I’m not about to get into semantics here. Pricing is not an objection. Just returning for an on-site visit to a car dealership client, I was confronted with a store that actively avoided talking price at all costs. Even when the shopper asks. Even when being displayed on the website, they choose not to re-confirm in email or on the phone.
“Why bring up an objection?” they said.
Your product’s pricing shouldn’t be one.

“What’s the price?” Or, “What’s your best price?” are not objections from customers. They’re simply questions for which you must find an answer. “I do not want to buy this car.” That is an objection. “I can’t afford this.” That is an objection. Objections are to be followed up with more questions to the prospect.

A customer doesn’t object until they say “No.” Just requesting the price (or bringing up the price) should never stall a deal. It should move it along.

Stop being scared about presenting the pricing. It is what it is. Not all price answers lead to customer objections. Normally, shoppers are simply looking to validate their belief of what the pricing should be. Granted, I see dealers smacking on $2,000 in addendum fees unbeknownst to the customers and that will certainly bring about objections. However, requesting a product’s asking price is not a prospect being difficult or throwing up an objection. It is seeking an answer.

Today’s shoppers are price snobs, and deservedly so. I’m one myself. When I visit Amazon, I cringe at any call-to-action saying I must add the product to my shopping cart before seeing the special price. Customers are no different. Your product’s price is your friend. A necessary element to a loyal relationship.

The word “Gravy” is used in sales when something extra happens that is a benefit to you. It’s something that wasn’t expected, or additional profit that was made beyond the structured deal.

In automotive retail, for instance, the majority of salespeople’s sold deals come from customers walking onto the showroom floor, being greeted, and subsequently buying a vehicle. If a customer is given to them from the Business Development Center or Internet team, it is considered Gravy. Likely a deal the salesperson wouldn’t have obtained otherwise. If they conveniently catch a phone up and, with little enticing, that shopper ends up coming in and buying, they consider that sale Gravy.

Here is a sales tip: Gravy should be your meal, not just the extra dressing you get on top of your monthly commissions. The moment a salesperson recognizes that their phone skills alone can single-handedly produce unlimited appointments and sales for them, they’ll learn that it pays much better than waiting on a random customer to step foot in the showroom. So long as they can take phone calls, the gravy boat is in their hands.

Same thing goes with Internet customers. The majority of dealers generate considerably more Internet leads than phone leads. As soon as a salesperson begins embracing these shoppers, putting an emphasis on how much work they should put into their online conversations, the minute more gravy will find its way onto their plate.

With enough Internet lead, phone up, and chat opportunities, any professional, well-trained salesperson can easily make a very filling meal on that gravy alone. When their skills on the phone and email supersede their abilities to be the first to shake a customer’s hand, their palate (and paycheck) will change completely. Their entire meal will be made up of gravy, and they won’t have time (or even crave) anything else. Even in stores where leads and calls don’t make their way to salespeople themselves, they can still hone their proficiency at taking care of these shoppers’ in-store experience (which shouldn’t be too far off from their online shopping experience). Either way, it will strengthen their prowess to work with researched shoppers.

Much talk has been made about the mystical “Internet Dealership”. This nomenclature needs to be changed. Almost all dealerships now are “Internet Dealerships”, however, the term is meant to represent stores that distribute all leads, calls, texts, and chats to each and every sales agent on the floor. The concept is, if all shoppers are online, our entire team must have the expertise to handle them throughout the lifecycle of their shopping journey. It is a noble cause, just one that I haven’t seen much success from without at least some discrepancy in profit leakage.

In the end, though, it is the direction dealerships must begin working toward, and it starts with improving the deftness of your sales team’s phone, email, and communication skills. Teach them the recipe needed to make the best gravy, and you’ll soon find you have the makings of a prosperous, thankful team.

JOE WEBB • MARCH 12, 2017 • INTERNET SALES TRAINING,PHONE TRAINING,SALES TRAINING

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The role of sales manager is the most important position in any retail operation. A great one can become the internal engine driving the sales team. A successful manager is the motivating force behind profit growth. A dedicated sales manager is the training arm that keeps the education of product and process front and center. Yet, a bad sales manager can kill enthusiasm, cripple cooperation, and condone bad habits.

While working alongside auto dealerships and small businesses to improve their communication, engagement and performance metrics, much of my training focuses on the utilization of tech (CRM, website, etc.) while the rest is dedicated to improving the know-how of the personnel. Never before has sales management been more integrated into the success of a store than now. They single-handedly influence policies, processes, technology and teamwork on the sales floor.

Poor sales management skills wreak havoc on culture and profit. Here are 10 ways sales managers fail:

• They don’t realize they’re role models. Being respected as a leader starts with listening, not by delegation.
• They don’t actively monitor how many available opportunities are being worked at any moment in the store, or online.
• They treat every salesperson the same, not catering their training down to the individual.
• They look at potential customers as “deals” rather than as people with a unique situation to be addressed. They’re rarely flexible to a new way of selling a product.
• They don’t dedicate near enough time to performance reviews or sales forecasting, and do little coaching throughout the month to help each individual achieve their goals. They believe holding sales quotas over someone’s head is paramount to positive reinforcement.
• They don’t know how to inspect their team’s activities. Instead, they only react to results after the fact. Accountability of staff is a core component to being a good mentor.
• They don’t embrace mastery of their CRM or productivity technology as a means of finding existing sales opportunities to close.
• They don’t try to get to know their staff on a personal basis, and in turn, rarely know how to motivate anyone beyond money or threat of termination.
• They seldom reinforce the importance of a customer lifecycle (derived from multiple purchases). Instead, they only focus on the in-store process. The best sales managers realize rapport sells someone once, but relationships sell someone forever.
• They don’t engage the customers themselves enough. This is the biggest opportunity for improvement. Far too many sales managers are “chairborne managers” rather than “airborne managers”. Today’s sales management need to integrate themselves into the customer’s in-store process earlier and more often. They must greet customers the moment they enter. They must leap out from behind the desk and work with the customer one-on-one at the first opportunity. They cannot send salespeople back and forth from the desk to the customer with more info or new pricing, using the sales team as an echo. They need to insert themselves into the process. Get involved in personally presenting a solution the moment the customer is ready to make a decision without forcing the salesperson to be their mouthpiece.

There are a multitude of trainers and programs teaching people “how to sell”. Not enough time is spent teaching management how to actually “manage”. As much focus is dedicated to closing deals, equal focus must be spent on teaching sales managers how to motivate their teams, hold them accountable, coach to the individual, forecast sales, reinforce product knowledge, improve customer experience, and make it a fulfilling place to work. If they’re not living up to this level of acumen, DealerKnows can help with your sales management training.

Those are the duties of a great sales manager. Don’t let any of the 10 ways sales managers fail infect the profitability of your store.

You pride yourself on the quality of your used car inventory. You ensure your customers that each pre-driven vehicle is sales-worthy, and it is because you have made it so. Every vehicle, whether they be trade or auction-bought, is inspected, valued, and detailed. But what costs dealers the most time and money is the reconditioning. Are you leveraging that work performed to convert shoppers into buyers? More than likely, you’re not.

CarStory data reveals less than 3% of all vehicle listings mention any reconditioning information. Why spend $700 making a car lot-worthy if you aren’t going to celebrate it?

All dealers know that shaving days off of their overall recon process can add countless thousands of dollars to their bottom lines (which is why software such as Recon Ninjas or Rapid Recon are taking off), but they aren’t utilizing this information when building value in their customers’ eyes. CarStory places a vehicle’s recon information on the VDP and inside the CarStory Market Report of every used car in an effort to add credibility to each unit.

Here is an example of how Subaru of Wichita leverages reconditioning data on their site using the free CarStory Market Reports:


In DealerKnows' opinion, though, a visual representation, while excellent, still isn’t enough. Dealers should also be sharing the recon info in their written vehicle descriptions. Let’s face it…using an automated tool that pre-populates descriptions filled with phrases such as as “This is a nice one!” or “Clean and in the wrapper” is not going to grab eyeballs. And writing those same word tracks IN ALL CAPS doesn't make it better. It makes it an eyesore. Instead, share information that builds value and credibility, not just appeals to emotions. Data science company CarStory also revealed there are 3 pieces of used car info shoppers seek first and foremost:

1. Vehicle Condition
2. Accident History
3. Service History

The parts you replaced, maintenance you conducted, and reconditioning you performed strongly influence two of the top three most valuable provisions you can share with shoppers. Show your recon process and info online, in your listings, on your VDPs, and in the showroom. Prove the money put into each vehicle to give peace of mind to buyers. You’ll find yourself in a better negotiating (and profit-retaining) position than you would have if you kept it quiet.

The Meet and Greet.  The Needs Assessment.  Getting to know them on the test drive.  Making friends while waiting for figures from the manager.  All of these are associated with the idea that building rapport is the key to selling cars.  Well, building rapport is OUT!  It is no longer a determining factor for many customers when buying a new vehicle.

We all have countless sales stories from our retail days (those of us who’ve done retail at least) of instances where finding a common ground with customers has helped us sell them a car.  It still can go a long way in creating a more comfortable sales experience.  However, I will say it again… “building rapport” is out.

The new focus should be “Fostering Relationships”.  I know many of you are saying “splitting hairs” or “semantics”, but I don’t believe these two phrases mean the same thing.   Building rapport is looking for some mutual understanding or trying to find ways to align yourself with the individual person.  

 involves the development of trust before the handshake, during the interaction, and long after the customer leaves the store.

Building rapport happens mostly in person and occasionally on the phone and email.  Fostering relationships is peer to peer.  It involves creating an evidence of honesty in your interactions with other customers.  It relies on developing ways to grow your relationship further.  It carries with it the idea that a relationship should develop after the sale opposed to just prior to the sale.

I will not tell you to do away with the “Where did you go to school?” or “Where do you work? questions.  I won’t ask you to cease the “How do you use your current car?” inquisitions or the “Yeah, my sister lives in that town” scenarios.

Instead, I’d like you to think of ways to engage the customer before you are engaged.  Reviews, testimonials, video bios and more are all ways to start fostering a relationship with customers before first contact.  What is the difference between building rapport in person or fostering a relationship in person?  The former is asking questions, looking for commonalities.  The latter is discussing how you will serve them and continue to earn their business long after the sale.  (Think “new owner clinic discussions” and “loyalty program talks”.)

Put a strategy into place today (whether it is in your service department, your social media calendar, your CRM follow-up, or your post-sale deliverables) that will allow you to truly foster a relationship with this customer.  In the days of multiple mediums to communicate (especially social platforms), it is more important than ever to maximize your connection with your customers.  This connection shouldn’t just be between the customer, the salesperson and their church, but instead, how your entire organization serves the church, the community, and the individual customer with your personal services.

Stop thinking that building rapport is all you need to sell a vehicle in a 2012 world.  Building rapport is all about completing a short-term action while fostering relationships are about implementing long-term strategies.  You must foster relationships before, during and after, if you truly want to develop ongoing customer satisfaction.

The Meet and Greet.  The Needs Assessment.  Getting to know them on the test drive.  Making friends while waiting for figures from the manager.  All of these are associated with the idea that building rapport is the key to selling cars.  Well, building rapport is OUT!  It is no longer a determining factor for many customers when buying a new vehicle.

We all have countless sales stories from our retail days (those of us who’ve done retail at least) of instances where finding a common ground with customers has helped us sell them a car.  It still can go a long way in creating a more comfortable sales experience.  However, I will say it again… “building rapport” is out.

The new focus should be “Fostering Relationships”.  I know many of you are saying “splitting hairs” or “semantics”, but I don’t believe these two phrases mean the same thing.   Building rapport is looking for some mutual understanding or trying to find ways to align yourself with the individual person.  

 involves the development of trust before the handshake, during the interaction, and long after the customer leaves the store.

Building rapport happens mostly in person and occasionally on the phone and email.  Fostering relationships is peer to peer.  It involves creating an evidence of honesty in your interactions with other customers.  It relies on developing ways to grow your relationship further.  It carries with it the idea that a relationship should develop after the sale opposed to just prior to the sale.

I will not tell you to do away with the “Where did you go to school?” or “Where do you work? questions.  I won’t ask you to cease the “How do you use your current car?” inquisitions or the “Yeah, my sister lives in that town” scenarios.

Instead, I’d like you to think of ways to engage the customer before you are engaged.  Reviews, testimonials, video bios and more are all ways to start fostering a relationship with customers before first contact.  What is the difference between building rapport in person or fostering a relationship in person?  The former is asking questions, looking for commonalities.  The latter is discussing how you will serve them and continue to earn their business long after the sale.  (Think “new owner clinic discussions” and “loyalty program talks”.)

Put a strategy into place today (whether it is in your service department, your social media calendar, your CRM follow-up, or your post-sale deliverables) that will allow you to truly foster a relationship with this customer.  In the days of multiple mediums to communicate (especially social platforms), it is more important than ever to maximize your connection with your customers.  This connection shouldn’t just be between the customer, the salesperson and their church, but instead, how your entire organization serves the church, the community, and the individual customer with your personal services.

Stop thinking that building rapport is all you need to sell a vehicle in a 2012 world.  Building rapport is all about completing a short-term action while fostering relationships are about implementing long-term strategies.  You must foster relationships before, during and after, if you truly want to develop ongoing customer satisfaction.

Back and forth.  Up and down.  Back and forth.  Up and down.  Back and forth goes the salesperson negotiating with the customer.  Up to the sales manager’s desk the salesperson walks and then back down to their desk they go with another price.  Another attempt.  This volley with the customer has become archaic and antiquated.  It is disliked and disgusting.  The days of penciling deals over and over must end.

No more No. 2.  No more pencils.  That strategy is done.  It’s finished.  Someone tell your sales managers.  Break into their desks and steal out the pencils and multi-colored Sharpie markers.  The consumer has moved beyond this tired strategy and is ready for new days of selling!  Stop the negotiating with customers and start the educating.

It is time your sales managers and sales people end the rigmarole they’ve used for years and do away with how they’ve penciled deals.  Instead, your managers and salespeople must learn how to overcome objections and negotiate through education.  The consumers are coming in with very specific expectations and very detailed research.  Why put them through the constant back and forth?  Instead, you must utilize the online resources and data at your (and the customer’s) disposal to validate the price you charge.

Dedicate yourself to understanding what all is available to your consumers online and begin using the third-party data as evidence to defend the price you are charging.  I’m not advocating a one-price solution here.  Negotiation is still allowed and going for gross is still acceptable, but be prepared to answer the “WHY?” question when it arises with real data.

We have now entered the era of Validation Selling.  We must prove the reason we price our vehicles by utilizing the data they already have.

Moreover, we must eliminate the tactic of writing down our offer on a half-blank sheet of paper with markers and pens and begin presenting our figures on a fully-printed out pricing proposal.  All figures must be entered into the CRM and printed out as if it were an official contract.  This must happen from the very first offer.  Having it printed and available in a clean format lends credence to the numbers your sales team present.  Certainly more validity than a four-square with $24,995 scribbled across it in thick blue ink.

Get on board with Validation Selling.  (Yes, I'm coining a new term here.) Throw out any previously-held beliefs that the customer still enjoys the ‘back and forth, up and down, crossed-off price here and slightly lower price penciled there’ strategies that you’ve grown accustomed to.  Educate yourself and then educate the customer with online, third-party data – or be prepared to overcome it.  You will sell more vehicles and build a quality customer sales experience at the same time.

This is how to sell vehicles in 2012 and beyond.  Education over Negotiation.  DealerKnows are the Validation Selling Specialists.  Let us explain it to you.  

Back and forth.  Up and down.  Back and forth.  Up and down.  Back and forth goes the salesperson negotiating with the customer.  Up to the sales manager’s desk the salesperson walks and then back down to their desk they go with another price.  Another attempt.  This volley with the customer has become archaic and antiquated.  It is disliked and disgusting.  The days of penciling deals over and over must end.

No more No. 2.  No more pencils.  That strategy is done.  It’s finished.  Someone tell your sales managers.  Break into their desks and steal out the pencils and multi-colored Sharpie markers.  The consumer has moved beyond this tired strategy and is ready for new days of selling!  Stop the negotiating with customers and start the educating.

It is time your sales managers and sales people end the rigmarole they’ve used for years and do away with how they’ve penciled deals.  Instead, your managers and salespeople must learn how to overcome objections and negotiate through education.  The consumers are coming in with very specific expectations and very detailed research.  Why put them through the constant back and forth?  Instead, you must utilize the online resources and data at your (and the customer’s) disposal to validate the price you charge.

Dedicate yourself to understanding what all is available to your consumers online and begin using the third-party data as evidence to defend the price you are charging.  I’m not advocating a one-price solution here.  Negotiation is still allowed and going for gross is still acceptable, but be prepared to answer the “WHY?” question when it arises with real data.

We have now entered the era of Validation Selling.  We must prove the reason we price our vehicles by utilizing the data they already have.

Moreover, we must eliminate the tactic of writing down our offer on a half-blank sheet of paper with markers and pens and begin presenting our figures on a fully-printed out pricing proposal.  All figures must be entered into the CRM and printed out as if it were an official contract.  This must happen from the very first offer.  Having it printed and available in a clean format lends credence to the numbers your sales team present.  Certainly more validity than a four-square with $24,995 scribbled across it in thick blue ink.

Get on board with Validation Selling.  (Yes, I'm coining a new term here.) Throw out any previously-held beliefs that the customer still enjoys the ‘back and forth, up and down, crossed-off price here and slightly lower price penciled there’ strategies that you’ve grown accustomed to.  Educate yourself and then educate the customer with online, third-party data – or be prepared to overcome it.  You will sell more vehicles and build a quality customer sales experience at the same time.

This is how to sell vehicles in 2012 and beyond.  Education over Negotiation.  DealerKnows are the Validation Selling Specialists.  Let us explain it to you.  

I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and throughout my youth, our fine city would be infiltrated, so to speak, with unsightly visitors.  Bandits would swarm the town, shopping malls, and neighborhoods.  They would loiter about, often even able to go unseen without a keen eye looking for them.

They were vagabonds and pick-pockets, always looking for the edge to take advantage of you and fleece you on something (purse, wallet, game tickets) if you weren’t watching your belongings.  Some would go to the extreme.  If they saw you grilling out in your backyard, they’d walk right in through the open front door and steal the paintings white off your walls.  They were almost magicians at taking from you without you ever noticing.

Well we have Automotive Bandits as well.  They are right there, taking from you, and you don’t even see them.  You do nothing to prevent it because you are unaware they are taking money away from you.

The Bandits of the automotive world are these lead-generating website on YOUR Google Page One, singlehandedly stealing your customers right out from under your nose.  They live and breathe off of you and your business.  They optimize their own sites for your dealership’s name and gather leads that should be yours.  They take your business, customers looking for you specifically, and they sell them off to the highest bidder.  These Automotive Bandits are scavengers and will take whatever they can get their hands on.

They litter Google Page One with both organic positioning – based on their optimized content about YOUR dealership or they actually pay through PPC campaigns, leeching right off of you.

Here are some of the top Automotive Bandits I see.

AutoSite.com

AutoND.com

Autodealerbase.com

Autobodyalliance.com

Autodiscountgroup.com

AutoSales.com

Mystore411.com

Quickr.com

Vast.com

I’m sure there are some others I’ve missed so feel free to share them with the rest of us.  They are a dime a dozen and worth less than that.

Some of these are sometimes just microsites to third-party lead providers trying to maliciously get in on YOUR opportunities such as: 

Edmunds (everyone who wants to harvest leads buy PPC on dealership names)

Autotropolis – Going after YOUR organic internet shoppers because they are optimizing their site with keywords involving your dealership name and city in an effort to sell your leads right back to you – or your closest competitor.

Some are local directories, using solely PPC/SEM to break in onto your turf, such as:

Autos.aol.com – local directories where they can search for other cars.

Superpages.com.

I strongly urge you to start keeping a close eye on the 10-12 spots that take up your dealership’s Google Page One.  Are they all of your online entities and digital assets that you control or are they Automotive Bandits, slyly pickpocketing your dealership of its leads right from under your nose.

Do your best to dominate these sites and move them down the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) so you can protect what is rightfully yours.  Automotive Bandits aren’t deadly.  They are just dangerous to your bottom line if you let them run wild on the streets of Google. 

Keep your eyes open.  Do you see them?  You may not even noticed they’ve been hanging around you all along.  They’re tricky little buggers and the first step to preventing their mischief is by seeing them in the first place.

I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and throughout my youth, our fine city would be infiltrated, so to speak, with unsightly visitors.  Bandits would swarm the town, shopping malls, and neighborhoods.  They would loiter about, often even able to go unseen without a keen eye looking for them.

They were vagabonds and pick-pockets, always looking for the edge to take advantage of you and fleece you on something (purse, wallet, game tickets) if you weren’t watching your belongings.  Some would go to the extreme.  If they saw you grilling out in your backyard, they’d walk right in through the open front door and steal the paintings white off your walls.  They were almost magicians at taking from you without you ever noticing.

Well we have Automotive Bandits as well.  They are right there, taking from you, and you don’t even see them.  You do nothing to prevent it because you are unaware they are taking money away from you.

The Bandits of the automotive world are these lead-generating website on YOUR Google Page One, singlehandedly stealing your customers right out from under your nose.  They live and breathe off of you and your business.  They optimize their own sites for your dealership’s name and gather leads that should be yours.  They take your business, customers looking for you specifically, and they sell them off to the highest bidder.  These Automotive Bandits are scavengers and will take whatever they can get their hands on.

They litter Google Page One with both organic positioning – based on their optimized content about YOUR dealership or they actually pay through PPC campaigns, leeching right off of you.

Here are some of the top Automotive Bandits I see.

AutoSite.com

AutoND.com

Autodealerbase.com

Autobodyalliance.com

Autodiscountgroup.com

AutoSales.com

Mystore411.com

Quickr.com

Vast.com

I’m sure there are some others I’ve missed so feel free to share them with the rest of us.  They are a dime a dozen and worth less than that.

Some of these are sometimes just microsites to third-party lead providers trying to maliciously get in on YOUR opportunities such as: 

Edmunds (everyone who wants to harvest leads buy PPC on dealership names)

Autotropolis – Going after YOUR organic internet shoppers because they are optimizing their site with keywords involving your dealership name and city in an effort to sell your leads right back to you – or your closest competitor.

Some are local directories, using solely PPC/SEM to break in onto your turf, such as:

Autos.aol.com – local directories where they can search for other cars.

Superpages.com.

I strongly urge you to start keeping a close eye on the 10-12 spots that take up your dealership’s Google Page One.  Are they all of your online entities and digital assets that you control or are they Automotive Bandits, slyly pickpocketing your dealership of its leads right from under your nose.

Do your best to dominate these sites and move them down the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) so you can protect what is rightfully yours.  Automotive Bandits aren’t deadly.  They are just dangerous to your bottom line if you let them run wild on the streets of Google. 

Keep your eyes open.  Do you see them?  You may not even noticed they’ve been hanging around you all along.  They’re tricky little buggers and the first step to preventing their mischief is by seeing them in the first place.