autosuccess feb06
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AutoSuccess addresses the specific, researched needs of new car and light truck dealerships by providing entrepreneurial, cutting-edge, solution-based editorials to increase dealership profits and reduce expensesAutoSuccess, magazine, sales, new, used, selling, salespeople, vehicle, dealer, dealership, leadership, marketingFor similar content visit http://www.autosuccesssocial.com/TRANSCRIPT
a division of Systems Marketing, Inc. February 2006
AutoSuccess Must-see Companies NADA 2006, page 4
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O R L A N D O F L O R I D A
American Auto Exchange: Delivering innovative solutions that streamline and maximize dealers� sales operations to
include: inventory optimization, Þ nance menu, reporting, and dealer desking tools.
BZ Results is a digital marketing & consulting company currently working with 8 of the top 10 eCRM Dealers of the year. BZ offers CRM, Web marketing, Search Engine & Email marketing, Websites, New & Pre-Owned, F&I, Service, Parts and specializes in BDC�s. BZ set up the largest BDC in the world which sold 384 vehicles in one month. They also work with the #1 Pre-Owned eDealer, #1 Honda eDealer, #1 Chevy eDealer and the #1 eDealer Group in the world.
Impact Direct develops innovative sited sales and direct marketing campaigns that light up your phones, Þ ll up your showroom and
deliver vehicles. All with out taking a percentage of your gross proÞ t.
InterActive Financial Marketing Group offers new and used car dealers lead generation, direct mail marketing,
CRM, advertising and Þ nancing by leveraging it�s brands; Carloan.com, Autoloan.com, 1.800.CarLoan and
IFMG Direct.
Ultimate Warranty provides leading-edge service contracts and ancillary F&I products. More than 8,000 dealers
have recognized the advantages and have beneÞ ted from selling Ultimate Warranty products. Stop by the booth,
and Ultimate Warranty can show you how they are making a great thing even better in 2006.
Auto Dealer TrafÞ c, Inc. is the automotive search engine marketing experts. ADT�s focus on SEO, Paid Search, and
analytics has made it the premier company in the automotive arena. ADT�s proprietary technology analyzes your
search marketing efforts easily. Count on us to give your marketing dollars a ROI!
HomeNet, Inc. is a technology provider offering online vehicle inventory solutions to help automotive dealers manage their vehicle inventory and increase online sales. HomeNet�s Inventory Online (IOL) system allows control of the acquisition, editing and distribution of vehicle data. IOL interfaces with all major DMS and broadcasts accurate vehicle inventory information and photos across the Web.
Established in 1999 Auto Internet Marketing has been generating both New Vehicle and Finance Leads of superior quality and content since the beginning of the Internet Revolution. Our unique marketing platform promotes FREE exposure for our Dealers, resulting in FREE leads every month! We look forward to speaking with you soon!
TimeHighway.com is the premier, real-time, online service appointment scheduling solution. It will increase customer satisfaction and retention, service department efÞ ciency and revenue, load balance service bays and drive trafÞ c to the dealer�s website. Are your customers returning to your dealership for scheduled maintenance? If not, let us help!!!
J&L Marketing�s solid reputation as the industry leader for direct marketing campaigns is based on the strong relationships we form, focused marketing, and the increased proÞ ts we provide for our dealers. We take great pride in our expertise to build the best campaigns for your individual needs. This remarkable success that J&L provides for over a thousand dealers a year can be yours, too.
We provide a fully integrated web-based software solution for F&I, leasing, special Þ nance, BDC, inventory management and sales management reports. We also provide direct mail, Internet leads, credit hotlines and website hosting.
The Cobalt Group and Dealix Corporation specialize in helping dealers and auto manufacturers maximize every proÞ t center by helping them: meet, sell to, and retain customers for repeat business in the most efÞ cient manner possible by providing a comprehensive suite of services, including the highest quality Internet sales leads and marketing services, cutting edge technology, and the expertise of automotive industry veterans.
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Visit Cobalt and Dealix at The Hacienda Presidential Suite in the Rosen Centre Hotel, adjacent to the Convention Center. Saturday to Monday (2/11-13) from 8am - 7pm & Tuesday (2/14) from 8am - 12pm
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]
Jacki Monce, Executive Assistant• [email protected]
Thomas Williams, Creative Director• [email protected]
God Bless America
INSI
DE8
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PatrickLuck
Cutting Edge Strategies Used by Leading Internet Dealers DavidKain
Value or What�s In It For Me AnthonyHall
JohnZonneveldManage Learning to Improve Dealer Technician Performance
ScottJosephCase Study: Market Share Increases From 8 to 20Percent, and Net ProÞ t Doubles in Just One Year
eCRM Dealers of the Year:How They Did It
MarkTewartPhone Dynamics
DavidJacobsonHow to Decode What the Customer Really Means
BrianEproHow to Keep Opt-out Rates Low
DougHall
Chevy/Toyota Dealer Finds Direct Mail Formula That Works
MichaelYorkHigh-performance Selling is More Than Just Professional
TomGegaxDealing With Dysfunctional Behavior in the Workplace
The Major Obstacle to Buying BrianTracy
The Core Sources of Personal Trust
GlennShepard
ChrisHansonIf You Build It, They Will Come
SteveLevinHow to Build Value in Your Presentation
Where Should I Sit PattiWood
Avoiding a Warranty AuditYou Can Avoid a Warranty Audit by Making Necessary Changes
GreggTompkins
Setting Appointments: If You Wantthe Right Answer, Ask the Right Question
JeffMorrill
NADA 2006
Stop by and seeus at the NADA
2006 Conventionat booth
#3816
Lessons Learned in a Year of Innovation SeanWolfi ngton
Courtney Paris,Sales-improvement Strategist
Brian Ankney,Sales-improvement Strategist
Brian Balash,Sales-improvement Strategist• [email protected]
On-site Sales EventsThe Power of Third-Party Credibility
JoshWeaver
Picture ThisThe Power of Photos for Simple Internet Marketing
EricHinkle
Zechariah 2:8“For whoever touches you touches the apple of my eye.” Matthew 5:16“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
NADA 2006
MUST-SEECOMPANIES
8 AutoSuccess
PatrickLuck
We dedicated last month’s issue to honoring the Top 10 eCRM Dealers of the year. Our annual eCRM Dealers of the Year award is unlike any other industry award in that we look at dealers’ results. We look at volume of leads, sales and how well the dealers use eCommerce and CRM to promote all of their profi t centers: new, used, F and I, service, parts, etc.
In this issue, we will show you how the top dealers accomplished their results. The eCRM Dealers of the Year sold 80 to 700 additional units each month, while using their eCRM strategy and vision to drive additional revenue to all their profi t centers. Success like this is possible for all dealers who have the know-how and ability to implement it. In an effort to share best practices with our readers, we’re publishing the Top 10 Mistakes as well as our conversations with this year’s award winners below.
Top 10 Mistakes in eCRM1. Leadership fails to get involved, measure
results and hold the team accountable.
2. Dealers assume they only need a good Web site and CRM tool to get good results, and you need a lot more.
3. Dealers fail to invest in the right strategy, marketing, people, place, process and technology.
4. Dealers sign up with an eCRM vendor that’s incapable of providing everything they need to succeed.
5. Dealers fail to market and generate enough traffi c to their Web sites.
6. Dealers don’t leverage the power of e-mail marketing to drive traffi c.
7. Most dealers don’t know how to
dominate the search engine with “free” results, not just sponsored placement.
8. Most dealer Web sites are no more than an online brochure that is often not updated and not very interactive.
9. Dealers have the right technology but lack the people, processes and pricing to turn leads into profi table sales.
10. Dealers fail to track and measure results.
Avoid and correct these mistakes, and you’ll fi nd yourself saving time and money while improving results and sales. Our industry has been scrambling to leverage technology, and as a result, many dealers waste time and money on a Web site and CRM tool that are tall on expense and distractions and short on results. To avoid the top 10 mistakes, fi x them at your dealership or build them out of your strategy. We interviewed this year’s award-winning dealers about each topic and compiled their answers below.
Leadership InvolvementTop eCRM dealers tell us that having the dealer and general manager heavily involved in initial planning, strategy sessions and decision making is crucial. Continued support and involvement determines the success or failure of any eCRM initiative. The right vendor can provide automated reports that provide all the information needed to hold the team accountable — provided the leadership team acts on the information.
Creating SuccessThe top eCRM dealers share the belief that a good Web site is important, but won’t generate extra sales without a solid marketing strategy, the right process to turn leads into appointments, the right people to turn appointments into sales, a pricing strategy to project a fair profi t and a strategy to hold it all together.
The Right eCRM VendorThe top eCRM dealers have been exposed
eCRM Dealers of the Year:How They Did It
fs feature solution
CONGRATULATIONS eCRM Dealers of the Year
HerbChambers.com
RedMcCombs.com
DaveSmithMotors.com
HouseofCourtesy.com
ParagonCars.com
CDodge.com
Sheehy.com
DickHannah.com
Schomp.com
Tasca.com
9Feature Solution
to companies that promise the right strategy and vision and even claim to offer marketing tools and CRM technology that will generate leads and sales.
However, what’s tough to discern is that many of these companies actually outsource a number of products and services. This can leave the dealer to manage working with two, three or fi ve different companies when originally they thought they were signing up with just one. The products don’t integrate as promised, processes are not seamless and there’s a lack of accountability at the vendor level. What can a dealer do when choosing a vendor? Ask for references and lists of clients and ask them about their satisfaction and results.
Generating TrafÞ cThe top eCRM dealers have mastered the art of search engine optimization and e-mail marketing. As Roy Reutter of Sheehy.com tells us, “Search engine optimization combined with multi-media buzzmail
“Our competition has to pay to appear near the top; we get there for free and customers fi nd us fi rst.” Brian Benstock
continued on next page.
campaigns has enabled us to increase traffi c and sales at a lower cost than ever.”
When customers go online to look for a vehicle or a dealership, search engine optimization allows a dealer to ensure that their Web site appears ahead of the competition.
As Brian Benstock, of ParagonCars.com observes, “Some vendors will tell you that fl ash technology is incompatible with SEO, and that’s just not true. Type ‘Manhattan Honda’ into Google and you’ll see us on top. Our competition has to pay to appear near the top; we get there for free.”
Dick Hannah, of DickHannah.com, tells us, “We’ve had a lot of success with our e-mail marketing campaigns, so we focus on
gathering e-mails from our parts, service and sales customers to fuel the e-mail database for future digital marketing.” Many of the top eCRM dealers told us that they are using digital marketing to increase return on
investment, drop cost per sale, boost traffi c and gain incremental sales.
E-mail MarketingBrian Benstock tells us, “We know that e-mail marketing is cost-effective because everything is measurable, including the view rate and lead source. In just a couple minutes we can reach hundreds or thousands of customers with just a few clicks for less than the cost of a stamp.”
Bob Tasca III, of Tasca.com, gives a powerful example, “If Ford comes out with an Explorer incentive, I can send a buzzmail to everyone who has been in an Explorer. I can select just our lease renewal customers who are currently in an Explorer or even customers who were in to service their current Explorer. There’s no limit to how I
can target my campaigns, and our customers actually tell us how much they love our buzzmails because it’s like watching a mini-movie about the product. It’s unlike anything else out there, so it gets their attention.” Ray Velasquez, of Schomp.com, offers another best practice. “We’ve established a database of e-mail addresses so that we can send a mini-movie of a walk-around presentation straight to the customer’s inbox without requiring the customer to open an attachment. We simply select from a suite of multi-media e-mails that use the latest in compressed animation to send a ‘virtual test drive’ of the vehicle they’re interested in.”
People and ProcessThe top eCRM dealers agree that with the right technology, you can handle more leads with fewer people. Rad Weaver from RedMcCombs.com explains, “Our CRM tool automates so many of our phone and e-mail processes that we can manage thousands of additional leads without adding staff. Without the automation, we’d be forced to build a BDC, hire a BDC staff and incur additional expense to follow up with each and every lead.”
Brian Benstock echoes the sentiment that automation allows you to do more with less. “Automation makes it easier to follow our process, allows us to handle more leads with fewer people and allows our staff to focus on what they do best: sell cars. It’s a big part of why we’re selling an additional 200 cars a month. Today, we have more than 80,000 e-mail addresses, and if we were attempting to manage that database without automation, it would be overwhelming.”
“Customers love the virtual test drives and we use them to build value and bring customers into the showroom.” Ray Velasquez
10 AutoSuccess
continued
www.ParagonCars.com
www.DickHannah.com
www.Schomp.com
www.Tasca.com
www.HerbChambers.com
www.RedMcCombs.com
www.CDodge.com
www.HouseofCourtesy.com
www.DaveSmithMotors.com
www.Sheehy.com
continued from page 9.
Hiring for ResultsMost of the top eCRM dealers tell us that they look for people who are passionate about customer service. Scott Gruwell of HouseofCourtesy.com tells us, “They don’t need to be superstar sales people or incredibly Internet savvy, but they have to love the phone and love serving the customer. Once we fi nd the right people, I make it my mission to create an environment that they’ll never want to leave, because we all know the cost of employee turnover.”
Bob Tasca III is also passionate about people. “We have a recruiting, hiring and training process that we use whenever we’re hiring for any position in the dealership, and we like to say that we hire out of inspiration, not desperation. That means that we’re always on the lookout for energetic, talented people with a good work ethic and an eagerness to learn. We fi nd that the best new employees are referrals from someone who already works for the Tasca family of dealerships. A new candidate doesn’t necessarily need to have automotive experience because our new-hire training program and on-going training are so extensive. We have a training company that we bring in for two days every month to help with our training needs.”
Dick Hannah sums it up, “Even though the Web and CRM have made an incredible impact on the automotive industry, this still is and always will be a people business, so nothing is more important than quality people who are well trained. Training
is a daily and on-going process for our dealerships. We’ve developed a friendly business development team, and when we need to bring on someone new, we look for that friendly characteristic and an aptitude to successfully use the phone and e-mail for follow-up.”
Tracking and MeasuringThe best part about the Web and CRM is that everything is measurable. Roy Reutter says, “Our technology provider automates the reports we need so it only takes a few minutes a week to get a great snapshot of how things are going, who is excelling and where the process needs fi ne-tuning. The most important numbers to track are: number of visitors to the Web site, conversion ratio, closing ratio, average gross profi t and cost per sale by lead source.”
Again, congratulations!Congratulations to the Top 10 eCRM Dealers and thank you for sharing your insight on what it takes to use the Web and CRM to sell more cars. If you have any questions regarding any of the best practices discussed in this article, please feel free to visit the dealers’ Web sites or send an e-mail at the address below.
Patrick Luck is the editor and publisher of AutoSuccess Magazine. He can be contacted at 866.239.3698, or by e-mail at [email protected].
NADA 2006
MUST-SEECOMPANIES
The Major Obstacle to Buying
BrianTracysts fos ls ms sf fi s
sales and training solution
12
Two of the greatest enemies of mankind are — and always have been — fear and ignorance. Fear feeds on itself. It
holds us back and causes us to doubt our own potential and possibilities. It leads us to interpret events and circumstances in a negative way. It eats away at us silently, deep down inside, and keeps our feet on the brakes of our own hopes and aspirations.
Ignorance is often the breeding ground of fear. When you don’t know how to do something, you tend to be afraid of it. Much failure and frustration is based in ignorance and uncertainty. The better you become at something, the less you fear it, until you reach the point at which you eventually have such complete confi dence in yourself that you have no fear at all.
If the biggest obstacle to selling is the fear of
rejection, then the biggest obstacle to buying is the fear of failure. The fear of failure is probably the greatest obstacle to success of all kinds in our society. The fear of failure does more to hold people back and paralyze their decision-making abilities than any other factor.
The reason customers do not buy is because they are afraid of making a mistake, and they are afraid of being stuck with the wrong item. They are afraid of paying too much or fi nding it for sale at a lower price elsewhere. They are afraid of being criticized for making a poor purchase decision, and they are afraid that if the product or service doesn’t work, you or your company will not service it and they will be left hanging. They are afraid that your product or service will not do the things you claim it will do and will not yield the benefi ts you tell them they will enjoy. In short, when a customer considers your offering, he or she is often overwhelmed with a wave of fears that ultimately leave
him or her saying something like, “Let me think it over.”
Your job is to do everything possible to reduce or eliminate this fear of failure.
Now, here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, recognize and acknowledge that every customer starts with a fear of failure or of making a mistake. Look for ways to reassure the customer that your product is a safe buy.
Second, overcome your own fear of rejection by acting boldly in every sales situation. Ask for what you want confi dently and expectantly.
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].
For more information please call: 1-800 -267-2015 or email: [email protected].*Among all primary new independent online buying services according to one of the most respected third-party 2005 dealer studies. © 2006 Copyright Autobytel Inc. All rights reserved.
Car sales figure based on recent Autobytel search data, NADA data and third-party dealer study.
You want some?Get your share of the billions of dollars in car sales Autobytel generates
for local dealerships nationwide. Search Marketing: Just one more
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13february 2006
Chevy/Toyota Dealer FindsDirect Mail Formula That Works
GlennShepard
Targeted direct mail, e-mail and Internet marketing have emerged as the most effective way for our dealership to advertise
for less cost and to measure everything we spend.
One effective new marketing strategy we use is an advanced direct-marketing campaign, an event that is staffed by an automotive training company. It generates 30 to 50 extra sales and $120,000 to $175,000 in gross profi t over a three- to four-day period.
We are committed to master direct marketing. It has increased our sales and profi ts by spending less to target more customers. Below is a list of the marketing campaigns and events we conduct:
• We use emerging technology and online databases to generate targeted lists of prospects that have in-market status and are ready to buy. • We send high-end mailers that are designed to have the customer go to a Web site or call to register for the event.• The customer calls are handled by the marketing company’s call center with employees that are well trained to schedule appointments that show. This gives us a full appointment list before the event begins, which helps us manage the traffi c fl ow more effectively.• The marketing company staffs the event with valet parking, greeters, extra sales staff to handle the extra traffi c, extra sales managers and even back-up F&I managers.• We execute an event-specifi c sales process on which we are trained, and we typically sell 10 to 30 extra cars a day at an average gross profi t of $2,500 to $3,500 per vehicle.• The company stays after the event to help get all of the deals ready for funding by the lender and to clean up loose ends after the sale.
These new events are staffed by professional marketing companies that bring everything a dealership needs to get the results it wants. We knew direct mail worked but we were not having the success that a dealer from our 20 group was having. So we started doing what he was doing. By the third day of the event, we had sold more than 41 units for more than $147,680 in gross profi t. In addition, the campaign drove a lot of traffi c to our Web site, and we continued to deliver vehicles weeks after the event. The best part is that after the event we did not have the customer concerns that we normally have when we do a direct-
sts fos ls ms sf fi s
marketing solution
mail campaign and sell a lot of cars in a short period of time.
Direct mail has replaced a lot of our newspaper advertising because we have been able to increase our traffi c while spending a lot less money, and the cost per sale is almost half of what we used to spend.
One unique element of staffed marketing events is the opportunity for training for our
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sales people and managers. Our management and sales staff learn more on the showroom than they do in the conference room, and they are able to pick up a lot of best practices by working alongside the experts that staff these events.
Glenn Shepard is the president of Shepard Motors in Rockland, ME. He can be contacted at 866.239.3846, or bye-mail at [email protected].
14
Case Study: Market Share Increases From 8 to 20 Percent, and Net ProÞ t Doubles in Just One Year
ScottJoseph
The following is a case study of a successful growth strategy application that illustrates the best practice principles
mentioned in January’s article.
Program Objectives:• Increase active customer base by 10
percent• Increase gross per transaction by 10
percent• Increase the purchase frequency by
10 percent
SigniÞ cant Results Reported by Dealership:
• From July 2004 through December 2004, profi tability increased fi ve times over the previous six months.
• 2005 year-end profi tability has doubled over 2004’s year end.
• Market share increased from 8 to 20 percent.
• CSI scores are consistently above zone and national numbers.
• Achieved 250 percent above the 2005 certifi ed used-car projection.
• 2005 customer pay labor is up 32 percent.
Dealership:Johnson City Hondawww.johnsoncityhonda.com
Johnson City Honda is located in Johnson City, Tenn. The store has an experienced Honda general manager who has an exceptional track record for satisfying customers, developing strong sales teams and in fi xed operations. The location is well-known and easily accessible.
Hardware:Depending on the advertisement, high-speed Heidelberg digimaster 9110 or Kodak NexPress 2100 digital production color press.
Finishing:Varies depending on the advertisement, folding, sealing and inserting equipment that is used for various products.
Target Audience:Prospects interested in Honda vehicles that
plan to buy a vehicle within six months and Johnson City Honda previous customers.
Date:July 2004, ongoing
Johnson City Honda, like most auto dealers, faced many diffi culties: fi nding good people, fl at or limited growth and customer defections. Almost in spite of itself, Johnson City Honda had built a profi table business solely off of the Honda brand. It had built a customer base of more than 12,000 people. Its satisfaction scores were good and, according to its management team, it appeared to have a steady stream of repeat buyers.
There was nothing that closely resembled a strategy or game plan to grow business. Once a customer was sold, the dealership never solicited that person again, with the exception of Christmas and birthday cards or an occasional service reminder. Almost all their advertising was institutional rather than direct-response.
Thoroughly analyzing their previous customer database revealed several troubling areas. Yes, the dealership had accumulated more than 12,000 customers but 68 percent had not bought another car from the dealership in three years. Even more troubling was that 92 percent of those inactive customers did not visit the service department within the last 12 months. This store, regardless of its satisfaction scores, had a defection problem.
Johnson City Honda did keep good records of its customers by distinguishing if the customer purchased, leased, bought new or bought used. Term-end dates, monthly payments, customer birthdays, last repair order dates and mileage were recorded.
Johnson City Honda’s management explained that traffi c was its number one challenge to growing sales and profi t. They wanted an advertising strategy that was cost-effective and would grow their gross profi t more than 30 percent.
Thier marketing partner created a growth strategy focused on growing the following objectives by 10 percent: increasing their active customer database, increasing their
gross average and increasing how often people buy. If this could be accomplished, then according to the store’s current numbers, they would accomplish what they really wanted, which was their goal of a 30 percent increase to their gross profi t.
Johnson City Honda allocated 50 percent of its ad budget toward this direct-response growth strategy. Their marketing partner quickly set up a variable data print campaign management system. Database merging combined information from several databases. All data was cleaned for duplications and misspellings. Data mining processes were put into place to discover hidden opportunities and to be able to properly segment customers. Specialized design services created document layouts for all variable data. Resource management was essential for storing, tracking, updating and managing a customer’s database assets. Response monitoring tracks and analyzes feedback to all campaigns.
The result was a mix of highly creative, customized direct-mail pieces and e-mail campaigns. Sales and service mail pieces include weekly prospecting letters, high-impact sales promotions, personalized Web sites that are customized to each potential buyer, e-mail confi rmations and follow-up mail letters. All of these can be completely customized with text and variable images. Depending on the data on each individual, all letter content is customized according to each individual’s buying habits and interests. For instance, if a customer leases, then the letters emphasize lease offers. If the customer has a history of buying used cars, then the letter highlights used-vehicle offers.
Johnson City Honda is pleased with the results of its efforts. “To grow the dealership at the rate we wanted, our advertising dollars needed to produce more opportunities for our sales staff and improve the quality of our traffi c,” said Joe Trujillo, general manager and ownership partner of Johnson City Honda. “Our fi rst 18 months have been outstanding. Our profi t doubled from 2004 to 2005, and our market share has grown from 8 to 20 percent.”
Scott Joseph is the president of J&L Marketing Inc. He can be contacted at 866.429.6846, or by e-mail [email protected].
sts fos ls ms sf fi s
marketing solution
NADA 2006
MUST-SEECOMPANIES
MIKE LAVEZZI
STEVE PANGELINA
VINCE VAHSHOLTZ
MARK RAY
STEVE GAINES
AIMEE O’BRIEN
WESTERN US
Larry Moreci, Internet Sales ManagerHonda of Stevens CreekSAN JOSE, CA
Steve Gaines, Owner;Vince Vahsholtz, Internet ManagerBell Road AutomallPHOENIX, AZ
Steve Pangelina, Internet /Fleet ManagerSanta Cruz Nissan Dodge VWSANTA CRUZ, CA
Vic Simonian, Internet Sales ManagerScott Robinson HondaTORRANCE, CA
Mike Lavezzi, Internet DirectorPacific HondaSAN DIEGO, CA
Mark Ray, Internet Sales ManagerFuture NissanROSEVILLE, CA
Tom MacMillin, Internet ConsultantShack Findlay HondaHENDERSON, NV
Aimee O’brien, Internet SalesWeston KiaGRESHAM, OR
Jason Volkert, Internet Sales ManagerHyundai of EverettEVERETT, WA
DJ Dougherty, Internet Sales ManagerPeninsula SubaruBREMERTON, WA
C O R P O R A T I O NA Division of The Cobalt Group, Inc.
We Salutethe TopInternet SalesProfessionalsof 2005
To learn more about these
dealers’ winning strategies,
visit www.dealix.com or
call 800. 717. 8079.
Drive Success.
DJ DOUGHERTY
The Dealix Dealer NewsletterThe Leading Resource for Online Automotive Sales
NADA 2006
MUST-SEECOMPANIES
DIANNE LAZAR
HARRY KIM
GILBERT CHAVEZ
GARY DEETZ
GARY CLARK
HOWARD BASS
NIKKI BURNS
MIKE ZAVELL
GUIDO DAVILA
JENNIFER PICHECO
TONY BELL
RON DAVENPORT
CENTRAL US
Gary Clark, Internet Sales;Gary Deetz, Internet SalesHeuberger MotorsCOLORADO SPRINGS, CO
Gilbert Chavez, Internet DirectorPhil Long Motor GroupCOLORADO SPRINGS, CO
Harry Kim, Internet DirectorMuller HondaHIGHLAND PARK, IL
Craig Criswell, Internet DirectorBurt’s Automotive NetworkENGLEWOOD, CO
Internet Sales TeamGartner Buick Hyundai SaabAURORA, IL
Brad Hull, Internet Sales ManagerRosen HondaGURNEE, IL
Gregg Elmore, Internet Sales–ToyotaToyota of NapervilleNAPERVILLE, IL
Dianne Lazar, Internet Sales ManagerFamily HyundaiTINLEY PARK, IL
Howard Bass, Internet Manager;Jeff Bogle, Internet Manager;Thomas Scott, Internet ManagerNorth Freeway HyundaiHOUSTON, TX
Don Boyle, General Sales Manager;Ron Wilkin, New Car SalesHonda Cars of McKinneyMcKINNEY, TX
EASTERN US
Tony Bell, Internet DirectorO'Brien Team HyundaiFORT MYERS, FL
Jennifer Picheco, Director of E-CommerceGermain Motor GroupNAPLES, FL
Michael Waldrop, Director of MarketingCoggin Honda of St. AugustineST. AUGUSTINE, FL
Don Graff, Director of E-CommerceFlemington Ford Lincoln Mercury NissanFLEMINGTON, NJ
Guido Davila, Internet ManagerKing HyundaiDEERFIELD BEACH, FL
Michael Britt, Internet SalesHonda of NanuetNANUET, NY
Mike Zavell, Internet Sales ManagerGunther Volkswagen of Coconut CreekPOMPANO BEACH, FL
Nikki Burns, Internet Sales ManagerToyota of WilmingtonWILMINGTON, NC
Ron Davenport, Internet Sales Manager;Mark Lenny, Internet Sales ManagerKeenan HondaDOYLESTOWN, PA
Rusty Strange, Internet ManagerBeaman Pontiac GMCNASHVILLE, TNJEFF BOGLE RUSTY STRANGE
18
Value or What�s In It for Me
AnthonyHallsts fos ls ms sf fi s
sales and training solution
The more a customer understands what’s in it for him or her the more he or she will be willing to spend on a vehicle.
Value is established during the presentation phase of the sale. It is the longest, most important step in the entire sales process. You should slow down, sell the value, sell the technology, sell the safety, sell the styling and sell the excitement.
Value is a measurement of benefi ts. People accept price, and they buy value based on the amount of benefi ts the vehicle provides them. The perception of value is based on the knowledge of the benefi ts provided by the sales person. As value increases, the budget of the customer increases. When value is lower than price, the customer feels he or she is not getting a good deal. When value meets price, they feel the deal is OK, but when value exceeds price, they feel like it’s a bargain. But before you can sell value, you
must understand and know your product as well as your competitors.
Your dealership has many resources that will provide you with the needed information, such as source books, factory videos, DVDs, etc. Other good sources are automotive magazines such as “Road & Track,” “Car and Driver” and “AutoWeek.” These are excellent resources from which to gather information about you and your competitor’s products. You can also look for and listen to automotive T.V. and radio commercials. The words and pictures used to describe features and benefi ts can also be used in your presentations.
Next, fi nd out the hot buttons and motives of the customer, because you can start to formulate the best way to present your vehicle based on the customer’s needs and desires. Customize every presentation directed at what is important to each customer.
The six-point walk-around should tell an organized, complete story that covers all needs and benefi ts of your customer.
Most important, get all parties involved. The customer must physically participate with you during the presentation of the vehicle. Use his or her senses to build more emotions and desire. The customer must touch, listen, feel and smell the new car. The sale of an automobile is a magical and emotional experience, not analytical. Sell to the customer’s emotions. Remember to use your customers’ names and the names of their children while presenting the vehicle. Paint mental pictures and put the customer in it.
Steps of the walk-around1. Front of the car2. Under the hood of the car3. Driver’s side4. Back of the vehicle5. Passenger’s side6. Inside the vehicle
Use the same technology vocabulary the manufacturer uses in brochures, videos and other literature. They are not plastic headlamp covers, they are high-impact Lexan. The vehicle has air-cooled, ventilated disk brake rotors, aluminum alloys, thermal composite intake manifold, sheet molded composite, high-strength forged steel, sequential electronic fuel injection, etc.
Get excited about the vehicle with the customer. Enthusiasm creates positive emotions during the presentation. Show excitement in your voice, and be animated. If you don’t believe in what you’re doing, why should someone else?
Know all about your vehicle and your competitor’s vehicles. Only use four or fi ve features that directly relate to your customer’s hot buttons at each of the six points of the walk-around. We must have complete knowledge and information of the customer, our vehicle and our competitors. Professionals learn and practice this and achieve profi table results.
People will pay more for technology if they understand how it benefi ts them. Customers buy safety, performance, economy, durability and utility. Vehicles offer more today for less money than ever, but we tell less about the benefi ts of the vehicles. What is wrong with this picture?
Present the vehicle like a professional, and get paid like a professional.
Anthony Hall is a training consultant at Ziegler Supersystems. He can be contacted at 800.610.9047, or by e-mail at [email protected].
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19february 2006
If You BuildIt, They Will Come
ChrisHansonsts fos ls ms sf fi s
sales and training solution
If you’re tired of your J.O.B. (just over broke) or you’re new in the business and you want to build a
career, I am here to tell you, if you build it, they will come.
In order to really succeed in this business as a sales person your goal is not to just sell cars. Your goal isn’t even to just follow-up with your customers. To really succeed in this business, you must create raving fans.
Have you read the book, “Raving Fans: Satisfi ed Customers Are Not Enough,” by Sheldon Bowles and Ken Blanchard? In Canada in the 1970s when gas stations went to self-service, he went with full-service, right over the top. When you pulled into his gas station, someone started pumping gas, someone looked under your hood, another person served you coffee and handed you a newspaper to read while they vacuumed out your car. He blew away the competition because he created raving fans, customers that told everyone else about his gas station. You see, once they experienced his service, everything else was second-rate.
You can create raving fans and blow away your competition. If you build a follow-up process like no other, really wow your customers, everyone else will be second-rate.
In eight years of selling cars, I created raving fans. Do you know how I broke all the sales records at the dealership I worked at and became noticed by DaimlerChrysler? I created raving fans. I had specifi c things I did throughout my whole follow-up process. Customers that would never think of going anywhere else. If they did, the competition would make me look even better. Once they had dealt with me, whether they purchased a vehicle or not, everyone else was second-rate. Most sales people do not do a good job, so when you take things to the next level — over the top — you create raving fans.
My wife always gave me a hard time about it. She would say, “What is it that you do for
your customers?” I think she said that when a customer who had bought 15 vehicles in the last 5 years from me gave me a deer rifl e. Or maybe she said it because every year when one of my customers comes back from Lake Michigan, he brings me a bunch of vacuumed-packed salmon fi lets. I know she said it one winter when it was 30 below and my customer took delivery of his new car and then drove to my place to help me un-thaw my pipes after he had heard that they froze. I can give you story after story about my raving fans.
I created a customer base that not only showed their loyalty by purchasing all their vehicles from me but sent their friends and relatives in to purchase from me as well; and, more important, they respected me as a sales person, considered me a friend and truly cared about me, my family and our well-being.
When you make a new contact, make sure that everything you do is over the top. When you gain a customer, you need to do the same. They are yours to lose.
Don’t sell yourself short. Your customers do not want to shop around for vehicles. Throw yourself out there and lay it on the line. I’m not talking about giving lots of free stuff away. I’m talking about a process, specifi c things you do all through your sold and unsold process.
If you have been selling cars for a while and you want to create a customer base so strong that no one can take it away from you, if you want to create raving fans but you don’t know where to start, please e-mail me and let’s get you started. I have a system that you can put into place to get you on the right track. Don’t just sell cars and follow-up, create raving fans.
Chris Hanson is the president of Follow Up for Success, Inc. He can be contacted at 800.901.2862, or by e-mail at [email protected].
20
Phone Dynamics
MarkTewartsts fos ls ms sf fi s
sales and training solution
To increase sales and profi ts, spend time preparing and monitoring the phone opportunities as you would walk-in traffi c.
A typical dealership has as many phone sales opportunities as it has walk-in traffi c.
An effective system has the following: • Training for the receptionist• Training for the sales people and
management• A uniform and cohesive way to handle
incoming phone opportunities • A log that treats phone opportunities as
serious as walk-ins • A phone prompt card or other device
that gives direction to the sales person during an incoming phone call
• A management review system of all incoming phone opportunities
• A formal call-back system
When you’re not scheduled on the fl oor, make some calls, and mystery-shop other dealerships in the surrounding area and listen to your competitors. What you’ll hear in those phone calls is so poor, that you will be shocked. Shocked not only by what you hear, but also by the fact that you may be just as poor in your phone skills.
There are basically eight different types of incoming calls:
• Information • Finance • Lease • Trade • Bad credit • Advertisement • Price • Best price
Find a partner and role play each one of the eight types of incoming calls. Do a typical sales call involving any of the eight types of phone calls as you would normally handle. Personally mystery-shop your own dealership and listen to what the receptionist, other sales people and managers are saying and doing.
The Internet has increased phone opportunities. Effective Internet sales people know that to increase sales from the Internet you must move the customer from the Internet and e-mail to the phone and then an appointment.
Here are some simple phone tips that can increase your phone effectiveness immediately.
1. Respect the phone customer. The fi rst step to increasing your phone effectiveness is to decide to treat your phone opportunities with the same respect as your walk-in opportunities. Phone customers tend to be even better prospects. When someone has had dialogue with you and begins a sales process that creates trust, your chances of closing the sale and making a higher commission go up.
2. Stand up while taking or making a phone call, because you increase your ability to breathe and to use your legs and upper body to create body language. Why does body language matter if they can’t see you? When people can’t see you and they lose one of the
most effective forms of communicating, they need to be able to see you in their mind’s eyes. When you stand up, you will gesture more, use more voice infl ection and voice tone and be a much better communicator than if you sit.
3. Smile before you dial or pick up the phone. Allow the customer to hear and see you through the phone. Give them the excitement that will allow you to stand apart from other sales people. Who do you think they will choose to see?
4. Think like a customer. Share an attitude of servitude with your customer. The origin of the word sell is to serve.
5. Ninety percent of sales opportunities are lost in the fi rst 10 seconds because the sales person has not created a direction for the call by immediately asking questions. Ask questions about the vehicle he or she is buying and about the vehicle he or she is driving now. Use the answers you get to create dialogue and rapport with the customer.
6. Get the customer’s number, name and set an appointment. Do these next three things and you will accomplish what the majority of sales people never do. Ask the customer if he or she is calling from home or work and get that number. Ask the customer to spell his or her fi rst and last name. Ask the customer if he or she will be available to come in and look at the vehicle and get some fi gures this afternoon or evening. Give the customer an assumptive, alternative choice.
The opportunity exists for you to increase your sales immediately through better phone techniques. E-mail me at the address below with the word phone in the subject line and I will send you fi ve ways to handle the question of best price over the phone.
Mark Tewart is the president of Tewart Enterprises. He can be contacted at 866.429.6844, or by e-mail at [email protected].
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22
Cutting Edge Strategies Usedby Leading Internet Dealers
DavidKain
There are lots of new processes, tools and technologies that can help enhance your sales and profi t results. Here are a few that
could help at your dealership.
Call until you connect Without question, the most effective strategy in your quest to set appointments with your prospects is to “call until you connect.” As simple as it sounds, this strategy is the best method of all the strategies in connecting with your prospects.
Predictive dialersSome dealerships employ a tool called a predictive dialer to increase productivity in their business development centers or Internet call centers. Predictive dialers use more telephone lines per call center staff and are used to initiate phone calls while call specialists are talking to prospects. They
use algorithms to predict the average time it takes to get a live answer and the average length of typical phone conversations. This technology allows call specialists to go right from good-bye to hello. Predictive dialers increase the number of calls that your staff can make and the number of times you connect with a live prospect. It is common for productivity to double or triple when you switch to a predictive dialer.
Voicemail and answering machine search technologiesThis unique technology allows you to pre-record prospect-specifi c messages and then enables you to deliver this phone call to tens of thousands of your customers instantly. The companies that offer this service employ Internet and advanced telephone technologies to save the costs and frustrations that can occur in making the same number of calls in person. I like this idea because the message can be more consistent and be really convincing to the prospects that are touched by the dealership.
Video e-mailsA great new method to ‘wow’ your showroom and Internet prospects is to communicate using video e-mails. This technology allows your dealership to create a video using an inexpensive Web camera attached to a computer. The best way to use it is to make the message personal just like you would a personally typed e-mail. A dealer friend of mine sends about 2,000 video e-mails each month with an opening rate by their recipients of 38 percent. The best part is that the dealership is sent an e-mail when the message is viewed so it can follow up by e-mail or phone nearly immediately with an additional message. This real-time communication method really differentiates a dealership from its competition.
Two-week pressThe two-week press process uses a combination of communication techniques, e-mail and telephone messages to motivate an Internet customer to respond. This intensive technique works, and if you decide you would like to implement it, e-mail me and I will send it to you.
E-newsletters A sales pitch is not always appreciated by your prospects and customers, which is why
an electronic newsletter is an effective tool to communicate long-term. I have seen this tool used by a number of leading Internet dealers to build their brands in a casual and entertaining format. The e-newsletter that works best is the kind that allows you to create links to sales and service specials and then allows customers to submit requests for more information just like they submit leads on your Web site. In addition, some e-newsletters provide reporting tools that capture the e-mail addresses of the readers and track their clicks on the newsletter, which makes it easy to follow up if they showed interest in a specifi c vehicle or special.
Postcards and handwritten notesSome leading Internet dealers are using some old-fashioned communication approaches to connect with their customers — pen and paper. When you open your mailbox you typically read items with actual handwriting while tossing items that are computer-generated or computer labeled. When I was a fl oor sales person I got the best response from handwritten cards that took just a couple of minutes to compose and mail. With desktop printing capabilities some dealerships are sending out notes and postcards with pictures of the vehicle the customer requested along with a picture of themselves. It’s not really cutting edge but it has a big effect for little effort.
Two-way pagersSome leading dealers use a wireless device that notifi es them when a lead is submitted, and they respond immediately. An eCommerce director for a leading auto group told me that the dealership’s close rate increased by 20 percent if they were able to respond within 15 minutes.
There are many more strategies at work that can assist you in reaching your goals and I will review them from time to time so you can stay on the cutting edge. Keep experimenting and trying new things. You‚ll get a few cuts, but being on the edge tends to deliver the best results.
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.
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24
How to Keep Opt-out Rates Low
BrianEpro
A challenge facing Internet sales managers today is e-mail list burnout. The Wall Street Journal recently cited a
Forrester Research survey that puts the average opt-out rate for retail e-mail marketing at 9 percent.
Opt-outs mean that your pool of leads is diminishing. Marketing to a large pool of leads is generally better than marketing to a small one. And many people don’t buy right away, but they do buy eventually. According to Kain Automotive, 55 percent of sales occur two weeks or more after the lead’s initial contact with your dealership, and 25 percent occur after eight weeks. So it is well worth your while to keep prospects interested and engaged until they are ready to buy.
Why do people opt out? Typically it occurs because your e-mails are not relevant to
them. For example, hammering your e-mail list with sales promotion after sales promotion will result in a high opt-out rate. If your lead is not at the right point in the sales cycle, a promotion like this is irrelevant. How many times can you send the same individual a hard-sell message about limited time fi nancing? Put yourself in the shoes of the recipient of these e-mails. How many would it take before you opted out?
Sending a monthly e-mail newsletter is a great way to keep opt-out rates low, because the format is perfect for providing a balance of hard-sell and soft-sell content. By balancing your messages, you can appeal to subscribers at all levels of the sales cycle. Here are some examples of the way e-newsletters can be used to enhance your brand, build relationships, drive leads and keep opt-out rates low.
1. The Curry Auto Group sends a monthly e-newsletter to more than 60,000 subscribers that contains an optimal balance of hard-sell and soft-sell articles. For subscribers who are ready to buy, there are links to the dealership inventory page, a credit application and special promotions. For subscribers who are still shopping around, the e-newsletter includes vehicle reviews. Every vehicle review article contains a link for readers to request a test drive appointment, so if they are intrigued by the article they can easily take the next step and identify themselves as hot leads.
For leads who are not yet ready to get serious, there are lifestyle articles that will keep them engaged and prevent opt-outs until they are ready to buy. Examples of lifestyle content include articles about local travel destinations, seasonal features and movie reviews.
For existing customers, the e-newsletter contains articles about road safety tips and service specials. This type of content continues to build their relationship with the dealership even after the sale. It encourages higher lifetime value through service revenue and future vehicle sales.
So the e-newsletter is useful and relevant to leads no matter where they are in the buying process. And the newsletter provides
ample opportunity for the leads to escalate their sales engagement with the dealership by requesting a test drive, fi lling out a credit application or requesting a service appointment. The Curry Auto Group’s e-newsletters average a 25 percent open rate, and their November e-newsletters received more than 32,000 hits. A large portion of those hits were customers and prospects linking back to their dealerships and inventory pages on their Web sites.
2. Higginbotham Mercedes-Benz of Jackson, Miss., supports the arts in its community. It published an article in the November issue of its e-newsletter promoting its partnership with the Mississippi Museum of Fine Arts. The dealership provides a free one-year family membership to the museum to each buyer of a new automobile. The museum Web site received dozens of hits from the e-newsletter, and Higginbotham received several “thank you” e-mails from subscribers. When was the last time a sales prospect thanked you for sending them an e-mail? This is an excellent example of building the brand by showing that the dealership is taking an active part in the local community. Higginbotham’s average opt-out rate is three tenths of 1 percent, and its e-newsletter is producing consistently high hits back to its Web site every month.
3. Central Florida Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge provided a link in its September e-newsletter encouraging subscribers to visit the American Red Cross Web site. Nearly 100 subscribers followed the link to support hurricane Katrina relief efforts. From a branding standpoint, the dealership showed that it has a larger perspective on world events. The dealership’s average opt-out rate is 1 percent, and it experiences a huge increase in Web site traffi c after each e-newsletter sent.
So the biggest weapon you have to combat e-mail list burnout may simply be balance. By providing the right balance of hard-sell and soft-sell content, you can stay relevant to your sales prospects and still effectively drive sales to your dealership.
Brian Epro is the marketing manager for the Automotive Services Group of IMN. He can be contacted at 866.393.3919, or by email at [email protected].
sts fos ls ms sf fi s
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While likeability is the trait that sales people try to develop most often, research indicates it’s the least important
when it comes to developing something more important: the ability to earn your customer’s trust.
A research study found that customer trust of a sales person is based on fi ve key factors: dependability, honesty, putting the customer fi rst, competence and likeability. Likeability came last.
In the study, researchers asked 187 industrial buyers to rate the most recent sales person who called on them. They provided eight different ratings of their trust in the sales person. Here are the results and how important they were when compared with likeability:
1. Dependability (rated 320 percent more important than likeability). Following through on promises and being reliable makes you dependable. If you tell someone you’ll match or beat your competition’s warranty, the customer will be watching to be sure you do.
2. Honesty (130 percent greater than likeability). Telling the truth, not exaggerating and being open about strengths and weaknesses of your offerings makes you honest. Your customer wants to hear the whole story from you — not from another dealer, a friend or an article on the Internet.
3. Putting the customer Þ rst (80 percent greater than likeability). This is the customer’s perception that the sales person puts the buyer’s true needs ahead of making a sale.
4. Competence (30 percent greater than
likeability). Competence covers your knowledge about your company’s products and services.
5. Likeability. This is how friendly and approachable you are as a sales person. Surprisingly, likeability was the least important trait and also the most likely trait with nearly twice as many sales people being rated highly on likeability than the average for all trust traits. In other words, there were a ton of likeable sales people who had trouble winning their customer’s trust.
Now that we know likeability is not the most important thing to your customers, here are a few tips for winning your customer’s trust.
Be dependableLet everyone else go crazy with false or partially true promises, but make sure that your word is good. Show your customers that you’re dependable by making small promises and over-delivering on the results.
Honesty really is the best policyInstead of being a professional pitchman, think of yourself as an honest advisor. Present both the strengths and weaknesses of your vehicles. I can’t emphasize this point enough: It’s best for customers to fi nd out about your weaknesses from you than to fi nd them while doing their own research later.
Put your customer Þ rstYou can’t serve two masters. Ben Franklin once said, “A man with one watch knows what time it is; a man with two watches is never sure.” In the long run, you want your customer to tell others that you were honest and dependable. As a sales person, you know that kind of recommendation is worth its weight in gold.
Be your customer�s best source of informationWhy do people like the Internet so much when it comes to car shopping? Because there is so much information available on
the Web. Because some of what they fi nd is not true, you should become your customer’s best resource.
Do everything you can to be the expert about what you’re selling. No one should know more about you and your competitors’ cars than you do. Knowing more means two things:
• Understanding the technology behind your cars.
• Understanding why that technology can make a meaningful difference in your customer’s daily life. To break customers out of their hypnotic trance, you must offer something that makes you a better match for your customer’s needs than your competition.
Test yourself each day to be sure you’re not forgetting things. If you promise that a car has a certain feature or certain level of performance, it should be there.
Be likeable and courteousLikeability is about connecting to customers on a personal level through common interests and goals. It also means common courtesy — making effi cient use of the buyer’s time, being courteous and being polite.
You’ll fi nd that when you’re meeting your customer’s core trust needs of dependability, honesty and information, they will inherently fi nd you likable and know that you’re putting them fi rst. More important, they’ll trust that you are keeping their best interests in mind, which will make you and your dealership stand out from the rest.
Doug Hall is the CEO and founder of Eureka! Ranch. He can be contacted at 866.872.8109, or by e-mail [email protected], or visit www.EurekaRanch.com.
The Core Sourcesof Personal Trust
DougHallsts fos ls ms sf fi s
sales and training solution
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30
Dealing With DysfunctionalBehavior in the Workplace
TomGegaxsts fos ls ms sf fi s
leadership solution
After a few frustrating encounters with Mike, one of my mid-level managers, I suspected he was playing dumb about a key
issue of which he should have been fully aware. During our next one-on-one weekly meeting, when he feigned ignorance about an important detail, I quizzed him, gently but persistently, until he boxed himself into a corner. With tears running down his cheeks, he confessed he had been lying. “I’m sorry to break down,” he said. “Mike,” I said, “this isn’t a breakdown, it’s a breakthrough. Congratulations.”
After composing himself, Mike explained that he was raised by a cold-hearted father. Whenever Mike did something wrong, his father relentlessly interrogated him until he extracted every last humiliating detail. Then Mike was punished mercilessly. His survival instinct quickly taught him that lying was a good form of protection. I assured Mike that
this was a safe place, and he could feel free to talk about anything without fear of reprisal. The look of relief and gratitude on his face was a joy to behold.
Dysfunctional behavior is a deadly serious business issue, yet it’s rarely dealt with. The consequences are staggering, both in the emotional toll leveled against brittle employees and in cold, hard cash. Mind-body research performed in the past decade has proven conclusively that without intervention, emotional or psychological turmoil can weaken the body’s immune system and lead to physical illness. That leads to more absenteeism, a productivity plunge, rising health insurance costs and high turnover.
Whether it’s marital crisis, illness in the family or demons dragged around since childhood, everyone’s personal baggage spills out at the offi ce. Does that mean you have to be an amateur psychologist? Maybe. Consider my defi nition of an ‘enlightened executive’: A tough-minded, warm-hearted,
systems-disciplined leader who inspires people to actively embody the organization’s mission, vision and values.
By my lights, it’s impossible to be a master motivator without a minimal understanding of what makes people tick. All leaders would do well to learn the basic tools psychologists use to help clients work through problems. What I gained through self-study has made all the difference. After all, I wasn’t blessed from birth with the skills to recognize warning signs in the next guy or to follow up with open-ended questions or to coach him toward a healthier attitude and lifestyle.
Why is a column that’s basically about psychological health in a business publication? Because the most troubling and potentially dangerous challenges in the workplace today aren’t caused by knowledge gaps, they’re caused by behavior gaps. There isn’t an honest person alive who hasn’t unconsciously indulged in mind games at one time or another — control-freaking,
defensiveness, intimidation, workaholism, sabotaging, perfectionism, procrastination, displaced anger or victimology. Take a second to study this list. They’re games being played right now by your employees, many of whom feel perfectly justifi ed in playing hardball.
Here are two steps you can take right now:
1. Ask key employees to take a standardized psychological test (consult fi rst with a corporate attorney). Tests like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator can help you interact more effectively with various personality types. As your grasp of interpersonal dynamics grows, these tests become less important.
2. Compassionately confront workers who are underperforming and over-annoying. You do it not just because you’re concerned about their welfare but also, frankly, because doing nothing incurs enormous costs. Every fl are-up by a drama king or queen burns productivity and peace of mind.
You’ll fi nd that employees are often relieved to tell you why they’ve been acting up. More often than not, it doesn’t demand heavy lifting from you — just a question or two here, a suggestion or insight there. When you fi nally penetrate a dysfunction barricade and make caring contact with the human being on the other side, you help an employee fi nd confi dence and courage. You also strengthen your professional relationship.
Rules of engagementDon’t hesitate to speak up, whether an employee is fi ghting with a colleague, struggling with a personal issue or just in a funk. “How ya’ feeling these days, Jenny? You sure? Feels like something’s not quite right.” When she acknowledges she’s not on top of her game, try a little commiseration: “Yeah, we all have days like that. Any way I can help?” Granted, some people won’t budge when it comes to revealing their inner lives. That’s OK. Don’t force it. You’ll fi nd that a lot of people will tell you what’s on their minds, as long as you follow these tips.
Earn trust. People will open up if they sense they can trust you. They need to know you care and that the personal information they’re sharing won’t come back to them from another source. Establishing that trust begins today through respectful interaction. That way, when an issue does bubble up, an employee will trust that his secret will be safe with you.
Stop, drop and listen. When an employee needs to talk, stop thinking about business, drop what you’re doing and give him your full attention.
Be humble. Employees respond better to an empathetic leader than to an imperious autocrat looking down his nose as if to say, “Do what I say because I’m more successful than you.”
Get permission. The introduction of personal issues into a workplace discussion requires — unequivocally — the employee’s consent. How to get it? Recap the underlying performance issue, then empathize: “Any roadblocks preventing you from doing the great work we both know you’re capable of?”
Step back. It’s admirable to want to help employees work through diffi cult issues. But remember, you’re their coach, not their best friend. Be caring, be authentic, but be sure to keep a professional distance.
Stay objective. If you’ve struggled with a similar issue, don’t assume your fi x is universal or that your recovery timetable is relevant. Proceed with caution, be patient and be open to his or her point of view.
Walk the talk. It’s one thing to assure people they can tell you anything. But you’ll cripple your credibility if you respond in a way that puts the lie to your assurances. You can’t be judgmental, be condescending or trivialize their concerns.
Do right by your teammate. Your goal as coach is to maximize each employee’s value. To do that, never lose sight of the fact that her well-being takes precedence over her work responsibilities. Heresy? Only to a boss running the shop by the seat of his pants. Putting the health and happiness of employees fi rst unquestionably benefi ts an organization in ways both measurable and intangible.
Be ready with outside resources. Sometimes you have to call in a professional. The time will come when the issue is over your head. Compile a list of programs, support groups and organizations whose mission is to help people who are severely stressed out or consumed by a full-blown crisis. Post the list in the offi ce (on your intranet or bulletin board) and remind people it’s there.
As the proverb goes, “For want of a nail, the kingdom was lost.” Likewise, one employee’s personal problems can set in motion a chain of events that could threaten the health of an entire organization. It’s your responsibility to smash the snowball of employee personal problems before it begins rolling down the hill of neglect and picking up speed. Act wisely early or prepare to be bowled over.
Tom Gegax served as the chairman and CEO of Tires Plus and is the founder of Gegax Management Systems. He can be contacted at 800.723.2601, or by e-mail at [email protected].
continued
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Manage Learning to ImproveDealer Technician Performance
JohnZonneveld
A customer’s positive experience with a dealer’s service department has a positive effect on the
customer’s brand loyalty, and a negative experience reduces brand loyalty. Not only is a brand-loyal customer more likely to make repeat purchases, that customer can become a marketing asset through positive word of mouth.
Give dealership employees access to the knowledge they need to effectively service products and ensure customer satisfaction to promote loyalty. Service personnel must be familiar with a vehicle composed of complex assemblies, sub-assemblies and electronic systems, as well as the equipment and systems used to diagnose and service the vehicle. OEM certifi cation programs, individualized training paths, compliance programs and professional certifi cation accomplishments (ASE, CAP, AYES, NATEF, etc.) deliver the knowledge that maximizes success.
While the products in use today to manage these programs vary widely, the technology that supports multiple types of programs is the same. From a technology perspective, whether implementing a certifi cation track, compliance program, technical core curriculum or job skill path, the basic structure and algorithm to support these programs is identical. In a dealer network, a common learning and certifi cation system implemented by the OEM in a dealer portal allows the dealer to access a solution without incurring the software and hardware costs required to support the system.
Learning management systems (LMS) and e-learning can play a key role in reducing the costs and improving the outcomes of service department performance. Basic LMS features cost-effectively track employee skills sets and provide a system that centralizes training management, whether it is attending a seminar, on-site
training or online education courses. LMS administrators can build course catalogs, schedule course offerings, assign courses and manage many aspects of training delivery, including instructors, documents, facilities, equipment and online courses. Users can view the course catalog, enroll in and cancel out of course offerings, view their schedules, training transcripts, certifi cation program progress, and launch e-learning courses. The advantages of an LMS include:
• Centralized and standardized training information and documentation, helping ensure that all dealers meet a consistent performance standard. Consistent performance reduces the chance that an undesirable customer experience at one dealer adversely affects another dealer.
• OEM Certifi cation, ensuring that every service is performed by a qualifi ed technician in the necessary skill areas.
• A reduction in disruptions to dealership operations, by delivering training in online, multimedia formats.
• Standard Web-based portal functionality, such as collaborative environments, automated workfl ow and notifi cations, data and information sharing.
• Real-time gap analysis capabilities for both managers and employees, tracking their progress toward various performance objectives at an individual, organizational or departmental level.
Depending on the LMS, employees and managers can add course offerings to an interest list. These courses can follow the requirements set forth in a predefi ned performance program, or other courses can be added to form unique learning objectives for each employee according to their needs. This type of arrangement saves time for both the training program administrators and the employees. If desired, managers can add their employees to interest lists once on a quarterly, annual or other routine basis. This will allow the LMS to auto-enroll employees
when training courses are offered and act as a localized course demand forecasting tool for instructors and other course providers.
Auto-enrollment capabilities also reduce the burden to the employee and manager by automatically alerting students by e-mail when they are enrolled in classes. The employee no longer needs to determine his or her learning needs, locate the appropriate courses and schedules and enroll in the class manually.
Another key function of an LMS is the ability to launch e-learning courses. An individual can access a course through a Web browser at any time, from any location that has Internet access. An e-learning course can range from a simple online slide presentation to a complex multimedia simulation, incorporating video, audio, online testing and other online interactivity.
Automotive technology is constantly evolving as are the training and certifi cation programs used to provide technicians with the skills and knowledge to maintain that technology. The LMS used to guide technicians through the complex maze of certifi cation requirements must be suffi ciently fl exible, scalable and intuitive. An ability to adjust to this highly dynamic landscape is what sets leading LMS systems apart from the competition.
By centralizing information and making it accessible to all stakeholders and by automating administrative processes, an LMS can help manufacturers and dealers more effectively manage service technician training. Organizations can maintain higher levels of customer service by using these intuitive systems for scheduling, managing and accessing the training they require.
John Zonneveld is a senior technical consultant for Latitude Consulting Group Inc. He can be contacted at866.662.9959, or by e-mail [email protected].
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36
How to Decode Whatthe Customer Really Means
DavidJacobsonsts fos ls ms sf fi s
sales and training solution
Customers probably expect exactly what they get when they come to your store. You meet, greet and qualify them in an
attempt to fi nd out their needs and wants from the very beginning.
The problem with this approach is that while you are qualifying, the customer’s fi rst instinct is to be standoffi sh. These two elements don’t mix. The harder you try to qualify a customer, the harder they resist.
One thing you can count on with certainty: When you fi rst meet the customer, what he or she says is probably not what he or she means. If you can decode what the customer is saying and truly understand what he or she is really feeling, you will be in a much better position.
Imagine if a customer says, “I just want your best price.” What he likely means is “I am afraid of you and your sales tactics. I just want to be treated fairly.” This will cause
some sales people to become defensive. Others will immediately resort to a sales pitch. Neither works effectively.
Let’s decode other common phrases: “I just want to look around for awhile.” What he probably means is: “If you stay with me, you will try to sell me something and bother me the whole time, just like the last guy did.”
Let’s make one thing clear: A customer is thinking one thing to him or herself throughout the entire process — “What’s in it for me?” If there isn’t anything in it for the customer, then you lose. If a customer is listening, he or she is probably only patronizing you. If he or she is walking with you, it is most likely only physically.
What if you have an idea that could benefi t the customer? You must let him or her know before you tell them about it, otherwise their force fi eld is engaged.
For example, a customer comes into your store and explains she wants to buy a car for $3,000 cash, but you have nothing to sell
her at the price. So you suggest she put the $3,000 down and fi nance the rest. She refuses by saying, “No, I really want to pay cash, but thanks anyway.” You try to justify why she should fi nance, and she puts up her defenses or force fi eld.
You go to your manager after the customer leaves and say, “Man, what a waste. That was just another person wanting a $3,000 car. She told me she was in a rush, but that she would be back.”
The fi rst thing you need to do is disengage the customer’s force fi eld. This will help you fi nd out the reasons for her actions. There are many reasons a customer may not be honest with you until he or she trusts you. Perhaps this particular customer was embarrassed to tell you that another dealership rejected her credit and she was told she would have to pay cash.
Remember, you will not progress fi ghting the force fi eld, you must disengage it. The fi rst step is to answer the customer’s question of “What’s in it for me?” If the customer believes he or she has something to gain by listening to your ideas, then they will. And if they feel they have something to gain by spending time with you, they will.
Try this approach the next time you encounter a stumbling block.
“Because I am also here as a consultant, I would like to share some ideas that you might fi nd quite interesting. Sometimes they make sense and sometimes they don’t.”
This opens the line of communication and allows you to consult from the inside of the customer’s force fi eld. More than likely, you will encounter less resistance and more willingness from the customer and therefore be able to confi dently introduce other options.
Your customer needs to believe in you and feel as if you truly appreciate him or her. This does not happen with sales pitches. It happens when you answer the question, “What’s in it for me?” Focusing on this question will enable you to set the pace, stay in control and make the experience enjoyable for both you and the customer.
David Jacobson is founder and president of GrooveCar, Inc. He can be contacted at 866.663.9038, or by e-mail [email protected].
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High-performance Selling isMore Than Just Professional
MichaelYorksts fos ls ms sf fi s
sales and training solution
Fundamentals. The basics. Champions do them well in sports, business or selling.
There are tons of training opportunities in the marketplace today on the how-tos of selling. There are really no new fundamentals. The fundamentals are the basics, and the A-B-Cs and the building blocks that have been around for 100 years. Names like John Patterson and Napoleon Hill come to mind; their selling and success principles are old.
The top performers in selling do these fundamentals well. Everyone else seems to be looking for a trick play or shortcut or a way to win the sales lottery.
The problem with shortcuts is that they often lead to detours and short-changing your success by neglecting to become good at the basics of high-performance selling.
In his book, “The Success Principles,” Jack
Canfi eld relates a study on selling done by the University of Notre Dame. It’s a study that’s been done before, and the results are always consistent. The conclusion? That most sales people quit too soon or never really get started at all.
What do sales people love to talk about? Their experience, how many years they’ve been doing this or that, how they’ve seen it all and how if you can sell cars you can sell insurance or hats or shoes or anything.
What does it mean to be a selling professional? That’s the thing most managers think they want: a professional. Webster defi nes professional as, “One engaged in a specifi c activity as a means of livelihood. … Behaving in such a way as to appear professional. … Performance by a person or persons receiving pay.”
I’ve had friends who played professional baseball. They were in what’s known as A ball. They were professionals, but still a long way from the major leagues. It’s the
38
same with selling. You can appear to be professional, and even receive pay for what you do, but that doesn’t get you into the major leagues of selling.
Think performance, not just professional. It’s the performance of any individual (in their fi eld) that makes them known by the customer and their peers as one of the best at what they do. Is that how you want to be known? Here’s a short list on how to get to the majors.
1. Work harder on you than you do on selling. What does that mean? Read, listen and write. Those are all fundamentals confi rmed by history as leading to success.
2. Get in the show. In today’s marketplace it’s all about the show. It’s about the buyer’s emotional experience and feeling good about spending their money. When I go to Disney World, I always spend more than I’d planned but it feels so good I come back and do it over and over. Disney’s “show” is worth it. Is yours?
3. Set big goals. Big is available, if you really believe it, then why not just go for big? Big ideas lead to big success. Sometimes it’s after big failures, but failing is part of the success equation. Just don’t take too long to get back up and get on with it. Your audience is waiting.
4. Bring your commitment to your daily performance. Commitment is stronger than motivation. When you make a commitment to anything, you’ve decided to press on with your performance even on days when you might not feel very motivated. Get committed, and the marketplace will pay you well for your performance.
Pay attention to the fundamentals of your selling performance. Somewhere a buyer is waiting to see your show.
If you’d like my short list on all 10 keys to Becoming Uncommon as a Selling Performer, e-mail me at the address below.
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.
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Dealerships today are faced with a more aware, better informed and Internet-savvy buying public.
Consumers want value for the dollars they spend, and they want to know what their money is buying. Yachts are sold based on what you get for your money, including the value of the features and amenities that are built in. Diamond jewelry, as anyone who has made a purchase will tell you, is sold based on the value of the cut, facets, color and carats.
The dictionary defi nes selling as,“To persuade (another) to recognize the worth or desirability of something,” and value as, “the apparent worth of something that is appreciated, rated highly or treasured”
Zig Ziglar said it best when he defi ned selling as essentially the transference of feeling. Transferring the feeling that your customers are getting their money’s worth means having to sell the value of the vehicles they are buying. That’s a strategy essential to today’s selling process, especially since increasing the value of the product lessens its perceived cost.
As you go through the qualifying process there are several questions you should ask to start the value proposition. One question is, “What kind of car do you own?” Say two customers are asked the same question, and the fi rst answers, “I like to trade every two to three years,” and the second says, “I have a 10-year-old car that I use primarily to go back and forth to the train station.” The fi rst answer refl ects a customer who wants, and the second in most cases a customer who needs.
If you’re selling to the “want customer,” then relay the engine size (in horse power), creature comforts, things that the old car didn’t have, better technology or improvements, heated windshield washer fl uid. The more “want” features and benefi ts
you convey to the customer the more value you are building. You are now creating a feeling of appreciation for the product, that it is rated highly, or even better that it is something to be treasured.
Another question to ask is, “What is the mileage on the car you are driving now?” The customer will answer you in three ways. A low-mileage number, normal-mileage number or high-mileage number. A range of 12,000 to 15,000 miles a year is average, depending on location. If the answer is low mileage and the customer is a “want” buyer, he or she likes the toys and creature comforts. This type of customer rarely is concerned about gas mileage, but more concerned about his or her image. Point out heated seats, heated side view mirrors, the six-disc CD changer and the number and quality of the speakers. Show all the cup holders and door pockets, what creates the smooth ride, the speed-sensitive windshield washer and radio. Try to fi nd two or three features the new car has that the trade-in does not have and feature these options.
This leads to a third question, “What features does your car not have that you wish the new car had?”
If you have determined that you have a “need buyer,” then you need to mention things like, gas mileage, ease of maintenance, history of reliability of the product, safety features and interesting standard features particular to your vehicle. But don’t stop there, talk about the all-season radial tires, the intermittent wipers, locking gas cap, fold-down rear seat and trunk capacity.
This process takes very little time, and there is no better way to get a customer to buy than by inserting value every chance you get. Increasing value leads to several other things like gaining the customer’s trust and respect because of your product knowledge and professionalism. This is the strongest selling position to be in.
Women are more concerned about safety features than men. If you have a couple, it is essential that you build value in the vehicle by stressing and knowing all the safety features. The wife is generally the fi nal decision-maker, if for no other reason than the husband wants the vote of confi dence from his wife.
Stressing the value of the safety features to the wife puts you in a great position to earn their business once you have her on your side. Talk about the dual-stage air bags and how they work, how the crumple zones keep the occupants safer in the event of a collision, the side air bags, crash-test ratings, collapsible steering wheel, ABS brakes (that they should never be pumped because…), child safety tethers and anchors, AWD transmissions, when you should use second and third gears, child rear door locks and locking gas cap. Explaining these safety features builds tremendous value in a vehicle.
Whether you have a wants customer or a needs customer or a couple, the more features you build value and show benefi ts of that meet their specifi c needs the better position you’re in to create a sale. The more value you insert in the sales presentation, the less fear and apprehension there will be. The better able you are to appreciate their wants and express their needs, the greater the opportunity to generate more gross, more fi rst-time closes and better CSI.
There are sales aids on the market and supplied by the manufacturer to help insert more value into your presentations. You can go online to fi nd books, manuals and even CDs. Knowledge breeds confi dence, confi dence breeds enthusiasm and enthusiasm creates sales.
Steve Levin is the president/creator of Motormouth. He can be contacted at 866.662.9958, or by e-mail at [email protected].
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42
Avoiding A Warranty AuditYou Can Avoid A Warranty Audit by Making Necessary Changes
GreggTompkinssts fos ls ms sf fi s
fi xed operations solution
If you are unaware of your warranty audit exposure, talk to your manufacturer’s service representative. He or she should be
able to tell you if you’re a potential audit candidate in the short term. It should also be
something you check on periodically so you always know where you stand.
Your rep can provide you with your latest warranty expense/analysis report. Review this report thoroughly, and look for any categories in which your averages are higher than other dealerships or out of line and fi nd out why. If
you don’t understand the report, fi nd someone who does.
The key to avoiding a warranty audit is to perform warranty repairs in a way that’s the most economical to the manufacturer. Proper dispatching is important. One way to effectively perform repairs in the most economical way is to assign repairs only to those who are qualifi ed to do them. If repairs are randomly handed out, then shop comebacks and misdiagnoses will drive up your warranty numbers.
Once a warranty repair has been performed, it’s a great idea to have a few people look at a warranty claim before submission. If something isn’t right, it’s more likely someone will pick up on it before the warranty claim is submitted. If you don’t review every warranty claim before submission, sit down with the appropriate managers and pull a sampling of warranty claims every month to verify that policies are being followed and all the necessary documentation is provided.
A knowledgeable warranty administrator can pick up on claim problems quicker than anyone. They’re usually the only person in the dealership that sees every warranty claim before they’re submitted for payment and can be the watchdog you need to bring problems to your attention.
Warranty audits cost money and time. Avoiding them is something you may not think about until you’ve been through your fi rst one.
Gregg Tompkins is the president and a consultant at Dealer Insight. He can be contacted at 866.403.7973, or by e-mail at [email protected].
A knowledgeable warranty administrator can pick up on claim problems quicker than anyone.
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Where Should I Sit
PattiWoodsts fos ls ms sf fi s
sales and training solution
Men prefer side by side to create cooperation. Women like to face other women and men so
they can see their body language. When you take away gender differences, it’s generally best to sit side by side because it is the best position to create cooperation. By sitting by someone’s side, we enhance cooperative behavior from them by conveying that we are not competing against them. It also insures that both of you are facing in the direction of the problem or project, such as a report on the table or research material that needs organizing. Imagine soldiers lined up to go into battle. They are side to side and shoulder to shoulder. They are side by side facing a common foe.
Opposite sides foster competition. Sitting directly across from someone, such as an employer sitting direct across from
a prospective applicant with a table in between them, tends to foster a competing-type attitude.
Sit at a 90 degree angle for good conversation. The best seating position at a table for a cooperative exchange of information is at
the corner of the table. One person takes one side of the corner, and the other person takes the other side. The benefi ts of this position are that it allows both parties to enter into each other’s personal space, creating a stronger bond than if they remained distant from each other and that it breaks up the stuffy formality of the situation by moving you closer to others. The corner of the table adds a bit of psychological security for both parties by having a bit of a barrier between them, but it is not as much of a barrier as if you sat opposite one another.
The overall goal is to sit as close as you can to the other person without making him or her feel uncomfortable. This will create the most intimate communication.
Patti Wood is the president of Communication Dynamics. She can be contacted at 800.849.3651, or by e-mail at [email protected], or visit www,pattiwood.net.
44
The overall goal is to sit as close as you can to the other person without making him or her feel uncomfortable. This will create the most intimate communication.
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45february 2006
Setting Appointments:If You Want the Right Answer,
Ask the Right Question
JeffMorrillsts fos ls ms sf fi s
sales and training solution
Years ago, I was taking a walk in a city and needed to use a bathroom rather urgently. I went into a research facility and
asked the receptionist, “Do you have a public bathroom?” She said no. I turned to leave, and it dawned on me to ask, “Well, is there a bathroom that I can use?” I wasn’t looking for a public restroom so much as I was looking for any restroom that I could use. She pointed me down the hall to a staff bathroom. Problem solved.
Ask the right question, and you’ll get the right answer. Ask the wrong question, and you’ll get the wrong answer.
The same wisdom applies to asking for an appointment. If you ask a customer the horrible, “Would you like to schedule an appointment to drive the car?” you will almost always hear, “Uh, no. I’ll just come in some time this weekend.” They want to get off the phone without being accountable to you any further. And by asking the wrong question, you gave the caller the perfect way out. In this scenario, the customer defi nitely won’t show up at a time that’s convenient to you, and he or she probably won’t show up at all.
Here’s a solution: Ask the right series of either/or questions so there’s no way to say no.
You: Are weekdays or weekends better for you to see the car?
Customer: I work long hours Monday through Friday, so weekends are better.
You: Are mornings or afternoons better for you?
Customer: I exercise with my wife every morning, so afternoons are better.
You: Is a Saturday afternoon or a Sunday afternoon better?
Customer: Defi nitely Saturday.
You: What is the best time this Saturday for you?
Customer: 3 p.m.
You: Let me check my calendar. Perfect, 3 p.m. works great for me. I’ll write it down. May I call you Friday to confi rm?
Customer: Sure. See you Saturday.
You: I’ll have the car out front and ready for you.
You’ve never given an option to choose whether to make an appointment, only the option to pick when. By telling the customer that you’re writing the appointment in your calendar and getting the car ready for him or her, you communicate that you’re setting the time aside, increasing the seriousness of a skipped appointment. By getting permission to follow-up and then actually following-up when you said, you show the customer that you’re a professional capable of fulfi lling your commitments, you increase the sense of responsibility the customer has to actually show up, and you remind them so they don’t forget.
Jeff Morrill is co-owner of Planet Subaru in Hanover, Ma., and Planet Chrysler Jeep in Franklin, Ma. He can be contacted at 866.872.8699, or by e-mail [email protected].
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46
Lessons Learned ina Year of Innovation
SeanWolfi ngtonsts fos ls ms sf fi s
leadership solution
Innovation can be defi ned as creating something new when nothing like it existed before. It requires an open-minded person
to think differently, take action and inspire and direct others to follow.
Innovation embraces problems by seeing them as opportunities to create a new solution that no one has thought of before. In the end, the most important part of innovation is turning great ideas into action and results. I’ve summarized some lessons we’ve learned this year as we have continued to grow and innovate. People are the cornerstone of innovationPeople play the pivotal role in all aspects of the innovation process. The people you work with, choose to serve on your team and brainstorm with dictate your capacity for innovation. Surround yourself with “yes-men” and you set yourself up for attempting to implement vanilla ideas that lack real-world application and solve the same problems the same way. Innovators are strong-minded, and they don’t always agree with one another. Constructive disagreement and debate are the ingredients for great new ideas. Welcome problemsProblems are great opportunities for innovation. Rather than defending yourself when a customer brings you a problem, welcome the complaint as an opportunity to innovate. When approaching a complicated problem it is generally better to invest some time in problem analysis to prioritize the
underlying causes of the problem. Get a visual representation of the challenge on fl ip charts on the wall, select the most important component and start brainstorming with your team. If you do this as a team, you’ll continue to grow and improve as you solve new problems.
Stretch yourselves and your teamMost innovation dies before anyone tries to do anything. It is easy to see the challenges and diffi culties of doing something new and different but don’t let that stop you from taking action. The only way to continue to grow and improve is to constantly stretch yourself beyond what is easy and comfortable — no pain, no gain. As challenges come up, don’t use them as excuses for not taking action. Instead, act prudently so you overcome the challenge and still make things happen.
Ask what and whyEverything and every solution are in the answers to “what” and “why.” Innovators fi nd answers in questioning. What is your problem? Why does that happen? What alternative methods are better? Why? What are the pros and cons of each way? How do we have the best of all worlds? Dig as deep as you can with these questions, and I’ll bet you will fi nd what you have to do. Trust is a prerequisite to innovationAt an innovative company, the key players truly connect to the vision and each other. If you create a trust in the integrity of your own creative process, you can freely share valuable insights with each other. Everyone must know that they are safe to share ideas without being attacked or judged. The
environment should encourage success but also celebrate the lessons learned from failure.
The right environment can help ideas ß ourishThe most innovative companies create an intense and safe environment for people to create. The attitude of the people in the company is one of constant, never-ending improvement, and it is common to question why things are done the way they are done. This attitude welcomes new ideas, and it challenges them with intelligent questioning that often leads to other better ideas, and so on.
Thinking and laughing are not mutually exclusiveFor anyone who has brainstormed in a group setting, the idea that laughing can lead to some very interesting ideas should not be foreign. We enjoy the connection between working hard and having a lot of fun. Instead of distracting us, laughing and joking can create a fertile environment for great new ideas. Not only does the quantity of ideas increase, but their quality increases, too, and it is a lot more fun. Through laughter, the barriers come down, and interesting idea combinations are formed that frequently lead to breakthroughs.
Learning and innovation are two sides of the same coinA really acute defi nition of innovation is learning beyond what we know or understand. Without rapid and continuous learning, we won’t achieve any breakthroughs in new ideas. Thus innovation and learning are critical to one another.
Make it happenIt’s not just the brain-storming. The most important thing is to take action and continue to grow and improve. Your action is much more effective if the whole team is united in achieving the same goal. If your team helps create the idea they are more likely to implement it. In the end, great thinking and effective action creates innovation and positive results.
Sean WolÞ ngton is the owner of BZResults.com. He can be contacted at 866.802.5753, or by e-mail atswolÞ [email protected].
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Staffed events can be a great way to give your retail sales a huge lift in a three- or four-day period. One reason for their success is
through third-party credibility. Here’s why it works:
The power to say: “I don’t work for the dealership.”
Why is this a powerful statement? Customers have been conditioned to withhold and give false information to automotive sales people. When a third party can sit down with a customer and use this statement, it interrupts the normal process, and they open up and give the staff the information needed to put a deal together quicker and at a higher gross profi t.
Here�s a comparison.A four-day promotion with no staffi ng: A customer walks in with the offer in his or her hands and asks a sales person, “How does this work?” The sales person begins to “dance” and avoid questions and tries to gather info from the customer such as trade information, credit, etc. The problem here is the sales person has not been trained on how to properly handle this situation. The legitimacy of the offer is lost, and the sales person is losing credibility.
A four-day promotion with staffi ng: A customer walks in with the offer in hand and sits down with an on-site sales person who says, “Thanks for coming in, my name is Josh, and I do not work for the dealership. I am here for the next four days to assist in obtaining favorable fi nancing terms along with preferred pricing. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions and explain exactly how everything works?”
With this scenario, the customer begins to buy that the offer is legitimate and doesn’t feel threatened because the representative does not work for the store. Plus, offering up front to explain how everything works relaxes the customers and allows the staff to obtain valuable information quicker. The quicker the customer feels comfortable about the offer, the more likely a sale will happen.
On-site Sales EventsThe Power of Third-Party Credibility
JoshWeaversts fos ls ms sf fi s
sales and training solution
Sales people and management must buy into it.
If the event is going to be successful, the dealership staff must get on board. This is more diffi cult for management to accomplish without staffi ng. For instance, if you have a meeting and tell your sales force, “This weekend we are having a direct marketing sale and we need you to get pumped up and it’s really going to be special.” Good luck. A couple of your sales people will buy your story, but the majority will stand in the corner and say, “Here we go again, another mailer.” But when a third-party is at your store, the sales people are more likely to buy into the event. The reason is that it’s truly not business as usual. There is someone new here, and he or she has only one goal in mind: to sell vehicles and produce gross profi t. This creates excitement in the showroom and throws off your sales people’s daily routines. Plus, management steps up its efforts because a third party’s eyes are watching. Nobody wants his or her ego to be bruised.
In order to obtain third-party credibility, the third party must be credible.There are great companies out there, and there are not-so-great companies. Be sure to choose wisely. Check references and ask questions like: How many promotions per month does your company conduct? What is the owner’s background in the automotive industry? Can I interview the staff by phone prior to the event? This is very important for the event to be a success.
If handled properly, third-party credibility works during a sales event. Although the expense may be more for a promotion with staffi ng, what is the true cost of losing deals when the customer is not handled properly? Is it $40,000, $50,000 or more? The gross profi t generated will outweigh the additional cost every time.
Josh Weaver is the owner of Impact Direct LLC. He can be contacted at 866.401.5961, or by e-mail at [email protected].
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A picture is worth a thousand words,especially for dealerships advertising their inventory on the Internet.
Sites that put clear and concise information about their products and photos online have a distinct advantage over other sites that are boring and without photos. Buying decisions are emotional, and pictures are a powerful infl uence. Photos can be the defi ning factor on whether we buy a particular product.
When shopping online, we choose retailers according to the quality of information and number of photos. Buyers may go to several similar sites to view other competitive products that validate their purchasing decisions. The retailers who are doing well all have one thing in common: They show many photos and provide reliable information about their products
Picture ThisThe Power of Photos for Simple Internet Marketing
EricHinkle
and services. So, dealerships need to have pictures of their inventory.
Knowing the value of photos, why do so many dealerships struggle to maintain pictures of their inventory? One reason is the exorbitant amount of time it takes and the degree of diffi culty. Remaining competitive can be daunting when the dealer is expected to upload multiple photos to several Web sites. There are tools that help dealerships do this. Quality digital cameras are the norm and the photo uploading processes from those cameras can be slow.
A dealer’s ultimate goal is to fi nd an effective, easy-to-use inventory management system that empowers online advertising initiatives so the dealership can spend more time on its core business. Advanced dealerships with Internet departments appreciate the value of marketing inventory with photos. They are either doing it in store or they’re using a service company that visits their dealerships
on a schedule to take and upload their photos.Service companies are popular because they take the pain out of uploading photos, but they can be expensive and not always at the store when you need them.
A dealership’s inventory is constantly changing, which makes fi nding a solution that is easy to use extremely important. Helping dealerships with this task are cameras that scan a bar code and allow the user to take multiple photos of that vehicle until another barcode is scanned. Moving from vehicle to vehicle quickly while gathering photos eliminates the service company and gets inventory on the Web quicker. Another thing to consider when evaluating a total marketing solution is fi nding software that makes the uploading process easy through seamless photo synchronization. By scanning the bar code, each photo taken is associated with a particular VIN until a different barcode is scanned.
Posting photos in real time gives dealerships a distinct competitive advantage. This technology is available to those dealerships that want more control over their Internet marketing efforts. Dealers should have the ability to take vehicle photos and have them available for immediate viewing.
Some dealers still do it the old fashioned way. One photo at a time uploaded to one site at a time. The task is tedious and time consuming; however these dealers have an understanding of the importance photos play in relation to selling more cars. Those who are doing it this way could be making better use of their time.
Other important things to consider when selecting a software solution to post your photos online is the ability to change pricing, adjust options, stay compliant, and do so, easily, quickly and affordably. Web-based inventory management systems are all very similar. Choosing one that can streamline the photo process along with a marketing management component can be the difference between sales versus simple inventory management. When an online car shopper has the choice between a site with photos and a site without, which one do you think they’ll choose?
Eric Hinkle is the chief operating ofÞ cer of ESP Data Solutions. He can be contacted at 866.663.9037, or by e-mail at [email protected].
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Visit www.tewart.com toreceive your free newsletter
Hi my name is Mark Tewart. I am a renowned expert in automotive sales, sales marketing and sales management. Many of you reading this may have heard me speak at seminars, state association meetings, NADA or NIADA conventions. You may have read my articles in AutoSuccess or other magazines or seen my shows on Automotive Satellite Training Network.
Whether you know me or not, you may be wondering what allows me to be able to make such an outrageous claim. The answer is simple. I have accomplished this for my clients every time I have tried without fail. If a client follows my full-proof and proven methods, the results are as predictable as the sun coming up every day. That may sound arrogant to some of you, but to me and my select clients it’s just reality.
Every year I am bombarded with dealers that ask me to help improve their sales and profi ts. I reject most of them. I only choose a few each year to work with on such a large scale. There are a few reasons why I carefully hand pick who to work with.
The fi rst reason is that it’s easy for you to say you want to improve but most people don’t want to do the things necessary to make it happen.
This isn’t some magic-button, pie-in-sky fad. These are real-world and proven methods for massive profi t improvements. It takes hard work and lots of commitment.
The second reason for me being picky about who I work with on these projects is that frankly I don’t have the time. To create the massive results that you and I are looking for requires a great deal of my time and effort. I am an in demand speaker, trainer and consultant and I own three successful businesses. Because of my time restraints, I refuse to spend time and effort with wanna-be’s. I only align myself with passionate people committed to winning.
The third and fi nal reason for me being selective is my reputation. I can’t write ads like this and make such incredible guarantees unless I can bring the results. My reputation is beyond solid.
By the way, the $250,000 bottom line improvement is just an example. I have had some dealers increase their bottom lines by more than $1,000,000 in just one year. Look at it this way, I don’t take $10,000 guarantees lightly. I put my money where my mouth is.
If you want to talk to me in strict confi dentiality, call me at:888 2 TEWART
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Sincerely,Mark Tewart
P.S. If you are going to the 2006 NADA Convention in Orlando, come to my workshop – “How Any Dealer Can Improve Sales Results This Year”
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