When you hire a new sales professional, they have a TON of tests to go through. HR tests, product knowledge tests, they even have tests on their tests! They have so much to learn and of course want to learn it as quickly as possible.  Because -- if they're taking tests, they're not selling. And if they're not selling, they're probably not making [much] money.

But do they retain everything?  Probably not. Especially not right away.  But instead of trying to impress their customers by letting them think the green pea knows everything --- they should be concentrating what they do know & also admitting what they don't know.

No consumer is going to expect a Sales Professional to know every single answer to every single question.  Especially when the consumers ask the technical questions “What’s the compression ratio on this car?” Really - who knows that, and moreover, the consumer is probably only asking that question to test the Sales Professional.  But what’s the correct answer to the questions?

“I don’t know off the top of my head, but I can find out for you.”

Wow.  Did that just happen? The salesperson did 3 things there.
1.) They admitted they didn’t know something about their product.
2.) They assured the customer they would find out the answer.
3.) They built INSTANT TRUST with the customer.  
Rewind - “How did they build trust?”

If they’re going to tell the truth and admit they don’t know the answer to a customer’s possibly “insignificant” question about a car — then they’ll tell the truth throughout the process!  This is important for the most veteran sales professional to learn as well - just because they’ve been selling for 10+ years, doesn’t mean they know everything about every single car!

VOILA! Isn’t part of what we do building trust and rapport with the customer?  Yep (at least I hope it is - if not, please stop and reexamine your business model).  

Do you teach your sales professionals that saying “I don’t know, but I can find out.”  Is acceptable and important?

We’ve heard it time & time again, “People Buy From People.”  Being in this automotive-digital-marketing-world, I spend some of my day looking at other dealer’s websites, mystery shopping, looking for ideas, and just generally scoping out the competition.  One thing I’ve noticed is that quite a few of them are lacking an “Our-Team” page.  

The “Our-Team” page was the 12th most visited page on our website in July & the 8th most visited in June! Average time on page? 2 minutes & 50 seconds! It was also the 5th highest entrance page (Behind homepage, new inventory, used inventory & service). 

The reason for this is the amount of text on the page provides a high SEO value for the website. 

On our page, we have everyone, including office staff, technicians, and our recon staff’s pictures up.  Dealers who have just their “sales” team on the “our-team” page - are they the only members of your team who count? I doubt it.  

Don’t put stock photos up - if you’re going to have an “Our Team” page do it right! Put nice, pictures up. Not goofy ones, make it interesting! People like to go to the “Our-Team” page to see the faces of the dealership. We even have a group picture at the top of our “Our Team” page.  

It really doesn’t take that long to do & unless you have exceptionally high turn over (in that case, you probably have larger issues to iron out), it doesn’t take much maintenance either! 

What do you think? Does your dealership have an updated “Our Team” page? 

Having been in this business for 6+ years, when it’s time for me to buy a car, it is not an emotional decision at all.  In fact, it’s more often than not a business decision. “We need one more car to hit our goal for the quarter - Megan, what do you want.” my General Manager has said to me a few times.  

Heck, even when he asks me “What color do you want in your new Accord?” My response -  “Which ever color the oldest unit in stock is.” 

Anyone else out there reading this has said that before?

Think about it from our customer’s perspective.  I’m writing on this subject because I just sold 2 good friends of mine 2 cars - at the same time.  They came in looking for 1, with no intent to purchase that evening, and left with 2.  Not the first time this has happened and I’m sure it’s not the first time you’ve heard it.

Buying (for people outside of our industry) is mostly an emotional decision.  Sure, it comes down to the numbers - but if the customer only likes the car - they won’t buy it.  You have to help them love the car.  

When you’re standing there, doing the walk-around, driving down the twisty roads, and the highway during the test drive, feel your customer’s excitement - this is a new car for them! It’s the second largest purchase most people make in their entire lives (the first of course, being a house), it needs to be the right one for them and they need to feel good about it.  

My friends, didn’t think it was possible, and were super-grateful.  Being good friends with them, it was easy to share in their excitement.  But step back from that & think -- you’ve spent 2+ hours with these customers - why can’t you share in the excitement with all of them?  It’ll probably make your job more fun (& may just help you tell sell a few more units, too!).

I would like to thank Kevin & Stephen for inspiring this post - I couldn’t have done it without them! 

Why do I work in the auto industry?

Because I’m a gear head?  No - you’ll realize that once you meet me in person. I can’t even change my wiper blades! The only thing I can do is refill my windshield washer fluid!

How about --- because my family members were in it? Nope! My dad was an attorney and my mom is a school teacher!

Because when asked in Elementary School ‘What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?’ I didn’t answer  “A Used Car Salesman!”  I wanted to be a Lobbyist (which you could argue is a distant cousin of selling cars - convincing people you’re right and to listen to your views.)

Because it just happened to be something which popped into my lap, so I stuck with it for awhile, tried it out, and realized it’s the greatest career ever? Yup. Pretty much - at least that’s how it happened for me!  What’s your story?

But that’s not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about family. In the auto industry, it’s not uncommon to work 50-60 hour weeks (sometimes more).  But through all of the long hours at the dealership (an 8 hour day is a “short day,” right?) it’s still important to remember the real reason why you’re there.

For your family. 

A good friend of mine, Tracy Myers, told me he leaves his dealership at noon every Friday to spend time with his family.  “No matter if the building is on fire.” He still takes that important time every week to spend with his loved ones.  It’s this commitment to family that everyone should embrace.

Drop your kids off at school each day so you can make sure they get off to a good start.  With technology these days, it’s not hard to record a quick video or snap a quick picture and send to them - just to let them know you’re thinking about them and that you care.  Surprise them with a short note in the lunch you pack for when they’re at school. 

Ask about their day, ask about their activities, be involved in your life.  Just remember - whatever age they are, they won’t stay that way forever. Cherish the time you have and how special they are at their particular age. 

Don’t live to work -- live for your family and loved ones. 

What do you do to make sure you spend valuable time with your loved ones? 

We’re trained from day 1 on how to communicate with customers. Communication is key to our business; from processes, to word tracks, to phone scripts, to CNA’s, to 4 squares, to delivery, and everything in between. But when you’re working on a floor with 10-20 or more people, who’s teaching you how to communicate with each other as coworkers? With that many people working in one place, for many, many, many (many) hours a week, there’s bound to be some personality conflicts. How can we better help communicate with each other?

Just like people buy from people, people also want to be spoken to as people. I don’t care what your “rank” is within your dealership - speak to your co-workers as equals. For without that Salesperson, your F & I team wouldn’t get a chance to get in front of people, and without that guy in recon, your cars wouldn’t get clean. We need everyone, to make the wheel turn.

If we can’t communicate with the people we spend all day everyday with (except for Sundays!), how can we expect to efficiently communicate with customers?

A breakdown in communication with employees can lead to unneeded stress and unneeded complications. If we would all stop sitting at our desks playing Angry Birds or Words With Friends during our down time and instead, talk to each other, and learn each other’s personalities, we could get to know our co-workers better. In the end, it would help us to form a more solid unit - a unit there to deliver 100% Customer Satisfaction and sell a truck load (or 2) of cars!

When there’s a breakdown in communication with a customer, we look back on the situation, and analyze it - why not do the same with co-workers? There’s a plethora of team-building exercises you can find and some of them are focused on communication!

Let’s communicate and help each other grow. Let’s communicate and be humble. Let’s communicate and sell more cars! Who’s with me?

"It's the end of the month. We expect everyone here as much as possible. No days off this week. We need 12 more units burning gas to reach our goal."  Who's heard those words before? If you work in a dealership - I'm sure you have (at least once or twice)! 

When is it time to realize, a month can't be made in a week. No matter how you slice it, dice it or look at - you have to work hard all month long. You have to go into the beginning of the month thinking about the end. What are you going to do TODAY to get you where you want to be 21 selling days from now?  Motivate your team, daily.  Not when you only have 3 days left.  

While at your store, even at the beginning of the month, work like its the end of the month. Try, scramble, reach and work like you need every deal.  Then go home, know you worked your hardest and RELAX (something none of us - myself included, do enough of).  As a wise man once told me (this wise man happens to be my General Manager), "Volume Fixes Everything."   If you go into the month with this mentality, you will have no need to scramble at the end.  You will be sitting pretty while everyone else around you scrambles to hit their number.  All too often, we try to cruise through the beginning of the month and make it up towards the end.  Don’t have that “new month hangover.” 

One of Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is to "Sharpen The Saw" - people need time to themselves because everyone sharpens their saw in a different way.  Allow and encourage your employees to sharpen their own saw 

Work smarter, which in turn, you’ll be more productive & you won’t have to work harder.

If you instill this mentality in your team (& by team I mean from the top all the way down) consistently throughout the month, it will become second nature. They won't think twice about the end of the month "push" because they will have been pushing all month long.  

You can't make a month in 3 days. As of right now,  all we have left is 3 days in November.  Have you made your month?  

Now.. who’s with me? 

I’m sure all (or at least most) people who frequent the on-line automotive forums have at least heard of the new book coming out, The Unfair Advantage. Being in a dealership myself, I knew nothing like this book existed, and I was looking forward to reading it. 

I had attended a panel with 6 of the 17 authors including, Craig Lockerd, Jerry Thibeau, Troy Spring, Tracy Myers, Marc McGurren and Brian Pasch who were answering questions and commenting on the book.

For those of us in the car biz, sometimes one can feel like their desk is their second (or sometimes first) home?  Most people in this business spend a lot of time at their stores and so they bring in some personal items to put on their desks albeit a picture of their family, a plant, or various other items.

I think a lot about a customer’s perception – because after all, their perception is their reality.  If you know someone is coming over to your house for dinner, do you typically make sure there isn’t an over flowing trash can, a pile of dirty dishes in the sink, 10 coats on the coat tree?  Of course you do. 

Isn’t your desk much the same? Except that you always have people coming over to your “house” (well – at least that’s why you’re in this business, right?).  Why do you have stacks of papers all over your desk? Why do you have it completely cluttered?

Sure, a few personal items are a good thing, it shows you have personality and helps customers relate to you. Isn’t building rapport one of the most important and yet sometimes, one of the hardest things?  I have personal items but each one of them had a strategic reason for being on my desk.

• Car & Driver Magazine (or something similar)? NEVER!
• Bobblehead for my favorite football team? Absolutely!
• Matchbox Cars? You betcha!
• A book of music playlists? #1 Piece On My Desk (I recommend The Pocket DJ by Sarah Lewitinn)

  

I know what you’re saying – “No Car & Driver but a Book of Playlists?”

Hear me out.   Let's say you have a customer who is purchasing a 2012 Honda Civic.  They’re sitting at your desk waiting to do their paperwork with F & I.  You have Car & Driver because well, this is a car dealership why wouldn’t people want to read about cars while they’re buying a car? STOP RIGHT THERE.  Car & Driver does reviews, right? WHAT IF this same customer is sitting at your desk waiting to purchase a 2012 Honda Civic & they see a post in Car & Driver that doesn’t paint the Civic in a 100% favorable light (because none of us have ever read those articles). What is the customer thinking after reading that review? “Should I buy this Civic?  Is this really what I want?”

Simple solution – don’t have Car & Driver (or other car magazines on your desk). 

Now as for the book of playlists – most people like music, right?  People ask about stereo systems when shopping for cars all the time, “Does it come with XM Radio? What does Pandora Streaming Capability mean? Can I hook my iPod up to it?”

This book of playlists has simple content.  As the name indicates it’s a book of lists of music.  No chapters, no reviews, no studies.

Here are an example of some of the playlists: 

• 70’s Dance Songs
• Classic Rock
• Folk
• Jazz
• Motown
• Playlist by Smashing Pumpkins
• Playlist by Mark Spitz
• Playlist by Duran Duran
• Back To School
• Car Sing-Along Songs
• Fight Songs
• First-Date Songs
• Songs To Get Your Thirteen-Year-Old Cousin Into Good Music 

There’s more – but you get my point.  There’s a playlist for every person in the book.  Have the book of playlists as one of the only pieces of reading material on your desk.  If you’re sitting with a customer and the conversations gets monotonous (which can inevitably happen), 9 chances out of 10, your customer will pick up this book.  Let them pick it up and realize what it is – then you say “Oh, that’s a great book!” and go onto what playlists YOU think are funny, good, etc, etc.  They may put the book down and start talking to you about music, or they may continue flipping through it.  Either way - let them entertain themselves with the book. 

Why is this beneficial do you?

1. They’re not reading a bad review on your product.
2. They’re engaged in a conversation they care about (since if you let them lead the conversation, they’ll talk about THEIR favorite types of music).
3. They won’t realize they’re waiting a whole 20 minutes to do their paperwork!

Now, this is a book I use.  You can use whatever you prefer, the moral of the story is – have something on your desk people can relate to, and will find interesting (that doesn’t have to do with cars, or financing).

The football team bobble head? Useful for conversation starters as well!  I’m a Steelers fan (living in Central Pennsylvania, mind you), so we have a cross-section of fans here; Steelers, Eagles, Ravens and even some Redskins fans!  Especially during football season, fans are always wanting to “debate” (I’ll put it nicely) their favorite teams.

Keep what you have on your desk strategic.  Every thing on your desk within the reach of a customer should have a reason for being there - if it isn’t a “closing tool” or an asset to you (such as thank you cards from previous customers, or a book of reviews customers have written about you), make it disappear!!

And for the sake of it all, keep your desk neat and tidy! 

Ahhh Facebook.  Dealers for several years now have been posting things to their Facebook Wall. If it’s new car specials, pictures of “Happy Customers” or service promotions.  Someone is behind all that social media madness.  

Not too long ago, Facebook added a “Share” button to all status updates and pictures.  See something you like (whether it is an ‘E-Card’ or a touching picture), click ‘share’ & put it on your own wall, or on a friend’s wall!   This ‘share’ button allows your pictures and other things to become more viral. 

Occasionally, I ‘share’ something on my personal page from my store’s page I think is important (for example, we were just named one of Automotive News’s ‘Top 100 Dealerships to Work For’ which is a pretty big deal – so that I shared).  But I don’t share everything. I encourage people to visit my store’s page, I have it listed in my “About” section. 

Sure, your friends may interact with your shared information on your personal page, but they know where you work anyway (or they should).  What about the ‘fans’ of your page who aren’t your friends? Get them involved, too!

But how much is too much?

If you share everything (or just about everything) from your store’s page, to your personal page, what point do people have to Like, Subscribe or Visit your store’s page?  

What are your thoughts?

Did you watch the Daytona 500 last night?  Typically, there were quite a few crashes (after all – how exciting would it be for cars to turn left 4 times in a big circle without them?). One inparticular sticks out – the fireball which erupted when Juan Pablo Montoya careened into a Jet Dry Druck.  Check the video here.

I was awake.  I saw it on Twitter and then I turned on the TV.

All this time, twitter was erupting.  Driver, Brad Keselowski tweeted a picture of the fire (from his car!) Many believe it was the first time ever a tweet was sent from the racetrack. 

After several hours – the crews for NASCAR brought out boxes of Tide to clean up the jet fuel.  Talk about product placement and great PR! 

Now, Tide’s twitter username isn’t hard – it’s @tide.  But someone was asleep in the land of Social Media Management.  Tide’s twitter account was silent from 2:25 PM yesterday until 6:53 AM today.  No live tweeting at all during the race, when millions of people were mentioning their brand on Social Media. 

This would have been an amazing PR opportunity for Tide.  “Tide was ones who saved the Daytona 500” I saw quite a few people put up.   Why wasn’t Tide tweeting this?  They should understand that just because their people sleep, doesn’t mean their audience sleeps (especially when there’s a major sporting event on.).

What does this lesson tell you? 

Monitor your brand.  If you know a big event is going to happen and your brand may be part of it (I’m sure the people at Tide knew their product could potentially be used in a fuel spill clean-up), be alert! Or if you don’t have the ability to monitor your brand, find (or pay) someone who can! 

Social Media doesn’t sleep – make sure you don’t miss golden opportunities for your brand.