Dealer Principles A monthly update on selling more cars and parts more profitably
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for Dealer Principals 21 January 2014
In this issue: 1
New Year, New Resolutions
2.1 Tips and Tricks: CitNOW Prospecting 2.2 Employee Spotlight: Henry Kay 3.1 Secrets of Success 3.2 CitNOW of the Month 4.1 Please Welcome to CitNOW... 4.2 Your coffee cartoon © Mark Anderson
New Year, New Resolutions: What will you do differently in 2014? Take a moment to think about where you were this time last year, January 2013. What did you do accomplish in the last 12 months and what can you improve before next January comes around? Each New Year brings new beginnings; a fresh start. For me, 2014 is about being different and challenging the status quo. I’ve already started a list of several things I’ll be doing differently this year. To illustrate, I’d like to share a true story I heard recently about an Australian potato farmer named Cliff Young. Cliff grew up on a very large ranch in Australia. In 1983, Cliff entered an 875 kilometer endurance race from Sydney to Melbourne – considered at the time to be the world’s longest and toughest ultra-marathons, usually lasting about six or seven days. He had never run a race before and had no official training.
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As Cliff walked up to the registration table, several on-lookers seemed surprised as he took his race number. Most runners were top-athletes in their prime, usually about 20-30 years old with top sponsors and the latest running gear. Not Cliff. He was 61 years old and his running gear consisted of farming overalls and gumboots.
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Tips and Tricks:
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CitNOW Prospecting: Helping you hit gold.
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Prospecting can be hard work. Cold customers, low returns and not always overly polite responses; it can lead to low morale. It can quickly become the least liked job in the dealership. To buck the trend, stack the odds in your favour. In addition to your normal prospecting practice make quick, personalised CitNOWs to add oomph to your pitches. Make a short script and do it quick. For a returning customer add in aspects of their history with your dealership. With a new customer take the opportunity to show off the site and stock. Visually demonstrate the model or package your trying to sell, and include personal touches to warm up even the coldest customer. To view our short cartoon with more tips go to: video.citnow.com/vvourhint03.
Employee Spotlight
Henry Kay:
Account Manager
Henry joined us in early December and recently celebrated his first monthaversary with CitNOW. As an Account Manager Henry spends his time building and maintaining close relationships with our clients to ensure CitNOW’s customers are happy with their system and are using it to its full potential. Always ready with a joke or impression Henry’s interview was a little bit different; to view the results and get to know Henry better go to: video.citnow.com/vvourteam03
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The first thing I’ll do differently in 2014 is embrace impossible challenges with optimism.
Before the race began, Cliff mentioned to the reporters that he’d grown up on a large ranch without any horses or 4-wheelers. On several occasions he spent two to three days straight rounding up sheep on his 2,000 acre ranch. When the marathon started, the pros left Cliff behind. Onlookers described Cliff’s “incorrect” running style as a leisurely shuffle and didn’t give him the slightest chance of winning. In fact, several feared for his health and safety, that he might collapse during the race. 2.
The second thing I’ll do differently in 2014 is ignore naysayers and critics.
As the first night came, when all the runners rested their bodies and slept, Cliff kept running. In fact, he didn’t stop and he ran all night. Because he lacked the formal training the other racers had, he didn’t know he was supposed to stop and rest. Cliff ran the following 4 days and 3 nights without stopping. By the end of the last night, Cliff had managed to pull ahead of everyone and actually won the entire race! With his unique style, Cliff finished the marathon, beating the all-time record by more than 9 hours. 3.
The third thing I’ll do differently in 2014 is race with the pros, and expect to win.
Cliff’s story of being completely different and tackling issues with a new style and approach amazes me. With the beginning of the New Year and new resolutions, what will you be doing differently this year?
Secrets of Success:
Kevin Gaughan, West Way Nissan With any roll-out project the numbers are big: the number of sites, people and challenges- but also the potential rewards. So when Kevin Gaughan, Aftersales Director at West Way Nissan the UK’s largest Nissan Dealer Group, began the task of rolling-out CitNOW Aftersales in May 2013, he knew he would need a strategy to maximise buy-in and ensure success. “The [staff] do have to be managed to do it, especially the shyer ones… if there’s an option not to do it they will take it. It’s about getting it engrained as part of the culture.” Over the next six months West Way Nissan dealerships made a CitNOW for every Red and Amber item on a VHC; both quality and quantity were carefully managed. Managers had to explain poor performances at weekly conference calls, and by December over 7,000 CitNOWs had been made.
Six months later: Did the planning, hard work and managerial vigilance paid off? Well to show his staff the impact of their efforts, Kevin released the pre/post CitNOW data, recorded quarter to quarter. The results achieved are shown in the table below and speak for themselves. An average Red Work Conversion Value increase of 39% and a top increase of a spectacular 139%. Commitment to using CitNOW in your dealership, driven from the front by management, can return fantastic results. 7,100 videos sounds like a lot, but it only took 3-4 CitNOWs per site, per day.
To find out how Kevin achieved the results above, and hear his tips on encouraging uptake and maximising CitNOW returns go to:
Rec Value Sold Per VHC (£) Without EVision £92.64
Basingstoke
£61.18
£76.42
25%
Birmingham
£72.44
£101.77
40%
Aldershot
Maria McCabe
Stratstone Derby Mini Take a look for yourself at: video.citnow.com/vvtheoscar4
Why it works: •
New Year, Big Bang: With customers at home on holiday, business can be slow. Use the time to generate interest with CitNOW prospecting.
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Demonstrate the Dealership: From home to the dealership. Maria shows off the fantastic decorations to customers who might never see them otherwise! A great way to make an impression.
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Personalisation: F&I promotions can be impersonal. Make your packages seem more appealing with a personalised CitNOW. Give them a greater chance of hitting home.
video.citnow.com/vv_West-Way
Rec Value Sold Per VHC (£) Without EVision £65.03
Westway Sites
Oscar: CitiNOW of the month:
% Increase 42%
Coventry
£49.88
£51.64
4%
Manchester
£86.01
£102.17
19%
Oldham
£69.44
£94.90
37%
Oxford
£54.62
£130.74
139%
Rochdale
£64.20
£80.89
26%
Southampton
£64.82
£99.12
53%
Stockport
£84.58
£105.53
25%
Stourbridge
£46.68
£69.16
48%
Wolverhampton Group
£49.17 £64.29
£65.64 £89.16
33% 39%
Dealer Principles | 21 January 2014
Great CitNOW Maria! Enjoy your champagne.
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Dealer Principles A monthly update on selling more cars and parts more profitably
V
for Dealer Principals
21 January 2014
Please welcome to CitNOW Ancaster Bromley Nissan Arthurs Vauxhall Newtown Bassetts Swansea Citroen Benfield Nissan Gateshead Benham Wolverhampton Cameron Motors Ltd Chorley Nissan Preston Crawley Nissan Ford Bracknell Ford Farnborough Ford Guildford Ford Wokingham Gatwick Honda Glyn Hopkins Waltham Abbey Glyn Hopkins Ipswich Harold Wood Audi Kehoe Kars Martin Town Centre Citroen Mill Garages Knaresborough Nissan Motorline Dartford Porsche Swindon Cameron Motors Seat Huddersfield Southend Audi Stansted Audi Ancaster Eltham Nissan Dicksons of Inverness Nissan Griffin Mill Nissan Pontypidd Glyn Hopkin Romford Holdcroft Nissan KAP Ashford Nissan Lexus Leicester Platinum Trowbridge Nissan Porsche Cardiff Porsche Colchester Trenton Hull Nissan
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