http://www.internetsales20group.com
Sean V. Bradley Ft. Kalina Bradley "Stop Making Excuses" Success Is In YOUR Power & Control

12 year old Kalina S. Bradley discusses insight of the "7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens" as well as the "Secret". Kalina at age 12 has a very balanced life and a clear understanding of what success and "effectiveness" means...

Sean V. Bradley Ft. Kalina Bradley "Stop Making Excuses" Success Is In YOUR Power & Control

 

12 year old Kalina S. Bradley discusses insight of the "7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens" as well as the "Secret". Kalina at age 12 has a very balanced life and a clear understanding of what success and "effectiveness" means...

http://www.internetsales20group.com
Sean V. Bradley Ft. Kalina Bradley "Stop Making Excuses" Success Is In YOUR Power & Control

12 year old Kalina S. Bradley discusses insight of the "7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens" as well as the "Secret". Kalina at age 12 has a very balanced life and a clear understanding of what success and "effectiveness" means...

Sean V. Bradley Ft. Kalina Bradley "Stop Making Excuses" Success Is In YOUR Power & Control

 

12 year old Kalina S. Bradley discusses insight of the "7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teens" as well as the "Secret". Kalina at age 12 has a very balanced life and a clear understanding of what success and "effectiveness" means...

http://www.automotiveinternetsales.com

http://www.internetsales20group.com

3 Part Video Interview with Durran Cage, GSM of Alan Vines Automotive The September 2012 AutoSuccess Cover Story...

You can meet Durran Cage at the upcoming Internet Sales 20 Group in Chicago October 23-25th

http://www.automotiveinternetsales.com

http://www.internetsales20group.com

3 Part Video Interview with Durran Cage, GSM of Alan Vines Automotive The September 2012 AutoSuccess Cover Story...

You can meet Durran Cage at the upcoming Internet Sales 20 Group in Chicago October 23-25th

http://www.seanvbradley.com
http://www.dealersynergy.com

Master Your Craft

 

Do you want to be successful in Automotive Sales? Do you want to sell 30, 40+ units per month? Do you want to make $120,000 - $200,000+ selling cars? Well you can! All you have to do is MASTER YOUR CRAFT.

The key to being successful in this business is mastering your craft, being the absolute best you can possibly be. But why is it that EVERYONE wants to sell lots of cars and make lots of money and only a small percentage ever achieve that level? Same reason why there are so many people that want to be professional athletes and why there are only the few elite professional athletes making small fortunes while the rest of the population watches them on television or pretends to be them on Xbox 360.

 

Do you think Michael Jordan said to his coaches and managers “Uh, I am Michael Jordan… I don’t need to go to practice”! No way… he practiced harder than everyone else because he was Michael Jordan. That is why he has 6 NBA rings… and his own sneaker!

 

Tiger Woods says that he hits 1,000 practice balls for every 1 real shot in a live round.  There is a difference between hitting a golf ball 144 yards versus 144 and a half yards. One puts you next to the hole and one puts you a foot and a half away from the hole.  You want to be as accurate as possible, as close to perfection as you can possibly get.

 

Anderson Silva, Undefeated Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) constantly studies his own performance as well as his future opponents performance by dissecting video footage of past fights. Literally spending hours and hours reviewing video footage of angles, punches, kicks. Looking for patterns, opportunities, weakness etc…

 

Success is a few simple disciplines practiced everyday repeatedly. So if you would like to master your craft you must develop the following three disciplines: Dedication, Desire, and Diligence.

The definition of Dedication is the quality of being dedicated or committed, i.e. Devoting oneself, time, and/or efforts to a particular task or purpose; The definition of Desire is a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen; and The definition of Diligence is a carful and persistent work or effort.

So how does this all correlate to the subject at hand, Mastering Your Craft. Simply put, if you want to BE the best, then you have to BE the best. Will Durant, a prolific American writer, historian, and philosopher once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."

Success is earned, not given people; No one is entitled to greatness; everyone in the past, everyone in the NOW, and everyone in the future will have or has had to have an outrageous amount of dedication in their specific field of expertise, an extraordinary burning desire to win, and must diligently execute their detailed plans toward their idea of success.

I want to give you some bullet points of things that you should focus on mastering if you want to truly be that absolute best automotive sales professional:

• Communication(s) – As a sales professional, you need to be an effective communicator. You need to be able to clearly articulate your message and you have to do so with passion and style.

How can you master this skill?

• I suggest mastering the “Science of Communication”… Knowing that 55% of communication is visual perception and body language, 38% is tone and inflection and only 7% is the actual words that you use. You can study this online, you can take a course, you can go to a “communication” workshop or seminar.
• You can join http://www.toastmasters.org which is an organization that is dedicated to helping develop communication and leadership skills for professionals. It is like a “gym” for speakers / communicators.
• Video Record (or audio) yourself with prospects in the showroom or on the phone or in the BDC. Record yourself engaging a prospect, working a deal, dealing with objections / rebuttals etc… Then REVIEW the Video / Audio footage. Study it, be critical of what you sound like, what your body language is, what your prospects sound like, what their body language is. Try to identify loss opportunity, identify areas that you can improve and or utilize a different strategy or approach in a particular situation.

 

• Product Knowledge–
  • You should truly be a master of your product(s).  At the very least you should be certified through your OEM as a sales consultant but… Most OEMs have advanced training and certification. I suggest you look into what curriculum, what training, what OEM resources you can utilize to enhance your product knowledge.
  • Most OEMs have “Product Launches” or Special Seminars / Workshops on new or enhanced models within their line up. You should ask your management team to send you to any and all OEM opportunities that come along.
  • Study, Study, Study your product. Take all vehicles on test drives, get familiar with them. Not just conceptually but literally know your vehicles inside an out.
  • Competition Knowledge… Do NOT just study YOUR brand. You need to know EVERYTHING about your competition. For example if you are a Ford Sales Consultant and you sell a ton of Ford F-150s then you need to know EVERYHTHING about the Chevy Silverado and WHY your F-150 is BETTER than the Silverado etc…

 

• Mastering Objections and Rebuttals
  • Stop playing checkers… Start playing Chess. Document all of the “expectations” and “objections” you come across on a daily, weekly, monthly basis.
  • Identify the TOP 10 objections and or expectations and then create at least 5 POWERFUL responses for them. If you need help, get with other sales consultants, your closers, your managers, the owner whoever!
  • Go online and search for the best objections and rebuttals. There are free sites out there like www.automotiveinternetsales.com  that offer a tremendous amount of free information, word tracks, scripts, objections / rebuttals etc… use them!
  • Practice them everyday… role play with your co-workers, with a friend, your spouse.
  • Record them (video and or audio). Upload them to your ipod or burn them to a cd. Play them on the way to work and the way home, at the gym at night, when you sleep.

 

• Self Education–
  • Read as much as you can about EVERYTHING related to your career as you can. If you don’t like reading, then buy the audio CDs. Here are some suggestions:
    • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
    • The Secret
    • From Good To Great
    • The Purple Cow
    • Who Moved My Cheese
    • Execution
  • Read Automotive Trade Magazines (Like AutoSuccess)
  • Subscribe to FREE newsletters
  • Subscribe to ALL your automotive vendors newsletters, blogs, email lists like:
    • Autobytel
    • AutoUSA
    • Autotrader
    • Cars.com
    • Carsdirect
    • Dealix
    • Edmunds.com
    • Your Dealership Website Providers
  • Automotive Social Networking Communities like:
    • www.automotiveinternetsales.com
    • www.dealerelite.net
    • www.drivingsales.com
    • www.soshable.com
  • Search Engines…
    • You can and should be Googling or YouTubing Everything that is related to your profession.

This is only a small list of things that you need to master to truly be the best at what you do. If you would like me to give you a more detailed list or some free strategies or ideas please feel free to email me or call me. It would be my pleasure to help you-

http://www.seanvbradley.com
http://www.dealersynergy.com

Master Your Craft

 

Do you want to be successful in Automotive Sales? Do you want to sell 30, 40+ units per month? Do you want to make $120,000 - $200,000+ selling cars? Well you can! All you have to do is MASTER YOUR CRAFT.

The key to being successful in this business is mastering your craft, being the absolute best you can possibly be. But why is it that EVERYONE wants to sell lots of cars and make lots of money and only a small percentage ever achieve that level? Same reason why there are so many people that want to be professional athletes and why there are only the few elite professional athletes making small fortunes while the rest of the population watches them on television or pretends to be them on Xbox 360.

 

Do you think Michael Jordan said to his coaches and managers “Uh, I am Michael Jordan… I don’t need to go to practice”! No way… he practiced harder than everyone else because he was Michael Jordan. That is why he has 6 NBA rings… and his own sneaker!

 

Tiger Woods says that he hits 1,000 practice balls for every 1 real shot in a live round.  There is a difference between hitting a golf ball 144 yards versus 144 and a half yards. One puts you next to the hole and one puts you a foot and a half away from the hole.  You want to be as accurate as possible, as close to perfection as you can possibly get.

 

Anderson Silva, Undefeated Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) constantly studies his own performance as well as his future opponents performance by dissecting video footage of past fights. Literally spending hours and hours reviewing video footage of angles, punches, kicks. Looking for patterns, opportunities, weakness etc…

 

Success is a few simple disciplines practiced everyday repeatedly. So if you would like to master your craft you must develop the following three disciplines: Dedication, Desire, and Diligence.

The definition of Dedication is the quality of being dedicated or committed, i.e. Devoting oneself, time, and/or efforts to a particular task or purpose; The definition of Desire is a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen; and The definition of Diligence is a carful and persistent work or effort.

So how does this all correlate to the subject at hand, Mastering Your Craft. Simply put, if you want to BE the best, then you have to BE the best. Will Durant, a prolific American writer, historian, and philosopher once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."

Success is earned, not given people; No one is entitled to greatness; everyone in the past, everyone in the NOW, and everyone in the future will have or has had to have an outrageous amount of dedication in their specific field of expertise, an extraordinary burning desire to win, and must diligently execute their detailed plans toward their idea of success.

I want to give you some bullet points of things that you should focus on mastering if you want to truly be that absolute best automotive sales professional:

• Communication(s) – As a sales professional, you need to be an effective communicator. You need to be able to clearly articulate your message and you have to do so with passion and style.

How can you master this skill?

• I suggest mastering the “Science of Communication”… Knowing that 55% of communication is visual perception and body language, 38% is tone and inflection and only 7% is the actual words that you use. You can study this online, you can take a course, you can go to a “communication” workshop or seminar.
• You can join http://www.toastmasters.org which is an organization that is dedicated to helping develop communication and leadership skills for professionals. It is like a “gym” for speakers / communicators.
• Video Record (or audio) yourself with prospects in the showroom or on the phone or in the BDC. Record yourself engaging a prospect, working a deal, dealing with objections / rebuttals etc… Then REVIEW the Video / Audio footage. Study it, be critical of what you sound like, what your body language is, what your prospects sound like, what their body language is. Try to identify loss opportunity, identify areas that you can improve and or utilize a different strategy or approach in a particular situation.

 

• Product Knowledge–
  • You should truly be a master of your product(s).  At the very least you should be certified through your OEM as a sales consultant but… Most OEMs have advanced training and certification. I suggest you look into what curriculum, what training, what OEM resources you can utilize to enhance your product knowledge.
  • Most OEMs have “Product Launches” or Special Seminars / Workshops on new or enhanced models within their line up. You should ask your management team to send you to any and all OEM opportunities that come along.
  • Study, Study, Study your product. Take all vehicles on test drives, get familiar with them. Not just conceptually but literally know your vehicles inside an out.
  • Competition Knowledge… Do NOT just study YOUR brand. You need to know EVERYTHING about your competition. For example if you are a Ford Sales Consultant and you sell a ton of Ford F-150s then you need to know EVERYHTHING about the Chevy Silverado and WHY your F-150 is BETTER than the Silverado etc…

 

• Mastering Objections and Rebuttals
  • Stop playing checkers… Start playing Chess. Document all of the “expectations” and “objections” you come across on a daily, weekly, monthly basis.
  • Identify the TOP 10 objections and or expectations and then create at least 5 POWERFUL responses for them. If you need help, get with other sales consultants, your closers, your managers, the owner whoever!
  • Go online and search for the best objections and rebuttals. There are free sites out there like www.automotiveinternetsales.com  that offer a tremendous amount of free information, word tracks, scripts, objections / rebuttals etc… use them!
  • Practice them everyday… role play with your co-workers, with a friend, your spouse.
  • Record them (video and or audio). Upload them to your ipod or burn them to a cd. Play them on the way to work and the way home, at the gym at night, when you sleep.

 

• Self Education–
  • Read as much as you can about EVERYTHING related to your career as you can. If you don’t like reading, then buy the audio CDs. Here are some suggestions:
    • The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
    • The Secret
    • From Good To Great
    • The Purple Cow
    • Who Moved My Cheese
    • Execution
  • Read Automotive Trade Magazines (Like AutoSuccess)
  • Subscribe to FREE newsletters
  • Subscribe to ALL your automotive vendors newsletters, blogs, email lists like:
    • Autobytel
    • AutoUSA
    • Autotrader
    • Cars.com
    • Carsdirect
    • Dealix
    • Edmunds.com
    • Your Dealership Website Providers
  • Automotive Social Networking Communities like:
    • www.automotiveinternetsales.com
    • www.dealerelite.net
    • www.drivingsales.com
    • www.soshable.com
  • Search Engines…
    • You can and should be Googling or YouTubing Everything that is related to your profession.

This is only a small list of things that you need to master to truly be the best at what you do. If you would like me to give you a more detailed list or some free strategies or ideas please feel free to email me or call me. It would be my pleasure to help you-

 

 

http://www.dealersynergy.com 

Automotive Internet Sales / Phone Sales "What to Do if There is NO Phone Number or a Bogus Number"  

The hardest part of Automotive Internet Sales or Business Development is simply getting the prospect on the phone and that in part is because you might not have ANY phone number to contact them or its a wrong / bogus phone number... OR you might have a number, it could be there home or office and you can't seem to connect with them. So, what do you do? I see way too many people in our industry accepting defeat without ever trying to do something proactively to try to create a connection with a prospect.

What can you do...? 

First and foremost is NOT to accept that if there is no phone number listed or if there is a wrong phone number that "That is it". You MUST seek out an alternative... Here is a GREAT website you can go to:

* http://www.spokeo.com 

or

* http://www.anywho.com 

or my personal favorite is to call "411" and ASK for a "Reverse Look Up". 

If you can not find the prospect's phone number trying those resources then maybe you should take their email address (from their internet purchase request) and drop it into:

* Google 

* FaceBook

* LinkedIn 

etc...

The bottom line is TAKE A SHOT... try to find a person's contact information, or better contact information. REACH OUT TO THEM. Be "Proactive".

And remember, "You can not lose something, that you never have had before".

If you have any questions about this post or would like some free help... call me or email me

 

 

http://www.dealersynergy.com 

Automotive Internet Sales / Phone Sales "What to Do if There is NO Phone Number or a Bogus Number"  

The hardest part of Automotive Internet Sales or Business Development is simply getting the prospect on the phone and that in part is because you might not have ANY phone number to contact them or its a wrong / bogus phone number... OR you might have a number, it could be there home or office and you can't seem to connect with them. So, what do you do? I see way too many people in our industry accepting defeat without ever trying to do something proactively to try to create a connection with a prospect.

What can you do...? 

First and foremost is NOT to accept that if there is no phone number listed or if there is a wrong phone number that "That is it". You MUST seek out an alternative... Here is a GREAT website you can go to:

* http://www.spokeo.com 

or

* http://www.anywho.com 

or my personal favorite is to call "411" and ASK for a "Reverse Look Up". 

If you can not find the prospect's phone number trying those resources then maybe you should take their email address (from their internet purchase request) and drop it into:

* Google 

* FaceBook

* LinkedIn 

etc...

The bottom line is TAKE A SHOT... try to find a person's contact information, or better contact information. REACH OUT TO THEM. Be "Proactive".

And remember, "You can not lose something, that you never have had before".

If you have any questions about this post or would like some free help... call me or email me

Write your post here

Do you have the "RIGHT" Internet Sales Manager or BDC Director? I know I am going to get a lot of heat on this article, but it has to be said. I have worked with thousands of dealerships over the years and there have been numerous reasons given for mediocrity, and even failure. In the beginning of automotive Internet sales in the late 1990s, it was a novelty and an incremental business, but most dealerships were not able to truly harness it and make it a major profit center. However, over the years and through evolution of the automotive sales industry, and the country as a whole, there has been a lot of change — change in how people are researching, shopping, making decisions and ultimately buying a vehicle. There has even been change inside our industry by dealer principals, GMs and sales consultants. It seems that dealers are getting it. They understand that Internet sales, business development, digital marketing, and social media are all important. What I am seeing now is a scary pattern emerging. A lot of dealerships are not maximizing on opportunities right in front of them because they do not have the right person in place. The Internet sales manager or BDC director that they have in place is the wrong person for the position, and they are hurting the dealership! Here are some problems I’ve seen at dealerships: • A computer geek in the position who is not an automotive professional. There is nothing wrong with being a geek. I have a problem if they have no idea how to sell a car, and don’t have the respect of their team and employees. They can’t motivate and drive the department to success. • An IT professional is the head of an Internet sales department or business development center. Just because they are good at fixing computers or understanding technology does not necessarily make them the best choice to run a million-dollar sales department. “Internet sales” is still sales. • Instead of terminating a sales consultant from the showroom floor, they are given a “second chance” running the Internet sales department. I don’t get this one at all. If someone can not be effective on the showroom floor, why would you have that person be the head of a department where 92 percent of Americans go before they ever step foot into your dealership? • A sales consultant is promoted from the showroom to running the Internet department. Please understand just because someone can sell a car does not mean they can run a department, let alone an Internet sales or business development department. Just because they can sell cars does not mean they are capable of being a manager or a leader. There are a lot of successful sales consultants who sell 20 or 30 cars per month, but don’t work well with others. They have no concept of interdependence. • There is no Internet sales manager/BDC director at all. That is just bad, and again, makes no sense whatsoever. When 92 percent of people are going online, there needs to be major attention to this area. • A dealership’s manager also manages the Internet department. I have seen it all, my friends. The dealer principal or general manager takes on the Internet department as an “additional” responsibility instead of having a dedicated manager, or they dump the responsibility of the Internet department onto the GSM or sales manager. This is not a viable solution. Remember Basic Math The average dealership in the United States delivers fewer than 100 units per month. But the average dealership has: • A GM or GSM • One to two sales managers (new car/used car), or “closers” • An F&I manager • 10 Sales Consultants If you want your Internet or business development department to deliver units, you are going to need the right Internet manager or BDC director. Yes, you might need to fire your current Internet sales manager or BDC director. You might have been thinking about doing it for months now but weren’t sure. Let me make it easier for you. Think of your current Internet sales manager or BDC director: • Are they a family member or in a relationship with anyone else in the dealership? • Do they have any automotive sales or management experience? • Do they have an aversion to the phone? • Do they have the ability to take a “TO” from their employees, sales consultants, appointment setters, etc? • Do they have the ability or desire to proactively “TO”? • Do they have the respect of their team (or the dealership for that matter)? • Can they, or do they, lead by example? • Do they train their team? Do they know how to train their team? • Do they have “one on ones” with their team? • Do they know how to project and forecast, and not merely guess and hope? • Are they rude and or mean to their team or their customers? • Do they have Standard Operating Procedures (S.O.P.s), or do they just “wing it”? • Can they desk a deal? If you are reading this and you are a dealer or GM, do this calculation before you open the showroom tomorrow: Look at your electronic leads, phone leads and walk-in leads. Say your electronic and phone leads are 70 percent or greater of all leads. Now look at your manager running your Internet or business development department. Are you comfortable with them in charge of 70 percent of your opportunities? If not, make the change today. If you can’t promote that person as your nest general sales manager, you have the wrong person in place. If you would like a free personalized analysis of your Internet Sales Manager, contact me at the email below with “ISM” as the subject line. Sean V. Bradley is the founder and CEO of Dealer Synergy, a nationally recognized training and consulting company in the automotive industry. He can be contacted at 866.648.7400, or by e-mail at sbradley@autosuccessonline.com.

Write your post here

Do you have the "RIGHT" Internet Sales Manager or BDC Director? I know I am going to get a lot of heat on this article, but it has to be said. I have worked with thousands of dealerships over the years and there have been numerous reasons given for mediocrity, and even failure. In the beginning of automotive Internet sales in the late 1990s, it was a novelty and an incremental business, but most dealerships were not able to truly harness it and make it a major profit center. However, over the years and through evolution of the automotive sales industry, and the country as a whole, there has been a lot of change — change in how people are researching, shopping, making decisions and ultimately buying a vehicle. There has even been change inside our industry by dealer principals, GMs and sales consultants. It seems that dealers are getting it. They understand that Internet sales, business development, digital marketing, and social media are all important. What I am seeing now is a scary pattern emerging. A lot of dealerships are not maximizing on opportunities right in front of them because they do not have the right person in place. The Internet sales manager or BDC director that they have in place is the wrong person for the position, and they are hurting the dealership! Here are some problems I’ve seen at dealerships: • A computer geek in the position who is not an automotive professional. There is nothing wrong with being a geek. I have a problem if they have no idea how to sell a car, and don’t have the respect of their team and employees. They can’t motivate and drive the department to success. • An IT professional is the head of an Internet sales department or business development center. Just because they are good at fixing computers or understanding technology does not necessarily make them the best choice to run a million-dollar sales department. “Internet sales” is still sales. • Instead of terminating a sales consultant from the showroom floor, they are given a “second chance” running the Internet sales department. I don’t get this one at all. If someone can not be effective on the showroom floor, why would you have that person be the head of a department where 92 percent of Americans go before they ever step foot into your dealership? • A sales consultant is promoted from the showroom to running the Internet department. Please understand just because someone can sell a car does not mean they can run a department, let alone an Internet sales or business development department. Just because they can sell cars does not mean they are capable of being a manager or a leader. There are a lot of successful sales consultants who sell 20 or 30 cars per month, but don’t work well with others. They have no concept of interdependence. • There is no Internet sales manager/BDC director at all. That is just bad, and again, makes no sense whatsoever. When 92 percent of people are going online, there needs to be major attention to this area. • A dealership’s manager also manages the Internet department. I have seen it all, my friends. The dealer principal or general manager takes on the Internet department as an “additional” responsibility instead of having a dedicated manager, or they dump the responsibility of the Internet department onto the GSM or sales manager. This is not a viable solution. Remember Basic Math The average dealership in the United States delivers fewer than 100 units per month. But the average dealership has: • A GM or GSM • One to two sales managers (new car/used car), or “closers” • An F&I manager • 10 Sales Consultants If you want your Internet or business development department to deliver units, you are going to need the right Internet manager or BDC director. Yes, you might need to fire your current Internet sales manager or BDC director. You might have been thinking about doing it for months now but weren’t sure. Let me make it easier for you. Think of your current Internet sales manager or BDC director: • Are they a family member or in a relationship with anyone else in the dealership? • Do they have any automotive sales or management experience? • Do they have an aversion to the phone? • Do they have the ability to take a “TO” from their employees, sales consultants, appointment setters, etc? • Do they have the ability or desire to proactively “TO”? • Do they have the respect of their team (or the dealership for that matter)? • Can they, or do they, lead by example? • Do they train their team? Do they know how to train their team? • Do they have “one on ones” with their team? • Do they know how to project and forecast, and not merely guess and hope? • Are they rude and or mean to their team or their customers? • Do they have Standard Operating Procedures (S.O.P.s), or do they just “wing it”? • Can they desk a deal? If you are reading this and you are a dealer or GM, do this calculation before you open the showroom tomorrow: Look at your electronic leads, phone leads and walk-in leads. Say your electronic and phone leads are 70 percent or greater of all leads. Now look at your manager running your Internet or business development department. Are you comfortable with them in charge of 70 percent of your opportunities? If not, make the change today. If you can’t promote that person as your nest general sales manager, you have the wrong person in place. If you would like a free personalized analysis of your Internet Sales Manager, contact me at the email below with “ISM” as the subject line. Sean V. Bradley is the founder and CEO of Dealer Synergy, a nationally recognized training and consulting company in the automotive industry. He can be contacted at 866.648.7400, or by e-mail at sbradley@autosuccessonline.com.