eCommerce Director of Southtowne VW, Bryan Armstrong, shares his success with his factory lead closing ratios after just one month utilizing the DealerKnows Consulting follow-up process method and automotive email templates. His store experienced over a 12% closing rate increase on those pesky leads. Listen to Bryan’s endorsement.
Posts Tagged ‘internet sales’
Automotive Email Templates Testimonial
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011A Testimonial for DealerKnows Consulting
Wednesday, November 16th, 2011Tim Hommer, General Manager of Granger Motors, tells why he recommends DealerKnows Consulting for their Internet sales and digital marketing training.
DealerKnows Consulting Continues Growth of their Team
Saturday, September 10th, 2011DealerKnows Consulting is pleased to add seasoned industry professional, Melissa Roberts, to their growing team of Virtual Account Managers.
Melissa Roberts, a former Internet Sales Manager and BDC Manager in Worcester, Massachussets, had recently been a Phone Coach for DealerKnows preferred training partner, Phone Ninjas before coming aboard the DK team. As Phone Ninjas is a service utilized by DealerKnows, Melissa already had advanced knowledge of DK’s core philosophies and training regimen.
Joe Webb of DealerKnows states “I actively sought Melissa for our Virtual Account Manager position. Having someone of Melissa’s caliber that has experience navigating dealerships’ CRM tools and websites is imperative for our clients. I reached out to my good friend, Jerry Thibeau, owner of Phone Ninjas, and we felt there was an amicable way for her to jump aboard the DealerKnows team. Melissa is a phone guru, alright, but her primary goal will be keeping a watchful eye on what our clients are doing and helping truly mentor and train them on the best Internet sales processes around.
A woman in a male-dominated industry such as the car business isn’t always a sought-after task, but Melissa has been very successful on the retail side. In just three years as an Internet Manager, she personally handled all Internet sales inquiries for a multi-line auto group with two locations. While there, she increased the online sales traffic at Diamond Chevrolet by one hundred percent, online service traffic by 300%, and overall Internet sales by 100%. In the past, she created and managed two separate dealership Business Development Centers.
“People like Melissa, with her history of achievements and dedication to being meticulous and passionate about her craft, don’t come along very often and I am excited to bring her onto our Virtual Team. I also imagine that her experience will lend well to handling much of the software implementation we do for our clients so I expect she’ll have the title CRM guru before too long.” Bill Playford, VP of DealerKnows and partner of the Virtual Dealer Training position jokes.
DealerKnows is constantly growing their team and is always looking for talented individuals with true, documented success in retail automotive. As one of the leading training firms in the market, Melissa Roberts will be in a position to truly positively affect dealers on a one-to-one basis for the foreseeable future.
Melissa is excited herself when she says “From the moment I saw the DealerKnows Team in action in 2009, I knew I would soon be a part of it. Not just their best practices beliefs, but the method in which them continually work with their dealer clients in a very hands-on way is a breath of fresh air in our industry. I look forward to adding my expertise to an outstanding team of great people.”
Ask the Expert – with Joe Webb of DealerKnows Consulting – (Internet Sales)
Friday, June 3rd, 2011(Ask the Expert is a Q&A section in the upcoming new DealerKnows site yet to be released where the team at DK solve the problems facing automotive Internet professionals. These are the test runs.)
Hi Dealer Knows:
What would you define as an “authentic internet lead”. For example, if a customer walks in off the showroom and says they saw our used car online – is this considered an internet lead?
Thanks!
Angi W.
Internet Director
___________________________________
Joe Webb replies:
Hello Angi,
Thanks for reaching out. You ask some good questions. When you ask what an authentic internet lead is, I would have to give two different answers and solutions. Much depends on your lead-handling process and department structure.
Typically, Internet Professionals are paid based on what they bring into the store and sell. In this instance, a dealer will consider an authentic Internet lead as any email that originates online and enters into the CRM OR any phone call that is brought in from a dedicated, online resource (preferably handled by someone who is in the Internet department or BDC and sources correctly).
If someone is an eCommerce Manager/Internet Director like yourself, for instance, then pay is predicated upon all of the appts/sales brought in by the online advertising of the store. This includes those calls, emails, AND walk-ins that are sourced properly as an online customer. In the example you mentioned, provided the customer states (and it is put into the CRM) that their primary motivation for purchase and what brought them in was based on what they say online, then THAT is an Internet sale (while not an Internet lead).
It is a dichotomy that drives many in our industry crazy. It needs to be defined based on the department structure in place as well as the lead handling process you are following.
Here is an article I wrote for DrivingSales a little while back on the subject of what isn’t and isn’t an Internet Sale – Overthinking It!
I hope I was able to answer your questions. If you’d like to chat sometime, I’d be happy to accommodate you. Let me know if there is anything else I can do.
Thanks,
Joe Webb
DealerKnows Consulting
847-456-5130
Overthinking It
Tuesday, April 26th, 2011Setting the Insane Parameters for a Legitimate BDC/Internet Sale
While on-site training at a dealership recently, the dealer and I put into place a new pay plan for their BDC team. However, he had a concern that the BDC team would reach new heights in their bonus levels by taking credit for sales that they didn’t put enough work into to deserve. Reasonable enough concern. My answer was that they simply needed to be spot checked by a manager to keep them honest. Unfortunately, this answer was not good enough and I was asked to detail the very specific parameters that count for a BDC/Internet sale. Since I myself have managed leads and handled internet sales myself, I know the time that is put into bringing a customer in from prospect to appointment show. I understand not all customers set appointments. As I started putting the rules in place, I realized that I was overthinking it. However, if it has to be written and defined, I didn’t want to leave anything out.
Allow me to first state my professional opinion that what can count as a sale for BDC members is subjective. You should indeed review and spot check each and every sale the BDC team turns in, but this can be time-consuming so it is best if it is handled by their own department manager. You hired the person and put them in charge so allow them to use their best judgment to decide what is “significant involvement” and if it warrants a sale. Regarding “significant involvement” being a legitimate reason to count a sale, we have to recognize that 40% or so of all customers in contact with a dealership will not set a specific appointment, but will use the data they acquired to still negotiate and purchase from the dealership they were best handled by. That is why I believe there IS a value for continued, true, live contact and information exchanged with a customer.
If you do attempt to put a specific framework around what is deemed a sale or appointment, here are a few potential “requirements” to look for that could, in each instance, warrant counting the sale.
1) Inbound call was handled and an appointment was set. Customer arrives for appointment and purchases the vehicle.
a) If customer purchases the vehicle within a 48 hour window around the appointment time, after it was set – if post appt. time, follow up call for missed appointment must have been made by BDC team member, but contact on the follow up call is not necessary.
b) Customer arrives for appointment set by BDC agent, doesn’t purchase, but significant notes are put in by the BDC agent after hearing the outcome from manager/salesperson, and the salesperson OR BDC agent follows up with customer enough to bring them back in (within 10 days time) and then the customer purchases.
2) Inbound call was handled, customer asks for information not privy to BDC team (pricing for instance), BDC logs all customer information with detailed notes, and hands it off to sales manager. Provided manager sets appointment with customer, and BDC agent updates the customer profile (adding notes) and stipulates information regarding appointment or potential appointment. Provided the customer purchases under the same 48 hour window detailed in section #1, and makes an appointment confirmation call, then that can be viewed as “significant imvolvement”.
a) A call must have been made to the manager both after the first contact with customer and after the manager has spoken to the customer. Notes must be made on each occasion.
3) For unsold walk-in customer sale, follow up call must be made a pre-determined time in action plan, appointment must be made by BDC agent, notes put in system, and manager alerted. If customer comes in for a be-back within 48 hours around the time of the set appointment, a sale is warranted.
4) For unsold walk-in customer/internet sale, if a customer leaves the dealership unsold, gets online and submits a lead, you follow the pre-determined follow-up process in the CRM, sending out the proper e-templates as specified, make live contact by phone and set the appointment (and they purchase within 48 hours of appointment), then it is a BDC sale.
a) All dialog must be documented with customer and an advance search must be performed to ensure it wasn’t another BDC agents customer.
5) For phone customer, initial contact must be documented and noted in CRM when customer is logged. If contact is consistently made with customers at scheduled times, provided detailed notes are made and information is exchanged, it will be a sale if the customer purchases within 48 hours from last live contact with BDC agent and customer. (There IS a value for continued true contact and information exchange with a customer).
6) Internet lead is answered by the BDC agent and the correct, price-matrix e-templates are sent to the customer at the pre-determined time by the action plan. If the customer engages the BDC Agent back with either
a) information/implication that they will be stopping (via email or phone) and its logged in the notes
b) additional questions that the BDC Agent does their due diligence in answering to the best of their ability and there is a modicum of back and forth question answering (even by email) – and call attempts have been made or offered to customers trying to lure them in then it is a sale provided -
c) They set the appointment with the customer and the customer comes in within a 72 hour window from last email contact (or appointment scheduled) and purchases within two weeks after visit provided detailed notes of the salesperson and BDC agents involvement after the initial visit or a sale is made on initial visit – or -
d) The customer arrives without an appointment, but every step of the action plan with all e-templates are being sent at the pre-described time with all the information at their disposal and there Is a back-and-forth question answering (via phone or email) that could legitimately have value for a customer and the customer stops in within 72 hours from last phone call attempt or email sent.
Caveat: The only way to get credit for a Phone Up sale or an Internet Lead sale is to follow the action plan set in the CRM, sending out all templates designated on the day they are to be sent out, filling in any information required of said template, all calls are being made/attempted to customers (or connected with customers), and detailed notes are logged in the system defining your work to bring the customer in and/or the customer’s expectations/motives are documented. In other words, MAKE THE CALLS ON TIME, DO YOUR BEST TO LEAVE OR SEND VALUABLE INFORMATION, SEND THE e-Templates ON TIME FILLING IN NECESSARY FIELDS IN SAID TEMPLATES, and follow the complete time-line. Then meet one of the “requirements” listed as 1-6 above and you earn the sale.
As you can see how complicated this is, and I still cannot be 100% certain this is absolutely correct, and I’m not missing anything, I still suggest every sale, if it will be reviewed by Manager anyway, should be taken on a case by case basis to determine its validity.
I’d love to hear your opinion about this over-thought concept. And PLEASE let me know if I’m missing anything on this list.
Joe Webb
Spring Training with Joe Webb of DealerKnows Consulting
Wednesday, March 30th, 2011Baseball season is back in full swing. (See what I did there? Yes, very cheesy, I know). And spring training for the teams is coming to an end. They’ve spent well over a month preparing themselves and their minds for the day-to-day responsibilities that go along with a season of baseball. Trainers, managers, and coaches get together to evaluate their personnel and to get them ready for action. Several dealers do the very same when they seek out training for their team.
Dealers seek out trainers because it is necessary to have experts of different disciplines take a look at what you are putting out on the field of play. You often need a skilled tactician to analyze your team, pinpoint opportunities, address concerns, teach fundamentals, build up your strengths, and eliminate your weaknesses. Most importantly, it is the extra set of eyes from an outsider that helps shape a team into a successful bunch of athletes.
The problem is, far too many unemployed, out-of-work Internet Managers are calling themselves “consultants” and muddying the water of best practices. (I’m only saying this because all season I’ve been doing my own “spring cleaning” where we clean up the mess made my another ill-prepared “consultant” the dealership mistakenly brought on before us.) Just because someone reads the blogs, comments on the social networks, and attends conferences while achieving mediocre to slightly above average results at a non-descript dealership does not make someone a consultant…let alone a trainer. These people are turning around and regurgitating articles they’ve read of best practices written by others, passing them off as their own ideologies, and implementing them into dealerships with no understanding of how to actually “teach” someone the philosophies behind it. This is why the power of a Trainer or Consultant only goes so far.
Any respectable, “true” consultant or trainer will tell you that they can only take you and your team so far on their own. We, as “true” consultants can get your team up-to-snuff on the fundamentals, help you set the best line-up and put the best people out on the field together. We can recommend what type of equipment to use and give you a plan for attack, but we can’t manage. A trainer can surely review the outcome of each game and help plan for the following day (as we do with our Virtual Dealer Training program by listening to phone calls, monitoring email correspondence from your team, and analyzing reports with the team’s management), but we can’t be on-site all the time. You need a manager on the field watching over each game that can call plays on the spot and make quick decisions based on the situation in-store. We, as trainers, need someone on-site – our advocate – that can continue to deliver our message and carry through on the collective game plan.
Spring training time is upon us. The summer season is right here at our doorstep. Have you made sure that your team is trained by the best? If they are up to bat more often during the summer months, are you making sure that there is an on-field manager watching each cut they take? Do your managers have someone they can rely on to discuss performance opportunities?
It’s time to play ball. Have you prepared your team to take the field and win?
It’s Not an Internet Sale
Monday, December 13th, 2010There are two ways for dealerships to look at Internet Sales.
Some believe that an Internet Sale is a customer that originated as a lead and is sold by your ISM or Internet team. Since it is sold by the “Internet person”, it is an Internet Sale. Others believe an Internet Sale is every vehicle bought by a customer who was primarily influenced by information/resources found online. Dealers tend to structure their pay plans based on the first scenario even though industry leaders preach that to properly dedicate your advertising budget, you have to track and recognize the latter.
So… it’s about Sourcing. Dedicate energy to training your team on sourcing and designing a way to truly capture a customer’s influencing motive. Was it the radio ad running during lunch times that brought the customer in or influenced their decision to choose you as a dealership? Could it be your service department that takes care of them so well? Or might it have been the two hours they spent online before walking into your showroom unannounced, but prepared? Don’t you feel it is imperative to know this before you set next month’s advertising budget?
Make sure your team is closely monitoring the sources from where your customers are coming. You must be sourcing correctly before you hold anyone accountable for ROI. If a lead is from your website’s Inventory page, you want to know. If it is from your Inventory listed on Cars.com, you want to know as well. If it is because they are a previous customer, you want to know. Some will be internet sales and some will not be… we all recognize that. However, many sales that appear to be your old-fashioned walk-in or phone up could very well be an Internet sale. You just don’t know it until you source correctly.
Now let me give you ONE exception of something that looks like an Internet Sale, but in my opinion, isn’t. (And this will end up being another challenge to a website vendor). If a customer calls into your dealership from the number on your website’s header, I don’t consider that an Internet Sale. Not unless they were perusing your site’s back pages before calling the number at the top. We must realize that a website’s header is today’s white pages. People don’t check the yellow book in their pantry anymore. They go to your dealership site and pull the number from there. If a customer calls after only visiting your homepage, I don’t believe you should count that as an Internet Sale – no matter who handled the call.
NOW – If a website provider wants to figure out a way to have one specific, trackable number on the homepage’s website header, but a different toll-free number on each back-page website header THEN I believe we could truly source website calls as Internet Sales. Not until. If you are a website vendor who does this, please reach out on this post. If you are someone tracking your store’s Internet Sales, I’d love to hear your opinion on what is and isn’t an Internet Sale at your store.
SunStar Network Recommends DealerKnows Consulting
Saturday, November 13th, 2010Lisa Jo Swain, BDC Director for the outsource BDC SunStar Network, recommends Joe Webb of DealerKnows Consulting. The SunStar Network and the many dealer clients they assist around the nation have been working with Joe Webb for several months to consistently improve their online sales processes. From phone scripts to email templates, DealerKnows Consulting has the SunStar Network outshining their competitors. Joe Webb and Bill Playford recently assisted the SunStar team to bring together an all-star casr for their very own eSummit in Asheville North Carolina and it was met with overwhelming success.
The Push and Shove Proposition – by Joe Webb of Dealer Knows Consulting
Friday, October 29th, 2010Check out my newest blog for DrivingSales below
Just how much can a dealer and their team be pushed into the digital age? Just how far can a dedicated Internet Sales Manager push the dealer ownership into an internet culture? Just how fast can a trainer push the dealership’s online efforts? Just how quickly can a dealer demand old dogs to perform new tricks? Total buy-in is hard to come by, worth its weight in gold, and tremendously hard to achieve. Still today, opposition lurks around every corner.
This is the quintessential problem facing ISMs, facing trainers… and facing dealerships. Many know where their dealership should be, but are far too reluctant to cause an upheaval in the way the showroom and service department operates. No one wants a mutiny on their hands. So how hard should we push?
While visiting a new dealer client of mine, I found that the entire showroom still utilizes an up sheet to log their customers. (I use the word “utilize” amazingly loose here). The owner backs this strategy as they don’t even use a computer themselves. Worse off, only the customers that were sold were ever logged on the up sheet. “Phone ups taken are NOT to be logged on the sheet” said management. “Too confusing.”) To that, I say “WHAAAAAAT?” Their store is achieving strong numbers (I can only assume by sheer luck, will, and determination), so I wonder if it is right to force a CRM upon them if it possible the sales staff and ownership would never enforce its use?
Top-down support can be successful, but even a direct initiative from the top (or from a trainer) cannot guarantee total buy-in. Could the expense of a CRM cause more damage than good? Obviously, as a trainer, I believe if I impose my will, I can get the culture of the store to change for the better. But am I wrong to PUSH for it? Would an ISM bringing in a new technology be able to have the same push? If not… if it is for the good of the store… when would it be right to go from push to shove?
These are the types of questions many dealers, ISMs, and trainers ask. Obviously, I believe a CRM is one of the most useful tools that could EVER be employed at a dealership, but when pushing for something becomes shoving, it may be best to focus training efforts on those changes we can control. Is it just enough to have an ILM for the Internet and BDC team?
Should merchandising, pricing strategies, soc med, lead management, sales training, and phone skills be our focus until the salespeople and management switch sides in the game of dealership tug of war? Must we always wait until we have a team pulling with us? Sure, once the dealer and upper management help the push and majority rules, it is an easier change to make.
As a trainer/consultant, it is my duty to suggest (and push for) what is best for my dealership clients… even if they don’t know what is best for them. It is like forcing a child to eat their vegetables. It helps them grow no matter how much they hate the taste. Not all dealers are growing. Some are happy where they are, but still seek help from others just because they don’t know. When basic, real-world data is not enough of a driving force to make a switch, logical thinking gets you nowhere, and potential growth is disregarded because the fear the unknown, a Shove strategy must be utilized. Times like these call for the push and shove proposition.
If you are a dealer or Internet Sales Manager looking to develop an online culture at your store, feel free to contact us and we’re happy to help.
Grant Cardone recommends Joe Webb of DealerKnows Consulting
Friday, September 10th, 2010NY Times Best-selling author and sales training expert Grant Cardone of Cardone Technologies endorses Joe Webb of DealerKnows Consulting for Internet sales training and digital marketing consulting. Grant Cardone attended Joe Webb’s session at the Innovative Dealer Summit to the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association in Denver and reccomends auto dealers to get involved with Joe Webb and his ecommerce training initiatives.