Yesterday was my daughter's first day of school.  The school has taken a stance and pledge for the students to maintain a standard in our school system.  All of the students had to sign a P.R.I.D.E. contract.  While I was reading through it, I thought to myself this can be applied in everyday life and business and also looked at when we are interviewing a prospective employee.

Professionalism: the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional person

We all want our employees to be professionals in what we do.  If you look at the athletes at the Olympics, they don't just show up for practice and see what happens.  They are always working toward their goal of getting a medal for their country.  Our employees are the same way.  They have to show up to work.  Not just show up, but actually work a system and prospect and actually get on the phones with customers and prospective customers.

Respect: the condition of being esteemed or honored

We all know that we want respect from our employees.  But not only that, we want our employees to respect our customers.  I would like to say that we could go to the Golden Rule on this one on doing unto others as you would like done to you.  It is a good philosophy to live by;  you can't deny that.

Integrity: adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

We all know that the car business is tough on our reputations.  It all comes down to possibly what one dealer in town did to a customer and we all have to pay for it.  When I hear a customer say something to that affect, I will just let them know where I stand.  We all have morals, just some have higher standards than others.  We all want the best employees working for us and they must have some integrity, right?

Diligence: constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body or mind.

This will go back to the salesperson that just comes in and sits around waiting on the up-bus.  Are they doing their due diligence to be successful?  The salesperson has to have some ambition and actually put in the effort to be successful.  Too many times have I seen a salesperson with so much talent wasted because they didn't want to put in the effort to make things happen.  They knew that they were good and thought that everything should be handed to them on a silver platter.  Even the most talented guy in the dealership has to put in the effort and diligence for success.

Excellence: the fact or state of excelling.

All of the above lead to the last one of excellence.  When an employee has professionalism, respect, integrity, and diligence, that should lead to a person of excellence and the employee you want working for you.

Take Michael Phelps for example. (Of course I had to throw the swimming comparison in there.) He is the most decorated Olympian ever.  He didn't get there by just showing up to work (his workouts).  He had professionalism (with the exception of that one time). He had respect for his coach and he had respect from his competitors. He did have integrity.  Yes, he made one mistake, but he owned up to it and I respect him for that.  He had the diligence.  After the Beijing Olympics, he lost his drive and was like a fish in water flapping around. He had lost all of the above, but then trained hard for a year and a half, and got back to the level he was at competitively.  That is just plain excellence.  He just didn't get it.  He had to work for it.

What are you doing to work towards your excellence?

I had the opportunity to take part in a Focus Group for Autotrader that was facilitated by Morepace.  It consisted of 7 dealers from across the country and the topic was some new products that Autotrader is considering bringing to the marketplace.  The session lasted about an hour and a half and was interesting at best.

The first of the products introduced to us was called Deal Builder.  Deal Builder was a two part product that Autotrader is considering.  The first part consists of payments within the SRP and the VDP.  With their partnership with DealerTrack, they are able to pull rates and residuals through the banks that you as the dealer use.  There were a lot of mixed emotions with this product within the group.  With the product, you can select what vehicles you want to have payments and you set the backend reserve for the Finance office.  One of the big concerns was that we are so focused on inventory turn and pricing vehicles within the market and margins have come down over the years as so many dealers have taken the vAuto philosophy to heart and working their departments with that philosophy.  With adding financing payments and quoting rates within the VDP, it may cause a race to the bottom for financing rates.  This product is being looked at for both new and used vehicles.

I am thinking that they want to create more leads with this product with the DealerTrack credit application.  I brought up the concern of having the payments there and also the advertising that is on everyone’s VDP for a consumer to set up financing within Autotrader.   

On the plus side, for those dealers that use DealerTrack, it will tie right into your current backend for DealerTrack and will eliminate multiple inputting of information for a customer.  It will also generate a lead within the CRM that you are using. 

The second and third parts of the new products on the table are a part within Trade-In Marketplace.  This was a touchy subject with all of the dealers in the “room” as a most of them saw TIM as a product that is “oversold” within the market place.  The first part of the product was some new reporting that can be shared with a customer.  It is basically taking what we have with vAuto, PureCars, and other like products and putting all of the information out there for the consumer.  No one was too thrilled with this at all since a lot of us had some bad tastes in our mouths from the current product.

The second part of the product is a big improvement in my eyes.  They are considering taking away the ‘firm’ figure that the customer is getting and giving a range.  I consider it to be a lot like BlackBook Online and just take basic information from the customer on the vehicle and gives a range like BlackBook.  I think this is a huge enhancement as a lot of customers would get that ‘firm’ figure from TIM, and not be happy with it and contact with the customer from the dealership was low.  With having a range, it will only encourage a customer to come to the dealership and get a firm trade-in figure.  This is something that will be on the dealers’ website.  The one thing that I think that Autotrader will have a hard time with is staying competitive with the pricing to BlackBook, PureCars, etc. 

This is just a quick overview of everything that was discussed.  I will try to answer any questions that you all may have.

There are three things that will make assure success not only in the automotive business, but in everything that you do in life. They are the three C's; character, commitment, and capacity.  

Character: the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.

The automotive business has been brutal on reputations just due to several experiences over the years that has left a bad taste in people's mouths and makes them hate dealing with us as automotive professionals. We can be seen as untrusted, deceitful, pushy, shifty, etc.; but how do we overcome that?  We have to be strong in our beliefs and what we stand for in the business.  We never try to be untrustworthy or deceitful, but we have that preconceived stereotype that hangs over our heads.  We have to be able to build trust with that prospect that we are dealing with and tear down those walls and perception of that used car salesperson.  

Commitment:  the act of committing.

This is the only C that you have control over 100%. I have seen people come and go in the automotive business. It comes down to learning some of the skills that you need to be successful. I have seen people in the business not be the best salesman per se, but they have success just do to their commitment of their everyday activities.  You have to be committed to what you do every day, and not just half the time.  When you are at work, you have to be there to work and not just hang out and wait for that customer to walk in the door.  Yes, we do spend a lot of money to get customers in the door, but that doesn't give anyone the right to just sit there looking out the window.  We have to work the phones with all of our current prospects and past customers.

Capacity: actual or potential ability to perform, yield, or withstand

Capacity goes right along with commitment.  You can have the commitment to try to do something, but you just may not have the capacity to do it.  This is where your skill set comes into play.  You have to have some basic skills to make it in the business.  I have seen people with lower sales talent, but have people skills to offset the lack of selling skills.  You just have to have the basic knowledge and know what to play off of when you do have a weakness.

So what is your brand?  I'm not talking about what brand you sell, but how are you branding yourself?  We all know Jared as "Superman."  Ricky Walters as UCR a.k.a., Used Car Ricky. Kathi Kruse as Kathi Kruse sitting in the convertible.  Tracy Myers is always in the Uncle Sam hat.  Jeff Kershner has the same picture on every site as his profile picture.  When we see "Think Tank Tuesday", we think of Paul Protratz.  The 'Everyday I'm Hustlin'" of course is Craig Belowski.  When we see that crazy girl behind the wheel, we think of Renee Stuart.  You see the PCG in red and you think of Brian Pasche and his crew.  So what is your brand?

A report was just released recently that an average Facebook user has over 600 social connections.  That is HUGE!  I also heard that 1 in 8 people on Facebook are looking for or are in the market for a new or used car.  That would mean that 75 of your "friends" are actually in the market for a new or used car.  Do they actually KNOW that you are in the car business?  

All of our employees for the most part have Facebook, but are they leveraging it like they could?  Here are a few things that they can do.

•   Set up a "like" page and create their own brand.
•   Post a picture of a used car that was just taken in on trade.
•   Post something that is out of the norm that the manufacturer is doing.

I know that for me personally have been afraid in the past to post car stuff on my personal page.  I would come across a personal article and would be hesitant to share it just due to the fact that so many of my "friends" on Facebook are non-auto industry people.  I know that they have Facebook set up to put people in different groups, but to be honest, I am not going to go through all 900+ of my friends and put them in different groups.  Facebook was just a little too late to that party.

An easy way to get around it is just to set up an automotive page.  If your "friends" are real friends, they will probably like your page.  I did this just under a month ago just to push automotive related topics to that page and keep my personal page just to personal everyday life.  

What have you done to capitalize on social media? 

It happens in no matter what industry you are in. It is bound to happen that you may just have a customer come in the showroom today that isn't 100% happy about something. It could be that a car wasn't there when they got there that they saw online down to a clean for delivery that wasn't satisfactory. It happens everyday whether we know it or not. Some may be just more vocal than others about their dissatisfactions.

We all have great tools to use in the automotive business, but the question is do we use them to their fullest potential?  The products that we use on a daily basis is only as good as we use them.  The one that I know that I am in about 24/7 is the CRM.  Yes, there are a lot of them to choose from in the marketplace, but bottom line comes down to the user and actually using it.  I thought of this while I was watching Joe Webb's new video on a Long Day at the Car Dealership (see below). When I saw Arnold clicking left message and lost, and dead, I wonder to myself how many times this happens in the dealership?

I want to specifically hit on the "left message", "lost sale", and "dead deal".  I have no idea what percentage of customers that leave the dealership without buying don't get any follow up at all.  I am going to venture to say that it is a very high percentage.  I know that we are all guilty of it and getting in a funk and 'fake' our calls out.  I know that even though I have been successful in the business, I will look in the mirror and admit that I have 'faked' a CRM call out.  Do I do it on a regular basis?  No.  But I have done it.  So how do we get out of 'faking' the call in the CRM?  Those that have been in the business for a while know how to do it, but how do we get past it?

• The "left message" status.  Find a reason to call them.
  • First off, call to thank them for coming in.  In the latest reports, a customer will visit 1.3 dealerships before making a purchasing decision.  If there were in front of you, chances are, they are not just there to kick tires like back in the 70s-early 90s.  Make yourself stand out from that other dealership that they may just visit along with yours.
  • If they were on a new vehicle, call them on a late model trade that you may have just traded for.  It may just perk their interest enough to come back in again and you will have another chance at selling them a vehicle.
  • If there is a trade involved, try to get them back in by offering to sell their car to another customer.  Get them in, then in your vehicle again, and then work the used car manager or even the customer before them.
•   Marking customers 'lost sale.'
  • Let's face it, it happens.  We can't get them all.  But one thing we can do is offer service to them.  Chances are, the salesperson that they bought from, especially used, didn't properly introduce them to their service department.  Offer them a free oil change just to get them back in the door again.  This may or may not help, but you are getting them back in the door again and maybe they will remember that down the road.
  • Ask for referrals or when other family members may be in the market for a new vehicle.  Make good notes in the CRM and make calls to them just like you sold them the car.
• The "dead deal" status.
  • I personally don't believe in the dead deal status unless they are actually dead, as in not breathing or 6 feet under.  When you mark a deal a 'dead deal' in the CRM, that will discontinue any contact to the customer via email marketing campaigns.  Keep your name in front of them down the road.  You just never know when they will be in the market for a new vehicle.  If you don't mark them 'dead deal,' hopefully your name will be in front of them 12 times a year or so.

The CRM should be your backbone to the dealership.  If you run out of customers to call that are scheduled, you can always lean on your CRM and dig in and make something happen.  

Last week, I had the opportunity with about 100 other dealers to attend the Digital Summit at the Google Headquarters in Mountain View, CA.  It was an experience in itself just to be at the Googleplex.  There was great info at this conference shared by Googlers (employees of Google) and some industry leaders.

The week kicked off with Todd Rowe and how are you defining your market.  Are you defining it by the company down the street, the local market, or something else?  The big thing is that there is so much 'stuff' that we are competing against when coming to online marketing.  It isn't just dealers, but also some of the big hitters like Autotrader and cars.com.  We all have to get smart, get involved, and get excited.

Next up was Guy Kawaski talking about being "Enchanting."  Guy was a dynamic speaker and I loved everything that he had to offer in being enchanting.  Big takeaway from Guy was achieving 'likability.'  No one buys from someone that they don't like.

Of course, a meeting at Google HAS to involve a conversation and presentation on ZMOT.  We all have heard the 18.2 sources over the last several months, but one thing that set me back was in the age bracket of 18-34 year olds, that number jumps up to 25.6 sources are used in researching a new or used car.  That was my big takeaway on that part of the presentation.

Duncan Scarry was up next and he was talking about Influence without Interaction.  A couple of takeaways here.  The first was that 76% of the public that are on an OEM site will visit a dealer site within 30 minutes of being on the OEM's site.  60% of those people that get to your website have not decided on what make or model they end up buying.  

Surojit Chatterjee from Google was up next and he is the head of Mobile at Google.  A few things stood out here.  One third of all Americans will own a tablet by the end of 2015.  Is your website tablet friendly?  Also, he said that 57% of the public would not recommend a company if they have a bad or no mobile site in place.  If they don't, 40% will go to another competitor's website.  

Grant Cardone spoke after lunch, and he was a dynamic, funny speaker to keep those sleepy eyes that can happen after lunch at any conference.  We need to make the sales process shorter.  Customers want to be in and out quicker.  What are you doing to shorten that process?  The one phrase that stood out with me is that we need to be "persistent and consistent."  This comes in every aspect of sales whether you are selling a pen or a car.

Nicholas Boos from Google shed some more insight on mobile marketing.  1 in 5 searches are being done in relation to your desktop and 1 in 3 are localized searches.  Nearly 30% of Google searches are being done on a phone.

Jason Ezell from Datium and Amir Amirrezvani from DealOn talked about website conversions.  They shared some insight that the average bounce rate on over 10,000 dealer websites is 63%!  That number just blew me away.  That just goes to show that customers are using the internet to look up phone numbers and they will leave.  What are you doing to engage that customer?  Average conversion of customers visiting dealer sites were at 2%.  

These are just some of the takeaways from the conference last week.  Biggest takeaway was mobile is key in the coming years.  Nearly 30% of Google searches are done via phone.  I have seen this firsthand as the mobile traffic and usage to our website go up month after month.  So what do you see yourself doing in the next year or two?

We all have an inspiration to be the best that we can be.  I hope that you all read for that inspiration.  We all have a different inspiration and drive to make us the best in the industry.  One thing that I have noticed over the years are how coaches are.  They for some reason give the best inspirational speeches ever.  As managers within the marketplace, we have to be like those coaches.  Take a look in the mirror and think about your sales meetings with your teams.  Here are a few tips that I like to take into account when having meetings with our team.  

• We have to give your team that inspiration to do better.  
• Have a plan when you go into your sales meetings.
• Remember, the goal for sales meetings is to pump your team up, not brow beat them because of what may have or may not have happened the day prior.
• Give praise to those who deserve it.  When given praise in public, that may just give that extra kick in their step while they are with that next customer.

I think we all have been in those meeting where we have just been worn down to where you just don't want to work that day.  Think about that when you have your meetings with your team.  We all know that happy employees make happy customers.  Do you want them up and walking with a kick in their step or down walking with their head down when they walk out of your office or meeting room?

This week, Facebook acquired Instagram for 1 billion dollars.  So what is the significance of this in the automotive industry or any industry for that matter?  Take a look at it in a different way.  Look at a dealership as Facebook in this role and Instagram as a newbie wanting to be successful in a different profession.  Instagram came out of nowhere and is not a money maker by any means.  It has been one of the fastest growing social networks in the last few months.  It has made zero dollars in the 500 days that they have been available on the market and now a billion dollar business.  So what did Mark Zuckerberg see in Instagram?  He obviously saw something that we didn’t since he just paid one billion dollars for it. 

We have been actively looking for that diamond in the rough and have found that hiring outside the automotive industry; we have had some success and grooming that person to what we want them to be.  Take a bartender that is liked by a lot of people at a local establishment.  If you train them right, he just may be a top salesperson in the nation for Honda.  Take another restaurant manager that is liked by all of the lake goers.  He just may have the highest CSI in the store and is consistently selling 12-15 cars a month.  Take an appliance salesperson that you have kept going to for your fridge, dishwasher, washer and dryer, and TV.  He just may be your Gold level salesperson with Honda.  So how does this happen and how do you find that diamond in the rough like Mark did and we have?

1. Be observant when you are out and about.  When you are at a restaurant, take notice of the hard worker and the server that is personable and up selling you on the dessert that you didn’t want. 
2. Have a good training process in place.  You are bringing this person in and you want them to be successful, so you have to be with them everyday making sure that they are doing the right thing.
3. Keep their attitude up.  This could be one of the biggest challenges there is.  They may get a little frustrated if traffic seems to be down for a week or so.  Have them in front of those service customers that no one else wants to talk to.
4. Give them the encouragement that they need.  When something doesn’t go right, coach them.  When it goes right and smoothly, give them that pat on the back and say awesome job.
5. Make sure that they feel that they are part of the team.  If they don’t get that feeling, they just may leave on their own.  It must be a team environment and the other salespeople have to give them that encouragement as well.

I came across a definition for diamond in the rough from the Urban Dictionary.  It says “Someone or something that has hidden exceptional characteristics and/or future potential, but currently lacks the final touches that would make them (or it) truly stand out from the crowd.”  Where are you looking to find that diamond in the rough?  They are all around you and you just maybe overlooking them.  They may be serving your steak tonight at dinner at the steakhouse. 

I hope that this caught your attention because I do have a secret.  I was reading this week's issue of Automotive News on Monday and there is an article on page 24.  If you don't get it, or your owner or GM hangs onto it for a few weeks and then passes it around, go find it.  It is about Internet Leads.  It basically comes down to how much dealers are not responding effectively to i-leads.

The survey was conducted by Piper of Monterey and shopped 4331 different dealerships and brands.  Here are some of their findings:

• Nearly 1 in 4 queries went unanswered within the first 24 hours.
• Only 16% of the leads submitted received an auto-responder.  I know that there is room for argument whether or not to have one, but I was surprised how low that number was.

Breaking it down by brand, there were some shocking things brought to the surface.  You would think that Toyota/Scion would be great in responding to leads since it is a little more geared towards Gen-Y (particularly on Scion).  They scored second worse with 36% of their dealerships not responding to the leads submitted.  Mini was actually worst in not responding to leads.

The top six brands were Lexus and Infiniti tied for first; Acura, third; Lincoln, Ford, and Honda tied for fourth.

Along with this article, Cobalt just released it's eshopper results from 2011.  The results are very similar.  Here are some of their results and taken from their study:

• 2 out of 10 leads never were responded to.
• 2 out of 3 weren't invited in for a test drive.
• 75% of the leads weren't quoted a price when requested.

These are just a few of their results.  There is a wealth of information out there on this thing that we call the internet on message boards like Driving Sales among others.  Car people are engaged on there and sharing ideas and practices, but the results are showing that so many dealers are missing the mark.

Here is my secret to our success and don't tell anyone.  Answer the leads!!!  It's just that simple.  Yes, response time is important, but more importantly, the quality of the content maybe more important as the Cobalt study revealed.  Now, respond to this post, and go respond to those leads sitting in that "New Bucket" in your CRM.

You can read the Cobalt study here. (Take note what you have to do in order to get a copy of the study.)