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Prospecting Advice From A 30-Car Guy

Last year I wrote an article that I received literally HUNDREDS & HUNDREDS of emails, calls, social media messages from OEM reps, Dealer Principals, GMs, Sales Consultants, Automotive Professionals from all over the country.  The article was so popular that I created a webinar that over 500 dealers signed up for. I then uploaded that webinar to www.automotiveinternetsales.com  (Via YouTube) and that has almost 6,000 views. Because of the huge success of the article and the webinar I decided to create a curriculum for Associations such as the Detroit Auto Dealers Association (DADA) And the Greater New York Auto Dealers Association (GNYADA).  Here is part two of that article. I am going to go deeper on ideas of prospecting in 2013, 2014 and beyond.  

Remember the saying “Car Sales is like owning your own business”…? Then act like it! It is NOT 1983, its 2013. Don’t prospect like you did 30 years ago, like you did 20 years ago or even like you did 10 years ago! You need to get with the times and prospect with resources and strategies of this Millennium! 

First and foremost, 92-99 percent of Americans go online BEFORE they ever step foot into a dealership! So, if you were going to go fishing, would you go to the beach and cast your fishing line in the sand? No, of course not! Then why would you do it at the dealership? You need to fish, where the fish are. So, lets start there.

Here are the MOST powerful online (Not the ONLY, just the most powerful) places to prospect for an Automotive Sales Professional:

• Google
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Online Classifieds
• Blog Sites

It is important to create a strategy for each of these areas and stick with it. It is counter productive to start initiatives in multiple areas without a strategy, without consistency.  In other words, either do it or don’t do it.

Lets start with the big (fishing) pond… GOOGLE!

If you know that almost every single person goes online BEFORE they step foot into the dealership, then you need to show up NUMEROUS times on the first page of Google. Think of your dealership, your OEM. They must have a Google strategy. So, if they have one and you believe “Car Sales Is Like Owning Your Own Business”. Then you too need to dominate Google.

Are you even showing up on Google? I am NOT talking about if someone types in your name into Google, do you show up. I am talking about if someone is searching for:

• New Car Sales
• Used Car Sales
• Trade-In information
• Aftermarket Sales
• Bad Credit / No Credit Car Loans
• Service Repairs, Oil Changes etc…
• Car Buying Tips
• Car Maintenance Tips
• Car Reviews
• Tips, Advice, Secrets
• “How To Buy A Car”
• The specific franchises you sell…

I can go on all day long but think about it PLEASE! Most people go online to research, find & surf, compared to people who go online to BUY. So, you should be coming up in Google (And other search engines) for the “Point Of Interest” shopper and for the “Point Of Purchase Buyer”.

Here are ways / strategies that you NEED to be enveloped in to dominate Google:

• A Professional Website –Yes, that is right I suggest that ALL Sales “Professionals” have their OWN “Professional” website.
• Search Engine Optimization – That website needs to have BOTH “onsite” and “offsite” SEO strategies. Just because you have build or purchased a professional website does NOT mean that site is optimized. Also,  websites need continuous optimization.
• Video Search Engine Optimization (VSEO) -  VIDEO, VIDEO and MORE VIDEO! Sales Consultants can dominate Google with Video SEO. It is EASY and FREE!!
• Online Reputation – Sales Consultants MUST have a POWERFUL online reputation strategy.  Reviews INDEX on Google! The more reviews that you have online, the more times you and your name can show up on the first page of Google. There are also numerous online reputation sites that you can focus on:
•  
  • Google Reviews
  • Yelp Reviews
  • Dealer Rater Reviews
  • Yellow Page Reviews
  • Edmunds.com Reviews
  • You can create your own review site or review blog
  • Pictures – Believe it or not but images index very well on Google. They can be straight images or within an image sharing site or engine like:
    • Flickr.com
    • Pinterest.com
    • Photobucket.com

** Here is an AWESOME strategy:

• Create an LLC (Legalzoom.com is CHEAP). The LLC can be something like “Philadelphia Car Sales” or “Cherry Hill Used Car Sales”
• Make sure the “company” name is “Geo” (geographically targeted”)
• Now that you have an OFFICIAL “LLC” or Corporation… you can create a BUSINESS page on Google!!
• I would also create BUSINESS Social Media Accounts (rather than personal ones).

If you believe that car sales is “like having your own business”. Then you need to act like it! You need to seriously make it your own business. I do suggest that you ask your Dealer’s permission and or advice on anything you see in this article, before you just run and do it. These strategies are powerful and serious. 

What does over 50% of the US population and 70% of Canada do every day? To find out, watch this week's Think Tank Tuesday!

Make sure you keep an eye out for a special offer on how you can learn more about increasing leads and sales. See Paul speak at DD15 October 15-17.

Stop Stressing Credits, Focus On Selling Cars

I am seeing a disturbing trend happening in our industry. A lot of dealers are focusing way too much on getting credits from 3^rd party providers instead of focusing that energy on selling cars. Now, before you react. Please read the rest of this article.

Remember that I was an Internet Director (5+ years) before I started my company. Now for almost 10 years now I have been building Internet Sales departments and Business Development Centers. I say this just to show that I am not “pro vendor or anti-dealer”. I am a Car-Guy and all I care about is selling cars. And it seems that there is a trend with Dealers that are so focused on getting credits with leads. Some dealers spend so much time trying to track down credits it diminishes the amount of time following up with actual prospects. I am NOT suggesting that you should not be compensated for leads that are invalid or duplicates. I am just expressing my concern with Dealers that spend so much time focusing on trying to get credit for leads. Actually grinding their reps for more credit(s). I have clients that do it sometimes for sport. I said clients, so I know it’s a fact. Some dealers demand credits because they know that most lead source providers will concede rather than argue with a dealer or possibly lose a client over something as silly as a credit. There are dealers that sometimes not choose a particular lead source provider because of their “Lead Credit Policy”, or worse even cancel a 3^rd party lead source provider or aggregator because they didn’t get a credit or the amount of credit back they thought they were owed. 

This blows my mind because the average cost per lead in the United States is only $20 (give or take a couple of dollars).  The upside is off the charts. If a dealer buys 100 leads at $2,000 and sells 10 percent (10 units) with an average Front and Back, total gross of $2,000 per copy. That is $20,000 Gross. The Return On Investment (ROI) is SICK!! We are talking about a Net profit of $18,000 from 1 lead source provider. Especially when you compare it to traditional advertising. NADA says that the average cost per sale in advertising is $640+ per car. In the model I just mentioned, 10 units sold out of 100 leads at $2,000 per copy means that the 3^rd party lead source provider model is ONLY $200 per car sold. That is less than 1/3 of what the AVERAGE dealership in this country sells cars for.

Here is the problem; most dealers forget that leads are NOT magical beans or silver bullets. They forget that they have to work at these leads. And when I say “work”, I mean WORK and work them hard. Dealers need to have the following:

• A Follow Up Process – Dealers need to have a realistic follow up process for email, phone and social media (Yes, I said social media. Social Media is the #1 form of communication on this planet).  They need to not just say “we need to follow up via email, phone and social media”. There needs to be an EXACT formula mapped out. The formula needs to be realistic and logical and take into account that the average buying cycle is 45-90 days. NOT 37 days. Also, the follow up process needs to be tailored to the fact that the average Internet sales prospect is also engaging 5-8 other dealers or websites… 

• Content – Dealers need to have a powerful library of content. Email Templates, Phone Scripts, Word Tracks, Objections / Rebuttals, Value Package Proposition (Why buy from us message).

• People / HR – Dealers need to have the right amount of people in the department or the right amount of people in the dealership that are working the Internet Leads. A lot of dealers have too many leads and not enough people or the opposite… too many people and not enough leads. Both are bad problems (That can be fixed). But its not just not having the right amount of people. Dealers need to have the RIGHT people in the right positions. The right scheduling and pay plans are also imperative for success within an Internet Sales Department or BDC.

• Training – Dealers need to train their people with what to do, when to do it, how to do it and most importantly why they are doing it.

• TO protocol- There needs to be a 100% “TO” process in place with ALL Internet prospects. Just like most dealers and all successful dealerships believe in a 100% TO protocol for showroom prospects. So should the Internet department. Too many times dealerships “burn” through Internet Ups without any accountability.

• Culture – Dealerships that instill a culture that ALL leads are good leads. ALL 3^rd Party leads are AWESOME will be tremendously successful. It’s the dealers that allow Internet or BDC reps to “pre-qualify” leads or allow reps to say that a certain lead “sucks”… those dealerships will be inundated with “bad leads” that suck.  Dealers that teach their Internet / BDC teams that a lead is ONLY a “lead” it is an opportunity to sell an automobile. NOTHING MORE. It is a name, sometimes a phone number, sometimes an email address. BUT if you receive a lead without an email address or phone number instead of worrying about a credit (at first). FOCUS on trying to ascertain that contact information. For example dealers can:

•  Open up the original lead within the ILM /CRM and see if the lead didn’t parse
• Reverse look up via 411
• Reverse look up via www.anywho.com or www.whitepages.com
• Thorough reverse look up with www.spokeo.com
• Reverse look up via social media (cut and past prospect’s email address into Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin etc…

Bottom line is that 3^rd party providers have tremendous value. To realize that true value, dealers need to be prepared for these leads and have a proactive mindset that leads are gateways to opportunities to sell an automobile. Its not a guarantee, only an opportunity to do business. It is up to us how we maximize that opportunity.

If you have any questions about this article or if you would like me to review your Dealership’s Internet or BDC lead follow up process. Please email me at sean@dealersynergy.com or call me on my cell at 267-319-6776.

I look forward to seeing you at the upcoming www.internetsales20group.com that AutoUSA is a Platinum Sponsor in Los Angeles, November 12-14 

A great article I read this morning.  I suggest you all check it out.

Five Years Later: Lessons from the Financial Crisis

http://www.makemoneymondays.net

Make Money Mondays With Sean V. Bradley - Automotive Sales - Showroom New Hire Tips & Advice

You don’t want to miss this as Dennis Galbraith shares the hard facts about our industry on September 20, at 1:37 PM. Subscribe to the Hard Facts here!

http://www.internetsales20group.com 

Gaining the Competitive Edge As A Member Of A 20 Group

Before I go into the “why”, let’s discuss the “what”. Specifically, what is a 20 group? A “20 Group” is a group of dealers in noncompeting markets that get together in exotic locations nationally and internationally, on a quarterly basis, to “synergize”. Although once required that a group consist of approximately 20 dealers (hence the name “20 Group”), this does not always hold true today. Some “20 groups” consist of 30 dealers while others may only consist of 15. Ultimately, the number of dealers in the group is not as relevant as the criteria by which the group itself is structured.

Today 20 Groups are structured a little differently, but it’s important to understand their origin in order to appreciate their evolution. Originally, the 20 group audience was composed of Dealer Principals, General Managers and/or senior executives of the dealership. It also originally focused on franchise dealerships. For example, in a “Toyota” 20 Group, you would find 20 different Toyota dealerships from 20 different markets, usually from all over the country. But even though the franchise was exactly the same, diversity still existed within the “Toyota” 20 group itself. For example, you could have dealerships that were small, large, part of a dealer group, part of a corporation, in a rural area, in the city, single point or part of a multi franchise point; all with different strengths, weaknesses, passions and fears. These dealers were intentionally diverse. This was imperative to the success of the 20 group to ensure impartial feedback.

Some of the most common areas of comparison, coverage and discussion in a traditional 20 group were:

• Financial Composite
  • Expenses
  • Gross
  • Net
  • ROI
  • S.W.O.T.

• Break Down of Different Departments
  • New Car Sales
  • Used Car Sales
  • Advertising / Marketing
  • Vendors / Suppliers
  • CSI / Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Legal
  • OEM Situations
  • Accounting / Floor Plan

• And More…

How was the data collected? Each dealer within the 20 Group would be responsible for filling out their “input sheets”, which would become part of the overall 20 group composite. The input sheets worked as the core for analyzing all of the details, metrics and financials mentioned above. The sheer act of an individual dealership filling out an input sheet and tracking the proper metrics was worth the price of membership. Always remember, what isn’t being tracked, can’t be measured and what can’t be measured, cannot be improved upon. Surprisingly, a lot of dealerships today still simply “wing it”. The 20 group input sheets forces the dealers to hold themselves accountable because they have no choice but to fill them out. Lack of doing so could lead to the dealer being fined or worse yet, kicked out of the 20 group completely. After all, in order for the composite to hold its validity, the numbers must be true. Garbage in equates to garbage out.  Now with those completed input sheets, the 20 group, led by the 20 Group “Moderator”, was able to take the dealers individual metrics and consolidate all 20 dealerships’ input sheets into the group’s composite. Upon consolidation of the metrics, the moderator and each dealer within the 20 group, is able to see the entire 20 Group in one view and see which dealers are excelling and which individual category they are excelling in. On the opposite spectrum, the group could see which dealers are struggling, where and why.  From this data, the group could create “standards” or “benchmarks”. The group could see who is above, below or on track for 20 Group standards. But, this is only the beginning. Now that all of this “field intelligence” has been exposed, the real “SYNERGY” begins! Within each individual 20 Group session, dealers spend time discussing what is successful, what vendors are good and what strategies are successful. Also, what vendors are bad and what to do when bad things happen. In essence, the composite acts as a conversational starter. The true value is being part of a specific group of like minded people, at your level (or better) and the group works together for one sole goal…to evolve the entire group synergistically.

The core principals described above still remain constant and relevant for today’s 20 groups. People need cars today like they needed cars back then. That hasn’t changed. But what has changed, is the medium by which people are buying cars. With 97% of consumers going online prior to stepping foot into a dealership, the Internet Sales Department was created. As mentioned, 20 Groups originally were for franchised dealers and broken down by franchise. Soon after, Independent Dealership 20 Groups started popping up, followed by:

• Used Car 20 Groups
• Special Finance 20 Groups
• GM 20 Groups
• CFO 20 Groups
• Internet Sales 20 Groups

20 Groups are essential for success in today’s market. Shakespeare said “Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are”.  If you are a Dealer Principal, GM, Internet Sales or BDC Director or any other senior executive within a dealership or dealer group, I suggest that you find a 20 Group that fits your dealership’s focus and needs.

Remember to find the RIGHT 20 Group for your unique needs and situation. You do not want to join a CFO 20 Group if you are looking for BDC information and clarity. Just like you wouldn’t hire a Service Writer Trainer to train your Internet Sales Department, you do not want to join a “traditional” 20 Group if you need information, strategy and clarity for Internet Sales. I also suggest that you are careful with 20 Groups that claim to do “everything”. Dr Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, says “Put First Things First”. Meaning, you want to identify which area of the dealership you want to perfect first and concentrate solely on that department. Once you solidify the success of that specific department, you can move on to the next focus. For example, if you want to compare and synergize with other Porsche Dealerships, then join a Porsche 20 Group. But if you are looking for clarity on your Internet Sales Department, BDC or Digital Marketing initiative, then find a 20 group that specializes in that area. 

It's that time again! AutoUSA is collecting responses to its annual Fall Internet Marketing survey. Sales Managers, Sales Directors, Internet Sales Managers, BDC Managers, Internet Directors, General Managers, dealer principals and others involved in auto dealership Internet Marketing are invited to participate.

The survey is just 15 questions and will take less than 15 minutes to complete. When all responses are collected, we will randomly select one survey participant to receive a $300 Visa gift card. But you can't win if you don't answer the questions! Please click on the link below to get started, and in less time than it takes to finish your cup of coffee, you will be entered into the prize drawing. In order to be eligible for the prize, you must work at a dealership and be a resident of the U.S. or Canada.

Thank you so much for your time and participation!

Click here to get started:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AutoUSAFall2013AIS

Dealerships need good reviews to sell cars, or do they? Are you confused about the discussions surrounding the importance of reviews? When you read reviews are you reading about the product or about where you are buying the product? Be Honest (I won't tell).

This week on Think Tank Tuesday, learn the truth behind all the effort you've given to working on your dealership's reviews.

Watch the video below and find out the truth behind dealership reviews.

Get a FREE Copy of this book 9/10/2013 & 9/11/2013

Get your copy here http://j.mp/stupidfreebook

As a 20 year car guy I've been given a LOT of bad advice over the years and I've made a TON of mistakes and I figure the best thing I can do is help others avoid some of those pitfalls. Plus, I love reading but the book has to be an easy read, a fast read, because I have work to do and so do you. 

I'm giving away my book FREE today and tomorrow and all I ask is that you give it an HONEST review. If you enjoy it, head back to the link and tell everyone what you liked. If you think it sucks, tell everyone it sucks! Honesty is the best policy :)

If you’re looking for a grammatically well-written book by someone with an MBA that will put you to sleep; this is the wrong book for you. However, if you’re looking for a book written by someone who has spent 20 years in the trenches of sales, succeeding AND failing over and over so that you can learn from their efforts and improve your career….READ THIS BOOK!

The late, great, Zig Ziglar once said: “You can get anything you want in life if you are just willing to help enough other people get what they want.”

Those words have been a constant inspiration in my sales career so I want to help you get what you want. That said, I believe that everyone who gets into sales really wants to be successful but most of them, like me, start out with little or no direction, knowledge or training on how to reach that goal of success.

This means that we start out “stupid” in our sales career. When we don’t know what we’re doing, we look for advice from our peers but unfortunately they have little more training than we do, they’ve just got the experience of ‘time served’ so technically, they’re “stupid” too.

I’m not saying it to be mean because it’s not totally their fault, their manager was probably “stupid” too and his manager probably was too. 

In sales, too many of us have learned from those who did their best but really didn’t have the knowledge, talent, or ability¬ to give us what we needed to be successful so the stupid cycle just keeps going.

This book will show you how to completely F*$K up your sales career. Hopefully this book will put a few smiles on your face while sharing real life examples of epic sales failures as well as solid practices for how to ‘Stop the Stupid’.

GET YOUR FREE COPY OF THE BOOK HERE Http://j.mp/stupidfreebook

Thanks in advance for reading and sharing - feel free to give this link to EVERYONE you know that wants a fun read!

Helping the best get better,

Mat Koenig
CEO & Founder

KonigCo & iCarMedia
www.konig.co | www.icarmedia.com

Did you watch some of the Olympics or hear news reports from the games? The Olympics are always fascinating for two reasons: The performances are amazing, and the back stories for each and every Olympian are just as amazing, if not more so. My question for you is, are you an Olympian?

One definition of an Olympian, of course, is someone who competes in the games. Other parts of the definition can be:

• Majestic in manner

• Superior to mundane affairs

• Surpassing all others in scope and effect

If you are great at what you do, you are truly majestic. If you are great at what you do, you are definitely superior to mundane affairs, and you will surpass all others in scope and effect. If you are producing great results, you are an Olympian; if not, it is simply a choice to be so if you choose.

Often, through fear-based and limited thinking, people make excuses for their lack of performance by saying why they are not getting results or cannot get results. You will also hear people make excuses as to why others are having those results when they are not. The key word is excuses.

Whenever you hear an Olympian interviewed, you often hear the same components. First, they set a goal. Next, they began a course of intense action that involved extraordinary planning, practice, coaching, mental preparation, persistence, perseverance and adjustment to set-backs. You often hear of breakthroughs that come through tragic conditions.

You can be an Olympian at anything you choose if you are willing to set a strong goal and create Olympian habits. Listen to the stories that are told about the athletes. They all get up early every day and follow a habitual course of intense training. The athletes are continually seeking advanced coaching, where massive gains can sometimes come from slight adjustments. The athletes are always seeking even one slight change that can make a difference. Every single athlete can describe conditions of self-doubt, or times where their will seems to be lacking, but they persevere and can see what has come from their persistence.

When you watch a swimming event and examine the time difference between the first and third-place finisher, it can be shocking how close they are. If you watch a volleyball match, you can see a long, grueling match often come down to one play. Watch a judo competition and you may see the winner get their result from one perfectly executed maneuver. In all of these examples, the difference between winning and losing can be slight. In business, if you were to put forth the effort demonstrated by the Olympic athletes, you will always win in the long run. You cannot be denied — it is as absolute as turning on a light. Would you do what it takes habitually if you knew you could not fail? So, go do it. Be an Olympian.

If you would like my free Special Report “Ten Things You Can Do to Become an Olympian,” e-mail me at the link below with the “Olympian” in the subject line.

http://www.automotivedigitaltraining.com www.internetsales20group.com

Make Money Mondays With Sean V. Bradley - "Follow Your Process WITHOUT Exception WITHOUT Fail"

http://www.internetsales20group.com

Danny Benites, GM Of Greg Lair Buick GMC Will Be a Panelist At Internet Sales 20 Group Los Angeles

For some time now I have dabbled with texting customers who requested information online and although the response has always been great I have had my concerns about having my cell phone number and the numbers of my staff being so available and some what unprotected. I avidly follow the work of awesome car folks like Elise Kephart, Robert Weisman and BDC trainer Sean Bradley and I agree with the value of texting in addition to phone calls and emails because it does allow our customer to choose the method of contact that THEY feel comfortable with and I know many folks don’t mind freely giving out their cell numbers but all that still couldn’t overcome my privacy concerns. Two weeks ago my fears were realized when a customer who had engaged in a lengthy text conversation with one of my BDC staff actually asked her what she looked like and what she was wearing as she was texting him! I went ballistic and all texting came to a grinding halt! I know many CRM platforms have a texting feature within them as does the one we use however the additional cost has not been something our GM has allowed me to incur so for a short time it looked like the great results we were seeing from texts were going to vanish. As a long time Google+ user I had seen a few references to Google Voice over the past couple of years and it occurred to me to look deeper into it as a solution to the texting concerns. I was amazed at how quickly I was able to set it up and kind of mentally kicked myself for not looking into it sooner. In no time at all I had set up numbers for the whole staff and we are back in action! Phone call, email and follow up with a text; the results are simply incredible and more importantly my staff can rest easy knowing that if another creeper decides to act stupid at least he, or she, wont have anyone’s actual number and when we put an end to the conversation it will be an end!
I may be late coming to the party with this but I wanted to share it with everyone because I know I am not the only one who values the privacy of his staff even in the efforts of trying to make every deal possible! If you aren’t texting already you should be, and I highly recommend using a Google Voice number to do it! Have an awesome day, Sell Something! 

“In the mind of the beginner there are many possibilities, and in the mind of the expert there are few.”-Suzuki Roshi

What would you do in your sales career if you did not have limitations? Everyone has self-imposed limitations. These limitations can stem from several strong forces – environment, childhood experiences, workplace profiling, etc. Never allow anyone to pigeonhole you into who you supposedly are or who you are not.

People in your work environment continually judge you as to what your strengths and weaknesses are, and what you can or cannot do. You must realize that all of these evaluations are subjective. Opinions of you are simply that, opinions. What someone thinks of you does not necessarily have to have anything to do with who you are. The opinion that matters most is your own.

You create your own reality. Who you believe you are is who you will become. You are who you decide to be at any given moment. You really don’t need anything that you might be telling yourself you need. I call this the “When – Then” syndrome. Example – When I get this, then I will do this.” Imagine your limitations are written on a dry erase board. Simply erase them and then take action.

You must continually feed your subconscious mind with the images and messages of who you want to be. Your subconscious does not reject any images or messages. Therefore, what you impress, you express. The dominant messages and images win out, good or bad. Write down what you desire. Write it again and again until you can see it in your mind’s eye. Picture your desires in present tense, as if they have already occurred. Don’t let anyone detract from your mission.

http://www.internetsales20group.com

In a continuing effort to bring on the best new talent, Potratz has hired on dealer research and business intelligence expert Dennis Galbraith, founder of Dennis Galbraith Enterprises, Revenueguru.com, former vice president of Cars.com and former executive director of Automotive Internet Practice at J.D. Power and Associates. In his prior position at Drivingsales.com, he served as a leading resource for dealers and auto groups offering research-driven blogs and information. As new chief marketing officer for Potratz, Dennis carries more than 21 years of experience in operations, marketing, and market research along with him.

During his tenure at J.D. Power and Associates, Dennis ran the automotive Internet division of J.D. Power and Associates from 2003 to 2006. At Cars.com, he was responsible for over $300,000,000 in advertising products. His proven track record of successful business start-ups and leadership roles has made him one of the go-to dealer research and marketing experts in the automotive industry.

To add to his accolades, Dennis is an accomplished writer and the author of two successful books entitled Sales Integration and Online Vehicle Merchandising. He is also an award-winning speaker who has been featured as a keynote speaker in many of the largest dealer events nationwide including, Driving Sales Executive Summit, J.D. Power Internet Roundtable, Digital Strategies Marketing Conference and has been featured at dozens of other dealer events.

Dennis’ ability to share his wisdom is what separates him from others in the industry; he has a knack for delivering insightful and invaluable lessons. Having facilitated marketing trainings at Revenueguru.com and taught marketing courses at both the graduate and undergraduate level, he is no stranger to teaching and is sure to be an influential addition to the Potratz team.

Potratz employees have taken kindly to his friendly demeanor and founders Paul and Christy Potratz embraced Dennis as a valuable asset to the team and “a person who will help edge Potratz ahead of the competition in the automotive digital marketing industry.”

All businesses are built on two areas of competency – people skills and marketing skills. Many sales people who are more than adequate in their sales and people skills are struggling today. The reason is most sales people lack enough opportunities with customers. Lead generation = dollar creation

As a sales person you are in business for yourself. Having a mentality of being the CEO of your company is crucial to developing your business. The dealership signs your check, and you fill in the numbers.

You have a better opportunity than ever to be successful. The key to your long-term success as a sales person is the creation of a dynamite marketing strategy that dealers overlook and most sales people are too lazy to do.

Your first step is to create a marketing web. Take a sheet of paper and list every way that you receive customers. The first two ways you probably listed were from walk-ins and phone prospects. These are produced by the dealership and are therefore the ones over which you have no control. Begin to control your destiny and think of ways to produce customers from other resources.

What other sources of leads did you list? Here are some suggestions: referrals, service drive, service tickets, be-backs, affiliations, repeats, targeted phone calling, database marketing, targeted list mailings, orphan owners, lost customer marketing, coupon swaps, joint-venture advertising, community board flyer, door-to-door flyers, Web site and many more.

For each source at least one strategy of creating leads should be chosen. If you execute one strategy a day on 10 ways to create leads, your leads will grow exponentially over time. Your business will hit a period of critical mass and explode.

At that point, a sales person has the best job in the dealership. Your pay, hours, stress and job security will be better than the managers’. Your risk will be zero, your investment minimal and most everything is supplied for you.

Why don’t more sales people take this road of action to success? Usually, it’s a lack of buy-in. If you haven’t begun to create a business of your own, it’s because your belief system doesn’t buy into the idea of a self-created destiny in sales. Either you have “Manageritis”, don’t believe you will be selling vehicles for a career, don’t believe you will be at your current dealership in the future, don’t believe it can be done or you’re lazy. The truth sucks sometimes.

Success and failure are all about belief systems and habits. You have to believe and live it everyday for it to work. Speaker and business philosopher Jim Rohn once was asked if you had to take successful actions everyday to be successful and he replied, “Only on the days you want to be successful.” Actually, if you only take successful actions every once in a while, you can’t even be successful on those once-in-a-while days. It takes sustained effort.

If you begin to execute a strategy of marketing and don’t have immediate success, you can’t quit. It’s easier to say something doesn’t work than it is to use the lack of success as a path to figuring out successful actions. Marketing in itself is a series of miscalculations to figure out what works. The greatest marketers of all time have failed more than they have been right. To great marketers, all failures are just tests on the road to figuring out the right formula.

As a small marketer in the Internet age, you can appear to be bigger and more successful than you really are. You can create a successful brand. You can be more agile and target more than larger businesses such as dealerships can do with traditional advertising. The over-hyped, over-competitive marketplace is perfect for the dedicated and creative sales person of today.