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Automotive Internet Sales Department goes from delivering 60 Units online to OVER 200 Internet Units ONLINE!! - They CONVERT an ENTIRE Dealership into their INTERNET DEPARTMENT!

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on November 10, 2010 at 12:10am
http://www.internetsales20group.com
http://www.dealersynergy.com
http://www.automotiveinternetsales.com
Automotive Internet Sales Department goes from delivering 60 Units online to OVER 200 Internet Units ONLINE!! - They CONVERT an ENTIRE Dealership into their INTERNET DEPARTMENT! You Must WATCH THIS VIDEO!
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Taller de Dealer Synergy, "Internet Sales 20 Group 2010"

Posted by Iván Maldonado on November 9, 2010 at 10:12am

"Internet Sales 20 Groups"

Mercadeo Digital

Algunas veces subestimamos el poder que tiene el mercadeo digital. Es interesantes saber que ya no solo existen dos o tres formas de mercadeo digital sino decenas de maneras de hacerlo y con resultados impresionantes. Una de las principales herramientas que podemos utilizar es "SEO, VSEO". El poder utilizar esta herramienta para atraer clientes y futuros compradores de nuestros servicios a nuestro sitio "web" hace del mercadeo digital unas de las cosas mas importantes para hacer negocios.

No hay duda de que el taller de "Internet Sales 20 Group" esta llenando todas las expectativas. Mucho se ha aprendido y mucho queda por aprenderse.

Se han eliminado los acentos para evitar errores de interpretacion de motores de busquedas.

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Outside Automotive Internet Sales Group Meeting

Posted by Durran Cage on November 8, 2010 at 11:29pm
My brain is about to explode with ideas and strategies to implement when I get back to the dealership. Also, just got in a small Internet 20 Group meeting with some peers that met outside in freezing weather after a false fire-alarm at the hotel. Pretty sure I was the only brotha with B-BALL shorts and a white v-neck t-shirt. Got to love the automotive internet world! Looking forward to expanding thoughts, ideas, and strategies in the second day of training.
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Internet Sales 20 Group, November 8th 2010 - Mid Day Recap - Automotive Internet Sales - Sean V. Bradley

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on November 8, 2010 at 12:56pm

http://www.internetsales20group.com

http://www.dealersynergy.com

Internet Sales 20 Group, November 8th 2010 - Mid Day Recap - Automotive Internet Sales - Sean V. Bradley

This morning was VERY exciting! We have dealerships from all over the country in attendance as well as a diverse group. Most of the attendees are executive management (Dealer Principals, GMs etc...). We also have a Video Production and Photography team. We are going to create a TON of content that we can post to this site as well as provide to the attendees to reference back. This is going to be a POWER PACKED 3 day workshop with a ton of valuable information...

We first introduced the group to each other... discussed their internet operations as well as identified their individual goals for attending this Internet Sales 20 Group. I also asked what challenges are they experiencing at their dealerships / departments... After we collected all problems, questions and issues. I went one by one and addressed each and every issue. Gave action plans, advice and direction.

We also went over metrics, statistics and benchmarks.

*** We also as a group came up with the 20 Group composite / data metrics we are going to follow and analyze in this group.

It was truly awesome to moderate this group... I am learning as much as I am educating.

After everyone comes back from lunch we are going to do some break out sessions as well as some Mystery Shopping Calls, Some ILM / CRM disecting and investigations...

Then later on tonight we are having a VIP Dinner... all of the 20 Group will get together and network and socialize with each other.

Internet Sales 20 Group-

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The VERY FIRST Article to be Published in the Entire Automotive Sales Industry about Video Search Engine Optimization - Sean V. Bradley - Digital Dealer Magazine 2007

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on November 7, 2010 at 12:56pm
http://www.dealersynergy.com http://www.internetsales20group.com "The Next Online Evolution: Video Search" Was FIRST Published in Digital Dealer Magazine in 2007 Did you ever wish you had a hot tip, or like the television show, Early Edition, get tomorrow’s newspaper today and then go out and buy a winning lottery ticket? Even better, what if you could call yourself back in 1985 and tell yourself to buy all the Apple computer stock you could handle. Wouldn’t that be awesome? Sorry, but I can’t help you with those items, but I can share with you that I strongly believe video search is a sleeping giant of an opportunity that is growing and poised to explode at quantum speeds and virtually no one in the auto industry is taking advantage of the opportunity. Everyone knows about search engines and they are used all the time, but I was surprised at the sheer magnitude of their influence. • 88 percent of adults conduct online research prior to completing their purchase. • 67 percent of adults in the United States use search engines as a research tool. • 54 percent of search engine users find web sites to purchase their desired product. • 62 percent of search engine users click a result within the first page. The latest multi-media/video trend is video Internet marketing or Internet 2.0. Video search is the foundation for the next Internet evolution. The new web is evolving to become a very different animal than it is today. It’s truly becoming a tool for bringing together the small contributions of millions of people driven by their individual preferences and desires. Just a few months ago, eMarketer, an online marketing news channel, said more people than ever are watching more online video more frequently. eMarketer estimates that over one-third of the US population will view video on the Internet on average during 2006. By 2010, the US Internet video audience will have grown 45.8 percent to 157 million, up from 107.7 million this year. When Google spent $1.65 billion for 19-month-old online video phenomenon You Tube, it was portrayed as a sign of the triumph of online video. They didn’t buy it just because it was a cool site; they bought it for the audience it reaches. Research shows the current video-viewing audience is predominantly male and most are heading toward middle age rather than their first job. This means that site visitors are in their prime spending age and advertisers need to know they can reach this audience in this new medium. This model is evolving as we speak and will become the way advertisers reach buyers in the future. Companies that succeed in this new medium within the channel will be those that are in the right position to leverage the video viewing community to get their messages across. Just like a traditional web site, video enhanced sites have existing content and keywords married to special events videos, and the various search engines that consumers use each day pick these up. Cyrus Krohn of MSN Video says, “Television has got a lot on the Internet as far as history goes, but the evolution of products I’m envisioning will service both parties,” he said. “I don't know how long it’s going to take, but you’re really going to have a hard time distinguishing between the monitor and the box.” Growth in this area will continue to explode and opportunities for automotive advertising, marketing and branding will be abundant on these video channels. Most people I talk to under 50 are well aware of YouTube.com, MySpace.com, Google Videos and others, and the e-mail I used to get with jokes are now replaced by e-mails with links to online videos. Here are a few more eye opening stats. • For all the clips playing, online video advertising currently comprises just 2.6 percent ($410 million) of total Internet advertising spending ($16.4 billion) • The average video seeker is far more likely to be heading toward middle age rather than heading for his first job. This means that users are in their prime spending age and advertisers need to know how to reach out to them in this new medium. • Time magazine unveiled its “Person of the Year” for 2006 on December 16, 2006, as – you, the creators and consumers of user-generated Internet content like video-file sharing sites YouTube, and the social network site MySpace.com. Over the next few years, companies will expand their presence utilizing online videos and keywords they could never have even imagined using today. Television commercials are expensive, but you can put “commercials” and other branding videos online for free. Do you utilize videos on your web site? You can easily tweak them and post them on YouTube and other sites now for free. Film your sales manager giving a brief overview of a new vehicle model and post it on the web. How about posting a short video of your service manager talking about the importance of tire rotation on your new SUV? Can you see a brief clip or series from your business manager explaining the value of an extended service contract? I can also see him or her talking about loyalty programs, GAP coverage and other important aftermarket products. Currently you probably have just a bulletin board in the showroom with testimonial letters from happy customers. Why not film customer testimonials and make your customers “stars on the web?” Are you starting to see the possibilities? You don’t always need a professional film crew to do the videos, but it will help. Try it out with your home video camera, experiment a bit and post a few to see the results and ask for feedback from friends, associates and family. Maybe you have a college nearby with a film program. Invite some of the students to get some experience by videotaping your team for online videos. Some may jump at the chance. You will quickly learn how to make it happen. Let that Steven Spielberg part of you come out, and start working on your next big blockbuster.
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Cross Promotional Marketing, (REAL) Business Development written by Sean V. Bradley and originally published in Digital Dealer Magazine

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on November 7, 2010 at 12:51pm
http://www.dealersynergy.com http://www.internetsales20group.com "The Power of the Network" originally published in Digital Dealer Magazine June 2007... Currently Verizon Wireless television commercials show crowds of support people for their wireless network. This conveys in a very clear fashion that Verizon customers have an incredible amount of support behind their service. Business people have known that networking is a great way to get the word out about their business. Think about MBNA credit cards. They offer private-label “affinity” programs for all sorts of fraternal collegiate and charitable organizations. Consumers’ loyalty to their college institution means a MasterCard with a campus image on the front and fees for the credit card company and the college when the card is used regularly. Business development is an art form; you cannot expect to do what everyone else does and be great at it. You need to think outside the box. What would you say if I told you there was a way for your dealership to attract an audience of over five or ten thousand possible buyers and control that opportunity and literally steer them to you and your dealership? This program takes the best aspects of affinity marketing and leverages it to the next level to create excitement, build loyalty and sell more vehicles. Instead of prospecting one person at a time, the goal is to go after major accounts, organizations that have hundreds to thousands of members. Think of it as fleet sales on steroids. Just so we are clear on what I am sharing with you, here are examples of the groups you can target for your dealerships: • The United States Military: Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, National Guard and Coast Guard • Law enforcement agencies: local branches of the FBI, DEA, Secret Service, ATF, INS, state police, police departments, sheriff departments, and correctional facilities • Fire departments • Hospitals • Teachers’ unions, schools, colleges, and universities All you need to do is contact these organizations, build some rapport and establish a relationship with them. To aid in that effort, offer them a “Value Partner” Program (VP). What you are going to do is let them know you have designed a “special” program and a website not open to the general public. The web site is exclusively designed for the sole purpose of providing valuable information for their group. Once members of the organization log on to the site and enter their password they will be admitted to the site and receive real benefits such as: • Discount pricing on vehicles • Discount pricing on service • Discount pricing on parts • Free or discounted items or services from other businesses Imagine a program with a military base close to your dealership. You would have access to a huge demographic. Instead of prospecting one by one you would have an entire military base where you could focus a specific marketing message. You can include not only the soldiers but also all the civilian department of defense workers on base. Then you could extend it to all of their family members, too. The potential prospect and the opportunities are incredible. If you tell these members with the military and their affiliated groups that they will get incredible services and discounts, why wouldn’t they explore their options with your organization? Think about this from your perspective. If your spouse is a teacher and in a union and that union offers discounted interest rates on vehicle loans wouldn’t you look into it? This would be irresistible to many of the members in the group. Where do you begin? Before you approach an organization you want to secure commitments and services from local businesses in your local market. What do you look for? Frankly just about anything should be under consideration. Discounts on beauty salon services, spa visits, sporting events (both professional and collegiate), dining, nightclubs, limousine services, electronics, computers, dry cleaning, and so on. These are all items that can be part of your offering. For the program I created in the Philadelphia area, I went to prominent and well-known establishments and pitched them on how they could increase their business by being part of my network. Naturally you want to speak with the owners who have the authority to implement these types of programs and discounts. One nightclub/restaurant was a favorite watering hole for athletes, actors and musicians and always had a line waiting to get in the club. I shared my plan with the owner and the potential audience we were targeting. They offered $25 off coupons on any meal $50 or over. I then asked him to provide an awesome prize once a month that can be raffled off or given away. With hopes of increased business, he provided an unlimited amount of those $25 coupons and then once a month he committed to offer a bottle of Cristal Champagne or another top shelf champagne plus two complimentary entrances into the establishment, plus two VIP entrances so the winners can go mingle with celebrities in the crowd. The point was to have a night out with VIP treatment for the lucky winner. The retail value of the monthly prize was over $600, and there was absolutely no direct cost to the dealership. The net value of the donated monthly prize was less than $200 for the night, but the advertising the restaurant got to the military base members and others in the group was worth thousands of dollars. Plus the idea is that they have such an awing experience they will want to come back and, at the very least, tell everyone about their great experience at the restaurant. A limousine company provides another good service. They often have downtime and are looking to pick up extra business. I packaged the monthly night out to the restaurant with a limousine ride and again, the limousine company received great visibility in the program, and our members received free limo rides. We were able to promote our dealership services and the products and services of our partners on radio, television, in print and of course on the Internet. This program differentiated our dealership from every other one in the market. We had articles written about us in the military newspaper on base and that helped feed the number of users on the program. I guess today they call this viral marketing, but we just saw it as a great way to leverage existing networks, add strong value to the program and provide incredible service to the members at our dealership. This program was business development at its best. Sean V. Bradley
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"The Phone is the MOST Misused Resource at a Car Dealership" Article first published in Digital Dealer Magazine, Sean V. Bradley - CEO of Dealer Synergy

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on November 7, 2010 at 12:45pm
http://www.dealersynergy.com http://www.internetsales20group.com First Published in Digital Dealer Magazine March 2007 Hello, Can you Hear Me Now? The phone is one of the most misused opportunities in a dealership.” I was actually told that about a decade ago when I went through my first phone sales training class. The truth is that it still applies today. Sometimes it takes forever for someone to even answer the phone and from there it gets bounced from the receptionist to the salesperson and finally to a manager. In most cases like that, the prospect abandons the call out of exasperation. To make matters even worst, when a salesperson or Internet/BDC rep gets a potential customer on the phone, he never even gives his name, asks the prospect for his name or builds value in himself and the dealership. Let me give you a great example. I was recently working with a franchised dealer in Kentucky for a week of training on business development and reviewing the dealership’s phone process through role playing. I was stunned when we engaged our role-play because the manager of the department was ignoring my questions, being vague and personifying the stigma of an old school car salesperson. I corrected her and started to teach her the proper methods and she further surprised me by explaining that she felt that what she was doing was wrong, but was trained to do so. She went on to tell me that the previous training company had told them to follow the scripts and ignore the prospects. She also said that the trainer actually sat in class and said no matter what the customer asks, ignore him and keep going on with your script. Knowing that trainers are teaching this is very disturbing to me. I want to clear up some things and give you all some very powerful information about phone sales and statistics based on our research and experiences in the field: • More than 80 percent of the time Internet or sales consultants don’t ask for the name and number of the caller • Seventy-eight percent of the time they do not attempt to make an appointment with the prospect • More than 70 percent of the time the sales consultant didn’t qualify the prospect properly. Some might have asked questions about the vehicle, but very rarely asked the prospect about wants, wishes and expectations other than the vehicle • More than 85 percent of the time the Internet or sales consultants did not properly identify themselves or ask the customers to write down whom they should ask for when they get into the dealership • More than 70 percent of phone ups are not logged into an ILM or CRM properly or even logged in at all, which means they are never followed up on The bottom line is there are steps to a sale – any sale. You need an opportunity to do business. You need to get someone to like you, trust you and believe you. If that occurs, they will buy from you (or at the very least come in for an appointment). If you want to be successful at selling cars you need to master your phone skills. And if you want to maximize your Internet department, special finance department or business development center, then you absolutely need to not only get control over your phones, you need to master them. You need to remember several things: • There is a science of communication…55 percent of communication is visual perception and body language. Thirty-eight percent of communication is auditory stimulation and inflection of tone. Finally, only 7 percent of communication is conveyed through text…the words we use. • That means you need to have a solid plan of how you are going to engage your prospect. You need to have an escalation protocol; meaning if there is only 45 percent (meaning 38 percent inflection of tone and 7 percent in words that we use) of communication on the phone, your main focus is to escalate that relationship as fast as possible to the next stage…the appointment. So, you should not be focused on selling the vehicle over the phone. You should focus on selling the appointment. The vehicle “selling” should be done in your environment, when you can conduct a full product presentation and the demo drive. You need to get in front of the prospect to start building rapport. • You should have a solid incoming phone call process. Following is an example. Incoming call script Dealership rep: “Thank you for calling ABC Motors, Sean speaking… are you calling about our sale?” *You want to properly greet the prospect on the phone and set the stage. Remember, you only have one chance to make a first impression. Right from the onset you are setting the tone for the call. By asking the question, “Are you calling about the sale?” you are finding out why the prospect is calling or from where they are calling. Prospect: “No, I am not…is there a sale going on?” Dealership rep: “Absolutely! We have several sales going on. (Make sure you have a list of current sales or promotions handy.) Are you looking for a new vehicle or a pre-owned vehicle?” *This is an opportunity to create some excitement…sales is about transference of energy. If you aren’t excited, why should your prospect be? Prospect: “A used car probably.” Dealership rep: “Great, which one of our sales were you calling in on?” * Now is the time you are going to find out exactly from where they are calling. This is the time where you find out where your ad dollars were successful. Prospect: “I saw your ad in the Auto Shopper magazine on that pre-owned ‘05 Suzuki Grand Vitara.” Dealership rep: “That vehicle is definitely available… your name is…? And how do spell your last name?” * This is very important; you need to ask his name. Some people might go for the phone number too, but a lot of people on the phone are skeptical about giving the phone number out so quickly. I think it’s best not to go for it this early in the game. Getting a name is a great start. Now you can use the prospect’s name in the conversation and make the experience more personal. Prospect: “Dave A-D-A-M-S” Dealership rep: “Dave, just so I know… besides availability, what else is important to you in purchasing your next vehicle?” * This is so important. You are going to qualify your prospect here. Most sales are not made because the salesperson was on the wrong car and the prospect’s “wants, needs or expectations” weren’t met. A salesperson’s ultimate goal should be to exceed a customer’s expectation, but the fact is you can never exceed a customer’s expectations if you first can’t identify their wants wishes and expectations. Let the prospect tell you what it is going to take to earn his business. Let him give you all the details to assist you in closing the sale later. Remember what Dr. Stephen Covey says… “Seek first to understand before being understood.” Prospect: “I was looking for the best price.” * It doesn’t matter what they say, meet their expectations. Make sure they know you are there to help them. Then transition to your value package proposition (meaning sell, sell, sell your dealership). Show them why they should do business with you. Dealership rep: “Dave, how about this… If I wasn’t able to get you the best price… I would never expect you to purchase a vehicle from me, OK?” Prospect: “OK.” Dealership rep: “Dave, with that said… can I tell you what else we do here to go above and beyond for our customers?” * This is again an opportunity for you to create excitement. This is the part where you can exceed their expectations. If they were “expecting” anything else, they would have mentioned it previously. By this time we have properly qualified our prospect, created rapport, and met their expectations. Now we can go for our “value package.” Prospect: “Absolutely!” Dealership rep: “Here at ABC Motors we have created a special value program that includes: • Free delivery to your home or office • Rewards / loyalty program • Tires for life • Free oil changes • Price guarantee / price protection • Loaner cars • Entry into our drawing (for just coming in for an appointment)” * You can use anything here… whatever your dealership does as its “differentiator.” Dealership rep: “How does that sound, Dave?” * This is your trial close. Prospect: “Wow… are you serious?” Dealership rep: “Absolutely. When is the best time today for you to come in – afternoon or evening?” *That is the close. Set the appointment on the quarter hour. Say something like, “Which is better, 3:15 or 4:15pm?” Appointments set on the quarter hour have a better show ratio. Sales representative should close with asking for the prospect’s cell phone number and e-mail address, explaining that if something changes they can get in touch with the prospect and they will send an e-mail confirmation with directions for the appointment. It is important to obtain this for follow-up with the prospect. I hope you all realize how powerful the phones are… master your craft. Sean V. Bradley
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Sean V. Bradley, CEO of Dealer Synergy "Customer Loyalty and Database Mining" (First Published in Digital Dealer Magazine September 2006)

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on November 7, 2010 at 12:39pm
http://www.dealersynergy.com http://www.internetsales20group.com This article was first published in Digital Dealer Magazine September 2006! The thrill of gambling is exhilarating. Am I going to win? Am I going to hit it big? Let me put it all on the line and see what happens. Since living close to Atlantic City, NJ, gambling has always intrigued me, but I must confess I am not a gambler at all. I am a realist; I am a numbers person. I don’t feel comfortable just hoping on the long shot. So, where am I going with this? Well, this is exactly what is going on in our industry today – gambling. Dealers are advertising on a long shot. There is no science, no reason – just hope that our initiative sells some more cars. It’s all in the statistics, but is anybody listening? You head down the road of spending tons of money to bring new customers into your dealership or to your web site, and then you do not do a value proposition for the dealership. From there you sell the vehicle, have no plan to bring that customer into service and you do very little to create a relationship that will lead to valuable service business and the inside track to the customer’s next vehicle purchase. Let’s talk about some numbers. NADA tells us that the average store spends over $500 in advertising for each new vehicle sold. That number is actually incorrect because we know a large percentage of sales are repeats, referrals or came to us because of our location/brand. This means you probably spend closer to $800 to $1,000 for each vehicle you sell from your advertising. You only close at 22 percent on your ups; 40 percent of those never create a cash RO and a full two-thirds of these customers are gone by the time they truly become valuable – which is when the vehicles reach 30,000 miles. Oh yeah – by keeping them loyal you also pick up amazingly profitable service business. The customer that does remain loyal is seven times more likely to repurchase and on average will have a gross of an additional $900. Let me break it down further. Smart Tech Enterprise research states that a prior customer closes at 60 percent versus 22 percent for a fresh up, with a gross profit increase of over $900. But most dealers don’t allocate any budget for owner retention efforts and the dealerships that do only allocate minimally. Let’s say you should at least spend 10 percent of your ad budget on loyalty for your customers. Create a custom value proposition, leverage it during the sales process and apply it to customers to keep them happy in service and then allow your customers to earn toward their next vehicle purchase. Airlines, hotels, rental cars, grocery stores and thousands of retail establishments already know what you refuse to learn. Any one transaction has little value compared to the loyalty of a customer. In working with CRM and database marketing for years, it is also amazing that you ignore your database. You do garage predictors to try and find people who may or may not have the money, inclination to your brand or even be in the market for a vehicle, yet you ignore a gold mine in your own database. Again, it goes back to a dealer’s gambling mentality. You choose to take a shot in the dark versus science and math. NADA again tells us 2 percent of the people in your database purchase a vehicle every month. A typical store has an active database of 6,000 to 10,000 customers. Think about the potential and then get sick over the fact that you have not created loyalty with these people. One hundred twenty to 200 people from these stores purchase every month and you have done little to say, “Buy from me,” unless they get that generic mailer via the garage predictor. Claim your customers as our own. Glue those who have been in within the last six months with a rewards program. Aggressively go after the inactives for service and let everybody know you want to sell them their next vehicle. The good news is you can do all of this for the 10 percent of the ad budget discussed earlier. I am always amazed when I talk to dealers who will not commit 10 percent of their ad budget to what makes the most sense. It goes back to gambling. I am not a gambler, however, if you are, at least be a smart gambler, and play the odds. What makes more sense? Putting all of your money on a 22 percent shot or at least some of your money on a 60 percent shot with the opportunity to make $900 higher gross profit per unit? I was going to end this article at this point, but I was thinking about a conversation I had recently with another industry expert. We were discussing that a lot of articles are written that have good surface content. They explain the issues, but do not go too deeply into the “how” to solve or the “how” to actually take action. In my opinion, that’s for two basic reasons: They don’t want to give away the farm for free. After all, we are all here for business. Or, they don’t want it to look like they are trying to plug their products and/or services. I hope you would feel that I have covered some useful content and information, but now I am going to take it to the next level. I want to give you some strong takeaways – things that you can put into effect immediately at your dealership and see some great results. Let’s start with an example of a customer loyalty program: • Free lifetime state safety inspections • Free loaner vehicle with a 30,000 mile service • Free body shop estimates • Free shuttle service • Free car wash • 10-15 percent discounts on installed accessories • Loyalty pricing • Referral program • 10 percent toward your next vehicle purchase • 5 percent toward major service • 5 percent toward body shop • “Frequent Flyer Miles” program The idea is to reward your customers for their actions. Anything that they do at your dealership gets them rewarded. For example, there are companies out there that have loyalty cards with smart chips in them that allow the customers to earn “points,” like airlines have frequent flyer miles. So, anytime the customer goes into your dealership to buy parts, have service work done or to purchase a vehicle, they will earn points on their card for future activities. The more they do in your dealership the more they earn for future visits. Okay, now you have an idea of what a rewards program looks like. How do you utilize this information at your dealership(s) immediately? One idea is your web site. Remember, over 85 percent of people who buy cars go online first to do research before they ever step foot into your dealership. There should be a section on your web site that is clearly defined “Customer Rewards” or a button that says something to the effect of “Click here for Customer Rewards.” The idea, again, is to call attention to this section. Remember most dealers do not have this on their site. This is an opportunity to differentiate your value package proposition for your dealership from any other dealership around you. Remember, the average prospect researches three to five web sites before choosing yours. If your competition is giving cars away at invoice or there are other price factors, why should they pick you? If you are a little farther away than your competition, why take that extra drive to your dealership? Because you have something they don’t… a customer rewards program! One last idea – what about your lost opportunities? I mean all of those leads you don’t close? Let’s say you buy or generate 400 leads in a month. You sell 40 units; that’s 360 leads left over. Some are bogus; some don’t respond; some bought elsewhere or just changed their mind. You can contact all of your dead leads, let’s say your “bought elsewheres” for example, and let them know you wish them the best with their new vehicle and even though you didn’t earn their business they can call you whenever they’d like to ask you any question they might think of… and oh, by the way… as a token of appreciation for them letting you have the “opportunity” to earn their business you want to give them a gift… an “owner’s reward” card. Explain all that the card does and contains. You will be surprised how many people will use this card. The benefit here is that you are going to turn a lost opportunity, somebody who bought elsewhere, into a service customer, and remember, a service customer is seven times as likely to purchase a vehicle from where they have their service done. Keeping all this in mind, my aim is to help you sell more cars more profitably and more often! Sean V. Bradley
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Re-Post from Dealerskins Newsletter years ago... but Still Relevant - Sean V. Bradley "D.I.M.E."

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on November 7, 2010 at 12:33pm

Babe Ruth was known for hitting the most home runs, but what a lot of people don’t realize is that he also had the most strikeouts. Think about that for a moment…

My point is that you need to be at bat to crack those home runs out of the park. For many years I was at the frontline of Internet Departments. I have successfully built multiple Internet sales departments from the ground up from nothing to selling over 100+ units solely from the Internet. When I started, I tried creating and managing the Internet department every possible way imaginable. I had struck out several times before I developed that “Power” swing. I put a solid strategy together and I was cracking home runs right out of the park.

Soon after I started I realized that I needed a strategy and a focus. I needed to set some goals for my department, my company and myself. I worked with others and developed a four-point strategy we called D.I.M.E.. The four elements of D.I.M.E. are Design, Implement, Manage, and Evolve.

Design

This is where you create a vision of where you want your business to be in the future. List your goals and desired outcomes. Be specific about how your business will be affected. Don’t talk in generalities but in specifics-percentage increased or decreased, net gain or loss, numbers for retention, etc.

Implement

Work your vision through implementation. Establish a timeline for task completion. Be sure everyone understands their accountability especially outside vendors and inside managers.

Manage

Management is about measurement. Be sure to measure your progress against the standards you set during the design phase. You want to be sure that everything is moving forward and that you are achieving the desired results.

Evolve

Evolution takes leadership. Throughout the design, implementation and management of your plan others will be looking to you for guidance. In order to evolve, others must understand where your business is headed and follow the vision you have laid before them.

D.I.M.E. is the method we use at Dealer Synergy for everything we do from buying computers to hiring new employees. Having a strategy and repeatable method of execution allows us to get better at what we do every time we do it.

Having a methodology is important but your also need to know where your key areas for success are. Most businesses share four common elements of focus. I call them “The Four “P’s”. The first is products, the second people, then process and finally promotions.

Next month we will take a look at how the Four P’s apply to selling cars online…

Sean V. Bradley

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You Can’t Fix It If You Don’t Measure It

Posted by Jim Radogna on November 6, 2010 at 8:19pm
If your sales staff told you that they had a 50% closing ratio, would you take their word for it? I suspect not – you would probably track all of their opportunities to determine the true percentage. Most dealerships measure a vast number of items on a daily basis. After all, you can’t manage what you don’t measure, right?How about the level of compliance and ethical behavior in your dealership? Is that something you measure or do you just take everyone’s word for it? Have you really thought about how your staff is conducting itself in these areas? Is it possible that some of these thoughts are floating around?“We’ve always done it this way – haven’t been caught yet”“Hey, if we get sued, that’s what insurance is for.”“Compliance is not in my pay plan. I’ll do whatever it takes to make a decent paycheck.”Sure, you can bury your head in the sand and hope for the best, but is it really worth finding out the hard way that you were mistaken, or that your customers are not being treated the way you expect?Instead, why not follow a few simple steps?1. Audit your operation to determine where you really stand.2. Have your staff properly trained in all aspects of legal compliance.3. Once trained, have them sign a code of ethics which will not only help protect the dealership, but let everyone know that the organization is serious about compliance and ethical behavior.These steps are easy and far more affordable than the costs associated with lawsuits, regulatory actions and, most importantly, hits to your valuable reputation. Don’t find out the hard way that your operation isn’t as clean as you thought it was.
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Willis GM (Delaware) has BEST MONTH EVER in their Automotive Internet Sales Department! Congrats Whitney!!!!

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on November 5, 2010 at 5:51am

Here is an email from Whitney, the Internet Director for Willis GM...

The Willis Automotive Internet Department worked very hard all through October, ending up with 46 deliveries!!! Our best month ever so far!!! Mr. Bill Willis made a deal with the Internet Department that if we sold more than 40 in the month of October he, and Mrs. Mary Jane Willis, would fix and serve our department a fresh salad, a big baked potato, and a big filet mignon! Today--- we were served an awesome lunch (salad, baked potato, wonderful filet mignon, rolls, and warm pecan pie) with outstanding table side service!!!
Now.... just to keep everyone awake for the rest of the day ;)


Whitney-

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I need your help

Posted by Jeremy Brown on November 4, 2010 at 3:54pm

After 3 kids and some personal things happening to my wifes family, she has convinced me to move. Now we will be moving too far for me to commute to my present dealership. So I have found new opportunities at a couple of dealerships. Here is the dilemma:

1) where I am moving they are just discovering social media( no one is using yet)

2) everyone at these opportunities are scared to death of it. However 1 is interested in it.

3 Everyone pays the same

my question is do I go running to the place that wants to stick their toe in the social media waters, or do I try to convince another dealer in a slightly better "floor Traffic" area to do it?

I would like some feedback on this please. I respect your opinions!

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Follow Up with your prospects & customers using SOCIAL MEDIA & Internet resources like: Face Book, Twitter, MySpace, Google & AOL Instant Messenger - Sean V. Bradley

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on November 2, 2010 at 9:00pm
Follow Up with your prospects & customers using SOCIAL MEDIA & Internet resources like: Face Book, Twitter, MySpace, Google & AOL Instant Messenger - Sean V. Bradley I have been thinking about an article / Video post that I can do that is of value and a little bit different than what you see everywhere else... and here is what I have come up with: In my travels ALL OVER THE COUNTRY with dealerships, I hear a lot that it is hard to get an Internet prospect on the phone... YES it is!!! LOL!! *** Seriously, that is the HARDEST part of Automotive Internet Sales... getting the prospect on the phone. As a matter of fact statistically, you are going to reach about 12- 15% of your attempts or phone calls... So, lets break out the calculator and be crystal clear here. If you attempt to call 120 people per day (what we suggest), at a 12% connection ratio... you will connect with about 14.4 people.... at a 15% connection ratio you will connect with 18 people. Lets do the math in the other direction... if you ONLY are calling 30 people in a day... you are ONLY going to connect with about 3-5 people a day... So, first TIP is to attempt to contact people MORE... Why...? Well, more attempts = more connection...more connections = MORE appointments!!! & More appointments = MORE Shows and MORE SALES!!!! However, it is HARD to connect with people... I get it. BUT, are you going to just sit around and "WOE is Me"? or are you going to be proactive and try to do something about it? Sales is SIMPLE... you get what you put into it. You put no effort, and you will be BROKE... you put effort in and you can make $$$$$$$$. Here are some quick things you can do if you CAN NOT reach a prospect by the phone or you have a bad phone number or NO phone #... * First, you can try doing a "Reverse" look up with the operator... and try to get a different # * You can drop your prospect’s name into Google and you might find out some details, a Social Networking site etc... * you can go to Face Book or Twitter directly and drop their name or name and other deails (if you have) and try to find their profile and or page... ** If you find them on their Social Media... you can contact them directly through their Social Media. What is GREAT about this is that MOST Social Media is directed to people's cell phones :) And more than 1/3 of the population access Social Media via their mobile devices... *** Another opportunity is through Instant Messaging tools like AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). If you get an email from a prospect that is like: - johndoe@aol.com / johndoe@hotmail.com / johndoe@gmail.com... the PREFIX (The words BEFORE the @ symbol is USUALLY their INSTANT MESSENGER Address!!! That means that you can try to Instant Messenge hard to reach prospects... There are a LOT more cool things you can do to try to engage your prospects... This was just a quick article to assist you all. I hope you see value in it and I trust it will help you IF YOU TRY IT-
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CRM Tool???

Posted by Sonny Ljuljanovic on November 2, 2010 at 9:49am
Currently using UDC Momentum CRM...... Have used it at this location for 7 years now... Wondering if it is worth taking the risk of switching over to a new CRM tool now after finally getting on the same page with Management-salespeople and BDC using Momentum??? I've seen a demo's on ADP crm, HigherGear and DealerSocket.... I kind of liked DealerSocket... Any thoughts??Thanks,Sonny L
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