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In this week's Episode of Make Money Mondays, Dealer Synergy's HR Professional, Elena Papkin, discusses the importance of having and maintaining a Human Resources action plan. Many dealerships don't know what an action plan is or how to maintain it, Elena will explain what it means and that you can still have an action plan, even if you don't have a human resources professional working at your dealership!
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By now I'm sure you're used to our Thursday podcasts on Social Media. This week we are switching things up a bit and bringing in a special guest! Our HR specialist here at Dealer Synergy, Elaine, is here to provide some informative insights. It's still Social Media....it's just more about what employers look for when it comes to your social media profiles.

Listen to find out what kind of role your social media accounts could be playing in your job search without you even knowing it.

PODCAST - HR and Social Media

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http://www.internetsales20group.com 

What Are Your Most Important Assets?

Guest Post By Sean V. Bradley, CEO, Dealer Synergy

I have been immersed in automotive Internet sales, BDC, and digital marketing for almost 15 years. Needless to say, in this time there have been countless evolutions in social media, lead generation, mobile devices, and every other form of technology.

Through it all, one thing has always remained constant and important – PEOPLE. We have always needed, and continue to need, good quality people. No one has invented robots that sell cars, and no one has eliminated the need for automotive sales professionals, Internet directors, or appointment setters. Through all of the technology upheavals, social media fads and the Google ZMOT craze, the ONLY thing that has not been eliminated or genetically enhanced is the “People” aspect of the department.

People are the backbone of this industry. People sell cars, people conduct product presentations and demo drives. People qualify prospects, identify their wants, wishes and expectations, and then meet them and exceed them. No matter how much technology we have at our disposal, it is the “People” that make everything happen – before, during and AFTER the sale!

That being said, dealers must make sure they have the RIGHT people in their departments, and not settle for anything less than what is needed for success. Too many times dealers take “ANY” “body” that is available. They only recruit when they are desperate and need “bodies.” It is rare to see dealers proactively recruiting for the right candidates.

The scary truth is that this is true throughout the dealership – but it is becoming an epidemic in the Internet Sales Department, the BDC / Call Center, etc. In these departments, many dealers are not staffing correctly. Horrifyingly, they are either hiring the wrong people to run their multi-million dollar department, and / or they do not have the appropriate number of people in their department. It is common to see departments with way too many leads and only one or two BDC reps managing 500, 600, or more leads.

If you’re not staffing these departments properly, know that this practice is just plain badon many different levels. Here’s why:

  • You are BURNING through Internet Ups, only capturing the “low hanging fruit.”
  • You are NOT able to effectively communicate with your individual Internet Prospects because you are spread too thin to have the proper amount of e-mail / phone call follow-up protocol.
  • You will have prospects slip through the cracks and potentially buy elsewhere.
  • It’s NOT just the leads for the current month that are not being handled properly; there is also your Residual Flow Factor to consider. The average buying cycle is 45 – 90 days. So, if there are 500 leads (fresh for the month), there are an approximately 250+ carry over leads that you’re still working.
  • Most painful: lost revenue.

Dealerships must have a consistent and proactive recruiting protocol. They must also know which sources are the best for recruiting top talent. Here are a few proven resources:

Here’s another, more creative way to attract qualified candidates for employment: Create a TV / Web Commercial. That’s right, a commercial for HR. Here’s an example of a commercial we created for one of our dealer clients, Bill Dube Hyundai (Scott Dube is the President of the Massachusetts State Auto Dealers Association):

Whether you create your commercial in-house or outsource the job is up to you. No matter how you do it, my strong advice is to produce one.

Once you have a Web / TV commercial created, I recommend you syndicate widely for maximum visibility through resources including the following:

  • Facebook and Facebook ads, sponsored posts, etc.
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • Google Ads and Video Pre-Roll ads

You can even create a “We are hiring” button on your website!

Remember: you are only as strong as your weakest link. And if your weakest link is your people, you need to – and CAN – do something about it immediately.

If you have any questions about this article, please email me at sean@dealersynergy.comor feel free to give me a call at (267) 319-6776.

Sean V. Bradley is the founder and CEO of Dealer Synergy, a nationally recognized training and consulting company in the automotive industry.

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http://www.dealersynergy.com

Ken Pollock Auto Group was tired of traditional and digital means to recruit. They NEEDED Good people and FAST, so they had Dealer Synergy create a TV commercial to use broadcast and cable to generate a lot of resumes.

If you are struggling to find the right people for your team, I suggest that you consider using broadcast television as a resource to drive lots and lots of resumes!

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Automotive Internet Sales Coordinator / BDC Rep

 / Appointment Setter PAY PLAN!

*** This is a SALES POSITION!!! NOT Customer Service!!

They are SELLING THE APPOINTMENT!

  • “Road to the Appointment” process… (Outbound / inbound phone call process)
  • How Qualify a prospect
  • Identify a prospect’s wants, wishes, needs and expectations!
  • They will have 25-35 (Minimum) word tracks in their arsenal… “Objections & Rebuttals as well as “What Ifs…”
  • A complete time management and organization strategy
  • A complete FORECASTING strategy… “3 Minute Book”.
  • They will NEED to have a thorough understanding of 3rd party providers, information sites like:
    • Edmunds.com
    • Kbb.com
    • Autobytel.com
    • Carsdirect.com
    • Dealix.com
    • They need to have THOROUGH knowledge of their products… they do not NEED to memorize everything, but they need to know where to access the information.
    • Knowledge of the dealership’s website(s)
    • EXTREME KNOWLEDGE of the Dealership’s CRM… this is one of the MOST important aspects to their job!!

 

$3,000

????

Simple J

$400 week salary X 4 weeks = $1,600 per month

What do I STILL need to earn in commissions to meet my $3,000 GOAL?

$1,400…  The questions is HOW am I going to earn it???

Before you can really answer this… you need to know what your commission plan is…???

$1 for an appointment

$15 for an appointment that shows

$25 for a sold appointment

For a TOTAL possible commission earnings of $41…

100 – 50 – 25

$100 - $750 - $625 = $1,475

$1,475 + $1,600 = $3,075…

 

100 appointments = $3,000  per month

 

100 / 4 weeks = 25 appointments per week…

/ 5 working days = 5 appointments per day…

They NEED to make or take 120 calls per day…

Why…? B/C you will ONLY connect with about 11-14% on the phones.

So, 120 calls per day will result in 11-14% connections which = 4-6 appointments per day (5).

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http://www.dealersynergy.com 

I received an email from this dealership and was very excited when I saw that this dealership was using Digital Marketing Initiatives to try to recruit for their dealership!! 

I think this is AWESOME!! Dealers NEED to use:

* Facebook and other forms of Social Media

* Their website & micro sites

* Pay Per Click 

* Permission Based Email Campaigns as well as newsletters

If a dealership wants to hire or needs to hire additional members to their team... they need to think out of the box. 

I am always looking for ideas to help dealers be successful. If you have any additional ideas for HR / recruiting, please let us know! 

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http://www.dealersynergy.com

Who should be running my internet department or bdc?

 

This is another question I am asked from dealers all over the country — and the dealers who don’t ask me this question really should. While I acknowledge the fact that there are many different types of dealerships, please have an open mind to what you are about to read.

 

First, I am sure that we are all aware that 88 to 98 percent of people go online before they ever step foot into the dealership. We also know that social media is the No. 1 form of communication in this country. The problem that I continue to see, however, is that many dealerships in this country still don’t view the Internet or business development department as a “real” department.

 

Too many times I walk into dealerships and you can immediately feel the tension in the air; it’s an “us vs. them” mentality. There is dissention on the floor, frustration, anger and even sabotage — not to mention disrespect. I often hear the same thing from Internet coordinators, managers, directors and BDC reps; they are neither appreciated nor respected, and are treated as the “stepchild” in the dealership, and that goes from the dealer to the GM to the GSM, all the way down the food chain.

 

And, as we all know, perception is reality. If the dealer feels this way — that the manager of the department isn’t a “real” manager — they aren’t going to have an idea of who the right person is for the job, or what type of a pay plan to put together. They might not give this manager authority in the dealership. They might only make this person a “manager” in title only.

 

They also might put in place the wrong people. They have people who aren’t working out on showroom floor, so they give them a shot in the Internet department. Or, they might hire someone computer savvy because they feel that qualifies them to run an Internet sales department. Dealers also hire young people because they feel they can relate to the prospects better. These are all wrong strategies. The Internet Department or BDC in the dealership should be a major department, on a level with the new, used, finance and fixed ops departments. We are focusing on Internet “sales” department, but it goes deeper than that (Internet sales, service, parts, body shop, finance,

aftermarket, leasing, fleet, special finance, etc.).

 

Here are some facts: The average dealership delivers approximately 100 units new and used a month. An average dealership has approximately 10 salespeople, a finance manager, a sales manager and either a GSM or GM. All of that goes into selling about 100 units. Now, I have dealers who tell me that they want to sell 50, 100 or 150+ units per month from their Internet department, but they don’t want to treat the department as more important than the other departments or profit centers in the dealership. Furthermore, they want to put in place the wrong type of person to manage and run the department. They don’t want to pay the Internet sales director like the other “real” managers in the dealership. They also do not allow them to have any “real” manager authority, but they will put all of the responsibility on that person’s shoulders.

 

So, what exactly is the right profile? Who should run an Internet sales department? First and foremost, you want to make sure you have a person who is an automotive sales manager, or at the very least have someone who is a great sales consultant and closer with the potential to be a great sales manager with the proper training and support. Let’s go deeper: If you are trying to run a department that delivers more than 100 units a month online, you should have at the bare minimum a great sales manager, or even a GSM or GSM-caliber person running that department. Answer this question: Would you ever have a non-salesperson run your entire dealership, or even be a GSM at your dealership?

 

You want a sales manager in that department who can drive the momentum in that room. You want someone who can put a deal together and can even desk a deal if necessary. You also want to have someone who will be respected by the other managers and the showroom sales force — not just by the Internet department.

 

So, how in the world do you expect to deliver that number of units without having the caliber of individual I just outlined? The argument is that dealers need someone to manage the Website, take pictures, create videos, get testimonials, handle I.T., take care of the CRM/ILM, handle online reputation management, SEO, VSEO and all other forms of digital marketing. I agree 100 percent — all of that needs to be taken care of. However, I do not think that the Internet sales director or Internet sales manager should be that person, especially when you are trying to deliver 100+ units per month from the department. You should either hire a person to do those jobs, or outsource those duties. Anything else is not going to be as productive in the long run. They are, at a minimum, two different jobs.

 

Don’t freak out if you are a current Internet sales or BDC director and don’t fit the profile I just mentioned. And don’t freak out if you are a GM or dealer who just hired someone who doesn’t fit the profile outlined in this article. I would say, if they were the “right” individual who you believe in, get that person training on product knowledge, I would have them get certified as a sales consultant from your OEMs and I would get them certified as a sales manager by your OEMs. If you have to invest time, money and training to get the department head at the level of any other department head in your organization, it is what it is. If you don’t, you will suffer.

 

The bottom line is that having the right Internet sales / BDC director is crucial to the success of the dealer’s online initiative. If you have any questions about this article or if you would like some examples or ideas of ways to ensure your department’s success, feel free to e-mail me or call me.

 

Sean V. Bradley is the founder and CEO of Dealer Synergy, a nationally recognized training and consulting company in the automotive industry.

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