Dealers can learn a LOT from this video! 

Great job Grant- 

Someone once told me that most aeronautical engineers will tell you that there is no possible way the bumblebee can fly. His wingspan isn’t broad enough, he is too heavy and his body build makes it impossible for him to fly. Fortunately, the bumblebee doesn’t understand aeronautics, so he just goes along and flies anyway!

Decide to have a “bumblebee attitude” and just fly anyway! All of the good this world has to offer is on your side. Fight to be the best you, you can be! Fight to reach success! Fight to make it big in every area of life! Despise second best! Despise the fear of failure and rejection and live your life to the max! Don’t listen to the naysayer’s and critics. Don’t listen to the media, the economy and the news. Have a bumblebee attitude and fly anyway! 

 “Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.”

- Zig Ziglar

Do Your Best Today!

When we do the best we can, where we are, with what we have now, we will live in success! So many people hold back and save their best for later. They wait for a reunion, an occasion, an event, a specific job, an important person with a special title or even a stranger before they show off everything they know and can do. The difference between “The Average Joes” and “The Pros” in sports, business and in every area of life is the discipline to do your best in your field every day.

Think like a champion!

Champions are people with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them. They are a bit unrealistic in how they see life, as they don’t reason with reality. They make the impossible happen and never considered it impossible.”

- Grant Cardone

So many times we can get hung up on focusing on the things we don’t have, rather than on the things we do have. We think we need more equipment, more programs, more incentives, more people, more training and more money to be our best. Now, don’t misunderstand me; more equipment, more programs, more incentives, more training and more money is good and will add value to our lives, helping us become and release our best. However, if we are not maximizing what we have in our ability, in the areas of the influence and equipment we have now, we won’t when we get more, either. Use what you have now. Sharpen your skills you have now. Master your craft! Practice doing your best and when it comes time for “Game Day,” you’ll perform your best.

“Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are hard jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the bigger ones tend to take care of themselves.”

-          Dale Carnegie

Give your best in every matter, both small and large, and you will experience the best each matter has to offer. Give your best now! Don’t wait until later or tomorrow. Start where you are now. Don’t let circumstances, people or excuses hold you back from giving your best. If it’s in your power to do it now, don’t wait until tomorrow.

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

- Matthew 6:34 (New Living Translation Bible)

Don’t Wait Till Tomorrow!

Tomorrow has enough worries, problems and situations of it’s own. Why add more on top of it to make things even more difficult to deal with. Deal with it today! I once heard someone say that today is a gift, and that’s why it’s called “the present.” We need to open up our today with the same excitement, attitude and efforts as if it really is a present. We are alive today. Today, we can make a change. Today is always the best time to deal with ourselves. Today!

One of the biggest problems that face our today is our worry about tomorrow. Worry is one of the greatest issues that paralyze people, keeping them from moving into the greatness for which they have been created. I once heard someone say, “I don’t worry about the things I can change, because I can change them. I don’t worry about the things I can’t change, because I can’t change them. Therefore, I just don’t worry.” This is probably the most liberating statement I have ever heard! Stop and think about the truth of that statement! How many times have you changed the situations you were going through by worrying about them day and night? And if they did change from you worrying about them, they probably changed for the worse! Someone once said, “Worry is like a rocking chair — it gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.”

Share your best with the world today, have a bumblebee attitude, don’t worry about tomorrow and, no matter what happens, you will be an Ultimate Success!

Got Bad Credit?

Have you ever heard this before? “Treat people the way you would want to be treated?” Otherwise known as the Golden Rule. Maybe you heard this one; “All people are created equal,” which just so happens to be mentioned by Thomas Jefferson over 2 centuries ago. But these statements are still not enforced 100% of the time in our Dealerships. The problem is that in today’s society and business we continue to do the same things over and over again expecting a different result, sometimes referred to as insanity.

Check out this scenario, (true story) I ask a sales consultant why his sales this month are off, and he responds like the average sales person, “got too much bad credit.” Well I guess he was unaware that West Tennessee and Memphis has been known in the past as the “bankruptcy capital of the world.” The problem here is not the bad credit, the problem here is the sales consultants mind set about a customer with challenged credit. I decided to watch this sales consultant closer, I needed to understand the sales consultants process with challenged credit customers before I could analyze the true problem. After 5 minutes here was my conclusion:

1. The meet and greet was weak, he saw that the customer had a ‘98 Clunker and immediately brought the customer in for a quick 5-Liner (quick credit application in non-sales terms)
2. Asked the customer how much money they have for a down payment.
3. Let the customer go with no Manager T.O. before telling the customer to leave because their pockets were empty. Wow.

But who is to blame here, has the store created a culture to treat all customers the same? Does the sales consultant really understand the process with challenged credit customers? Here is what we do know, the sales consultant already thought in his mind that this customer has bad credit and that he would not sell them a car. The sales person treated them is if they were not important, almost as if that people with challenged credit are not allowed at this dealership unless they fit the banks guidelines. Would this sales consultant have treated his grandmother the same way? Would this sales person have treated a customer that stepped out of 2008 BMW 7 Series with business attire the same way? My guess is probably not, I would guess that the red carpet would have been rolled out for both.

Would you like to know how to sell more cars to people with challenged credit? Follow these easy steps:

1. Treat the customer as if they had just won the lottery. Roll out the Red Carpet. Make the customer feel as if they are the first customer you have ever worked with, almost as if it is your first day on the job. Thank the customer a minimum of 2 times while doing the meet and greet. Something like this, “Before we get started, ABC Motors and myself would like to thank you for coming in today. We know that you have many choices when it comes to choosing a dealership, and I appreciate you for giving us an opportunity.
2. Perform a proper need analysis with the customer. Find out they are trying to accomplish by coming into the dealership. What is most important to them? You need to earn there trust here. Explain the process and the proper steps that need to be taken before submitting there information to a lender.
3. Select a Vehicle that fits within their guidelines.
4. Provide them a world-class presentation and demonstration.

I will not go through all the steps here, but what I can tell you is that if you perform these first 5 steps on a challenged credit customer the way you would on a customer with an 800+ beacon, the results will be immeasurable. Here is why, regardless if you sell this customer or not, they will tell more people about there experience with you than a customer with excellent credit because typically an excellent credit customer gets the red carpet rolled out 99% of the time. The same with challenged credit customers, they typically get treated poorly the same way at every dealership. Statistics show that when a customer purchases a vehicle someone else in the household or family tree is looking to purchase a car within the next 90-120 days. Well I say the same statement would be made for people that visit a dealership and do not purchase, they know someone in the family, friend, or co-worker that is looking within the next 3 months.

            For example, a customer recently visited our website and submitted an online credit application. Immediately we emailed the customer and then followed up with a phone call. We first thanked the customer for the opportunity, performed a need analysis, explained our dealerships value package, and sold the appointment. Down payment and any other financial questions are not to be mentioned over the phone to our customers. This customer received a confirmation number and came in to meet with me directly. I thanked the customer and performed the steps listed above and assigned the proper “Product Specialists” to go over the features of this vehicle. In short, we were unable to obtain financing for this customer, but she was so enthused about the visit that she referred 2 people to us within 48 hours because of the great experience she received. We sold one of them and the other is still a working prospect. She also just so happens to be employed at the local Y.M.C.A. so as you can imagine she interacts with hundreds upon hundreds of people everyday. She continues to send us business and we continue to work on getting her a vehicle. All this because the Red Carpet was rolled out and we treated her differently than our competition.

Do you have bad credit? Want to sell more customers with challenged credit? Start with the most basic thing, treat the customers the way you would want to be treated and the rest will take care of itself. All customers are created equal.

Durran Cage

Internet Sales Director

Alan Vines Automotive

Display, TV and print all sources of digital video ad budget

The growing enthusiasm for online video advertising signals that the web can and should continue to capture a larger share of brand dollars. Though advertisers and agencies are often increasing their investments in digital video advertising at the expense of offline branding efforts, findings from DIGIDAY and Adap.tv suggest funding also comes at the expense of current display advertising budgets.

According to a November 2011 study, advertisers were more likely to fund their online video advertising efforts from offline channels such as print and broadcast TV than their agency counterparts. Advertisers most often planned to shift budget from print (41%), while 29% said they would take dollars from broadcast TV to fund their digital video advertising efforts. Just 24% planned to pull from display.

Agencies said boosts to online video budgets would most come at the expense of display (43%), indicating a general move away from less dynamic ad formats, such as banner ads, in favor of those with greater engagement potential.

In addition, 39% of agencies said they would fund video from broadcast TV budgets. Though findings appear to suggest advertisers and agencies are shifting budgets away from TV toward video ads, more than half (56%) of respondents viewed online video as a direct complement to—and not a replacement for—their TV ad programs. Just 11% looked to online video to replace their TV ads.

In the past year, both advertisers and agencies have shifted their primary video advertising objectives from brand awareness to brand engagement, perhaps suggesting marketers are moving away from viewing digital video as a mere extension of TV ads and moving toward embracing online video for its ability to more directly engage viewers in a dynamic way.

By enabling video ads with social sharing and other calls to action, marketers can use digital video as a springboard to additional online engagement on social networks, their website and even mobile apps.

Mobile is a growing area of interest for video advertisers, yet publisher offerings lag brand adoption. For example, 42% of advertisers and agencies have purchased iPhone-compatible video ads, yet only 35% of publishers supported such ads. Differences for Android video ads (31% vs. 28%, respectively) and iPad ads (41% vs. 35%) were similar.

Publishers that are able to offer brands such ads in the coming months will likely contribute to the growth of both online video and mobile ad spending as marketers look to extend their video footprint beyond TV and across screens to achieve greater brand engagement.

The last 3 years, infographics have grown as one of the most effective marketing tools available. They're easily sharable on social media, can offer tremendous SEO benefits, and can help your dealership offer content that people enjoy seeing.

Still, it's also the most underutilized tool by the automotive industry. A lot of it is our fault; vendors in the automotive space have seen infographics as too challenging and too expensive to bring to market. We've had a handful of forward-thinking dealers take advantage of it, but there hasn't been nearly the adoption that has occurred in other industries.

Even at the OEM level, Ford is the only company that has dipped their toes into infographics and found success.

First, let's look at what they do for dealerships:

• - They give content to visitors of both their websites and social media profiles an item will be shared. People share good content on Facebook and Twitter. They don't share new car specials pages. Some have asked what the benefit is. We've seen that when people share content on Facebook, a good percentage of it is localized. Friends, relatives, and coworkers that see a nice piece of content from a friend will visit the link and land on your site. If you're running remarketing campaigns or simply going for social media exposure, landing them on your site is an opportunity to generate a lead. Don't forget, every Facebook user has 8-9 Facebook friends who are in the market to buy a vehicle in the next 30 days.
•  - Powerful inbound links are the most important aspect of search engine optimization. Having graphics that can be embedded on other sites is an opportunity to use this "link bait" to generate free links to your site.
• - Infographics that portray useful information such as proper SYNCing on a Ford or localized information such as a crime-rate map of the area positions the dealership website as a resource on top of being a place to look at cars. Whenever you can become a resource for people, they are more likely to want to do business with you.

Once you know what they do for you, let's take a look at the most successful infographic that we built in 2011. This particular one was generated for a non-automotive client but it will be easy to see why it was so successful. Here are the stats:

• - Posted on over 400 websites that linked back to the source, including high-value websites that included the New York Times, Mashable, TheNextWeb, and TheAtlantic.
• - Shared on Facebook over 17,000 times with Mashable having the highest share-rate of nearly 10,000.
• - Tweeted over 25,000 times with Mashable again leading the way with over 6,000 retweets.
• - Estimated 2.3 million views of the infographic.
• - Made the front page of Digg, Reddit, and went viral for 3 different sites on StumbleUpon.

Now, here's the infographic. If you have any questions about why it worked so well or how it translates in the automotive industry, please feel free to email me or ask in the comments.

“It's not who you are that holds you back, it's who you think you're not.” ~ Author Unknown

            I’d like to start out with a story that maybe some of us in the automotive industry can relate to. This deals with the number one obstacle of the sale. You! The demo is completed, they love the car, they love you, they love the ease of everything so far and now it has come to this. Your so-called friend now sits across from you and tells you that they will take delivery of their new vehicle if the numbers are right. The customer is sold and wants to drive the car home today. You are pumped up; full of confidence and the adrenaline begins to flow through your body. You go to the desk and you tell the GSM where they need to be in order for you to seal the deal. You explain everything word for word and as you are talking the GSM begins to pencil you the numbers. It’s as if he’s not even listening. You feel like Charlie Brown’s parents, “WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH WAH!” It’s like everything you say doesn’t even matter. You look down at the up sheet to see if you’re in the ballpark and you notice that the number is way higher than where the customer wants to be. Not only are you not in the ballpark, but you’re not even in the same state. You than see that the customers trade that was explained to be a gem has 2 car accidents on the Carfax and is coming in thousands less than what they want for it. The GSM finishes writing the numbers, turns the paper to you and slowly slides the up sheet back into your hands and with a smile softly says, “let’s make this deal!” You think, “Ok I will if you’d just do the customers numbers!”

By this point your heart is racing, you have fallen into a deep black hole and feel like you are miles apart from where the customer is and where the desk wants to be. Your confidence doesn’t slowly disappear, but it has been shattered, blown up and destroyed. You put your head into your hands, look at the paper and start to try and close the desk on where the customer wants to be. You think, “Maybe he didn’t hear me so I’ll explain it again.” You finally come to grips with the fact that the desk is not budging so you peek over your shoulder to see what your customers are doing. As you look they see you look their way and smile at you as if you’re gonna come back and not only give them what they asked for on their trade but exceed that and give them a thousand more than they asked. You look back at the paper huff and blow out a deep breath. You get up, grab your paper, look at the GSM as if he’s the devil himself and with your head down looking at the paper, dragging your feet, in total disbelief and defeat you begin to walk back towards your customer. You sit down and as you’re shaking your head back and forth you say, “ Well, I have bad news. I’m so sorry to say that I CAN’T BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!”

Don’t Lose Confidence in Yourself

As exaggerated as this story is I believe it speaks to us in one way or another. The point of this entire case study is that if you lose confidence in yourself to close the sale you’ll never close the sale. We are the number one obstacles that obstruct the path of buyers saying yes and driving home in their new vehicles. When we lose the confidence in our-selves to present the customer the numbers that we are given, the customer can pick up on that and pull back their confidence to say yes. When you are confident in your presentation, demo, walk around, product and competitive knowledge your customer feeds off of that. The more confidence you display the more confident they will feel in making a major decision to purchase. A lot of your success in closing is dependent on your ability to empower your customers with the confidence they need to make a decision. How you speak, how you stand, the body language you show, the inflections and tone of your voice all have to do with the success and failure of instilling confidence into your customer. It begins with you. Be confident in your ability to sell, present numbers, deflect stalls and overcome objections in the sale. Practice your transition points of one word to the next. The more fluent and articulate you are with your words the more at ease people feel. The more you stumble, sigh, and trip through your words the more hesitant people feel. Your words and how you say your words are your tools that you use to be successful in what you do. We should take the time to practice using these tools.

“Whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right.” ~ Henry Ford

Always Think You Can

An unknown author said, “Success comes in cans, not cant's.” That is so true. Think you can close every deal. Think you can overcome every objection. Think you can be salesman of the month every month. Think you can be more productive than you’ve ever been. Think you can do the impossible and you will. Think you can reach your goals and you will. The ones who say they can’t usually end up getting passed up by the ones who think they can and just did. It’s more than just thinking you can in your mind but also in your heart. Your heart is the core of your being. It is the center of your-self. As a mirror reflects your face so your heart reflects back to you your true self-image.

Proverbs 23:7 (Amplified Bible) For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

Whatever you think you are in your heart that is what will eventually come out in your character and words. Allow your heart felt thoughts to help govern your actions and words. The more confident you are in your ability to believe that you can be successful and achieve outstanding accomplishments the more you will begin to experience what you already thought you can do. 

Think big! Think success! Think on good things! Think on things that instill a positive outcome!

"Before you change your thinking, you have to change what goes into your mind."

Zig Ziglar

As you think on things that empower you to be the best you can be and stay strong in your self-confidence you will overcome the hardest obstacle you’ll ever face in this life and achieve success, victory and promotions in all your endeavors. Please email me to receive a copy of an article to help strengthen your self-confidence.

US Auto IndustryShuts Door On Another Strong Year- By Tony Pugh - Re-Post from McClatchy - Tribune http://www.dealersynergy.com

WASHINGTON – After a near collapse at the height of the Great Recession, the streamlined U.S. auto industry defied the odds and outperformed the greater economy this year with solid sales increases, job growth and product innovations that signal that a full industry recovery no longer is just possible, but probable.

Credit better quality and pent-up consumer demand for the industry’s slow, steady improvement. Customers who were unwilling to gamble on automobile purchases during the recession are coming back to showrooms because the average age of vehicles on U.S. roads is more than 10 years – the highest ever.

U.S. car buyers also are getting comfortable with making large purchases in the volatile economy, experts say.

“And that’s a big behavioral change from what we saw in ’08 and ’09. That’s good for the industry,” said Jesse Toprak, the chief industry analyst for TrueCar.com, an auto-pricing Web site.

After selling roughly 11.8 million cars and trucks last year, U.S. vehicle sales to businesses and consumers are expected to hit nearly 12.8 million in 2011, Toprak said. That’s up from 10.6 million at the height of the Great Recession in 2009.

Through November, new-vehicle sales had logged six straight months of year-over-year gains. That should continue in December, when 1.2 million vehicles are likely to be sold, Toprak said.

Those numbers are well off their pre-recession levels, which topped 16 million vehicles a year. But the industry’s plodding recovery in the past two years has helped stabilize the greater U.S. economy and power a regional recovery in the Great Lakes and Rust Belt regions, where auto production is king. Both areas have seen some of the sharpest declines in unemployment in the country in the past two years as automakers regain their financial footing.

U.S. and foreign automakers are poised to add nearly 167,000 U.S. jobs by the end of 2015, according to the nonprofit Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. That breaks down to 30,000 hourly and salaried workers at the Big Three U.S. automakers, 17,000 jobs at foreign automakers and about 120,000 auto-supply sector jobs.

“The industry has pretty much hired back just about everybody from the automotive side that had been laid off. And now they’re hiring fresh, so they’re actually adding to their rosters,” said Aaron Bragman, senior analyst at IHS Automotive in Northville, Mich.

Most analysts say the industry’s growing stability is sweet vindication for the federal government’s $80 billion bailout, which allowed General Motors and Chrysler to reorganize. The Center for Automotive Research estimates that the bailouts saved more than 1.1 million jobs in 2009 and another 314,000 in 2010, while avoiding personal income losses of more than $96 billion.

Today, all three major U.S. automakers are on the comeback trail with increased investment in U.S. manufacturing plants, improved new models, greater profitability and thousands of new hires.

Chrysler’s rebound has been dramatic. In its best November since 2007, the beleaguered automaker sold more than 107,000 vehicles in the U.S., up 45 percent from November 2010. It was the 20th consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains for Chrysler and the best November for Jeep brand sales since 2003.

Foreign automakers also are expanding their U.S. operations. In May, Volkswagen opened a new plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., that now employs 2,000 people. The Mercedes-Benz factory in Vance, Ala., will add 1,000 jobs when it begins producing the C-Class in 2014.

Toyota just opened a new $800 million plant outside Tupelo, Miss., where about 2,000 workers will assemble the popular Corolla. The plant is Toyota’s 14th in North America.

Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia saw their U.S. vehicle sales explode this year. But U.S. sales of Japanese autos faltered after a tsunami in northern Japan disrupted production in March and caused worldwide inventory shortages during the summer months, when car sales are hottest.

“They didn’t have full strength of inventory because they weren’t able to make enough cars,” Bragman said.

U.S. automakers were prepared to capitalize with new designs and models. Chevrolet’s new Cruze became the second-best-selling car in its class this year, behind the traditional industry leader, Toyota’s Corolla.

Improved quality among all automakers also helped drive sales.

“You’ve got to give the automakers some credit here,” Toprak said. “The new products that have come out of virtually every single automaker in the last year or two have been the best that consumers were ever offered. When you have great product, it fuels buying.”

Ford’s redesigned Explorer has continued strong sales even as the U.S. market has moved away from SUVs. This year, the Explorer moved from a truck-style, body-on-frame design to a lighter, more fuel-efficient one-piece body architecture, which most cars have.

“It has been a big success and is selling very well,” said Bernard Swiecki, senior project manager at the Center for Automotive Research.

After recently inking four-year agreements with the United Auto Workers union, Ford, Chrysler and General Motors plan to add more jobs. The UAW agreements call for 20,000 new jobs over the life of the contracts: 6,400 at GM, 2,100 at Chrysler and more than 12,000 with Ford.

The new pact reduces labor costs for the automakers because new workers will earn lower wages than longtime employees, who will get profit-sharing and inflation-adjustment payments rather than annual raises.

In exchange, the companies agreed to bring back more foreign manufacturing jobs to the U.S. Last month, General Motors said it would begin assembling its Chevrolet Equinox next year at the old Saturn assembly factory in Spring Hill, Tenn., along with a midsized vehicle for the 2015 model year.

Earlier this month, Ford announced that production of its F-650 and F-750 trucks will move from Mexico to its Avon Lake, Ohio, assembly plant in 2014. The move retains about 1,400 jobs at the plant, which is slated for a $128 million upgrade.

New labor agreements and cuts in retiree health benefits also have helped the automakers become more profitable. Before a 2007 UAW labor agreement, Ford and GM’s wage and benefit costs were about $78 per hour. They’re now $58 an hour for Ford and $56 for GM, said Kristin Dziczek, director of the labor and industry group at the automotive research center.

While Chrysler’s sales have increased the most from last year, its per-vehicle profit margin is only $1,066, according to the center. General Motors clears an average of $3,327 per vehicle, while Ford earns $2,819.

Barring a European debt crisis next year or a double-dip domestic recession, most analysts think that 2012 will be another strong year, with vehicle sales approaching 13.8 million.

“The industry is ready, when the economy recovers, to make a lot of money,” Dziczek said. “If we get back to moderate economic growth of about 3 percent a year, we could be talking about there not being enough (manufacturing) capacity” to keep up with demand. “That’s a good problem to have.”

The vast reach of the auto industry, through its parts and supply chain, helps drive the economy in times of expansion. The industry typically accounts for up to 3.5 percent of the gross domestic product and fuels about 10 percent of U.S. retail sales.

When automakers were cutting jobs in 2008 and 2009 at the height of the recession, the industry’s economic ripple effect worked in reverse, causing millions of additional jobs to disappear.

“Now that huge economic multiplier is once again on our side. It’s working as an engine of growth. But we paid a dear price in ‘08 and ‘09, when the hit was really enormous,” Swiecki said.

I am GIVING AWAY $1,000 CASH… (AGAIN!!)

I am so thankful for being a Car Salesman. I can NOT imagine what my life would have been if I never stepped foot onto that showroom floor and took a chance selling cars. I went from being a BROKE College Drop Out to owning a Multi-Million Dollar Company in such a short time. I love this business because of how successful we can ALL be, if we applied ourselves. “Millionaire Car Salesman”, I would NEVER have thought it possible. This business is simple… What you put into it is what you are going to get out of it.

I recently have been giving CASH away to my clients who have been successful, who have applied themselves, who have earned it. As a matter of fact today I will be announcing a winner of $1,000 CASH to an Automotive Internet Sales Coordinator (An Appointment Setter / BDC Rep). There were NO strings attached. I simply wanted to see who was the BEST Dealer Synergy Coordinator in the country and the winner would (And will) receive $1,000 CASH! 

So, I had ANOTHER idea… I spoke to Susan Givens, the Publisher of AutoSuccess Magazine and we have decided to create a FUN Contest for AutoSuccess readers. We are going to be giving away $1,000 CASH to a Lucky Reader! Why would we do this you ask? Simple… Because we can J We are blessed to be in this industry and to have achieved so much success. We want to spread the love.

Here is what we are looking for… We want to try to HELP Automotive Sales Professionals BE MORE SUCCESSFUL!!! So, we are looking for ideas, thoughts, tips, secrets, best practices, examples, websites, objections / rebuttals,  mobile apps, habits, ANYTHING & EVERTHING you can think of to be successful in Automotive Sales, etc…

Please send your emails, videos, links etc… to seanb@dealersynergy.com Susan Givens from AutoSuccess and I will BOTH review every one of the entries and choose the “Best Success Idea / Strategy” and we will publish the winner in the following issue of AutoSuccess Magazine with an interview as well as their “Best Idea / Strategy” of course.

Please remember, we are NOT just trying to throw $1,000 cash away for nothing. We are not showing off, that money isn’t an issue. As a matter of fact, believe it or not but this is coming out of our pocket. There are NO Sponsors, No reimbursements etc… This is what it is. A real contest. We all know that out of the hundreds of thousands of automotive sales professionals in this country, some are truly successful and others are not so successful. There has got to be a reason, actually there are a lot of reasons but I want to FOCUS on JUST one of those reasons… Information! Some people truly might NOT know HOW to be successful. They were NEVER taught, they never believed they could, they were never trained, motivated, mentored etc… I want to help as many people as I can and I know Susan as well as the rest of the AutoSuccess team want to do the same. So, please when you submit your entry for a chance to win this contest please remember what the end result in mind is… Synergistic Success.  Explain what your idea, strategy, secret, tip, best practice, website, resource, mobile app, objections / rebuttals, “What If” Answers,  etc… is AND WHY you think it is so important, why it makes YOU truly successful. Please try to provide any examples, any validation you can for this.

I am honesty looking forward to all of the entries. This is going to be fun and purposeful!

Good luck everyone. Please call or email me if you have ANY questions about this contest!

As a brand new Internet Coordinator, one of the most daunting elements of my job is knowing the cars and the “car lingo.”  I’ve never been very interested in cars in general, even though my father was not only a fantastic mechanic, he trained mechanics all over the SE United States for American Oil Company.  I do have a marketing background, and I love helping people, so those aspects of this position are a perfect fit, but I have to work extra hard to learn the facts about the cars our customers are interested in.

In order to help me gather that information and to have it at my fingertips, I am compiling a database of info about the cars we sell.  It’s in Excel, and I have a separate page for each type of vehicle.  That way when a customer wants to explore SUV options, (or Trucks, Vans, or Cars) I have all those choices in front of me.  I have columns for the current MSRP, the MPG, the pros (and some of the options), the cons, and comparable vehicles. 

I’m no expert, and I’m finding that, at times, I misunderstand the data and enter it incorrectly, so it’s by no means the end-all and be-all of databases.  In fact, if someone else has a great database that’s similar to mine, I’d love to exchange info with you!  I can use all the input I can get!

But I am finding that with this information in front of me, when I have a customer that is truly doing research, I can provide much better assistance.  I’m also learning the data much more quickly as I enter it into the database.  Just the concentration and input I get from going through the research and entry process is helping me become more knowledgeable!  It’s all good, and I can’t wait to feel more confident in providing facts for my customers and helping them make good decisions about the vehicles they end up purchasing.

Dealer Synergy Furthers Its Commitment to Assist the Blind Community

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Aroga Assistive Technology and Dealer Synergy increase their vision by finally joining hands.

Dealer Synergy is very pleased to formally announce that we have been approved as an Authorized Aroga Reseller for Assistive Technology in the world of Apple computers and iPods.

For over 23 years, Aroga has been helping their clients attain a measure of independence. "Adding synergy will only elevate our clients toward interdependence," says Steve Barclay, BP of sales and marketing with Aroga. "We are Canada's premier Assistive Technology retailer; however, we really want to get our products in the hands of people whose lives will be enhanced because of them ... no matter their geographic location."

Dealer Synergy is also excited about adding to our award winning automotive dealer training, the ability to offer our visually impaired clients training on the Voiceover screen reader for Mac computers as well as Voiceover for iPhone, iPod and iPad.

Dealer Synergy has been blessed by the leadership of VP of Training, L.A. Williams in the area of the seeing impaired. L.A. Williams himself is Blind. L.A.'s lack of sight has not hindered his attitude, his capabilities or his success. He is a valued executive with the company as well as an inspiration. To watch the way L.A. has evolved the Dealer Synergy curriculum, training and delivery is amazing. His influence is so profound, Dealer Synergy clients have been so inspired to specifically seek out Blind candidates for employment in their Dealerships.

L.A. Williams III, VP of Training with Dealer Synergy says, "Here at Dealer Synergy, we want to influence the success of all our clients. Since that includes visually impaired individuals, how better to show our commitment than to offer them the best training and technology in North America. Aligning ourselves with Aroga gives us that very opportunity."

If you have questions about Dealer Synergy and their services for the blind, please call L.A. Williams III at 1-866-314-2553 extension 32 or Email Support@DealerSynergy.com.

SOURCE Synergized Media

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Source: Most Googled Cars Of 2011

DECEMBER 20, 2011

Marketers have a chance to establish metrics that matter

Marketers know that counting fans, “likes” and followers is not the best way to measure success in social media marketing. Yet these metrics are often the top benchmarks for performance. It’s not surprising, then, that marketers consider calculating return on investment to be the biggest challenge of using social media, and that a majority of them believe they cannot measure social media campaigns effectively.

“Marketers often think of social media measurement as listening and monitoring. But that is only one part of a fragmented process, which has contributed to a lack of focus for both marketers and vendors,” said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer principal analyst and author of the new report, “Social Media Measurement: Getting to the Metrics that Matter.” “It has also created a culture of data overload, in which metrics that do not have much business value have more importance than those that contribute to the bottom line.”

Research from Chief Marketer found that two in five marketers have little confidence in the effectiveness of their ability to measure social media campaigns.

Social media measurement has evolved significantly in its short history, but the need to prove effectiveness is more important than ever. As top marketing executives plan how much to invest in social media and whether to shift funds from other marketing channels, they need metrics that show not only that their brands have a lot of friends but that those friends actually affect the bottom line.

MarketingSherpa found that measurement effectiveness correlated with experience with social media and how strategic marketers were in their social marketing implementations.

“Marketers must apply business-level analysis to social media measurement to determine its true impact,” said Williamson. “Going beyond brand metrics to understand social media’s effect on a company’s bottom line is critical. And it’s getting easier to consider the relative influence of social media on lead generation and sales.”

Marketers also need to understand how well social media performs relative to other types of marketing. Integrating social media analytics into other business analytics will help, as will developing ways to show how social media helps make other marketing more efficient.

The full report, “Social Media Measurement: Getting to the Metrics That Matter,” also answers these key questions:

• Why is it important for marketers to get social media measurement right?
• Why do marketers believe effective measurement is a challenge?
• What metrics do marketers pay attention to to determine social media marketing success?
• How can marketers focus on the metrics that matter to their business?

Let me introduce myself, I'm Karen, otherwise known as "Ma" here at Alan Vines Automotive.  I'm an ISC, have been for over a year---and I might possibly be the oldest ISC within Dealer Synergy's Network. I've worked in the telecommunication industry for about 30 years and I'm thoroughly enjoying my transition into the Automotive industry---lots of challenges and something new everyday!  

I have this question quite often from people outside of work, just what do you do at the dealership?  When I answer with, I'm an Internet Sales Coordinator, I receive a puzzled look from whomever's asking, and then they say, "you don't sell cars?"  Previously I was in a face to face sales position an enjoyed it very much, so the people that know me automatically think that I would be selling face to face.......however, when I start explaining just what I do, they understand that I really have the best of both worlds  I get to talk to people over the phone (sitting on my butt and talking all day---a match made in heaven!) I'm able to build a rapport with them in order to sell myself, and then go on to sell our dealership, when a customer comes in that I have worked with and wants to meet me, it's really nice to shake their hand and it makes me realize, I did my job! 

This is a job that I don't take for granted, one that takes constant training as well as an upbeat attitude. As I tell everyone, we have a great group of people in our department, each of us unique, but together we are strong and we will be the BEST internet department in the United States! 

If you haven't noticed, I do suffer from ADD, so keeping on one subject is not my forte!  I do look forward to whatever the future brings with our team & ALAN VINES AUTOMOTIVE!

Happy Calling!  

Well I have been working in the automotive  industry for just a short 18months but with all I have learned form Sean Bradley, has really created who I am as a Internet Coordinator. First Think Positive and Positive things will happen! All the Price rebuttels  and the script have helped me to keep control of the phone call, I do believe if you let the customer start controlling the conversation then it puts you in a spot that its hard to get out of. I have done this time and time again stay on the script and keep your personality cheerful and up beat and the ending result will end in a SET Appointment!!!!  I am still learning everyday and will never be perfect on the other end of the phone but I know if I use what I have learned with Sean I will continue to set the appointments in this Internet Department! I know this because after trying other ways  to set the appointment and failing, lead me right back to REALLY WHAT WORKS!!!! Thanks to the all the amazing scripts and rebuttles that I have learned I can set the appointment have more shows and make more  more more more MONEY. 

The training that Sean gives the Dealership is PRICELESS because he comes into a dealership of selling 30 vehicles a month to  turning those numbers into 100's. His way of sharing all his information and training is hard to explain it is so INTENSE I went thru the week of training and I left everyday with my head hurting from all the information he shares with you. I call it a BOOTCAMP he breaks you down to rebuild your mind with all the AWARD WINNING INFORMATION!! So If you havent really read anything else I have BLOGED then READ this!!  If Sean Bradley hasn't made a visit to your Dealership you really are missing out!! Dont miss out hook up with Dealersynergy and sell alot more vehicles I let me assure you his METHOD WORKS!!!

I have been an Internet Sales Coordinator at Alan Vines Automotive in Jackson Tennessee for a year and two months now and I have to say that I learn new things everyday!!  I thought that once you mastered your rebuttals and knew how to work the phone system that everything would come easy, but boy was I wrong.  We try to build relationships with every single one of our internet customers and phone ups that we receive everyday.  Some are a lot easier to talk to than others and by saying that what I mean is you always have that one customer who thinks they know everything about your product and you know nothing.  I had a guy the other day that really amazed me.  I wont say his name but I will say that he was not the nicest person to talk to, to rebuttal, to try and pace a conversation with or anything.  He was very stern about what he wanted and that was to know for sure that we had a specific Hyundai Tucson on our lot.  He was on our website when he called in and when I got on the phone with him and let him know that the vehicle was definitly "Available"  he went off!! I was terrified.  How was I supposed to overcome this customer with my rebuttals and win him over by setting an appointment with me to come in and let us show him what we have on our lot?  I took it slow with him and rebuttaled him with my Feel, Felt, Found rebuttal on Availability and assured him that if the exact Tucson he was looking for was not here when he came in to see us then we would sit down with him and his wife and get him the exact one he is looking for at no extra cost.  Still this was not enough for him...He wanted to know that he was not going to drive the 45 minute drive to only be disappointed when he got here.  Thats when I killed him with kindness and took over the conversation by telling him about what he would come to expect by shopping with us at Alan Vines; I told him everything we had on our value package and how with us having such a great Value package that nine times out of ten we were going to impress him the most at our dealership.  He finally calmed down and began to have a normal conversation with me and I then got to have a great pace conversation with him.  I did not get an appointment with him that day BUT the next day when I followed back up with him he gladly set a day and time to come in to see us at Alan Vines.  This just goes to show that with the right training and knowing how to continue to have control over a call you can overcome any  type of customer.  I did and I am very proud of myself for not just giving up and allowing him to go somewhere else to buy a new Hyundai. 

The Automotive Industry is like having it's on fellowship center that caters to people wants and needs. The people who don't know what they want call the internet department to help them to go in the right direction. The Internet Department is like the hopsitality committee at church the first impression of every dealership. If the internet department is strong in the hospitality and their customer service it will drive customer near and far to come and see what they experience. The first impression is always a lasting impression that we have on a customers especially dealing with the internet department

As long as i have been in the buisness i have never used rebuttals and scripts on my customers. But after working with Sean Bradley and Dealer Synergy i wonder what i was doing before. The rebuttal i believe that i use the most would have to be about price and with most of my customers the distance. I work with several people everyday that are from out of town so our VPP may not work with them so the distance rebuttals really help me deal with them. I have to say this year has been one of the best years for me in the automotive industry and i believe that i owe that to Sean Bradley and Dealer Synergy and also to the best Internet Director.