There are several types of employees, but I am only going to highlight two of them for this question.

Show Pony – This person is, straight up, the most talented on your squad.  They have the highest closing ratio, the strongest word tracks, and the greatest skill.    When they have a customer on the phone, the show pony will convert to an appointment at an exceedingly high clip.  When a customer is in front of them, more often and not, they buy.  When the commissions come in, the gross profit is substantial.  However, their effort level is fleeting.  They don’t apply themselves 24/7, but when they do, the success is there.  The Show Pony tends to doddle.  Take some time off.  Not manage their time as well as they should or make all of the follow-up calls set for them for the day, but those they do make end in results.

On the other side of the room, there is the Work Horse.  This employee isn’t going to set the world on fire with their statistics, but when they are at work, they are working hard.  The Work Horse is disciplined, does all that is asked of them, completes all of the calls in a reasonable manner, closes the customers at the average rate, and keeps themselves busy WITH WORK during downtime.  If there is one thing you can assure yourself of is that the Work Horse will exhaust all effort in selling a unit and completing their calls. 

Now I ask you, who is more valuable to have on your staff?  The Show Pony or the Work Horse?  The one with unending talent and skill or the one with amazing work ethic?  Ideally, we’d like to have both characteristics in one perfect person, but this is rarely the case.  So when interviewing candidates, ask them which one they believe they are.  Or when giving your employees their monthly reviews, categorize them and praise/train them accordingly.

You are the owner of this stable.  If you do have someone with both of these traits, be thankful.  Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.  Praise the person.  However, don’t be afraid to celebrate someone in the winner’s circle and dole out some public praise for their skill or effort.  Just ask yourself first, which is the more admirable quality to have?

The challenge of “saving deals” has not been the inability to commoditize those deals needing saving into a software, but it is changing the overall mindset of management. (Granted, having a tech solution to funnel this deal info and print it into reports is exceedingly helpful nowadays). First and foremost, the biggest challenge of saving deals is that management simply has never created the processes necessary to make it a standard way of life within the dealership.

Here are the two most effective ways to save deals that I’ve found while involves just a little effort and time from multiple departments.

1) You must institute daily meetings to ensure that no stone is unturned and no customer is lost without trying twice. Your management staff should collectively review the previous day’s in-store and online opportunities (preferably pulling a detailed report quickly from a CRM module that gathers the data automatically for you) and meet every morning. They should hold daily meetings with F&I to determine necessary actions to finish off any unclosed deals and hold a brief 5-minute one-on-one meeting with each individual sales representative to discuss what can be done to convert lost customers into be-back sales.

2) The second most important step to saving deals is having your Business Development Center be the backstop for your dealership. There are ways technologically to ensure your sales people are making their follow-up calls to past and recent customers, but you have no way of knowing if it was the salesperson that may have prevented the deal closing in the first place. Use your BDC staff to act as a Customer Care Center and let them be a second voice at the dealership for your customers. When you have someone else reaching out to your customers, you are ensuring that no customer is being discarded by a salesperson and you are opening another channel for that customer to discuss a potential deal.

So remember, a dedicated policy of saving deals requires effort from your management, F&I, Sales and BDC teams, but it will all be well-worth it come month’s end.

Joe Webb - Automotive Internet Sales Trainer - DealerKnows Consulting

While I am proud of my dealership’s presentation of our vehicles, I am always striving to get better. So the question arises… how do you get better? How do you make your vehicles stand out compared to the competition? I’ve attended Cars.com trainings, AutoTrader seminars, KBB presentations, and the lot. All offered valuable information and I’ve adopted at least one idea or more from each session I’ve attended.
I look at pages and pages of used cars and trucks. Listing after listing of the good, the bad, and the ugly scroll across my screen. Now and then, I find something amazing. Since I am a spying deviant, I may even steal their ideas. It is then I ask myself, “I wonder if they do it by themselves or if they have been blessed with the best picture-taking vendor on the planet?” Inevitably, when I get the dealer on the phone, I learn it is all them.

The one constant that began standing out when I made these calls is that the dealerships that do it best maintained in-house control of their pictures. Now, this is just what I have found. I understand there are companies such as Dealer Specialties, CarTHINK, and Dealer Source that provide excellent service to dealerships. Some of these franchises share amazing relationships with their respective dealers and have a seamless process to put the best product online. I do find, though, that this is not always the case for everyone. Just join a networking forum like automotivedigitalmarketing.com and you will hear pleas from the top Internet sales professionals begging to have more control over their pictures. After all, the presentation of a dealer’s inventory online has a direct impact on their bottom line, not the vendors. Mediocre pics don’t much affect the vendor taking the pictures unless their feet are being held to the fire to increase quality and productivity. These requests to vendors apparently don’t always go fulfilled.

When peeking into the online window of another dealership’s inventory, I ask myself:

How do they position their used vehicles?

What is the quality of their pictures?

How many of each do they take?

Is all of the information of the vehicle’s features and options listed?

Do they have engaging comments written about the vehicle that grab your attention and tell a story?

Are there pictures of their new vehicles?

Are they offering a video of the vehicle?

Do they provide a 360-degree rotation of the interior or exterior with color swatches?

Does the listing page offer similar, comparable vehicles to consider?

A reputable vendor in the area offering its services for our inventory pictures recently contacted me. Now, for those of you who know me, I am pretty protective over how I run my dealer’s BDC and Internet department. I fight for what I believe works. In my dealership, I handle everything in-house. It doesn’t work for everyone, but it does for me. Don’t get me wrong. Without a strong online inventory management tool, we’d be toast, but we manage our processes well.
I am lucky to be located directly across the street from a high school. Every year, we hire three of their students. They are our online inventory specialists (OIS). Since this is a slightly more affluent area than some, the school offers photography. The students we choose (essentially from a referral program from the last OIS) must be high-honor roll students, have taken photography and also creative writing classes. A clean driving record is also imperative. They are paid the same as if they were working at the local grocery or video store, but the responsibility is far greater. And their position, I’d like to believe, is more emotionally rewarding as well. It has to be cool to say, “Yeah, I’ve got to go drive and take pictures of that Mustang convertible on the rack over there.”

• Opposed to a vendor that spends 10 or so hours every week using our lot to take pictures, the OIS students work roughly 45 hours a week collectively and provide my department so much more support.
• They do not charge by the number of pictures like some vendors do, so 20 pics are mandatory. Unlimited pictures can be taken, though, if told to do so. That’s control.
• Since the OIS is taking creative writing, they personally write captions/comments for every used vehicle.
• They take all pictures needed for our web site whether it be an event that we are promoting or even pics of new sales representatives.
• They do Photoshop work on whatever new mail campaign or e-blast we dream up. (You’d be shocked how technologically advanced high school students are. They even blow me away. Sometimes they even handle IT problems!)
• The OIS generates, prints, and distributes all letters for the sales department out of the CRM (as well as handles the printing and stuffing of mail campaigns).
• Lastly, but just as important, they assist me with the mystery shopping, gathering, and analyzing of all competitive pricing from local dealers.

Best of all, I have total control of their productivity and the final product with no worrying about accountability. This works extremely well for our dealership, but that is because we have a team in place to manage them. They work among my entire BDC and Internet team and contribute to the daily activities because they are one of us. I believe this is the perfect scenario for my dealership.

Even with my preferred set-up, the vendor did push and push to talk about its “streamlined process.” (Have they ever tried to find all the keys needed for pics in an inventory of 200 used cars? Not easy and never quick. It is a process that could only be streamlined at Utopia Motors on the corner of Fifth and Heaven.)

My owner, like every owner, needed to look at the bottom line. He couldn’t base a decision on quality and productivity, but could on dollars and cents. So I created a simple savings analysis comparing the fee of the potential vendor and its own inventory management tool versus the cost of my online inventory specialists and our online inventory management tool. For privacy reasons, I did have to bury some numbers for privacy reasons, but will gladly share the true savings formula and worksheet. If you ask, I will gladly shoot over a template of this to anyone who wants it.

If you have the ability and the team to do your pictures in-house, even if you don’t have the capacity to bring aboard brilliant, little, hard-working high school kids, you must, in good conscience, do a comparison between both alternatives and see what makes the most financial sense. I can tell you, though, how good it makes me feel and how much credibility it gives our dealership that we do offer this program to students when I’m speaking to members of the community at local Chambers of Commerce meetings.

After showing this analysis to my owner, I was able not only to retain my online inventory specialists, but he allowed me to buy them a ritzy camera. We are also currently building them their (our) very own studio. How’s that for a little snooping?

Controlling your pictures in-house will not work for everyone. As a matter of fact, I still learn about the newest and best technologies and trends from dealers that pay quality, third-party vendors. (Handling it in-house does give me the opportunity to experiment more. Also, third-party vendors don’t refer high school students to purchase vehicles either.) My way offers our dealership more control, more support in other departments, and, I believe, a higher quality online presentation. As the chart supports, it can benefit to be a dealer’s “picture-peeping Tom.”

A title is important. While many dealerships are hesitant to throw around manager titles, it is imperative the individuals in the Internet department refer to themselves as Internet sales managers (ISM). Whether or not an employee has been officially given the title or not, they need to communicate with the automotive Internet users (AIU – a new term for Internet shoppers I picked up at a seminar) as a person with manager status.

Anyone who has sold cars knows that the position of manager carries with it the air of authority. Customers often want to work directly with a manager. It makes them feel more important as if they are dealing with a true decision-maker for the store. I often laugh at this because it is quite possibly the worst way to buy a car. I tell friends and family that, when shopping for a new vehicle, always try to work with the person who seems the most new to the business. Those people care more about getting another unit sold rather than focusing on profit. On the other side of the spectrum, a manager’s main focus is on profit. A person is promoted to manager when they are successful at selling consistently at high gross. Why a customer wants to immediately work with the person (manager) who is most adept at making maximum profit, I’ll never know.

The automotive Internet user is different. As I’ve said in countless past articles, the AIU feels they are entitled to better care than that offered to them by an everyday salesperson. They need to feel as if they are dealing with someone who has the power to make significant decisions regarding price and payment. The AIU wants to know they are talking to a manager. If your Internet employees have the official title of “Internet sales consultant”, “Internet sales coordinator” or any variation in between, encourage them to refer to themselves as “manager” in all e-mail, phone, and face-to-face communications with the AIU. While the role and responsibility for your employee won’t change, the perception of the customer and the mindset of the employee will.

When I began in automotive sales, my title was sales consultant. In a perfect world, our sales staff would consult the customer, but today they act more like sales clerks. However, I encourage my sales staff to stretch the limitations of their titles. ‘Sales associate’ holds no weight with a customer. ‘Sales professional’ does, though, as does ‘certified sales professional’ or ‘senior certified sales and leasing specialist’. Since roughly 90 percent of customers are shopping the Internet prior to visiting to dealership, I wouldn’t even mind if sales consultants referred to themselves as ‘Internet specialists’ (provided they did know how to navigate the web and were familiar with the popular automotive sites). It allows the customers to believe they are dealing with an individual who has attained a higher designation from the dealership, and therefore is more important.

In my Internet department, however, I prefer my Internet sales coordinators to refer to themselves as ‘Internet sales managers’. The AIU doesn’t want to think just anyone is responding to their e-mails. They want someone with clout to handle their transaction because they are special. A little hint for those who don’t know: All Internet shoppers believe they are special. That is why, when they show up unannounced, you are expected to recall their name, their vehicle of interest, and all communication you’ve shared. Even though they need to carry the information into the store with them inside a manila folder tucked under their arm, you should know who they are. It is not like you have 250 others you are conversing with. They are the special ones. (Notice any sarcasm there?) The truth is, though, if they are in the store at that very moment, you should treat them as if they are the most important. The title of manager will carry with it a little more authority, allowing you to stand your ground on topics such as price, payment, and trade as well as make the customers feel they are more important than the average walk-in.

Working with an AIU is a little like the early stages of dating. If you present yourself as a servant/lower-class citizen to your potential girlfriend or boyfriend, it’s over before it begins. Men and women want to be with someone that they look up to and are willing to fight for. The same holds true for car shoppers. No consumers look up to sales clerks. People want to interact with their equals. Referring to yourself as a manager to a customer (provided you act accordingly) makes you an equal.

If you are an owner or GM, allow your staff to present themselves with a title of authority. Let them put it on their business cards if they ask. The pay plan dictates their pay, not their business cards, so you have nothing to worry about.

If you are an Internet sales specialist or a similarly titled position, just go ahead and try using a manager title in your e-mail signature. You will begin receiving more favorable responses. Some of these responses may actually ask more detailed questions, requiring decisions out of your pay grade. That’s fine. It opens the door to building credibility and rapport with the AIU and the medium of e-mail always gives you time to find out the answer from the powers that be.

Simply having the title of manager alone won’t even the playing field with your customers. You must act as if you are a manager. You must be as responsible and professional as your management staff. You must be courteous and respectful to the AIU’s wishes. You must position yourself as a customer’s solution.

It is not the title that makes the manager, but the actions. Even if you are not, act as if you are in charge. Act as if you have been doing this for 100 years and you are the best at it. Act as if you are the only person that can help them through their shopping ordeal. If customers perceive you are a person of power and influence in the dealership, they will have confidence in you and everything you say. If this newfound confidence breeds more sales, act as if you own the joint.

Here are just a few simple, quick steps to optimizing your website.I am not breaking ground here.I am not getting too specific.I also do not want to make this sound easier or less important than it is.It’s a science.However, here are just a few places to focus your SEO efforts.

1)Understand your target audience to determine what keywords you want to optimize with.In other words, “car dealer” alone will not get you thrown onto the first page of Google (or first 10 pages).Make sure to mention in your multiple keywords your location and your brand.Proper keyword targeting is imperative to achieving a decent page rank.

2)Content is king.Whatever the keywords are, your content throughout your site should correlate.The more valid, strong content on your website – that is supporting the keywords – the better.Make sure to have dense body content and a good practice is to make sure it is able to be viewed by all visitors, not just hidden as keywords for the search engine spiders.

3)Title Tags – This could be the most important SEO tags on your site.Google and Ask Jeeves for instance support 60 characters in the title.Only a couple support 120.Choose the most relevant, important keywords in the title and ensure that every page has its own, unique title.

4)META Description Tags – All search engines take into consideration what your description tags are and use this information to help determine your page rank.Write strong descriptions with no more than 200-250 characters. Descriptions tell them what your website (and individual pages) are all about.A strong pitch and summary, if you will.

5)Market Yourself.Make sure you have a few links outbound and some very strong links inbound.Beyond social networking sites, make sure you have your providers linking back to you in some way.This popularity will help drive your SEO page rank.The more popular you are with other sites and visits, the higher your rank goes.Start getting your name out in the multiple business listing sites and blog accounts available to you.

As I mentioned, most website providers will do this for you (except the final step – that is always up to you).If they are managing your SEO, call them immediately and ask if you can review all that is written about you (and chosen for you by them).Much of this can be found in the back-end, but some may be hidden from you.If you are unhappy with the amount of content or wording, ask them to change it.You understand the car business likely better than someone who hasn’t sold a car so you can give them insight.At the same time, always listen to a true SEO professional, but still look out for yourself first and foremost.When all else fails, find a consultant or SEO vendor that can assist you in this.

To Say the Lease -
We know the faltering economy is one of the many factors that brought vehicle leasing to a standstill.Nowadays, you have to be artistic to put an educated shopper into a lease because the dramatically lagging financial market has made it disadvantageous for them.

In years past, it wasn’t the troubling economy that slowed leasing, but the public’s negative perception about the programs.Leasing remained a very profitable way to put customers into a vehicle and, if handled correctly, see them again in a few short years.Truth be told, if the lease was structured correctly, it was a smart way for many consumers to drive a vehicle as well.Having spent some time in the finance office myself, I can say there is a reason that management and finance staff preferred to lease their vehicles too.Dealers did not do themselves any favors, though, when they took advantage of those payment buyers and converted them into unnecessarily long term leases.These were just some additional factors that made major manufacturers turn away leasing programs completely along with the declining residual values the banks were heaping upon trades.

With the government’s financial support (read: taxpayers), however, it looks as if we may all be back in the leasing business.General Motors and its financing affiliate GMAC just announced that they will be
entering the leasing market once again – tentatively scheduled for August 1^{st –} after exactly one year away from the program.Ah, the perks of a bailout that totals over 60 billion between GM and GMAC when combined with their subsidiaries.The Toyotas, Fords, and Hondas of the world had pulled back from emphasizing those programs, but never left the field entirely.With an emphasis on leases, this could very well be a deciding factor in the re-growth of our industry by causing an all-important uptick in vehicle resale values and quicker inventory turn.

In no way will leasing get back to the greatness of yesteryear.Though it has the ability to remain profitable for dealers, it will be some time before it is a “best buy” for consumers.

If we want this rebirth of leasing initiatives to catch hold, we will have to do properly train both our sales AND management staff to understand the inner-workings of a lease (because I promise you, many do not know) and we will have to dedicate some of our e-marketing efforts to creating a pro-lease environment.From including lease payments once again in a showroom customer’s options to possibly having a lease matrix on your website alongside your payment calculator, there are a myriad of ways for dealers to incorporate leasing information into conversations with their consumers.

Once again, though, to see this new attention given to leasing pay off, your staff must stay knowledgeable and well-trained on the benefits of the program, not just for your dealership, but for the customer.

I was perusing my Saturday morning edition of the Chicago Tribune, checking out the car ads.  (Yes, I still get the newspaper, though I don’t know why considering I read the news online before ever opening up the printed papyrus.)  What caught my attention was not how many local dealers are still advertising in a dying medium (ridiculous), but how many dealers were actively promoting how large their inventory was of certain models.

The common practice of detailing how many vehicles you have in stock (by model) has been widely used for quite some time.  Not too long ago, when dealers could do no wrong, they had to sell themselves as the one-stop shop for every variation of car possible.  (Presenting yourself as a high-volume dealer can still be valuable).  Back then, a bad salesperson could fall out of bed and land on a customer willing to buy from them.

However, with the current economic downturn and fewer buyers in the market, my question is this…  do YOU still feel it is a good idea to display in your advertising how many of one certain model you have in stock?

Don’t get me wrong…for those sought-after vehicles (hybrids for instance), it is a benefit to let your customers know their is some semblance of a selection.  Nowadays, though, consumers already now we are struggling to move product – they hear about it and read about it daily.  Do you think it is wise to scream from the rooftops “We have 64 2008 Dodge Sprinters In Stock, On the Ground, Ready for Immediate Delivery!” – the actual quote from a local dealer.

Is that a selling point?!  In my opinion, and I may be wrong, promoting your glut of vehicles reminds the customer how desperate we are to move some cars.  ”Geez, Mary Ellen…why do you think they have seventy Ford Focus’ in stock?  Does no one want them?”  Or, do you believe detailing how many vehicles you have of a certain model may allow the shopper to negotiate with unrealistic numbers because our supply is so much greater than demand?

Let me know your thoughts on this.  I have my beliefs.  I think if you can let consumers know there is a selection to choose from, you are putting yourself in a better position to ask for gross, than if you are advertising yourself as a dealer drowning in 2008 Dodges.

Check out the blog I published on DrivingSales.com -
http://www.drivingsales.com/blog/joewebb/2009/07/17/advertising-inventory/

I am trying to decide (with your help) how much the media’s negative coverage of our industry’s shortcomings are affecting overall sales. If the entire sales volume decline equals 100%, how much of a percentage would you attribute to the media overwhelming the American public with negativity? 30%? 50%?

This bad publicity just makes consumers hold onto their cars a little longer. They are told to push forward another 6 months with their current vehicle, get it fixed, or step down to a pre-owned opposed to a new. Newscast after nightly newscast, the public hears negativity that they, sadly, believe empowers them to negotiate far beyond the boundaries of realism.

Obviously, the reason for this negativity is that it sells newspapers. Let’s face it, the newspaper industry is the only one taking a bigger hit than home and auto sales. Still, as a “member” of the automotive industry, I would just like to hear more about the “uptick” in retail car sales opposed to the CONSTANT CONSTERNATION being heaped upon potential car buyers.

Allow me to also mention that I understand the media is in no way responsible for what we got ourselves into. I must say that automakers and, in some cases, dealers have sat “high on the hog” for quite a while and we were our own undoing. We know what the OEMs mishandled and we know that dealers lost the focus of customer service/retention and lost the desire/ability/need to professionally train their staff when times were good. Now, in a challenging time, dealers have had to rekindle the magic that it often takes to be profitable in automotive retail.

No matter the reason for the initial downturn, the media has played a significant role in how long it has lasted. So I ask again…
What do you think the percentage is?
How much is the media responsible for our ongoing struggles?
Put a number on it.

Here is a blog I published on Automotive Digital Marketing -
http://tinyurl.com/mbhmbm

There are two widely-held, overly-preached beliefs that can cause irreparable harm to your ecommerce objectives and bring about online irrelevance.    Dealers that adopt these incorrect ideas must have a death wish.  Instead, disregard these poorly-conceived trainings and stand strong – Charles Bronson-style.   Unfortunately, these are not “old-school” tactics that these “trainers” are teaching, but instead, they are new-school philosophies oversimplified.  I will detail these two bits of bad advice.  When an “expert” walks into your store spouting this nonsensical bologna, do yourself a favor and stick to your own beliefs…just like Charles Bronson.

First Commonly-Held Belief to Avoid – Dealers must go back to the basics regarding their internet initiatives.

“Back to the Basics” will kill any automotive dealership attempting to stay ahead.  There is no reason to scrap all efforts and begin again.  “Back to square one.”  I’ve heard dealer principals relent.  Where is ‘square one’ anyway?  Is it a city?  Is it a state of mind?  No…it’s the unemployment line.

Granted, you may need to bring aboard some refresher trainings to remind your staff of fundamentals, but far too often, dealers go back to the drawing board and “start fresh”.  In this difficult economic market, only the forward-thinking dealers are seeing vast improvement – and do you know the one thing they aren’t doing?  They aren’t starting over from scratch.  Even with potential flaws, they are moving forward, placing emphasis on their strengths and minimizing their weaknesses.  They are dedicating a greater portion of their advertising to digital efforts.  They are going to battle with the staff they have.  They are sticking with the solutions that have brought them “only this far”.

Any legitimate consultant will tell you that it is likely not the solutions or staff doing your dealership a disservice, but instead, how they are being utilized and managed.   Personnel and products seem to be the first on the chopping block when sales become stagnant.  Instead of going back to the beginning and bringing in all new CRMs, websites, staff, and strategy, it is much smarter and financially-viable to focus on using all of these resources to their greatest capacity.  Very few website providers or CRM solutions will tell you that their systems are being utilized to their fullest by dealers.  If they do tell you that, I would drop them because they probably offer far too few features to sustain economic growth for their dealer clients.

Don’t go back to the beginning.  If you are holding steady in this market, continue to dance with the people that brought you there.  It only takes a little dedication, perseverance, and time to weather the storm and come out looking sunny.

Second Commonly-Held Belief to Avoid – Internet buy-in should come from the top down.

This was very true four or five years ago, but times have changed drastically.  Not too long ago, some dealers were still wary to dedicate large portions of their ad budgets to advanced technologies and programs, but not any longer.  Now, a good majority of dealers have seen some success and growth from their digital marketing efforts and are looking to grow that area of their business.  Now, this philosophy has shifted.

If you want to push ahead and achieve online profitability, the internet buy-in must come from the bottom.  This is not to say that a sales staff is the “bottom” of the dealership environment.  They are the front-line of your store, but all too often, they do not have the decision-making power to change the culture of a dealership.  However, if an entire sales force was dedicated to improving online, then they will easily be able to elicit buy-in from the top.  No owner would turn away a crew that said “Golly jee, we’d really like to have some software that allowed us to reach our customers electronically on a massive scale using multi-media and enriched content.”  I think most owners would have a grabber (i.e. heart attack) if their staff actively sought more internet engagement with their customer base.

Obviously, dealers still must understand the online metrics that are to be tracked and attained. However, the only actionable buy-in needed from above is hiring candidates with an inclination to achieve internet connectivity.   With the right, forward-thinking, “connected” sales force in place, the culture of the dealership will naturally change for the better.

To that end, avoid listening to those so-called “auto consultants” who only teach the basics.  You are actively reading an online resource as we speak.  You are well-versed on the basics.  You don’t need to go backwards, but advance.  You mustn’t put the weight of your dealership’s virtual world on your own shoulders, but look to the stars in your sales staff to lead the way.

No more “back to the drawing boards”.  No more Saturday morning spiffs to reward mediocre internet results.  It is time to get away from the basics, push for progress, and be a Bronson.