Finding yourself in a desperate situation is pretty much a guaranteed experience in the world of sales. What really matters is the way you behave in a desperate situation.

Allowing your customers to feel the desperation in the air only gives them a valid reason to doubt you and what you are selling and will most likely start reaching out to your competitors.

Desperation creates an atmosphere that suffocates prospects. In contrast, drive infuses the air with positive energy that builds trust and confidence.

Manage your time well.
Desperate situations primarily arise from gross misappropriation of time. Managed floor plans help you Stay productive by letting you know when you’re on deck and when you’re not.

Prioritize the customer.
It’s not about you, it’s about customers. And it’s not about your problems but theirs. When you prioritize customer success, you ensure they get the experience they deserve, regardless of the speed at which they arrive at a decision. Don’t rush people.

Don’t wait until your pipeline is half empty.
Half-empty pipelines can cause real panic. Make sure you and your team keep your pipeline healthy and flowing. Reach out to past customers, run Facebook ads etc. there is always something you can do to increase your pipeline.

Fine-tune your lead qualification.
Avoid wasting time on poorly vetted prospects. Reduce the likelihood of engaging low- quality leads. This is why investing in tools like Conversica can be very helpful.

Do your prospecting research.
Conduct relevant research on customers you plan to engage. Make a strong case for your product instead of dangling huge discounts to trick prospects into buying. Solve their needs first.
 

At the end of the day, have some dignity.

Customers always deserve excellent service but that shouldn’t push you into begging, issuing false ultimatums and so on. 

Excellent service means you master your craft, perfect your pitch, and channel your drive to genuinely help customers and make them realize the value of what you are offering.

Why do you look like everyone else, every other salesperson, every other marketing manager, every other sales VP, every other accountant, dog walker or software developer? Why?

Why do you insist on looking like, acting like, working like and doing your job like everyone else, yet get frustrated that you’re not considered a closer or strong salesperson?

Why are you playing it safe?

Differentiation and value are as important to you and your brand as they are to every company, product or service.

Being different decreases supply. It creates “scarcity.”

Being one of a kind increases demand.

Demand = opportunity

Opportunity is the path to success.

Start making yourself scarce. Don’t look, act, work and engage like everyone else. Don’t be part of the heard.

When you’re the only place people can get the results they want, you’re creating scarcity and that creates demand — demand for you.

You are uniquely you and you should let your freak flag fly. 

What makes you unique?

Most dealers understand the importance of making it easy for customers and prospects to find contact information. Websites often have prominent "contact us" sections, chat opportunities that pop up all over the place or send us a text etc, etc.  

The phone, despite the belief that customers don't want to talk or don't have time to call, offering a click-to-call option is a useful way to help customers reach your business.

And the technology is more trackable than it's ever been, with call data and click-to-call analytics helping marketers track, record, and optimize inbound calls.

Check out the graphic to learn more:
 

The report was based on data conducted in July 2017 among 1,003 adults in the United States.

Some 56% of Millennial respondents say they have called out a brand on social media, compared with 44% of non-Millennial respondents.

Among respondents who say they would call out a brand on social media, 60% would do so because of dishonesty, 59% because of bad customer service, and 57% because of in-person rudeness.

Respondents say they call out brands on social media to raise awareness with other consumers (70% do so) and to get an apology or resolution (55%).

About the research: The report was based on data conducted in July 2017 among 1,003 adults in the United States.

The Luddites were 19th-century English textile workers (or self-employed weavers) who feared the end of their trade and protested against newly developed labour economizing technologies, primarily between 1811 and 1816. 

The stocking frames, spinning frames, and power looms introduced during the Industrial Revolution threatened to replace them with less-skilled, low-wage labourers, leaving them without work. Because of this, they reasoned that owners of automated capital would leave them, as well as the majority of the working class, powerless before capitalists who would pursue cheaper labour than they could afford. 
 

Automation and the Demand for Jobs

Since then, Luddism has become a byword for opposition to technology (erroneously as Luddites were not anti-technology). This was based on the idea that automated labor will displace human workers, leaving them without any method of gaining income. The Luddite fallacy, claims that automation destroys jobs. 

However, this has been proven false.

Throughout history, the use of labour-saving machines has led to the creation of more jobs that had not been possible before. This requires learning new skills, and thus creates a tree of employment that extends far beyond the original displaced workers. 

As automation becomes more complex, higher-level skills become more sought after and valuable, and thus even more jobs arise. This works to improve the lives of labourers at large and expand the economy. It can be summarized as thus -- as technology becomes more complex, the number of jobs needed rises and the skill-set required expands.
 

Promoting Mediocrity

Josh argues that the introduction of technologies are squeezing sales margins and decreasing a persons ability to make money so we should upend compensation structures to ensure the lives of our very own luddites are not impacted. 

This type of argument is dangerous. It promotes individual mediocrity. 

Those of us who work in dealerships know people who make 300k a year and never touch the CRM. If technology is truly the enemy of commission sales then these people should be dead on the battlefield. Yet here they are, thriving. On the flip side we also know people who live in the CRM and make 30k a year. This leads me to believe that technology does not breed better workers.

Our stores are flooded with disinterested, low skilled workers because we’ve allowed it for years. We believe that by having more employees, we will always have more coverage for the ifs and whens.

But those days are few and far between.

As technology has allowed our customers to become self informed and self qualify, the need for Luddite order takers has decreased. Adjusting compensation to non commission is simply a stop gap to the real elephant in the room. 
 

So, What’s Really Going On?

The need for many lower skilled luddites is decreasing while the need for less but more highly skilled workers is growing. 

Technology is not the enemy of a commission. Technology is the infrastructure that gives the skilled worker what they need to be more effective while giving the organization the security it needs to be relevant. 

“Humans who do not (don’t have the wherewithal to) control those machines can only compete among each other to deliver an ever-decreasing slice of lower-utility goods and services. And they are compensated — given a slice of the pie — based on the steadily smaller amount of utility they can deliver. Left to itself, the market will provide many with a sub-subsistence level of compensation.” - The Luddite Fallacy Fallacy

Thus, leaving our industry with the cream of the crop and filtering out all the fluff.

If the efficacy of our industry is going to grow, the elimination of commission sales plans is not its linchpin.

This post orginally shown at The Next Up Blog

Whether you need something to listen to while you are waiting for other people in your family to get done shopping. Or even you yourself are in need of ear candy while you're digging through bins of clearance items. Here is a list of 15 of my favorite podcasts that won't let you down. 

Let everyone know what one was your favorite. You can also add to this list in the comments if you'd like to. 

In no particular order... 

Do By Friday
dobyfriday.com
A weekly challenge show hosted by Merlin Mann, Alex Cox, and Max Temkin.

Exponent
http://exponent.fm/
Ben Thompson & James Allworth on Tech and Society

Accidental Tech Podcast
atp.fm
Three nerds discussing tech, Apple, programming, and loosely related matters.

Marketing Over Coffee
www.marketingovercoffee.com
At the Intersection of Marketing and Technology

My Brother, My Brother And Me
www.mbmbam.com
My Brother, My Brother and Me is an advice show for the modern age.

No Parking
noparking.fireside.fm
Keep those ideas moving. Chris K Leslie and Mike Arnold

Reconcilable Differences
www.relay.fm/rd
John Siracusa and Merlin Mann try to figure out exactly how they got this way. Hosted by John Siracusa and Merlin Mann.

Reply All
gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all
“‘A podcast about the internet’ that is actually an unfailingly original exploration of modern life and how to survive it. ” - The Guardian. Hosted by PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman, from Gimlet.

You Are Not So Smart
youarenotsosmart.com
You Are Not So Smart is a celebration of self delusion that explores topics related to cognitive biases, heuristics, and logical fallacies. David McRaney interviews scientists about their research into how the mind works, and then he eats a cookie.

We Have Concerns
wehaveconcerns.com
Jeff Cannata and Anthony Carboni talk about the personal philosophical concerns they find lurking inside everyday things.

DealerRefresh "In the Mix"
dealerrefresh.com
“In the Mix” is the official DealerRefresh Podcas

Back to Work
5by5.tv/b2w
Back to Work is an award winning talk show with Merlin Mann and Dan Benjamin discussing productivity, communication, work, barriers, constraints, tools, and more. Hosted by Merlin Mann & Dan Benjamin.

Pod Save America
art19.com/shows/pod-save-america
Four former aides to President Obama — Jon Favreau, Dan Pfeiffer, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor — are joined by journalists, politicians, comedians, and activists for a freewheeling conversation about politics, the press and the challenges posed by the Trump presidency.

Roderick on the Line
www.merlinmann.com/roderick
With John Roderick & Merlin Mann

Think Bigger Podcast | By Launch Digital Marketing
www.launchdigitalmarketing.com
Get the automotive digital marketing education you deserve!
 

It’s true, internet leads aren’t what they used to be. But that doesn’t mean we need to throw out the baby with the bath water when it comes to utilizing the workflows and processes we’ve built to manage this. 

Our industry is unlike most others simply because of the amount of opportunities we field each month. 

With more and more studies coming out about how most our walk in customers never submitted a lead or called the store I can’t help but think that we need to start doing a better job of turning our walk in opportunities into digital opportunities. 

> A dealerships digital follow up is always going to be better than standard sales guy follow up. Simply because of accountability. 

For our digital opportunities We’ve worked hard on creating KPI’s and funnels. we have built out follow up and workflows that marry automation and manual milestones.

I have to assume the reason we struggle with walk in follow up has been because we expect it to be done by our sales team alone. When you add lot drop and bad data hygiene of walk ins not being entered into the CRM. You have at least half of your monthly opportunities being squandered or sold by someone else. 

> Email is the most important piece of contact information you can get from your customers.

While phone numbers are important. Being blocked by a customer is just as easy too. If that is the only piece of contact info you have and then get blocked you might as well delete that customer from your CRM. 

I know what you’re saying. Chris, emails are just as easy to delete and never reply to and I would agree. 

But email addresses also have value when it comes to offline data matching in platforms like Facebook. So even when your customer blocks your calls and deletes your emails. They can still directly be marketed to using digital sources.

Have you considered turning today’s lot traffic into tomorrow’s internet leads?

Monday, 18 September 2017

Why Bass-Ackwards Will Take You Forward -- How to Be Successful in Tomorrow’s Market
Room: Champagne 3 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM

Your Site SUX: Using Your Organic and Paid Search Data Analytics to Optimize Your Dealer's Site and Funnel Search User Experience.  (A 2-Part In-Depth Session)
Room: Champagne 1 01:30 PM - 03:25 PM

“Freshen Up” -- A DealerRefresh Discussion Panel: Attribution, e-Commerce, and Managing Vendors
Room: Keynote Hall 02:35 PM - 03:25 PM

Digital Dealer Tech Tank Competition (Modeled After the Show "Shark Tank") -- Discover New, Innovative Solutions for Your Dealership!
Room: Keynote Hall 03:30 PM - 04:30 PM

KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Relentless – Doubling Our Business with Frictionless Transactions
Room: Keynote Hall 04:30 PM - 05:20 PM

Tuesday, 19 September 2017

The Mother of All Content Strategies - Develop a Content Marketing Strategy Built to Immediately Increase Results.
Room: Champagne 3 09:00 AM - 10:55 AM

Leadership & Accountability: Stronger – Faster – More Profitable ‘NOW’! -- Cardinale Group Shares a Mastery-Course in ‘Leadership & Accountability'
Room: Versailles 1 10:05 AM - 10:55 AM

How Dealers Can Use Existing Data to Make More $$$
Room: Versailles 1 01:30 PM - 02:20 PM

Advanced Analytics: The Search for Quality and Attribution -- Go Beyond Quantitative, Nebulous Metrics Like Impressions and Traffic and Start Working Toward Real Multi-Touch Attribution.
Room: Burgundy 02:35 PM - 03:25 PM

KEYNOTE PANEL: “Dealers and Vendors… Can’t We All Just Get Along?” -- How to Set Proper Expectations & Cultivate a Truly Beneficial Relationship
Room: Keynote Hall 04:50 PM - 05:40 PM

Wednesday, 20 September 2017

KEYNOTE PANEL: Disruptive Growth: Control Your Future. Learn the Mindset and Principles of Disruptive Growth to Compete and WIN in an Immensely Competitive and Turbulent Time
Room: Keynote Hall 08:30 AM - 09:20 AM

Breaking into the Top 100 Dealers List: A Unique Story of One Rural Dealer -- How Preston Ford, Despite Being in a Rural Town with a Population of 800, Punches Above Their Weight and Competes with the Biggest Ford Retailers in the Country
Room: Versailles 3 09:30 AM - 10:20 AM

The Key to Connection: Stop Following Up with Your Internet Leads Like It Is 2009
Room: Versailles 1 10:35 AM - 11:25 AM

Not Your Daddy’s Dealership 2: 3 Secrets to Maximizing Your CRM Performance -- Cut Through the Clutter and Put Your CRM to Work!
Room: Versailles 1 11:40 AM - 12:30 PM

Are you the kind of person who is really interested in building out your own personal brand but don’t know where to start? 

In all honesty it is not easy and can take a lot of work upfront to get going. But don’t let that discourage you because There is something you can do to get started that doesn’t require the full investment. 

Many folks in marketing positions like myself are constantly starved for content. If more folks from inside the dealership were able to help produce content, that content would have an already established platform to be shared on. 

This is great news for you because that means you would have an already established and growing  audience that will see your videos, photos or blog posts. 

If I was in your position I would reach out to the folks who manage your channels and let them know you’d like to contribute. 

as part of my job I make sure that our pricing across the World Wide Web is consistent and accurate. 

the problem though is that everyone seems to have their own way of displaying prices. More Specifically,  incentive based pricing. 

Most 3rd parties seemed to just opt out of having that as an option while our websites are pulling and displaying vin specific incentives on every unit.

this leads to price inequity on pretty much all of our inventory across the web. 

The only way to show a discounted price on a unit is to provide the 3rd party with a discounted price or a dealer discount. Which quickly becomes problematic due to not having options to properly disclose where the discount came from. 

If you’re like me and you manage your inventory and pricing from an inventory tool like homenet. Adding a dealer discount means that all of your exports are going to receive that discount including your site which would then be displaying both the discount and incentives. 

I am aware that I can adjust what prices go where in my exports with homenet but creating a complex matrix of sorts isn’t something I’m interested in managing.

Dealership inventory and pricing needs to be more consistent across the web. That means that pricing standards need to expand further than a simple dealer discount. 

I think it’s time for our vendor partners to take the initiative to structure their properties with the ability to display pricing more like dealer sites and include incentive information on the SRP and VDP’s.

---

How much price inequity do you have? 

Would you like to see 3rd parties display incentive info in-line with inventory?