Im certainly not the mechanical type.so in driving home from a brief trip to the lake over the weekend my wife asked me "does it really matter what type of fuel we put in the car?" I wasn't much of a help in answering. I knew enough to get by, but not enough to overcome a customers objection on the subject or to really install confidence from them in my answer. Lucky for me, I stumbled upon an article today on MSN that I thought was very well written.

I thought id share it so everyone in sales out there could use it to answer customer questions if it comes up. Sales are tough and we should be looking everywhere for a little edge to be a better closer:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25691323/

Good luck with the end of your month!

 

Update 7/31 2008: This morning I had a comment posted that had good intentions with strong opposing feelings about my post.  My opinion of the situation described hasn't changed much and such a passionate comment being posted weeks after the situation has ended further underscores my message.  It is extremly important that we learn the importance of transparencly in dealing with online reputation issuese right. 

However, this member also called me out for illustrating my point with names of those involved intact. Generally I am fairly sensitive to that, but I missed it here. I would have to agree that my message and the poinant nature of example would still have come through if I would have edited out the names, and thus I apoligize to both parties for any extra unwanted attention due to my using their situation as an example.  As my own advice in the column suggests one should do, I've done what  I feel is best in correcting my error.  I have removed the names from the post. 

I passionatly believe in the spirit of DrivingSales...  If we all collaberate and learn from one another successes and mistakes we will shorten the learning curve and increase the success of all.  It is in that spirit my message stands, but the names of those involved have been removed.

Update 7/18 2008: Since this posting I have had many valuable conversations, on both sides of the fence, about the situation.  My objective is to provide valuable information to dealers, not be a gossip column.   In that light, and after some continued research, I have some additional insights to share.

1. Dealers, this is an example of how important your online reputation is.  Dont dismiss online rating sites and user generated content as only a thorn in your side. When you have negative comments, get involved as early as possible, be transparent and things will get fixed.  People have always talked about your business and you have always had a reputation to manage, this is not new.  The only difference now is that the conversations last much longer, are on the web so they have greater effect and MOST IMPORTANTLY this gives you a chance to be involved... SO GO GET INVOLVED!  Both parties agree with that advice and are great industry examples of it!

2. We have some big fish to fry in this industry, almost every franchise is down in sales.  Dealers are struggling all over the country and we are in a volatile political/economic climate.  The industry can recover faster and stronger thanks to social technologies and collaborative utilities if we leverage them properly to aggregate best practices and shorten the learning curve for all.   The consultant mentioned is 100% behind this and willing to help lead the charge, I now know this even more, first hand.  Even if you can't talk with him, read any of his writings, it is impossible to not feel his passion. He is busy traveling and helping dealers, so until the airlines allow blackberries or provide web access on planes (hopefully coming soon)  we should all exercise some patience in awaiting responses from him.  He is not intentionally avoiding any discussion (that certainly isn't his personality!), in fact, you will begin to see more of both of these experts, each in their own ways.

In this volatile market discipline and focus really sets the winners apart. As dealers, utilize the network of resources around you, build on your strengths and maximize your success. YOU GOTTA LOVE THE CAR BUSINESS!

Origional Post:

An Automotive industry blogger and champion for dealers, (we will call him "the blogger") called out a known Trainer/Consultant for breaking some basic rules of e-marketing. It's ironic, because this consultants camp committed some faux pas while e-marketing to dealers while advertising his services about web marketing training. (Yes, I know the irony makes you chuckle.) However, rather than try and fix it the right way, Jim's response was to throw some old school weight around and try to "squash" the voice of the little guy. That worked much better 20 years ago; it doesn't work so well today - especially not on the World Wide Web.

Here's what happened: The Consultants employee got into another social networking site and ripped all the email addresses of potential clients (this network publicly displays the email address of its members, whether they've consented to it or not - something that is against the tenets of DrivingSales) - and blasted them with an email campaign. There were two faux pas:

1) You join networking sites to collaborate with others because you value the relationships. This violated the trust of all the network members by scraping these addresses. Just because this particular network posts them for everyone to see, doesn't mean they are a free for all.

2) This part is ironic, and somewhat comical: The email was to market his upcoming seminar to teach dealers "how to e-market" and other online skills like social networking. In doing so, the consultant not only violated one of the most basic tenets of networking, which is to trust and respect your peers, but the mass email  sent was not even CAN-SPAM compliant! One of the most important components to the CAN-SPAM Act is that marketers supply an easy - preferably one-click - opt out method as well as a physical address at the bottom of the page - both which were missing in this email! (You've got to admit, the irony is amusing.)

The untiring blogger, Web 2.0 evangelist, and social networker, saw the irony in the email and wanted to write a post about it. Before posting to his blog, he left messages and sent emails to both the consultants who were training at the seminar.

1) Consultant 1 called the blogger right back, told him he apologized for the violation of trust on the network, assured the blogger he had no knowledge this was going on and would work to ensure it didn't happen again. The blogger called me as soon as they hung up the phone and said, "That Consultant is a great guy, he is a really genuine. It was a mishap, and he said he won't let it happen again." Yes, the blogger actually respects this consultant more, not less through the incident!

2)Consultant 2, on the other hand, has not responded to the blogger, nor returned messages or emails... nothing. Rather, he took the old school route. His secretary advised the blogger on the phone to watch his step with his comments, eluding to the consultants relationship with the bloggers dealer principal. If that message wasn't enough, Consultant 2 emailed the boss ... yeah... he actually did it... and the blogger was called into the "principal's office" to be reprimanded! I'm assuming this consultant hasn't heard of The Streisand effect, or he wouldn't be trying to censor the message through such old school techniques. I don't know the content of this consultants email to the dealer, nor the meeting between the blogger and his boss, but the intent is clear. (As I write this, the blogger is still employed and standing by his posting)

Thanks to technology, the world is too small for these old school bully tactics. Actually, the world was too small before; people just got away with it. True "Masters of eCommerce" have been preaching transparency for some time now; it's nothing new - and it's hard to hide on the Internet. How are you going to handle it when a customer gives your dealership a bad review because there was a legitimate hiccup at the store? Are you going to lash out at them, threaten them, publicly or in private? If you're smart and progressive - I don't think so. That would generate more negative publicity for you and your store than you could ever imagine. The correct answer is simply to respond and say, "Sorry, I goofed and I'll fix it. I want to make it right." Is that too hard? Nobody's perfect, we all screw up. It's how you handle the screw ups that makes you a winner or a loser. And with the rapid pace of change in our high tech world, everyone is learning lessons a lot faster these days - hopefully, especially, e-Marketing Masters.

The consultant in the situation has done some great things for dealers in the "old school" environment, and is transforming his business to help dealers in the online arena.  He will continue to have a positive effect. Despite his relentless attacks on anything he doesn't like (including the Internet), his motivation, even if misguided, was always to stand up for those on the front lines. I'm disappointed, however, that this time when he was wrong he didn't stand up for the guy on the front line - it appears he went at him.  With web marketing, we can all make some mistakes, but when you do - stand tall, be transparent, and pull out all the stops to make it right for your audience.

NOTE:  I am enrolled in the NADA Executive Education program at Babson University.  I have so many people asking me what its like (esentially attending an MBA style program studying entrepreunership in the auto industry with a bunch of other dealers... its cool stuff!) So I figured id publish excerps from my journal to give everyone a glimps into the program.

 

This was a great lesson, from Day one, week one of the Nada Exec Ed program. This is a great story, get this:

Tom Watson, the top dog at IBM (a while back), told a sales person he wanted to see him in his office. This particular sales person had just lost a 5 Million Dollar deal, completly blew it. The sales person just knew he was done for, so he said his good byes and prepped himself to get fired. The sales person went into the office of Mr Watson and a few minutes into the conversation the sales person said to Mr. Watson, "Well, lets not drag this on any longer than we need to, if you're going to fire me lets get it over with."

Mr Watson sat back with a startled look on his face and replied, "Fire you? We just spent 5 million on your education, why would we let go of you now?"

... If only more people thought like that in the car business. Too many managers are quick to yell, demoralize and even fire people in our industry for items that should make for great coaching opportunities. Coaching isnt easy, but its coaching that builds a team. I thought this story was a great example of a superb leader who saw the education his employee just received and not just the mistakes made.

We teach sales people not to be afraid of objections, since overcoming objections are the key to a sale. We as managers must not blow up at mistakes, since they are the key to our teams continued growth.

Week one of the Exec program is all about leadership... this was just one example of 5 min of class on day one. Its going to be a good week. :-)

Recently I was in a group with a bunch of my dealer associates, the discussion was about trends in the economy, it turned into web 2.0 and then into social networking. Most dealers in the discussion agreed, they didnt have much interest in social networks, particularly from a dealership view point. One dealer in particular stated, "I just dont get it, all these kids are connecting myspace; now professionals are getting into it on other sites. Its just a waste of time, i dont see the value in it." He then asked the rest of us, "Do any of you see it any different? How could there possibly be value in that for a car dealer?" I actually bit my tounge... but only for a few minutes. I wanted to see how others responded and was suprised that some staunch supporters of online networking came out of the wood work and made some valid arguments. Finally I couldn't bite my tounge any longer (knowing that the nationwide release of DrivingSales.com was looming).  I shared some value propositions as I saw them. Here's how I responded: 1. I agree Myspace and facebook have an entertainment/social focus. They tend to attract a younger population (althought its growing older) and the main objective of those networks is to connect people socially, not professionally. To form an opinion of the value of online networking for industry professionals through a "MySpace" lens would be incorrect. 2. Answer the fundamental question: Is there value in networking? Well hmm... dealers shell out big bucks to be in 20 groups (granted the location of the meetings are quite entertaining), the NADA convention (the BIGGEST networking event) attracts over 1/3 of the dealer population so they must see value in the networking and lastly we all know that some of the biggest deals in business are both started and closed in networked environments. Deals start off on a better foot when parties are introduced by a mutual friend and seem to go better when discussed at the golf course. We all agreed it was a stupid quesion, there is extreme value in "who you know." Since its virtually non-arguable that your network is extremly valuable, you have to look at practical dealer applications to using an online network like: a. have you ever met someone through the industry whom, months later, you'vew anted to offer a job to because he/she is perfect for the position but you cant find or dont have thier contact info? In that case what do you do? You start calling other people you know to try and get the number this long lost potential hire. Wouldn't it be nice to to log in and get it? b. I cant go to a dealer meeting without someone asking "Hey Jared, your a techy guy, who's got the best CRM system or website product or search marketing solution..." We are always leaning on our peers for product recommendations. Why not just join a network, honestly rate your vendors so all of us dealers can see, and then we can all make better choices and push the vendors to be more innovative since their performance is now so transparent? c. Recently I faced an issue at our store and i was unsure how to proceed, i called an associate, then another... and another. After wasting half a day on the phone i began to feel comfortable with how to proceed, thanks to my "networks" expert advise. The only problem was the calls took half my day. If only I could have posted the issue online and then logged back in later to read my peer responses, it would have been a much more efficient and effective (becasue i could have received MANY more opinoins) then the old fashioned telephone. d. Think of how much your job/career security is increased if you are well connected, reference checks, strategy sharing, not losing contact with associates over time, even keeping others up to date on your life... we could go on and on. In the end all online networking does is take your already extremely valuable professional network and make it more efficient and more effective, saving you time and increasing the benefits. In other words, it makes your extremly valuable network even more valuable to you. Unfortunately, for my conversation with the other dealers, i didnt even get to finish. They were all so excited about networking that they interrupted half way through and continued with their own stories why their personal network is so valuable and how they could see the online network making it even better. At least they caught the vision. :-)

We all know getting off to a fast start is critical to having a good month/week or day. This is a visual program that pays to be first and will get your whole team involved because they get paid based off what the others sell. All totaled, as I have the board posted, it pays out $955 over 9 vehicles. Adjust the time you run it, the vehciles that count and the $$ amounts to tailor the result for your team. Here is how it works: Post the grid or pass it out to all sales consultants. Each time they sell a car they get to place their name in a grid, starting with the $20 in the top left. The dollar amount in the box that they land on, will be paid to them for EVERY vehicle sold after them. So, if they land on the first $20 square and 5 total cars were sold in the program period they would receive $100. They are paid only for their deal that they sell and for those deals AFTER them. Because the payouts are so much larger for the cars sold at the beginning, everyone wants to sell their cars earlier in the day/month or week that you run this contest. The first square pays out $180, number 2 pays $160, $140, $120, $100, $80, $75, $60 and the last square $40. Good luck getting your team going! Thanks

some fun news! I'll be speaking at the Digital Dealer convention in Vegas Oct 1-3! If any of you are attending, come by and listen to our session. Trevor and I are talking about leading your store to success in these changing times and why we believe that ISMs will be the General Managers of the future and must develop the skills to lead and transistion stores.

Here is a link to an article by Digital Dealer Magazine that features Trev and I. Digital Dealer Article

It's crazy to think that the internet shopper has grown from becoming a small niche market to becoming the overwhelming majority of our consumers. Handling them has become much more of a task than having an ISM to handle a few leads; today entire dealership marketing plans must include aspects of the internet but getting everyone's buy in is so difficult. So many stores have deep divisions between the internet department and the retail floor. I understand why traditional desk managers resent the internet, but I certainly don't agree with it. Its here to stay and is only getting bigger. We'veeither got to adapt to it willingly or it will take us fighting. The early adopters have a huge advantage and the market is there for the taking! Anyhow, enough of my soap box; check out the session or at least come by and say hi if you are at the convention. See ya then!

Last week I told everyone about how we moved dealerships. We have been under construction for over 1 year now. The new store turned out very nicely, very ford... it even glows blue at night. For all of you that have moved a dealership you know what I am referring to... its a TON of work to move a store. Cars, IT, phone systems, all the markeintg that has to be changed. Its been work. So far all is well and it seems as though traffic has picked up. We are having a good month, although we have only been here for 2 weeks now. Here is the building: Building at Night: Receptionist desk on showroom to greet guests: Our Store is very big into Accessories. We built a HUGE accessory display large enough to park a SuperDuty with a 6 inch lift kit inside it. The pillars that hold it up have glass and have room for five 20" rims on each side. Its impressive to see. We refer to it as the ultimate fighting cage. Its AWSEOME help for accessory sales... : On the left you can see the tower for desking deals, on the right is the accessory cage and a few stations to work deals. There are twice as many stations to work deals on the other side of the show room and room enough for 6 cars on the showroom. What do you think? If you are ever in town stop by and visit!

Third party leads VS dealer search As many of you know I am almost completed with a research project and documentary of how the internet has affected the auto industry and how the best dealers are harnessing the power of the web. (If you haven't heard, it's called The Masters Series and we keep a separate blog about it.) I keep getting questioned about the debate between third party lead providers or search, which is better for the store? Let me set the record straight"

We did it, we finally moved our dealership! Moving dealerships is a task that can wear anyone down. We began construction about 1 year ago and we're scheduled to be in the new building four months ago but the contractor kept causing delay after delay. It was amazing to me to go to such a massive new facility being built and only have one or two workers present. Talk about giving you ulcers, seeing that you just know you are loosing money. (I can only imagine what our sales could have been over the summer had we been in on time. Ouch. Hind sight is 20/20, but it's clear we would never use that construction company again. At least we are in now, we started moving cars as business was winding down. I hired 30 temps to help drive cars and I was still at the dealership until just after 2 am over seeing all the cars being parked, lining everything up and unpacking boxes after boxes. Sunday we unpacked until 10 pm and opened this morning for business. It wasn't the prettiest opening, some signs were yet to be installed and we still have a month or so of construction workers completing the details of the building"