Henry Day Ford
Conquest with Vauto
We are considering signing up for Vauto's new conquest tool for new vehicles. We have loved using Vauto to manage our used inventory so we thought we would look into their new tool. The more I look into it, the more I'm unsure how beneficial it will be. It has a lot of nice features but I was hoping to have it be more of an accurate pricing tool like it is for used.
I was curious if anyone out there is currently using Conquest? I know it is a fairly new tool, but I was hoping someone could offer some initial feedback to help me make a more informed decision. Tell me how you like it and what flaws, if any, the system seems to have...
Henry Day Ford
Conquest with Vauto
We are considering signing up for Vauto's new conquest tool for new vehicles. We have loved using Vauto to manage our used inventory so we thought we would look into their new tool. The more I look into it, the more I'm unsure how beneficial it will be. It has a lot of nice features but I was hoping to have it be more of an accurate pricing tool like it is for used.
I was curious if anyone out there is currently using Conquest? I know it is a fairly new tool, but I was hoping someone could offer some initial feedback to help me make a more informed decision. Tell me how you like it and what flaws, if any, the system seems to have...
1 Comment
Cogswell Motors
Bryant, we are looking into Conquest also, I really wish we could get some feedback from other dealers that are using it.
Henry Day Ford
Pay plans for sales consultants
I run a bottom-line price storeand we have been contemplating updating our pay plan lately. We pay on a volume basis rather than a percentage of the gross. It's been awhile since we have looked at the pay plan and I want to make sure it is still competitive.
I was wondering if there are any one-price stores out there that would be willing to share their pay plan with me? Or, better yet, if there are some negotiating stores that wouldn't mind sharing with me what the average commission per car paid to a sales consultant would be? Meaning, you take their total commissions earned from the % of the gross and divide it by the number of cars sold (minis and everything included). That would allow me to compare to my pay plan since it is on a per unit basis.
Any feedback would be much appreciated!
6 Comments
Shockley Honda of Frederick Maryland
Talk to ANY Manager at a CarMax - we are NOT a one-price store but ARE reviewing their pay plans as a possible future solution to a question we know is coming!
Contractor
Don't worry! If you belong to a 20 Group you are under-paying them already! Your profits are safe as long as you want to be competitive (which is code for the same) as the competition.All of us, I am at the front of the line, have fallen prey to the pointy headed accountants involved in 20 Groups. They have nothing to really offer so they came up with a percentage of gross (17% domestic and up to 23% in some imports).The funny thing is none of us is satisfied, in fact I would say most of us whine, about the quality of today's salespeople. If you pay them like dirt you will get that in return! I have a lot of experience with one price pay plans.....$250 Weekly Salary (no, you can't charge it back to them)$200 Per Delivery$500 Bonus at 12 Deliveries$750 Bonus at 16 DeliveriesThis delivers $60,000 annually to a 16 car per month salesperson and that is what the job is worth....no more and no less.
Sunrise Chevrolet
We just revamped our pay plans to give our sales team more consistant pay. We are paying everyone a $21000 a year salary which they get paid $800 every two weeks. We then pay them a bonus payout every month (similar to a manager) with a combination of units and gross. For used car sales people we start at 7 cars sold to pay bonuses and $24000 gross and pay a combined payout based on gross and units. Seems to be working out well for our salespeople, they are liking the consistancy.
CBG Buick GMC, Inc.
I don't know the actually salaries of the salesmen here. But I do know that for each sell they make they receive a minimum of $200. If we have to write the contract that adds another $25. If they mention Gap, Accident Health, or extended warranty, in front of F&I and the customer purchases any of those above that is an added bonus. They get a monthly draw (goes by experience and how long they have been here) and that is guaranteed every month. If they want an actual commission check then they have to sell enough to go OVER their draw. I am hourly so I don't receive a true commission on the ones that I sell. I get $100 per car and they take out the taxes for me so I don't have to pay them at the end of the year. My commission is made up in all the overtime that I get paid as compared to the salesmen who don't get overtime since it's calculated into their annual salary.
City Automall
We are still on commission. Get a draw check or weekly advance of 290 week and then a washout end of month where they take out the draw or advance. They are paid 25% of front end gross, 50 bucks if the f and i sell a warranty, 25 bucks if the paint guard add on sticks (that gross goes to back end). Mini is 100 new and used. If they hit 15 units they get 500 bonus and if they hit 15 three mos in a row they get 1000. They also get 1% for every sold unit over 10 for a max of 15% on top of the 25% retro. We do have a 1700 used pack and 1300 new pack and have to price very competitively.
Mason City Motor company
Why tie a salesperson's pay plan to gross when it is something they can't control? The only thing they will do is look at what used cars you have that have a large gross and then shoe horn there customer into that vehicle even though it may not be the one that is right for them. We are one priced, we pay a base and then on volume. Those both vary based on tenure.
Henry Day Ford
Pay plans for sales consultants
I run a bottom-line price storeand we have been contemplating updating our pay plan lately. We pay on a volume basis rather than a percentage of the gross. It's been awhile since we have looked at the pay plan and I want to make sure it is still competitive.
I was wondering if there are any one-price stores out there that would be willing to share their pay plan with me? Or, better yet, if there are some negotiating stores that wouldn't mind sharing with me what the average commission per car paid to a sales consultant would be? Meaning, you take their total commissions earned from the % of the gross and divide it by the number of cars sold (minis and everything included). That would allow me to compare to my pay plan since it is on a per unit basis.
Any feedback would be much appreciated!
6 Comments
Shockley Honda of Frederick Maryland
Talk to ANY Manager at a CarMax - we are NOT a one-price store but ARE reviewing their pay plans as a possible future solution to a question we know is coming!
Contractor
Don't worry! If you belong to a 20 Group you are under-paying them already! Your profits are safe as long as you want to be competitive (which is code for the same) as the competition.All of us, I am at the front of the line, have fallen prey to the pointy headed accountants involved in 20 Groups. They have nothing to really offer so they came up with a percentage of gross (17% domestic and up to 23% in some imports).The funny thing is none of us is satisfied, in fact I would say most of us whine, about the quality of today's salespeople. If you pay them like dirt you will get that in return! I have a lot of experience with one price pay plans.....$250 Weekly Salary (no, you can't charge it back to them)$200 Per Delivery$500 Bonus at 12 Deliveries$750 Bonus at 16 DeliveriesThis delivers $60,000 annually to a 16 car per month salesperson and that is what the job is worth....no more and no less.
Sunrise Chevrolet
We just revamped our pay plans to give our sales team more consistant pay. We are paying everyone a $21000 a year salary which they get paid $800 every two weeks. We then pay them a bonus payout every month (similar to a manager) with a combination of units and gross. For used car sales people we start at 7 cars sold to pay bonuses and $24000 gross and pay a combined payout based on gross and units. Seems to be working out well for our salespeople, they are liking the consistancy.
CBG Buick GMC, Inc.
I don't know the actually salaries of the salesmen here. But I do know that for each sell they make they receive a minimum of $200. If we have to write the contract that adds another $25. If they mention Gap, Accident Health, or extended warranty, in front of F&I and the customer purchases any of those above that is an added bonus. They get a monthly draw (goes by experience and how long they have been here) and that is guaranteed every month. If they want an actual commission check then they have to sell enough to go OVER their draw. I am hourly so I don't receive a true commission on the ones that I sell. I get $100 per car and they take out the taxes for me so I don't have to pay them at the end of the year. My commission is made up in all the overtime that I get paid as compared to the salesmen who don't get overtime since it's calculated into their annual salary.
City Automall
We are still on commission. Get a draw check or weekly advance of 290 week and then a washout end of month where they take out the draw or advance. They are paid 25% of front end gross, 50 bucks if the f and i sell a warranty, 25 bucks if the paint guard add on sticks (that gross goes to back end). Mini is 100 new and used. If they hit 15 units they get 500 bonus and if they hit 15 three mos in a row they get 1000. They also get 1% for every sold unit over 10 for a max of 15% on top of the 25% retro. We do have a 1700 used pack and 1300 new pack and have to price very competitively.
Mason City Motor company
Why tie a salesperson's pay plan to gross when it is something they can't control? The only thing they will do is look at what used cars you have that have a large gross and then shoe horn there customer into that vehicle even though it may not be the one that is right for them. We are one priced, we pay a base and then on volume. Those both vary based on tenure.
Henry Day Ford
New pricing on our website
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we are in the process of making some changes to our new car pricing strategy. Thanks to a lot of feedback, it looks like we are going to move forward with implementing a completely different strategy for pricing cars online.
As we have been ironing out the details with these changes, we have questioned whether or not it is a good idea to keep our prices for our new inventory on the dealership's website. Being a bottom-line-price store, it has always seemed like the logical thing to post your best price on our website along with photos and info on the car. We now feel like our competition is using our prices from our website to determine where we have certain lines priced and they are using those prices in order to one-up us with their internet pricing. We are pretty sure we want to take our pricing off our website so we can keep them guessing but we are reluctant because we know having that information posted is a big deal to most consumers. Another reason why we think it is the best route to go, is because one of the biggest online dealerships in the state ( different manufacturer ) don't price their cars on their website either. But who's to say we will see the same success.
So.... What is the best solution? I know that most local dealers keep their prices posted but I would be curious to hear about any success stories on the contrary. Let me know what you guys think.
4 Comments
Kokomo Auto World
I am so hopeful that this will get good comments. I was just informed that our sales department is leaning towards this same decision. Since we have been more efficient at putting competitive pricing online, our leads and phone traffic (and our sales) have dropped considerably. The salesmanagers are begging to take the prices off so people have to call for one. I don't want that to happen, but the results are not giving me much of a leg to stand on.
Deien Chevrolet
I would love to hear more on this..... We are currently advertising MSRP less rebates, but no other discounts. One dealer in our area has no pricing.
Henry Day Ford
New pricing on our website
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we are in the process of making some changes to our new car pricing strategy. Thanks to a lot of feedback, it looks like we are going to move forward with implementing a completely different strategy for pricing cars online.
As we have been ironing out the details with these changes, we have questioned whether or not it is a good idea to keep our prices for our new inventory on the dealership's website. Being a bottom-line-price store, it has always seemed like the logical thing to post your best price on our website along with photos and info on the car. We now feel like our competition is using our prices from our website to determine where we have certain lines priced and they are using those prices in order to one-up us with their internet pricing. We are pretty sure we want to take our pricing off our website so we can keep them guessing but we are reluctant because we know having that information posted is a big deal to most consumers. Another reason why we think it is the best route to go, is because one of the biggest online dealerships in the state ( different manufacturer ) don't price their cars on their website either. But who's to say we will see the same success.
So.... What is the best solution? I know that most local dealers keep their prices posted but I would be curious to hear about any success stories on the contrary. Let me know what you guys think.
4 Comments
Kokomo Auto World
I am so hopeful that this will get good comments. I was just informed that our sales department is leaning towards this same decision. Since we have been more efficient at putting competitive pricing online, our leads and phone traffic (and our sales) have dropped considerably. The salesmanagers are begging to take the prices off so people have to call for one. I don't want that to happen, but the results are not giving me much of a leg to stand on.
Deien Chevrolet
I would love to hear more on this..... We are currently advertising MSRP less rebates, but no other discounts. One dealer in our area has no pricing.
Henry Day Ford
Best way to get new sales consultants
We have had an unusual amount of turnover this year. Consequently, we have struggled to keep our sales team staffed at the level that we need it at. I feel very good about having done everything we could have in order to keep the guys here that have left. They have left for a lot of different reasons, but none of them have left because they were dissatisfied with the job.
As I already mentioned, it has been a contiuous struggle this year to maintain an appropriate amount of sales consulants. We have tried several different things in an attempt to hire some good people including: Ads in the paper/career builder/monster, referral program where we pay $1000 if we hire someone that was referred to us, and social media posts.
Even with all the different things that we have attempted, we are still unable to find people. It makes me wonder what other dealerships have done in order to find more sales consultants. Let me know if you have any suggestions that I could try...
5 Comments
Cherry Creek Dodge
I am a sales consultant. Why have your people been leaving? I would normally leave if management berates me. I have found a dealership that I like right now. Just gotta sell more cars. It's also good to have great leadership in management. Positive folks that know what they're doing. People that we can learn from. etc.
AutoMax Recruiting & Training
Hi Bryant. Your dilemma is not uncommon and something we hear frequently when we first work with a new client. One thing you can pretty easily do on your own is to add a "jobs" tab to your current dealership website. This will serve as a landing place for customers and other interested parties to be abreast of opportunity within your organization. This is an relatively easy way to obtain resumes. The resources you mentioned are good, but you need to massively ramp up your exposure. The culture of your dealership is certainly important. Use examples of successful salespeople within the organization who at first never considered auto sales as a profession. High quality individuals are more abundant than you might realize. Let me know if we can help.
Contractor
Bryant, this will be controversial: Scrap your pay plan, ignore your 20 Group and look to a more successful business model OUTSIDE the car business! Imagine investing in a four year education for your child only to have them come home to tell you they took a job in the car business as a salesperson? You and every other concerned parent would be horrified! What a waste of an education! My son is going to get into a business with 90% turn-over? Today, tomorrow's new workforce is taught about career paths, advancement, continuing education, growth, etc... and our business with the archaic pay plans is not on the list of jobs they will consider so what does that leave us with? Imagine this: "hey Mom and Dad, I got a job! It pays $50,000 Salary and I get a company car!" How would you compete with that? You wouldn't, you couldn't and it is about to happen to you unless you get smart and make some changes.
Mason City Motor company
indeed.com will allow you to go and find people that looking for a job change, make a contact with those people to come in and talk about your career opportunities and see if you are a fit.
Auto/Mate Dealership Systems
Bryant, according to the NADA Workforce study, sales consultant turnover at non-luxury dealerships increased to 80% last year...you are not alone with this problem. After having numerous conversation with both management and sales consultants regarding turnover at dealerships, I wrote an eBook on the topic: The Auto Dealer’s 10-Step Guide to Hiring the Best Employees. You can find the link to download it on my profile. It has tips on how to attract and retain people at your dealership. Over the years, I found that the most common mistakes dealers make when hiring sales people are rushing the hiring decision, believing what is on a candidates resume and what they say in the interview, hiring based on a gut feel, not fully vetting candidates, and not having defined expectations for new employees. If you are not getting the response you are looking for out of your online posts, try revamping your job advertisements. Spend less time talking about what you want out of a candidate, and spend more time telling the candidate what they will get out of you (career growth, company culture, earnings potential). Put a similar level of effort into advertising your job openings as you do into advertising your cars. If you are really stuck, there are recruitment companies out there that specialize in the placement of automotive professionals.
Henry Day Ford
Best way to get new sales consultants
We have had an unusual amount of turnover this year. Consequently, we have struggled to keep our sales team staffed at the level that we need it at. I feel very good about having done everything we could have in order to keep the guys here that have left. They have left for a lot of different reasons, but none of them have left because they were dissatisfied with the job.
As I already mentioned, it has been a contiuous struggle this year to maintain an appropriate amount of sales consulants. We have tried several different things in an attempt to hire some good people including: Ads in the paper/career builder/monster, referral program where we pay $1000 if we hire someone that was referred to us, and social media posts.
Even with all the different things that we have attempted, we are still unable to find people. It makes me wonder what other dealerships have done in order to find more sales consultants. Let me know if you have any suggestions that I could try...
5 Comments
Cherry Creek Dodge
I am a sales consultant. Why have your people been leaving? I would normally leave if management berates me. I have found a dealership that I like right now. Just gotta sell more cars. It's also good to have great leadership in management. Positive folks that know what they're doing. People that we can learn from. etc.
AutoMax Recruiting & Training
Hi Bryant. Your dilemma is not uncommon and something we hear frequently when we first work with a new client. One thing you can pretty easily do on your own is to add a "jobs" tab to your current dealership website. This will serve as a landing place for customers and other interested parties to be abreast of opportunity within your organization. This is an relatively easy way to obtain resumes. The resources you mentioned are good, but you need to massively ramp up your exposure. The culture of your dealership is certainly important. Use examples of successful salespeople within the organization who at first never considered auto sales as a profession. High quality individuals are more abundant than you might realize. Let me know if we can help.
Contractor
Bryant, this will be controversial: Scrap your pay plan, ignore your 20 Group and look to a more successful business model OUTSIDE the car business! Imagine investing in a four year education for your child only to have them come home to tell you they took a job in the car business as a salesperson? You and every other concerned parent would be horrified! What a waste of an education! My son is going to get into a business with 90% turn-over? Today, tomorrow's new workforce is taught about career paths, advancement, continuing education, growth, etc... and our business with the archaic pay plans is not on the list of jobs they will consider so what does that leave us with? Imagine this: "hey Mom and Dad, I got a job! It pays $50,000 Salary and I get a company car!" How would you compete with that? You wouldn't, you couldn't and it is about to happen to you unless you get smart and make some changes.
Mason City Motor company
indeed.com will allow you to go and find people that looking for a job change, make a contact with those people to come in and talk about your career opportunities and see if you are a fit.
Auto/Mate Dealership Systems
Bryant, according to the NADA Workforce study, sales consultant turnover at non-luxury dealerships increased to 80% last year...you are not alone with this problem. After having numerous conversation with both management and sales consultants regarding turnover at dealerships, I wrote an eBook on the topic: The Auto Dealer’s 10-Step Guide to Hiring the Best Employees. You can find the link to download it on my profile. It has tips on how to attract and retain people at your dealership. Over the years, I found that the most common mistakes dealers make when hiring sales people are rushing the hiring decision, believing what is on a candidates resume and what they say in the interview, hiring based on a gut feel, not fully vetting candidates, and not having defined expectations for new employees. If you are not getting the response you are looking for out of your online posts, try revamping your job advertisements. Spend less time talking about what you want out of a candidate, and spend more time telling the candidate what they will get out of you (career growth, company culture, earnings potential). Put a similar level of effort into advertising your job openings as you do into advertising your cars. If you are really stuck, there are recruitment companies out there that specialize in the placement of automotive professionals.
Henry Day Ford
Preventing theft on the lot
Our dealership isn't in the best part of town and we have had several issues with vehicle theft in the past 6 months. We have always had some issues, but it seems to be getting worse and worse. We do a good job of locking all vehicles at the close of business each day and the lot is completely secure with blockers.
As a result of all of the theft that we have had, our garage insurance policy is through the roof and the owner is getting more and more nervous that we won't be able to be insured. We have been discussing the possibility of putting some sort of a kill start or a gps tracking device on all of our new and used inventory.
I haven't done much research yet, so I don't really know what way we want to go. I thought I would throw out this post to see if someone out there has a good recommendation. If so, what company or product do you use? I would like to know the cost and how hard it is to install. Also, do you pass the cost on to the customer as a part of a package?
3 Comments
LoJack Corporation
Bryant,If you are still interested in loading your lot, securing your vehicles, reducing your insurance rates, adding safety, security, and peace of mind for the dealer and customers, why not try LoJack? You have everything to gain and so do your customers with a 24 hour money back guarantee of up to $695.00 and $5000.00 if the vehicle is not recovered on the 31st day. If you use any kind of GPS ask the company for a written recovery story (most recent) and are they directly integrated with the local police and crime bureau. This is essential for , fast recovery. Unlike GPS where the installation is always in the same place and car thieves now exactly where the unit is installed. LoJack is covertly installed in many areas of the vehicle and undetected by thieves. To validate our effectiveness, may I suggest calling Victor Fernandez (dealer principal) or Xavier Cortes (gm) at Marysville Ford. Their numbers are (425) 220-4553 (206) 714-2941.I am your Area Business Director and I look forward to meeting you while in UT. Regards, Rod JonesArea Business DirectorOR. WA. UT. WA. 360.903.7301
LoJack Corporation
Bryant, My area code is 360 not 369. Rod Jones 360.903.7301
Henry Day Ford
Preventing theft on the lot
Our dealership isn't in the best part of town and we have had several issues with vehicle theft in the past 6 months. We have always had some issues, but it seems to be getting worse and worse. We do a good job of locking all vehicles at the close of business each day and the lot is completely secure with blockers.
As a result of all of the theft that we have had, our garage insurance policy is through the roof and the owner is getting more and more nervous that we won't be able to be insured. We have been discussing the possibility of putting some sort of a kill start or a gps tracking device on all of our new and used inventory.
I haven't done much research yet, so I don't really know what way we want to go. I thought I would throw out this post to see if someone out there has a good recommendation. If so, what company or product do you use? I would like to know the cost and how hard it is to install. Also, do you pass the cost on to the customer as a part of a package?
3 Comments
LoJack Corporation
Bryant,If you are still interested in loading your lot, securing your vehicles, reducing your insurance rates, adding safety, security, and peace of mind for the dealer and customers, why not try LoJack? You have everything to gain and so do your customers with a 24 hour money back guarantee of up to $695.00 and $5000.00 if the vehicle is not recovered on the 31st day. If you use any kind of GPS ask the company for a written recovery story (most recent) and are they directly integrated with the local police and crime bureau. This is essential for , fast recovery. Unlike GPS where the installation is always in the same place and car thieves now exactly where the unit is installed. LoJack is covertly installed in many areas of the vehicle and undetected by thieves. To validate our effectiveness, may I suggest calling Victor Fernandez (dealer principal) or Xavier Cortes (gm) at Marysville Ford. Their numbers are (425) 220-4553 (206) 714-2941.I am your Area Business Director and I look forward to meeting you while in UT. Regards, Rod JonesArea Business DirectorOR. WA. UT. WA. 360.903.7301
LoJack Corporation
Bryant, My area code is 360 not 369. Rod Jones 360.903.7301
1 Comment
David Roberts
Cogswell Motors
Bryant, we are looking into Conquest also, I really wish we could get some feedback from other dealers that are using it.