auto success aug05

a division of Systems Marketing, Inc. August 2005

Read this month�s and previous issues online at www.AutoSuccess.bizRead this month�s and previous issues online at www.AutoSuccess.biz

.biz.biz.biz

The Real DealPre-approval SaleBen Elliott & Jimmy Peters

The Road to 20 Cars aMonth, Every Month

E-mail Best Practices:Create an Effective Auto Response

Moving Out of Your Comfort Zone

Improving Employee SatisfactionImproves Customer Satisfaction

How to Really Maximizean Employee Price Program

Dealers & Managers Only!

Two days of intense learning. Dramatically improve your results.

MGM GrandLas Vegas, NevadaNovember 3 & 4, 2005

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Case studies from successful dealerships across the country.

Class room style seating only $695 in advance,$995 afterOctober 5, 2005.

Speakers and times subject to change

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IIISUMMITBEST PRACTICES

LEADERSHIP � INTERNET � CRM � MARKETING � BDC � SALES

Dean EvansVice President of Marketing, Dealix

You will learn:- Internet Marketing that

generates high quality leads

- Maximizing lead generation from your

Web site- Maximizing third party

automotive sites- Metrics that matter

- Focus on return on

investment

Jasen RiceInternet Director, Lou Fusz

Automotive

Case Study: Ranked #17 in Total Internet Sales for

dealer groups, Internet departments generate upwards of 20%-40%

of the dealerships total business.

You will learn:- Marketing to today�s

Internet consumers- Internet Department�s steps and processes to

the appointment/sale- Gaining revenue in the Þ nance department and getting them to become

more atoned to the Internet customer

- Meeting and exceeding Internet customers

expectations

David KainPresident, Kain

Automotive Inc. Internet & BDC Training Specialist

You will learn:- Mapping out the best Internet sales process

- E-mail templates for the best short and long-term

communication- Phone script elements

that turn leads into appointments

- Recruiting, hiring and compensating for results

Chip PerryCEO and President,

AutoTrader.com

Internet Advertising Best Practices

You will learn:

- How AutoTrader.com�s

top performing dealers get

their outstanding results

- Take home examples of

effective merchandising

you can put to

immediate use

Robert RevereCRC Director, Avondale

Auto Group

Case Study: Transition from Internet BDC to

modern day CRC

You will learn:- Lower compensation

percentages- Lower overhead

- 100 percent accountability

- Higher results

SeanWolÞ ngton

Owner, BZResults.com

Case Study: How to use BDC/Internet departments to sell 100 - 500 extra cars

a month.

You will learn:- Setup a successful BDC/

Internet department- Use the Web to promote

all your proÞ t centers- Use the Web to drive

showroom & phone trafÞ c- Sell old stock, vehicles &

parts inventory- Use e-mail marketing to drive more trafÞ c for

zero cost

Jim AdamsGeneral Manager,

Roper Kia

Honor Your Commitments: The

Þ ve things we owe our sales staff

You will learn:- How to understand

opportunity generations is the key to success

- Individual goal setting - Managing activities bring

results- Daily one-on-ones: The

key to success- Your selling attitude:

Mirroring behavior- Building your dealer

brand

Erik StuttzVice President of

Consulting, STC Group

Case Study: Paragon Honda & Acura uses CRC

to sell 106 extra cars in one month.

You will learn:- How we increased our

leads and increased our closing ratio from 7

percent to 25 percent- How to evaluate the

different CRC models to choose the one that works

for your store- How to staff your CRC

- How to build out & overcome obstacles to

creating a successful CRC- Best practices for turning

leads into appointments that show and

appointments into sales

JenniferPicheco

Director of e-Commerce, Germain Motor Company

Case Study: Germain Motor Company�s Internet department sells over 200

cars per month - here is our secret

You will learn:- Dedicated vs.

Designated- The pricing fear factor

- Are you really listening to the customer?

- Third-party leads..Why not?

- Move forward or move on - Our follow-up

schedule- Measure, track and

feedback

Steve HiattOwner, Mountain Mitsubshi

Case Study: How to increase your net by half a

million in a year.

You will learn:- Evaluating personnel,

the lazy or content ones- Continually train

everyone: Front end two times a week, Þ xed end

once a week- Put in controls. Move over aged inventory in

new, used and parts- Forge a deep

relationship with your manufacturer to help get

correct inventory, ß oor line and capital

- Praise every improvement in sales

goals, certiÞ cations, etc. out in public

Kevin RootVP & GM, Dealer Advisory Service, The Cobalt Group

Case Study: Processes the top 20 dealerships

use to convert more leads to sales

You will learn:- Use the top three key

success drivers to convert leads to sales

- Avoid the three most common mistakes that

kill sales- Maximize your lead

volume- Respond to leads

- Drive for appointments- Focus on processes that

deliver results

Darren HaygoodDirector of CRM & Internet

Sales, Lokey Automotive

Case Study: Lokey Automotive Group

triples Internet sales - by spending less!

You will learn:- DeÞ ne your dealership�s

CRM strategy. BDC vs. dedicated personnel

- Maximize your ROI, ignore the hype and start

realizing real results- Achieve higher gross than with your walk-in

customers- Achieve 20 percent

Closing ratio & 20 percent retail mix for your

dealership- Turn leads into phone

ups - phone ups into appointments

INSI

DE

AutoSuccess Magazine is published monthly at 3411 Pinnacle Gardens Drive, Louisville, Kentucky, 40245; 502.588.3155, fax 502.588.3170. Direct all subscription and customer service inquiries to 877.818.6620 [email protected]. Subscription rate is $75 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. 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, 3411 Pinnacle Gardens Drive, Louisville, Kentucky 40245.

3411 Pinnacle Gardens Drive Louisville, Kentucky 40245 ! Toll Free: 877.818.6620 " Facsimile: 502.588.3170

Patrick Luck, Editor & Publisher• [email protected]

Susan Givens, Vice President• [email protected]

Courtney Hill-Paris, Sales-improvement Strategist• [email protected]

Brian Ankney, Sales-improvement Strategist• [email protected]

Thomas Williams, Creative Director• [email protected]

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BrianTracy

Steering Out of Control CarolMartin-Ardell

The Road to 20 Cars a Month, Every Month JimAdams

MichaelYorkIf Your Business Closed Today, Would Anyone Really Notice or Care

DavidKainE-mail Best Practices:Create an Effective Auto Response

KirkManzo... With Time to Spare


TonyDupaquierAnd You Are ...

MarkTewartThe Champion Coach

BobTascaImproving Employee SatisfactionImproves Customer Satisfaction

AnthonyHallFact Finding

SeanWolfi ngton

Customer Service Counts

RandyBaroneNew Software Steps UpPre-Owned ProÞ tability

ScottJosephHow to Really Maximize an Employee Price Program

DanVogel

Smile and the World Smiles With You PattiWood

God Bless America

CRM Evolution

Is it Marketing, theManufacturer or Leadership

TomGegax

BenElliottThe Real Deal Pre-approval Sale

Leverage Your Ofß ine Marketing Efforts PaulAccinno

In the special feature of the July issue of AutoSuccess Magazine, we incorrectly stated that Ben Freeland worked for Freeland Luxury cars, he is the owner of Naples Nissan in Florida.

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8


BrianTracy

Any change, or even an attempt to change anything you are doing, makes you uncomfortable. By attempting to change,

you move out of your comfort zone. You feel increasingly uneasy. You experience stress and tension. If the change is too extreme, your physical and mental health can be

affected. You will experience sleeplessness, indigestion or fatigue. You may react with impatience, irritability or anger. You will often feel as if you are on an emotional roller coaster. So if you want to sell more and earn more, you must increase your self-concept level of income. You must increase the amount you believe yourself capable of earning. You must raise your aspirations, set higher goals, and make detailed plans to

achieve them. You must begin to see yourself and think about yourself as capable of being one of the highest earning sales people in your fi eld. You must take charge of developing a new self-concept for sales and income that is more consistent with what you really want to accomplish.

Your self-concept determines your levels of performance and effectiveness in everything you do. In sales, you have a series of mini-self-concepts that govern every activity of selling. You have a self-concept for prospecting, for using the telephone, for cold calling, for making appointments, for qualifying, for presenting, for answering questions, for closing, for getting referrals and for making follow-up sales. You have a self-concept of your level of product knowledge, your personal management skills, your level of motivation and for the way that you relate to different types of customers. In every case, you will always perform in a manner consistent with your self-concept.

Wherever you have a high self-concept, you perform well. If you enjoy working on the telephone, you look forward eagerly to telephone prospecting and selling and you do it well. If you have a high self-concept for making presentations or for closing sales, you feel comfortable and competent whenever you are doing them.

Wherever you feel tense or uneasy in selling, it means that you have a low self-concept in that area. You do not feel comfortable when you are engaged in that activity. You probably avoid that activity as much as possible. This is normal and natural. The only question is, what are you going to do about it?

Now, here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, set a goal today to become one of the highest earning people in your fi eld. Then, back your goal with action by committing to becoming very good in every area of selling.

Second, see yourself, imagine and visualize yourself as if you are already very good at what you do. Create within yourself the feeling of success and accomplishment.

Remember, as within, so without!

Brian Tracy is the chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International. He can be contacted at 866.300.9881, or by e-mail at [email protected].

www.worlddealer.nete-mail: [email protected]

866.429.6826

Call today for a free estimate on implementing

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Improving Employee SatisfactionImproves Customer Satisfaction

BobTasca

We learned to curb employee turnover and increase employee satisfaction because customer satisfaction hangs in the balance.

Making a difference in employee satisfaction at your store hinges on four areas of focus:

1. Recruiting process 2. Hiring process 3. Orientation process 4. Continuous improvement process

In this article we’ll look at recruiting out of inspiration, not desperation, and if you like what you read, you can watch for future articles to look more closely at hiring, orientation for new hires and continuous improvement.

Recruitment processTrying to recruit great people is a never-ending chapter in the story about meeting and exceeding customer expectations. But do we sometimes make decisions out of desperation? To avoid being caught in a bind, fi nding great people starts with an outlined description of each position in the dealership to defi ne our dealership needs. This can start with looking at our surroundings and focusing on these three things:

• Work environment• Job tasks and responsibilities• Job competencies

As anyone in retail knows, there’s no such thing as a “hiring freeze” in a car dealership, and if you’re not on the lookout for talent, it may go unnoticed.

QualiÞ ed applicantsWhether you’re looking for a qualifi ed technician, superstar sales person or trustworthy title clerk, the best dealers utilize “word of mouth” advertising. The goal is to never have a need to run advertisement to solicit employees and to create a reputation in the community that qualifi es your dealership as the place to work. This means we need to focus on doing our best as effective leaders within our workplace and community. Quality job applicants will seek to fi nd us, if we are doing our jobs.

Networking Always let people know we are on the lookout for quality, potential candidates. Be sure to ask other business contacts (banks we deal with, advertisers and even our supply vendors) for any possible recommendations while we are participating in business transactions and even involved in social activities.

Employee referralsAsk internal employees who do an outstanding job if they know any one who might make a good fi t with the organization. Offer an employee “bird dog fee” for their help in fi nding a quality candidate that stays for a period of time (example: six months).

AdvertisingWhen networking and employee referrals fail to generate a qualifi ed candidate for an immediate position, we have some great content and helpful pointers for creating the right kind of ad:

1. Sell yourself. Like a “Why Buy Here?” brochure, a want ad needs to be a “Why Work Here?”

2. Never over-promise and under-deliver.

3. Mention in-depth training, if you offer it.

4. Mention that a mentoring or continuous improvement process will be provided, if it is.

5. Advertise that you offer monthly associate reviews for ongoing support, and live up to that promise.

Other sourcesHere are a few more examples of where to look for great people:

• Job Fair: Set up a booth at your local college(s) during a job fair day.

• Monster.com and other Internet sources.

The automotive business is a sales and service industry that can be compared to a fi ne hotel, fi ne restaurant or clothing store. Customers are willing to seek out, fi nd and pay more money when the service exceeds their expectations. There’s no danger of exceeding customer expectations if we don’t put an end to the revolving door that is the result of employee turnover, and that starts with recruiting the right people out of inspiration, not desperation. At Tasca, we learned a lot about recruiting the right people from our training partners, and I encourage you to contact me to learn more about creating a recruiting and hiring process that will build employee satisfaction and boost your CSI.

Bob Tasca III is the dealer principal of the Tasca Automotive Group. He can be contacted at 866.210.1254, or by e-mail at [email protected].

9august 2005

10

Customer Service Counts

TomGegax

Tires Plus’ customer service was legendary. I asked our people to add a touch of volunteerism to the job, to try to make

each customer’s day a little brighter. If we concentrated fi rst on kindness and empathy, I said, healthy profi ts would naturally follow (as long as our prices and costs were in line).

Why gun for “legendary” customer service?

1. It keeps ’em coming back. Seat-of-the-pantsers spare no expense to get new customers in the door, yet often fail to provide a why-go-anywhere-else experience. Huge mistake. Customers are like spouses - take them for granted and they may go elsewhere to get their needs met. It’s a vicious circle - businesses pour more and more resources into unearthing new customers to replace the ones lost to neglect. Showering attention on customers already in the fold keeps them in the fold, so your new customers become add-ons rather than replacements.

2. It pulls in new customers. Don’t just satisfy customers. Astound them. Lay out the red carpet, and guests will rave to friends and family. That sends new customers to your doors and Web site - at no additional cost. (Expect a dazzled customer to recommend you to two to three others.) On the other hand, one rude encounter with an employee can torpedo every future purchase from that customer, his family and friends - and their family and friends. (Expect a peeved customer to complain to three to eight others.) Precious word-of-mouth buzz - free advertising - is squandered whenever a customer has a less-than-excellent experience.

Six ways to win legendary customer loyalty:

1. Hire the right people and train them well. We showed everyone involved in hiring how to spot applicants who loved helping people and making their day. But that was only the beginning. Good employees also need training and inspiration. We enrolled new hires in a weeklong orientation where, among other things, I spelled out our mission - “Deliver caring, world-class service to our guests, our community and to each other.” The focus of countless meetings, talks and training sessions, as well as big chunks of

our employee playbook, dealt with how to treat our guests (we called them “guests” to inspire the kind of service you’d fi nd at a fi ne hotel). You can’t inspire daymaking service through occasional pep talks, memos and meetings. It’s gotta be walked, talked and lived - day in and day out.

2. Treat employees right. If you leapfrog your people and focus chiefl y on pleasing customers, you’ll wind up with unhappy customers. Connect the dots, folks. Do you really expect employees who feel unappreciated to welcome customers with a big smile and a genuine desire to give them a positive impression of your company? Honor your people, concern yourself with their well-being and respond to their grievances like they were customers. You’ll be rewarded with invigorated, loyal employees who set new standards for performance and customer care.

3. Establish clear policies. In our business, guidelines were essential at three customer-care stages.

Initial contact.Guests were greeted with WHENS: Welcome, Handshake, Eye contact, Name, Smile. We then asked a series of questions to identify their needs. Staffers also fi elded phone calls according to a protocol I established in the early ’80s: “It’s a great day at Tires Plus. This is Jim. How can I help you?”

Warranty service.Sales people were trained to welcome returning, non-revenue-producing guests like they were new customers. The reason should be obvious - customers prefer to go steady rather than have a one-night stand. That means coddling.

Customer complaints.We welcomed them. No, seriously. They were opportunities to demonstrate we cared about our customers. We even deep-sixed the word “complaint” and replaced it with “guest opportunity.” It’s said that the value of a person’s character is measured by how one deals with adversity. That’s also true of the value of a company’s character. Employees at every level need the authority to do whatever it takes to satisfy unhappy customers. Just as a broken bone comes back even stronger, we often scored more points by appeasing an upset customer than if the issue had been

handled cleanly in the fi rst place.

4. Solicit and act on feedback. Create as many comment channels as possible: comment cards, follow-up phone calls, complaint hotlines. You can’t get better without knowing what your customers think. We regularly retained an outside service to conduct customer surveys. We also contracted a “mystery shopper” service - for both in-store and phone interactions - to get an objective, in-depth look at quality control.

Gathering information is pointless, of course, unless you act on it. We tweaked our store protocols all the time based on customer feedback. Every negative comment about an employee was routed to his manager’s in-box (and copied to his district manager) so the offender could be coached back on track.

5. Walk your talk. Leaders give a lot of lip service to their commitment to customer service. Are you among the few who follow through? When you hear of a complaint, do you shake your head and joke about the customer being an odd duck? Or, do you urge your people to look at the situation through the customer’s eyes and do what it takes to make her happy? Do you shout, “You gave away WHAT?” Or, do you say, “Good for you, you remembered our values and did the right thing.” Great customer service will wither on the vine without the support of upper management.

6. Measure and reward performance. We had a customer satisfaction metric called GEI (guest enthusiasm index). Applied to individual stores and the company as a whole, it quantifi ed the percentage of customers who would recommend us to friends. Below-average stores were targeted for extra coaching. It took a lot of sweat to push up our GEI one percentage point. Darrel Blomberg, our full-time guest enthusiasm coach (that’s not a joke title), labored two-and-a-half years to move it from 92.0 to 98.2. Personnel knew every smile counted - their compensation was partially based on a mix of store, district, region and company-wide GEI.

Tom Gegax served as chairman and CEO of Tires Plus and is the founder of Gegax Management Systems. He can be contacted at 866.210.2832 or by e-mail at [email protected].

12

JimAdams

The Road to 20Cars a Month, Every Month

Have you ever heard the phrase “experience is the greatest teacher”? This statement could not be further from

the truth. Other people’s experiences are the greatest teacher. Learning from other people’s successes and failures is the key to professional selling.

Andy Andrews said that General Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of the Allied forces in the Gulf War, had a system of advancing across a mine fi eld that worked out pretty well for him. Walk toward the explosions, because that is where the boys have already found the mines. Observing behavior is one of the many keys to success in this business. I have been the seven-car sales man and the 30-car sales man and I have made my share of mistakes. However, over the past 15 years I have learned and developed professional business practices that if followed will help you become a professional in automotive sales. It is said that 80 percent of the income in our business is made by the top 20 percent of the sales people. This leaves the bottom 80 percent of the sales people fi ghting for the 20 percent of the income left over by the true sales professionals. If you commit every day to following the steps of professional selling you will be amazed at how fast you can achieve great success in automotive sales.

1. Have a goal, a clear vision of where you

want to be. Get out a pen and paper. Write down: today, three months, six months, one year, fi ve years and 10 years. Our goals must be divided into professional goals, family goals and life goals. My personal goals include unit volume, grossing averages as well as how many books I plan to read and how much time I set aside to spend with my family. Money goals are the vehicle we use to plan for the goals that really matter: Life and family goals. If you are just earning money for the sake of earning money, your life and family goals will always go unfulfi lled. Zig Ziglar once said that when he died he would leave as much money as Howard Hughes left: all of it. Just start writing. What do you want? Start with stuff. That is the easiest. I want a new car, a bigger house, some money in my savings account. I want a boat, a place at the lake and to take a vacation to the beach or to the mountains. Once you get started, it comes pretty easy. That is just stuff. Now dig a little deeper. How about spending 30 minutes a day reading to your children or playing catch in the back yard? Write it down. How about spending two Saturdays a month on a date with your spouse or dedicating one hour a night sitting on the porch talking about anything but your fi nances or the children’s activities? Write it down. Tithing, community service or visiting home-bound elderly adults can all be a part of your life and family goals. Many of our goals take money. Most do not. I hope you can see where I am going. If you write it down it becomes an objective that we must look at on a daily basis and it is a reminder

of something that we need to accomplish. A crystal clear vision of where we are and where we want to be is one of the many keys to success that we will explore in our goal-setting process. Writing and reviewing these goals will instill in us the drive that we must have to accomplish great things.

2. Professional goals: The fi rst thing professional sales people need to have is a clear understanding that sales follow opportunities everywhere they go. To sell more cars we must talk to more people. We know that the average sales person closes about 20 percent or one out of fi ve of their total opportunity count. So let’s do the math. To sell 20 units a month we need to talk to (20 units X fi ve opportunities) 100 customers per month. If we work fi ve days a week we will have 22 selling days which means we need to talk to (100 customers divided by 22 days) 4.5 customers per day. The average commission including bonuses and factory spiffs is around $300 per car, which will give us a monthly income at 20 units of $6,000 monthly or $72,000 annually. (See chart 1)

Once we discover how many monthly and daily opportunities we need we are one step closer to achieving our unit goal. If our goal is 12 units a month, our focus is not on the 12 units it is on the 2.7 opportunities that we need today and everyday to achieve the goal. Sales follow opportunities everywhere they go.

Now let’s focus on where our opportunities come from. In our industry we have several sources of business. Fresh ups or walk-ins, repeat owners or orphaned owners, new business or outside prospects, referrals, be-backs and phone-ups or phone-ins. Here is the good news. The factories and your dealerships spend billions of dollars a year driving fresh up or walk-in traffi c to your dealership. The bad news is that at best the average closing ratio on a fresh up is about 10-12 percent. Which means your chance to sell a fresh walk-in is about one out of 10. Fresh up traffi c is instrumental to your success in this business as long as you understand that it is not where the majority of your opportunity should come from. Take a look at the math. (See chart 2)

Now, where do you want your business to

UnitGoal

Monthly Opportunity Count

Daily OpportunityCount

Units x 5 opportunities Monthly opportunities divided by 22 working days

20 units

19

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

100 opportunities per month

95

90

85

80

75

70

65

60

55

50

4.5 opportunities per day

4.3

4.1

3.9

3.6

3.4

3.2

3.0

2.7

2.5

2.3

chart 1

13august 2005

come from? It is clear to see that repeat and referral business are much more productive than fresh walk-in traffi c. Here is the bonus: Repeat owners are easier to close, and commissions are generally higher. The customer trusts you more and will allow you to sell the value of the product. The more value the customer receives, the higher price he or she will pay.

As we set opportunity goals we must predetermine on a monthly basis where our opportunities will come from. Ask yourself the following questions:

• How many fresh ups per day do I average?

• How often do I contact my current owner base?

• Does my dealership have a list of orphaned owners, and how can I get my hands on it?

• Do I ask everyone I come in contact with for a referral? Do I know how to ask for a referral?

• What daily activities do I have in place to generate new business contacts? Do I belong to any clubs or civic organizations that will help me cultivate new business contacts?

• How often do I follow up unsold prospects? Do I do a great job of getting names and numbers from every fresh up that I serve on the lot? Cell phones and e-mail addresses are the two most important pieces of information you can get from your customer.

• Do I feel that I do a great job with incoming phone contacts? Am I relaxed, helpful and informative? Do I get the customer’s information and invite every phone up to the store or get the vehicle to the customer?

Source of Business

Average ClosingRatio

Results

Fresh Up

Repeat Owner

Referral

New Business

Be Back

Phone Ups

10 Percent

50 Percent

50 Percent

30 Percent

67 Percent

20 Percent

1 out of 10

1 out of 2

1 out of 2

3 out of 10

7 out of 10

2 out of 10

chart 2

These are the questions you must answer in order to put the goal-setting process into motion. In part two we will explore how to build daily activities to cultivate each source of business to ensure that we meet our monthly opportunity goal. Remember unit sales follow opportunity everywhere they go.

Jim Adams is the general manager at Roper Kia in Joplin, MO. He can be contacted at 800.905.0627, or by e-mail at [email protected].

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continued

14

E-mail Best Practices:Create an Effective Auto Response

DavidKain

Each week I mystery shop dealership Web sites to see how they “greet” me online with their auto response e-mail. The

auto response provides the fi rst impression and is an effective way for me to determine if they operate a productive Internet department. As sales people we are all taught the steps to the sale during our fi rst days of training and the greatest emphasis is placed on the initial greeting because it sets the stage for the relationship.

Unfortunately, most auto response e-mails are not an effective greeting for the dealership, and fail to arouse or motivate their audience. Too often the e-mails are sent with either too few or too many words and they offer no guidance to the customer. A poor auto response is better than a slow personal response, even if the personal response is enticing. Spend the time necessary to make your fi rst impression a great one.

What is an auto response supposed to accomplish?An auto response lets the customer know what they can expect when they work with your Internet department. In most cases, customers have submitted leads through third parties and have already received a standard reply of some sort from that source. As a result, your auto response greeting should acknowledge that your dealership will be handling the transaction. If your auto response is just a brief note with no benefi t to the consumer then they may also regard follow-up responses much the same and not even open them. Don’t miss the opportunity to hit the ground running with an effective auto response welcome that causes the customer to want to open your follow-up e-mails.

Step 1 � Decide who you want to sign the auto responseThe auto response is designed to get the customer’s attention and welcome them to your dealership Internet process. If the dealer or the general manager is a well-known spokesperson for the dealership, it is a good idea for the initial welcome to be from him or her with a line endorsing your Internet

team as professional and talented. This conveys to the customer that the Internet is a key connection to the dealership and the most visible person in the organization wants to personally say hello. A well-crafted message from the Internet manager/director or specialist works well too and helps to quickly establish them as the point person.

Step 2 � Use a subject line that is relevant to the customerPeople can receive a lot of mail from people and companies they are not familiar. Normally we screen the e-mail address and the subject line to see if they are safe and worthwhile to open. Since the lead you received typically comes from an aggregator of some sort that may be providing you the customer from one of the lead sources they work with. As a result, the customer may be surprised to know a dealer will be sending them an e-mail with their dealership name in the subject line. If the customer is not expecting to see an e-mail from your dealership they may not even open the e-mail so it is best to make it relevant to the consumer with a generic subject line that says something like “Response to your online vehicle inquiry” or “Information regarding your Internet vehicle request.” The customer will realize they asked for information on a vehicle online so the subject line is relevant and they are more likely to open the e-mail.

Step 3 � Use your logo If you think of your e-mail like a letter or

a business card then you realize it should have your logo at the top. This identifi es immediately who it is from and starts the brand-building process.

Step 4 � Keep it briefTell the customer as quickly as possible what you want to tell them and don’t waste their time. Graphics and bullet points work well and hold the customer’s attention better.

Step 5 � Describe your processSome of the most effective auto responses use a 1, 2, 3-type process description to let the customer know it will be quick and easy. For example:

1. We are reviewing your request and will contact you within one hour by phone or e-mail

2. We will confi rm your specifi cations and schedule a time that is convenient for your test drive

3. During your test drive visit we will provide your price, trade and fi nancing information right up front so you can decide if you want to purchase the vehicle

Step 6 � Provide a link to your Web siteA link to your Web site is a great way to build brand and to establish your dealership as a great resource for your customer. A simple mention such as: “You can visit our Web site at www.kainautomotive.com 24/7 to review our updated inventory and specials.”

Step 7 � Sign it with complete contact informationYou have the customer’s attention at this point so make sure they know who they are working with by signing it with your complete contact information. If the dealer or GM is the sender make sure you include who the customer will be working with and endorse their expertise. Consider providing a link with a map to the dealership for the customer’s convenience.

David Kain is the automotive Internet training specialist at Kain Automotive Inc. He can be contacted at 800.385.0095, or by e-mail at [email protected], or visit www.kainautomotive.com.

Tell the customer as quickly as possible what you want to tell them and don�t waste their time. Graphics and bullet points work well and hold the customer�s attention better.

“Let’s make financing magic together.”

We’d love to meet with you to discuss how we canhelp provide the best financing to your customers.With our deferred-payment option, we’re quite surewe can make you very happy.

Drop your local commercial DRM a line or call 1-877-TEAMBVF and make a date soon. A product of DaimlerChrysler Services

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16

... With Time to Spare

KirkManzo

Managers may feel as though they need 27 hours to accomplish all the tasks placed on them by the dealership. The idea of

multitasking is no longer a luxury, but rather a necessity or is it?

Too often a manager spends his or her time reacting to everyone else’s requests instead of training people on when and how to schedule time with them.

There is one thing we all have in common. Each of us is provided with exactly the same resources without regard for who you are or where you work. We are all provided with the same size bucket to begin each day. As the day begins, your bucket is empty and throughout the day it fi lls up until the bucket is completely full allowing nothing else to fi t.

Now you could chose to allow other people to fi ll your bucket with things that may seem important to them but are really not on the top of your priority list. Or you could fi rst fi ll your bucket with those things that are most important to your success today. The bucket represents time. Its limit of capacity is the 24 hours we each have to work with daily.

The bucket can become so full of little meaningless tasks that get you no closer to your goals. The fi rst thing you must do is place the large rocks (important tasks) into the bucket, then place in the smaller rocks as room allows. If some of the smaller rocks (tasks) won’t fi t into today’s bucket, they will then need to go into tomorrow’s.

The fi rst step toward taking control of your schedule, your job and your life is to accept the reality that you will never fi nish ALL the tasks you want or need to do every day.

If you can only complete a limited number of tasks, at the end of the day what is most important? Sell cars; everything else pales in comparison.

This may seem obvious on the surface but look at how you spend your time each day. You order cars from the factory, follow up with sales people on factory certifi cations to qualify for their incentives, chase stips, deal with heat cases on the service drive, etc.

In order to help your dealer understand exactly what it is that you do, and help you get clarity as well, do the following. Each manager should make a list of ALL the tasks that you are responsible for handling (as you understand it).

The results of the exercise will often reveal obvious overlaps, two people addressing the same tasks. This is counter-productive. For example, assign one person to handle dealer locates (hint: a sales person can be assigned this task to free up managers for higher value tasks).

Areas that should be receiving attention, like recruiting, are often not specifi cally assigned to any one person, yet it is the life blood for continually upgrading your sales staff. Who handles the daily one-on-one’s, the daily training? Many of these large rocks (tasks) get pushed aside because too many small rocks (tasks) get into your bucket and at the end of the day … well you just ran out of room and time.

Break your tasks list into three categories, daily, weekly, monthly.

Daily events include save-a-deal meetings, one-on-one’s with sales people, assisting F&I with CIT issues, reconciling with the back offi ce to make sure we are getting paid for what we already sold, etc. These events

need to be put on the schedule fi rst. All other tasks (small rocks) then work around the daily events (large rocks).

The weekly strategy is similar. If you know the deadline for payroll is Tuesday at noon, block out an hour on Tuesday morning to calculate commissions for your sales team, and have another manager cover the desk and fl oor from 9-10 am every Tuesday. If the cut off for the newspaper ad is Thursday at 11a.m. and it takes 2-1/2 hours to set up your ads, schedule 90 minutes on Weds from 1- 2:30 p.m. and Thursday 9-10a.m. to meet the weekly deadline. Stay consistent. Schedule repetitive tasks so others can learn when you are and are not available to answer questions or help out.

Follow the same routine for monthly tasks:Schedule monthly sales people reviews for the fi rst week of the month. Allow 30 minutes per person, if you have more than 10 sales people, split the group over two days. People need to know you are serious about maintaining a schedule of reviews every month, so pre-appoint for next month and let the sales person know exactly what day next month and what time they will be meeting with you again.

A scheduling template is the best way to help you fi ll your bucket with the large rocks fi rst allowing you to complete the repetitive tasks required to run the dealership and create ample time to accomplish the most important task, sell cars every day!

Believe.

Kirk Manzo is the general manager at Ziegler Supersystems. He can be contacted at 800.858.6903, or by e-mail at [email protected].

IIISUMMITBEST PRACTICES

November 3 & 4, 2005

MGM GrandLas Vegas, Nevada

Dealers & Managers Only

See page 3 for more details

18

MichaelYork

If Your Business Closed Today, Would Anyone Really Notice or Care

There’s just no place like Las Vegas. Seems no matter how many times you’ve been there; there is still an

excitement or anticipation when you make that next trip. Flying into that oasis that still looks like a mirage in the desert is great.

When you see the strip and all those giant hotels and casinos, isn’t the fi rst thing that pops into your mind something like “What Las Vegas really needs is another giant casino?”

No? Well that’s exactly what Steve Wynn was thinking. And his vision is now a reality among all those other big name, big dollar properties.

The slick, black, wrap-around look of The Wynn hotel, casino, shopping mall and golf resort is the new color in the Vegas rainbow. And even that doesn’t do justice describing it. It’s almost beyond description.

You have to see it to believe it, and even then it’s enough to stretch your belief system. Every big name boutique you’d hope to fi nd from Rodeo Drive to Fifth Avenue has a spot on the Wynn walk of famous shopping. People stand and gawk at a giant wall of water in the gardens, and what it costs to furnish all the fresh fl owers inside the hotel would be enough to build most three bedroom houses.

It’s HUGE with a capital HU!(Hint: There’s a Ferrari dealership inside it.)

So why another casino in Las Vegas? It’s obviously not just another casino or hotel. It’s an emotional experience that people come to see and feel and tell others about. If you’re coming here you can save big money by staying at an older giant hotel or some chain we’ve all heard. The rooms are clean, OK, good price, practical, etc. Sound familiar? Low mileage, solid transportation, good price.

Where’s the emotional experience at your place for the consumer? Are they excited about becoming a customer? What will they say about you when they tell their story?

Not everyone has 2.7 billion to throw at a giant hotel/casino/golf resort … or at a dealership in Chattanooga, but everyone has ways of making the customer feel special for doing business here.

Here’s the formula:Whatever you sell is boring. And whatever I sell is boring. Unless you or I make it remarkable in the eyes of the customer. Unless the emotional experience they’re getting makes the money they spend less important than the experience or the story they can’t wait to tell about you and how you did it.

Las Vegas knows the secret to this “NOW” economy. So does Steve Wynn. So do Starbucks and Harley Davidson. So do Oprah and Jimmy Buffet. So did Elvis. Do you?

Are you creating an amazing experience for the prospective buyer who is almost always fi rst a prospective looker? Are people walking around talking about coming back here to be a buyer? No one at The Wynn is trying to stop the “lookers” from leaving without checking in today! Are you still worried about selling your “lookers” today instead of creating such an attractive “show” that they can’t wait to be back … and buy!

This is the most sophisticated marketplace we’ve ever known. And while rumors and excuses lament today’s economy with labels

that range from slow to terrible, the facts say otherwise.

If there’s nothing very special about your work or the value or service you provide then you’re lumped in with all the other roadside “motels” of the world in the eyes of the customer. And if another one of them goes out of business today, would we really notice?

But what if Starbucks or Harley Davidson or Disney World or Las Vegas closed tomorrow? Would anyone notice?

You bet. And that’s the very reason it won’t happen anytime soon. Because people notice and love spending their money there. What makes you special or cool or valuable or remarkable in the eyes of the buyer? And if you can’t answer, that’s a great place to begin your radical improvement.

If all you’re doing is selling cars it can be all about price. But the feeling I get driving around Las Vegas in my convertible with the top down and the sun winking at me from all those big shiny buildings doesn’t leave much room in my imagination to remember how much I paid to be here. Even if I can recall the number, it’s a small price to pay for this “emotional experience” that I couldn’t wait to tell someone about. And now I have.

The reason the rich keep getting richer, as they say, is because the rich keep doing the things that win in any economy, and the poor (read: ordinary or average) keep doing the not-so-special things that nobody’s really noticing. How excited are your customers about what you do and how you do it? Want some better questions on how to improve your “show”?

If you want my short list on “Wynning” in this “NOW” economy, visit www.MichaelYork.com/autosuccess.

Michael York is an author and professional speaker. He can be contacted at 800.668.5015, or by e-mail [email protected], or visit www.MichaelYork.com.

Here�s the formula:Whatever you sell is boring. And whatever I sell is boring. Unless you or I make it remarkablein the eyes of the customer.

19august 2005

20

BenElliottfs feature solution

The Real DealPre-approval Sale

Direct mail has been around for some time and remains one of the best ways to fi ll showrooms with people. At fi rst, mail piece recipients were chosen by zip code or distance from the dealership. Through the years the selection process has become more precise. Dealerships now select recipients based on income level, lease termination date, college graduation, bankruptcy, home ownership, and most important, credit. Credit allows a dealership to only send mail pieces to customers that fi t the fi nancing programs available to the dealership. Moreover, mail pieces can be designed with offers that appeal to the selected demographic. The offers made in mail pieces have become more and more aggressive attempting to convince customers to visit dealerships.

Pre-approval sales have grown in popularity over the last several years. Dealers have blanketed their markets with mail pieces bearing messages like, “Bad Credit, Divorce, No Credit, No Problem. You are PRE-APPROVED at Somewhere Motors.” These messages are extremely appealing to the credit-challenged, and many respond. Unfortunately, a high percentage of these people who were lead to believe that they were pre-approved are no longer approved when they reach the dealership. This is counterproductive for everyone involved. The customer is upset because he/she wasted $10 in gas and his day off to visit your store. The sales person is upset because him/her customer couldn’t get approved. And you, the dealer, just had 100 people in the store from a 5,000-piece campaign and less than half even qualifi ed to buy a car. This is not where it ends. A phone call from the Attorney

General’s offi ce a few weeks later about the validity of the pre-approval offer turns a bad sale into a potential nightmare.

In reaction to these issues, pre-approval sales are changing. Compiling the list of people who are to receive a pre-approval mail piece is now done differently. Customers are still selected based upon their credit, but now more care is taken to make sure that all required credit criteria for approval are met. In bold print the mail pieces now clearly state income requirements that may affect the pre-approval.

Under the new laws, with no fi rm offer of credit, pre-approval sales have created problems for dealers around the country. Fortunately, there are now programs available though partnerships between direct mail companies and lenders that can truly grant legitimate pre-approvals. Every customer that receives a pre-approval letter is approved. By utilizing a pre-approval sale program that truly guarantees the approvals, dealers can not only eliminate headaches, but sell far more vehicles to far more people.

A second benefi t of a real pre-approval sale is the additional sales and gross profi t. Consider a 5,000 piece pre-approval sale without a fi rm offer of credit. If 2 percent of the people who receive the mail piece visit the dealership, there will 100 ups. Unfortunately, only half will qualify, so even with a 25 percent closing ratio on the 50 qualifi ed ups there will only be 12 sales. Now consider the same 5,000 piece pre-

Over the past 30 years of running some of the largest GM and Ford operations in the country and as a dealer myself, I have used every direct mail company in the nation � if I haven�t used them I have at least been pitched by them, and I have Þ nally found a real pre-approval sale with 300up Promotions.

- Earl Hudson, Earl Hudson Buick Pontiac GMC in Shelbyville, TN.

Finally a real pre-approval sale where they really buy the paper! Until now, nobody has guaranteed to fund every contract that walks through the door with a pre-approval mail piece.

- Robert Register, Tony Moore Automotive in Huntsville, AL.

approval sale with all 5,000 pieces going to people who qualify. With the same 2 percent return and the same 100 ups, the results are doubled. Now all 100 ups are guaranteed to qualify, so closing 25 percent will now result in 25 sales. Using an average gross of $2500 per copy, the guaranteed pre-approval sale will gross $62,500. That is an additional $32,500 over the pre-approval sale without the guarantee.

By partnering with a direct mail company that can guarantee the approval of every customer that walks into your dealership holding a mail piece, your dealership can avoid the problems created by the new laws governing pre-approval sales, sell more cars and improve ROI at the same time.

Ben Elliott is the president and CEO of 300 Up Promotions. He can be contacted at 866.319.7337, or by e-mail at [email protected].

When choosing a company to partner with for direct mail, the three most import things to consider are.1. The validity and legality of the offer; it is important to have a real deal pre-approval sale.2. Customer service is king. A partner in direct-mail marketing must be able to respond quickly and effectively.3. The price is also important. The better the price, the greater return on investment.

- Keith Sheldon, GM Courtesy Chevrolet Sonic Automotive Group in Atlanta, GA.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

12

50

100Ups

Ups thatQualify

Sales at 25%Close

Traditional Method

Improved Method

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

25

100

100Ups

Ups thatQualify

Sales at 25%Close

Gross ProÞ t

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Thousands of Dollars

$62,500

$30,000

TraditionalMethod

ImprovedMethod

5000 Piece Mailer

21august 2005

22

And You Are ...

TonyDupaquier

If a customer comes into a store and buys a vehicle with a stolen identity, who is at fault? The person perpetrating the crime

is at fault – there is no doubt about that. However, the bigger question becomes, who is responsible for the loan? The dealership.

If this situation has not yet happened to you, be prepared to send a lender a check or two when it does. No section of the country or type of franchise is immune to this rampantly growing problem.

On TV, seemingly every week, the news reports on corporations losing customers’ personal information or thieves hacking into computer systems. In June, a sales person at a dealership in Texas was arrested for switching the identities of customers who had bad credit with the identities of people who had good credit, and the customers were 100 percent unaware of the situation.

You and your dealership must take action now.

There are several avenues a dealership can take to prevent identity fraud. It is important to note, though, that once a program is installed, it becomes everyone’s responsibility in the dealership to ensure compliance.

The easiest way to ensure a customer’s identity is to use an online service that electronically verifi es personal information. One such service is Valid Auto, which is by far the most advanced product in the industry. The company started in the banking industry and in the past year expanded to meet the needs of the automotive market.

What makes this program so effective in the prevention of fraud is the way the information is entered into the system and the measures it goes through to ensure a person’s identity. Using a scanner and an online connection, the system reads the magnetic strip on a driver’s license to pull a customer’s information – and even employees’ information, as well. Should a person attempt to present anything other than an authentic identifi cation card, a red fl ag will be raised instantly when the computer is

unable to read any coded information.

At the same time, the customer’s information is instantly run through the most current Specialty Designated National’s (SDN) list, which is required of all U.S. businesses to ensure they do not conduct business with anyone on the registry.

As part of the process, it is recommended to swipe the customer’s license prior to the test drive. If no information is found on the back of the card, a dealership may not want this person to test drive a vehicle for the sake of the sales person’s security.

Once the customer has agreed to purchase a vehicle, the business manager or sales manager will look up the customer and insert his or her Social Security number into the system. Once this is done, the information is verifi ed on many levels. The program starts by verifying the customer’s name, surnames, middle and maiden names. It also goes though an extensive background check of the customer’s current and previous addresses, and it determines if the birth date entered matches other data systems with similar information. Furthermore, the program checks to see if the person is using a Social Security number from a person who is deceased – a common ploy among identity thieves.

If all checks out, the system gives a clear status on the customer. If a red X appears, further investigation is required before contracting this customer.

It is the responsibility of the dealership to conduct its own identity theft prevention. Banks and lenders are not responsible for ensuring the identity of a customer and do not perform any background checks because the majority of banks allow their computer systems to approve loans based on an algorithm, not human verifi cation.

High-tech methods are not the only way to deal with today’s fraudulent customers and employees. By installing a few policies, a dealership can reduce its risk; however, someone must inspect these polices on a continuing basis.

For starters, become very familiar with the driver’s licenses and identifi cation cards issued in your state. Many states have a guide that you can get from the Department of Transportation that will help identify false cards. Always have a copy of a customer’s driver’s license in your permanent fi les for further reference. A copy of the customer’s Social Security card or other identifi cation that displays this number should be in every deal jacket.

Require proof of income. This may be the lowest-tech method of checking identity available. In many identity-theft cases, the thief used people with good credit that would ensure an “instant approval” from most lenders. When a sales manager or business manager sees that a credit score is high enough for approval, it becomes an instant contract. If a lender does not require proof of income, most business managers will not ask for it. It is time for this practice to change in response to the identity theft problem. Even if a thief does have a Social Security number and an ID to back up the name being used, what other documentation do they have available? Chances are, a thief cannot offer up a paycheck stub to verify the income he or she is claiming on the customer statement.

Dealerships have the ability to cover their assets with simple polices enforced by everyone.

Tony Dupaquier is the director of F&I training for American Financial & Automotive Services Inc. He can be contacted at 866.856.6754, or by e-mail [email protected].

High-tech methods are not the only way to deal with today�s fraudulent customers and employees. By installing a few policies, a dealership can reduce its risk;

24

ScottJoseph

How to Really Maximizean Employee Price Program

Last month, I promised you an article on how to drive traffi c into your showroom during your slowest days of the week.

Every now and then something comes along and you have to make adjustments - that time is now!

Right now many of you just experienced dramatic increases in showroom traffi c due to the employee discount programs offered by the Big 3 manufacturers (at the time I wrote this, all the employee price programs were set to end on Aug. 1). So now that your traffi c challenge was temporarily solved and the manufacturers experienced nice market share gains, the real question is, what did your dealership do to protect its previous customers from the onslaught of ads targeted toward them from your direct competitors? If your answer is nothing then the short-term focus for your store may have cost you a lot more than what you think you gained. The next question is, what can you do from this point forward?

You had a supreme opportunity to dramatically effect one of the only three ways to grow your business - grow your customer base. You had a choice to make. You could sit back and try to capture a lot of new business or you could have focused on your previous customers simultaneously. Think about it - if you added an additional 25 to 50 new customers in July but 25 to 50 of your previous customers decided to buy from your direct competitor, you haven’t grown at all.

From the very moment GM, Ford and Chrysler announced its employee pricing program, our business from their dealers nearly doubled. I’m not naïve, and I’m sure J&L Marketing Inc. is not the only direct mail company who has experienced this surge in business. Which brings me to my point - dealers were doing everything in their power to take advantage of this offer and make sure these customers visit their showroom. With the increase in advertising out there, whether you like it or not, your customers were getting bombarded with every kind of advertising imaginable.

Did you get caught up in the excitement of all the “new” traffi c and ignore your most important asset – your previous customers?

If you did chose to ignore them then the next question is, why?

You have invested a small fortune to attract and earn your customers’ business. Assuming they will automatically come back to you is a critical mistake.

The numbers never lie. Thirteen percent of your very satisfi ed customers defect every year. In a typical company today, customers are defecting at a rate of 10 to 30 percent per year. Sixty to 80 percent of customers who defect to your competitors indicate that just prior to their defection they were either satisfi ed or very satisfi ed. On average, U.S. companies now lose half their customers in fi ve years.

The reality is that 70 percent of the customers lost defected due to a lack of attention or interest.

How is your offer better than your direct competitor’s? Why should these previous customers or potential future customers give you the opportunity to earn their business again? Do you really think a good satisfaction rating is enough? Customers can be satisfi ed and not loyal.

The bottom line: regardless of your satisfaction rating you must give your customer a reason to come back into your store and buy again. Direct mail is the most cost-effective way to reach your previous customers - in fact it is one of the only ways. I’ll give you a few stats: 56 percent say receiving mail is a real pleasure; 55 percent look forward to discovering the mail they receive; and 67 percent feel mail is more personal than the Internet.

With direct mail you can make offers your competitors can’t. If your customer can get the employee price from any competing dealer then why should they visit you? With direct mail you can offer several reasons: chance to win cash or a new car, higher trade amounts, a free gift as a thank you for the opportunity, etc.

Plus, if you do have a great customer satisfaction rating then just asking them to give you the opportunity may be enough. Remember, 70 percent of the customers lost defect due to a lack of attention or interest.

Once again the numbers don’t lie. According to Harvard Business Review, you can boost

profi ts by almost 100 percent by retaining an additional 5 percent of your customers. Simply cutting defections in half will more than double the average company’s growth rate.

The most successful offers any direct mail company can create are offers that are real, believable, credible and factual. The employee pricing programs are exactly that.

Think about it for a second. The reason employee price offers work so well has nothing to do with the actual money involved. In some cases customers could actually save more money with previous rebate offers. Perception is critical. Most consumers believe that employees always get the best price.

So, if your manufacturer is continuing to offer an employee pricing program, then immediately take steps to protect your store’s most valuable asset - your previous customers. If your manufacturer is not making these offers, you can still benefi t by creating an offer that gives consumers a chance to buy a vehicle for a price as if they were an employee of your dealership.

If the Big 3 decide not to extend the offers past Aug. 1, then what do you plan to do to keep your traffi c levels high? If the employee price programs proved anything it is that a great offer and good advertising can generate a lot of traffi c. Consumers have become callous to rebates. It’s nice to see the manufacturers doing what direct mail companies have promoted for years - an offer that is real, but more important, an offer the customer actually gets excited about.

Everyone knows the value of keeping customers. My hope is that all of you made the decision to protect your most important asset – your previous customers – during this outstanding marketing campaign. If not, then it’s not too late. The next question you need to answer is, what can you do right now so your customer gives you another opportunity to sell them a car today? You can start by giving them a believable, credible and factual reason they should and the rest is simple – ask them to buy again.

Scott Joseph is the president of J&L Marketing Inc. He can be contacted at 866.429.6846, or by e-mail at [email protected].

25august 2005

CarolMartin-Ardell

Steering Out of ControlIf you have ever noticed an overall decrease in the enthusiasm of your staff, it may be their way of exhibiting

stress. Experts agree that tardiness, absenteeism and negative attitudes spike when employees feel stressed about their job. Stress almost always leads to some form of bad judgment, apathy, injuries or poor health. It can take down even the most unfl appable individual.

Ensuring that each member of your team is working under acceptable conditions can ease anxieties. Differences in individual characteristics like personality, work pace and level of assertiveness must be considered when predicting whether certain job conditions will result in stress; what is stressful for one person may not be stressful for someone else.

Stress can be caused by poor communication between a worker and a superior. Some managers sometimes assume that each one of their staff members is comfortable directing himself or herself. While some subordinates might be self-suffi cient, others may seek direction and guidance; many want their leader to be available to answer questions or point them in the right direction when problems arise. Confusion about the expectations of a manager versus the needs of an employee will cause stress.

If you are the type who focuses on end results, thinks for yourself, acts independently and expects others to do so as well then look for workers who are self-governing and not so timid or meticulous that they must be walked through everyday situations.

If you tend to control the details of most situations and prefer to keep everyone on a short leash, avoid taking on employees who crave freedom and want to resolve their own dilemmas. Be prepared to loosen up your management style when trying to see eye to eye with a freedom-loving subordinate.

Try these tactics to help decrease everyone’s stress on the job:

• DeÞ ne each subordinate�s role. Be sure each employee knows what you

do and do not expect. This will avoid confusion and help to steer off any confl icts between your objectives and

those of your employee.

• Find common ground when communicating to others.

You don’t want to speak a language no one else understands. Whether you’re reserved or animated, you’ll need to fi nd ways to connect with all of your employees -- even those who are very different from you. Also consider the individual personalities of your team members before taking on someone new. Feelings of resentment and demoralization are sure to follow if one person clearly does not fi t in or can’t relate to what others say.

• Assess your own work pace. If you tend to be quick, chances are

you’ll want staff members who can keep up with you, deal with changes and stay fl exible when it comes to juggling priorities. However, if you’re the type who doesn’t believe in rushing and tends to systematically tackle one task at a time, you’re bound to expect the same of your employees.

• Predetermine how much assistance you�re willing to give an employee.

People acclimate to their responsibilities and environments in various manners and at various speeds; some are more willing than others to take risks. Remember, though, that mistakes and wrong decisions can sometimes be made when individuals try to take matters into their own hands. Can you deal with imperfection?

When people are feeling stressed on the job, their behavior often becomes uncharacteristic. The gregarious, enthusiastic worker who normally charms everyone might suddenly seem outspoken -- talking fi rst, thinking later. Your ambitious, assertive sales person might transform into a bold, overly aggressive competitor, someone who intimidates people or bullies them around. Watch for these behaviors, and be assured that if you have some insight about your employees, you’ll be able to manage them more effectively and reduce environmental stress.

Carol Martin-Ardell is a senior consultant with the Omnia Group. She can be contacted at 800.601.3216, or by e-mail at [email protected].

26

AnthonyHall

Fact FindingFacts lead to more sales and more profi ts. You’ve heard this saying, “Information is power.” This is one of the keys to success

in sales. Facts will:

• Predict objections• Eliminate objections• Help better overcome objections• Find out what is really important to

the customer (hot buttons)• Show that you have a true interest in

the customer’s wants and needs• Build better rapport• Personalize the presentation• Help with better vehicle selection• Eliminate misunderstandings• Establish control

The key to fact fi nding is effective questioning skills, backed up by active listening. The questions we ask and how we ask them are essential to fact fi nding.

The purpose of questioning is to develop an awareness of the customer’s actual needs and priorities. All too often, sales people have a tendency to do all the talking and little or no listening. The key here is if the salesperson is doing the talking, he/she never fi nds out what is important to the customer. Don’t make the mistake of trying to sell what you think is important rather than taking the time to fi nd out what is important to the customer!

The objective of questioning is to enable us to lead the customer to conclusions that are positive and consistent with our purpose as opposed to giving the customer conclusions that are not his own. All of us can relate to the fact that we much more readily accept our own ideas than someone else’s.

While questioning in itself is not diffi cult, it requires some discipline because it represents a departure from our old established ways of doing things. With effort and practice, you will be amazed at how well the customer responds to your showing an interest in him or her by asking the right kind of question. Remember, we all like to talk about what is important to us.

There are two types of questions we will be working with, they are broad and narrow.

Broad questions:They give the customer the latitude to speak freely as they usually require a descriptive answer. Psychologically, it is a good idea to begin with broad open-ended questions since the customer’s response will provide you with his or her’s frame of reference.

Examples: “Tell me about the vehicle you are driving?” Or, “What brought you to the dealership?” Also “Why are you looking to replace your vehicle?”

Narrow questions:They are direct; they guide the customer to a specifi c topic or need that the customer may not have considered previously. They usually are answered in one or two words and are particularly effective when the customer is not very talkative. By directing the sales presentation through the use of narrow questioning, you are able to receive vital information about the customer’s needs. (Danger: Narrow questions thrown at the customer in rapid fi re succession tend to be intimidating and cause the customer to be on the defensive!) Narrow questions should be used to direct the customer’s attention to a specifi c area of need or conversation, and to promote agreement.

Example: “It sounds like reliability is an area of importance to your decision, is that correct?”

Permission questions:Would it be alright if I ask you a few questions? We offer a wide variety of

vehicles. To make sure we fi nd the one that is best for you, is it OK if I get some basic information?

Circumstance questions:Do you use your vehicle for work? Do you tow a lot?

You should always begin with broad questions because you want to establish the customer’s frame of reference, if broad questions are not effective, you must switch to narrow questions but remember getting the customer to provide relevant information is the purpose of the interview. To fi nd areas of need, the customer must tell you what he or she needs. Such as who, what, where, when and why.

A sales person must avoid asking the following questions because they will lead to negative responses and loss of control!

• Would you like to drive the car?• What color do you desire?• Have you been shopping?• What have you been offered?• What do you think your trade is

worth?• Would you take? • What is it going to take to do business

today?

The key is for you to listen during the sales interview. Listening enables you to identify benefi ts from what you hear. The sales person often wants to sell by doing all the talking. This could be the biggest mistake a sales person makes. Ask questions and listen for needs and then turn features into benefi ts through the listening skills you’ve learned.

Customers want you to help them buy!

I’ve seen sales people sell cars and buy them back by running their mouth.

God gave you two ears and one mouth use them in proportion.

Anthony Hall is a training consultant at Ziegler Supersystems. He can be contacted at 800.610.9047, or by e-mail at [email protected].

The key is for you to listen during the sales interview. Listening enables you to identify beneÞ ts from what you hear. The sales person often wants to sell by doing all the talking.

28

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Is it Marketing, theManufacturer or Leadership

SeanWolfi ngton

Take a look at your dealership, think about other places you’ve worked and other organizations you know and ask

yourself what is it that fuels their success? Is it market conditions? Inventory mix? Franchise number and type? Number of rooftops? Marketing strategy? While there are many factors that contribute to whether a dealership will thrive or fl ounder in the industry today, it’s leadership (or lack thereof) that will make or break a store.

Leadership is about implementing new ideas. Whether you’ve been in the business fi ve years or 50, leaders learn quickly that it’s important to continually change themselves. They stay fl exible and seek to continually improve themselves and those around them. Leaders appeal to higher ideals and values of followers. In doing so, they model the values themselves and use charismatic methods to attract people.

A leader in the automotive industry emerges from being able to identify and serve the fundamental needs, aspirations and values of the customer. Leaders engage their customers and their stakeholders by: developing a vision, selling the vision, fi nding a way forward and leading the change.

Developing the visionLeadership starts with the development of a vision, a view of the future that will excite both employees and customers. This vision may be developed by the leader, by the senior team or may emerge from a broad series of discussions. The important factor is the dealer and the leadership team buy into it completely.

Selling the visionIt’s not enough to create the vision; you have to sell it. Selling the vision isn’t something that happens once and bam it’s sold. Instead, a leader fi nds that he or she is constantly selling and reselling the vision. This takes energy and commitment, as few people

will immediately buy into a radical vision, and some will join the show much more slowly than others. The leader takes every opportunity and will use whatever works to convince others to own the vision.In order to create followers, the leader has to be very careful in creating trust. The personal integrity of the leader is a critical part of the package they are selling. In effect, they are selling themselves as well as the vision.

Finding the way forwardTo adapt and thrive in the ever-changing automotive industry, the leader is constantly seeking the way forward. Some leaders know the way and simply want others to follow them. Others do not have a ready strategy, but will happily lead the exploration of possible routes to success in bringing the vision to life.

The route forward may not be obvious and may not be plotted in details, but with a clear vision, the direction will always be known. Thus fi nding the way forward can be an ongoing process of course correction.

Leading the chargeThe fi nal stage is to remain up-front and central during the action. Leaders are always visible. They show by their attitudes and actions how everyone else should behave. They also make continued efforts to motivate and rally their followers.

It is their unswerving commitment as much as anything else that keeps people going, particularly through the darker times when some may question whether the vision can ever be achieved. The leader seeks to infect his or her followers again and again with a high level of commitment to the vision.

One of our goals is to help dealers clarify their vision, sell it to those around them and create a tactical plan to move the dealership forward. We leave it to them to lead the charge, and as a result, they fi nd themselves selling more cars, making more money and having more fun while the competition is left in the dust.

Sean WolÞ ngton is the owner of BZResults.com. He can be contacted at 866.802.5753, or by e-mail atswolÞ [email protected].

RandyBarone

New Software Steps UpPre-Owned ProÞ tability

You can experience an increase in effi ciency and more strategic management of your pre-owned business with technology that

will help you reach a greater profi t potential. New software systems can now minimize the margin of error on such transactions as appraisals and trade-ins, and give you the tools you need to make the best inventory decisions for your market.

Getting the right inventoryHow do these software packages achieve all of this? First, by enabling you to make the right offers on the right vehicles to ensure that your inventory has the greatest appeal to potential buyers. This enables your dealership to sell more new cars and gain even more customers.

The software’s appraisal tools make it less likely you will lose sales to a competitor because you didn’t offer enough on trade-in value. The software also creates an ideal inventory model that is customized for your dealership. This model indicates the best inventory to stock on the lot, and gives you accurate information on which vehicles turn faster and make the dealership the most profi t. The software takes the guesswork out of deciding which trades to keep and which to sell on the Internet, as well as which vehicles to trade and which to send to an auction.

Driving customers to your pre-owned showcaseOnce the software has given you an ideal inventory model, and the inside knowledge and information on how to build that inventory, you can quickly enhance customer relationships and increase your sales.

This is achieved with specially designed software that provides a history of prior sales on a particular model, which helps make the customer more confi dent about purchasing the vehicle, as well as the transaction process overall. Because you have been able to obtain highly accurate appraisals, your customers feel more confi dent about their decision at point of sale. Many new versions of the software also offer integrated CARFAX® reports that not only appeal to customers, but protect you from unmentioned vehicle damage, as well.

Your appraisal process becomes streamlined to ensure a consistent presentation to customers every time. “Appraised vehicle sheets” refl ect professionalism and integrity -- qualities that customers will connect with your dealership and subsequently discuss among their families and friends. It’s a way to generate substantial referrals and repeat business with a click of a mouse.

Another important advantage is in terms of compliance for your dealership. It is the most fair and accurate appraisal process possible. If a customer decides to “private sell,” the market data provided on similar vehicles enables you to present fact-based appraisals as an added benefi t for them.

Empowering dealer groupsFor dealer groups with inventory sharing and multi-store supervision, the software provides added empowerment. If a customer comes to a dealership looking for a specifi c car that is not on the lot, they don’t have to be turned away. You can scan inventory at different locations and give them what they want. Also, your appraisers are alerted if the customer received an appraisal at an affi liated dealership.

You also can exchange vehicles that are not likely to sell on your lot for ones that are. The system can be set up to enable groups to track “true” inventory time as a vehicle moves to associated group locations. Still another advantage is the ability to reduce wholesale losses signifi cantly, while increasing retail unit sales and profi t.

Randy Barone is vice president of sales at American Auto Exchange Inc. a subsidiary of JM Family Enterprises. He can be contacted at 800.901.3017, or by e-mail at [email protected].

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30

MarkTewart

The Champion CoachGreat managers view themselves as coaches more than managers. There is an old adage: “Lead people and manage things.” There

is a fi ne line between creating and utilizing systems and processes and micromanaging details without emphasizing the power of personal interaction.

Good systems and processes should allow employees to raise their performance by giving them confi dence in their direction and lessening the burden of the manager and coach from having to constantly inform people of their expected actions.

The problems and obstacles for mangers and coaches happen when the process is elevated over the players who utilize those systems and an improper implementation training process is used. Great systems with poor people make for poor results. Great systems tied to poor coaching of people in the system results in

poor results. Managers and coaches can’t give a process to their players and expect the process to work without consistently motivating and leading the players in the system.

Think of your process like a machine. A machine is created to perform the desired function. Once you create the machine, you test it and know it will work. It fails when the mechanics of the machine break or when the operator has an error in operating the machine. Your business process is much the same.

When you integrate a player into a system, you must explain what they are to do. Next, a coach must explain why the player must perform the tasks required utilizing the desired process. When the why gets strong, the how gets easy. If a player is clear about the why, the process will be performed with maximum results.

The third step is to demonstrate how the tasks and process work. Don’t just tell –

demonstrate. If the player believes the process can be executed properly and has evidential proof that his or her coach or someone else can do it in the way that is expected, the player will emotionally buy into the process. The coaches must get the commitment or buy-in for anything to work. Therefore, coaches must have the trust and respect of the players. There is also a second part of the demonstration that must take place. The demonstration phase should move from the coach demonstrating to the player to the stage where the player performs the functions with close direction and inspection of the coach.

The last step of the implementation is never-ending. This stage is continual coaching and inspection. Players must know they are continually being coached, inspired and reviewed in their performance.

Recently, my daughter Erin secured a summer job after her fi rst year in college. She is employed by the J. Alexander chain of restaurants. The process employed by J. Alexander’s is not only a good reference point for the steps of coaching that I have mentioned, but is a reference for excellence.

Erin was interviewed and profi led by three different managers on three different occasions. When Erin was hired, she had to complete detailed training that would make many businesses green with envy. Erin had to train with a study guide consisting of more than 100 pages. Erin had to pass six written tests just to begin serving as a waitress or as they are called in their culture – champions. She had to be able to recite the company creed. Further training and testing was required to be able to serve on the weekends, which are their busiest days. Before being released to begin her position, Erin had to shadow another trained champion and then switch and have the experienced person trail her. Both Erin and I were amazed at the commitment to process, training and implementation.

Remember, the processes and dedication of J. Alexander’s produces a champion who can serve and produce an experience that is measured in small dollars. Your business may produce a product and experience that is measured in many thousands of dollars. Based on your process, training, implementation and coaching, are you a coaching champion?

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

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Smile and theWorld Smiles With You

PattiWood

You’ve experienced it. You come into the offi ce with a real big smile on your face and suddenly people respond to you with

a smile and seem to treat you better. It’s a well-researched social phenomenon. In fact, just looking at the photos of happy-faced people has been shown to make a person brain waves go to a happier mode. And a seeing a smile can give you more pleasure than money, sex or eating chocolate. In this article you will discover the answers to some perplexing questions about smiling.

When do you begin smiling?Though babies aren’t born smiling, about three weeks after birth, babies give a fl eeting smile in response to touch and sound and visual cues like the funny faces and sounds you tend to make. They start recognizing faces and smiling socially, that is smiling to get you to smile and treat them well at about eight to 12 weeks. Just about the time

you are tired of getting up at 3 in morning and changing their diapers. A child’s smile has been shown to give the same level of stimulation as eating 2,000 chocolate bars or receiving $15,000 in cash.

How do you smile or what deÞ nes a smile? You can use more than 80 different facial muscles to smile, and we typically see it as a spreading and upturning of the lips. It changes the face signifi cantly enough that it can be detected and recognized after 3 seconds from a great distance, 300 feet, or the length of a football fi eld. Sounds incredible doesn’t it?

Why did our ancestors need to smile?Though they did not attend a lot of cocktail parties where they needed to smile and make small talk, our cave man ancestors did run into other cave men they did not know. So they smiled as they approached a stranger to say, “I am harmless. Don’t pick up your spear and kill me.” In fact, it is the oldest form of expression to show a desire

to cooperate. So even when the smile was a football fi eld away the cave man noticing him approach his cave knew the smile was safe and he shouldn’t be afraid.

Does a smile mean that someone is happy? No. There are more than 50 different types of smiles. We smile not only when we are happy but when we are feeling other emotions, as well. This may make it diffi cult to tell what someone really means when they smile. According to Paul Ekman, the father of facial expression research, there are more than a dozen different positive emotions expressed with various smiles. If you know what specifi c part of the face to look at you can tell whether someone is really smiling from happiness or not.

How can you tell if someone is giving a sincere smile? Look at the eyes not the mouth. When

continued on page 36

31august 2005

32

Only One Dealer Per Market

PaulAccinno

Leverage Your Ofß ine Marketing Efforts“Just $199 down ... $199 a month ... that’s $199 down ... and $199 a month ... this is not a lease ... you own it just $199

down and $199 a month,” Intones the radio announcer on a local dealership’s latest radio spot. It most likely ends with ... “so visit us at www.dealershipname.com.” This is a good idea; to tie online marketing to “offl ine” marketing. It’s called “synergy.” The only problem is if you went to the dealer’s Web site, there would most likely be no mention of this special offer, let alone a listing of the vehicles that qualify for this offer.

This is a challenge at most dealerships. Short of updating the inventory on a regular basis, there is typically little else on a dealer’s Web site that is current or refers to offers and events that appear in newspaper, radio, TV and direct mail ads.

Part of the challenge is that Internet managers are not always in the loop when it comes to making marketing decisions and plans for the dealership. These decisions are typically made with the dealer or general manager and the ad agency. So getting the information you need to keep the Web site current from a marketing perspective is a hit-or-miss proposition at best. The other factor that makes this diffi cult is the time it takes to do this properly. As we discussed in July’s article, “Maximize Your Internet Sales” (page 20), the Internet manager’s main responsibility is to sell Internet appointments not be a marketing manager.

There is no question that having a well-integrated marketing program can increase your total dealership sales, not just Internet sales. TV commercials only last 30, 15 or even 10 seconds. Radio commercials typically last 60 or 30 seconds. Billboards go by in a fl ash. There’s only so much room on a direct mail piece, and you’re probably not in the newspaper every day. But your Web site is available 24/7/365 and typically has unlimited space to provide details for special offers and campaign details. So using your Web site to support and leverage your offl ine marketing efforts is a key factor in maintaining a truly integrated marketing program.

Here are some tips on how to accomplish this:

Step 1: Have an initial meeting with your dealer and general manager to explain that you would like the dealership’s Web site to tie into the weekly and monthly dealership promotions and to be sure that the Web site URL is included in all forms of advertising. Make sure everyone is on the same page when it comes to marketing synergy for your Web site.

Step 2: Ask to have a subsequent meeting that includes your ad agency and Web site provider.

Step 3: With the support of your management team, explain to the ad agency how important it is to include the dealership URL in all advertising and that you want to leverage as many aspects of the dealership’s marketing efforts online. Ad agencies typically forget to include the URL in dealership advertising. More specifi cally, when graphics are produced for print, you want those same graphics sent to the Web site provider in a digital format. You should include those (tent sale graphics as an example) on your homepage with some supporting copy. Also get a PDF fi le of the weekly newspaper ads forwarded to your Web site provider from either

the ad agency or the local newspaper. These will show up fi ne with Adobe Acrobat Reader. Make sure your Web site provider installs a simple button to download the Reader. TV and radio commercials could be diffi cult based on the location and bandwidth of your customers.

Step 4: If you have specifi c offers being advertised (like the one mentioned at the beginning of this article) be sure they are included somewhere on the Web site under weekly specials, featured vehicles or special offers. Also, you should include your offl ine offers in your responses to Internet leads.

Step 5: Instruct your ad agency to have commercials and ads drive customers to the Web site for details. “Only $199 down and $199 a month. See our Web site at www.dealershipname.com for specifi c details and to view our entire inventory of these certifi ed pre-owned, late model low-mileage beauties.” In the old days, you would say “See this Sunday’s ad for details.” but why drive someone to a newspaper full of your competitor’s ads? Be sure to utilize this same strategy in all your offl ine mediums.

Step 6: Be diligent. Monitor your Web site at least weekly to make sure that your ad agency and your Web site provider are communicating. Send them both quick e-mails if you fi nd one end is dropping the ball.

If you set this process up correctly in your initial meetings, it can be a pretty painless and seamless experience that allows you to harness the signifi cant monthly advertising expenditures of your dealership and ultimately sell more vehicles on the Web.

Paul Accinno is the preseident and CEO of WorldDealer, Inc. He can be contacted at 866.319.6284, or by e-mail [email protected].

There is no question that having a well-integrated marketing program can increase your total dealership sales, not just Internet sales.

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DanVogel

CRM EvolutionAdvanced dealerships that have invested in the excellent Customer Relationship M a n a g e m e n t

(CRM) technologies available for both lead management and customer retention have experienced increased dealership closing ratios and retention rates. For some dealerships, applying these tools has become fundamental to helping manage daily business. Beyond managing daily business, effective automotive CRM tools are vital to the long-term customer life cycle where a dealership must have access to, and stay in touch with, customers for several years.

Although there are effi cient lead management and customer retention tools available for dealers today, setting up and maintaining multiple programs can present

some challenges. Wouldn’t it be great if a single tool could help dealerships take customers through the full cycle of pre- and post-sale CRM? Dealers across the country would benefi t from the cost savings of dealing with one vendor that can offer a single tool that will provide a single point of data entry, and the ability to stay in contact with all customers at any time.

Automotive CRM vendors will soon begin to address the challenges faced by dealerships that are using multiple systems. In the near future we will start to see cutting-edge CRM vendors leading a shift to single-interface CRM solutions. The new solutions will be designed to coordinate all outreach to customers and prospects combining lead management with post-sale retention and integrating customer segmentation with personalized communications across multiple channels.

An integrated solution will also allow dealerships to streamline administrative and accounting tasks by dealing with one vendor, accelerating outreach time, reducing staff hours dedicated to CRM and easing transition and work fl ow during periods of high employee turnover.

Forward-thinking dealers always have a lot to risk and a lot to gain when adopting new technologies. Due to rising dealership overheads, dealers are aware that effi ciencies provided by single-vendor solutions can signifi cantly impact their bottom lines. The dealerships at the forefront of the single-solution trend will experience more control, less complication and better effi ciency because their services, parts and sales, and marketing efforts will be truly aligned under one program via a seamless point of entry.

Dealers should expect that CRM components will include advanced customer segmentation with personalized communications across multiple channels, including e-mail, telephone, Web sites and print media. Lead management features should include real-time tracking of communication between dealership and all

customer prospects, whether they walk in, phone in, or come in through the Internet. The overall Web-based program should enable customized marketing campaigns based on a wide selection of customer data points. Under the single interface, qualifi ed leads and timely service reminders will be directed to the customer retention and follow-up systems accordingly, so dealers can capitalize on promising opportunities.

Beyond an excellent retention and lead management foundation, the following list outlines added benefi ts that dealers can look forward to in future integrated CRM programs.

• One-time entry of data for prospects or customers, even across a dealership group

• Reduced administrative and billing duties

• Flexibility between in-house and outsourced strategies depending on changes in season, budget and staffi ng fl uctuation

• Option to outsource day-to-day outreach functions to CRM vendor if faced with an immediate defi ciency in staffi ng and/or expertise

• Coordination of outreach across all departments before and after the vehicle sale

An effective CRM partner is vital to increasing a dealership’s bottom line. By streamlining communications and transactions, combined solutions should grant dealers unmatched capabilities in increasing dealership effi ciencies, customer loyalty, and extending the consumer purchasing lifecycle. Most importantly, the next wave of CRM tools will make the task of customer outreach easier and more cost-effective.

Dan Vogel is senior vice president and general manager of AVV Inc., a subsidiary of Autobytel Inc. He can be contacted at 866.826.8907, or by e-mail at [email protected].

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continued

looking for a real smile we usually look for a zygomatic smile because it uses the zygomatic major muscle that runs from the cheekbone down at an angle to the corner of the lips. In a zygomatic, smile the lips turn up signifi cantly at the corners and the cheeks seem to lift up. This smile makes us look happy. The lower part of the face, however, is easy for someone to manipulate, so the person could be giving a fake smile. The upper part of the face is key. We often look for the little wrinkles at the middle outside corner of the eyes. Most people call them crow’s feet, but I call them happy feet. Michael Douglas inevitably has those wrinkles when he has his wife on his arm. Again that still may fool us. We still don’t know just from crow’s feet if someone is happy or he or she wants to look happy. Typically, when someone is really happy, their brow lowers and their eyes seem smaller. So look specifi cally at the muscles that surround the eye socket. The muscles around the outer part of the eyes are hard to consciously control, only 10 percent of the population can do it. So a real smile, that is one from joy, contracts the circle of muscles around the eyes. You also need to look at the brows overall and see if they lift from the person’s normal resting position.

Movement is key.If you are with a person as they smile, look for the wave. No, not the football stadium arm wave, the face wave. Real smiles seem to crest over the face like a wave, changing very rapidly from a small facial movement around the lips and lifting the sides of the face and the eyes then the brows into a broad, open expression. Put your hands fl at over your face right now. Let your face relax. Now visualize a time when you were really happy or say out loud the word ‘money’ and smile. Did you feel your hands move up. Did you also notice saying the word money creates the wave, kind of funny isn’t it?

Timing is important.Just like other facial expressions, when the smile occurs the person’s words and emotions tell you if it is heartfelt. Typically, a person will feel happy, smile and then say something happy. Feel - show - say. If you ask them if they are in a good mood and they say, “Sure.’ Then they hesitate, then smile they are not feeling that smiley.

Listen to the voice.The timbre of the voice of a real smile is so distinctly different than a fake smile that the blind have no trouble distinguishing the voice of someone giving a real smile. And you have probably experienced a cashier giving a fake smile and ‘Have a nice day’

continued from page 31

and her voice not sounding truly happy.

Does it pay to give real smiles? Experts coded women’s smiles in their yearbook photos. Women who gave real smiles were compared to those who didn’t. Years later the real smiles overwhelmingly had happier lives.

Do men and women smile differently or for different reasons?You know the answer to this one. Any man who has heard there wife say, “Everything is fi ne” as she presses her lips together tightly with slightly raised corners knows that women fake smiles more than men do. He knows he had better watch out. Women fake smiles more than men do and are more aware of smiling. Though they are more likely to stop smiling in private. Men, as a gender, are uncomfortable around women who aren’t smiling. Men are often concerned that their smiles will make them appear less powerful. It makes sense as men with higher levels of testosterone smile less often. It is rather sad because if you smile less often you tend to have fewer close relationships with others.

Do Americans smile more or differently than people in other cultures?Americans smile more often and are more likely to simply part their lips and stretch the corners of their mouths to smile. Basically, we give a lot of fake smiles.

Though the British have a retrained dignifi ed smile they more likely than us to smile by pulling their lips back and upwards and exposing their lower teeth and doing the eye-changing real smile. The French rarely smile at a stranger, and tend to think Americans who smile all the time look ridiculous. But once they know you they will smile just as positively as anyone. In some cultures people will put their palm in front of their face to cover an embarrassing show of emotion given by a smile. In Korea, smiling can be seen as something shallow people do. In Indonesia the resting position of the face is very often a smile.

Just as the cheshire cat left its mysterious smile behind when it left, the smile has a lasting effect on us. Next month you will learn how the smile effects your relationships with your coworkers, sales and customer service interactions.

Patti Wood is the president of Communication Dynamics. She can be contacted at 800.849.3651, or by e-mail at [email protected].

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