Below is an article written for an NADA publication regarding internet sales best practices written by Phil Sura at Unity Works Media.
Let me know what you think.
Redesigning and Refocusing Your Approach to the Market
If you take the teaching points from the sales masters of yesterday and apply them to the new world of technology, you will be successful.
During the 80’s and 90’s, I supported, consulted and worked with a number of dealerships across a five state region. That was a period of time when the best operations would attract and keep solid sales producers for 20 years. I would love to visit with those veterans since they possessed keen insight concerning the auto industry. They were committed to their profession, their customer base and the manufacturer that they represented. These were the guys who would sell 25-40 units each month without taking a “fresh customer” unless forced by the sales manager on a busy Saturday. They lived on repeat and referral business. They would pass out business cards to everyone that they met and they would dare to venture out of the dealership to introduce the latest models in the field. Many became like family to a number of their customers because these veterans kept written notes (or at least mental notes) on the following:
- Number of kids and their ages (high school kids needed that first car)
- Type of business that they worked at
- The neighborhood that they lived
- The places that they went on vacation and if the car was used
- How the car/truck was going to be used (primary use) and the key concerns (safety, economy)
- Club and organizations
If you have a family member or an adopted member in the business, you are committed to that person. You would not think of going anywhere else to purchase your next car. We have lost some of that enthusiasm and focus over the years. Employee turn over has become a major issue for many operations for a number of reasons, primarily shrinking margins. Loyalty is very rare and many sales people simply bounce from store to store or in and out of the industry. A number of the veterans mentioned above have retired or moved away from the auto industry entirely.
There are exceptions. An example is Michael Cronin, Internet manager for Diamond Auto Group in Worchester, MA. Michael loves his job and his profession and he can’t contain his enthusiasm for this industry. He is passionate about studying concepts from the pros of the past and applying those concepts to the customer of today. He still loves to prospect for new customers everywhere he goes including restaurants. Michael loves to call and engage with customers in the data base to prospect and share key points with other sales people. A final point about Michael is that he has learned to take the great sales concepts from the past and apply them to the new paradigm that exists with the influence of the Internet.
Many of internet directors that I visit with today are selling at least at the same level in their departments while the front end of the sales team is suffering. Andrew Oxendine is a one man show with direct Internet sales but he is still selling 18-20 units for Mercedes Benz of Alexandria. Andy Warner from Beechmont Ford in Cincinnati Ohio just celebrated the birth of his first son and he is selling 90 + units monthly out of his Internet team, a record.
Volker Jaeckel is the e Commerce Director for Son’s Auto Group in Atlanta. VJ has been getting great results with blogs (2,800 visitors over a recent eight week period) which showcase information about the BMW’s. VJ cut the traditional advertising out and is focus on leveraging technology and “old fashion German sales sizzle” to drive sales in his department. VJ actually got his start in the internet sales in Michigan when no one else wanted to deal with it at his dealership. Today, VJ is setting record Internet sales for Son’s Auto Group. VJ, Andy and Andrew love the internet and they are passionate about the car industry. They saw the opportunity associated with connecting to customers differently. The pros of the past would drive to a construction area to showoff the latest F150 during a lunch break. The Internet director of today is using a blog or a video of the new F150 and they are going to the customer online. The advantage is that the effective Internet managers (new pro) can connect to a larger number of people much faster than the old pro. The old pro could only physically drive to one or two job sites each day to connect with their customers.
This has been the most volatile time for auto dealers since the 1920’s. Projections are that we will lose 2,000-3,000 dealers through consolidation or simply shutting down points. Most of the dealers that I visit with are going through the process of cutting staff. One group which has not had a layoff and is acquiring dealerships is Mile One. David Metter is recognized as one of the most progressive leaders in the retail automotive circles when it comes to adapting to online strategies. David’s team started to make this transition two years ago. He admits that he didn’t foresee the major market decline but he saw an opportunity to leverage the internet with an aggressive SEO strategy, progressive websites, and video to cut advertising expense and sell cars the way that people wanted to buy them. Here is a key point, 13% of the sales people within the Mile One team are responsible for selling 43% of the units. The 13% represents the Internet departments. The turn over rate for the Internet team is 4%!!!! Sales people who stay at the same dealership develop the critical relationships with the customers over time. You can’t have the superstar sales people of the past if your turnover rate is 100%-200% each year (which is the norm in the aggressive markets).
Other dealer groups have started to move aggressively to redesign how they operate. One large group is the Midwest requires their entire sales team to be able to handle any type of lead, including Internet leads. To work at this operation, you must be able to talk to traditional walk in customers, take phone ups and address and stay on top of Internet leads. This specific team has some very successful operations.
What about you?
- How are you redesigning your operation to fit today’s market?
- How are you refocusing your team to adapt to today’s buyer?
- How are you leveraging the online space to cut expenses?
- How are you studying the trends in other industries to see what has worked?
- How are you making certain that the sales people (including the Internet teams) are being trained on the word tracks that still work today?
- Are you still passionate about the auto industry or have you lost that passion because of the pressures of the economy? It shows either way.
- If you started a new dealership today, what would you expect and how would you operate it? Why not apply those standards today?
You have a tremendous opportunity today to change. If you take the teaching points from the sales masters of yesterday and apply them to the new world of technology, you will be successful. Even if the brand that you represent goes out of business, there will certainly be other OEM’s coming into our country looking for dealers to represent them. Stay positive, passionate and focused and you will never lack opportunity. This economic turn down is a season that will pass. It may be another month or an entire year but it will pass. Redesign and refocus your team today.
