Dealer Principles A monthly update on selling more cars and parts more profitably
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for Dealer Principals
31 October 2013
In this issue:
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What’s faster than a bullet and hotter than a volcano? Think your Audi TT has an impressive 0-60? The Bloodhound Super Sonic Car is a rocket powered, made-of-dreams super model that goes from 0-1000 mph in 55 seconds. It’s a bold and daring attempt to redefine the idea of what a car can do, aiming to break the current land speed record of 763mph by reaching the eye-watering heights of 1,000mph. Just so we’re clear, that’s four times faster than an unlimited, unregulated formula one car and faster than a bullet.
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A supreme craft, similar in scope of imagination to the moon-landing, if Bloodhound was launched vertically it would reach a height of 25,000 feet! Built from the first rivet up by a team of top experts in every field, this was never going to be a road-friendly, for-the-family production model, but what it lacks in convenience it more than makes up for in effortless cool (just don’t expect it to go over a speed bump).
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Faster than a bullet, hotter than a volcano: What happens when you put a rocket on a car?
.1 Tips and tricks Appoint your way to success
.2 Employee Spotlight: Emma Rayner
.1 Secrets of Success: Change how your customers think
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.2 Video of the month
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And our Oscar nominee is...
Please welcome to CitNOW...
.2 Your coffee cartoon
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© Mark Anderson
Tips and Tricks: Appoint your way to success Everyone knows that appointing inbound inquiries is the key to success in the automotive business. Get the customer to your dealership, to your exec, to your vehicle, and your chances of making a sale improve drastically.
But how do you make sure that all your appointments actually show up? Simple: Make a CitNOW to confirm every appointment that you’ve arranged. All good things come in threes, and there are three excellent reasons why CitNOW will get more people to your door:
1. It adds value to the customer: that little bit of extra attention will go a long way in demonstrating your commitment to customer service.
2. It creates connection: with the meet and greet taken care of, a point of contact is already established between your customer and your exec.
3. It builds anticipation: your customer gets a sneak peek at the vehicle so they can look forward to test driving it.
Go to www.citnow.com/ourhint01 to watch a short cartoon which explains this simple but crucial technique.
Employee Spotlight
Emma Rayner:
Sales Support Executive
Even if you don’t recognise Emma in person, you will almost certainly have spoken to her if you’ve been in touch with us over the past four months. To get to know a bit more about the support exec who brings a smile to your face even as you’re cursing at your iPod, go to www.citnow.com/vvourteam01
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It uses a Cosworth Formula One engine just to help pump fuel into a EJ200 Typhoon Jet Engine. This will take Bloodhound to 230 mph and then give over, after only 20 seconds of travel time, to the solid-fuel Falcon rocket mounted on the back. Interior temperatures in the rocket will quickly reach over 3000 Celsius (hotter than a volcano) as it burns through its payload, resulting in an 8 metre long tongue of fire roaring from the back of the rocket. Makes you feel warm doesn’t it? Of course with the extraordinary comes danger. Those who remember Top Gear host Richard Hammond’s foray in a rocket propelled car will know that even a slight miscalculation can mean disaster. Hammond’s front left tyre exploded at 288 mph and it turns out that at that speed you can’t just pull over. At four times that speed even the dirt kicked up by Bloodhound will be a potentially lethal missile. However, at least a puncture won’t be a problem - there are no tyres. Just four wheels of solid aluminium, weighing 95kg each. Andy Green, a RAF pilot will be the eventual driver of Bloodhound to progress Britain’s proud history of achievement in Land Speed Records, combining Space, aeronautic and Formula One technologies. The attempt will be made in South Africa during the Summer of 2015, but with the project still in the construction phase, only the simulated BLOODHOUND Driving Experience can allow people to dream of what it’s like to drive at that speed. Yet the physical reality of this car is looming and soon it will be screaming across salt-flats, suspending belief and changing forever what we think is possible.
Dealer Principles | 31 October 2013
Secrets of Success:
Brendan Elston, BMW, Oldbury By Brendan Elston’s admission, when customers think about an accident repair, they think about a guy in a pair of overalls covered in filler dust banging away at their car with a hammer. Not exactly high tech. But Elston, the Bodyshop Manager of Sytner BMW, and his team were determined to change that view, to show their customers the £10 million, multi-purpose, 25,000 sq ft bodyshop that receives over 90 vehicles per week. And what better way to do that than with CitNOW? CitNOW became part of their process, as crucial to their work as giving estimates. When Elston’s technicans picked up their pads, they’d also pick up their cameras, showing their customers the work that was already agreed as well as bringing to their attention any additional items. And here’s the cherry on the cake: Elston and his team now make on average an additional £250 per vehicle. Their most profitable case so far was a vehicle with a huge scratch down one side.
Having brought it to their customer’s attention with a CitNOW video, the response was immediate:
‘The customer called back saying ‘I hadn’t realised that the scratch was that bad. By all means, I’ll have that done on site, I’m happy with the cost and I think the service is great’’. A delighted customer, and an additional £1000 to the bodyshop. When Elston first started using CitNOW Bodyshop in May this year, he and his team came up with a set of standards that they wanted to achieve: • • • •
Simple Great customer service The wow factor An enhanced awareness of Sytner bodyshop and their expertise.
Our Oscar nominee of the month:
Siobhan Creech,
Arnold Clark Mercedes-Benz of Inverness Take a look for yourself at: www.citnow.com/vvtheoscar2
Why it works: •
Follows up visit: keeps the vehicle fresh in the customer’s mind.
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Clear attention to the customer: the exec obviously paid close attention to what her customer was saying.
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Length of video: here, the more time spent, the more commitment shown.
So, 6 months on, have the team done what they set out to do? ‘We achieved all of this – and on top of that we then offered best advice… CitNOW’s made that possible’. To hear more about how Elston and his team are using CitNOW go to www.citnow.com/bodyshop
Dealer Principles | 31 October 2013
If one of your team makes a video that is particularly stunning, send the link to us at reply@citnow.com and if we feature it in our monthly newsletter we’ll send them over a lovely bottle of champagne to share (or drink alone, whatever their fancy). Here’s to you Ms Creech.
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Dealer Principles A monthly update on selling more cars and parts more profitably
V
for Dealer Principals
31 October 2013
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