AutoSuccess February 2015

2015

FEBRUARY

lotlinx.com

WE VALUE CHARACTER. If you are a veteran, or immediate family member of someone currently serving, and would like to build a career in automotive, we’d like to talk to you.

LotLinx is a fast-growing technology company and we are looking for exceptional individuals to grow with us.

Please email us at careers@lotlinx.com

Deeplinking The average LotLinx dealer is engaging 458 more shoppers each month on their website, resulting in 43% faster inventory turn and a 15% increase in sales. (800) 625-5469 Source: LotLinx Business IntelligenceSM. May 2014. Results vary by location and brand.

TM

10,000+ AUTOMOTIVE PARTNERS

1 FINANCING SOLUTIONS PROVIDER Synchrony Financial, formerly GE Capital Retail Finance, is bringing new meaning to the word partnership. We offer credit and payment solutions for small and medium independent dealers as well as automotive giants like Exxon and Pep Boys. With over 80 years of retail heritage, we have the products, services and industry expertise to help our partners improve customer loyalty and increase average transaction sizes. Find out what Synchrony Financial can do for your automotive business at SynchronyBusiness.com/automotive or 1-855-433-5549. Engage with us.

Banking. Loyalty. Analytics.

Credit is extended by Synchrony Bank. Š 2015 Synchrony Financial. All rights reserved.

2300 Hurstbourne Village Dr, Suite 1200 Louisville, KY 40299 / p 877.818.6620 / f 502.588.3170 / AutoSuccessOnline.com/AutoSuccessPodcast.com / info@autosuccessonline.com

Thomas Williams, Creative Director design@autosuccessonline.com

JoeHenry THE RECRUITING INDUSTRY IS NOW PART OF YOUR BUSINESS, PART 2 DealerPanel BUILDING LOYALTY: The Service Department, PART 1

DalePollak THREE WAYS EFFICIENCY-FOCUSED DEALERS WILL GAIN ADVANTAGE IN NEW VEHICLES

DennisMcGinn USING RECONDITIONING WORKFLOW TO SOLVE MANY DEALERSHIP HEADACHES

SeanV.Bradley WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO SELL 30, 40, 50 OR MORE UNITS PER

MONTH ON THE SHOWROOM FLOOR?

Hannah Philpott, Media Director hannah@autosuccessonline.com

SusanGivens HOW TO TELL WHEN YOU’RE PAYING TOO MUCH MONEY FOR CLICKS

EricBolster CONTENT MARKETING: Making the 90’s Foot Traffic Today’s Web Traffic, PART 2

LarryBarditch FOUR STEPS TO PAY-PER-CLICK SUCCESS

EdLouis UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF MOBILE APP ACTIVITY

JackGarrity DESIGNING YOUR RETENTION PROGRAM

FIVE STEPS TO CULTIVATING A SOCIAL CULTURE IN YOUR DEALERSHIP

JoeyLittle

PhilAime KEEPING ONLINE VISITORS WITH VIDEO CONTENT

Brian Ankney, Account Manager brian@autosuccessonline.com

CassSuwinski RETENTION AND SELLING TO CUSTOMERS IN THE SERVICE DRIVE

Dave Davis, Editor & Creative Strategist ddavis@autosuccessonline.com

AutoSuccess Magazine is published monthly at 2300 Hurstbourne Village Dr, Suite 1200 Louisville, KY 40299; 502.588.3155, fax 502.588.3170. Direct all subscription and customer service inquiries to 877.818.6620 or info@autosuccessonline.com. Subscription rate is $69 per year. AutoSuccess welcomes unsolicited editorials and graphics (not responsible for their return). All submitted editorials and graphics are subject to editing for grammar, content and page length. AutoSuccess provides its contributing writers latitude in expressing advice and solutions; views expressed are not necessarily those of AutoSuccess and by no means reflect any guarantees. AutoSuccess accepts no liability in respect of the content of any third party material appearing in this magazine or in respect of the content of any other magazine to which this magazine may be linked from time to time. Always confer with legal counsel before implementing changes in procedures.© All contents copyrighted by AutoSuccess Magazine, a Division of Systems Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited without express written consent from AutoSuccess. AutoSuccess may occasionally make readers’ names available to other companies whose products and/or services may be of interest; readers may request that names be removed by calling 877.818.6620. Printed in the USA. Postmaster: Send address changes to AutoSuccess Magazine, 2300 Hurstbourne Village Dr, Suite 1200 Louisville, KY 40299.

Susan Givens, Publisher sgivens1@autosuccessonline.com

IS YOUR VENDOR FRIEND OR FOE? ScottPechstein

THIS IS A PEOPLE BUSINESS, NOT A TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS: Ignore Your Hiring Process at Your Own Peril AdamRobinson

Susie Horne, Account Manager John Warner, Sales-Improvement Strategist shorne@autosuccessonline.com jwarner@autosuccessonline.com

SteveCottrell IS YOUR DATABASE READY FOR NEW BUSINESS?

42 44

marketing solution

08 18 20 24 26

BobHarwood OPPORTUNITIES ARE THERE FOR THE TAKING

37

JohnDobrick WHEN A LITTLE LATE — CAME A LITTLE EARLY: A Manager’s Rule of Five, PART 4

32 34

sales & training solution 16 22

TimByrd WHOSE MONEY IS IT, ANYWAY?

36 38

leadership solution 10 14 28

JoeClementi TEND TO YOUR GARDEN OF SUCCESS OR IT WILL TEND TO YOU

THE

EA

Gets thRLY BIRD e ROOM $895 i n cl your tw o-nigh udes t ro at the Rosen om stay shin Creek Resort gle *

ROSEN SHINGLE CREEK RESORT

INSIGHT15 is the conference to learn from other dealers and industry experts how to improve the customer experience in your dealership.

INSIGHT15 is incredibly excited and proud to announce two of our Keynote Speakers for #Insight15!

Who better to talk about loyalty and retention than Facebook and Google with the amount of data and “insights” they have about consumer behavior?

Trace Przybylowicz is a former car guy who came to Facebook in 2009 from Saatchi & Saatchi, where he worked on the Sales Event and Retail business for Toyota Motor Sales. Prior to Saatchi, he worked at Campbell-Ewald, where he helped manage the West Coast Chevrolet retail business. Mr. Przybylowicz works closely with marketers and agencies to develop cross platform solutions that drive brand awareness, consideration and sales impact.

Peter Leto is an automotive industry strategist on the Google Automotive Jumpstart Team and is responsible for providing automotive partners with scalable business solutions to further develop their regional and local advertising strategies. In 2008, he joined Google as an account manager in the Chicago B2B vertical, working with Fortune 500 companies primarily across the manufacturing and energy sectors.

INSIGHTFUL READERS, BE OUR GUEST!

Auto Success would like to extend a special invitaion to our readers for a free two-night stay at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort during INSIGHT15. Get ahead of your competition by learning from other dealers and industry experts how to make more money by improving your customer’s experience in your dealership.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND INSIGHT15?

R E G I S T R AT I O N C E R T I F I C AT E

$390 ROSEN SHINGLE CREEK RESORT

AN INVITATION TO OUR DEALERSHIP PARTNERS

VALUE

THIS CERTIFICATE IS GOOD FOR 2 FREE NIGHTS STAY* AT THE ROSEN SHINGLE CREEK RESORT WITH PAID DEALERSHIP REGISTRATION.

www.InsightCustomerLoyalty.com/Early-Bird-Dealership-Registration USE CODE: AUTOSUCCESS

*2 free nights stay during INSIGHT15

• Dealer Principals/General Managers • CRM & BDC Directors • Internet & Marketing Directors • Sales & F&I Managers • Fixed Operations Directors • Service Advisors • Every employee in your dealership who interacts with YOUR customers!

For the agenda and to register, visit

InsIght15.com

* Two-night room stay at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort included with registration (a value of $390), compliments of our sponsors.

Limited availability. Must be a dealership employee to register for this offer. Stay must be during Insight15 and includes hotel room and tax only.

SusanGivens

marketing solution

HOW TO TELL WHEN YOU’RE PAYING TOO MUCH MONEY FOR CLICKS

Most dealers are aware that relevance in search engine marketing is critical to winning more customers. However, what most dealers don’t know is how to determine if they are paying too much per click. This type of digital media captures consumers where they are. When in-market consumers aren’t in your store visiting, they are online making decisions about the car they’ll buy.

For dealers, there are two key components to SEM that will allow you to maximize your investment in this form of marketing: raising quality score and minimizing lost impression share.

Raise Quality Score

Google has an unrivaled, front-row spot in the online search market. Consumers turn to Google for everything they do. Google has a dynamic way of showing their appreciation to their pay-perclick advertisers who maximize the relevance and quality of the search results they deliver. This is referred to as Google’s quality score. A common misconception regarding cost per click is that the person willing to bid the highest takes the top spot. In reality, the top spot goes to the listing with the highest ad rank, which is influenced by quality score.

Most dealers pay too much for clicks, and they have no idea. “The majority of the quality scores within a campaign should be from 6 to 10.” said Rich DeLancey, vice president of digital advertising for TeamVelocityMarketing.com. According to Google data, Team Velocity spends 94 percent of a customer’s budget on quality scores which Google determines to be rated “Good” to “Great.” “You will naturally have a few results that are in the 0 to 5 range; however, if the majority of your scores are below a 7, this indicates that dealers are not getting the most leads for the least amount of money,” he said.

In addition to analyzing your campaign’s most common quality score, you need to analyze where the majority of your budget is spent. Good marketers are able to optimize budgets toward higherperforming campaigns.

Google essentially provides a discount to businesses that have SEM campaigns correspond to their Website. In other words, SEM cannot operate independently of a dealer’s Website. Capitalizing on this marriage between PPC ads and Website pages will increase quality scores with Google and will, therefore, decrease your cost per click.

For example, if you search “2015 Honda Civic” and an ad appears for Westside Honda that sends you to a page referring to an oil change special, Google rates this quality score low. Here’s why: Google doesn’t like consumers receiving irrelevant search results because that consumer may leave Google and go to a different search engine.

Going back to that search phrase, if Eastside Honda’s ad links to a landing page displaying specials for a 2015 Honda Civic with a phone number to call, Google would rate this quality score very high.

The “set it and forget it” approach, which involves setting up a PPC campaign and taking little time to observe and maintain it, will cost advertisers more. If a PPC campaign is driven by a bad quality score, that makes leads more expensive and the campaign will reach fewer people. If dealers send every clicker to the front page of their Website, this will generate a higher cost per click.

Minimize Lost Impression Share

In addition to maximizing your existing SEM budget, dealers should minimize their lost impression share to avoid missing out on additional phone calls and leads. One common practice to controlling SEM budget is to limit spend in this area. This practice seems sensible, but is not necessarily the best way to utilize advertising dollars. If a dealer realizes that their digital marketing strategy has a positive return on investment, then maximizing spend in this area makes sense. Lost impression share is another formula that can elevate your marketing dollars. It is a simple calculation that indicates how many searches are being performed for your keyword where your ad is being missed because your budget is too low. For example, if your monthly PPC budget is capped at $20,000, this may bring about 400 phone calls and contain a lost impression share of 25 percent. The lost impression share calculation indicates that spending 25 percent more money each month will generate approximately 100 more phone calls and, similarly, more clicks, leads and other traffic.

Successful dealerships see the value in capturing all customers who are shopping outside of your dealership, instead of a percentage of them. If demand is greater than what your digital budget is offering, a small increase in spend means more opportunities for leads.

Susan Givens is the publisher of AutoSuccess. She can be contacted at 877.818.6620, or by email at sgivens1@autosuccessonline.com.

08

autosuccessonline.com

JoeClementi

leadership solution

TEND TO YOUR GARDEN OF SUCCESS OR IT WILL TEND TO YOU

Find a mediocre salesperson and you’ll find him or her surrounded by peers with like-minded views, opinions and excuses. They will tell you why their sales volume lacks consistency and their gross profit production is far below the median. They practice the excuses so well that they’ve become experts at closing themselves on mediocrity.

They come to this new job with an abundance of enthusiasm despite the fact that they know so little. They eagerly plant new seeds of opportunity with modest optimism. The degradation of skill doesn’t happen overnight, so what happens to them?

At some point, a weed will sprout in their newly planted garden. In the beginning, the weeds are harmless and do little to hinder the growth of the newly planted seeds. In fact, the growth is so slight it appears as an insignificant sprout that blends in with its surroundings. The salesperson thinks, “It’s a bit of an irritant, but harmless to my garden.” Experience has taught them to ignore the weed and hope it grows tired or dries out.

Sooner or later, their garden is so riddled with weeds that they never see the infestation take over. Poor salespeople accept the weed as a condition, instead of an inhabitant that needs to be tended to. They find blame in everything else around them but the gardener. The expectation is this newly planted garden will not resemble the last spot they planted.

Gardens that are littered with excuses have the ability, if allowed, to contaminate other gardens beyond their boundaries. Poor gardeners love to share their wisdom and insight with all willing participants. They are happy to provide shortcuts, methodology and philosophies — if you allow it. They provide directions, as well as how to walk away when the garden becomes too much to care for.

Management of the gardener takes time, persistence and nourishment — all of which require a commitment for the long haul. The gardener has to show up consistently to pull the weeds of doubt, discontent and uncertainty.

The master caretaker must be capable of performing the most tedious tasks day in and day out — even when no one is looking.

High-performance salespeople take pride in their gardens. They pull the weeds of pessimism and negativity daily. High-performance people search out high-performance organizations that create a culture of well-manicured gardens that produce beautiful results. High-performance people take pride in the gardener. They seek out those with more robust gardens so they can find how to do it better.

To all those poor-performing salespeople who refuse to tend to your garden: Take up root somewhere else. For the average salesperson who wants more: Find someone who has the garden you want and do what they do.

It takes more effort to water and feed the garden than it does to eliminate that single weed, but the results are so much more satisfying. Remember: The garden is only as good as the person tending to it.

Joe Clementi is the general manager and sales trainer at Sacramento Kia. He can be contacted at 800.452.5606, or by email at jclementi@autosuccessonline.com.

10

autosuccessonline.com

SHOWROOM SALES

PHONE SALES

INTERNET & BDC

DIGITAL MARKETING

DON’T LET

YOUR PEOPLE

PRACTICE WITH REAL

CUSTOMERS. Highly Interactive 24/7 Virtual Training Drilling & Role-Play Phone & Showroom Sales Simulator Testing & Certification Tracking, Accountability & Reporting

e w w w.B ra d le y O n D

m a n d .c o m

“ This is a new chapter for us. We know exactly who we are targeting and where they are both physically and in the ownership cycle.”

JOE ORR | GENERAL MANAGER

Dick Hannah Honda is a high-volume dealership in Vancouver, Washington HERE’S HOW IT WORKS. that has been the region’s No. 2 Honda store for years. Their “Believe In Nice” tagline and business practices have earned them a loyal customer base and DICK HANNAH’S STRATEGY “We’ve reorganized all of our marketing and our numerous awards from regional publications — including the Columbian’s processes. This led to improved sales numbers and 2014 Reader’s Choice Award for “Best Auto Buying Experience in Clark County.” has allowed us to eliminate waste,” said Joe Orr, Dick In November of 2014, General Manager Joe Orr and his team executed a new targeted marketing strategy that put another award in the store’s trophy case and helped them do what had never done before – become the No. 1 Honda dealership in the Northwest.

As a result of this strategy, used car sales are up 21 percent YOY and in just five months, new car sales are up 15 percent and service revenue is up more than $131,000.

Hannah Honda’s general manager who has been at the store since 1991. Orr refined the dealership’s processes to create a better customer experience and shifted their marketing strategy away from expensive mass marketing and into targeted marketing channels that allow him to exclusively target in-market shoppers who have the highest conversion rates and live in ZIP codes with the lowest cost per sale. The targeted marketing channels used in this strategy are traditional, digital, mobile, social, reputation, niche, targeted, merchandising, publicity and retention.

“Good ROI begins with good data,” Orr said. “To help us get the most from our marketing, we use a centralized analytics tool that analyzes every ZIP code in our market to identify which ZIP codes have the highest historical conversion rates and lowest cost per sale.

From there, we identify the ‘Perfect Prospects’ who live in those areas. These are customers with the highest statistical probability of buying and servicing with our dealership, both now and in the future. Once we have this data, we use digital marketing and geo-targeting technology to deliver very specific offers.”

DIGITAL DOMINANCE

Using a single agency allows Dick Hannah Honda to deliver consistent branding and messaging across all of their targeted marketing channels – Websites, email, direct mail, SEO, SEM, display, retargeting, social media and point of sale.

In November, Honda was one of the top five automotive brands searched on Google. To take advantage of this, Dick Hannah Honda executed a strategy that worked hand-in-hand with the marketing dollars being spent by his association. TeamVelocityMarketing.com executed digital marketing campaigns designed to grow retention and market share, while Tier10 .com executed conquest campaigns to generate opportunities with Honda’s major competitors, such as Toyota and Nissan, from the Tier 2 angle.

“The integrated strategy that Tier10 and Team Velocity Marketing put together has allowed us to increase sales while spending far less on traditional media at the dealership level,” said Orr. “We have 85 percent of our marketing budget now allocated to targeted marketing with most of that going to digital, with the remaining 15 percent allocated to traditional.”

DICK HANNAH’S PERFECT MARKET™

$164

PER CAR SOLD

This strategy appears to be producing great results across the entire association, as 14 of 18 Honda stores achieved more than 100 percent of their Honda objective.

Dick Hannah was at the top of the group — achieving 122 percent of their Honda objective in January 2015.

COVERING THE BASES

“One of our biggest initiatives for 2015 is to upgrade more of our customers before they begin to shop,” Orr said. The strategy that Dick Hannah uses to increase customer retention and generate more same-brand trades is called the Vehicle Exchange Program. This program notifies every Honda owner that they are eligible to upgrade to a better Honda for a better payment. Customers are notified via email, mail, phone and when they come in for service. The dealership receives an email every morning that shows the eligible consumers that are scheduled to have their vehicles serviced that day and they receive messages 90 minutes before each customer arrives.

“This program is designed to be as simple as upgrading a phone, hotels or flight,” said David Boice, owner of Team Velocity Marketing, the company that created the program and provides the Perfect Prospect technology for Dick Hannah Honda.

Unlike first-generation equity mining tools that rely on the dealership’s efforts to generate results, Dick Hannah’s loyalty marketing system automates the tasks dealerships often don’t do, or don’t do well. This begins by evaluating every customer who has ever done business with their sales and service departments and automatically creating customized campaigns for each customer based on their credit score, their equity position and the finance programs being offered by the dealership’s lenders.

“The program is highly targeted,” Orr said. “It’s been having great results, and loyalty is something we are beginning to focus on. Every customer who qualifies based on the dealership’s parameters receives an email and a direct mail piece that directs them to a personalized Website. These Websites allow customers to learn more about the offers they just received and explore the dealership’s inventory in a unique way.

Each Website is pre-loaded with all of the customer’s current vehicle information. This allows them to compare the features of their current vehicle against the features of newer vehicles and see real loan and lease options on every new and used vehicle the dealer has in inventory with their equity position already factored in.”

In addition to capturing customers before they begin to shop, Orr and his team designed a program that geo-targets customers in their market, who are actively shopping on their Website. “Our Website changes based on where the consumer is currently

Perfect Prospect™ technology allows Dick Hannah Honda to focus their marketing on in-market shoppers who live in ZIP codes that have the highest conversion rates and lowest cost per sale. located,” Orr said. “Since we sell to customers in two states, we’ve adapted our Website to communicate different messages based on where our customers are physically located. For example, customers in Oregon do not have sales tax, so we present one set of offers to them and a completely different set of offers to customers who are viewing our site from locations inside the Washington state border.” Orr references dealersuccess.net as the marketing partner that has helped with their geo-targeting efforts.

According to Google, the dealership’s Website is the No. 1 online destination for in market shoppers.

This is something Orr leverages to his advantage.

“We leverage technology and use our Website to communicate with consumers based on where they are both physically and in the buying cycle,” Orr said.

PLUGGING THE LEAKS

“Believe in Nice” is the Dick Hannah corporate motto. To deliver on this philosophy and to effectively improve their customer experience, Dick Hannah identified where opportunities were being missed or mishandled, and they started with the phones. Phone calls outnumber Internet leads by 6 to 1. This volume across both sales and service can have a meaningful impact on the store’s profitability. According to the “Customer’s Voice” study by CallRevu.com, which analyzes data from more than 2 million sales and service calls every quarter, 54 percent of inbound sales calls never reach a live person.

“That missed opportunity is scary,” said Orr. “We spend a lot of money on marketing to make the phones ring, so we cannot afford to mishandle our opportunities.”

To avoid missed opportunities, Dick Hannah uses safeguards to help increase the ROI of their marketing dollars by assuring that up to 100 percent of sales opportunities are answered, accurately tracked and properly logged into their dealership’s CRM systems.

To avoid and correct mishandled opportunities, Dick Hannah uses a service that monitors 100 percent of sales and service calls from start to finish and feeds data into a real-time dashboard. This gives them an accurate snapshot of how the dealership’s employees are performing, as well as how the customer is interacting with the dealership. If the call isn’t

handled properly, the management team receives real-time alerts that allow them to reconnect with customers before the deal is lost. These alerts are delivered via text message, which has virtually a 100 percent open rate, and they include a detailed summary of what happened so that managers can delegate or take action without having to listen to a recording.

Combining “Perfect Prospect” data with targeted digital marketing and real-time call management is allowing Dick Hannah Honda to generate an impressive ROI on their marketing dollars.

Their cost per sale using this strategy is as low as $118, with an overall average of just $164.

“We are constantly looking toward the future,” Orr said.

“We know that what we’re doing today will be different than what we’re doing two years from now and I challenge dealers to be receptive to new technology and everything that the targeted marketing landscape has to offer.”

DICK HANNAH HONDA MARKETING AND ADVERTISING BUDGET

85%

TARGETED DIGITAL

15%

TRADITIONAL

For more information on the strategies and companies used by Dick Hannah Honda, please email info@AutoSuccessOnline.com.

JoeHenry

leadership solution

part 2

THE RECRUITING INDUSTRY IS NOW PART OF YOUR BUSINESS

Last month, we took a look at why you’re probably having difficulty finding the right skilled employees to fill spots in your dealership’s roster.

Quick recap: Because of a declining workforce and aging demographics, skilled employees must now be actively recruited. So, how should your dealership go about seeking these sought-after potential employees?

Here is how to get them: Passive, But Not Aggressive - In human resource and recruiting, candidates have been categorized into two pigeon holes: active or passive job seekers. Actives are usually unemployed, seeking out employers and job opportunities, as well as showing up for interviews. Passive jobseekers however, are usually employed, but are under-employed.

They are not necessarily pursuing a job; they are waiting for a job to find them. Sound crazy?

LinkedIn and Worker Confidence — Why is LinkedIn growing so fast? Because most American companies’ human resource departments realize “unemployment percentages” that the government claims are way overinflated. That is why American corporations are now chasing candidates on LinkedIn. The U.S. Labor Department calls it “JOLTS” — Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The simple definition of JOLTS is the American worker has become astute and confident enough that he can look for another job while knowing that his employer can’t afford to dispose of him. The Labor Department keeps track of this statistic and, as you can guess, the American worker feels his confidence coming back.

Proactive Instead of Reactive — So what is a dealer or manager or recruiter in our industry to do? Auto/truck/tire/collision skilled laborers and producers typically don’t use LinkedIn, but they do post resumes on the Internet. We have already established that just waiting for candidates to contact you about a job opportunity is about as resourceful as trying to find Amelia Earhart. So finding qualified personnel resumes and reaching out to the candidates is how the big companies are surviving in today’s talent shortage.

Recently, a couple of studies released show that the average American no longer checks his email inbox or voicemails on a regular basis. Gone are the days when “You’ve got mail,” or the flashing voicemail light on your phone provoked the emotion of “can’t wait to find out who is trying to reach me.” Most Americans now check their inboxes or voicemails no more than weekly. In many cases, because the incoming messages are so numerous, many Americans just delete them all and start over.

Professional recruiters in other industries understand and embrace this change. That is why any successful recruiter will tell you that they reach out to the candidate at least three times by phone and email — and sometimes even more.

Seeking a Cure for “Luckless Recruiting”? — The typical response I get from dealers, managers or human resource managers is: “If the candidate does not respond to my call or email after one attempt, I don’t want them!” Seeking a cure for what you perceive as a character flaw of candidates is like pushing a rope. The reality is that if you don’t show today’s auto-skilled workers some hardcore attempts that you really want to visit with them, someone else will. You can say that multiple attempts to contact a candidate is “weapon grade stupidity,” or you can make the effort that the competition won’t. But isn’t making the extra efforts like this in your career the reason you or your dealership are successful today?

When fishing, Go Where the Fish Are — And now you must find venues to view candidates in our industry. Job boards and message boards specializing in auto/truck/tire/collision are your best bet. Some job boards and resume services actually pull from other sources, too.

This is called “scraping” or “sourcing,” but whatever they want to call it, the more resumes and profiles you can view, the better.

It’s a Numbers Game, Baby — Many of your attempts to contact candidates will be simply ignored by candidates. Some days, you will feel like you might as well gas up the dinghy and go fishing with Fredo from The Godfather: Part II. Other days, you will get responses. But one thing is certain, the more candidates you attempt to contact, the better chance you will get candidates to respond. It is all about the number of candidates you reach out to.

You Feel Safe When You are in Control — But you must steer into the “crazy skid” of proactively contacting candidates. I know it is out of your comfort zone to pursue candidates instead of having them contact you; however, think about the book The Agony and the Ecstasy, written by Irving Stone, about the life of Michelangelo and describing the risk and rewards. You are today’s Michelangelo.

Joe Henry is the founder and CEO of ACT Auto Staffing. He can be contacted at 866.618.8995, or by email at jhenry@autosuccessonline.com.

14

autosuccessonline.com

TARGETED CONTENT Drive results with over 300 videos spanning 17 categories custom branded for your dealership Put the industry’s largest “active” library of custom dealer-branded videos to work for your dealership.

Retain your customers and differentiate from your competition unlike ever before by utilizing unlimited embeds across your digital channels:

Websites

Search Engines

BDC

1-to-1 Emails

Social Media

Free Mobile App

In-Store Opportunities

QR Code Generator

FIND OUT MORE:

www.chartermedia.com

PR RO O PR O OF O OF O P F PR R O

sales & training solution

RETENTION AND SELLING TO CUSTOMERS IN THE SERVICE DRIVE

What does the word “retention” mean to dealerships? While most principle owners and GMs look at the retention rate provided by the manufacturer as a tool of how well they retain their current customers, what about the orphan and current customers visiting your dealership every day?

If you ask GMs, they would say, “We help every fresh Up customer who walks in the door.” But the question is, are you really helping all those customers? What about the customers coming into the service department daily? Are you talking to them about purchasing their vehicles and upgrading

vs.

The “Cookie-Cutter” Approach

Nutritional Facts:

The quickest way to a “healthier” bottom line for your dealership is through “The F&I Department”.

In 30 days we will drastically improve your dealerships profits utilizing this principal. If your F&I Department is NOT reaching its potential...it could be because you are a “victim” of the Cookie-Cutter culture.

Suggested Use:

Benefits:

• Significantly Improve PVR in just 30 days.

• Retention Based Selling Process.

• Create Reinsurance Plans designed specifically for you, regardless of your volume.

Ingredients: • • • •

20 Biggest Secrets of F&I 10 Biggest Secrets for Management 20 Biggest Secrets to Sales 10 Best Practices for Increasing Market Share

1-844-MCDAVID 1-844-623-2843

16

autosuccessonline.com

“...Not 70%, not 80%, or even 90% but 100% ...every one of our dealers are making more money since partnering with us.”

- Jim McDavid

The McDavid Group’s successful track record is due largely to understanding that: • Today’s customers are different • Today’s dealerships have different needs and different opportunities.

• Shouldn’t today’s training programs teach differently too?

There is a Better Approach If you answered YES to any of these questions...I invite you to call me personally. It will be the MOST important call or email you will make in 2015: • Call for a zero obligation “test-drive” • Schedule a 45-minute workshop on the 5th and 6th Biggest Secrets in Sales.

Jim@TheMcDavidGroup.com TheMcDavidGroup.com

When a customer comes into the service drive, you have a captive audience. You can talk with them about purchasing their vehicle and upgrading them to a new or pre-owned certified vehicle. The gross averages of selling to customers in service are higher, because you are approaching them before they have the chance to shop other dealerships. Your customers are happy, cause they just purchased a vehicle and didn’t have to pay for a service bill. You have also retained a prior customer from going to another dealership, or you have sold a vehicle to an orphan customer who never has purchased a vehicle from you.

Trade costs for your used car department also go down, because you don’t have to purchase vehicles from the auction and pay the auction fees — saving on average $1,200 to $1,500 a vehicle. Fixed operations for the service department will increase over time. Every new vehicle sold out of the retention department means two vehicles sold for the dealership — one sold in retention department and one sold in used cars. Finally, monthly and yearly sales increase 10 to 30 percent, with a 15 to 45 percent increase in gross revenue.

Some dealerships say they have a data-mining tool and are already doing this. That’s great, but if you’re not seeing the 10 to 30 percent sales increase, then something is wrong. The problem often is that the companies selling data mining programs do not teach you how to be successful. One- to two-day training on the program doesn’t show the dealership how to be successful. It just shows the dealership how to use the program. Find a partner who’ll come into your dealership for 90 days and show your sales team how to sell to the customers in the service drive and be successful.

O F F PR PR O PR O OF O OF P R O

“Recipe for F&I Success”

Our “roll up the sleeves” mentality (we sell cars, we desk deals, we deliver cars) has proven to be a superior approach. “Why?” 1. Our team identifies precisely where the opportunities exist, and then...

2. Our team assists by putting a game plan into action...a specific plan for your specific needs!

Every year, dealerships try to increase their yearly sales 5 to 10 percent over the prior year.

To accomplish this, dealerships rely on three forms of customer traffic: • Fresh walk-in traffic (“Fresh Ups”) • Repeat customers • Internet sales To accomplish this goal, dealerships spend thousands of dollars marketing to get more traffic to their dealership and capture more market share. By spending vast amounts of money, there still is no guarantee the dealership will obtain their goals. This is the importance of selling to customers in the service drive.

The McDavid

Warning: The Cookie-Cutter culture approaches every dealership the same way. This far too common approach “falls short” as it fails to recognize the differences from one dealership to the next.

“Sometimes you just can’t make a square peg fit into a round hole...no matter how hard you try.”

them to a new or pre-owned certified vehicle?

Cass Suwinski is the president at Retention Consulting Inc. He can be reached at 866.440.3445, or by email at csuwinski@autosuccessonline.com.

O

F

O

CassSuwinski

EricBolster

marketing solution

part 2

CONTENT MARKETING: Making the 90’s Foot Traffic Today’s Web Traffic

Last month, we started a discussion on why having content that captures the readers’ attention can put your Website on a higher level than the competition. This month, we’ll look at what kind of content can increase the number of visitors your Website receives, while also improving customer retention.

To help grasp the idea of the impact that effective online content can have, ask yourself — and keeping your dealership in mind — if you want to: • Increase number of leads generated (not bought)?

• Increase sales readiness of leads?

• Increase both brand awareness of your dealership and brand awareness of the product you have parked on the lot?

• Increase leads and traffic to your service department?

• Inform consumers of new products and community involvement?

• Increase organic search engine rankings (over third-party lead vendors and your competition)?

• Increase Website visitors (giving your team a chance to interact)?

• Increase marketing ROI? • Improve customer retention?

• Increase social media rankings and engagement?

Have you found an area of your dealership that you know needs improvement? How many?

When first thinking about your content, start with the questions you hear in your showroom, on the phone and via email. When I was in the dealership, it was always questions such as

18

autosuccessonline.com

“What’s the difference between X & Y?” and “What makes this car better than X?” Landing pages are a great way to provide information on a specific model or serve as a comparison page on models you have on the lot versus the ones your competitor has on their lot. This is a way to effectively educate consumers not only on your brand, but also on your dealership, as you become the source of trusted information. Keep in mind a successful landing page will engage the consumer with information — ideally with a simple call to action for further engagement, a click to review inventory on the model just researched or an appointment to set up a test drive at your dealership right from the page. All of this can be done for service and community involvement, as well.

Speaking of service and community, why not educate consumers on when to rotate tires, showcase specials or even let them know you’re sponsoring a blood drive?

Blog posts, written uniquely to your consumer base on any of those topics, is a great way to spread the word while increasing indexable content on search engines. The more information you have online, the more consumers will click and land on your Website, providing opportunities for more interaction with the dealership. Perhaps more importantly, you have branded your dealership logo or motto into the consumer’s mind. The next time they are ready to buy or service, they will look to you.

These two types of content are great, and should be written every month, but how do you share news on behalf of the dealership? How do you let the world know you’re one of the rare CDJR stores to receive a new Challenger Hellcat?

Press releases created in news-article fashion, being utilized by a domain authority news outlet, is an accredited and effective way to reach the masses with newsworthy events. One advantage to press releases are the popularity of other news authorities that pick up your original article and link traffic back to you as the source.

These three types of original content show you ROI each month in increased lead generation and lead readiness. The road map you want to create is an increase Web traffic = increase inbound leads = increase car sales, all while decreasing or even eliminating your budgets and dependency with third-party vendors.

Put bluntly: If you’re not content marketing, you are missing more than Website traffic. You are missing sales and increasing obscurity, as your foot traffic from 1993 is today’s Web traffic.

Eric Bolster is regional sales manager for DealerSocket. He can be contacted at 866.662.9958, or by email at ebolster@autosuccessonline.com.

LarryBarditch

marketing solution

FOUR STEPS TO PAY-PER-CLICK SUCCESS Successful PPC campaigns aren’t for the faint of heart. They should be executed by someone with experience and knowledge, and the best campaigns are assisted by technology that applies science to the art of pay-per-click.

The first step to a successful campaign is the initial planning and organization. Since dealers don’t have an unlimited budget, first “own your backyard” — the 25 miles around your dealership. First, determine who your hypertarget market is, where they are located and the time they research and buy. This stage also includes determining your key performance indicators and setting up benchmarks and goals. Conversions — the action taken after the click, such as calls, forms, maps, directions, etc.

— are a top indicator. Don’t get caught in the PPC pitfall of cost-per-click. A lower-funnel click looking for a specific make/model (i.e.

Chevy Silverado 2500) is worth more than a high-funnel click looking for a pickup truck.

Another important ingredient is developing mobile campaigns, as 50 percent of automotive searches are now made from mobile devices.

20

autosuccessonline.com

The second step is creating a relevant PPC ad, using engaging text and content. Accurate keywords and campaigns are the lifeline to success. Design your ad to become part of the consumer’s consideration set and win the click to your Website. The more work you invest in setting up these ads, the more relevant they’ll be to the consumer and, more importantly, to Google. Google ranks ads by quality score. Ads with higher quality scores receive better placement and pay a lower bid cost. Creating custom ads separates intended buyers from browsers. Also, include negative keywords to avoid unwanted clicks. If you’re a Honda store advertising Honda Civics, you don’t want to appear in a search on “civic duty.” Sounds silly, but you want to avoid the correlation.

The third step is conversion rate optimization through the landing page experience. If a consumer is searching for “best lease price on a BMW 750i,” your ad should be specific to the make/model and, in this case, provide a competitive lease price. The consumer should be taken to a landing page that shows the features and benefits of the 750i and, again, provides a lease price. To increase conversion rates, provide multiple options for the consumer; i.e. “value my trade,” “apply for finance” and “chat” buttons. Also, offer alternate similar vehicles; i.e. certified pre-owned, used and even a lesser model for price comparison. The landing page experience is also a factor in Google’s quality score and assists in placement and cost.

Lastly, examine your results on a weekly basis. Auditing your analytics avoids waste and helps create better targets and campaigns. Almost 26 percent of most campaigns are wasted on wrong messages, audience and time. For a free digital audit on your PPC campaign, please email me.

Larry Barditch is the vice president of digital strategy and innovation for MSA Advertising. He can be contacted at 866.590.1624, or by email at lbarditch@autosuccessonline.com.

Your Dealership DMS data is Golden.

If you knew your DMS was going to be hacked tomorrow, would you change the way you did business today?

DealerVault provides a secure, easy to use solution to manage, control and safeguard dealership DMS data & distribute it to vendors with $20 million dollars of cyber liability insurance.

Simple | Secure | Insured ay: 8 7 7 . 8 3 4 . 2 4 5 1 d o T Call www.dealervault.com

What is DealerVault?

DennisMcGinn

leadership solution

USING RECONDITIONING WORKFLOW TO SOLVE MANY DEALERSHIP HEADACHES

Getting your cars through reconditioning and PDI is only the halfway mark to “sale complete.” The second half starts at “contracted” and ends when the “funded” deal is sent to accounting. Both recon/PDI and deal-flow are perfect candidates for workflow technology, but with a different set of rules and users. The need for speed and efficiency is even more critical in deal-flow, because now your customer experience is at risk.

In recon, the stock number is the critical key, but when vehicles advance from recon/PDI to deal-flow, the deal number becomes the key. This allows for an alternate vehicle to be swapped into a working deal, which is needed if the desired car is sold to another customer before the deal is complete. The included chart shows how a workflow application allows this to happen and how the two are connected.

DePaula Chevrolet in Albany, New York, started using workflow to measure and manage their recon time-to-market 36 months ago, and now have their processes dialed to have their used cars, trades and auction purchases on the frontline in 48 hours. While recon was working like clockwork, their deal-flow was still being handled the old way, using logs and paper.

Paul Lynch, who heads the dealership’s sales operations, decided to also configure a second workflow to manage deal-flow.

The fact that DePaula was already successfully turning their used cars through a recon workflow system gave Paul the idea, “Why can’t I also use workflow to manage every deal, for both new and used, from contracted to

finalized?” This is exactly what he did, which included having his F&I managers add their own customized steps to a secondary workflow, further enhancing the transparency and accountability of their dealership.

As head of sales operations, he Recon Workflow Deal Workflow again utilized their workflow application by solving a common 1 In-Transit 11 1 Used Inventory 237 service department problem, 2 Trades 5 2 New Inventory 474 which in turn, improved the overall 3 Received 3 ************ customer experience. Many sales 4 7 Photos 2 4 Deal Written 2 transactions include promises made 5 Evaluation 10 5 Roger 2 during the sales process known 6 UCM Approval 6 Don 3 as “We Owe” agreements. These 7 Service Repair 6 7 Pat 4 promised goods or services are 8 Parts Hold 3 8 George 2 picked-up or installed at a later 9 Body Shop 1 9 Approved 3 date, and a deal is not complete until then. This simple scenario 10 Sublet 10 Locate Vehicle 4 makes understanding “We Owe” 11 Detail 2 11 Ordered Vehicle 1 perfectly clear: A truck bed liner 12 39 Photos 12 Sublet 2 is promised in the sales process, 14 Front-Line Ready 12 13 Pre-Check to Acct. 2 but the customer doesn’t want to 16 Wholesale 31 14 Billed 3 wait for the liner to be installed 17 ************ 15 Physically Deliver 16 to take delivery. Frequently, that 18 New In-Transit 12 16 Pending Funding 14 customer returns and the part is 19 New Service/PDI 4 17 Missing DMV/ 1 not in-house, the salesperson is not 20 New Detail 3 Rebate around and the service department 21 New Photos 8 18 We Owe’s 6 can only try to placate the customer while verifying the “We Owe” 22 New Front-line 11 19 Complete 69 agreement. Such situations generate Ready 20 Dead Deals 4 a negative customer experience.

Paul added “We Owe” to his deal-flow application to ensure all pertinent agreements of the sale is documented and that no sale is complete until the “We Owe” is satisfied.

DePaula, in making full use of their workflow application, now has visibility and metrics for both time-to-market to the frontline, and separately, from deal-written to deal-complete, which just happens to be the same complete cycle from dollars-invested to dollars-returned.

Dennis McGinn is the founder and CEO of Rapid Recon. He can be contacted at 866.268.3582, or by email at dmcginn@autosuccessonline.com.

Introducing

Steel Ranger™ 9000 L High Performance Rolling Steel Door for “the other” service doors The perfect complementary service door to main entrance / exit doors. ✔ Springless, maintenance-free operation with 500,000 cycle warranty. ✔ Fast opening speed of 36” / second is 4-1/2 times faster than traditional roll-up doors. ✔ Attractive Decotherm® panel only available from Hörmann is insulated and extremely durable.

Call us today and learn about the revolutionary Steel Ranger™ 9000 L. Expect more out of your rolling steel doors.

Hörmann High Performance Doors Contact us ▶1-800-365-3667 / 1-724-385-9150 www.hormann-flexon.com ● info@hormann-flexon.com

22

autosuccessonline.com

5&2 500,000 Cycle Warranty

The used car business used to be a gamble.

But I’m not a betting man. I’m not a psychic.

I don’t like wasting time wondering — I’d rather make the move I know will work. When we switched to Provision, I finally felt like myself.

Like the guy who knows what my shoppers want before they do, and has it before they get here. The guy who always comes out ahead, and leaves the guessing and gut-checking to the guy down the street.

NOW, I NEVER GAMBLE.

I JUST WIN.

TODAY IS WON. LET’S TAKE ON TOMORROW. Schedule a demo today. vAuto.com/justwin | 888-362-5783

EdLouis

marketing solution

UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF MOBILE APP ACTIVITY A careful review of app data analytics teaches us many things about apps and their benefits to dealers. The most important lesson to learn is that every dealer who has an app has some sort of consumer activity. Our goal is to discuss how to measure the success or the degree of that activity and how app stats can impact all areas of your dealership.

This is the ultimate goal of the app — to generate activity from your customers. This activity is what can improve customer relations, increase brand awareness and impact the bottom line. Dealers try many things to attract, sell and retain customers: Websites, social media sites, billboards, radio/TV commercials and more. The science behind marketing is ever changing.

The data now all points to mobile and what used to be a trend is now an expected part of your business. Since a dealer-branded mobile app impacts so many areas of your business, shouldn’t it be a serious part of your marketing and retention strategy?

Mobile apps for auto dealers are a dynamic and emerging technology. Since the majority have smartphones and use apps, we can relate to the fact that apps generate activity. For dealers, this activity can lead to increased CSI, more sales, customers who come back for service and increased revenue. Dealer apps have gone far beyond the “cool factor.” Why? Because they generate consumer activity. Even though the download and activity numbers vary per dealer, it is still worth noting that any activity can impact your business. The success of an app largely depends on the activity it generates and how a dealer decides to use the app in their everyday processes (also known as “app marketing”).

What Can Affect the Numbers?

Very few “systems” you invest in have the ability to impact all areas of your business the way an app can. It is a communication tool, a branding tool, a sales tool, a service tool and a utility tool. Naturally, more downloads increase the activity level throughout the app. This is one of the major differences between a mobile app and a mobile Website. You must advertise your app — you’ve seen eBay, Hertz, GEICO, Walmart, Best Buy, Delta and others advertise their apps. All this effort is necessary to generate app activity.

Here are nine areas of overall app activity that should be important to you: • Number of times your app is accessed • Inventory views • Scheduled service • Messages viewed (push notifications) • How many times your dealership’s number is dialed • Number of Carfax (or similar) viewed • Number of vehicles created • Number of profiles created • How often Facebook or social media is accessed

It is important to understand that there are variables that affect the activity of an app, such as the brand, location, customer demographics, the app itself (features) and dealer participation. Some dealers have an app just to say that they have one. Maybe a competitor has one and they don’t want to be outdone. They don’t promote it, send out push notifications or use it internally. Other dealers take more of a proactive approach and make the app part of their culture. They advertise it everywhere (digital and print), they get their staff involved in using and promoting it and they send out regular push notifications. In both scenarios, the results vary but there are always results.

Obviously, the dealers who make it part of their culture experience greater results. And this is where it becomes interesting. Push notifications, geo-fencing and chat messaging via the app makes it a serious contender in the customer acquisition and retention game. Dealers sell cars via the app, service activity increases, inventory views are high and push notification views are strong. For those dealers, they would say that despite not being able to put a hard dollar amount on ROI, the app is successful. It is a contributing factor in the monthly revenue, not to mention that, out of all the marketing and retention strategies, the cost of ownership of an app is significantly less expensive.

Future of Apps

Stats show that the average consumer, if given the option of an app vs a mobile site for a business, will frequently choose the app. Why? Because of convenience, functionality and performance.

They inherently know that an app should provide a better experience than a Website. Engagement features will only get better. OEM involvement and connected vehicle technology will require the use of more apps. New features are being added that will amaze your customers, including paying for service via the app, interactive staff directories, personal greeting services, vehicle information portals, mobile wallets, local notifications, rewards system and more. All of these advances will make doing business with you easier and increase your bottom line.

App marketing must be included in a dealer’s marketing strategy. The goal is to help educate on the features of the app, how to market the app, understanding the analytics as well as sending out push notifications. Thousands of downloads will not happen overnight. By following an app marketing plan, consistent downloads and app activity will increase over time. As long the app is part of the process, the bottom line will be impacted positively. The time invested is worth it. Keep up with promoting your app and you will be able to capitalize on the activity.

For an in depth look at your app’s activity, please contact your mobile app provider to review your app’s analytics.

Ed Louis is the CEO and co-founder of DealerApp Vantage. He can be contacted at 866.604.6710, or by email at elouis@autosuccessonline.com.

ADWORDS

PREMIER

SMB PARTNER

24

autosuccessonline.com

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN YOUR DEALERSHIP AND YOUR STAFF

VISIT US AT MOTOFUZE.COM (800) 221-6920

PR PR O PR O OF PR O OF P O OF P RO O P RO O F F R O PR O F P O OF P O P R F PR RO O O O F

DEALER PANEL THE

JackGarrity

marketing solution

DESIGNING YOUR RETENTION PROGRAM

THE PANEL WILL SEE YOU NOW!

Our Dealer Panel gives voice to dealers, GMs and sales professionals to share their experiences — sales techniques, new technologies and ways to motivate staff — giving our readers the benefit of their experiences.

SEE PAGE 28 FOR MORE...

There is a lot of confusion today about what customer retention actually is. Lately, every time I talk to dealers, they tell me about their new program. They have a new factory rewards card, their DMS provider has a loyalty program, they have a Website that is driving retention, a CRM or lifetime something. Everyone seems to be looking for the Holy Grail, but no one is very sure where to look. This confusion can lead to some crazy decisions. What works? How much should I spend? Should I let someone else brand me or should I do it myself? How you set up your customer retention program can affect your dealership for years to come. Let’s break it down: How much should I spend? A dealer could go broke trying to give incentives to his customers to keep them from defecting. One dealership gives away lifetime oil changes and keeps 85 percent of his customers in his service drive for the life of their car. Another one says, “Are you kidding me?

Free oil changes that would cost me a fortune. People will just come here and get their oil changed and leave.” Which one is right? The both are. Free oil changes for life are the strongest retention tool he can offer his customers. An 85 percent retention rate will grow his business years and years into the future. However, if you set up a program like this and you can’t manage it, you will get killed.

Let’s look at reward cards. They are probably the most recognizable retention tool in the marketplace. For the dealer, most of the heavy lifting has been done by other industries.

Hotels, airlines and grocery stores have programed customers for years to expect something for their business. Reward cards are great. Customers love them. They do, however, have their drawbacks. If you use one the factory provides, who are you branding? Factory reward cards have very little flexibility; they’re sort of a “one size fits all” product. Reward cards might not have the bang for the buck a retention program needs.

They should be looked at as a bullet in the retention gun — not the be-all and end-all.

Now, let’s drill down a little deeper. Is there one program that works for everyone? Do we need something different for new customers versus used customers? Do we sell it or give it away?

Can we create a retention program that will help us with conquest marketing in our PMA? As you can see, this can get pretty complex.

Trust me, though; it is worth the effort.

Nothing creates a firmer foundation for your business than an 85 percent retention rate on all of your customers — new, used and service.

Everyone seems to be looking for the Holy Grail, but no one is very sure where to look. This confusion can lead to some crazy decisions. What works? How much should I spend? Should I let someone else brand me or should I do it myself? How you set up your customer retention program can affect your dealership for years to come.

The bottom line is this: In today’s market, the biggest opportunity for profit comes on the service drive. We spend hundreds of dollars enticing customers to buy a car, but very little to keep them as a customer after the purchase. Your retention program should keep your customers from defecting. As you design your program, keep in mind that it’s your program. Make sure it has a great deal of flexibility to answer all your needs. Do monthly training with your people. Have a tracking system that will keep you up to date on what’s working and what’s not. You’re not trying to brand the factory; you’re trying to brand yourself as a place your customers feel comfortable coming back to time after time for the life of their vehicle. Flexibility, training and tracking will keep you on the road to developing a consistent and long-lasting program.

Jack Garrity is a partner at Dealership for Life. He can be contacted at 866.871.0240, or by email at jgarrity@autosuccessonline.com.

26

autosuccessonline.com

What’s worse than a one-size fits all SEO or PPC program?

TurnKey Marketing SEO & PPC Programs are market exclusive, don’t rely on automated tools and are 100% customized to your specific needs. That’s the only way it makes sense to us. Call 866-476-7748 for a free SEO & PPC evaluation today!

Search Content Marketing • PPC • Social • Direct Mail

the dealer panel

part 1

BUILDING LOYALTY: Chris Saraceno AndrewDiFeo Marsh Buice Danny Benites Joe Clement i Making a single sale is great, but repeat customers ensure long-term growth and sustainability. For the next three issues, our Dealer Panel will be looking at what has worked to keep their customers coming back, and we kick off this discussion by looking at what has worked to keep customers loyal to their service departments.

AutoSuccess: What type of program has worked for you to increase customer loyalty in the service department?

Andrew DiFeo, GM of Hyundai of St. Augustine: We give two free oil

changes with the purchase of any new or used vehicle, and we couple that THE with our “sales to service” handoff/introduction. It’s important that the first service appointment is set up at the time of delivery. It gets the customer comfortable with our service department, shows them how to schedule an appointment (via online, the phone or Hyundai’s telematic system), shows them where they bring their car for service and introduces them to the service manager. You’d be surprised how many people don’t know where to go in the dealership for service; that can be a roadblock for them. We believe that once we get them in for the two oil changes and show them a good experience, we can earn their loyalty in the service department.

DEALER PANEL

Joe Clementi, GM and Sales Trainer at Sacramento Kia: We

have found the most effective way to create customer loyalty is to create loyalty to your associates. The loyalty you give to your staff will pay dividends over time. The associates who are the happiest and love their jobs the most are the ones your customers are coming back to see.

Recognize those associates who have repeat customers and compensate for the behaviors that you want to create. Also, service initiatives that incentivize customers for spending money have shown tremendous value. Discounts and specials for customers who have multiple vehicles and/or family members are excellent ideas.

Danny Benites, GM of Greg Lair Buick-GMC: Programs like

GM’s Preferred Owner Program, as well as our complimentary lifetime powertrain warranty, have been helpful in our strong retention numbers.

We have found, however, that these types of programs won’t succeed on their own. Getting a customer back in the door is one thing; keeping them requires processes and programs.

Chris Saraceno, VP and Partner of Kelly Automotive Group:

The Service Department

department is we ask. We have someone other than the service advisor our guest worked with (i.e. cashier, warranty clerk, shop foreman) ask if we’ve met their expectations. If our guests say or even convey that they’re not happy with the work we’ve performed, we’ll have a member of management immediately speak to them and readdress the concern or shed more light on the issue. That doesn’t mean we throw money at the problem; often, our guests just don’t understand why a part failed or why it wasn’t a covered warranty item. The worst thing we can do, though, is have our guest wander out of our dealership and wonder if they can trust us. successful solutions provided by

+

AS: What is something a dealer can do today to improve customer loyalty?

AD: I would definitely consider offering some type of free service

to do an initial introduction, as well as making a “sales to service” handoff. Again, having the sales department work well with the service introduction is really important to make customers comfortable.

JC: Hire the right people! Find the people who are aligned with the dealership’s goals and reward them for treating those valuable customers with respect. Read your survey returns — not the numbers, but what the customer is actually saying. Are your customers telling you they don’t like the way they are treated? Are there some common denominators in the responses? Pay attention to the comments from the responders.

DB: I am a big believer in “first things first.” I would recommend that

a dealer begin with a focus on fixing vehicles right the first time. All of the loyalty talk is worthless if you can’t repair your customer’s vehicle initially. Your customers must be able to count on you in order to return to you. Trust is the canvas on which loyalty is drawn.

CS: Our sales consultants schedule the first service appointment. We monitor, track, recognize and reward the sales consultant who has the highest percent of first service appointment shows. We know and understand that once a customer does their first service with us, and experiences our exceptional service and competitive prices, we will have long-term customer loyalty.

MB: You must communicate. We’re all overloaded, but you’ve got to

the listen anddealer communicatepanel with your guests. They aren’t concerned with how many cars are in front of them or that “Backshop Bob” called in sick today; they just want their car fixed. One of the first things advisors do when they are in a jam is stop taking and returning phone calls. The more voicemails a guest leaves, the more aggravated they become. As a leader, you must have your finger on the pulse of your advisors. If you see they are getting overwhelmed or the quality of their work is sliding, jump in immediately and help them. Also, when a guest is in front of you, stop everything else and attend to them. Body language is key — you may be saying all of the right things yet conveying something totally different.

When a guest walks in, we’re all guilty of not looking up from our keyboard, and spewing a monologue of our problems instead of listening to theirs. Make sure you understand their issues so that you can clearly communicate that to your technicians and fix it right the first time.

We have tried several different strategies — coupons, oil changes, email marketing campaigns — and are all good temporary measures, but what we really believe is that loyalty in the service department starts with building a relationship with our customers. Relationships build trust, and trust builds buying habits. Offering exceptional service is the best practice in building loyalty. We have four service centers, and we are fortunate that three of our service directors have been with us for more than 20 years, and of our 14 service consultants, seven of them have been with us more than 10 years. When our customers come back into our service centers and see Saraceno familiar friendly wet believe that’s what makes a difference.

I Chris Tony faces, Provos AndrewDiFeo Brian Benst ock don’t think programs build loyalty; people do through excellent customer service and making sure people feel comfortable. We understand that the first car is sold by the sales department. The only way they’re coming back, though, is if we take care of them in the service department.

Next month, we’ll take a look at what our Dealer Panel does to build loyalty in the first department most customers come into contact with at Marsh Buice, Sales Manager of Mark Dodge their dealership: the sales department.

Chrysler Jeep: We take more of a grass-roots approach in our service department. Sure, we look at If you have questions or are a dealer who would like to be considered for the panel, please contact us at thepanel@autosuccessonline.com. metrics, but what we’ve found beneficial to our service

THE

DEALER PANEL

successful solutions provided by

+

AdamRobinson

leadership solution

THIS IS A PEOPLE BUSINESS, NOT A TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS

Ignore Your Hiring Process at Your Own Peril You’ve invested thousands of dollars on digital marketing to get buyers into your store. You’ve spent a fortune to build a mobile app, a Website and integrations to the big car sites. You’ve invested millions to create an amazing techcentric showroom to enhance the prospect’s buying experience. You’ve deployed enough CRM for three lifetimes. You’ve spent major capital on your Web-based dealer management system that helps you manage all aspects of your operation. You’re ready to sell cars.

On the other side of the ledger, your prospect has spent days researching the market. They’ve read all the review sites. They’ve hit the OEM site to build out their dream configuration.

They’ve hit your store’s URL and searched your inventory. They’re packing up the spouse and kids, and they’re hitting the road to come to your store. They’re ready to buy a car.

Technology, technology, technology. A newcomer spending three minutes walking the convention floor at NADA last month would come away thinking that technology sells cars.

They’d be wrong.

All of the technology in the world is not going automate the human element that’s necessary to close a car sale. As a matter of fact, the technology in which you’ve spent so much money — and the technology the buyer has used to prepare for the purchase — has increased the trust chasm that must be crossed in order to get that deal done.

It’s your people who close that gap.

Who’s the person from your sales team who’s going to be that prospect’s first live, person-toperson interaction with your store? Are they empathetic? Do they listen intently? Do they immediately put that buyer at ease? Are they able to connect with that buyer in a meaningful way? Does the buyer trust your seller?

The answers to these questions have nothing to do with how much technology you’ve bought. If you’ve got the wrong players on your team, your technology is just sending more people to your store who don’t end up buying a car.

30

autosuccessonline.com

The answer to every one of these questions is, “Yes, if you’ve hired the right person for the job.”

What are you doing to make sure you’re hiring the right people? You’ve invested in technology that attracts prospective buyers, but what level of attention are you giving to how your dealership finds and attracts prospective employees?

It’s entirely possible to build a mediocre business with great people, but it’s absolutely impossible to build a great business without them. Dealers and senior managers who under-invest in their store’s hiring process are doing so at their own peril.

Ask yourself the following: • Do you have a standardized, repeatable hiring process for your managers to follow?

• Do you give your managers predictive interview questions to ask, so that they can determine whether or not the person they’re interviewing will be a good fit for the job?

• Are you using the right testing and assessments to really understand the work habits, strengths and weaknesses of your prospective employee?

• Are you following up with managers to make sure they’re following this process?

• More importantly, are you helping them to get better at it?

A great hiring process doesn’t manifest itself out of thin air. Here’s what you can do, right now, to improve the hiring process at your dealership: Make managers accountable. When managers are accountable for the quality of their team, they pay attention to the hiring process. It means that they’re looking at resumes within 24 hours of submission, and that candidates with high potential are getting responded to quickly and respectfully. Expect excellence and you’ll get it.

Follow a script. When your managers are using the same questions to interview every candidate, they focus on the candidate’s answers instead of fumbling for the next question to ask. Arm your managers with a solid interview guide that increases their chances of picking the right person.

Move fast. Here’s the thing about great employees: They’re always in demand. When you have a top-performer considering a move to your team, you need to be responsive and keep the process humming along. Making candidates wait for weeks to get an interview with your GSM is a recipe for disaster. High-potential candidates expect a fast-moving process and an answer as soon as possible, or they’re on to the next opportunity.

I’ll point out that none of these suggestions have anything to do with technology, because, guess what? Recruiting is a sales process, too. Recruiting and selection technology deliver zero value if your manager doesn’t invest in following the process, or runs a bad interview, or has poor followup with top candidates.

Show me a high-performing dealership with limited technology investment, and I’ll show you a management team who has put in the time to make sure they’re finding and selecting the right talent. Show me a low-performing dealership with all of the technology on the planet, and I’ll show you a management team that hasn’t made their hiring process a high enough priority.

For dealers looking to create long-term sustainable advantage in their market, it comes down to people, not technology. Technology drives efficiency, but people drive revenue. And whether we’re talking about the sales process on the front end or the service process after the sale, it’s a fundamental truth about this business that’s never going to change.

Adam Robinson is the chief hireologist at Hireology. He can be contacted at 866.455.1671, or by email at arobinson@autosuccessonline.com.

ScottPechstein

sales & training solution

IS YOUR VENDOR FRIEND OR FOE?

With all the talk about new car price transparency offered by third-party Websites, and with vendors having access to dealers’ sales data today, I think it’s time to consider whether or not your vendor is friend or foe.

Before you determine the answer to that question, let’s take a step back and discuss price transparency.

We’ve all heard the stories. People would rather go to a dentist than visit a dealership. Where are the car keys? They’re on the roof. And of course, numerous movies, TV shows and commercials have depicted the dealership sales process in derogatory ways. The bottom line?

Dealers have gotten a bad rap over the years.

I heard someone once say that everyone who leaves a dealership in a new car thinks they got a great deal until they find out their friends or neighbors paid less. While I agree pricing transparency is good and necessary to enhance our industry’s reputation by helping to reduce the fear that car buyers are getting taken for a ride, I firmly believe the discussion of price should strictly and confidentially occur between the dealer and the customer.

your dealership can customers expect long after they buy?

And when it comes to the actual pricing data, what is the fair range? What is average? Is it accurate? Does it include “friends and family” discounts, or a higher trade-in value that skews the results? Would you consider providing a lower selling price to a loyal consumer who has come to you for years — one who utilizes your service department for all their service, parts and accessories needs? Would you lower the price at the end of the month to potentially qualify for a bonus or an OEM stair-step program? If a customer lives 100 miles away and will never come to you for service, would you price that vehicle differently compared to the price you offer a consumer who lives in your neighborhood?

These are all critically important questions that must be considered when it comes to the issue of pricing transparency. Now let’s consider how the transparent pricing is displayed to consumers at certain Websites.

If the price range provided includes “lower than fair,” “fair” and a price that is deemed as “paying too much,” where would you want to be? Results of focus groups demonstrate that consumers are comfortable in the “fair” pricing range — but, as a consumer, wouldn’t you want the absolute best deal, and if others bought that same vehicle for a lower price, wouldn’t you want to be in that lower price range, too?

So here we are, back at the original question. Is your vendor your friend or your foe? And how do you know?

A great first step is to look at where your vendor places importance and focus. Is it on pricing? Or is it on dealer-oriented tools and services? Wouldn’t you expect a vendor to be a true partner by providing the necessary tools, programs and offerings to help you get the appointment and close the sale, without interfering in the price negotiation?

Here’s why: When pricing is published online, in the context of what others have paid, it puts the emphasis on price as the key element to consider — and seemingly, the most important element — when it comes to buying a car.

This is the very reason why there has been a fundamental breakdown in the automotive sales process. Numerous studies prove that price is not, and should not be, the most important purchase consideration. Yet it’s hard to get beyond the issue of price when third-party Websites start the shopping process with price.

Finally, consider your vendor’s DNA, and whether or not the company you’re currently working with is founded by — or made up of — people who have actually worked in the auto industry, or who have actually sold cars before. It’s extremely challenging for a vendor to truly relate to the daily ins-and-outs of your dealership operations if they don’t know how daily dealership operations work.

You see, there are more important elements consumers must consider when it comes to buying a car. Who will be using it? What purpose will it serve? When it comes to the primary driver, what are the necessary features they require in a vehicle? When it comes to your dealership, what sales and service experience do you offer that sets you apart from the competition? What relationship with

The bottom line is this: When dealers are provided with the tools they need to engage and build relationships with customers on a much deeper level than price alone, from a company that actually understands how the automotive sales process really works, everyone wins. At that point, pricing transparency becomes simply another factor to consider, instead of the most important factor to consider when it comes to buying a car.

Numerous studies prove that price is not, and should not be, the most important purchase consideration. Yet it’s hard to get beyond the issue of price when third-party Websites start the shopping process with price.

Scott Pechstein is the vice president of national sales at Autobytel. He can be contacted at 866.423.9019, or by email at spechstein@autosuccessonline.com.

the no. 1 sales-improvement magazine for the automotive professional

31

JohnDobrick

sales & training solution

part 4

WHEN A LITTLE LATE — CAME A LITTLE EARLY: A Manager’s Rule of Five In the November issue of AutoSuccess, we began by providing a 30,000-foot overview to improving some of the time-management issues occurring in dealerships today. In this final part of the series, we will be taking a detailed look at the fifth step a manager should be completing everyday.

A Short Recap

I recently read an article from renowned leadership expert John Maxwell. In his article, Maxwell used a tree and an axe to illustrate what he calls his Rule of Five.

The analogy: Imagine, a large tree in your yard, and this large tree must come down. The only tool you can use is an axe and you are permitted to take exactly five swings every day. Eventually, this consistent approach (five swings every day) will result in the tree coming down.

Most people would choose a chainsaw to take care of this tree, and the chainsaw would be a quick fix to this particular situation. More times than not, however, the quick-fix approach falls short when it comes to most obstacles and goals. The quick-fix technique lacks consistency, and this lack of consistency opens one up to the many distractions that inevitably occur over the course of any given day in our industry.

A More Consistent and More Productive Approach

Experts agree that a consistent approach is more effective when overcoming obstacles and achieving goals. A unique method to develop

greater consistency is utilizing a “huddles” approach. Here is how it works: Establish three or four daily huddles. These huddles will support your current processes.

• A huddle is short (10- to 12-minute) gathering.

• A huddle is uninterrupted (plan ahead for potential interruptions).

• A huddle puts a plan in-motion.

• A huddle should start the same time every day (building habits).

You will need an egg timer (using a timer on a smartphone will suffice), and the dealer principal or GM should conduct at minimum one of these daily huddles.

The Manager’s Five Everyday Things

The list so far has been: 1. Prepare every day.

3. Prioritize every day.

2. Train every day.

4. Reinforce every day.

To this, we conclude with: 5. Measure Every Day

The “Measure Huddle” — is a 10- to 12-minute follow up for all management, including the service manager and the F&I director. This huddle works in conjunction with the Preparation Huddle held earlier in the day. The Measure Huddle provides the group with the updates from our first huddle of the day — the Preparation Huddle.

Example topics of this type of huddle include:

Introducing

Aptus Websites

“We had three deals worked with figures yesterday without the customer taking delivery. What is the status on those deals?”

• The response might be: “We have an appointment on two of them tonight. We are still working on getting in touch with the third.”

• “We are going to probably need to ‘re-look’ at the a couple of trades, but the customer will be here at 5:30.”

by Naked Lime

“We traded for six vehicles over the weekend. Where are we with those trades?”

• Where are we in the reconditioning process? (UCM/Service Manager) • How many appointments do we have for our brand new trades?

“We had 25 ‘ups’ over the weekend we delivered eight…”

• “We worked figures on 11.”

- What is the status on the three who didn’t take delivery?

• “We had 14 demo rides.”

- What is the status of the six demo rides that didn’t result in a sale?

“We had four missed appointments this weekend. What is the status of those missed appointments?”

One platform. Multiple devices.

Infinite possibilities. #ThisIsWeb

Digital Advertising

Reputation Management

Market Strategy

SEO and Social

Targeted Marketing

“We have two deals in F&I that were not approved…”

• What is the status of those two deals?

Web

Protect your customers. Get more of theirs. | 888.841.8130 | nakedlime.com/aptus © 2014 Naked Lime Marketing. All rights reserved. 11/14

32

autosuccessonline.com

Ultimately, the Measure Huddle helps to create accountability amongst the management team. Nobody wants to be the ill-prepared manager of the group, and the other managers should not allow ill-prepared responses. For a complete copy of the “Manager’s Rule of Five,” please feel free to email me at the address below.

John Dobrick is the vice president of sales and marketing for The McDavid Group. He can be contacted at 800.901.2860, or by email at jdobrick@autosuccessonline.com.

SeanV.Bradley

sales & training solution

part 1

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO SELL 30, 40, 50 OR MORE UNITS PER MONTH ON THE SHOWROOM FLOOR? I often get the question, “What does it take to sell 30, 40, 50 or more units per month on the showroom floor?” Everyone wants to know the secret to my success and others who have sold lots of units and generated lots of revenue.

Most people are looking for the quick and easy path to success and financial freedom.

The truth is that it takes a long time to be an overnight success. There are no magic beans, no unicorns, no silver bullets. It has to do with two main things: 1. Mindset 2. Skillset

Mindset: Having the proper mindset is a must.

You cannot be successful if you don’t believe that you can or should ever be successful. It is sad but true that a lot of people think and talk themselves out of being successful. A lot of people are just negative, skeptical and afraid of success. You might be thinking that I am exaggerating, but I assure you that I am not. I see it on a daily basis at all levels of the dealership, from the front lines all the way up to the dealer principal level. Yes, even at the ownership level.

First and foremost, you have to believe that you can be successful, that you will be successful, that you deserve to be successful, that you will do everything and anything to be successful — and that failure is not an option. It has to be a real expression from your heart, not just words from your mouth. You have to truly want success as bad as you want to breathe. Did you think selling more than units per month and making $400,000 per year was going to be easy?

It’s not. That is why most people don’t do it; but remember — there are people doing it all over the country.

Belief, faith and vision are powerful things.

Dr. Stephen Covey, author of the 7 Habits of Highly Successful People said that things are created twice — first mentally, then physically.

Just as an architect has to draw blueprints before a house goes into construction, you must begin with the end in mind. You must visualize, project and focus on exactly what you want out of your career. How much money

34

autosuccessonline.com

do you want to make? How many cars do you have to sell in order to achieve those numbers?

Most importantly: Why? That’s right, you must detail exactly what you are going to do with all that money and why. The reason is simple: It becomes real. If you just throw out some random number of how much money you want to make with no logic or reasoning, then it is simply just fantasy. There is a huge difference. I want you to focus on reality — on what you want and need to earn and why. Most people don’t do this. They just pick a random number of units to shoot for or a random amount of money to generate without breaking down the details of “why”.

First and foremost,

can will that you deserve to be successful, that you will do everything and that anything to be successful — and is not failure an option.

you have to believe that you be successful, that you be successful,

Another aspect of having the proper mindset is not feeding into everyone else. You must remember that different people are at different stages of life than each other. You cannot let other people influence you in a negative way in regards to you achieving your goals and developing your career. That means do not waste your time with people who are psychic vampires, sucking the life out of you or draining you with their negativity and drama. Surround yourself with positive people. Surround yourself with people who are hustling hard or are trying hard to hustle.

Don’t ever take someone’s bad advice to heart. I have heard and seen it all in my career. From salespeople telling new hires not to take the “stupid” OEM product testing (“Just copy and cheat or skip it all together.”), or to not listen to trainers or training (“Just do it this way….”). I have heard about salespeople and managers making fun of salespeople who actually work and take their job seriously.

Then there are the seriously negative people. All they do is whine and complain about the dealership, the OEM, the customers, the geography, the location of the dealership, the vehicles, the banks…. Everything and anything is a complaint and excuse after excuse after excuse. You cannot let these parasites effect you. You have to ignore them and focus on the task at hand — you selling cars and making a lot of money.

You want to put “blinders” on from all of these weak and broke people around you and remember that you create your own weather.

Next month I will break down the skill set that you are going to need in order to sell 30, 40, 50 or more units per month.

If you have any questions about this article or if you would like a free Test Drive on the BradleyOnDemand 24/7 Virtual Training platform, contact me at the address below.

Sean V. Bradley, CSP, is the founder and CEO of Dealer Synergy, a nationally recognized training and consulting company. He can be contacted at 866.648.7400, or by email at sbradley@autosuccessonline.com.

WE STAND AS A R O D N E V D E R R E F E VW PR

E C N A T S I RES JOIN THE

WEBSITES

CONTENT MARKETING

PAID SEARCH

dealerfire.com/theresistance

SOCIAL MEDIA

TimByrd

leadership solution

WHOSE MONEY IS IT, ANYWAY?

Dealers, remember when you were the green pea in this wonderful business? When I first started selling cars, my sales manager was a retired British officer. “Dot your I’s and cross your bloody T’s,” Jack would bellow. When Jack was a Lieutenant, he knew the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. He told me the story of Gaddafi demanding air conditioning units installed in their barracks in the otherwise holes in the walls. So, the British Army obliged, installing A/C units in each of the holes in the barrack’s walls. The only problem? No electricity.

Jack taught me a lot about car sales, but mostly to be regimented, thorough and meticulous in my work, which helped me tremendously as an F&I manager. He also warned me not to rush through a sale and leave money on the table, all the while creating a dissatisfied customer.

Now, after more than 25 years in this business, I’m reminded how important it was, and is, to have good mentors and training along the way.

dealer, you are facing a much bigger challenge.

It seems as fast as you bring money in one door, it goes out the other.

To address this, I would like you to consider a tool you may have overlooked. Even if you haven’t overlooked it, you’re probably not using this valuable tool to its fullest.

I’m talking about reinsurance.

There are three types of dealers out there: 1. Those who have a reinsurance company, but are not using it to its fullest.

2. Those who are scared to have a reinsurance

company, mainly because the factory reps have intimidated them into being loyal to the factory. Or they have been hoodwinked into believing from some F&I development company that all that underwriting profit is a fair exchange for training.

3. Those who have a reinsurance company,

Don’t leave money on the table. That’s what you kept telling yourself as a newbie. Today, as a

are reinsuring every product possible and working to put as many premium dollars as possible into that company — and receiving world-class training along the way.

I was at a conference the other day, talking to a New Mexico dealer who said, “If I could figure out how to have a reinsurance company without selling cars, that’s all I would do.” That’s how beneficial it is. He is a believer.

I think it’s fair to say you fall somewhere within these three categories. I encourage you to “quit leaving money on the bloody table” as my friend Jack would say. Put yourself in a position to have greater control of your business and greater personal financial growth.

A reinsurance company is a great affiliated business to own as a car dealer. It has a wealth of benefits regardless whether you own a franchise, a “buy here pay here” operation, or both. As I have heard many dealers say “It’s probably the smartest thing I ever did.”

Tim Byrd is an author and founder and president of DealerRE. He can be contacted at 866.347.6022, or by email at tbyrd@autosuccessonline.com.

About

41%

of mobile car shoppers use automotive apps during the purchase process

66%

of consumers are likely to register within a dealer app

45%

Nearly

50%

of in-market shoppers use smartphones at some point during the process of selecting a car About

80%

of time on mobile is spent inside apps

of consumers prefer using downloadable automotive apps to automotive websites(24%)

Attract, Sell, Retain Customers with a Dealer Branded Mobile App

36

autosuccessonline.com

The Nation’s #1 Mobile App Provider for Dealerships

dealerappvantage.com

877-531-2777

BobHarwood

sales & training solution

OPPORTUNITIES ARE THERE FOR THE TAKING

I hardly think that I am going out on a limb by assuming that everyone reading this article would like to be making more money than you currently are. Whether you are making five figures per month or living on a draw while you wait for your first commission check, one thing that most people in our industry have in common is that we are not satisfied and always want more. While this may be seen as a negative characteristic in some circles, for us “greed” is repackaged as “hunger” and “drive”. If we can agree that most people who last for more than a few months are Type A, driven people, how can you rise above the masses and lead the pack?

There are myriad answers to that question, but often the most overlooked are training, education and effort. I can not count the number of times that a general manager has complained to me that their owner won’t pay for staff training, or a salesman has had the same thought about their general manager.

My answer, regardless of who is doing the complaining, is that learning better ways to do your job does not have to be an expensive

proposition, and in fact can often be done for free.

There are quite a few great trainers in the industry, and without a doubt attending one of their functions or having them come into your dealership is the best way to translate their knowledge and ideas into more sales. If, however, the budget doesn’t include a line item for that level of training, don’t fear; you can get a lot of the information for free. Just about every trainer that I know uses a Website, multiple social media outlets, email blasts and articles to keep themselves relevant in the industry. A ton of content is required in order to keep all of these outlets active, so while you won’t get the full trainer experience, you can definitely glean a daily nugget that will help you to advance your skills.

Another easy target for padding your wallet is your dealership’s existing database. I know that every salesperson wants more fresh leads, but if you feel like you can work more than what you are getting from your lead providers, there are probably a ton of orphaned owners in your database who have not heard from anyone at your dealership since their last purchase. Give them a call and introduce yourself and, even if they aren’t in the market right now, you can start to establish a relationship for when they are ready.

I’ll grant you that I am not offering any earth-shattering insights here, and that it is unlikely that this is the first time you have heard these ideas. I do wonder, however, how many people have actually implemented them and stuck with it for a while. My challenge to you this month is to try these two simple ideas for 30 days and see how your results improve.

Bob Harwood is the vice president of Interactive Financial Marketing Group. He can be contacted at 866.286.1339, or by email at bharwood@autosuccessonline.com.

1

#

We’re proud to announce that our client, Toyota of Hollywood is Southeast Toyota’s #1 Volume Dealer for 2014! #

7087 NEW TOYOTAS!

1 Based On Total Retail Sales Of New Toyotas In The Southeast Region For 2014 Per SET.

ONE Agency, ONE Message MSA combines the most cutting edge traditional advertising with the most innovative digital marketing to deliver a relevant, engaging & unified message across all marketing channels.

For more information or a complimentary digital audit, please contact Larry Barditch at 305.801.9677 or Larry@MSAadvertising.com

AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING America’s Automotive Advertising Agency Since 1976

Corporate Headquarters: 2915 SW 27th Avenue • Miami, Florida 33133 Regional offices in Virginia, Illinois & North Carolina MSAadvertising.com the no. 1 sales-improvement magazine for the automotive professional

37

leadership solution

DalePollak

THREE WAYS EFFICIENCY-FOCUSED DEALERS WILL GAIN ADVANTAGE IN NEW VEHICLES It’d be safe to bet that 2015 will be a good year for dealers.

The forecasts are rosy. The consensus among analysts is that dealers will likely retail around 17 million new vehicles this year, a tally the industry hasn’t seen since 2006.

Generally speaking, you could say that all boats will rise for dealers as the tide of new vehicle sales continues to swell.

But some dealers will do a lot better in this positive retail environment than others.

Their advantage will come from two primary factors. First, these dealers will work hard to claim their fair share, if not more, of increased new vehicle market share and sales volumes. But more importantly, the dealers will also deploy an operational strategy that emphasizes efficiencies to increase the margin they make on the sale of every vehicle, and help them sell more new vehicles in less time.

I believe this efficiency-focused strategy will provide a keen competitive advantage for the dealers who adopt it. That’s because these dealers will be proactively managing the market forces — such as increased factory incentive spending, a higher level of pricing transparency and a

Own Your Online Reputation Like Never Before Focused Solutions that Drive Business

360Connect

ServiceEngage

Our original award-winning program transforms consumer reviews into increased sales for your dealership

Drive more service lane traffic

Take control of your web-wide presence

Attract both new and return car-buying customers to your service lane

Engage with more auto shoppers through the power of social networks

Not Certified?

What are you waiting for?

DealerRater.com/CDP

38

800.266.9455

autosuccessonline.com

greater hunger among dealers to sell more new cars — that continue to compress the profit margin potential on every new vehicle.

The efficiency-focused dealers tend to apply this strategy to three key areas of their new vehicle operations to maximize sales and margins: Stocking New Vehicle Inventory

These dealers base stocking decisions on market data that instantly shows the vehicles on the ground in their markets, and the specific cars/ colors/configurations that buyers want the most. With these competitive insights, the dealers gain inventory and margin efficiencies as they consistently acquire vehicles that will sell quickly and pose less, if any, risk from interest expense.

New Vehicle Pricing

These dealers understand that most buyers are at least aware of fair market asking and transaction prices, given the time they typically spend online to figure them out. By applying this knowledge to their new vehicle pricing online, dealers gain a larger share of interested buyers because asking prices fit their expectations for a deal. In many ways, the emerging science of market-efficient new vehicle pricing follows the same principles dealers have applied in their used vehicle departments.

New Vehicle Purchase Process

When these dealers stock the specific new vehicles buyers want, and offer prices the market validates as fair and reasonable, a good thing happens in the showroom: It’s a lot easier to come to consensus with customers on a deal. Efficiency-minded dealers apply this reality as they reinvent their sales processes to minimize discounts and negotiations, and shrink the time it takes to close a deal. These dealers view such sales process overhauls as necessary to maximize their front-end profit margin and the productivity of individual sales associates, while making it more easy and efficient for customers to purchase cars.

Some progressive and tech-savvy dealers are going even further in their efforts to make purchase processes more efficient. They are changing their Websites and new vehicle listings to make both more transactional, rather than informational, in nature. The end goal, of course, is to facilitate the efficient purchase of a vehicle while maximizing the margin on every sale — gains that flow, in part, by allowing technology and tools to perform elements of a transaction that have traditionally been handled by highly paid personnel in the dealership.

It should be noted that dealers making these efficiency-focused operational changes are doing so at a time when they really don’t have to.

They could simply continue doing business as usual and close out 2015 with decent results in their new vehicle departments.

Get Certified Today

But “decent” isn’t good enough for these efficiency-focused dealers, which is why I think they’ll have a better year than their less-efficient 800.266.9455 competition.DealerRater.com/CDP Dale Pollak is the founder of vAuto and a best selling author. He can be contacted at 866.867.9620, or by email at dpollak@autosuccessonline.com.

From: Jane Consumer

STOP sending me selfies!!!

Take control of your texting before your texting gets out of control.

There’s no question about it… texting can help you grow sales. But if you aren’t monitoring your dealership texting you could end up with big problems. TextShield from Autobytel is the complete Texting Lead Management system that not only gives you control over your dealership texting but also allows you to add text services across your marketing activities to help drive more business to your dealership.

Contact us today to find out how you can try TextShield for FREE!

Text ABTL to 45555. Or call 1-866-458-1867. Or check us out at mobile.autobytel.com/TextShield

Text better. Sell more cars. © 2014 Autobytel Inc., all rights reserved.

JoeyLittle

marketing solution

FIVE STEPS TO CULTIVATING A SOCIAL CULTURE IN YOUR DEALERSHIP

Facebook is more than a social site; it’s a way to acquire customers. According to a 2015 study

by Pew Research, 71 percent of online adults use Facebook, and 70 percent of Facebook users report using it daily. With Facebook users spending hours a day on the site, if you’re not reaching out to your social audience, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.

Additionally, your employees are using Facebook during the day, whether or not you’ve got it blocked. Here’s how you can use that to your advantage and get your employees working to promote you:

1. Implement a Company-Wide Social Media Policy: Studies show approximately 50 percent of companies block Facebook from employee use during work hours. However, with the percentage of smartphone owners increasing, blocking social media sites will only create a slight hindrance. In other words, blocking social media sites is not going to keep your employees off of them during work hours.

Since employees are using social media sites during and after work hours, develop and implement a social media policy to set clear guidelines and build a trust with your employees so that they will use it responsibly and favorably toward your business. Social media policies for a variety of companies can be found through a quick Google search, but many promote keeping confidential information off social media, differentiating individual voices from company voices and to be polite. It’s also a good idea to state who should or should not be responding to customer comments on your social accounts.

2. Integrate Social Media Training: Every role at a dealership can be integrated into your social media strategy as a brand ambassador to spread positive messages about your business.

One of the most obvious is your marketing department, who can use social media to promote sales and events, but the rest of your team can be brought in to share content as well. Your sales team can share photos of happy customers with their new vehicles; service

40

autosuccessonline.com

can share service specials and vehicle care tips; and human resources can share job openings, community involvement or featured employees.

Brand ambassadors indirectly drive sales and profitability through social word-of-mouth marketing. They improve your dealership culture by getting involved and involving other employees who may not interact on a regular basis. They also cultivate leadership talent by setting an example on a social basis, allowing them to showcase their knowledge and personality.

Find creative ways to share more about your dealership and bring that into training to get your employees used to sharing all the great things going on, and create a system to make it fun and easy for them to get their content shared. This will also help your social media manager generate content to share, which can otherwise be a time-consuming task.

3. Incorporate Social Media Into All Events: A great way to build involvement between employees and social followers is by incorporating social media into your events. Facebook events allow fans to RSVP, communicate about the event, check in and share photos from the event.

Social events also show engagement with customers outside of just the sale or service. Create events such as workshops for new owners, customer appreciation events, new vehicle reveals, charity events or any other special events you have.

4. Use Social Media as an Additional Customer Service Channel: With all the time people spend on social media sites, it’s no surprise that they are regularly using these sites to contact businesses about customer service matters. For many, it’s easier than picking up the phone or tracking down an email address, and since social media is a public forum, there are many eyes watching what’s being said. This provides a great opportunity to publicly demonstrate your customer service skills.

Chances are, however, not everything posted by a customer is going to be positive. The way you handle the situations can turn a negative experience into a positive one, and it shows that you are listening to what your customers have to say and are going to take steps to make improvements.

Be sure to respond to every comment, positive or negative, and take any negative situations offline by providing a phone number or email address for the person to contact so you can resolve it in private.

5. Share Your Success Stories with Employees: After implementing the four steps above, a final step is reviewing and sharing the success of your social efforts with your team. This will explain why it’s so important for them to be involved in your strategy. For example, if your employees help spread the word about an event you’re having through their social media channels and you have a great turnout, you can let them know how their involvement contributed to the success of the event. Or if a salesperson posts a photo of a happy customer with their new vehicle and one of the customer’s friends becomes a customer as well, that shows how one small action can lead to future success.

Employees are going to access social media sites whether it is permitted or not, and social media usage continues to grow substantially every year. Harnessing the power of your employees’ social networks and participation will not only expand your reach and no extra cost, it will increase employee involvement and grow your business.

Joey Little is the vice president of social strategy for Motofuze. He can be contacted at 866.515.6516, or by email at jlittle@autosuccessonline.com.

Paul Lynch, GSM

Tom Restino, VP of Operations

“RAPID RECON WORKFLOW KEEPS OUR TIME TO MARKET DOWN TO 24 HOURS. NOW, RAPID RECON’S DEAL FLOW COMPLETES OUR ABILITY TO MEASURE AND MANAGE FROM TRADE CLEARED OR PURCHASE TO DEAL FUNDED INCLUDING NEW.”

Photo by Marc Rosebeck

TRANSPARENCY | ACCOUNTABILITY | MOBILITY

RAPIDRECON.COM

866.618.8470

SteveCottrell

marketing solution

IS YOUR DATABASE READY FOR NEW BUSINESS? This year’s NADA has come and gone. One thing that remains, however, are the clear signs that the automotive industry has roared back to pre-crisis levels. Car sales are up and dealers are looking for more ways to acquire new customers. Many times, a new customer is one who has previously purchased from the dealer and is ready to do it again. Dealerships often turn to their own DMS database to drive those campaigns. While this can be a great source to power such a campaign, often the information stored there has become dated and inaccurate.

Beyond the obvious result of the right consumer not getting the right message, there is also the negative impact that an incorrect message sends to your previous customer — you haven’t taken the time to know who they are today.

Targeted messaging is not a new thing. It has been around for many years, but it requires the data set you are using is relevant and accurate to be most effective. In addition to the impact of inaccurate consumer messaging, it can be costly to launch campaigns that are not reaching the right people. This is why many savvy dealerships have begun to do their own data hygiene. There are many highly effective easy-to-use ways to clean and enhance a dealership’s customer database.

Many marketing companies offer these services pre-campaign, but if the dealership takes this task on themselves, they are insuring that their database is in a ready state, regardless of what vendor they choose to work with.

42

autosuccessonline.com

While many of the steps are simple and not very expensive, things like NCOA, phone append, reverse phone append, and email append can really empower a customer database and raise marketing ROIs.

The dealership database can be a very powerful tool, but careful planning on enhancement and reporting can provide an even greater impact for the dealership.

Finally, to truly understand the impact of how a campaign performs, a dealership should use some form of ROI reporting. There are a few ways to accomplish this and it provides a dealer some great insight into understanding into the results that the campaign produced. ROI reporting can be done by pre- and post-campaign manifest matching or even using a commercially available sales match report like the one that POLK offers. In the case of the POLK report, it can be run about 60 days after the campaign and gives the dealership great information on how many cars were purchased, whether that car was new or used and the percentage of vehicles sold by make and model.

The dealership database can be a very powerful tool, but careful planning on enhancement and reporting can provide an even greater impact for the dealership.

Steve Cottrell is the founder of DealerVault. He can be contacted at 866.769.1778, or by email at scottrell@autosuccessonline.com.

2014 HIGHEST RATED AWARDS

CRM-SALES OWNER MARKETING FIXED OPS SOLUTIONS ILM

888.431.6928 | eleadsales@eleadcrm.com | elead-crm.com © Data Software Services, L.L.C. 2015

PhilAime

marketing solution

KEEPING ONLINE VISITORS WITH VIDEO CONTENT Judd T. Gulizia, Internet Director at Atchley Ford

For this month’s interview, I spoke with Judd T. Gulizia. Judd is the Internet director at Atchley Ford, and has worked there for almost a decade. Built in 1973, Atchely Ford is located in the competitive Omaha-Lincoln Metro car buying market, which has a population of more than 1 million people. Atchley Ford consistently attains Ford Motor Company’s highest customer satisfaction awards, including the Quality Care Award, the Chairman’s Award and the prestigious President’s Award. Judd just implemented an aggressive online video content strategy in the dealership, and I wanted to see how it was going so far. Below is a transcript of our conversation: Phil Aime: What was the thought process behind adding video to your dealership’s online digital marketing strategy?

Judd T. Gulizia: There were several reasons

behind adding online video to our dealership’s marketing initiatives. First, we wanted to increase our Website’s rankings in organic SEO listings. We know that Google prefers quality video content, so we added content-rich informational videos to the landing pages on our Website to help increase our site’s presence in the search engine results. Next, we want to keep customers on our Website for as long as possible to increase the chance of them converting to a lead. We strategically placed informational videos on specific topics related to each landing page that help consumers better understand the information on those pages. Our goal is for customers to stay on our Website, instead of bouncing off and going to

third-party sites or other dealers’ Websites to get the information they need. Losing the customer from our Website could ultimately mean we lose them to another dealership. Another reason to have a library of informational videos was to help train new salespeople faster. Giving them access to this library of videos helps to educate them more quickly on topics with which they may not be familiar, or get them up to speed on the latest information. We found and integrated an online video content library marketing platform that accomplishes all these things and a lot more.

PA: What are the initial results since adding this video content library marketing platform in the dealership?

JTG: We added these videos to our Website at the end of November 2014 and are already seeing

some great results. Our presence in the organic search listings is growing for the pages we added videos. We are already ranking No. 1 in organic listings for some of these keywords targeted with the videos. Customers’ time onsite has gone up more than 26 percent in just a few months, as the customers’ are watching the videos on the landing pages and are now spending more time on our site. We are seeing more than 40,000 views a month on the videos we strategically placed on our Website landing pages, so our engagement with customers seeing our information is increasing dramatically. Next, we are in the process of putting specific video topics into our CRM email templates to help increase open rates of these emails that go out to customers. Also in the near future, we will start posting the video topics into our social media efforts for our Facebook, Twitter and Google+ accounts. The library has hundreds of videos to use, and we are just getting acquainted with the different topics and where we can benefit from placing specific videos. We are looking forward to using the videos in as many places as we can within the dealership’s marketing efforts.

Phil Aime is the senior national director of automotive sales and motorsports for Charter Media.

He can be contacted at 866.429.6850, or by email at paime@autosuccessonline.com.

CALL TODAY TO ORDER THE TRUSTED ORIGINAL CODEKASE™

859.817.0116

DRIVE

39%

MORE TRAFFIC

WANT TO SAVE EVEN MORE? Ask about our non-lit CodeKases™ M A R K E T I N G

H O ME OF T HE CODE K A S E ™ w w w. w il k inm a r k eting.co m *CodeKase™ images are not to scale

44

autosuccessonline.com

GET READY FOR THE BIG GAME! GET YOUR ORDER IN NOW FOR MARCH MADNESS! TRY THE TESTED, TRUSTED ORIGINAL CODEKASE™!

(#1 Audi and Brett David, Prestige Imports ) & guest Lamborghini Dealer in the worldRoundtable rship Leade otive at the Autom us Versace Awards Dinner at the world famo Mansion in South Beach

ee; Lisa Bruce Hornsby, 9-time Grammy nomin of Austin, Copeland, General Manager, Fiat Jack #1 Fiat Dealership; James Copeland;coach Harbaugh, history making football

THE OSCARS OF THE

AUTO INDUSTRY

It’s that time of year again, when Hollywood celebrates awards season and the auto industry prepares to recognize the top-selling dealers in each franchise at the annual Automotive Leadership Roundtable & Awards Dinner held in Miami Beach. This year’s event takes place March 15th-17th at The Fontainebleau Miami Beach – one of the most historical and architecturally significant hotels in the world.

This extraordinary by invitation only event never disappoints. It brings together the best and the brightest thought leaders, as well as No. 1 dealers of each franchise, to share best practices to help them grow their businesses. This year is shaping up to be an inspiring agenda with guests from Facebook, Google, Pandora, Univision, Ally Auto, Toyota, TrueCar and Charter Media as well as many of America’s #1 dealerships.

#1 Porsche Dealer – Mitra Maraj & Guest Actress, Nievecita Dubuque

–

Former ALR speakers include thought leaders Mark Burnett, the #1 film producer of all time; the Bryan Brothers, #1 tennis team in the world; Ben Simon, VP of Marketing for Walmart; Doug Frisbie, Head of Automotive for Facebook; Cesar Conde, President of Univision Networks (the largest Spanish-language network in the U.S.); and Grant Cardone, best-selling author and sales expert. Other former ALR speakers include the No. 1 selling dealers from Acura, Audi, Buick, Chevy, Honda, Lamborghini, Mercedes and Lexus.

Following in this tradition, March’s Roundtable will feature more insights and strategies from the top-performing industry innovators of 2014 who will graciously share their knowledge for the betterment of the industry.

et Hagen Durant, Classic Chevrolet (#1 Chevrol Dealer in the world) and New York Times the at e Cardon Grant author best selling and Autom otive Leader ship Round table Award s Dinner

MotorCars, Garth Blumenthal, GM of Fletcher Benstock, #1 Mercedes Dealership and Brian , #1 Acura & a Hond on Parag of GM VP and CPO Dealer

Debbie & Ken Smith, #1 Ram Dealer, #1 Chrysler Dodge Jeep combined Dealer, at the Versace Mansion

The ALR event will kick off the evening of March 15th with a cocktail reception overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, where guests will be able to mix and mingle with the brightest thought leaders in the industry. The Roundtable will take place the following day, on March 16th. The industry’s top-selling dealers and industry thought leaders will gather to exchange best practices and strategies on how to excel in your field. The 24 hour experience will be held at The Fontainebleau Miami Beach, the most exclusive oceanfront resort on Miami Beach.

The Automotive Leadership Awards Dinner will be held on the evening of March 16th. This “6-star” Awards Dinner will serve to recognize the No. 1 selling dealers in each brand and the recipient of the Automotive Leadership Legacy Award.

The Awards Dinner will begin with a champagne reception where guests will toast to another day of learning and networking at the Roundtable. The champagne reception will be followed by a gourmet dinner with a decadent spread of desserts, fine cigars hand-rolled on sight, and a celebratory toast from the ALR chairman. It is truly an extraordinary experience – touted as the “Oscars of the car business” by ALR speaker and New York Times best-selling author Grant Cardone. Past ALR event performers include 9-time Grammy nominee Bruce Hornsby, multi-Grammy winning artist John Secada and the legendary Tony Bennett, with guest appearances by Alejandro Sanz, the most Grammy Award-winning Latin artist, and the Bryan Brothers.

The Fontainebleau has a rich history of entertaining notables such as Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Judy Garland, and Jerry Lewis, as well as every president since Dwight D. Eisenhower. The resort was designed by Morris Lapidus in 1954 and is said to be the most significant building of Lapidus’ career. Enjoying a reputation as the area’s top resort hotel, its famed crescent shape is set amid 20 lush tropical acres and accented by a magnificent grotto style pool with cascading waterfalls. The Fontainebleau Miami Beach is situated on oceanfront Collins Avenue in the heart of Millionaire’s Row and is currently owned by Fontainebleau Resorts.

The event is By Invitation Only, however, there will be a small number of invitations available for dealers who are not the No. 1 selling retailers in their brand. Additional tickets may be available on a first come, first serve basis once all RSVPs are collected from invited guests. To learn more or request an invitation, visit AutomotiveLeadershipRoundtable.org. www.alr2015.com | March 15th-17th, 2015 | Fontainebleau Resort & Spa, Miami Beach

on Ben Simrt, s Walma nc Confere

To h

t eting a R f Mark n, VP o g at the AL in k spea ce

i Inaba Yoshimett. n airman USA Ch & Susan Ben ta o y To e, Tony his wif

Former President Bill Susan Bennett

with

Clinton with Tony and

ager of Acura WestKen Hicks, General Man ler, with Jay Rosenthal, chester, #1 Acura Dea New York best-selling Rallye Automotive and. author Grant Cardone

Jim Dunn, JM Lexus, No. 1 Lexus Dealer, presented at ALR Miami 2012

Mike Roscoe, Boyd Warner, Ken Slaughter (#1 Buick Dealer), Eustace Hicks, Sam Jim Dunn (#1 Lexus Dealer), Wolfington, Chip Perry, Sean Wolfington, JayDale Pollak, (Kneeling) Hagen Durant (#1 Chevr Rosenthal, Brian Benstock (#1 Honda Dealer),olet Dealer), Cliff Banks, Brett David (#1 Audi & Lamborghin i Dealer).

AUTO 1 rnett, # ark Bu aker M ber of Time e p s te Keyno er and mem fluential Producine’s “Most Ind” Magaz In The Worl People

WHEN:

Grammy-winning Elton John, multipleat ALR legend, performing

most Grammy AwardAlejandro Sanz (the st in history) singing Winning Spanish arti with Tony Bennett

Sean Wolfington with wife Ana Philbin at Tony Bennett’s 85th Birthd& Regis ay party.

Richard Bustillo, General Manager Case Honda, Davie (#1 Net Profit of Rick Honda Dealership), presents at ALR.

March 15-17, 2015

WHERE: Fontainebleau Miami Beach, Florida

WHAT: The Automotive Leadership Roundtable (ALR) brings together the No. 1 top selling dealers from each brand, an elite group of top performing dealers, top OEM executives and industry thought leaders who participate in an exclusive, by invitation only, 24 hour high-impact events that include intense learning during the day with an extraordinary experience at night.

Manager of Cory Willie Wright, GeneralMazda Dealer, with Fairbanks Mazda, #1ducer and member of Mark Burnett, #1 Pro st Influential People Time Magazine’s “MoALR Awards Dinner In The World,” at the

Forrest McConnell, 2014 NADA Chairman and owner of McConnell Honda and Acura, speaking at the ALR Awards Dinner

TM

of Germain Auto on John Malishenko, COO powerful presentati Group, delivering a dership Roundtable at the Automotive Lea

Kim Stonehouse, Google, presenting at the Automotive Leadership Roundtable

Your CRM is Not Our CRM comScore research shows a 1040% growth in mobile and tablet use in the last three years. Is your business leaving you behind?

ILM & CRM Sales Automation

On The Go

On The Lot Interactive 360 CRM offers a seamless transition between mobile phones, tablets, and PCs for your customer acquisition and management needs.

Effortless Connectivity in a connected world

In The Office

$895 No Long Term Contract First 50 Dealers

www.interactive360.com

877.507.1424

Sales Management & Desking Finance Used Vehicle Marketing Service Parts BDC Inventory Management Marketing Digital Marketing Websites

Success Story Alison Spitzer VP of Operations Spitzer Auto Group

built to last OVER 100 YEARS OF PROFITABLE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS

Spitzer Auto Group

Built to Last

Over 100 Years of Profitable Customer Relationships

Taking care of customers is a family tradition for the Spitzer Automotive Group and it goes back to 1904 when Henry Ford personally recruited George Spitzer to sell Model T’s in Grafton, Ohio. Ford had been polling the community to find local business owners who had a positive reputation and who possessed both the business acumen and the people skills necessary to help him reinvent the way people think about getting from point A to B. Since then, four generations of Spitzers have grown the family business into a highly profitable mega group with 17 locations selling 10 different brands. Although a lot has changed since 1904, Spitzer Auto Group has remained firm in their belief that serving the customer is the key to long-term profitability.

The current champion for this cause is Alison Spitzer, the group’s Vice President of Operations who, at the age of 29, joined the family business just in time to help her father navigate through the second biggest economic downturn in American history. During this process the group lost 10 of its dealerships, as franchises were pulled by the manufacturers in a last-ditch effort to stay afloat.

Spitzer helped lead the charge to save their stores, eventually going all the way to Capitol Hill. She and her father, Alan Spitzer, helped to get legislation passed to close the franchise loophole and gave every dealer their day in court to fight for their franchises. Spitzer Automotive Group eventually won back eight of the 10 stores, losing only one and selling another.

“In 2009, our first goal was survival,” said Spitzer, “but where others only saw instability we saw an opportunity to make big changes. Everyone was starting over, so we used this as an opportunity to reinvent ourselves. The Internet became the foundation for our new business model and we adapted a ‘burn the ships’ mentality with

Å CONTINUED INSIDE

Success Story Ä CONTINUED FROM THE COVER

all of our general managers. We were all in this together.”

FACING THE CHALLENGES

With the immediate battle won, the group still faced a harsh reality. In order to survive in the long term, the combined leadership decided that it had to accomplish four tasks: • Increase sales without increasing its spending • Create a customer-oriented sales process, which included a reliable and consistent way to measure how customers were being treated in sales, service, the stores and group wide.

• Create a work environment that produced careers, and not just jobs.

For this, it needed an accurate, scalable way to evaluate and train employees.

• Increase the performance of all their stores without distracting them with busy work. For this, it needed a system that would deliver the information they needed — to the right person, when they need it.

With these goals in mind, Spitzer Automotive Group reinvented its sales and service models.

While many companies have a mission statement that is soon ignored, Spitzer created a statement that served as a launching point for all of the company’s future activities: “We are going to lead the industry through creating a simple, transparent, customer-oriented experience every day.”

Living up to that statement has paid off for the company. The dealer group was back in the black by 2010, and has experienced double digit sales growth every year since. In fact, it is now one of the most profitable dealer groups in America. By practicing collaboration, employee development and accountability, the group’s employees became “students of the customer experience.”

COLLABORATION

“We created a ‘Culture of Collaboration’ that brings senior executives and general managers together for weekly conference calls and quarterly off site meetings,” Spitzer said. Between off-site meetings, leaders participate in “customer

experience-based field trips” (such visiting an Apple Store or shopping at Nordstrom) and are required to bring at least one idea to the next meeting. “We drive this ship together,” Spitzer said.

Units sold per salesperson is up from seven per month to 12 — an increase of 33 percent.

EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT

PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY

In addition to bringing the GMs together to share ideas and experiences, the group also implemented a GM coaching program, where the GMs work with career coaches to learn how to become mentors and foster leaders within their organizations. By becoming better at leading, rather than simply managing, the company gets better results from their teams, and the teams are happier in their careers.

The company also changed its hiring processes and compensation plans to attract and keep the best people, building a smaller, yet more effective team. By doing this, the company cut turnover by 50 percent in 2012, and is able to have fewer people actually sell more vehicles.

“We are a great place to work,” Spitzer said, “and, oh yeah, we happen to sell cars.”

In order to improve results, the group first had to find out what results they were getting in the first place. Finding the right technology to help them with this was key. Spitzer Automotive Group selected CallRevu.com, a company that focuses on call management and training, to help them establish a baseline and then increase their results.

“CallRevu is not a tool,” Spitzer said. “They are a part of our business plan. They are the glue that gives the group visibility into how everyone is performing and how our customers are being treated in sales and service.”

Spitzer said that there were immediate results once the system was in place. “One of our vendors was dropping calls; if we did not have CallRevu, we would not have known,” she said.

“Up to 30 percent of their calls were not getting through. Once CallRevu was brought in, that number fell overnight to only 11 percent.”

More importantly, the new system allowed the group’s leadership a new vantage point to see where change was needed. “This allows us the group-wide and store-wide visibility we need to provide employees with accountability and give customers and great experience,” Spitzer said.

With this technology in place, and with every sales and service call monitored, managers now had real-time alerts when calls were missed or mishandled to allow them to re-engage with the customer

Spitzer receives real-time alerts every time a sales or service call is missed or mishandled. These alerts include a detailed summary of what went wrong so that managers can take action without having to listen to recordings

Spitzer Auto Group COMPONENTS OF SPITZER’S 360° RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

Alerts

Analytics

Support

Call Tracking

Training

Full Service Call Center

Monitoring Enterprise Reporting Spitzer Auto Group uses an integrated call management system that monitors 100 percent of sales and service calls across all 17 locations in real time and that combines tracking, monitoring, alerts, reports and training into a single, easy to use solution.

before the opportunity was lost. The system also delivers performance reports to all managers group wide each week, which allows Spitzer to hold company-wide conference calls each week to review the results.

“We now have real-time visibility into what’s happening at every store,” Spitzer said. “The report goes out to every GM on Monday morning so we can dive in and see where the red flags are.”

“CallRevu is not a tool...it is the glue that gives the group visibility into how everyone is performing and how our customers are being treated in sales and service.”

Alison Spitzer

receive detailed, employee-specific reports they can use to coach and train salespeople and service advisors. This information, coupled with a coaching program Spitzer Auto Group started to better train GMs on how to become mentors and leaders to their team, is a powerful tool to improve both individual and overall results.

The system also notes when a team member needs special guidance in handling calls. Sales team members must maintain an acceptable appointment percentage in order to get sales calls. If they do not, they are taken out of rotation until a manager can coach them, and sign off on them going back into the rotation.

VP of Operations Spitzer Auto Group

“This new visibility and accountability gave our GMs a feeling of partnership with CallRevu,” Spitzer said. “It allows them to have a long-term training program for improving the performance of both individuals and managers.”

The system also allows for leaders to build the skills of their teams by giving them actionable data on areas that could be improved. Dealerships

The service departments in the Spitzer group have seen a remarkable turnaround since the new system was adopted. Before, up to 30

percent of the service calls were lost; now, 89 percent of service calls connect with the right person. And, service volume has increased overall by 20 percent, without spending any extra marketing dollars.

As impressive as these stats are, Spitzer is quick to point out that their success is driven by people, not technology. The technology they use simply empowers their managers, salespersons and service advisors to do what Spitzer Auto Group has been passionate about for over 110 years – create simple, transparent, customer oriented experiences every day.

For more information on the companies and strategies used by Spitzer Auto Group, email: successstories@autosuccessonline.com

Success Story

“

Spitzer Auto Group

We are going to lead the industry through creating a simple, transparent, customer-oriented experience every day.

Alison Spitzer, VP of Operations Spitzer Automotive Group

“

Success Story

IN A NUTSHELL

Built to Last

Over 100 Years of Profitable Customer Relationships •

Used the auto industry’s economic meltdown as an opportunity to reinvent Spitzer’s sales and service models. New strategy focused on creating transparent and simple customer experiences.

•

Created a “Culture of Collaboration” that brings senior executives and General Managers together for weekly conference calls and quarterly off site meetings.

•

Cut employee turnover by 50 percent by restructuring compensation plans and hiring processes to attract and keep top talent.

•

Increased service volume and sales volume by implementing a system that monitors 100 percent of sales and service calls and alerts managers when opportunities are mishandled.

•

Increased average sales per salesperson by 33 percent by using call management reports to coach underperforming team members and by implementing a call management process that only gives sales calls to those meeting the company’s required appointment percentage.

•

Increased ROI on marketing spend by more than 25 percent by partnering with a call management company that helps them connect and convert more sales opportunities from the same number of leads.

Å READ FULL STORY