service and F&I departments are not prepared to perform follow-up e orts, said Dorfman. Were getting contracts into customers hands and turning customers back to their dealerships.

According to Dorfman, one of the more challenging problems dealers face these days comes from those companies that dont have the customers best interest at heart. ose companies send false renewal notices and sell the least amount of coverage for the most money. Many times, the customer thinks the dealer or the factory sent the notice to them. So they show up with a service contract that covers practically nothing, said Dorfman.

Our philosophy is to protect the EasyCare customers by letting them know their contract is expiring and give them the opportunity to purchase a renewal. Many times the customer will say Ive had my car for four and a half years. I think Im just going to look into buying a new one. We have an entire process in place for giving that lead to our dealer to sell.

As EasyCare saw signi cant changes in the business, and the huge contributions dealers are making to their local economies and communities, the leaders decided it was time to tell what is truly remarkable about the car business and created www.lovethecarbusiness.com. is collection of real-life stories from industry leaders, dealers and

consumers showcases all that is great about the business in response to all the negative press that has been out there over the years.

EasyCares mission to provide a fair, friendly fast and fun experience to every driver has helped the industry come a long way from the early days of mistrust at the dealership. And it will most likely be the driving force for the next 30 years. CBT

and core values are. Our mission is to help others succeed. EasyCares core values: fair, friendly, responsive, focused and engaged took its leaders many hours of meetings to create. De ning who we are and what we do creates consistency. All our employees know how to make decisions based on our core values. You can ask anyone in our building what our purpose is and they can tell you. ere is no gray area. Happy employees make happy customers.

Joe Serra, president of Serra Automotive, one of the nations top-10 privately-held automotive groups, has been an EasyCare client for more than 15 years. Larry and his organization are always looking for ways to help the dealer. eir products are on-point, just what the consumers are looking for, he said. ey are a joy to do business with. If you have a question, youll get an answer. ey are very responsive.

EasyCares service to its dealers and customers doesnt stop with just o ering vehicle coverage and bene ts. It takes it a step further by o ering training in all areas of dealership management including marketing, risk management and underwriting, to name a few. F&I managers in the companys network are well-versed in the EasyCare story, and why its the best product on the market, said Dorfman. In addition to o ering in-dealership training on service, sales, management and leadership, the company o ers an online training program, EasyCare VT, which reinforces the live training.

Not only does EasyCare employ its own team of trainers to work in the stores, it has also partnered with some of the industrys top trainers to provide additional support for any department within a dealership. Dave Anderson of Learn to Lead, Je Cowan with Je Cowans Pro Talk and Alan Ram are the very best trainers in the business, said Dorfman. We can help dealerships identify what area they want to improve, and bring the right partner into the game.

EasyCares desire to provide top-notch training to its dealers led to the creation of the Best Training Day Ever seminar, which was rst presented prior to the 2012 NADA Convention.

We wanted to collaborate and bring even more to our dealers, said Dorfman. We created it, we sponsor it (along with several other companies),

From left, John Marks, CFO; John Lee, president; Larry Dorfman, chairman and CEO; and Mike Curran, COO


Psychology is like electricity. Its everywhere, whether you see it, know it or know what to do with it. But it only becomes a powerful tool once you understand how to harness and use it. The psychology of selling impacts your salespeople whether they know it or not.

We all know that there are many customers that dont make it to the test drive, the write up or even a turn over because the sale was lost in the rst ve minutes. This is due in large part because the salesperson failed to read the customers body language when they walked onto the lot. Knowing body language allows your salespeople to have a greater impact from the meet and greet.

Welcome to our dealership, my name is ... and you are? This is the typical professional greeting accompanied by a rm handshake, a welcoming smile and a positive attitude that many salespeople use. Sounds all well and good, but managers and salespeople share with me that the greeting is usually met with at least one of the following challenges.

THERE ARE THREE COMMON CHALLENGES WITH THE TRADITIONAL MEET AND GREET1. Th e customer has weak body language such as a weak handshake, bad eye

contact and cold-shoulder treatment.2. We lose the customers name (almost immediately) after the greeting easy

come, easy go. We often forget the customers name within minutes of the greeting.3. We get dismissed by the customer. Im just looking, Im not buying

today, Th is is our fi rst stop, and I just want your best price are all typical responses in the greeting.

Unfortunately these challenges are all too common and give the typical salesperson enough resistance to cause them to potentially lose momentum in the sales process. What many do not know is that these could have been prevented if the message the customer was sending through their body language was understood by the salesperson before either of them opened their mouths.

LOOK AT THE FEET TO KNOW HOW TO GREET Salespeople need to stop guessing, winging it or simply greeting out of habit

when the customer is telling them exactly how to greet them through their body language. Remember, Look at the feet to know how to greet and the feet (body language) will tell the salesperson in advance how to approach the customer. Th ere are only four possible postures a customer can have with their feet:

OF PSYCHOLOGY AND BODY LANGUAGE3 SECRETS

1. Facing you - like a statue2. Turned away - looking over the shoulder at you

the side statue3. Moving towards you4. Moving away from you

Each one of these is a non-verbal indication of the customers state of mind. Th ey each mean something diff erent and therefore need their own unique approach. Th e beauty of this insight is that it immediately empowers an approaching salesperson to make an adjustment to the greeting by simply seeing what the customers feet do when they see the oncoming salesperson.

THE STATUE customer represents the majority of customers on a dealerships lot. Th is is the customer who freezes like a statue when they see the salesperson approaching. Th e distance could be 30 feet or 30 yards - they arent taking a step, the salesperson does all the walking. Th eir torso and feet are facing towards the salesperson, they just wait. Th e non-verbal message is simply, I am willing to hear what you have to say.

THE SIDE-STATUE customer is similar to its cousin the Statue in that the customer is not moving. However the diff erence is in the position of the body and the direction of the feet. In this case, the torso and feet are pointing away from the oncoming salesperson and the customer is simply looking over his shoulder waiting for the approaching salesperson. Th e nonverbal message is, I would rather not hear what you have to say.

Th e next two are straight forward once you think about it.

SECRET#1

SECRET#2

ETo see more from Jonathan Dawson go to CBTNews.com

CAR BIZ TODAYCBTNews.com MAY16 CAR BIZ TODAYCBTNews.com June16

THE TOWARDS customer is someone who moves towards the salesperson once they see them and is clearly saying, I want to talk to you and I want to hear what you have to say.

THE AWAY customer sees the salesperson, starts walking away from them and is clearly saying, I dont want to hear what you have to say right now.

If body language is in fact language, then shouldnt we be teaching our people how to speak it eff ectively? What is the take away from this insight into body language and non-verbal selling? Is it possible that the vast majority of objections

whether spoken (just looking, no time, dont need help) or unspoken (bad eye contact, forgotten names, bad body language) your salespeople struggle with are somehow related to this disconnect and miscommunication that starts before they even say, Hello?

THERE ARE THREE SOLUTIONS TO MAXIMIZE THE FIRST IMPRESSIONIf the customer can only have four possible postures

with their feet then maybe we should be teaching our salespeople four possible greetings. Each of the

customers the statue, side-statue, towards and away need a unique greeting to match the message from the customer. Consider how this simple and practical truth can impact your bottom-line.

SOLUTION #1 RESPECT THE SPACE OF YOUR CUSTOMERS. Practically speaking this means stop shaking hands with customers who are Statues, Side statues, and Moving away from you when you walk out to them. Th e customer Moving towards is wanting to talk, so shake their hand.

SOLUTION #2 WAIT FOR THE NAME. Th is means that salespeople need to stop exchanging names in the beginning of the sale unless the customer initiates. Rather, they should wait anywhere from two to fi ve minutes to allow their mind and heart to stop racing and allow for some rapport. Th en they will get the name and remember it.

SOLUTION #3 THINK LIKE YOUR CUSTOMER. Salespeople need to start saying the very things the customer would normally use to dismiss them. Take the very thoughts and wording of the customer and introduce them so you dont have to overcome them.

Hi folks, welcome to the dealership. Are you out doing some looking and shopping today?

Good evening, welcome to our dealership. Are you doing some research and comparing options today?

Give them space, wait for the name and think like them.CBT

For more than a decade, Jonathan has been trying to save the world one salesman at a time. By teaching people how to use psychology in sales, he helps dealership salespeople and management understand the why behind the sale. His methods teach how to anticipate a customers questions and concerns and then address them before they come up. For more examples of selling through psychology, visit his website at www.WhyCarGuy.com

Jonathan W. DawsonPresident of LITE Consulting Inc.

SECRET#3

CAR BIZ TODAY CBTNews.com MAY 17CAR BIZ TODAY CBTNews.com June 17

With more than 80 percent of high school and post-secondary collision-school instructors reporting that their programs are underfunded, now is an opportune time for dealerships to connect with and invest in local programs. e advanced technologies and materials for todays and future vehicles require a well-trained, skilled workforce to repair them safely, e ciently and to vehicle manufacturer safety standards. ere has never been a time in history when school budgets have been under such exceptional pressure. Unfortunately, programs like collision repair usually bear the brunt of funding cuts.

e Collision Repair Education Foundation, the collision industrys 501c3 not-for-pro t organization, is helping to mold the collision repair technicians of tomorrow by enhancing the educational opportunities for collision students of today creating a link between collision repair schools and businesses. e grants distributed enhance the education experience for collision students and better prepare them to understand the new technology and retain the skills necessary to be a successful collision-repair industry member. rough donors and supporters, collision industry businesses are able to hire these well-trained students as productive, e cient and capable employees.

ere are roughly 1,110 high school and post-secondary collision-school programs nationwide which equates to roughly 60,000 students. e foundations ability to help develop productive collision-repair professionals and dealerships future xed-ops sta technicians depends on the generosity of the entire industry. e organization began its philanthropic focus in 2008, providing $300,000 initial support. rough industry supporters, more than $20 million in both in-kind and monetary support has been raised since then.

Whether these students work for a dealership group, repair facility, insurance, paint, tool/equipment, or other company within our industry, the end goal is that these students are e cient and capable members of the collision industry from day one on the job. ey should be able to help return consumers collision-damaged vehicles to pre-accident condition the moment they are hired. is is only possible through the support of our industry with in-kind product and monetary tax-deductible donations.

HOW CAN YOUR DEALERSHIP HELP?Crossing your ngers and hoping that these students are quali ed and skilled entry-

level workers is a gamble that your dealership cant a ord to take. You can start taking an active role within these collision-school programs to ensure that the skills you desire from an entry-level student are being taught. is will result in less re-training on your part in the future. ere are many di erent ways for your dealership to get involved.

INTRODUCTION Meet with the instructor and see the collision program rst-hand to ensure its a program worth investing your time and e ort. A hobby shop program that is not seriously committed to providing an up-to-date collision-repair curriculum is not one with which you want to get involved. Review what the instructor is teaching, see what type of equipment and tools they are using, and be sure to visit with the school administration to show that local businesses are looking to invest time and potentially funds in the schools program.

SUPPORT By seeing the tools, equipment, supplies and shop area with which a collision school program is currently working can be a quick indicator of where an instructor might need help. Many of these instructors are working on shoestring budgets so its important not to judge a book by its cover. ey might be getting by the best they can with the support they are provided. STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS You can help encourage and work with students to

apply for scholarships and tool grants that are available from the Collision Repair Education Foundation or other organizations. Help them take advantage of all opportunities available to them.

SCHOOL GRANTS Work with the instructors to ensure that they are taking full advantage of help available to them through school tool and equipment grants.

ADVISORY BOARD A well-organized program should already have an advisory board made up of local industry members who provide guidance and support to the collision program and instructor. If your local school doesnt have an advisory board, it might be in your best interest to help the instructor create one. Help gather other industry businesses and vendors that can collaborate to help the program.

SCRAPPED BODY PARTS e parts that your dealership is scrapping make for great donations to a schools collision program by providing students the opportunity

to practice on current model vehicles. Your trash is gold to instructors. Start saving your bumpers, fenders and body panels to donate to a local school.

PROVIDE A FOUNDATION OF PROFESSIONALISM To help these programs look and feel professional, many need help in their appearance. Your dealership can take an active role in adopting the collision program and providing a professional appearance for both the instructional facility and the students.

Work with the school to nd out if they are willing to meet you halfway in having their oors grinded and prepped for the addition of a sponsored new epoxy oor coating. Something as little as a freshly-painted oor and/or walls can make a collision-school program look brand new and give the students a newfound respect for their technical learning environment.

rough the foundation, your dealership can sponsor full uniforms and safety kits for local students to ensure that they look professional in their learning environments. Instead of wearing street clothes, these students look as if they are working in a live production facility and

CBT Magazine June 2014

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Transcript of CBT Magazine June 2014