Modern Dealership - September 2019 by Modern Dealership

FEATURES

Pushing for Change

Racing, Wrenching & STEM for Girls

5 Golden Social Media Strategies

Lisa Copeland, Founder of Cars Her Way

Athena Racing School

Markiss Stone, Creator and Host of ‘The Daily Dose’

MODERN DEALERSHIP INSIGHTS

30 Culture Is the New Currency

Kristin Dillard, Dealer Principal & President at Team Auto Group

ITB

COVER FEATURE

CONTENTS VOLUME 3 • ISSUE 3 • SEPT 2019

DEPARTMENTS

53 09 14 40 50

MODERN SALES From Selling to Serving Bill Hav, Trusted Vehicle Advisor and Co-founder of HavClairity

MODERN OPERATIONS The Message Matters

Kendall Billman, Senior Vice President of AutoAlert

Convergence: A 3-Part Series Pt. 1 - The Underbelly of Convergence -Why You Need to Look Ahead Pt. 2 - The Volcano of Convergence -Change Is Brewing, and It’s Noisy Pt. 3 - The Grand Convergence -Where Are You in the Mix? Ryan Gerardi, Founder / CEO of AutoConversion

MODERN FIXED OPS Face Negative Consumer Perception and Fix Your Hemorrhaging Customer Base David Hennessey, Service Operations Director at Canada One Auto Group

18 48

MODERN COMMUNICATION Do You Look for Reasons to Hire? Or Reasons Not To? Anthony Santangelo, National Sales Recruiter & Trainer at AutoMax Recruiting & Training

Stand Out and Change the Industry With Video Joey Little, Director of Media and Digital Marketing at AutoAlert

OFF THE LOT p.58

FROM THE EDITOR:

Modern Dealership: The Shifting Perspective of the Automotive Industry It’s no secret that the Automotive Industry is experiencing some major shifts across the board. From the way that cars are bought and sold and marketed, to who is doing the selling and the buying, not to mention the repairs! At Modern Dealership we welcome change, ingenuity, and innovation. But more importantly we are at the forefront of exposing industry shifts and best practices to keep your dealership ahead – not just keeping up but being part of the change. In this issue Kristin Dillard enlightens us on how it’s done at Team Auto Group (p. 30). Lisa Copeland, Founder of Cars Her Way, is pushing for change (p. 05). Markiss Stone offers us his “daily dose” with 5 social media strategies (p. 35). The fun doesn’t stop there. We go In The Box with Ben Burton (p. 24), and Bill Hav lets us in on the secret of serving before selling to see greater returns (p. 53). Special for this edition is a three-part series all in a single issue - Ryan Gerardi regales us on convergence (pp. 14, 40, 50). And you do not want to miss Anthony Santangelo’s article asking the question “Do you look for reasons to hire? Or reasons not to hire? (p. 18)

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PUSHING FOR With Lisa Copeland Founder of Cars Her Way Back when Lisa Copeland owned the most successful FIAT/Alfa Romeo dealership in the world, in Austin, Texas, she made a bet that she and her team could sell a record number of FIAT 500 hatchbacks in a month. The bet was with Tim Kuniskis, then-head of the FIAT brand. The prize if she won? She could check something off of her bucket list: meeting Sergio Marchionne. Copeland and her team did break the record. M O D E R N D E A L E R S H I P. C O M

“

Lisa Copeland

“

Dealers need to be sure to open this opportunity to more women. You want to hire more people who look like your customers.

A surprised Kuniskis (who had promised on Marchionne’s behalf but never mentioned it to him) tried to swap Marchionne for an A-list celebrity, perhaps George Clooney or J.Lo? But Copeland stuck with the original bet. Only Marchionne would do. “I’m still shocked that she would even think I’m a celebrity,” Marchionne said, after flying to Austin on his private jet to congratulate the team. “But it’s a promise I’m happy to keep, even if someone else had the audacity to make it on my behalf. I’m really here for one reason only: to tell Lisa that the only celebrity here is Lisa – it’s not me. So thank you for what you have done.” Looking back on that event now seven years later, Copeland laughs as she recalls, “One of the best parts of the whole thing was when Sergio first saw me in Texas, he said, ‘You really picked me over George Clooney?’” Copeland’s admiration and respect for Marchionne, who died from cancer last year, remain palpable. 6

MODERNDEALERSHIP

“He was the greatest leader in automotive of my time,” she says. “He personally saved Chrysler. He was a visionary, he had guts, he never backed down. He was just a great human.” It seems the feeling was mutual. With more than 30 years of automotive experience, Copeland believes that her most important work has just begun. It hasn’t been easy.

Cars Her Way: Advocate for Women (& Dealerships Too) Saying that women love to shop may sound a bit stereotypical, but there does seem to be some truth to it – or at least, behind it. Bridget Brennan, a behavioral researcher and the CEO of consulting firm Female Factor, has found that in nearly every society women are the primary caregivers of children and the elderly. She also found that this typically makes them responsible for shopping for more people (children, husbands, elderly parents, and pretty much

anybody needing a gift) than men are. Thus, Brennan considers women to be “multiple markets in one” – a gateway to everyone else.

Only after passing the rigorous review can dealers become partners. Like all successful ventures, this provides a win-win for everybody involved.

But like men, the majority of women don’t enjoy the car-buying experience.

“The goal is to improve the purchasing experience for women, and this is the best part for me: getting feedback from women and applying it to make their experiences better … to let them know that somebody’s in their corner,” says Copeland. “But we also want to help dealerships get better and connect with women.”

This is where Copeland saw a huge opportunity in the automotive space. With more than 30 years of dealership experience as a saleswoman, manager, and owner, she had plenty of her own research to back up her latest focus: CarsHerWay.com and the corresponding iHeartRadio “Cars Her Way” talk show. As the only third-party site created to cater to female consumers, Cars Her Way is paving the way for a successful, enjoyable car-buying experience for women. Each dealership featured on the website, or dealer partner, has been personally vetted by Copeland and her team to ensure that specific criteria are met. This includes not only scouring things like dealership Google reviews and online ratings, but also an onsite visit.

Which is why Copeland also focuses her work on making what has typically been a male-dominated industry more open to hiring and promoting women.

Steps in the Right Direction One way dealerships can appeal to women is to hire more of them, especially in the sales role, Copeland says. “This is a great business, with lots of opportunity, and no degree required,” she says. “Dealers need to M O D E R N D E A L E R S H I P. C O M

be sure to open this opportunity to more women. You want to hire more people who look like your customers.” According to Copeland, approximately 54 percent of cars are bought by women. With only about 10 percent of salespeople being women, and 90 percent of those 10 percent leaving in 12 months, there is room for improvement. “Women perform at a high level,” Copeland says. “They’re more collaborative and they put customers at ease. Focus groups have found that they provide the perception, at least, of a better experience.” Along with hiring more female salespeople, some dealerships could better appeal to women by making changes to their culture. Copeland says offering benefits like childcare and paid vacation go a long way.

54%

Pay is also something to consider. Many people, including single moms, rely on a steady paycheck to make ends meet at times. Straight commission eliminates a good number of talented people from the chance to succeed, Copeland says.

ONLY

“Once a dealership has hired a couple of female salespeople, they’ll be even more likely to succeed because they won’t feel so outnumbered,” she adds.

OF THOSE,

Marketing is another area where Copeland would like to see dealers step up their game and shift their focus to women. Approximately 63 percent of women say that dealership marketing doesn’t appeal to them. Subaru is the one exception, Copeland says.

LEAVE WITHIN 12 MONTHS

“They’ve gotten it right from Day One,” she adds, citing the company’s Share the Love Event, which has resulted in the donation of more than $140 million to national and hometown charities.

Never Give Up Copeland is looking on the bright side and at the ways in which the industry is improving for women, both as car-buyers and dealership employees or owners. She named the appointment this July of Cheryl Miller as the new CEO of AutoNation as a huge sign that things are going well for women in automotive. “Technology is also helpful for women as consumers, because they don’t have to spend as much time at the dealership,” she adds.

OF CARS ARE BOUGHT BY WOMEN

10%

OF SALESPEOPLE ARE WOMEN

90% Any backlash Copeland gets in her efforts to bring more equality to the industry just fuels her fire to keep going. She has received anonymous emails and other messages telling her to stop what she’s doing, even telling her that she’s ruining the industry. On the other side of that are the dealerships who fully embrace her efforts, saying they’ll do whatever it takes show their support. “This really is a movement. And we couldn’t have done it even 10 years ago,” Copeland says. “Everything that’s happening with MeToo, etc., plays a part. Luckily we have the support of many men too. It’s a tough fight, but one worth fighting.”

S ER

ES T SAG T E

with KENDALL BILLMAN SENIOR VP, AUTOALERT

In the Automotive industry, it is often difficult for dealerships to be successful when it comes to Sales on the Service Drive. Every day, hundreds of customers come through your service department. The service drive offers lucrative sales opportunities with additional benefits beyond the initial service-to-sales conversion. Successful dealers leverage smart technology and the power of their sales department to avoid “leaving money on the table” in the service drive while providing the customer with the best possible buying experience– when they might least expect it. M O D E R N D E A L E R S H I P. C O M

Not All Service Visits Have Equal Value Customers visiting your service department are one of the most controllable types of business a dealership has. We know that not all of the daily opportunities will lead to an immediate transaction. The challenge in realizing the service drive’s sales and Customer Experience potential is in knowing which customers to reach, when to reach them, and what the right message is at that time. Being able to data mine is one advantage but having the right person to speak with the client is critical. As they say, “Knowledge is Power, but Timing is EVERYTHING!” Buyers in a position to upgrade into a new vehicle are already in your service department, every day. These customers in for service can be viewed as a “dealership within your dealership.” Are you reaching them? the right person could be notified immediately, Use a Real-Time Process to them know which customer just pulled Enhance Sales on the Service Drive letting into service. The sales representative should Stop reading this, take a look at your service drive, and come back. How many customers are in service right now? How many ROs were already started when you arrived this morning? How many of those customers are in a position to trade keys into a new vehicle today? Data mining is an essential piece of the service-to-sales whole, but data is only useful when it’s made actionable. If you can’t answer these questions in real time with your current service lane management software, you need new software. A successful service-to-sales tool will set into motion a set of proven processes that equip staff to present the right customers with the right personalized deal at the right moment. The first step is to develop a process where

review all past notes on the consumer and show them how the current incentives applied to their current purchase would allow for an easy upgrade opportunity.

The Message Matters– So Does the Tone Sales in the service drive has been a constant want from every Dealer Principle and General Manager for the past 25+ years. In the past, starting the conversation was awkward or even irritant: that service customer is in for a specific need and purchasing a new vehicle is rarely on their mind. Few of these customers are aware they are in a position to upgrade into a new vehicle, offering the dealership great opportunities for making sales today and

nurturing long-term relationships over time. Again, take a look at your service drive. How many are customers you already know, who have bought from your dealership before, and are back for service? Have you taken the time to say hello to them? Modern tools not only identify when a customer is in a good position to buy, but also can provide personalized offers and even conversation starters tailored to that individual that make the process easier for the dealer and much more appealing to the customer. A low-pressure heads up to a customer nearing a lease mileage penalty or a pending warranty expiration alongside a cost-effective solution is much more likely to foster goodwill with the customer. This changes the tone of the customer’s experience from a nuisance at a time when they may already be stressed about a costly repair to a valuable, courteous solution-presenting service. Many customers like to keep up with the most recent technology and features. An opportunity to move up to the latest and greatest without significantly increased monthly payments is a very compelling offer, even to buyers who are not actively researching a new vehicle purchase and are in for something as simple as an oil change.

Benefits Beyond a Better Customer Experience The benefits of this approach extend beyond the sale itself. The service drive becomes a much better source than auctions for desirable, profitable pre-owned inventory. Because customers are already in the service drive, these tools allow for high ROI and reduced marketing spend attracting buyers to the dealership. Used vehicles acquired

from service-to-sales conversions lower fixed costs of sourcing inventory, lowering overhead and selling faster (less than 28 days on average) than vehicles acquired from other sources. Sales made using a serviceto-sales tool gross an average of 21% more per vehicle. Your dealership can spend less to make more by reaching service customers who are already there!

Sow the Seed Now, Use the Right Tools to Reap Sooner Alerting service customers about upgrade opportunities doesn’t always result in an immediate sale, but making the effort is worthwhile and often doesn’t take long: statistics show that 42% of Service-to-Sales buyers make a purchase within 30 days of opening an RO. 27% of them will buy within 10 days. Using Service Lane Management from AutoAlert increased those numbers by another 6% and 7% respectively while increasing gross by almost 20%. While higher profits generated faster are never bad news, presenting your service customers with a low-pressure, credible offer as a courtesy rather than approaching them with a sales pitch they see as “stereotypical car salesperson” fodder changes the perception of the dealership as a whole for the better. It’s not all about the sale- it’s about a better total customer experience of the dealership today.

M O D E R N D E A L E R S H I P. C O M

Consumers Like Experience Over Price In a survey this year, Roadster asked more than 1,000 adults across the U.S. about their recent shopping experiences â&#x20AC;Ś

the worst shopping experience (by industry)

the best shopping experience (by industry)

women: 18% men: 22%

cable

31%

groceries 20%

consumer electronics

men: 13% women: 18%

automotive

40%

When retailers offer 71%

a great customer experience, free shipping,

68% 52%

apparel 34%

groceries

and easy returns shoppers become more loyal.

52%

More Car-Buying Experience Results â&#x20AC;Ś

of respondents ranked a positive experience as being even more important to them than price women: 20% men: 21%

85% of men and 81% of women would pay up to 10% more to ensure a fast, transparent, and painless car purchasing experience

19% of women and 15% of men would be willing to pay 20% more to ensure a positive customer experience

Both men and women said that dealing with one person from start to finish would help improve their car-shopping experience

the underbelly of convergence – why you need to look ahead

RYAN GERARDI’S 3-PART SERIES – PART 1 14

By Ryan Gerardi | Founder/CEO of AutoConversion Part I of a 3-part series on how perceptions in the auto industry have changed, what it means, and where it’s all headed. When Larry started working at the dealership, he understood it was only a job to make ends meet. He didn’t grow up in the car business. Nor did he plan on being in the car business any longer than he had to. He was doing it to appease his father-in-law, who wanted assurance that his daughter was in good hands with him. Little did Larry know that 20 years later he would still be in the car business ... and probably forever. This is not an uncommon scenario for many of us in the car business. When I first got into it, back in 2001, my job was with a small software company that got its start by providing IT services for local businesses. I didn’t take the position because I liked cars or wanted to work with dealers. I took it because I aspired to be a web developer.

And I am a web developer, technically. The company’s owner had a girlfriend at the time, whose mother worked for a dealership. M O D E R N D E A L E R S H I P And that dealership became the

company’s first of many dealership customers. Fast forward 20 years. That little IT services business was acquired by Cox Automotive for an undisclosed sum. My guess is around $100 million. Not a bad outcome for a college dropout who started the business in his parents’ basement. Back to Larry. Larry was young. It was one of his first professional jobs, and the Internet-thing was disrupting the car business. With little or no resources to lean on for learning and support, Larry did what many dot-com era youth professionals did. He turned to blogging. As one of the first bloggers in the dealer business, and because of Larry’s unassuming disposition maybe, Larry’s blogging took off and he became a prominent voice in an online community of other bloggers. The online community became a “thing” of its own and Larry became somewhat of a celebrity.

But soon innovation plateaued. The car business went from ups to leads to online classifieds to websites and CRMs and BDCs. Before you know it, the disruption the Internet had caused the car business was akin to the Wild West of the gold rush. The car business had crossed the chasm into the digital age and was humming along.

For a few years, dealers could get by handsomely without embracing too much change. And savvy dealers who could afford to try new things, did just that – they tried new things. And much like when the Internet first had an impact on the car business, some things worked and some did not. You could say that Larry was a savvy dealer. He tried new things all the time and had a

good sense for how to make the Internet work for his dealership. But Larry got bored. He continued working at the dealership managing its online presence, processing leads, and selling cars. But his job didn’t change much, and his online community became an echo chamber: a resounding cavern of voices preaching to the choir. As far as Larry was concerned, what was once new, was now old again. His boredom turned to apathy and he was on a treadmill to blah blah land. Unbeknownst to Larry, a volcano was brewing. Hot boiling lava that any fair observer could notice. But not Larry. For whatever reason, the fumes from the volcano did not excite him. He yearned for something new and different, but he lost

sight of where he was in the grand scheme of things. Larry was not looking ahead. He was looking straight down.

Turn to page 40 for Part II of Larry’s story: The Volcano of Emergence. Because we’re not going to make you wait three months.

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DO YOU LOOK FOR REASONS TO HIRE Twenty-two years ago this month I entered the car industry. The only sales experience I had was selling cushions, redwood furniture, fireworks, and Christmas trees at flea markets. After 11 dealerships turned me down, I finally found one that gave me a chance. Here are some things I heard when I was looking for a job at dealerships that wouldn’t hire me: • Sorry kid - no experience, NO JOB! • What do you want to do this for? This is an older man’s job. • Why don’t you go to college? • Don’t call us. We’ll call you. • We’ll let ya know!

WITH

ANTHONY SANTANGELO NATIONAL SALES RECRUITER & TRAINER, AUTOMAX RECRUITING & TRAINING

MODERNDEALERSHIP

That last one I l just loved to hear. Even though it was years prior to becoming a poker player, I could spot the bluff and knew that I was NEVER getting a call back. After hearing all of the above so many times, it was a huge relief when I finally heard that three - letter word that can make or break us: YES! Now I was a rookie in the car business. What did my initial training consist of? Two weeks of watching VHS tapes of Joe Verde. I was then asked, “Do you think you are ready to sell a car?” I replied in a very hesitant voice, “Um, I

OR FOR REASONS NOT TO HIRE? think so?” I was then told “OK Santangelo, GO TAKE AN UP!” My training eventually ended up being fantastic– I wouldn’t be where I am today without the guidance and wisdom of my mentors. As a 20-year-old kid, this is how my car business career started. The hiring/on boarding process in 2019 is obviously completely different than it was 20-plus years ago. Why are we using the processes of yesterday to find the best applicants today? Let’s break it down.

trying to figure things out for themselves. Encourage those that are in the hospitality industries, and candidates who have served our country to apply as well. You say you want college graduates? How about implementing a College Loan Reimbursement program into your pay plan? Do you think that would be a “perk” that would get “qualified” applicants to hit “send”?

The next step is to reply to applicants promptly. As an Internet Manager who worked leads cradle to grave for 14 of my 19 years selling cars, Dealerships spend tons of money every month it was drilled into my head that EVERY internet in advertising to bring customers into their lead needed to be reached with a phone call showrooms. It used to be the newspaper that and personalized email within 15 minutes. made the phone ring off the hook Monday Otherwise our competition would get them in morning; today it’s digital advertising and the door and we would be left with nothing. internet leads. The same thing can be said in The same thing should apply to incoming how you advertise to potential employees. applications for employment. They should be It’s not just throwing an ad up on Indeed. It’s going to the decision maker’s email or phone making that ad very welcoming to those who with an alert so you can respond right away. are considering a career change into car sales but are looking for that boost of confidence to get them to apply. One of the best practices today with regard to ad placement is to show your potential new hire that experience is not required. Be willing to train them the right way to sell cars, so they won’t feel left on an island

The number one complaint from applicants is that no one gets back to them for days– or in some cases weeks. Have you ever experienced that? Now imagine that you reply immediately. What a much better first impression that would give to a potential 30plus car a month salesperson. You set up an interview for a day or two later, but what usually happens? The applicant arrives for their 12:15 PM interview while you are working two deals at once. Another salesperson needs an appraisal. Behind them is your ASM looking for a $1,500 OK for a Used Car Safety Check. The salesperson you hired four weeks ago, who you haven’t had a chance to train, is about to get swept. The owner is texting, asking how many deals you have … and you still need to have your CIT meeting. Your receptionist gives an application to the candidate, which they finish in 14 minutes and 11 seconds, but you don’t sit down with them until 29 minutes and 44 seconds later. Are you giving that applicant your full attention, or is your mind on the six or seven things you need to get done? Just like a proper greeting is important with a customer, giving your potential new hire your undivided attention is crucial. This starts with conducting the same scripted interview for everyone. During the interview it would be a best practice to look past the resume or if they are “dressed for the part”. Instead, look for the hunger and desire that is inside them. As I like to say, if something is worth doing, you will always have some type of fear. As leaders it is our responsibility to help our employees overcome that fear to become the best versions of themselves.

Congratulations - you hire them! What onboarding processes do you have in place to create employee retention? The first step is to get the New Hire onboarded immediately. Yes, we have drug and background checks, but those should only take three days. I have seen some new hires wait two weeks to come aboard. Would you tell your customer they can’t take delivery of their car for two weeks or do you go for the “spot” right away? Of course you go for the spot, and you should be “spotting” your employees as well. Once they start, the next 48 hours should include the following: * Introduce the New Hire to every department in your store * Create the logins they need for the CRM, and email * Order them the $20 box of business cards * Provide them a copy of their pay plan and go over it with them so they understand how to maximize it. * Take a T.O. with your New Hire at the end of the first day and ask them for feedback. What can you do to make their transition to the car industry more efficient? Make the decision from day one to build your store from the inside out by giving your New Hires your time. You will never have to wonder again if you hired them dead or killed them after you got them. Make the commitment to be not in the car business, but the people business. This will create employee retention, get you the results you desire, and give you the workplace culture that will make your employees become the best version of themselves. This is the true definition of what it means to go ALL IN!

THE INSIDE TRACK New extracurricular Athena Racing program puts girls behind the wheel of their future As jobs become more STEM-focused, the classroom has become much more widely defined. It can even be found at the racetrack. That’s right. Those summer days spent racing your first car down country dirt roads could’ve more officially backed your education and future profession. OK, that might be a stretch, but it is part of the idea behind Athena Racing’s new extracurricular program: Meet young people where their interests are, and help them build and hone related skills while introducing them to related professions they probably wouldn’t have known about otherwise. Oh, and to help level the track, the program is for girls only. M O D E R N D E A L E R S H I P. C O M

Girls statistically have shown less interest than boys in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math – the subjects backing today’s most in-demand jobs. Why that might be is another article in itself, but there are many working to change it.

Renaissance Women Leading the not-for-profit Athena Racing program is Loxley Browne. She used to be a racecar driver. She used to be a high-school teacher. She used to be a marketing manager, and an interior designer. She used to, when she was 16, race her Mustang on the country roads surrounding her family’s horse farm. “The biggest compliment I ever got was from a 17-year-old high-school football player when I was a teacher,” says Browne, Executive Director of Athena. “He said, ‘You know what, Ms. Browne? You are a renaissance woman.’ That’s what I want for these girls. We give them the experience they’ll need for setting a trajectory they can follow their whole life.” Browne’s zest for life and diverse interests are perhaps exactly the fuel that was needed to develop a robust, first-of-its-kind extracurricular program for girls centered on racing. Athena’s overall goal is to create learning experiences and opportunities for young women that increase their confidence and inspire them to pursue their passion in a STEM-driven world. They will learn about specific opportunities in the automotive field and be prepared for succeeding in a quickly changing job marketplace. “It could be looked at like this generation’s version of an astronaut program. When Alan Shepherd and John Glenn were in school, their career – being an astronaut – didn’t exist yet,” Browne says. “This program will prepare these young women not only for

Renaissance woman and Athena Racing Team Director, Loxley Browne.

jobs they weren’t aware existed, but also for jobs that don’t even exist yet.” With applications being accepted through the end of September, 10 full-ride scholarships (valued at $50,000 each) will be granted to 10 lucky young ladies. The scholarships will cover all of their costs of training, racing, and travel.

Schooled at the Racetrack Browne was influenced by the Eagle Scout Service Project’s badge requirements in developing the program’s 10 education tracks: driving instruction, mechanics, safety, leadership, entrepreneurship, marketing, photography, public speaking, wellness, and etiquette. Based in San Diego, Calif., team members will master these tracks during their one-year of study. Experts from racing and business will teach them, providing insights and training in their specialty, and the team will race in California, Arizona, and Nevada. “We were initially thinking high-school girls, but

“We give [these girls] the experience they’ll need for setting a trajectory they can follow their whole life.” Loxley Browne

some younger students might be a good fit too,” Browne says. “All are required to have either a driver’s license or cart-racing experience, and of course their parents’ approval.” The intensive application, similar to what a student would expect from a university, also includes a 750-word essay, general questions like “What three words would you use to describe yourself?” and a video posted to Instagram where the applicant shares how the course would benefit her. The first three months of the program will be dedicated to cart racing, followed by SCCA-sanctioned racing of spec Miatas and regulation street Miatas, then topped off with the building and time-trial racing of a Monster Miata: “The girls will drop a V8 into a Miata and get to race it themselves on the Streets of Willow Springs.” Safety will be high priority, especially as it applies to racing. But general driving safety, including defensive driving skills, will also be a focus. Most importantly, the girls will develop

employable skills, gain confidence, and just have one heck of a fun time doing it. “The possibilities that will now be offered to them will open doors that were once closed,” Browne says. “In these male-dominated careers, it’s not easy to be the only woman in the room. We are working toward leveling the playing field and showing these young ladies that you can be a smart, beautiful woman who loves cars, racing, wrenching.”

About Athena Racing Athena Racing is a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education extracurricular nonprofit focused on providing training and mentorship to young ladies in high school interested in pursuing innovative careers in the automotive industry. Visit AthenaRacing.org to learn more and to apply by midnight on September 30, 2019. M O D E R N D E A L E R S H I P. C O M

IN THE

O X

Ben

n o t r Bu

M O D E R N D E A L E R S H I P. C O M

WORD.

[on the street]

We hit the streets to ask random people, “Do you have a dealership you consider ‘yours’?” (Follow-ups to a “yes” response included “What do you love about them? Where could they improve?” while “no” responders were asked, “Did you ever?”)

“Yes. They fix my car right the first time. I wish they weren’t so far away.” - David

“Yes. They’re always friendly. There’s nothing I would change... oh, maybe it takes too long [to fix my car].”

“No. I’ve never used a dealership.”

- Cara

- Susan

“I guess so, yes. I just bought a Ford truck – I love it. They’re really on top of technology. I don’t see any problem with them.”

“Not here. I go to St. Louis. I can get a better deal there. I buy Infinities, Audis. A colleague of mine went to North Carolina to get a deal on a BMW.”

“Yes. I like them because they’re close to home and the service is excellent. I wish the prices were a little more reasonable in service.”

- Jack

- Craig

- Mary

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“Yes. I used to have a really good one, but they moved too far away. I like my dealership now, too, because they’ve always been fair. I wish they didn’t charge for the diagnostic service though.” - Rose

“Yes. They were the closest Honda dealership to me. Actually, I didn’t even know for sure I was going to buy a Honda until I went there. They were way nicer than [the other places] I went. It’d be nice if service wasn’t so expensive.”

“No. My brother buys all my cars for me. He finds great deals on used cars online. I did have a Toyota dealership once. They were good but too expensive.”

- Kim

- Beth

“Yes. Everything is better at a dealership. I don’t want to risk somebody messing up my car. I can’t think of any complaints.”

“Yes, we do. They always get me in when I need service, or give me a ride if I need it. There’s nothing I would change.”

“No. I’ve had them before. Right now I’m driving a junker that I pretty much fix myself, or take it to my buddy’s shop.”

- John

- Sue

- Michael

THINKING INSIDE THE BOX

(& having some fun) at Team Auto Group With Kristin Dillard, Dealer Principal and President

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A revival is happening in Downtown Salisbury, North Carolina, reflective of what’s happening in downtown cities across the U.S.: Beautiful but crumbling old buildings are being restored and repurposed as chic studios, shops, restaurants, lofts, and office spaces. Team Auto Group is at the heart of the action. Its new headquarters will soon be moving into a restored warehouse built in 1931 that recently served as a dance studio but prior to that housed Statesville Flour Mills and Southeastern Radio Supply. Railroad tracks run in front of the building and behind it, and were used as the means of transporting the Sparks Circus’ employees and menagerie of animals for shows dating back to the early 1900s and drawing huge crowds from surrounding towns. With five Local Historic Districts and 10 National Register Historic Districts, Salisbury is proud of its history but also quick to embrace change. Its population grew by 27.8% between the censuses of 2000 and 2010, and it’s growth doesn’t seem to be done. “It’s so exciting to be a part of the rebirth happening downtown,” says Kristin Dillard, Dealer Principal and President of Team Auto Group. “The Rail Walk art studios are just down the street from us, and new things are popping up all over. We can’t wait to move in.”

‘Inside the Box’ Thinking Is the New ‘Outside the Box’ Thinking Also fueling excitement at Team Auto Group is its recent purchase of two new dealerships: Team Chevrolet of Swansboro and Team Chevrolet of Goldsboro (both in North Carolina). Converging from all rooftops, all Team Auto Group BDC teams – inbound and outbound, service

and sales – will be located in the new Downtown Salisbury headquarters, along with accounting and executive offices. With these physical changes comes a new Operations focus for Team Auto Group. Dillard calls it “inside the box” thinking. “This is very different for us, because we’re used to being recognized for thinking outside the box,” she says. “But now we are being rewarded by thinking ‘inside the box.’ What we’re asking ourselves is ‘How do we make our existing technology and processes work better with the tools we already have?’ We want to ensure that we are using every tool to its greatest potential while backing it up with a bulletproof in-store process.” Dillard says that the team’s greatest priority is to reach the right customer with the right message at the right time, for both sales and service.

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The team accomplishes this in a multitude of ways. By partnering with a digital marketing company, they are able to reach in-market buyers right at what Google coined the Zero Moment of Truth (or right when they are ready to purchase). When a customer reaches out to the dealership via “click in”, call in, or walk in, the team backs it up with a streamlined VIP process where the manager calls to confirm the appointment, if need be, and shares the VIP experience, which includes having the vehicle cleaned, gassed, and ready for them when they arrive. “We even take it a step further and have their favorite specialty drink ready for them upon arrival,” Dillard says. “Whether they ask for a vanilla latte or a chocolate chip milkshake, we will have it ready and waiting when they arrive.” This process has allowed Team Auto Group to increase its group sales volume by 27% YOY from 2018 to 2019, Dillard shares.

“Once the customer reaches that magic moment in the purchase cycle when they are close to equity, the incentives are strong, and the math works to keep their payment similar, our data tool really starts to shine,” Dillard says. “It will trigger us to reach out to our customer and invite them in to complete what we call a Vehicle Exchange. We stay in touch with each VX opportunity until they purchase, and then they fall right back into our purchase cycle. As an added benefit, when we have inventory start to show signs of aging, we can push them through the tool’s filters to find prospective customers for these units, which allows us to be proactive rather than reactive.” What’s critical is ensuring that all the tools work in harmony with each other, Dillard says, while allowing Team Auto Group to guide its buyers through the purchase and service cycles.

It’s so much more effective when you call and say ‘Mrs. Smith, it’s time for your transmission service. Are you available to come in this Thursday to have that completed?

Once a customer purchases, the team switches to monitoring when the client will be ready for a maintenance or service visit based on the age of their vehicle or driving history. When it’s time to reach out, the team does so with a targeted message and an invite for service. Dillard says the key to success is reaching out with a specific and relatable message at the right time.

“It’s so much more effective when you call and say ‘Mrs. Smith, it’s time for your transmission service. Are you available to come in this Thursday to have that completed?’ versus just sending out a 10% discount coupon to the entire database,” she says. “When we made the decision to take a targeted approach we were greatly rewarded. YOY from 2018 to 2019, we have experienced a 26.51% increase in Customer Pay ROs and a 51.20% increase in Customer Pay Sales.” As the customer progresses in the buying cycle, Team Auto Group keeps in touch through monthly newsletters and targeted service reminders, while using advanced technology to continue to track and analyze customer data.

“We master these tools and link them together to ensure only the best experiences for our customers. We’ve come to realize that we don’t need the shiny widgets if we simply focus on creating an amazing experience for our guests while using our existing technologies to ensure perfect timing.”

It all comes back to providing the best experience for each customer. And that is where Dillard sees a big change in perception of the automotive industry. “Customers today feel known – that’s because we reach out to them only when data shows it’s time for them to act, in regard to both service and sales. It’s simple and it works.”

Tracking Everything In addition to keeping their communication with customers relevant and timely, another “inside the box” benefit of Team Auto Group’s current tools is the ability to create and track processes. Not one department is left out. “From leadership to the front line, we track everything! For instance, on the sales side we track

from the moment a buyer ‘clicks in’ to the point that they visit us in-store and take delivery. We want to know how many clients visited our site, how many we made contact with, how many made and showed for appointments, how many went for a demo, how many were offered a purchase write-up, and how many purchased.” As another specific example of the team’s attention to detail, Dillard says that in Fixed Ops, how long a parts pricing request sits in the parts queue before it’s priced out and returned to the service advisor is even tracked. “The beauty of measuring everything is that the second you fall short of your monthly target track, you can look to the metrics and find the exact step where something went wrong,” she says. “At that point you are able to place all of your energy and efforts into remedying that step so that you can get back on track quickly.”

The New Currency: Customer Experience and In-Store Culture What Team Auto Group has found is that its clients appreciate personalized messages regarding service and sales. If data analysis indicates that a customer is most likely ready to buy, communication is made with a personalized offer given. Almost time for an oil change? A reminder is sent. Because the communication is based on data, it makes sense to the customer and is viewed as helpful. This versus the same commercial aired to all customers, or the same mailer sent, etc., regardless of where they are in the buying journey – regardless of anything having to do with them. “This ease in knowing who our in-market customers really are, and in communicating with them, is really

Once the team reached the goal, everyone signed the banner at a celebratory lunch, every employee received a $100 bill, and the new banner for 125 was put up.

Never Stop Learning Not only are the conversations with guests and clients changing at Team Auto Group; the people having them are too. Dillard makes it a point to hire both millennial as well as female team members so that customers will be working with people who look like them. In fact, the majority of the team (75%) at Team Automotive are millennials, including managers and senior leaders. A millennial herself at just 37 years old, Dillard finds that younger employees are motivated and competitive as long as they know what’s expected of them. exciting. It’s so different from how automotive has operated in the past, and it comes back to data,” Dillard says. “These conversations are much easier and more fun to have with customers.” Studies have also shown that customers actually want ads if they’re personalized for them, but this is something we as consumers don’t need to be told. If we’re buying a new house, ads offering a great deal on moving services suddenly become interesting, appealing, helpful. Otherwise they’re mostly a waste of our time. Overall, personalized communication leads to stronger relationships between the dealership team and the customer, and to more fun for both. “Company culture is the new currency in automotive,” Dillard says. “We are always looking to build the customer experience and make sure our employees are engaged and happy, and also having fun!” Adding to the fun at Team Auto Group is the celebration of milestones. One of the stores recently purchased by the group had been selling 45 vehicles per month. With 100% buy-in from the entire team, Dillard knew that number could be increased. “We asked the entire team, from the receptionist to the master technicians to the detail team, for their help in reaching our first goal of 100 units in a single month,” Dillard says. “We placed a ‘100’ banner in the middle of the showroom and we set toward working on achieving that goal.”

Her own path in automotive started the same way her dad’s did, in the detail center washing cars and answering phones. She left to go to college, but came back shortly after graduating and has worked in every position (“so now when I ask somebody to do something, I know what I’m asking,” she says). All of her experiences have prepared her for her current position. “I’m so grateful to my parents for being such amazing role models and for trusting me with such a wonderful, challenging, and exciting position of responsibility,” Dillard says. “I get to do a job I love, and one that’s constantly changing. One day I’m wearing my dealer hat, then I put on my construction manager hat to check out the progress downtown. I might put on my selling hat to sell a car to a friend, and then my accounting hat to help close a statement. I’m always learning.” Ultimately, that’s the message she most wants to share with young people entering the industry. “Never stop learning; always be a student,” she says. “Start at the bottom and work your way up. Don’t be afraid if you don’t have all the answers – nobody does. Asking questions and keeping your mind open is a great strength.”

WITH MARKISS STONE The Creator and Host of ‘The Daily Dose’ Shares Tips for Social Success M O D E R N D E A L E R S H I P. C O M

“I was re-evaluating my life and just thinking about what really makes me happy. I knew I had to get back to making videos. It’s just something I really love to do.” Have you been tip-toeing into using social media for work? Maybe just posting a picture or two every now and then, and waiting until you have more time to focus on it? Or more skills? Or more something else? Markiss Stone says that one key to creating his dream – popular Facebook show The Daily Dose – was to just start doing it.

“This can be a really tough profession,” Stone says, referring to selling cars, his full-time job. “And it’s real easy to get sucked into negativity, just like anywhere else. I felt like I could really add something by focusing on the positive. It’s so important.”

SHARING SUPPORT

Social media has created a lot of positive He recorded his first episode totally on the fly changes in the automotive industry. One with what he had on hand (his iPhone) while at way it’s doing so is by giving Stone and Hustle and Grind Conference last October. other influencers (Shawn Hays, Allie Owens, Billy Sherman, etc.), who would normally be “I kept hearing people say, Don’t wait, create! leading the pack at their own dealerships, the Don’t wait, create!” Stone says. “I had been ability to reach way more people with their putting it off, trying to formulate the perfect message. Like, industry-wide. That adds up to plan and get all the details figured out, but I a lot of support from the inside. knew that it was time to do it.” Every morning since that first show, Monday through Friday, at 6:30 a.m. Eastern, Stone has aired a new episode, totaling over 175 unique episodes. His subject matter ranges from how to sell more cars to how to talk to strangers, but the underlying theme is always one of positivity and motivation.

Creating and hosting his own social show has been a perfect fit for Stone, who studied Radio and TV Broadcasting in college. He’s also had success in the past making YouTube videos while selling cars at a previous dealership, O’Brien Auto Park. When that store was bought out, Stone stopped making videos and focused solely on selling cars.

“During the buyout, I stopped making YouTube videos because I didn’t know what the new plan was, so I just focused on work,” Stone says. “In doing so, I received promotion after promotion. Then fast forward some years, and I was re-evaluating my life and just thinking about what really makes me happy. I knew I had to get back to making videos. It’s just something I really love to do.” OK, yes, Stone had plenty of preparation, experience, and skill when he jumped into the deep end of social media and started his show on the fly last October. Even if you don’t have a similar background, you still have a unique message to share, according to Stone. Here are his tips for success at your own social show, or just success with social media in general (or any goal you have set for yourself at work!).

MAKE IT MATTER. FIGURE OUT WHAT YOUR “WHY” IS, YOUR PURPOSE. I knew I wanted to put more positivity into the world with The Daily Dose. Social media has given people the ability to be keyboard gangsters. People feel like they can say or do whatever they want, without any consequences. There are so many negative people out there online with the intent to hurt other people – you know, because hurt people hurt people – and I just wanted to counterbalance that. Throughout my tenure in the automotive industry and throughout my life, I’ve learned so much that I just want to pour into people and motivate them. Some of the current negativity stems from racism. I was watching a court case unfold online recently and I saw a bunch of people turn racist against each other really quick.

And here I am in the comments section just trying to bring everybody together, like, “No, don’t say that … that’s a lie. You can’t make a generalization about a whole group of people based on one person!” With these social platforms, we have the ability to bring people together, and that’s what I choose to do.

STUDY THOSE YOU ADMIRE. DO WHAT THEY DO. No idea out there is original, so don’t wreck your entire day thinking How creative can I be? Figure out what the successful people are doing and study them. I went to the first Hustle and Grind Con, last October, primarily to see Eric Thomas. I’ve been watching him on YouTube forever – he’s my favorite speaker. I was just blown away, by him, by Glenn Lundy, Shawn Hays … I was on cloud nine. After Hustle and Grind Con, I went back to Eric Thomas’ YouTube page and went all the way back to TGIM (Thank God It’s Monday) Season 1 and I watched all the episodes up to season 9, where I am now. Every single episode, in order, because I wanted to see what Eric Thomas did to get to where he got. I wanted to see what he was doing in the beginning and what he did in between to get to where he is now.

PUT YOUR OWN SPIN ON IT. GET CREATIVE! Once you know whose work you admire, find a way to put your own spin on it so it can be uniquely you. Glenn Lundy is another person

who inspired me. I love [his social show] Rise and Grind, Monday through Friday morning. Well, I went to school for Radio & TV, so I’m going to do a show too! And it’s not going to be like Glenn’s. I made sure to create my own lane so that people wouldn’t think I was a Glenn Lundy copycat. Be original, and you’ll stand out and get more opportunities. From there, get creative. You know how people always say “Think outside the box”? Well there isn’t even a box. I always try to stay creative, keep the creative juices flowing. Example, when I first started doing the show, I was using actual copyrighted music – I was playing music for my show that was on the radio. Facebook could have shut me down or I could have gotten sued. So I started producing my own music. I make all of the music for my show now. When most people do Facebook Live, they just do it from their phone. But I knew I wanted The Daily Dose to be just like an actual show, unlike anything else out there on Facebook Live. I have transitions, I have animations, I have images, I have music, I set the lighting, I do the editing. It’s a full-on production. And I do it all. I love it. I’m always wondering, even to this day, to this moment, how can I make the show better? How can I engage more people?

STAY MOTIVATED. CREATE A REGIMEN. I started the show in October and was just winging it every day at first. I’ve had some ups and downs – let me tell you, doing a show five days a week and being original and not repeating myself while having a full-time job and a family, I mean, it can be tough! Glenn Lundy helped me see that I needed to create a regimen, and I have one that I follow 38

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now. It certainly helps. The show has more structure too. Another thing is … I went through a time when I was gauging my show’s success on the numbers. So when I didn’t see the numbers, didn’t have as many followers as Glenn Lundy or Shawn Hayes, you know, I was comparing myself to them. As a competitive person, it was frustrating for me. It took meeting with Shawn and Glenn again at the second Hustle and Grind for me to see that it really isn’t about the numbers. They said, “Hey bud, listen. We know what you’re going through. We’ve been there. It’s not about the numbers. If you’re truly doing what you’re doing for the right reason, you will have the impact you’re looking to make. Even if you only make an impact on one person, then you’ve done your job.” And remember: You’ll never have the time to do something. You have to create the time.

WALK THE TALK. THIS GOES FOR EVERYBODY. They say you’re an average of the five people you spend the most time with. I never want to be the smartest person in the room. I try to hang out with and talk to people who are smarter than I am, or more educated. I’m a constant student of the game. And by game, I mean life. We only get 24 hours in a day, and we spend most of that time working and sleeping. Well, maybe not even sleeping. I

know I get up at about 3:50 every morning! So the time that I do have, it’s really important how I spend it. Example, I recently went through my Facebook and unfollowed a bunch of people. I didn’t unfriend them; I just don’t see their posts anymore. So if I do scroll, I’m seeing positive, motivating, educational things – not what somebody had for lunch. Valuable things. I love to read and research. I’m a constant work in progress. I think there are leaders right now in the automotive industry who could benefit from this attitude. There are a lot of people who work hard as salespeople, and when they make it to a management position, they relax and get lazy. They get a nice paycheck. As long as they can do the minimum, they’re good. And they need to realize that their job is just beginning. They have people’s lives at stake – their income, their livelihood – that’s all in their hands. They can either empower and encourage them, train them, help them grow, or they can complain about how they suck. Train them, develop them; that’s what your job is.

PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE Maybe making a Facebook Live or other social show isn’t your bag. That’s OK. Stone does believe, though, that it’s important to have some sort of creative presence on social. “If you’re in automotive and you’re not on social media, you’re just giving sales away left and right,” he says. “All you have to do is put a little effort in. What makes you different? Posting a picture of your customer and their new car is OK, but how do you stand out from all the other salespeople doing that? People get on social media for two things: to be educated and to be entertained. If you have the ability to do both, you’re liquid gold!”

CHANGE IS BREWING, AND IT’S NOISY

THE VOLCANO OF EMERGENCE –

RYAN GERARDI’S 3-PART SERIES – PART 2 40

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By Ryan Gerardi | Founder/CEO of AutoConversion Part II of a 3-part series on how perceptions in the auto industry have changed, what it means, and where it’s all headed.

Buzzwords: Big Data, Attribution, and Analytics As the 21st century entered its second decade, social media had begun sowing the seeds for a new currency: data. Big Data. Remember that term? And with Big Data came attribution. You know, that thing that helps everybody see and know their return on investment in advertising. And with attribution came the death of leads, because now it was online engagement and VDP views that sold cars, not leads, those things once called “ups.”

AI and Machine Learning All this data and all this attribution quickly became too much for the human brain to handle, so we needed machines to help out. Thus the emergence of artificial intelligence and machine learning – two new buzzwords to help sell cars. Everyone was so relieved. But Larry was ready to lose his

mind. As far as he was concerned, nothing was changing. The industry was just throwing more data and technology into a system, a process really, where people buy cars from people. Larry’s dealership wasn’t selling more cars more efficiently and more profitably. If anything, it was the opposite. He was spending more time and money selling the same number of cars, less profitably.

Digital Retailing You can imagine how excited Larry got when digital retailing came around. “Finally,” thought Larry, “a widget for my website referred to as a verb that was going to generate better leads and sell more cars.” What he especially liked was the promise that it would sell cars to people who don’t want to come into the dealership. This seemed like an ideal future for Larry. Not. By this time, Larry had lost touch

with how it all began. He forgot why he got into the car business, and why he started blogging in the first place. And he saw no way out. Larry was in the car business for life as far as he was concerned. Meanwhile, in other parts of the business, and in other industries, innovation was accelerating exponentially. •

•

Amazon went from being an online bookseller to an online retailer of everything to a voicecommanded instant gratification concierge system that was hosting and streaming more than half the world’s information in the clouds. Will Amazon be selling cars soon, too? Uber introduced the idea of ride-hailing only to actually turn out to be an on-demand delivery system. Will Uber and Lyft eradicate vehicle ownership? Apple went from being a computer company to a luxury

• •

fashion-tech brand. Apple is trying to manufacture cars now too. Tesla flipped the script on automakers and the franchise dealer system. Automakers began reinventing themselves as mobility companies, and tech companies started trying to become automakers.

This was real innovation, Larry realized. This was exciting. It appeared like lava on his doorstep. Some posed no threat at all. But the emergence of all this real innovation got Larry’s blood boiling, in a good way. Larry began to feel alive again. As the volcano of emergence fissured, pundits across the industry began to roar with rhetoric, speculation, and prophecy. Experts and thought leaders from all corners of the industry began crawling out of the woodwork, streaming live on Facebook,

creating memes for their Facebook groups, starting podcasts, shows, and blogs. Suddenly, Larry realized, the volcano was erupting. And if Larry didn’t have a plan, he might very well be swallowed up into the pouring lava.

Turn to page 50 for Part III, the conclusion of Larry’s story: The Grand Convergence.

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M O D E R N D E A L E R S H I P. C O M

ealers find themselves struggling to keep customers in their maintenance bays, and stop them from going elsewhere, especially after free maintenance plans and warranties expire. With longer oil change intervals, higher quality of vehicles, and more competition than ever, dealers need an angle to stop the bleeding of their customer base and find a way to retain the customers they started with in the sales department. When looking at the problem of the eroding customer base in the service department, we need to start where the consumer is first likely to defect. That’s at the maintenance stage, where oil changes and tire rotations are performed. The customers must get this work done and have many choices, but the majority go to one of two places; the dealer, or the independent oil change and maintenance shops. With a dwindling customer base, we must ask a few questions. Why do so many customers prefer the

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independent maintenance shops, and what are the independent shops doing that dealers are not? Those questions can be answered when you look at them from a consumer perspective, and not as a dealer. We believe we have all the reasons in the world a customer should come to a dealership to get their maintenance completed. We have factory trained technicians, we use OEM parts, we know all of the applicable warranty items as well as any factory recalls that are outstanding, and so on. Despite this, we still lose a large percentage of our customer base to the independent maintenance and oil change shops. The logic is simple: customers want quick, convenient, and inexpensive service from someone they trust. A key point is that even if the dealer and the independent ultimately take the same time to complete the job at a comparable final invoiced price, it’s the customers perception that trumps all. The consumer perception is that the independent & “quick maintenance” service companies have

lower prices. This is one of the biggest factors that have led to customers defecting from the dealership. People look for a good deal even if they are upsold and the cost of the maintenance and type of work is ultimately the same. The consumer is upsold only because they saw value in the offer to be upsold and accepted it. This gives them a feeling of value, sense of control, and transparency in their vehicle maintenance. The service advisors at the competition in question are very successful in presenting upsells or recommended services. Typically, it is a counter trained maintenance technician that advises the customer on additional vehicle needs, and they are trained how to upsell. They do this without hesitation and with consistency– something many dealers lack. Many service advisors at the dealership level tend to be shy when it comes to upselling to customers, especially if they are somewhat new to the automotive service industry. Considering the independent service advisor is usually not well experienced in the automotive service industry, they do a great job of upselling, and following process. Secondly, studies show that besides price, the convenience and speed of the service is the next most important thing that comes up in decision making and, in some cases, is even more important than price. Having a “while you wait, no appointment necessary” oil change option is key for people that live a busy lifestyle, in a world where we are almost always in a rush with some place to go, and something to do.

Good news is it’s the fix for dealers and a great way to retain customers. Time and time again we’ll find the dealer’s final price on an oil change package is the same as the final price the consumer will pay at an independent. The question becomes: “Why does the consumer see them as cheaper than the dealer?” The reason is because they have a cheap or cheaper entry level price structure on their oil change packages. The independent’s pricing strategy relies on the fact that they know the majority of consumers will, and in some cases have to, upgrade the base oil change package. With such incredible upselling skills producing consistent results, they can bank on this. With the independent’s upselling process adding control, transparency and value to the customer, the customer trusts the advisor and willingly upgrades. From a dealership perspective, we do the opposite. We preload in everything the customer will need in our oil change package and make it a one price fits all. This is a strategy that the consumer rejects. The oil change service the dealership offers is at odds with what today’s consumers are looking for, eroding the consumer’s perception of control, transparency, and ultimate value in the dealer’s offerings. As dealers, how do we fix this? The answer is easier than you might think. Copy them. The independent’s system works, and many customers see them as a better option. We need to realign how we do business to match

the customer’s perception and wants. As you’ve heard many times, one’s perception is their reality. That says it all. As mentioned, customers demand quick and convenient maintenance service. With the independent having a line-up behind each bay door, it’s easy for the consumer to conceptualize their wait time. In the dealer world, normally there is a parking lot jammed full of cars, and no line-up format. A customer has to speak to an advisor and just wait it out until they become next in line for an oil change. Humans love visualization, that’s why the independent’s line-up model works so well. We also know that dealers have a history of promising times and not following through, or the time to completion is longer than the customer expects, even if their expectations are not realistic. We also know that many dealers don’t have a way to complete maintenance work in a timely manner similar to the independent maintenance shops. Having the customer leave the car for half a day or wait a few hours is a model they reject. This must be fixed first and foremost before we can mimic an independent maintenance shop’s process and realign ourselves with customers’ expectations. If your facility does not have an oil change pit or enough bays to accommodate an increase in vehicle turnover, create a team system - use two technicians in one bay. Implement a detailed process about who is dealing with which part of the service and develop a similar process to the

“Upper Tech and Lower Tech” system that independents employ. Designate bays closest to your customer waiting or check in area: keeping the vehicle in sight gives the customer added comfort. Contrary to popular dealer belief, waiting to pitch the majority of the recommended services until after the multi-point inspection and maintenance service is done is the wrong way. Having the technician look at the vehicle first before starting the maintenance job, then suggesting additional repairs right away helps the customer understand that you are looking out for their best interest. This also allows room for the work to be accomplished during the rest of the maintenance job. If you do the opposite, and present recommended services after the original maintenance work is complete, it’s far too late. The customer is ready to leave. They are not ready to invest more time into waiting for additional service work to be completed. Having a separate service advisor take care of express customers makes the interaction more consistent and comparable to the independents. The “show and tell” method of selling is most effective when trying to relay your point on why additional services are required. You have the customer there, why not show them what you found? Walk them out to the vehicle or bring items such as filters and fluid comparisons directly to them, just like the “Upper Tech” would do in an independent maintenance shop. For the customer, this process adds control, transparency and trust, which they expect. Through the process we can show the extra value an OEM dealer has to offer. Advise the customer that you have a journeyman technician supervising

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the lube techs, let them know that you were able to inspect the safety components of their vehicle, and explain the warranties that come with your work. Use your inspection form software to show them everything you checked even when everything passes. We can see consumers have a process preference based on how they are handled during routine maintenance service. The consumer has a negative perception when it comes to dealers, but fortunately this is easily fixed. To correct course and stop hemorrhaging our customer base, we simply need to provide the service experience our customer favors. Implementing the overall independent maintenance model is key to success and winning back service customers.

David Hennessey, Service Operations Director Canada One Auto Group David Hennessey is an experienced dealer service operations director, and is NADA trained. David has spent his entire career in the service department, starting as a licensed journeyman technician, and has since risen through the ranks to his current role.

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The average consumer is bombarded with approximately 5,000 advertisements a day. These ads hit consumers from every angle, whether it’s online, in their car, at work, eating in a restaurant, or simply relaxing at home in front of the TV. Advertisers are coming up with different strategies daily on how they can make their product stand out. It’s no different with advertising in the automotive retail industry. Car dealers are constantly trying to set themselves apart from their competitors, but the advertising message most dealerships are sharing is the exact same message as their competitors’. That message contains the same three points:

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This message may have worked 30 years ago, when advertising platforms generally consisted of radio, TV, and print, but it doesn’t cut it today. Traditional advertising was sold on the foundation of “Top of Mind Awareness,” meaning, for example, that your dealership would come to mind first when consumers think of a car dealership. In the past, the most “top of mind” dealership was generally the one that spent the most advertising dollars. Today, however, competitiveness for the distinction has increased, and the time spent at the top of consumers’ minds is merely seconds, compared to days in the past, due to all the ways consumers are exposed to advertising. So, the questions dealerships should be asking themselves are: What message can my dealership advertise that is different than my competitors’? What type of content should I use to broadcast that message? What platform should I use? Dealerships can set themselves apart from their competitors – and at the same time grow an emotional connection with consumers – with video. When someone says “video” in the automotive retail industry, the first thing we think of is either walk-around videos of inventory or salespeople walking the lot telling their Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube followers about the great deal they can get them on a car. But what if we looked at video in a different way? In a way that promotes the people and culture of your dealership instead of a sell, sell, sell strategy? Here are three video strategy ideas dealerships can implement now to start growing a top-of-mind awareness with consumers as well as an emotional connection.

Charities your employees care about, not just the charities your dealership supports.

I would bet that every single employee at your dealership has a passion for a particular charity or nonprofit organization. Most people support a cause because it has touched their personal life somehow. Interviewing an employee about a cause they are passionate about shows the human side of your dealership and promotes a charity or nonprofit you might never have thought about bringing awareness to in the first place. Simply record an employee

talking about their passion and upload on your dealership’s digital platforms, tagging that organization. You can even create an area – the “About Us” section on your website is a great place to start – to display these videos with short writeups and links to the organization.

Behind the scenes.

Let’s face it. Most people are at least somewhat intimidated when they go to a dealership to buy a car. It’s like walking into a party where you know absolutely no one, but at the end of the party someone is going to take $30K of your money. When a consumer googles your dealership, we know they’re looking for reviews, but what if they also came across videos showing fun behind-the-scenes footage of your employees? Consider having the jokester of your dealership in short videos telling his or her favorite clean jokes. Or make videos of that service tech who has an amazing voice and loves to sing while he works. Showing the personalities of your employees can really go a long way when building trust with consumers before they even set foot in your dealership.

Vehicle tips, tricks, & best practices.

It is possible to promote a vehicle without selling it? Walk-arounds are popular, but what if you addressed each feature of the vehicle separately? Explain details of the sound system. Show off the cargo space in an SUV and fit different loads inside: lawn mower, chair, or fit as many employees in the cargo area as you can – a lot like they did with phone booths back in the ’60s. Make it fun and educational. Maintenance best practices from a service tech make for great content as well. Show off the knowledge of your employees and build trust with consumers. When it comes to separating your dealership from your competitors, your employees are the key. People buy from people, so make people want to buy from your people. Video is easy. The strategies I shared can be shot with a cell phone. The point is to start highlighting your employees in your digital advertising today. Be original, be unique, be real. M O D E R N D E A L E R S H I P. C O M

THE GRAND CONVERGENCE – WHERE ARE YOU IN THE MIX?

RYAN GERARDI’S 3-PART SERIES – PART 3 50

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By Ryan Gerardi | Founder/CEO of AutoConversion Part III of a 3-part series on how perceptions in the auto industry have changed, what it means, and where it’s all headed. In the first part of this series we introduce Larry, a young dot-comera dealership employee who takes to blogging and social media for enrichment purposes, becomes a star, but then grows apathetic to change. He grows apathetic because all the change he could see around him wasn’t really change, it was just noise. He was looking down, not up, and it defeats him. In the second part, we identify some of the more truly innovative developments impacting the auto industry. And as Larry begins to see this emergence, it excites him. But at the same time, Larry also realizes he has to innovate, too, if he wants to remain relevant. This is where we pick up.

Innovation, Education, and Industry Events At a recent industry event – the 2019 Auto CX Summit – I had the fortune of participating for the first time at one of the auto industry’s truly more innovative events, at least content-

wise. Since it was my first time attending, I wasn’t sure going into it what to expect, let alone how to make the best use of my time. As a media partner and representative, I am there to capture the essence of the event. Sure there are networking benefits and some informative takeaways, but unlike dealers and vendors – which constitute the majority of attendees – I am able to have a truly unique experience through the creation of objective media. For starters, I attend with a camera and microphone, for the purpose of recording my interviews with folks there. Leading up to the event I scan the sponsors and the speakers and study the agenda, and I do some proactive planning with as many people as I can. But once I arrive, anything can happen really. There is a lot of spontaneous, creative decision-making while I am there. At the Summit, there were about 200 attendees and maybe a dozen or so brands represented either

as sponsors or with speaking engagements. Some of these brands I was already familiar with, but many I was not. This is unusual for me because I have been in the auto industry for nearly 20 years and attend several events each year. As you might imagine, my interest was piqued and I went into spongeabsorb mode. New people, new companies, and new technologies. To give you an idea of some of the content that was featured there, here are some session headlines: • • • • • •

Unlocking the Omni-Channel Experience for Auto Consumers Amazon Alexa and the Audi e-tron: A Look at Voice in the Car Flexible Ownership & Innovative Mobility Models The Science Behind Delivering Aspirational Automotive & Mobility Experiences at Scale When the Car Becomes the Card The Changing Landscape of Mobility Insurance

Do you see a theme here? As the Executive Producer and Host of

the AutoConverse Mobility Tech & Connectivity Podcast, I am constantly on the prowl for people, ideas, and technologies that influence how we are connected and the way we get around. After attending the summit, I feel even more convinced that you and anyone in this industry who plans on sticking around should be as well. Here’s why … Less than two years ago, in the spring of 2018 during an unfriendly conversation with a business colleague I was parting ways with, he told me, and I quote, “Ryan, I don’t think people in this industry really care that much about mobility.” This was a major factor in why we were parting ways. He did not believe that my vision of the future was relevant. As you might imagine, I was taken aback by this. Not deterred, more humored than anything. You see, just more than two years prior to that conversation, in 2016, I had launched AutoConverse.com – The Future of Mobility. At the time, the

word “mobility” wasn’t the buzzword it is today. Some people thought of wheelchairs and artificial limbs. Some even thought of mobile phones. Yes, this is what some people told me they thought of when I said the word “mobility.” But General Motors was just beginning to try and rebrand itself as a mobility company, and so I knew I was headed in the right direction.

Case in point, check out PlanetM – Michigan’s mobility initiative representing the collective mobility efforts across the state.

Why Convergence Matters and Why You Should Care Why do I share all this? Well, Larry is not a real person. Larry is a persona. Hopefully, Larry is someone that you and many others working at the dealership level in the auto industry can relate to. We are here, in a tight niche space, but a space that is in the process of C-O-N-V-E-R-G-E-N-C-E. Read the fourth definition of “convergence” in MerriamWebster’s dictionary: 4.) the merging of distinct technologies, industries, or devices into a unified whole This is precisely where we are. All of these emerging technologies and businesses across multiple industries are in the process of converging. The auto industry as we have known it is not the auto industry of today, let alone tomorrow. From data brokers, robotics developers, energy companies, logistics enterprises, you name it, they are all converging. Heck for all we know, Apple could acquire Tesla, Amazon could buy Ford, Uber could buy UPS. The list goes on.

Over time, how we are connected and the way we get around will become essentially synonymous. The data that flows from personal device to personal device, from cloud to cloud, from broker to broker – that data will be your currency. That data will be generated by you, but you won’t own it. This convergence is occurring before your very eyes, and it will continue, most likely for the rest of your life. And so, yeah. You need to look up. You need to look as far ahead as you possibly can. You need to think outside the box, get out of your comfort zone, and put all these distractions in their place. You cannot let them crush you or blur your vision of the future. As a franchise dealer, you are forced by your OEM to do business in a 30-day cycle. But you can’t let this be a curse. You can’t let it fog the windshield. It’s a condition that you must work around. So do that. Keep your eye on the track that’s given you. But get out there to places like the Auto CX Summit and podcasts like AutoConverse that are committed to showing you what lies ahead. Because if you don’t look or can’t see where we are headed, then you will end up like Larry with boiling lava at your doorstep, waiting to swallow you up.

About the Author Ryan Gerardi is a 20-year veteran in the auto industry who has worked with numerous tech startups during his tenure including HomeNet, HookLogic, and SOCIALDEALER. Gerardi is the purveyor of AutoConversion, the auto industry’s premier livestreaming network, and Executive Producer of the AutoConverse Podcast. For more information, visit his company website www. autoburstmedia.com.

With Bill Hav Trusted Vehicle Advisor Cofounder HavClairity Tell us a little bit about yourself - how long have you been in the business? When I started in the business, I was 22, currently I’m 27 years old, but I remember sitting at the barber shop one day and my barber Sal asks me how my day was. I’m telling him, “Man, you don’t really want to know how my day was. I’m a loser right now. I don’t have any money, I don’t have a cell phone, I have no car, no driver’s license, just really nothing.” I also tell him I just found out that I am going to be a dad. So here I am kind of complaining and venting, and the guy sitting next to me getting his hair cut is listening to our conversation. He reaches over to me and says, “I don’t mean to butt into your conversation, but here’s my card. I am the General Manager of a dealership.” I was polite to him, but I’m like, I don’t think I’d be good at it. Instead I took a job as an independent contractor selling credit card machines with chip readers. I go straight to my barber – he’s my buddy – and I’m trying to sell him on this. After I pitch him for 30 minutes and am really passionate, trying to get my first sale and make some money, he’s like, “Bill, stop, dude. Whatever happened to that guy who gave you his information at my barber shop?” And I tell him, “I don’t want to sell cars, man. I can’t do that. I wouldn’t be good at it.” Long story short, he just calls him, puts him on speaker phone and says, “Hey, you remember that kid who was at the barber shop? He’s coming down for an interview right now.” So, from that moment, literally, my life changed. I had a son, so it’s not about me anymore. There’s this saying of Danelle Delgado’s I love: “It’s not about if you win or not. It’s about who loses if you don’t win.” I have somebody who relies on me. There was a fire inside of me like no other. After

M O D E R N D E A L E R S H I P. C O M

about two weeks of getting trained, I sold my first car. I made $800 on it, which would’ve taken me two full weeks of roofing or being a really bad mechanic or landscaping to make. From that first car that I ever sold, in December of 2014, my life changed.

You’ve built a reputation for helping people. I specialize in helping people who are looking to establish or re-establish their credit. When I first started selling cars, all of my friends were like, “Bill, we can’t afford those kinds of cars. The bank will never approve us.” Getting this job – and meeting people who pay cash for cars – it definitely changed the way I view the world. In order for me to be successful selling cars to my friends and family, I had to be good at getting them approved. I had to have a dynamite process to get everyone through, because it’s a numbers game. If I’m bringing in 60 people a month and I’m selling 25 to 30, then if I want to sell 40, 50 cars, I have to bring in 70 to 90 people. So that was my mindset. Up to now I’ve sold over 1,200 cars. Jonathan Dawson is my mentor. He took me under his wing and taught me everything. He showed me what’s important, including what has most fueled my success: SWAT. It’s the four things a bank is looking for when they’re considering giving somebody a loan. The minute a customer sits down at my desk, I say, “OK, you’re looking to pay cash, or are you looking to finance?” They say, “Finance.” I ask them if they’re looking to establish, or re-establish, credit, or if they have excellent credit. If they say “establish” or “re-establish,” then I go over SWAT: Stability, Willingness (to contribute toward the loan), Ability (to pay back the loan), and Track Record. I go through a whole breakdown of that

with my customer. We work the process Z-to-A rather than A-to-Z. With SWAT, I was able to work smarter, not harder, and really gain some good traction in the automotive business branding myself as the best. I like to think there’s nobody better at sub-prime than I am, because of Dawson and what he’s taught me. And because I’ve gained so much experience.

How did Dashboard Diaries start? Every time I’d sell a car, I’d set my phone up on the dashboard and coach the customer a little bit on what to say. I have over 1,000 Dashboard Diaries, and over 1,200 testimonials with customers. It took me about 200 videos to think of the Dashboard Diaries. I was doing it from outside the car. And just talk about awkward, man [laughs]. You know, people don’t want somebody else recording them. You’re standing in front of their car, and you have to yell. I would just say, “How was your experience?” They would say, “Good.” I would say, “Would you refer your friends or family?” and they would say, “Yes.” There was just nothing special about it.

With SWAT, I was able to work smarter, not harder, and really gain some good traction in the automotive business branding myself as the best. 54

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Everybody gets red-light fever as soon as the camera goes on! Yup, but when we’re in the car and it’s just us, it’s a lot different. I have my phone set up on the dashboard facing us – I have this cool little camera holder. It was awesome because I would turn my camera on, it would be facing us, and they would get comfortable seeing themselves on camera first, and then I would push record. So, doing that, I was driving to work one day, and I was like “What the hell can I do to become the most known and trusted car salesman ever?” The first thing I did was create the name “Trusted Vehicle Advisor.” Because I hated the term “car salesman.” As I’m driving to work, I say to myself, “OK, I’m now going to be a Trusted Vehicle Advisor, and no longer a car salesman. What’s the first thing that I need to do? Well, I have to give something crazy away.” I didn’t have a lot of money. I don’t know what I’m gonna give away, and then it clicked: Give away a free car! Obviously I don’t have money to buy somebody a car, so what did I do? I decided to give away my own car. I shot a video and said, “Hey guys, this is Bill Hav. I didn’t come from a very good background. I know what it’s like to struggle and not have a car, so I would like to give one lucky family my car.” The video blew up. It got like 25,000 views and 500 shares, like 1,000 people commenting and telling me their story. I gave away the car to a single mom who was a cancer survivor and had a daughter who was 5 years old at the time. Since then I’ve given away four free cars to families in need, every year at Christmastime. I figured out every year how to up the ante. Last year, I really wanted to up the ante so I donated $2,500 of my own money to start a GoFundMe account, and we raised $11,750.

I started from the bottom, raised by a single mom, with just me and my sister. Then a guy in the barber shop says, “Dude, you should sell cars.” My life was changed. If Sal didn’t push me, if Sal didn’t give me $20 for the gas to get to the interview, I would not be where I’m at. When I got there for the interview, if the GM didn’t give me his credit card to go buy clothes instead of sending me home, saying this just won’t work out if you don’t even have a pair of dress pants and dress shoes … you know, there were so many things that could’ve went the other way so easily and I wouldn’t be where I’m at. I’m grateful to the business.

It sounds like you had preconceptions of what the car business would be like before you were in it. Did you find that some were inaccurate? Well, I never really had my own perception of car salespeople, just the public’s. My friends and my family. At that time, in my life, nobody in my family bought cars from a dealership. None of my friends’ parents bought their cars from a dealership. We were the poor people. I really didn’t know much about car salespeople in general. All I thought was How many people actually buy cars from a dealership? I thought we were the majority and that the people who bought cars from dealerships were the minority. The people I knew just bought cars from each other. That was my perception of the car business: “Wow, I’m not gonna make a lot of money” or “It’s gonna be really hard to sell cars.” When I got into the business, I realized how much people seemed to dislike car salespeople. I didn’t dislike them; I just didn’t think there was a lot of opportunity to sell cars.

M O D E R N D E A L E R S H I P. C O M

This business really gave me an opportunity to fully become an entrepreneur... Was your experience that the other salespeople were what people think of, fairly or not, as being sort of stereotypical? The first dealership that I ever worked at, where that guy really helped me out so much, had what was called a “dealer prep fee.” They’d advertise their cars as low as possible – lower than everybody else. The customer gets there, you show them the car, and they love it. You show them the numbers and everything is good. At the very end, when they would sign the buyer’s order, the bottom-line number is more than what was promised, and you had to sell them on this dealer prep fee. Remember, I’m bringing my friends and my family in. It really rubbed me the wrong way. I was super thankful for getting my start in the business, but I wasn’t in it just to make the most money possible.

She’s now your partner in a credit repair company called HavClairity, correct? Yes. I now have three children: a 4-year-old boy, a 3-year-old boy, and a 3-month-old girl and engaged to my fiancée and business partner, Claire, so a lot has changed since I first got in the car business. This business really gave me an opportunity to fully become an entrepreneur, because I specialize in helping people who are looking to establish or re-establish their credit. I’ve sold over 1,200 cars in my community to people who have bad credit. We started HavClairity from my marketing and my relationships, and we’ve built Claire a brand as well.

So, I left, and six months later I sold 31 ½ cars at a store up the road. From putting myself out there on Facebook, they noticed me and reached out. They gave me my own billboard, and that was the start of me going nuts with selfbranding. I was taking zero fresh ups and was salesperson of the month.

You were doing remarkable numbers, but coming from a place of trying to help people? Of course, absolutely. That’s where it all comes from. The more you help, the more you make. My fiancée, Claire, and I make it a point to incorporate this philosophy into our business plan.

MODERNDEALERSHIP

You know, I love selling cars, I love the opportunities it has given me. People like that I’m doing good things, and they trust me because they see me pouring my heart and soul into my community and truly trying to make an impact. If it weren’t for the opportunity to sell cars, I wouldn’t be able to do that. So, I am forever grateful for the car business, and that will never, ever change.

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An insider’s look at you, the readers of MD! We asked …

What has been your favorite road trip?

“So far it would be the trip Debbie and I took in Europe. We picked up a new 911 from Porsche in Germany and drove down through the Alps and many lovely little villages all the way to Nice on the Mediterranean coast. Heaven on wheels.” – Gary Ackerman, Dealer Principal, Gaudin Motor Company

“I was 14 and my parents and grandparents decided it would be a great vacation and educational experience for all of us to DRIVE from Ohio to Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and everything around there. Over the two weeks, I actually remember a lot: Little Big Horn, spitting into the Grand Canyon, geyser eruptions, saw and stayed far away from bears and so forth. However, the best part: We hit the salt flats and my grandfather asked ME if I’d like to DRIVE. I said yes, my dad didn’t say a whole lot, my mother and grandmother freaked out. Back then, in 1965, there was nothing for miles and miles. I clearly remember asking how fast I should go and my grandfather said there was no speed limit. I don’t remember exactly but I went fast enough to where everyone was concerned … I was in heaven and my grandfather just grinned. Any road trip later, like between the ages of 18 and 25, is not PG-rated.” – Craig Lockerd, CEO, AutoMax Talent Network

“I drive down to Branson at least once if not twice a year for conferences. With the technology my car offers, I can drive comfortably and know I will be given the best possible route to get there. With my phone mirroring on my car screen, I can safely navigate what I want to listen to or look at. I look forward to long drives because I find that as a time to relax, and catch up on podcasts or calls.” – Frankie Petty, Sync Specialist, Gary Crossley Ford

Be a part of Off The Lot. Send your paragraph answer to the question below – along with your name and title – to media@moderndealership.com for a chance to appear here next time! What has been your favorite day at work?

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