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V O L . 8 | I S S U E 5 | M AY 2 0 1 5
Tracy Myers NOT your
Atypical Car Guy PG: 20
The BEST Solution is the ONE That WORKS PG: 6
LEADERS Stop Making Excuses
About Your CRM PG: 12
is
INSTINCT
Failing the
Car Business PG: 15
4 STAGES
OF
Decline PG: 16
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C O N T E N T S Publisher Michael Oquendo Editor-in-Chief David Villa Creative Director Austin Janowsky Marketing Director Heath Panganiban Advertising Director Chris Fritcher Editor Josh Fontaine Editor Michael Cherup
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Featured In This Issue... Articles 6. The Best Solution is the One That Works By Michael Oquendo 12. Leaders: Stop Making Excuses About Your CRM By Mark Tewart 15. Instinct is Failing the Car Business By Laura Madison 16. The Four Stages of Decline By Dave Anderson 18. Give to Get! By Frank J Lopez 20. The Principal’s Office with Tracy Myers By Tracy Myers 22. Are You Significant or Do You Walk in Significance? By David Villa
25.
Taking your dealership from 1985 to 2015
By James Klause
26. Five Warning Signs your Dealership’s Online Marketing Provider is Taking You to the Cleaners! By Zach Klempf 29. Give Good Phone – Stop Losing Your Phone Leads to Someone Else By Andrew Price
Contributing Authors Michael Oquendo Mark Tewart Laura Madison Dave Anderson Frank J Lopez Tracy Myers David Villa Andrew Price Zach Klempf James Klause
Copyright ©2015 all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited unless expressly authorized by editor or publisher. The views expressed in the articles or advertisements are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the magazine or its staff. Editorial inquiries, questions or comments can be made to the Editor-In-Chief at moquendo@ipdmail.com Advertising Sales: Please call 813-630-5888 ext 523 or 561 or email moquendo@ipdmail.com
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By Michael Oquendo
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This past month during the 18th Digital Dealer Conference in Tampa, FL (my home) I had the opportunity to not only attend solid Keynote speakers, but also participate in the live broadcast of Auto Dealer Live’s 2nd part to the BDC Boardroom Debate. If you haven’t watched it, I strongly suggest that you do so! Auto Dealer Live had some of the most talented experts in the industry on the show including Alan Ram, Mike Overy, Bill Wittenmyer and Tom Stuker, each of which shared their perspectives on BDCs. Should salespeople or specialists take phone ups in your dealership? If so, how do you ensure that your team is properly trained to take phone leads? What about third party agencies? Should you simply find an outsourced solution to handling your phones? Some consider that solution the “lazy route,” that the absence of proper training is the root cause of issues in your dealership. Then others say that it is realistic to assume that most dealers to be good enough to have a top notch staff. Some will just never have what it takes. Hopefully that last tidbit makes you a bit pissed. Keep reading. Many of you do have what it takes, and I’m going to show you why anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong. I am adamant that it’s not about whether or not you “have what it takes,” but rather if the solution that some expert or third party company presents to you will actually work for YOU! Let’s look at it like this, what is the ROI of a piano? For me it’s less than nothing. Someone would definitely pay me to stop playing though. For Elton John it’s about $400 million. You could draw hundreds of examples just like this, but the point of it is that the TOOL isn’t your ROI. PEOPLE are your ROI. You can have all the shiny tools, but if you’re not a mechanic then what will you fix? What improvements will you make? None. Have you ever known anyone that buys expensive sportswear, but is absolutely awful at exercising? We all know that guy. He strolls up in his jogging outfit consisting of top brand shoes, clothing, sports watch, earphones, the whole 9 yards. But you’ve never seen him sweat. If you ask to go running with him, that’s his day off, or he JUST pulled something and will have to sit this one out. That guy thinks his
equipment makes him something special, but who does he fool? Everyone knows he’s full of it. How many tools do we invest in that we don’t know how to use in the hopes that we’ll just “pick up on it later.” There’s not a single reason to give a tool to someone that can’t use it. That’s completely backwards. So then what is the solution? You’ve probably heard the term Occam’s Razor, which in a nutshell just says that the simplest solution is always best. A lot of people emphasize simplicity in 2015, including myself, but what happens when there are multiple solutions for issues at your dealership that are equally simplistic and effective? Uh oh. How many of you have seen videos, read articles, or consumed other valuable content from someone extremely talented and experienced that is also completely committed to one particular path of success? They sure do seem to make good points. After all, they’ve made millions themselves and have decades of experience. Here’s the truth of the matter: there’s more than one way to win. The very fact that several successful experts in the same industry can coexist while practicing diametrically opposed ideas proves that point. If you’re willing to put in the effort, learn how to use the necessary tools, and have enough natural talent then you will be absolutely unstoppable. That’s as simple as it gets. Whether you’re talking about how to handle your customers over the phone, what sales strategies you use, or what tools and/or services you will utilize you need to do more than evaluate the pros and cons in general. You need to put things into perspective. Who cares if something does or doesn’t work in Arizona if you live in New York. Figure out what works for you, the chemistry of your team, and completely supports your dealership’s culture. It’s natural for some people to look around, observe and copy, but is that really what you want your dealership’s sales strategy to amount to?
Con’t on Page 8
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If you take your strategies from everyone else, then you’ll have the same problems that everyone else does. Most people look at it the other way. “Well if they’re successful with this practice, then I will be too!” But if you really want to be great. Not just another good dealership, but someone truly groundbreaking then you need to take it a step further.
If you take anything away from this, remember that anyone who says you can’t win because you failed at using their personal strategy is ridiculous. Tools are meant to be shaped to your hands, not the other way around. Find something that fits your business. Don’t force something that probably won’t work at your dealership, even if it works elsewhere.
There were lots of talented people at Digital Dealer. Successful dealers and entrepreneurs were able to come together and share ideas with one goal in mind: increased business productivity. Now that the conference is over there are plenty of dealers acting on opportunities for sustainable business growth, so what are you doing for your dealership?
“If you’re willing to put in the effort, learn how to use the necessary tools, and have enough natural talent then you will be absolutely unstoppable.”
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Leaders Stop Making Excuses About Your CRM
In the far majority of dealerships, there are either some or all of the salespeople not using the CRM system. Dealers who are looking for tools to help their business search out solutions spend vast amounts of time and money and then the tools are either not used at all, the majority of the functions available are not being used or the salespeople manipulate the system. I have heard the usual excuses from the salespeople of, “The CRM system does not work”, “They have not showed us how to use it”, “I don’t have time”, “It’s a waste of time” and several more.” “A lot of these people were not buyers.” These are all excuses and I would all invite salespeople using these excuses to, “Stop it!” I often hear managers use some the same excuses plus “He sells a lot of cars and I am afraid of losing him if I make him use it”, “He is not a computer type guy”, “I don’t have time to babysit the salespeople, they should just do their job”, “They just manipulate the tasks anyway so why bother?” “I can’t get good people, so I just do the best I can with who I have.” These are also all excuses and I would invite all managers who are using these excuses to just, “Stop it!” I have a friend who is a pharmaceutical sales representative. All pharmaceutical companies require their reps to log not only the direct person they call on, but also all the people they speak to in the course of their visits. Let’s say a pharmaceutical sales rep calls on a doctors office, nursing home or hospital and the rep speaks to a couple of doctors, pharmacy directors, nurses or other staff, then the rep is required by the company to log every person she had contact with. If a pharmaceutical sales rep has a luncheon, the rep by company policy and by federal regulations must collect all the names and information about each person at that luncheon. In many pharmaceutical companies it is not uncommon for the company to require the rep to visit seven to nine locations a day and speak with a representative from each one. However, at each visit, the rep may wind up speaking with multiple people. Every single person and their information must be recorded. It is not uncommon for a sales rep to log one hundred contacts a week into their CRM or database. At most dealerships, the average salesperson is not making anywhere near one hundred contacts a month, let alone a week. If in a pharmaceutical company a sales representative is trained, required and held accountable for logging customers. It’s pretty simple, you do not log the customers and you will lose your job. If you are a primary care sales representative, you have 24 hours to log your
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By Mark Tewart
customers. In other areas of pharmaceutical sales, you will have to log your customers at a minimum twice a week. There is no forgiveness, no leeway and no excuses. If you are a top selling rep and do not log your customers you will be terminated immediately. Let’s examine the difference between a typical pharmaceutical company and a typical dealership. The pharmaceutical spends a lot more time, care and detail in hiring the right people and then training them. Well, I can hear the excuses right now, such as we can’t get good people like that into the car business.” If that’s the case then you may change your work environment, culture, pay plans, hours, methods of recruiting, time and resources spent in recruiting, your interview process, the tools you use to find the right person, your initial and ongoing training, your daily and weekly coaching or your accountability but you must change something. Changing nothing and wishing for something different is not a game plan for success. The truth is that saying you cannot get or keep good people is an excuse that you allow, tolerate and use like a warm blanket to make you feel better. It’s easy to not take responsibility, uses excuses and to be a victim. You get in life what you tolerate both good and bad. As a leader, do you use the CRM? Do you perform a save-a-deal meeting every single day first thing in the morning utilizing the CRM? Do you perform one-on-one coaching with each salesperson everyday utilizing the CRM? Do you go through the reporting for your BDC and Internet departments using the CRM? If you are a leader and you want to be successful, you must do the following: Attract, recruit, hire and retain good people Educate your people consistently Motivate your people consistently Give clear expectations for job duties and requirements Hold people accountable If you perform those five things, you cannot help but to be successful. If you are not doing those five things you cannot be successful and if you are making excuses about any or all of those things you are doomed to failure and misery. Your first step is to simply, STOP IT!
Mark Tewart is the President of Tewart Enterprises Inc. For specific questions contact him via - twitter:@marktewart or by e-mail at markt@dealersolutions.info.
What If You Could Increase Your Dealership’s Profits by More Than $100,000 a Month… Immediately? Truthfully, there are very few dealerships that couldn’t increase profits by $100,000 a month immediately! Bear in mind we’re talking about variable sales department and F&I gross, not service or peripheral sales. According to Ziegler, there are only four ways to increase profits… • • • •
Sell more units Make higher profit per unit sold (Gross, front and back) Sell additional products and services per sale (F&I and Accessories) Increase the frequency of sales to the same customer (leasing)
In our Sales Management Seminars the main theme is “Processes and Productivity”. I know there are many Dealer Principals reading this, and; chances are, if your dealership is underperforming that YOU might be a huge part of the problem. In all of Ziegler’s speeches and seminars Jim has two recurring sayings about dealership leadership. • We don’t have a ‘What’ problem; we have a ‘When’ problem • We don’t have a ‘Knowing’ problem; we have a ‘Doing’ problem.
Here’s what we’re doing for Automotive Sales Management Professionals NOW, announcing Automotive Sales Management Super Conference III to be held in Seattle Washington, June 9th-10th-11th at the beautiful Redmond Marriott Hotel, Redmond Washington near the Microsoft Campus. We have phenomenal low rates for this luxury venue. We held the Internet Battle Plan Conference there last year and Seattle participants are still raving about the quality of the event!
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14
Instinct is
Failing the
Car Business
By Laura Madison Instinct is a powerful force; one that drives behavior and moves sea turtles toward the ocean after they hatch on the beach. ‘Trust your instinct’ is a sentiment commonly displayed in picture quotes, pinned and shared daily on social media for encouragement and inspiration. But the car business is not a business of instinct. In fact, thus far, our instinct has completely failed us. Here are three examples of instinct falling short of a positive outcome:
The veteran salesperson.
Why does the green pea outsell the veteran? Because he adheres to processes the veteran dismissed years ago—processes that work. The veteran’s instinct isn’t to perfect this profession, it’s to cut corners.
The handling of incoming phone calls.
Rather than successfully converting a customer to the showroom, a salesman on the phone with his used car list in hand, often discourages a visit. He gives away too much information and narrows down his inventory to nothing. Without training his instinct is to try and land a customer on a vehicle, rather than open up the possibilities and bring a customer in the door.
The attempts at using social media.
Evidence that the car business is still stumbling to understand social exists on nearly every dealership’s Facebook
page. Click over to ABC Motor’s Facebook and you’ll be bombarded with requests to buy and promotions of a sale but no valuable, engaging content. Beyond these three examples of instinct failing the car business, there are plenty of others: the hiring selection, gruff and ineffective management styles, the way we (try to) motivate behavior, blinders focusing us only on showroom traffic rather than converting phone and internet opportunities onto the showroom and so much more. We have to stop relying on instinct and finally wake up to reason! We can utilize science to understand how to hire better people and improve our work environment to keep the ones we’ve got. We can train our salespeople to convert today’s phone and internet opportunities. We can learn from businesses successfully connecting with their customers on social media and generating sales because of it. We can create consequences for the salesperson that loses deals due to cutting corners. Going forward, let’s choose reason over instinct.
Laura Madison is Director of Sales for Proactive Training Solutions.. For specific questions contact her via - twitter:@lauradrives or by e-mail at laura@dealersolutions.info.
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The 4 Stages of Decline By Dave Anderson Most managers don’t realize their organization is in decline until results hit the skids. Then they react, or overreact, as they scramble to get things on track. This is both foolish and unnecessary. There are actually four stages of decline, and if you recognize them and make adjustments, you can oftentimes right your course without having to suffer a visible decline in results at all. To better understand how the four stages of decline work, and how recognizing them faster can avoid costly production dips and help you continue to grow, first consider these four points on decline to set the stage:
1
Decline means “to slope downward”.
It’s not a plunge, but a slow, rolling descent. Just as you don’t become great in one fell swoop, neither do you hit bottom in one fell swoop. The problem is that decline is subtle, and the slope downward is so gradual you hardly notice it until it’s too late.
3
You are either growing or in decline; there is no middle ground or “holding your own”.
This is because each day you’re planting seeds, and they will eventually determine the quality of your harvest. Just because the growth or decline hasn’t show up yet, doesn’t change the fact that this is happening. You can have a record month and simultaneously plant the seeds for future decline if key disciplines get lost in the busyness of the month.
16
2
Good news: There is a grace period between the time you get off track and when the decline actually shows up.
For instance, if you don’t hold someone accountable today, the bottom won’t fall out tomorrow; if you skip a training meeting this week, you’re not likely to hit bottom next week. However, if you continue to fail in the disciplines of accountability and people development the decline will eventually show up. What’s important is to catch yourself when you’re off track while you’re still in the grace period so you can turn things around and avoid a decline in results.
4
When you find yourself in decline, it’s not because of something you did last night.
Rather, it’s the result of a series of failed disciplines and poor decisions, sown over time that have finally caught up with you. Failure is not an accident; you either set yourself up for it or you don’t.
With this perspective in mind, let’s get to the four stages of decline. Creating greater awareness of the stages is a skill that separates highly effective leaders from wannabes. In fact, the biggest vulnerability any of us face is the one we’re unaware of; we weren’t prepared and never saw it coming. Thus, understanding the following four stages of decline, and taking fast corrective action when you find yourself in one, is a skill that makes you far more valuable as a leader.
The Four Stages of Decline Success breeds complacency.
It’s ironic that success is the first stage of decline, but success commonly triggers complacency in many endeavors. Complacency means “calmly content and smugly self-satisfied”, and that’s precisely what can happen to leaders when they’re at the top of their game or setting new records. Without question, as prosperity rises urgency falls in far too many dealerships. Many leaders can’t survive success because it makes them complacent, cocky and unteachable. Thus, even though they may work sixty hours per week, they’re so calmly content with their results they’ve let up on accountability, recruiting, training, coaching and more. These failed disciplines and poor decisions plant seeds that weaken the culture and threaten future results.
Focus is defined as the ability to concentrate. It’s unfeasible to think you can be simultaneously complacent—calmly content—and focused like a laser on what matters most each day. Thus, complacency opens the door to lost focus, causing leaders to spend their days a mile wide and an inch deep; majoring in minor things, putting second things first, and largely disengaging from the essential as they’re chased by the trivial. You can’t play to win when you’ve lost focus; instead you’re just trying to stay afloat, struggling not to lose ground. As stressful and exhausting as stage two is, it gets even worse at stage three. Lost focus breeds inconsistency. At stage three you’re in real trouble and headed for de-
cline fast. Inconsistency is the natural result of lost focus; there is no way you can remain consistent in vital daily disciplines when you’ve lost your ability to concentrate on what they are. Thus you become inconsistent in the very activities that made you successful in the first place; things like planning, recruiting, training, personal growth, conducting one-on-one coaching sessions, holding vital meetings, and more. If you’ve become inconsistent in an area like one of these, and if you’re fortunate, you may still be in the grace period with declining numbers not showing up yet. But they will; you’re not the exception. Thus, it’s time to get back on track before you fall to stage four.
Inconsistency precedes decline. As you may have guessed, inconsistency is the last stop on the way to decline. In fact, this is a principle that applies to many areas of your life: Inconsistency in financial discipline eventually leads to a financial decline. Inconsistency in health disciplines eventually brings a decline in health. Inconsistency in spiritual disciplines will bring a decline in spiritual health. Inconsistency in maintaining relationships creates relationships in decline. With this perspective in mind, let’s get to the four stages of decline. Creating greater awareness of the stages is a skill that separates highly effective leaders from wannabes. In fact, the biggest vulnerability any of us face is the one we’re unaware of; we weren’t prepared and never saw it coming. Thus, understanding the following four stages of decline, and taking fast corrective action when you find yourself in one, is a skill that makes you far more valuable as a leader. David Anderson is the President of Learn to Lead. For specific questions contact him via -twitter:@daveanderson100 or by e-mail at davida@dealersolutions.info.
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Give To Get! The rule of relationships, both personal and professional, is one that had been somewhat ignored in the automotive industry for decades. The principal of the “two way street” lost the battle to the “take it home today because you’re here right now, and if you leave, you may never come back so I’m going to “low-ball” you by $2500 and worry about it WHEN and IF you come back.” And on the occasions when they did come back, they only got exposed to the experience of us “hooking” their trade, pressure from F&I Managers to buy products they did not want or need and ridiculous hourly labor rates when our customers needed us the most. The days of “volume without value,” an unfulfilling race to the bottom, are gladly over. It’s a new dawn, a new day, and for some, a new life. Most importantly, its time for a new experience for the most important person in the relationship- the customer.
“For it is in giving that we receive.”
~ St. Francis of Assisi
All of the greats, current and past, start their day hoping to discover a greater way to serve. A better way to do good for others in what they do for a living. They’re always looking for new opportunities to truly help people get what they want and need (sometimes, showing it to them before they realize they want or need it). The greats understand that giving is the gateway to receiving. The opportunities occur countless times, every day in our industry. On our websites, over the telephone, over email conversations and right on the showroom floor. Customers come to us, filled with excitement, anxiety, and sometimes, both. But they now come to us with a greater understanding of the product and the process. Our opportunities to provide value are far greater than they ever were. The average customer visits only 1.4 dealerships before making a purchase. So if they reached out to you, you have an excellent chance of serving them. You also have a greater chance to blow it. It’s like going up to bat with the bases loaded and a 3-and-2 count. You have the chance to be the hero every time the phone rings. Remember what I said..
To first give is the only true way to get. Think of this- potential customers that are in the market right now, this will be their first time buying a vehicle fully utilizing the internet as a source for information. The opportunity for you to serve the customer from beginning to end is right there for someone to take. 18
By Frank J Lopez
Give information openly and freely, then invite (not pressure) the customer to visit the dealership to get the appointment/showroom visit. All too many BDC and sales reps go for the appointment early in the sales call- Like a 21 year old at a bar looking for someone to bring home 5 minutes before last call. A recent “mystery call” performed by yours truly resulted in a request for me to “come in” only 15 seconds into the call- a request that came before asking for my name.
Give value during the call and you’ll get the appointment when you ask for it. Give the “experience” during the showroom visit to get the sale and the review. Demo the vehicle properly. Explain the features, benefits and added value the dealership provides its customers (If you don’t have any, then stop reading this right now and come up with some). Make those features, benefits and values the core of your marketing, or your inventory and a low price will be all you ever have to stand on. Give an experience that is sure to leave your customer happy and satisfied with the process of buying a vehicle from you and they will buy from you.
“You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” ~ C.G. Jung
Give consistency in service to get the review, referral and repeat business. I’m not just talking about back in the service department. I’m talking about the entire experience. From the second the customer clicks your ad on google visiting your website for the first time to the second he wiggles his butt in the seat after putting his new vehicle in drive, make the experience all about the customer. Things like gross profit, and ROI will come, followed by positive reviews, referrals, service visits and retention- but only if you give first. The problem in automotive is that we’re always looking to closeand there is pressure to do so. We think we haven’t succeeded until the deal rolls. Lets change that way of thinking. Change to first think giving value to the customer, for then, and only then true success will follow. Frank J Lopez is President of Frank J Lopes Advertising. For specific questions contact him via - twitter:@thefrankjlopes or by e-mail at frank@dealersolutions.info.
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The Principal’s Office by Tracy Myers
Tracy Myers enjoys what he does and he doesn’t bother keeping it a secret. In fact, it’s virtually impossible to visit Frank Myers Auto Maxx without seeing the smiling face of owner Tracy and his dealership’s iconic mascot, Uncle Frank, at least a dozen times. And these aren’t the car dealer smiles so often associated with shifty eyes and plaid shirts, these are the faces of two men who genuinely believe in what they’re doing. And why wouldn’t they? After all, their family business has not only turned the car dealership industry on its head, but changed the face of the used car dealer forever. “I’m proud to be an atypical car dealer with an atypical dealership,” says Tracy Myers. “Everyone sells the same cars that we sell, but it’s how we do it that makes the difference.” And that difference is showing. In fact there’s a long list of exactly what makes Frank Myers Auto Maxx not just different, but truly unique. One of the most important of these is that when you visit Frank Myers Auto Maxx, you won’t find a single commissioned salesperson on the lot. “We hire people who are focused on the customer and not the commission...on providing solutions instead of selling cars,” Myers said. “When we add someone to our Team, we make it clear to them that they will be well compensated BUT their focus must shift to helping their guests own a nicer, newer car. It’s a simple solution to an age old problem.” The legend of the first Frank Myers store began more than 85 years ago when it was started by Tracy’s Great-Grandfather, Frank. Tracy’s father, also named Frank, opened their automotive wholesale division later on in 1988. Tracy
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helped start their retail division shortly after he joined the company in 1994. Since buying Frank Myers Auto Maxx from his father in 2006, he’s built a golden reputation. In fact, it’s hard to find an award the dealership hasn’t won. In 2006, Myers was even named the National Quality Dealer of the Year by National Independent Auto Dealers Association – the youngest person ever given the prestigious award. Myers has in turn used this recognition to spread his company’s message, even becoming a FOX News correspondent. The dealership was named the number one small business in NC by Business Leader magazine and INC magazine named them one of the fastest growing privately owned companies in the United States for the past 4 years. “I’m extremely proud of these accomplishments but God gets all the glory and my Team gets a close second. They all make me look really good.” Over the past few years, Myers has used his good, oldfashioned business sense as a foundation for the development of a number of unique programs like their Everybody Rides Program and an Iron-Clad Money Back Guarantee. “Most car dealerships only focus on price, which is usually misleading, or on good customer service,” says Myers. “In my opinion, providing good service is a requirement, not a bonus. That’s why we try to stay away from tired, cliched catchphrases and actually give our guests real, added value items and experiences that they want.” An example of a popular added value program is the dealerships lifetime engine warranty. “If a dealer isn’t willing to stand behind the cars they sell, why would anyone risk spending money with them?” Myers asks. “My goal is to take away all of the
reasons NOT to do business with my dealership. When we do that, we don’t need high pressure sales tactics.” On an average evening at Frank Myers Auto Maxx, you’ll see a number of things that make them different from other dealerships. You might show up in the morning just to pick up some of Uncle Frank’s World Class Blend from the free coffee bar, or you might show up on Free Family Movie Night, help yourself to some fresh popcorn, catch the end of your favorite family-friendly film or play video games in the free arcade. In fact, you might show up and forget that you’re at a car dealership at all. “The dealership is not just a family business,” says Myers. “It’s also not just a legacy-building project or just a way to make money. Of course, it is all those things. More importantly for me, it’s a passion that has my flair. The colors are a little bright, the showroom music is very loud. People are hi-fiving and dancing around with silly hats, having a good time. Some people don’t like to buy cars in that atmosphere and that’s ok. We’re not for everybody but we’ve created not only a fun place to buy a car but a fun place to visit.” As you’d expect, this unique approach to doing business has made the Frank Myers Auto Maxx name a gold standard in the industry, allowing for a great deal of copy cat dealers out there. However, that doesn’t seem to worry Myers. “They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and I guess they’re right,” said Myers. “Other dealers see our goofy car ads, they’ve seen our documentary and they know how successful we are so they decide they’re going
to be like us. The problem is, they can copy everything we do. The programs, the movies, the video games, the pay structure. All of it. However, what they can never copy is our heart, our passion and our culture. It’s the people that make the difference. They can’t copy that.” Speaking of the Myers family documentary, Car Men, most people in the Triad community have watched it several times. Mainly because it was chosen to be the Super Bowl lead-in program shortly after its release which helped it obtain record ratings. After that, it was picked up to air nationally on The BIO Channel which lead to it winning several Telly awards and being nominated for an Emmy award. The movie still airs constantly on local TV stations as well as at TheCarMenMovie.com If you ever have the pleasure to talk to Myers, you’ll find him to be just as engaging, friendly and enthusiastic as you’d expect. And if you miss him, he’ll be the first to smile and tell you it was because he and his Team were “out selling cars like candy bars.” Given the kind of business Frank Myers Auto Maxx is turning, that might be Myers’ first ever understatement.
Tracy Myers is the Dealer Principal at Frank Myers Auto Maxx. For specific questions contact her via - twitter:@RealTracyMyers or by e-mail at tracy@dealersolutions.info.
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Are you Signifcant or
do you
walk in Signifcance? “You won’t become prosperous until you…” You are sitting there right now asking what the difference is between the two, and if different how is one a bad thing? I’m glad you asked… Let’s take a closer look at both words: Significant is defined as sufficiently great! Not bad, however it tells me that anyone at anytime can be significant. You can be great [significant] for an hour each day, or a day each week, or a week each month and yet never become prosperous. If we truly desire greatness AOT [all the time] then we need to not strive to be significant, but rather walk in Significance. Significance is defined as the quality of being significant…. or walking in GREATNESS! A person of Significance isn’t just great once a week, they are literally waking up significant and going to bed significant. People who walk in significance are not just a success, but they instead are prosperous. Let me explain. A goal is an object that is conceived and then subsequently birthed from a person’s ambition. In other words the very thing you are passionate about or that fires you up beyond comprehension produces ambition. You get this strong desire or determination to achieve success, but keep in mind that success doesn’t live on a cul de sac. So what we define as success in our minds a lot of time is really prosperous. Success is the accomplishment of an aim or purpose {not bad huh?}…but again anyone can succeed once a day, week, month or year, but to really win let’s become prosperous, which is defined as successful!! The difference between significant/significance and success/prosperous is [SOT & AOT]…Some of the time or All of the time….Life or lifestyle…one happens because we are in this game of life and the other happens when we embrace it as a lifestyle. One says {Sign–if–I – CANT} the other {Sign– if–I CAN–ce}. Answering my quote above “You won’t become prosperous until you…”
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Have goals (s,m,l) [short, mid, long] Write them down (top 3% do…bottom 97% don’t) Filter them (are they outdated, unrealistic etc…) Get a plan Execute the plan
“
A person of Significance isn’t just great once a week, they are literally waking up significant and going to bed significant. - David Villa
”
Ten ingredients that separate significant from significance and success from prosperous: 1 Commitment 2 Determination 3 Passion 4 Focus 5 Desire 6 Growth 7 Talent 8 Grit 9 Action 10 Change It’s time to execute on these ideas. When it comes down to it those who take action to execute their plan, while also implementing the 10 key ingredients above, will be the ones that walk in significance. David Villa is the President & CEO of IPD. For specific questions contact him via - twitter:@ipdmail or by e-mail at davidv@dealersolutions.info.
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Taking your dealership from 1985 to 2015 5 key components to culture change in the modern dealership By James Klaus Changing the culture of the way a dealership does business is not an easy task. Many dealerships have been very successful for a long time doing business a certain way, “their way.” Well, it’s already April 2015. It’s time for us to accept the fact if we as dealers will not do business the way a consumer would like, the customer will do business elsewhere. So how do we, as dealership employees, change the way our dealerships do business? Whether it is CRM utilization, digital marketing, communicating with our customers, etc… These core fundamentals will help you on your journey.
Care! We have to care about the dealerships we work in and the customers that we serve. We have to ensure we fully understand that we are here to help serve our customers. When you truly care about serving your customers your passion will shine through and you will get the attention of those in your store that will help you on your quest.
Lead by example… Yes you need to lead! Remember that the best way to show others how to do something is to do it yourself first. Never ask someone to do something that you will not do. This works in all aspects of a dealership, if you want your service writers to do email follow up then you first must do email follow up for your service department, etc.
Education. Educate everyone! Education will be an essential component to the success of your quest. You have to educate your entire staff on the way the modern customer wants to do business. You will get challenged by many along the way who state “that is not the way we used to do it.” That is okay. Remember that your team is your team! Always be patient and explain why we are doing this
and how it will benefit everyone. Please remember to use words like “we” and “team”. This makes everyone feel included and they will be more likely to “buy in”. Also, remember that education includes the dealer principal, general manager, etc. Everyone has the right to become educated on your business practices and if you exclude people the next key will not work.
Buy In…. Get everyone Involved! Once upon a time in the car business consumers did business the way the car dealer wanted. This is not the case anymore, and trust me your Dealer Principal and General Manager are smart people who understand this. They would not be in those positions if they didn’t understand the consumer journey. Get their buy in and make sure you have a united front to the entire dealership. Ensure you and the executive staff understands why we are changing some practices and have some data to back it up. The dealer principal and general manager want to make your dealership successful and will have your back as you do this. Have an open dialogue with them and make a plan. Then work the plan.
Results…. Share them! Everything we do in any business will be measured by the results. Be prepared to show results to all employees. When CSI goes up share it, when closing ratios go up with the addition of text or video in the sales follow up process, share it. Share it with everyone, success is contagious and everyone wants to be on the winning team! Good luck to you on your quest. Remember there is a great community of professionals out there to help you on the way. Feel free to reach out to me, connect with me on Twitter or LinkedIn or give me a call if you would like to chat! James Klaus is the E-Commerce Director at Bozeman Motors Inc. For specific questions contact him via twitter - @JimmyKnMT or by e-mail at jimmy@dealersolutions.info.
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5 WARNING SIGNS I spend a lot of quality time with auto dealers, and am often surprised at the state of their online marketing programs. Sometimes I am even downright outraged at how some online marketing providers (website developers, SEO & SEM companies, and social media agencies) are taking advantage of dealerships. Frequently franchise dealerships are laying out some serious cash to rank above competitors with very little results to show for it. I recently spoke with an Internet manager at a small, 50 cars-amonth Ford store who was using one of the popular automotive website and digital marketing providers. He was paying $4,500 a month and really had nothing tangible as far as results to show for that huge monthly expense! Unfortunately, he is not alone. Dealers, who themselves may not be personally tech savvy, can be vulnerable to overpaying for ineffective solutions when it comes to making software and online marketing provider decisions. To help balance the online showroom playing field, I have outlined five warning signs of digital potholes ahead that signal a bumpy relationship with your dealership’s online marketing providers.
WARNING SIGN #1: THEY DON’T EXPLAIN KEY TERMS NOR DEFINE A CLEAR STRATEGY Are they able to explain key digital marketing terms like SEO, SEM, SERP, CPC, H1 & H2 tags AND define a clear strategy of use for your Dealership’s online presence? Many marketing vendors that offer digital services have misled dealerships by not fully explaining what terms like Search Engine Optimization (SEO) mean and how they can be used effectively for your site. Avoid this by nailing down exactly what these terms mean, how these digital marketing components are going to be used as part of a documented online dealership strategy, and jointly agreeing to success milestones and timelines that need to be achieved for your dealership’s online presence. Here are a just a few questions you should be asking: How are you using long tail keywords? What research was used for selecting the keywords being used and how does it relate to my dealership? What on-page SEO factors like H1 and H2 will be used and why?
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What sort of original and engaging content are you creating for my website? How often will site content be refreshed? Make sure you define “refreshed” as something more than changing a few words or titles on a page. What does success look like? What metrics will show that the online strategy is producing results? How often will we revisit the strategy and perform a milestone check to make sure we are on track? If your provider cannot clearly explain the online strategy they have in mind for your dealership and what they will be doing to actively increase your SERP (Search Engine Results Page) results then “Houston. We have a problem.” Remember, just because a marketing vendor claims to be doing SEO services, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are. In some case they may only be changing the title of your website! A solid SEO provider will optimize on a page level and will do a significant amount of keyword and competitor research. They will also be willing to explain in detail the online strategy for your dealership and work with you to tweak it for optimal results on a regular basis.
WARNING SIGN #2: JUST READ THE MONTHLY REPORT I SENT YOU AND TRUST ME If your provider does not give you full administration access to the CPC (Cost-per-Click) campaigns and real time analytics of your dealership’s digital marketing efforts, then there’s a big problem. This is the equivalent of not giving the customer the car keys and title after they purchase a car from you! Monthly reports on the performance of your dealership’s site are insufficient as this is something you really need to monitor on a daily basis. Not having access to adjust these campaigns and seeing which variants of CPC ads are the most effective puts your dealership in the dark about real time performance. Always adopt a “Trust but frequently Verify” approach to make sure that you are getting your bang for your CPC bucks. Also be wary if your digital marketing provider creates a social media account for your dealership and then proceeds to use it to advertise their brand on your page. For example, they could be retweeting promotional ads for their services under your dealership’s name. This is fairly common for providers to do and
M
S
YOUR DEALERSHIP’S ONLINE MARKETING PROVIDER IS TAKING YOU TO THE CLEANERS! By Zach Klempf
it’s basically free advertising for their brand while riding on your dealership’s name.
WARNING SIGN #3: SELLING GUNS TO BOTH SIDES Is the same marketing vendor you are using to build SEO and rank your dealer website higher on Google also servicing the competition down the street? Believe it or not, this is a real problem that happens more often than you may think. If both your competition and you are selling the same vehicles (i.e. 2015 Ford Mustang), in the same city or nearby cities, whose side are they on? How can they promise both dealerships to rank highest on Google SERPs when they are competing with another dealer they directly service? How can you trust a provider that is playing both sides of the fence? When your dealership is selecting a provider for website and SEO services make sure they do not service your local competitors too. Otherwise both of you are being taken to the cleaners.
WARNING SIGN #4: LOW PERCENTAGE OF ACTUAL SPEND ON CPC CAMPAIGNS When you pay your provider for running CPC marketing, make sure you have a detailed breakdown of how much money is being spent on the actual campaigns versus how much money is being spent on other expenses. You need a breakdown of how much is being spent directly on AdWords, FB Ads, Remarketing Ads, and so on. If they are only spending a small amount of money on these CPC campaigns and more on the miscellaneous administrative services, then you have a ROI disconnect. CPC campaigns need to be carefully monitored. If your provider is throwing money at campaigns with a low ROI, then issue a cease and desist campaign notice immediately. If you have tried CPC campaigns in the past for your dealership and know that certain networks aren’t effective (i.e. Pinterest Promoted Pins), then let your provider know ahead of time to save you both time and money. Balance that past experience though with being willing to explore new channels if your provider can provide you sound business rationale based on your target demographics
and user profiles. Also, be sure to ask them for previews of the CPC campaigns they are running, so you can see how consumers are viewing your targeted advertising.
WARNING SIGN #5: UPDATES ARE BOGUS AND ARE REALLY JUST MINOR TEXT CHANGES You have every right as a dealership to audit your provider on a regular basis to make sure they are doing what they have been hired to do. Dealers who are not actively monitoring their providers are more susceptible to questionable practices. For example, some marketing vendors will claim that they make weekly “ updates” to your social pages without actually doing anything tangible. The Ford dealer mentioned earlier in the article discovered that his provider was making blank edits to their social media account, and billing him as if they were making meaningful updates. To prevent these types of issues, the dealer needs to ask for an in-depth report of all updates made by the provider that describes in some depth what actual changes were made and what percentage of each page’s content was actually updated.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR THE GM In this digital age, many dealers fall behind when it comes to understanding SEO, CPC, and Social Media marketing tactics. Some online marketing providers take advantage of non-tech-savvy dealers and do minimal work through questionable, and sometimes unethical, business practices. The best way to protect your investment in digital advertising is to audit your provider and ask as many questions as possible. It is your right to receive proper and in-depth reporting of your providers activities. Keeping a look out for the warning signs mentioned and following the tips outlined in this article could save your dealership thousands of dollars a month, ensure a smooth digital highway experience, and put you a step ahead of your competition! Zach Klempf is the CEO of Selly Automotive . For specific questions contact him via twitter - @ZachKlempf or by e-mail at zach@dealersolutions.info.
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The Road to Success in the Most Critical Situations By Tahmina Hassanein “You have to surround yourself with people that believe in you, who will give the opportunity to succeed”, general manager of Momentum BMW, Maria Moncada Alaoui I was in my corporate seat in the finance department when I realized, I was in a position to become someone incredible in dealer operations, not just another corporate seat. That is, IF I decided to become more than a corporate seat. It’s 2015 and the number of women in the auto industry is growing exponentially. The opportunity to become a leader in this industry is very real. As a future female leader in the automotive industry here is my insight for other women in order to take it to the next level:
Consistency How many times in the auto industry do we notice that we have ignored the Road to the Sale, the sales process, or even completely omit certain steps in the process? Simple steps like taking a customer on a test drive means you as a sales person take the effort to build value for the customer. Too often in today’s process we want to “qualify” the customer to build value for ourselves before we take things seriously. It simply doesn’t work that way. What if the customer is a first time buyer and you decided to hand them the keys to test drive. That’s it. “Here, drive,” you say. Can you imagine what’s going through that clients mind? There is innovative technology that’s involved
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with newer vehicles, and buying a different vehicle within same brand is just like buying a new vehicle altogether. The customer needs to be shown how to take ownership of that new vehicle at the test drive. Show the customer how to be comfortable with the test drive, make it fun and exciting. Consistently doing this at your dealership will result in increased performance and a high potential for growth.
Execution Executing what you say you would do for the customer if they give you an opportunity to work with them is significantly more important than just making empty promises. If you talk to a customer in a parking lot and advise them you will give them an in home test drive. After that customer shares their information with you for follow up, it’s very crucial you do what you say you will do to customer. Promising customers that you will offer them an in-home test drive whether they purchase from you or not and not following through is unacceptable. Follow through with customer; give them that in-home test drive. They may not purchase that week or month, but they will return to you. If they just can’t purchase now, trust me, your name will be out there as someone exceptional in the auto industry. Tahmina Hassanein is the New Car Sales Manager for BMW in Naples, FL For specific questions contact her via twitter - @TahminaatBMW or by e-mail at tahmina@dealersolutions.info.
Give Good Phone
Stop Losing Your Phone Leads to Someone Else By Andrew Price
Phone calls are on the rise – whether it’s because of the proliferation of smartphones and their easy call-to-talk functionality or because car buyers have grown weary of online lead forms. Studies show that call volume is now outpacing Internet leads by 4-1. The message is clear: consumers want the immediate gratification of a phone call – but, sadly, at least 40% of those callers aren’t getting any kind of gratification when dialing a typical dealership. A situation that is costing dealerships as much as $44,000 in lost revenues every month! Instead of converting these calls into showroom appointments, many call handlers drop the ball – resulting in customer defection to another brand and/or dealership at least 50% of the time, according to our studies in conjunction with R.L. Polk. Think about it – you spend thousands in marketing dollars to attract car buyers to your dealership. Doesn’t it make sense to monitor and make sure that employees handling the incoming calls are as effective as they can be?
GIVING GOOD PHONE? Ask yourself these questions: • Which call handlers are on phone duty today? • Are they the least experienced call handlers you have? • Has everyone on your team been trained to effectively handle inbound phone leads? • If they’ve been trained, how are you monitoring their effectiveness? • Do you have consistent phone skills training for all new car sales associates? Interestingly, a lot of time is spent bemoaning how dealers mishandle Internet leads – with the assumption that phone leads are under control. Today’s Millenial salespeople –digital natives – and the other poorly trained phone handlers answering inbound calls are less familiar with phone interactions than anyone you hired a decade ago. Based on our analytics and the general lack of consistent training in dealerships, phone handlers are only converting 7% of callers into showroom appointments. With a typical gross profit of around $2,200 per car sold (front and back end). That is a lot of money left on the table. An average-
size dealership could easily lose up to 20 sales every month, which translates into a sobering loss of $44,000 in revenue per month or over ½ a million dollars per year. That doesn’t have to be the case. Monitoring your phone call handlers can help you improve their performance and eliminate the most common reasons inbound prospect calls are lost: • Rude/unprofessional exchange • Phone handler’s lack of inventory knowledge • No ‘needs’ analysis, so no alternative vehicle is offered • Caller’s question is answered, but phone handler fails to set appointment • Customer’s contact information is not requested/ recorded • Phone handler lacks information, so asks the prospect to call back • Salesperson unavailable
RECAPTURING MISHANDLED CALLS Focusing on minimizing lost calls is critical, but so is having a plan in place to recapture them. Knowing exactly what went wrong on the call gives you the best ammunition for recapturing that customer. This information is invaluable to actively re-engage the customer. Many dealerships are incorporating safety nets into their process in order to start saving the 93% of mishandled sales calls. The ability to have Alerts sent to a Phone Sales champion when a call is mishandled and the appointment is not set is helping dealers set more appointments and sell more cars and trucks. In a recent analysis of over 600 US dealers, closing ratios with DealSaver were as high as 25% - versus the industry average of 7% - translating to an average of $320K gross for the dealership. Both dealerships and OEMs pour billions of marketing dollars into getting consumers to pick up the phone – don’t waste that spend by ignoring how those calls are being handled.
Andrew Price is the President of CallSource Automotive. For specific questions contact him via twitter - @callsource or by e-mail at andrew@dealersolutions.info.
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