Selling does not start at the curb. When I started selling cars in 1979, I stood by laser focused on the curb. That is where my hunt began. Like a chained dog my operative range was limited to the edge of the curb. Cross the line, and you were mine. My grandfather before me had knocked on doors and gone into barns to talk to people about his new Chryslers and DeSotos. But that sort of outreach was not part of the program for dealerships in my day. The hunt started at the curb.

In 1995, Autobytel began reaching past the curb via the internet. They lured customers online and packaged them up as leads. AutoTrader.com followed closely behind with an online listings model that was a huge improvement over newspaper classified ads. The ads were interactive. They went back and forth with the shopper. Most dealerships viewed this as advertising. My grandfather, had he still been alive, would have quickly recognized it as sales.

After all, the internet offers two-way communication. One-way devices (radio, television, print, and outdoor) were advertising, meant to stimulate the customer into coming to the store for a two-way conversation we called the sales process. The telephone, a two-way communication device, was clearly recognized as a sales tool in my grandfather's day, but by my time the approach to the phone was "just get them in." After all, everyone knew sales started at the curb. No wonder the internet was quickly misunderstood as an advertising medium rather than a sales tool.

Today, selling cars starts with price, photos, video, and text descriptions. Vehicles not online are not offered to the more than 80% of car buyers who use the internet in their automotive shopping process. Vehicles online without pricing or complete merchandising are generally dismissed by consumers as not really for sale either. Shoppers engage in a two-way conversation with the internet. The shopper clicks or types and the internet responds with content. If your vehicle has little or nothing to say for itself, the conversation quickly dries up and moves to another vehicle that is for sale and ready for an online conversation.

My grandfather would have been amazed at this modern sales tool. The notion that he could put everything he knew about the vehicle into an online listing and dozens of people would interact and converse with that information until one of them was sold enough to contact him would have seemed amazing. It also would have saved a great deal of shoe leather. He might have been intimidated by the first fifteen years of technology surrounding automotive internet. But now merchandising a vehicle is literally as easy as turning on an iPhone application and following the built-in steps (e.g. cDemo's Mobile Inspector App). Any eight year old can do it. No second device, no cables, no moving files around. My grandfather would have been able to pick it up without any training, and he would have recognized that he was selling cars, not just advertising them.

We have come full circle over the past four generations. During the depression and late 1940's sales efforts went out to where the customers were. As television advertising took hold, sales efforts were chained down. But the internet set those sales efforts free, going back out to shopper's homes, places of work, or wherever they want us, whenever they want us. The chain and collar are off. Take your price and rich content beyond the curb and get some new sales started!

Selling does not start at the curb. When I started selling cars in 1979, I stood by laser focused on the curb. That is where my hunt began. Like a chained dog my operative range was limited to the edge of the curb. Cross the line, and you were mine. My grandfather before me had knocked on doors and gone into barns to talk to people about his new Chryslers and DeSotos. But that sort of outreach was not part of the program for dealerships in my day. The hunt started at the curb.

In 1995, Autobytel began reaching past the curb via the internet. They lured customers online and packaged them up as leads. AutoTrader.com followed closely behind with an online listings model that was a huge improvement over newspaper classified ads. The ads were interactive. They went back and forth with the shopper. Most dealerships viewed this as advertising. My grandfather, had he still been alive, would have quickly recognized it as sales.

After all, the internet offers two-way communication. One-way devices (radio, television, print, and outdoor) were advertising, meant to stimulate the customer into coming to the store for a two-way conversation we called the sales process. The telephone, a two-way communication device, was clearly recognized as a sales tool in my grandfather's day, but by my time the approach to the phone was "just get them in." After all, everyone knew sales started at the curb. No wonder the internet was quickly misunderstood as an advertising medium rather than a sales tool.

Today, selling cars starts with price, photos, video, and text descriptions. Vehicles not online are not offered to the more than 80% of car buyers who use the internet in their automotive shopping process. Vehicles online without pricing or complete merchandising are generally dismissed by consumers as not really for sale either. Shoppers engage in a two-way conversation with the internet. The shopper clicks or types and the internet responds with content. If your vehicle has little or nothing to say for itself, the conversation quickly dries up and moves to another vehicle that is for sale and ready for an online conversation.

My grandfather would have been amazed at this modern sales tool. The notion that he could put everything he knew about the vehicle into an online listing and dozens of people would interact and converse with that information until one of them was sold enough to contact him would have seemed amazing. It also would have saved a great deal of shoe leather. He might have been intimidated by the first fifteen years of technology surrounding automotive internet. But now merchandising a vehicle is literally as easy as turning on an iPhone application and following the built-in steps (e.g. cDemo's Mobile Inspector App). Any eight year old can do it. No second device, no cables, no moving files around. My grandfather would have been able to pick it up without any training, and he would have recognized that he was selling cars, not just advertising them.

We have come full circle over the past four generations. During the depression and late 1940's sales efforts went out to where the customers were. As television advertising took hold, sales efforts were chained down. But the internet set those sales efforts free, going back out to shopper's homes, places of work, or wherever they want us, whenever they want us. The chain and collar are off. Take your price and rich content beyond the curb and get some new sales started!

When vendors look at dealer's marketing and training budgets as a fixed pie, disparaging remarks and misinformation are sure to follow. Virtually everything a dealer can buy to increase sales has been said to not work at some point or another. While every product or service related to revenue generation must be held accountable for the value it delivers, nearly all of them can be justified under the proper circumstances and at the right price point.

The following four-minute video uses animation to demonstrate that performing well with one marketing or training solution often increases the value of complementary opportunities. http://revenuegurutraining.articulate-online.com/8685108185 The more a dealership is fixated on a single solution, the deeper they fall into diminishing returns. The good news is that extreme expertise in one area often enhances the value of other opportunities. We refer to this as The Seesaw Effect. The more dealers understand these seesaws the better equipped they are to place the next investment in the opportunity that will serve the store best.

Dealers will be served best by those vendors who accurately identify the revenue enhancement that will come from investing in their products as well as the complementary products that can be profitably invested in before or after their own product is purchased. Vendors have a responsibility to become trustworthy marketing consultants. When a vendor advises the dealer to invest $10,000 per store per month in their own product and minimize the investment in complementary products and services, it's probably time to hide the checkbook until rational advice can be obtained.

There are some cautions and exceptions. Investing in a branding campaign (usually with TV, radio, outdoor, and general display) is not advisable unless the campaign can be sufficiently funded, a unique selling proposition exists, and there is a commitment to maintain the campaign long term. Still, a great branding campaign can have a positive influence on the production of online listings, newspaper ads, SEM, and even the ability to set appointments and close sales. Conservatively, over $1,000,000,000 in dealer advertising and training budgets are misspent  each year. Thinking through the seesaws within Galbraith's map can go a long way toward cutting your portion of that waste. 

When vendors look at dealer's marketing and training budgets as a fixed pie, disparaging remarks and misinformation are sure to follow. Virtually everything a dealer can buy to increase sales has been said to not work at some point or another. While every product or service related to revenue generation must be held accountable for the value it delivers, nearly all of them can be justified under the proper circumstances and at the right price point.

The following four-minute video uses animation to demonstrate that performing well with one marketing or training solution often increases the value of complementary opportunities. http://revenuegurutraining.articulate-online.com/8685108185 The more a dealership is fixated on a single solution, the deeper they fall into diminishing returns. The good news is that extreme expertise in one area often enhances the value of other opportunities. We refer to this as The Seesaw Effect. The more dealers understand these seesaws the better equipped they are to place the next investment in the opportunity that will serve the store best.

Dealers will be served best by those vendors who accurately identify the revenue enhancement that will come from investing in their products as well as the complementary products that can be profitably invested in before or after their own product is purchased. Vendors have a responsibility to become trustworthy marketing consultants. When a vendor advises the dealer to invest $10,000 per store per month in their own product and minimize the investment in complementary products and services, it's probably time to hide the checkbook until rational advice can be obtained.

There are some cautions and exceptions. Investing in a branding campaign (usually with TV, radio, outdoor, and general display) is not advisable unless the campaign can be sufficiently funded, a unique selling proposition exists, and there is a commitment to maintain the campaign long term. Still, a great branding campaign can have a positive influence on the production of online listings, newspaper ads, SEM, and even the ability to set appointments and close sales. Conservatively, over $1,000,000,000 in dealer advertising and training budgets are misspent  each year. Thinking through the seesaws within Galbraith's map can go a long way toward cutting your portion of that waste. 

Fifteen years ago, the shopping radius of your customers was smaller. More of your sales came from people in your local area who used the same cable system, read the same paper, and listened to the same local radio stations. You thought you had a pretty good gut feel for the market, any you probably did. Besides, you didn't have much choice. Good marketing data was scarce.

Today, new customers are considering your inventory from further away and your local customers are looking at inventory from dealers they never considered before. Shoppers are bouncing from site to site like they were in a pinball machine. You have no idea who sees and hears your ads and who strips your commercials from your content. In short, the changes in consumer behavior have given your gut feel a gastric bypass.

I keep asking myself why thousands of dealers subscribing to J.D. Power's PIN product don't use the free PowerDealer tool, or why more dealers haven't signed up for Dataium's free VisiCogn Insite product. Why don't more dealers subscribing to vAuto and FirstLook take full advantage of the tools they subscribe to? These products, and others, provide good useful data that can facilitate sound decision making. I'm beginning to think it's not these analytical tools that are being dismissed as much as it is the process of using them.

Decision makers of my generation need to face up to the fact that marketing is more complicated than it used to be, and our gut feel is less equipped for the job. In fact, some of our experience from 30 years ago is working against us when we make decisions in a vastly different landscape. Networking with other dealers isn't enough either, because media penetration is much different in one community than it is another. You've got to make sense of the numbers in your DMA and base your decision making on the clearer picture they can provide.

We used to say that the homecoming king would make more money than the class nerd. The social skills involved in selling were more valuable than analytical skills. Today, if you don't have enough nerd power going for you there won't be enough store traffic to keep the homecoming king in business. Getting the data is cheap and often free. Start there and begin putting the data to work for better decision making about advertising buys, vehicle acquisitions, pricing, merchandising decisions, and store operations. 

Fifteen years ago, the shopping radius of your customers was smaller. More of your sales came from people in your local area who used the same cable system, read the same paper, and listened to the same local radio stations. You thought you had a pretty good gut feel for the market, any you probably did. Besides, you didn't have much choice. Good marketing data was scarce.

Today, new customers are considering your inventory from further away and your local customers are looking at inventory from dealers they never considered before. Shoppers are bouncing from site to site like they were in a pinball machine. You have no idea who sees and hears your ads and who strips your commercials from your content. In short, the changes in consumer behavior have given your gut feel a gastric bypass.

I keep asking myself why thousands of dealers subscribing to J.D. Power's PIN product don't use the free PowerDealer tool, or why more dealers haven't signed up for Dataium's free VisiCogn Insite product. Why don't more dealers subscribing to vAuto and FirstLook take full advantage of the tools they subscribe to? These products, and others, provide good useful data that can facilitate sound decision making. I'm beginning to think it's not these analytical tools that are being dismissed as much as it is the process of using them.

Decision makers of my generation need to face up to the fact that marketing is more complicated than it used to be, and our gut feel is less equipped for the job. In fact, some of our experience from 30 years ago is working against us when we make decisions in a vastly different landscape. Networking with other dealers isn't enough either, because media penetration is much different in one community than it is another. You've got to make sense of the numbers in your DMA and base your decision making on the clearer picture they can provide.

We used to say that the homecoming king would make more money than the class nerd. The social skills involved in selling were more valuable than analytical skills. Today, if you don't have enough nerd power going for you there won't be enough store traffic to keep the homecoming king in business. Getting the data is cheap and often free. Start there and begin putting the data to work for better decision making about advertising buys, vehicle acquisitions, pricing, merchandising decisions, and store operations. 

     One reason I left the automotive internet research business in 2006 was the proliferation of online research by amateurs loaded with newfound data. Data has never been cheaper or more abundant, but turning data into useful information still requires care. Most industry publications are understaffed and are not in a position to weed out the garbage from the actual research findings dealers need to hear. The consequence is that even the most ridiculous hypothesis is supported by someone's tortured data.

     Research based conclusions regarding retail marketing bounce back and forth like diet information. Just as consumers are baffled about whether things like chocolate, wine, and eggs are healthy in moderation or always to be avoided, dealers are left with lots of claims carrying little credibility.

     It's hard to separate the facts from the fads. What percentage of shoppers really wants to negotiate price? Does this differ by market, buy vehicle segment, or by demographics? Do women prefer fixed pricing more than men do?  Do they value warranties more? These are important questions that have been publicly trampled with conclusions backed by very questionable data and analysis.

     Vendors have taken such a careless approach with data that the act of publishing non-sense has spilled over into some dealer conversations. Closing rate, or any other ratio, doesn't mean a thing unless both the numerator and denominator mean what you think they do. Averages don't accurately describe one-tailed distributions. Large sample sizes don't make up for sampling bias.

     Regardless of intentions, some of what dealers are being fed is flat-out misinformation. Dealers need to be careful about how much weight they give to information from vendors who are not in the business of providing sound information. Vendors seeking credibility for their findings should provide greater transparency into their research methodology.

     One reason I left the automotive internet research business in 2006 was the proliferation of online research by amateurs loaded with newfound data. Data has never been cheaper or more abundant, but turning data into useful information still requires care. Most industry publications are understaffed and are not in a position to weed out the garbage from the actual research findings dealers need to hear. The consequence is that even the most ridiculous hypothesis is supported by someone's tortured data.

     Research based conclusions regarding retail marketing bounce back and forth like diet information. Just as consumers are baffled about whether things like chocolate, wine, and eggs are healthy in moderation or always to be avoided, dealers are left with lots of claims carrying little credibility.

     It's hard to separate the facts from the fads. What percentage of shoppers really wants to negotiate price? Does this differ by market, buy vehicle segment, or by demographics? Do women prefer fixed pricing more than men do?  Do they value warranties more? These are important questions that have been publicly trampled with conclusions backed by very questionable data and analysis.

     Vendors have taken such a careless approach with data that the act of publishing non-sense has spilled over into some dealer conversations. Closing rate, or any other ratio, doesn't mean a thing unless both the numerator and denominator mean what you think they do. Averages don't accurately describe one-tailed distributions. Large sample sizes don't make up for sampling bias.

     Regardless of intentions, some of what dealers are being fed is flat-out misinformation. Dealers need to be careful about how much weight they give to information from vendors who are not in the business of providing sound information. Vendors seeking credibility for their findings should provide greater transparency into their research methodology.

   The Power Information Network is a division of J.D. Power and Associates. Its automated system collects data from roughly 1/3 of all franchised dealers and provides a free reporting tool, PowerDealer, showing both the individual dealer's data and aggregated results from other dealers. PowerDealer is a nice complement to the free Dataium information I wrote about last week. While Dataium is live shopping information, PowerDealer is sales information in near real time. Between the two, you have insight into what is actually being sought and bought.

   Unlike sales reports based on registration data, this information is no more than 24 hours old from the point of sale. This makes the guidebook particularly useful during times of turbulent pricing and fluctuating demand.

   A feature I find helpful for knowing what vehicles to be on the lookout for is the ROI indicator; it combines gross profit and days to turn. If the average retailer cost of a vehicle is $12,000 and its average sales price is $14,000 with an average 30 days to turn, then the dealer could expect to make $2,000 in one month. If this were repeated each month, it would result in a 200% ROI on the $12,000 investment ($2,000 X 12 months = $24,000). Sorting vehicles by ROI is a quick way to identify attractive inventory.

   Another fantastic feature is PowerDealer's ability to plot sales information on a Google map with a variable radius from the store. Franchise sales reports can be seen at four regional levels. It also includes a booking tool backed by current sales data.

   This free tool is not going to replace your vAutos or any other robust market-data tool. It can help your sales managers know whether their expected gross margins line up with benchmarks based on what is actually selling in the same time period.

   I'm told that some dealers still hold back from participating in order to retain anonymity. The 1/3 penetration rate assures that enough dealers are included in the aggregate benchmarks to dismiss that concern in nearly all cases. A fixed-operations module can be added for a fee, but the core product is free to dealers.

   The PowerDealer demo site can be accessed at: https://pinpowerdealer.com

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   The Power Information Network is a division of J.D. Power and Associates. Its automated system collects data from roughly 1/3 of all franchised dealers and provides a free reporting tool, PowerDealer, showing both the individual dealer's data and aggregated results from other dealers. PowerDealer is a nice complement to the free Dataium information I wrote about last week. While Dataium is live shopping information, PowerDealer is sales information in near real time. Between the two, you have insight into what is actually being sought and bought.

   Unlike sales reports based on registration data, this information is no more than 24 hours old from the point of sale. This makes the guidebook particularly useful during times of turbulent pricing and fluctuating demand.

   A feature I find helpful for knowing what vehicles to be on the lookout for is the ROI indicator; it combines gross profit and days to turn. If the average retailer cost of a vehicle is $12,000 and its average sales price is $14,000 with an average 30 days to turn, then the dealer could expect to make $2,000 in one month. If this were repeated each month, it would result in a 200% ROI on the $12,000 investment ($2,000 X 12 months = $24,000). Sorting vehicles by ROI is a quick way to identify attractive inventory.

   Another fantastic feature is PowerDealer's ability to plot sales information on a Google map with a variable radius from the store. Franchise sales reports can be seen at four regional levels. It also includes a booking tool backed by current sales data.

   This free tool is not going to replace your vAutos or any other robust market-data tool. It can help your sales managers know whether their expected gross margins line up with benchmarks based on what is actually selling in the same time period.

   I'm told that some dealers still hold back from participating in order to retain anonymity. The 1/3 penetration rate assures that enough dealers are included in the aggregate benchmarks to dismiss that concern in nearly all cases. A fixed-operations module can be added for a fee, but the core product is free to dealers.

   The PowerDealer demo site can be accessed at: https://pinpowerdealer.com

Login: pindemo

Password: pindemo