We spend a lot of time reviewing ways to improve the customer's experience whether that is through surveys, studies, or reading endless reports. However, the one thing we tend not to discuss is the redesigning of the customer's experience. That is, instead of layering in small changes why not redesign the experience? One of the most significant changes in the automotive industry regarding the customer's experience in the last few years is the “digital retailing” sector. However, as we know - the digital evolution, itself, is not enough to change the customer's entire experience. In which case, there still seems to be a disconnect in what we are changing versus what the customer actually wants. That said, there is a conversation to be had - one that discusses some of the following topics.

Simply Saying You are Transparent Does Not Cut It. It is an Overused Ambiguous Word. 

It has been one of the biggest buzzwords in the auto industry for some time and in many cases still is, but what are we exactly being transparent about? There still might be some confusion as to what the customer wants transparency on. Such as the process of purchasing a vehicle, trade-in process, to the way in which a car is priced. So the question is, simply, are we ignoring the customer's actual request for transparency? Or do we on the dealer level have a different definition of transparency that we use to enhance their experience? 

In today's market, customers want answers. Think about it, with all of the apps and sites out there that give customers their credit history, rates, etc. they have more information than of what they are accustomed to, which does not mean that we can not make a profit. So the question is what are we actually transparent about? Some of the common statements are: we have low pricing, we do not play pricing games, we have OEM certified technicians, we care about our customers, to we have good reviews. All of which is great! There is nothing better than a good review; however, even when reading the reviews - those that are good - the customer still states that the dealer was “honest, straight forward, low pricing, but it still took three hours to purchase a vehicle” or “we are so happy we ended at (dealership). We visited multiple dealerships before making the purchase.” That says there is still a disconnect in how a dealer translates transparency. 

Instead of Talking About Transparency Let’s Focus on Being Consistent. Let’s Make the Buying Process Smoother. 

Perhaps five to six years ago dealers could get away with crazy pricing rules or other various fees. But things, as we know, have changed; especially for new vehicle sales. The OEM’s are much tighter when it comes to what a dealer can price their vehicles at as well as how the pricing structure works. That said, it is time to move past the word transparency, and look at changing the customer's experience online. To do so, here are two key elements to consider: 

The Process 

Many of us forget the nuances of purchasing a car because we live and breath the dealer world. So much so, that we spend more time defining transparency than actually taking the time to approach one of the most crucial aspects of purchasing a car; the process. I have yet to see a dealer create a video that explains the buying process. Wherein, it would be a short one minute to two-minute video that highlights how to buy a car. This is especially important for the younger generations who have not yet purchased their first vehicle. I can tell you first hand how many times I have dealt with customers who had not yet bought a car. They are often excited, but nervous. If we took the time - in the beginning, while they are doing their research -  and put them at ease by explaining the process, it could pay off for the dealership! Not to mention, it will save the customer several hours of their personal time as they do not have to go through the motions at the dealership, again, with another sales consultant who happens to have a very different sales process than of the one in which the customer initially spoke with. It is not a fun situation. 

Vehicle Display Page. Less is More. 

It is a known fact that the fewer options we have, the easier it is to make a selection. Yet more often than not dealers will have several call to actions on their vehicle display pages. So much so that it can become overwhelming for the customer to choose which one best meets their needs. And let us not forget that a customer is not very likely to select the “lead form fill,” and write a paragraph. Instead, they will perhaps choose “get quote,” which does not show in the CRM as “get quote,” where the sales consultant will call them and the customer has to repeat what they just asked; “get quote.” 

This breakpoint can cause for frustration on the customer's end; this example is “transparency” issues. Namely, the customer expects a response/answer that corresponds to what they are asking. It would be like me saying “is the car blue or grey?” and the answer was “what color are you looking for?” - It does not make sense, no? Avoiding this breakpoint in the customer's experience can have a profound impact on their perception. The better the customer's perception is of the dealer the better chance you have to close the customer. 

Bottom Line: instead of focusing on a word that gets lost in translation it is best to focus on actionable, attainable items that will enhance the customer's experience before they call into the dealership or make their visit. Remembering that just like us, we want answers to our questions. There is nothing more frustrating than asking a question and not getting a straight answer. Lastly, it never hurts to take a moment in the morning - before things get busy - and review your own website. Take a minute to put yourself in your customer's shoes as if it were your first time visiting the dealership, and ask yourself “does this make sense. Is the website missing anything? Does it have too much?” if you are asking yourself these questions it will help you make the necessary enhancements.

Once you have reviewed the website write down a list of things you would like to change at which point have one of your managers complete the same exercise. You can then compare your notes and make time to speak with your vendors. 

What does transparency mean to you? How do you enhance your customer's experience? 

December is the busiest time of the year for the auto industry, which can make or break your year. This is also the perfect time to review your annual marketing budget. However, more often than not a dealer does not review their budget until mid-January, or worse just once monthly. If you do not have a plan of action in place to review quarterly results, it can make it that much harder to make the right business decisions for the year ahead. Not to mention, with the talks of there being a recession it is all the more reason to have an effective, proactive marketing plan in place. Here are some of the top things to consider when reviewing your marketing budget.

Review A List of All of Your Vendors. Do Not Look At the Results Individually. Consistency is Key to Understanding What Your True ROI is For the Year.

It is easy to look at one or two reports and make a decision; however, that is not the best way to make a decision when it comes to using the vendor. The other familiar dealer approach is calling in the GSM or Sales Manager who does not use the product, asking their opinion, which also might not be the best approach to reviewing the vendor. Instead, one of the ways to combat this issue is to survey the dealership. That is asking the employees if they have even heard of the product or if they use it. If they are not using it, then there is a breakdown with your management that needs to be addressed.

As for reviewing the ROI, it is best to look at the dealer's annual performance, which can get tricky when it comes to lead attribution. By that I mean, a customer might have converted off of a few third party sites, but in the CRM it attributed the sale to the last source the customer converted from. That said, there are ways to review the various lead sources the customer converted from seeing what the most common duplicate sources are.

It is also nothing for a dealer to switch a contract with a vendor monthly, which can make it quite difficult to track a true ROI on the vendor. That is not to say that it is not a bad idea to cut a vendor. The reason for cutting the vendor, however, should be more than “we just do not think it is a good idea to continue to work with them because we are not getting enough leads” But this tends to be the case on the dealer level. Instead, take the time to review the reporting they offer. Take that reporting and match it against your CRM. In doing so, you will see the following: 

Duplicate Lead Sources: It is not uncommon for the vendor to say that you had “x” amount of phone calls and “x” amount of internet leads (as mentioned above). I will never forget the time where my last GM thought I was ‘deleting’ leads because they were not showing as ‘individual’ leads in the CRM. I had to explain that while both the phone call and Internet lead were in fact in the CRM - the customer had previously converted off of our website. That said, the lead that received credit was the latest lead, which happened to be an inbound phone call from a third party site.

The lead did still show the customer converting multiple times with the inbound phone call being the last lead reported. That said, when reviewing the vendors report they were correct in regards to the fact that one of their leads did sell. However, when looking at the CRM globally, you have to take considering how many sources contributed to the sale. Once you start to compile all of the sources (many CRM’s have a report for this) you can start to pull trend reports on how many ‘duplicate’ not just sold, but what source was duplicate, and did the customer already have an appointment booked on the original source. If that is the case, the last lead might not carry as much weight. But on the flipside, if the customer had not otherwise made an appointment or contacted the dealership then perhaps the lead is more valuable than it was first thought. That being said, you cannot simply look at vendor reports without comparing them to the CRM.
 

Empower Your Marketing & BDC Manager. Why Have a Marketing or BDC Manager if they Cannot Make Decisions? 

This is not saying that they have free reign on all aspects of the budget. However, if the Marketing or BDC Manager does not have a say or ability to make a decision then what is the purpose of their position? If there is a budget in place, and a list of the vendors they are working with then let them work with it. It is equally important for the GSM to work with the marketing and BDC Manager. By working together on the marketing budget the GSM can review their annual goals, monthly goals and what marketing they need to boost their sales. Otherwise, what usually happens is the GM looks at very high-level reporting - not having all of the details in hand - making decisions that can have a negative impact that was otherwise not thought of during their review. 

Bottom Line: it sounds best to push the marketing plan to the next month (January) because that is what is the norm, but at the end of the day by starting delayed it can wreak havoc. Causing the marketing plan to be a month to month decision. Moreover, while that might seem to work in the long run it is harder to be proactive; as much of the decisions made on a month to month basis are reactive. Reactive decisions to not allow you to look and review the full picture. Not to mention, waiting until the end of January to review the next years budget means that you will not have a plan in place until mid-February, which is right before the March rush. Whereas had you planned in December - you will be prepared for March allowing you to focus on stronger marketing in January and February which are historically slower months.

When do you plan your marketing budgets? Do you allow your Marketing or BDC Manager to be apart of the discussion? If not, how do you empower them to improve their efforts besides telling them to book more appointments? 
 

You get a bonus. He Gets a Bonus. She Gets a Bonus. We All Get Bonuses? It is not uncommon for the sales consultant to receive a year-end bonus based on the volume of their sales, which does not sound bad, right? As for the volume of the bonus, I have seen $2.50 per unit under 125 units sold and as much as $7.50 per unit for those above 250. The bonus was then paid in December. So what is exactly wrong with this bonus structure?

There is nothing wrong with bonusing your sales consultants for their hard work. However, when it came to the top dogs, they would usually take it easy in December knowing that they were about to receive a huge payout. Knowing that selling a few more units was not that much more money. If a dealer is counting on those few sales consultants to carry their December, it might not work out. For those who did not sell as many units, less than ten a month, the bonus was not necessarily warranted; especially if the sales consultant did not have the best CSI scores, which can cost the dealership thousands of dollars.

That said, here are some of the top concerns, and alternative approaches that are not only beneficial to the sales consultant but also the dealership.

What About the BDC Managers/Marketing Directors? Where is their Bonus?

I get that BDC Managers or Marketing Directors are seen as overhead - the idea that they do not physically sell the unit. However, that does not mean that they, too, do not deserve a bonus. After all, the BDC Managers are the ones managing the CRM, vendor accounts, phone calls, appointments, etc. A $1,200 to $1,500 can go a long way. Not just for the overall morale, but it will also encourage them to start the new year off on a strong start. We tend to forget how much work they do on a daily basis. Not to mention, all of the extra things they do that - in so many cases - goes unnoticed.

Sales Managers? I Know Results Are Expected. But They Deserve A Year-End Bonus.

In our industry, it is not uncommon for the sales consultant to earn more than their managers, which seems odd; however, is warranted depending on the situation. That does not mean that your sales managers do not deserve a bonus. One of the ways to approach this issue is by giving the managers a year-end bonus if they have hit their objectives. The objectives could be KPI’s that are well thought out, and in alignment with the dealership's goals. However, in many cases, the dealership's goals - for bonuses - are so unrealistic to the point where they will continually change the pay plan if they believe their manager or staff is making to much money. You might not think that happens, but it happens far more than you would think or want to admit. Where the dealer would rather run the risk of losing a solid employee than pay a decent living. It's a vicious cycle that can have a detrimental impact to a dealers bottom line.

The Bonus Can Be Tied to Personal Goals Too!

Selling units are the primary goal. We get that. However, there is more to selling units than the physical act of doing so. In fact, the more connected the employee or manager is to the dealership the better their results will be. Instead of focusing a bonus on a number focus it on the bigger picture. That is their performance. If there are specific areas in the dealership that need focus or attention align their bonus with the task at hand. In doing so, it will encourage them to take on the extra work-load. In doing so, it not only builds their experience, but it also has a positive effect on the dealership.

Bottom line: it is easy to cut a check based on units sold without thinking twice. However, there is more to bonuses than simply stroking a check. Not to mention, there is other essential personnel that does not get the credit they deserve, and while $1,200 - $1,500 does not seem like a lot of money, it can go a long way in not just boosting your dealer's morale, but encouraging them to continue to go the extra mile. So instead of just stroking the same check year after year work with each employee and design a bonus plan that makes sense for both them and the dealership.

How to does your dealership handle year-end bonuses? Does your BDC Manager or Marketing Director Get a Bonus?

We have all had one time or another where we had to split a deal. Splitting that deal, however, was often easier said than done. Once we had an agreement on the split deal, we thought all was well. However, that is not always the case, and can cause for quite the controversy, which is not what anyone wants or need! To avoid confrontation, frustration, etc. there are some things to consider when splitting deals! 

Split Deals Should Be Discussed On the Floor. Managers Do Not Always Have to Get Involved. 

This is not to offer that managers should not be aware of the split deal. However, there are times when the sales consultant is not there, or they are with another customer and are not able to work the deal. That said, they should have a go-to sales consultant on the floor. Someone they can count on that will be there to assist them. Sounds easy right?
In most cases it does work, but as mentioned above there are times when the split deal can go south. To avoid the split deals going south, there ought to be guidelines. For example, each sales consultant would select someone to handle their deal if they are not available. And while there will be instances where their back-up is unable to assist them, it will cause less confusion, and the possibility for there to be an issue. 

Commission. Who Gets the Stroke on the Board? 

If you are splitting the deal with another sales consultant then whoever’s customer it is would get the stroke on the board. There have been instances where if sales consultant ‘A’ has already hit their bonus - hitting the highest tier in commission - then they would gift sales consultant ‘B’ a sale to hit their next tier. While it is not an issue for a sales consultant to split a deal - lending a hand - it can be an issue for a dealership. Wherein, the dealer would be paying an additional bonus plus commission for a sales consultant who would otherwise not have made it. However, looking into the issue, if your sales consultants were taken care of then there would be a lot less of this issue taking place. As it happens far more than you would think. 

Have A Signed Agreement. Facts Are Facts. 

There can be a lot of grey area when it comes to splitting deals. There are too many situational circumstances. That said, it is best to have a written policy where each one of the sales consultants would sign it, agreeing to have a floor partner who would assist them if they were not able to take care of the deal. This way everyone is on the same page regarding how to approach the split deal. In doing so, it's less likely you will have issues. 

Bottom Line: your dealer does not have to make this harder than it needs to be. At the end of the day, you have to work with your sales consultants. The best way to do that is being on the same page regarding split deals. This way you avoid surprises and the unknown, which can have a negative impact on morale. The other benefit of allowing your sales consultants to work together in determining the split deal helps build a team — especially given the fact that the dealer world is usually 100% commission. 

How do you approach split deals? It's not too late to join the conversation here! 
 

Week after week we have the same meeting at the dealership. That is the GM sitting down with each department manager to review where they are at, projections, and things that need attention. Anything needing attention is then addressed individually with each department manager, which seems harmless but can cause tension and animosity. More often than not, it just means that the department managers involved need to sit down and work it out. However, that cannot happen in individual meetings. Here are some of the top reasons to avoid the Island approach, and how to have a productive, actionable meeting.

First, What is the Purpose Of the Meeting? Too Often the Manager Never Gets Past the Day to Day Dealings

The meeting is often seen as a hassle or waste of time. Knowing that for every minute they are trapped in the GM’s office the less money they will make at the end of the month. So to avoid the meeting taking up to much time, they quickly go through the same checklist. Once the checklist has cleared, they rush the door and get back into the lane or on the desk; all while the GM thinks all is good. But that is not usually the case. Instead, there are underlying issues that need to be addressed. Ones that are often not discussed with the GM, but are discussed among the employees, which can cause for frustration and tension between the various departments.

If You Have A Group Meeting Stick to the Agenda. Give Everyone A Chance. Do Not Interrupt.

The purpose of having an agenda is to ensure that all topics are covered; along with making sure no one goes down an endless rabbit hole that leads to nothing other than forty minutes of wasted time. That having been said if you do have an agenda make sure everyone turns in ahead of time what they would like to speak about. This gives the GM the time to review the request making sure it is in alignment with the meeting. If the topic is deemed personal and/or a conversation to be held privately, it takes away the chances of the meeting going from good to bad. Another reason to have an agenda - that is planned - is that it gives each manager a chance to voice their concerns, or questions effectively. More often than not, an argument between departments could have been avoided had there been better internal communication. This cannot, however, be accomplished if the manager is not given the time of day. As interrupting or talking over another manager is not only disrespectful, but it can also show that you do not support that manager.

Do Not Use the Meeting to Attack Your Co-Manager. Not All Issues Need to Be Made Public.

It is no secret that there is a lot of competition on the dealer level. It is a dog eat dog world, but there is nothing worse than bringing your co-worker down in front of everyone else. Especially given that while you might not care for them - what they are allegedly doing wrong might not even be wrong. However, as the GM if you allow the employee to bad mouth their co-worker in front of their peers it can in many ways send a signal that the behavior is not only allowed, but encouraged. All of which can and will create an eggshell environment. So, if you do have issues with your co-worker it is best to speak with them first. If you are unable to handle it with them directly, at that point you need to meet with your GM.

Bottom Line: Take a minute to get with each one of your managers, and allow them to contribute to the meeting's agenda. In doing so, each one of your managers will feel as if they are apart of the team. Having group meetings amongst management will also help ensure that there is no miscommunication amongst the various departments.

How do you handle manager meetings? Do you review the same agenda each time?  
 

It can be easy as a GM to sit there and make all of the decisions for the dealership; managing everything from sales, service, marketing, and the hiring of new staff on the dealer level. Meanwhile, you have a management staff of at least five to six managers who should be more than capable of managing their departments. However, they cannot effectively lead or develop their teams if they are not empowered to do so by the GM; this is not to say the GM should not be involved with their management team, either. What this is offering is that there is a big difference from being involved to micromanaging their management style with their team. To avoid losing your sales managers - causing morale issues - here are the top things to consider as a GM. 

How to Effectively Manage Your Sales Managers. Avoid Making Your Sales Managers Dependent on You to Make Decisions. 

If your sales manager does not have the confidence to close a deal or write numbers on a trade, then you have some serious problems. First and foremost, your manager cannot be an effective leader if they have to spend their time coming to you on every deal s/he is working on. Not to mention, your sales team can see through the facade. Once your sales team realizes that you do not trust your sales manager to make a decision it can damage the respect they have for their sales manager. All of which can create tension among your sales staff and managers. To avoid this issue altogether, it is best to clearly outline what they can and cannot do when it comes to writing numbers on a trade or what their limit is when closing a deal. In doing so, not only does this empower your sales manager to make a decision that is beneficial for the dealership, but it also boosts morale on the dealer level. And this is not to say that there will not be some instances in which your sales manager has to come to you to review a deal. However, instead of your sales manager feeling micromanaged they will feel empowered to come you versus it being a regular occurrence. 

Beyond the ability to make decisions regarding a deal or trade-in your sales managers also need autonomy to do stuff for their staff. The best way to manage this is by giving your sales manager a quarterly budget for team building events, lunches, etc. In doing so, your managers will feel empowered to make decisions for their staff. But if they have to come to their GM for every decision including ordering $100 worth of pizza for a Saturday lunch then make no mistake; your sales managers will not make the effort to do any team building events or work towards creating a better morale. 

Making Disparaging Remarks about Your Management Team In-Front of the Sales Team. 

You might have to bite your tongue, but it is never a good idea to make disparaging remarks about your management team in front of the sales consultants. This can and will cause moral damage; not just for your sales manager, but also your sales consultants. Whether you agree or not with your sales manager, it is best to have those conversations in private. In doing so, you can ensure your sales manager is aware of your thoughts, but this can be done without crushing them in front of their staff. If you have made disparaging remarks in front of their staff then - as difficult as it might be - it is best to apologize to the staff. By making the bold move to apologize it can both restore and boost the morale.  

Not Finding Out All of the Facts. Calling Them Into Your Office Based On What One Sales Consultant Said. 

This is a huge, huge no-no! Calling your sales manager into the office - with the disgruntled sales consultant - without having first taken the time to speak with your sales manager will cause for multiple issues. First and foremost, your sales manager will feel attacked, which can and will in most cases put them into defensive mode. To which the sales consultant can up-play, which will quickly turn into a heated argument. Instead of taking this approach when it comes to an issue voiced with a sales consultant you should do the following: 

First:  ask the sales consultant have they spoken with their sales manager. If they say “no” then you need to redirect them back to their sales manager. Allowing your sales consultant to bad mouth their sales manager without having spoken with them can set a bad example. If the employee says that they have indeed spoken with their sales manager, but nothing has evolved then ask your sales consultant when they spoke with their manager. In doing so, you are merely getting facts to which you can review with your sales manager. 

Second: take a minute to get with your sales manager in private. First, take a minute, and ask how their day is going. As jumping right into the issue can be viewed as an attack. When you do inquire about the employee issue first ask “did the sales consultant get with you regarding this issue.” If the sales manager says “yes” then inquire what happened. However, if the sales manager says “no” then you need to get the facts from the sales manager and let him know he needs to speak with the employee. But avoid calling the sales consultant into the office while speaking with the manager. It is best for the sales manager and employee to work out the issue together. If they are unable to resolve the issue then at that point you can get involved to work it out. 

Third: avoid inquiring about the issue with other sales managers. It might be easy after a long day to inquire about the issue with another sales manager, which can be misconstrued and be seen as your pitting one manager against the other. This can be very damaging and will cause morale issues. 

Bottom Line: By following the steps above you are showing support for your manager. And while your manager might be in the wrong it is best that they work out the issue with the employee. In doing so, both the sales consultant and sales manager can build mutual respect for one another, which can have a positive impact on morale! 

How Do You Empower Your Sales Managers to Both Lead and Develop Their Staff? 

The idea of implementing a new CRM on the dealer level can seem intimidating, and rightfully so! There is an incredible amount of work involved when implementing a CRM everything from user experience to whether or not your DMS works with the CRM. Not to mention, there are endless other tasks to consider; workflows, marketing, employee profiles, DMS connection, lead integrations, and lastly vendor integrations. The list goes on, which means it can make one's head spin. To avoid confusion, chaos, and disappointment, there are a few key guidelines to consider when making a CRM switch!

Why are you wanting to switch CRM’s? Not Making A Move Because it Seems to Complicated or There is too Much Involved is Not the Right Answer.

Knowing all of what is involved in switching CRM’s it is essential first to ask yourself “why am I switching CRM’s? Is it reporting, workflow management, campaigns, customizations, etc.? As you are asking yourself those questions, it is also important to review the current CRM with your account manager. It is no secret that the average dealer uses less than thirty percent of its CRM’s features. That said, before making a switch take the time to sit down with your current account manager and review your concerns or anything you would like to do within the CRM. In doing so, you could potentially still use the CRM versus spending thousands of dollars to switch CRM’s and take the risk that the new CRM might not be everything that you had hoped for when making a move!

Have a Project Manager! Avoid Having too Many People Managing the Project Which Can Lead to Confusion!

While it might sound like a great idea to have everyone involved in implementing the CRM, it might not be best. Having too many people managing the CRM implementation can easily cause confusion, which can lead to delays as there could be a breakdown in communication between the CRM and the dealership. To avoid this potential issue it is best to have a primary point of contact. The point of contact on the dealer level will be sure to update everyone as to the status of the CRM. As for ensuring everyone has a chance to share or discuss their ideas regarding the implementation, you can easily schedule weekly meetings to discuss updates, concerns or suggestions. In doing so, it helps to remove the chances of there being a breakdown in communication which can lead to unnecessary delays.

Vendor Integration. Check and Verify If Your Current Vendors Can Integrate With the CRM

Integrating vendors in the CRM is not an easy task; it can be easy to overlook one or two integrations such as third-party leads or the trade-in tool. Where in many cases, the vendor's tools might not always work 100% with the new CRM. Making it that much harder to manage the data with each tool as it is housed with each vendor individually. That said, before deciding to switch CRM's take the time to make sure that all of your vendors will work with the new CRM. It is also important to list out each one of the vendors you use, and what the current status is of its integration. This way you can keep track of the vendor making sure that nothing is overlooked. The other thing you ought to consider when reviewing the vendor integration is whether or not you need all of the vendors. If you have one or more services that have the same core functions you might not need all of the services. In reviewing the vendors, you can easily save hundreds if not thousands of dollars a month!


End Goal. Have a Clear Vision with Realistic Expectations. Launching the CRM at the Time of Their Visit Does Not Always Work. Have A Soft Launch Ahead of Time!

In a perfect world, we would have launched the CRM yesterday. But the truth is there is a lot involved when it comes to implementing a new CRM. So before you implement a new CRM take the time to set a realistic timeline. That is reviewing the time it will take to implement the CRM, and how long it will take to ensure that all of the vendors are integrated correctly. As there is nothing worse than using a CRM that does not work the way it was intended. Not to mention, if the CRM is not set up correctly then it can take that much more work to ensure that all of the users use the CRM.

One of the best ways to avoid this issue is by working with the CRM company to soft launch the CRM with specific people. In doing so, your BDC Manager and Sales Managers can take the time to review the CRM that is everything from how to add customers, customer profiles, workflows, templates, marketing, click to call (for those with that feature), quoting, etc. If your BDC Manager and Sales Manager are learning the CRM at the same time as your sales consultants, it can create a lot of frustration and confusion as the sales consultants will be looking to them for assistance when using the CRM.

Bottom Line: a CRM is as only good as the data entered into it! However, for those that do have good data in the CRM, it can be incredibly useful. That is organizing the data in a way that translates and makes sense for the end user. Not to mention, there are CRM’s on today's market that have multiple tools built into their platform whether that is chat, phone call tracking, etc. Having all of the features under one rooftop can not only save money, but make the data more useful knowing that when your managers have to use multiple platforms to review and analyze data the less likely they are going to use the tool. Lastly, before making a switch in CRM’s take the time to review your current platform. Ask yourself the tough questions: does the CRM have the reporting, vendor integration, and technology needed to sell more cars? If you do have these questions for your current CRM take the time to speak with your account manager; most dealers do not use more than 30% of their CRM’s features! By taking the time to review your current CRM’s features it can save you thousands of dollars and the headache of switching CRM’s however if your CRM is not able to do the things you need then do not wait. Make the move as a new more powerful CRM can and will make a big difference!

How often do you have the CRM conversation? Have you taken the time to speak and work with your CRM account manager?

 

It is not uncommon to receive over sixty plus notifications per day on your cell phone. As one can imagine, it can become tedious to filter through all of the clutter to find what you need or what is essential. The same can be said for all of the notifications your sales managers receive via email, text, and through the CRM. Not to mention alerts from any one of the other vendors you are using. For those who have a trade-in appraisal platform, you know first hand how many alerts you can receive at one time! That said, instead of forcing your managers to get alerts from every option (text, email, etc.) let them choose which method is best for them. In doing so, it allows your manager to focus on what is most important, which is working with the customer!

How to Manage Alerts On the Dealer Level. Less is More. No Need to Clutter their Inbox.

I will never forget a conversation I had with a GM who forced his sales managers to receive vendor notifications, email notifications, CRM notifications, and text notifications for the same alert! This understandably caused confusion given that at any time during the day the sales manager would receive as many as twenty to thirty emails and texts at the same time. As one might imagine, this became overwhelming for the managers to try and manage all of these alerts. Instead of forcing them to receive the same notification on multiple devices, let them choose which method is best for them. Besides, you will review the CRM to see whether or not the customer sold and or if they communicated with the customer. So while it might seem like a good idea to push the alerts, less is more!

The CRM Houses the Leads, no? So why do we need an alert for every lead via text message, email, &CRM?

If you have a BDC Manager, there is no need for the sales manager to receive a text message, CRM alert, and email for the lead. Now, if you are sitting thinking well my BDC Manager is not going to understand the importance of that lead or that the customer is ready to buy - then perhaps you do not have the right person managing the BDC, which is a whole other issue. Instead of your sales managers focusing on each lead itself they should be focusing on how many appointments they have booked for the day, week and weekend. By managing the end result and working with their sales consultants, they could save as much as an hour a day by focusing on what is essential instead of running back to the BDC Manager every few minutes to see if they have answered the lead!

Email Lead Alerts? Is this Necessary?

I am not sure about the rest of you, but receiving the lead via email became a nuisance. It was a lot of extra emails to manage, and while there were a few times that the leads were delayed and or were not delivered to the CRM, I would just log into the website tool and review if there were leads that had not yet been pushed over. However, if I had to go through every email it would have taken twice the amount of time. Whereas, I would quickly look at the time stamp in the website tool and anything that did not come over after a specific amount of time I would make sure it got pushed into the CRM.

Bottom Line: Multiple alerts for the same thing sounds harmless, but in all reality, it can cause more harm than good. Instead of having your managers focusing on how to manage all of their alerts, it is best for them to focus on what is important, selling cars! For those of you who have a BDC Manager, make sure work with them outlining when it is that you expect a report on that day's activity; whether that is at the end of the day or the following morning. By having a plan of action, it eliminates the need for the hundreds of additional alerts on a daily basis, which will undoubtedly leave your manager's inbox cluttered.

How do you manage alerts? Do you make your sales managers receive the same alert on multiple devices?

At one point or another, we have all experienced the moment where the sales manager or GM asked us to put together a sales blast on a moments notice! That is their wanting us to send the entire database an email campaign regardless of whether or not the data is good. And while they will argue until you are blue in the face, we all know that doing campaigns in that manner can and will have negative consequences. Everything from mistakes in the email campaign, compliance issues, broken links, no alt text for images, and/or worse you get flagged for spam or blacklisted. Frankly, so many of today's CRM’s make it way to easy for the above to occur. Here are the top things to consider before hitting the send button! 

Quality over Quantity. What is the Purpose of the Email Campaign? 

More often than not the GM or Sales Manager will tell you “just send it to the whole CRM” to which we offer that not all emails in the CRM are valid, but in my previous case we were not allowed to ‘delete’ bad emails nor were we allowed to remove emails that have opted out. So each time an email list was pulled it was thought that I was deleting emails off the list, but in reality, it was because the customer had opted out. The point is, though, that sending an email blast to the entire database does not make sense. Nor will sending the email blast to the whole database get you the results you are hoping for! If anything, it will cause the customer to opt out! 

So before you go hit send on an email blast to the entire database, it is essential to understand the purpose of the email. For example, if your GM or Sales Manager is worried that the leads are down and the weekend appointments are low then sending out an email blast to 8,600 people on a Thursday is not going to do much good! Instead, you could create an email for the customers who have been quoted or have visited the store after having reviewed the deals, and send them an email or better yet give them a phone call. In doing so, you have a much better chance of securing a deal versus sending the entire database an email campaign; especially if the email went to one of your customers who has just quoted. Knowing that your email might have a lower price, which might upset the customer making it that much harder to secure the deal. 

Scrub Your Email Lists! A Customer Who Inquired A Year Ago on A Used Car Might Not Still Be in the Market! 

This is not saying that you should not email a customer if they have had correspondence with you within the last three to six months. But if the customer inquired a year or so ago, and never responded to your emails, calls or text messages than chances are they have either already purchased and/or they are not in the market. So sending them yet another email for the hopes and chances of selling them a car does not make much sense. That and it runs your dealer the risk of getting flagged for spam! 

Bottom Line: While sending out the email blast might seem tempting or the right thing to do, it is best to have a clear plan of action. Understanding the purpose of the email blast having a clear message for the customer. Otherwise - as outlined above - the campaign can cause more damage than good. And the whole purpose of sending out an email blast is to increase business, no? So before you send out the next email blast to the entire database review the customers who fit the criteria, get with your sales managers, and make sure that the pricing is correct and that the links are set up correctly in the email. In doing so, you will have more success. But most importantly, it is essential to review which customers have engaged with the email whether that is having opened it and/or replied. If your BDC or Sales Consultants take the time to follow-up with the customer your chances of selling the customer become that much greater! 

How do you handle email blasts at your dealership? Do you allow your sales managers to send out email blasts on their own accord? 
 

The Best Idea contest is one of my favorite events at DSES. It is always refreshing to see new and innovative ideas presented by those who also work on the dealer level.  One of the ideas presented this year - albeit while it was not necessarily new - was the auditing of your dealers SEM company. The idea that your dealer might not be getting its monies worth out the service they are using! And while it might seem to be common sense on the surface the fact is very few dealers ever question and or hold their vendors accountable.

Given that the profit margins are shrinking it is essential for us to start paying attention to what our vendors are offering us. And if our vendors are not bringing results to the table we have to realize that the issue is not always because we are not “spending enough.” Whereas, the vendor has not delivered on their end which is causing for there to be a decline in traffic. That said, here are some of the top things to consider when reviewing your reporting:

Monthly Results: Changes are Hard to Make on A Mid-Month Phone Call.

It is also important to review the monthly results, and in doing so you can hold the vendor accountable. More often than not, dealers will not call the vendor to discuss the results until mid-month, which does not provide the dealer enough time to make changes and or see any results in the changes made. The other issue with this approach is that because there is not a solid plan in place it makes it that much harder to make a well thought out decision; one that will bring great results on the dealer level.

Vendor Management: Communication is a two-way street.

As mentioned above, it is hard to see results if you are making changes mid-month on spend. That said, communication is a two-way street, and while your vendor is responsible for delivering results you have to communicate what it is you are asking for! A vendor cannot make changes if you do not communicate with them. For example, if your vendor is not located in the same market as you are then their plans for a local dealership might not work out for you! One of the top questions that dealers ask is “what other (OEM) have you done marketing for? And what campaigns work best?” - on the surface, it sounds like a great question, right? But it is not the best question! Each and every market is different, and to base your entire months spend on non-local comparison does not make the most sense. Instead, you have to analyze your own market and understand what the areas of opportunities are!

For example, if there is one OEM vehicle that you are not selling well in your market, but your competitor is then it is important to review how you are marketing that vehicle. Looking to see what impression share you have not to mention how many inquiries or VDP clicks you are getting. If you are not getting any traffic on the unit than it could be pricing, marketing, etc. But you will not know this if you are asking your SEM company to do what their local OEM did.

Bottom Line: it is important to hold your vendor accountable. There is nothing worse than spending money on marketing efforts to not see the results. However, in order to get the best results for your dealership, it is best to have open communication with your vendor. Taking it one step further, it is also a good idea to have a meeting with your vendor monthly to review the current results and see what if anything you need to do to realign your efforts. Lastly, it is important to review contracts to understand what you are getting for what you have paid.  

How Do You Manage Your Vendor Relationships? Do You Plan Ahead for Marketing?