Auto/Mate Dealership Systems
Are You Ready to Grow Your Dealership to the Next Level?
Do you want to grow your business? Perhaps you are a 'next generation' owner about to take over your family's dealership. Or perhaps you want to retire soon, so you are thinking about selling. Or maybe you just want a challenge.
Whatever the reason, growth requires strategy. The recent trend toward shrinking profit margins in new vehicle sales makes this more difficult. If you want to grow, you're going to have to reduce operating costs, attract new customers and retain more customers. To accomplish this, start by answering these four questions.
1) Where can I find efficiencies in our current processes?
Lower operating costs don't have to involve making painful cuts. Instead, use your DMS reporting tools to drill down into your processes. How long does it take your trade-ins to get out on the lot? If it's more than three days, there's a problem. How productive are your technicians? What's your shop capacity?
I believe that when times are good many dealers fall into a pattern where they don't pay as much attention to expenses. As long as everyone's making money, processes aren't enforced and employees are not held accountable.
To grow, you'll need to sell more cars. This requires scrutinizing your sales process. Monitor CRM usage and examine every salesperson's KPIs. "Sell more cars" doesn't mean anything to a salesperson. Unless they are given very specific guidelines to follow, they will end up where they end up.
A salesperson is never going to sell 20 cars a month sitting around waiting for the next 'up.' But you can figure out the math using reporting tools. If that salesperson has a 50 percent closing ratio and a 30 percent lead-to-negotiation ratio, they should be talking to about 120 prospects per month. That means they have to connect with six prospects per day, assuming they work 20 days per month.
Don't be afraid to set sales and service goals high; but don't expect those goals to be reached without breaking down the steps of how to get there. Every employee needs to know what they should be doing on a daily basis, and be held accountable for doing it.
2) How do I market to more people for less money?
Marketing is a huge expense for most dealerships. Many of the most successful dealerships rely almost exclusively on digital marketing. But you have to be careful. One purpose of marketing is to get more leads. At the end of the day, if you aren't getting the amount of leads you want, something's not working.
At some point, throwing more dollars into a search campaign or buying more third-party leads isn't going to result in more or better leads.
Again, use your DMS reporting tools to drill down into your marketing KPIs for examination. Instead of looking at total leads, find out which lead source closes at the highest percentage. If it's your website, focus on how you can improve your website. Maybe adding videos would be more effective at drawing new visitors than another digital ad campaign.
3) How are we going to find good talent?
To help your dealership grow, you will need good people. Too many dealers still use the mirror test, i.e. if the person's breathing they'll hire them to try them out. This is not a sound hiring practice. Employee turnover is very expensive.
If your dealership doesn't have a formal recruiting strategy and hiring process, you will probably make the same mistake of hiring mediocre employees over and over again. Between 50 to 80 percent of people admit to lying during the interview process, and more than 70 percent of college students say they would lie on their resumes to get a job. Do you know how to spot these liars? Do you properly vet every potential candidate by checking backgrounds and references? If not, chances are very good that you are hiring dishonest employees.
I guarantee that any dollars and time invested into developing a recruiting, hiring and onboarding process will be returned in spades.
4) How are we going to keep our current employees happy?
Once you go through the time and expense of hiring good talent, you'll want to make sure they're happy. This requires focusing on workplace culture.
The fastest way to find out how happy your employees are is to ask them. Not directly of course, but with an anonymous survey. One of the easiest ways to do this is to enter your dealership into a local "Best Places to Work" or "Top Workplaces" competition, or the Automotive News "Best Dealership to Work For." You will get to see anonymous responses from your employees and also benchmarks of where your culture is compared to your competitors.
You may not believe or like the results the first time you do this. Put your ego aside and don't take it personally. Instead, use the survey results as a guide to improve your culture.
The best people want to work for the best companies. When your employees are happy they take great care of your customers. When your customers are taken care of, they will become loyal customers.
Growing your dealership requires a multi-pronged approach. Reduce expenses, reach more customers, sell more cars and keep more customers. Sounds simple, but we all know it isn't. Use your DMS reporting tools to become more efficient, market smarter, focus on workplace culture and attract talent. It will take time but growth will be the inevitable reward.
Auto/Mate Dealership Systems
8 Signs Your Employees Function as a Team
Many dealers realize that to improve their customer experience, they need to first improve their employee experience. When your employees are happy, they automatically take better care of your customers. Additionally, there are significant cost benefits to be achieved when you can reduce employee turnover.
One of the essential building blocks that contribute to employee happiness is team building. Numerous studies document the benefits of team building in organizations.
If you work in a dealership, chances are you have attended a meeting where managers have talked about the importance of teams and team building to rally motivation and cooperation. But does your dealership really foster a team environment, or is your managers' use of team terminology merely lip service?
Here are eight signs that your employees are effectively functioning as team members.
1) Employees communicate well. Members of a team communicate effectively and have good relationships with each other. When employees enjoy participating in activities with each other outside of work, that's a good sign.
However, if there's a department in your dealership that has a history of infighting, employees are not on the same page or are afraid to speak up, that's a sign that your employees are not functioning as a team.
2) Employees are motivated. Even the most motivated employees experience occasional periods where their motivation flags. Team members help to keep each other motivated and also hold one another accountable if someone is not doing their part.
If you have employees that play the blame game, don't accept responsibility for their mistakes and only do the bare minimum of their job responsibilities, they are not motivated and therefore do not feel like they are part of a team.
3) Employees know their strengths and weaknesses. When employees work together as a team it becomes apparent pretty quickly what everyone's strengths and weaknesses are. Rather than attack each other's weaknesses, team members promote each other's strengths and adjust their responsibilities accordingly to maximize team productivity.
4) Employee morale is high. Employees who work as a part of a team report higher levels of satisfaction, morale and happiness. High morale is pretty easy to identify if you're looking for it. Do your employees arrive at work with a smile on their face and tackle the day's work responsibilities with enthusiasm? Or do they procrastinate, complain and engage in morale-killing gossip?
5) Employees respect each other. When employees are functioning as a team, they promote mutual respect and understanding of fellow employees, even those with different viewpoints than their own. If, on the other hand, there are signs of bullying, belittling or malicious gossip between employees, you can be sure your employees do not feel like they are part of a cohesive team. Employees who feel like they are on a team do not tolerate this behavior.
6) Employees have each other's back. Life happens. Occasionally employees get sick, experience a crisis or some other type of setback that impacts their productivity. In these instances team members will gladly step up to offer support. That may be emotional support and/or helping out with work duties. If you have employees who feel like they've been thrown under the bus by other employees, that's a sure sign they are not functioning as a team.
7) Employees work together to achieve organizational objectives. Every human being desires purpose. Every great organization has a mission statement and a vision that inspires purpose. Every employee on a team knows what they are working toward and why. Good leaders know they can't get anywhere without their employees' help. Members of a team know this, support the goal, work hard toward it and celebrate milestones along the way.
8) Employees prevent rogue employees from doing things their own way. Do you have employees who routinely break rules, don't follow processes and get away with it? In some dealerships, top salespeople or other high-performing employees are not held to the same standards as other employees, simply because of the revenue they bring in or favoritism. If this is the case in your dealership, your employees probably believe that any references to team efforts are pure lip service. Members of a team promote the processes in place, follow them and hold those who don't accountable.
Many auto dealers face inherent challenges when they try to build teams because of the way their dealerships are managed. Traditionally dealerships are set up to reward individual performance, rather than rewarding the efforts of a team.
I encourage dealers to review whether their pay plans motivate employees to contribute to a team's efforts or whether they encourage a "What's in it for me?" attitude. If it's the latter, you may want to consider revamping pay plans so they reward team performance rather than individual performance.
3 Comments
I've been in sales for most of my life and I couldn't agree more that you need a team environment to make things work well. It's also important to have rivaling departments work well together and not against each other. When I was in furniture sales it was always a goal of management to make sure sales and warehouse personnel respected each other and understood the roles each played in making the business run. Same here now in car sales with the sales, service, and parts department.
However, personally I am completely against the idea of paying salespeople on team effort. I've been a part of this before and as a top performer I have always felt it was somewhat unfair. One of the things I love about the car business and sales for that matter, is the MONEY that you can make when you work hard, take great care of your customers, and reach your goals. You limit what the individual who is highly motivated can make when you lump them in with a team pay plan and in my experience that's demotivating. I've seen it, and I've felt it personally....
Salespeople should be paid on THEIR personal efforts and performance. JMO!
Sales Professionals of America Recruiting
Well said and spot on. I am definitely sharing this!
AllCall Multi-Channel BDC
Michael, great points you make here. Sharing this with our managers right away!
Auto/Mate Dealership Systems
Dashboard Dealership Enterprises Integrates with Auto/Mate's DMS
Albany, N.Y. – May 31st, 2017 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems announced today that its dealership management system (DMS) is fully integrated with Dashboard Dealership Enterprises, a developer of high quality system products and related services to satisfy the current and emerging needs of its customers. Auto dealerships using both Auto/Mate's DMS and Dashboard's reporting solutions are now able to enjoy seamless data exchange and real-time updates between the two systems.
"Managers at every level in automotive retail have more important things to do than spend time compiling data into reports, which quickly become inaccurate and don't tell the story behind the numbers," said Mike Esposito, President and CEO of Auto/Mate. "Analytics and business intelligence software allow managers to drill down and identify why problems are occurring, so they can take immediate and appropriate action."
Dashboard Dealership Enterprises' flagship product, Executive Eye, has built its reputation as a proven leader in dealership management reporting, and continues to innovate in the world of business analytics. Executive Eye is a mainstay in over 750 dealerships, including many on the 2016 Automotive News ‘Top 150’ Dealership Groups.
"Our mission is to exceed customer expectations for services, quality, speed of implementation, ease of use and support," said Josh Blick, Dashboard Dealership Enterprises CEO. "The Open/Mate integration process with Auto/Mate was painless and we are thrilled that more auto dealers now have an enterprise option to analytics and business intelligence."
Auto/Mate designed its Open/Mate program using open standards to provide an affordable integration experience for third-party vendors. The more vendors that integrate with each other, the greater cost savings dealerships are able to achieve. Auto/Mate doesn't believe in charging big certification fees because those costs get passed directly to the dealership.
Auto/Mate is an award-winning DMS vendor servicing 1,350 dealership rooftops, including large auto groups and single-store franchises. Auto/Mate is the #1 DMS vendor in customer satisfaction and is well known for its outstanding software and customer support.
For more information, visit http://www.automate.com or call 877-829-7020.
About Dashboard Dealership Enterprises
Dashboard Dealership Enterprises is a full-Service Enterprise Analytic and Business Intelligence provider, serving the Retail Automotive market since 1996. We provide Turn-Key Data Analytics and Business Intelligence for every Retail Automotive DMS in North America, and beyond. We use cutting edge systems to deliver this information in a fast, easy to understand, and diverse platform.
We answer the phone! Our experienced Install & Support staff provide training, phone support, and most importantly, assist our clients in optimizing their experience.
For more information, visit http://www.dashboardonline.com/ or call 415-295-2195
About Auto/Mate
Auto/Mate Dealership Systems is a leading provider of dealership management system (DMS) software to retail automotive dealerships, typically saving dealers thousands of dollars per month from their current provider. Our Automotive Management Productivity Suite (AMPS) is a user-friendly, feature-rich DMS in use by more than 1,350 auto dealers nationwide. Auto/Mate has received DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards every year from 2012 to 2016.
Auto/Mate’s employees have more than 1,000 years of combined experience working in franchised auto dealerships, the foundation of its “Designed By Car People For Car PeopleTM” slogan. Auto/Mate is committed to winning its customers’ business each and every month with no long-term contracts and free software upgrades. For more information follow us on Twitter @AutoMateDMS and subscribe to our blog at www.automate.com/blog.
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Auto/Mate Dealership Systems
To Improve The Customer Experience, First Learn What It Is
It seems like improving the customer experience is this year's catch phrase. Everyone is talking about it, from dealers to consultants and technology vendors. But to improve the customer experience, you must first have a good understanding of what that experience actually is.
As a dealership principal or manager, you are not treated like a customer in your own store. You're treated like the boss, and when you walk by your employees they are always on their best behavior.
So how can you know what your customers' true experience is at your store? One way to learn is to hire an outside consultant who can do the research for you. Or you can act like your own consultant. It shouldn't take much time or expense to gain an understanding of what your customers' experience is. Here are a few tips:
Observe
When was the last time you were in the service lane at 7 a.m. on a Monday morning? When was the last time you watched someone walk into the showroom and, instead of alerting a salesperson to that customer's presence, simply observed what that customer's experience was, viewing it through their eyes? When was the last time you called your dealership's phone number to ask about a vehicle listed on your website?
On a daily basis we are all caught up in our list of what must get done. It's easy to run around the dealership without really noticing what's happening. But if you're serious about improving your customer experience, this is a critical step. Slow down. Observe. Try to be surreptitious. If that's impossible, ask your managers to participate in this exercise. Don't immediately judge or correct; your objective here is to simply learn.
Ask
Conduct a customer survey. Host a customer night. Call several customers who recently purchased a vehicle and customers who did not purchase a vehicle. Call customers who recently got some service work done. Ask them directly what their experience was and how it could be improved.
When your customers call, are they getting connected with people who can help them, or are they sent to voice mail? When a customer walks into your showroom, are they greeted like you would greet a guest in your home, or is a salesperson treating them like their next meal ticket? In your service lane, how long does it take to drop off a vehicle? Are your customers notified when their car is ready or do they have to call to find out?
Note your customers' comments and your own observations. From these two exercises alone, you should be able to identify one or more processes that need improvement.
Fix
Address your process breakdowns. It's not always enough to have a process in place. You have to understand why it's not being followed. Is it a process problem, a people problem, or both?
I've found the best way to fix a process is to first make sure that everyone understands what the process is. Write it down then ask your employees for feedback.
The goal is not to ask, "Why aren't you following this process?" because that puts people on the defensive. Instead, ask "Is there a problem with this process that makes it difficult to follow?" If there is, ask for a solution. When employees take ownership of a process they are much more likely to follow it.
Deliver
It's difficult to improve your customer experience unless you and your employees know exactly what type of experience you want them to have. Is it a fast, efficient, no frills type of experience? Or is it a luxurious VIP experience with plenty of personal attention? There's a place and time for both, and it may depend on what type of dealership you run.
Customer experience is created not just by process, but by emotion. How do you want your customer to feel when they walk into your showroom? How do you want them to feel when they pick up their car from your service department? What types of interactions with your employees are necessary in order to generate those feelings?
This customer experience is something that should be defined and shared with your employees. Just saying you want to improve the experience doesn't mean anything. Your employees should know exactly what your expectations are and how to deliver.
If you're serious about improving the customer experience at your dealership, first learn what it is. Establish a baseline, set your expectations and measure your progress along the way.
What tips do you have for improving the customer experience?
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Auto/Mate Dealership Systems
Auto/Mate Announces Fall Customer User Summit Dates in San Antonio, TX
ALBANY, N.Y. – May 8th, 2017 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) today announced its second national Customer User Summit, scheduled for October 11th - 13th in San Antonio, TX. The User Summit spans over three days and features breakout sessions and product experts giving in-depth training on the latest and greatest features of Auto/Mate's dealership management system (DMS).
"We have heard from previous attendees that they appreciate learning so much about our system, how to use certain features, time-saving short cuts and best practices in a short period of time. These are actionable items that customers they can take back to their dealerships and put to practical use right away; and they have a great time doing it," said Mike Esposito, President and CEO of Auto/Mate Dealership Systems.
Renee Bissonnette with Evergreen Subaru attended the 2016 User Summit in Chicago. “I really enjoy the seminars about the different modules where you can learn best practices with the current module and changes that will be coming," said Bissonnette. "I love that each seminar includes an individual from Auto/Mate who takes notes on new ideas from attendees."
Auto/Mate's User Summit is designed for dealership principals, executives and department managers. Highlights include breakout sessions, speakers, happy hours and more. Attendees will learn best practices and in-depth feature overviews designed to increase efficiencies, all within a fun, collaborative environment.
Early bird registration deadline for the User Summit is July 7th, 2017. Customer rates are $99 for the first attendee and $79 for each additional attendee from the same dealership. Final deadline for registration is September 8th, 2017. Regular rates are $129/attendee and $109 for each additional attendee from the same dealership.
To register, visit http://www.automate.com/usersummit.
Call for Sponsorships
Auto/Mate is offering sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities at its User Summit to Open/Mate and third-party partners, as well as other industry vendors. Sponsorships increase brand awareness and provide the opportunity to network with Auto/Mate team members, customers and other vendors.
“This event was really well done," said 2016 sponsor Ken Hill, Managing Director with 700Credit. "Auto/Mate structured the event so that vendors had plenty of opportunities to meet with every dealer in attendance, which was very much appreciated by our team. We look forward to the 2017 User Summit!"
For more details on sponsorships and exhibitor opportunities contact Jessica Joralemon, CMP at Auto/Mate at usersummit@automate.com or 877-340-2677.
Auto/Mate's User Summit will be held at the Hilton Palacio Del Rio, right on the famous San Antonio Riverwalk! To book a room reservation call 210-222-1400 and ask for the Auto/Mate User Summit discounted room rate.
For more information or to register visit: http://www.automate.com/usersummit/. Follow the event on Twitter @AutoMateDMS #AMUserSummit
About Auto/Mate
Auto/Mate Dealership Systems is a leading provider of dealership management system (DMS) software to retail automotive dealerships, typically saving dealers thousands of dollars per month from their current provider. Our Automotive Management Productivity Suite (AMPS) is a user-friendly, feature-rich DMS in use by more than 1,350 auto dealers nationwide. Auto/Mate has received DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Auto/Mate’s employees have more than 1,000 years of combined experience working in franchised auto dealerships, the foundation of its “Designed By Car People For Car PeopleTM” slogan. Auto/Mate is committed to winning its customers’ business each and every month with no long-term contracts and free software upgrades. For more information follow us on Twitter @AutoMateDMS and subscribe to our blog at www.automate.com/blog.
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Auto/Mate Dealership Systems
Times Union Names Auto/Mate a Winner of the New York Capital Region 2017 Top Workplaces Award
Auto/Mate Grabs Top Spot in Medium-Sized Companies Category
Albany, NY – April 10th, 2017 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems announced today that it has been awarded a 2017 Top Workplaces honor by the Times Union. Auto/Mate ranked as the #1 Top Workplace in the medium-sized companies category, beating out 19 other companies in the New York Capital Region for the top spot. This is the sixth consecutive year that Auto/Mate has received a Top Workplaces award.
"I would like to sincerely thank our employees for voting us as a Top Workplace; this is truly incredible and I am excited and humbled," said Mike Esposito, President and CEO of Auto/Mate. "Many business associates are skeptical when I say we put our employees first, before our customers and our shareholders, but this award proves that when you put employees first they will work hard and help make your company successful."
The Top Workplaces lists are based solely on the results of an employee feedback survey administered by WorkplaceDynamics, LLC, a leading research firm that specializes in organizational health and workplace improvement. Several aspects of workplace culture were measured, including Alignment, Execution, and Connection, just to name a few.
“The Top Workplaces award is not a popularity contest. Often times, people assume it’s all about fancy perks and benefits.” says Doug Claffey, CEO of WorkplaceDynamics. “But to be a Top Workplace, organizations must meet our strict standards for organizational health. And who better to ask about work life than the people who live the culture every day—the employees. Time and time again, our research has proven that what’s most important to them is a strong belief in where the organization is headed, how it’s going to get there, and the feeling that everyone is in it together." Claffey adds, “Without this sense of connection, an organization doesn’t have a shot at being named a Top Workplace.”
For more information about careers and workplace culture at Auto/Mate visit www.automate.com/careers
About Auto/Mate
Auto/Mate Dealership Systems is a leading provider of dealership management system (DMS) software to retail automotive dealerships, typically saving dealers thousands of dollars per month from their current provider. Our Automotive Management Productivity Suite (AMPS) is a user-friendly, feature-rich DMS in use by more than 1,200 auto dealers nationwide. Auto/Mate has received DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Auto/Mate’s employees have more than 1,000 years of combined experience working in franchised auto dealerships, the foundation of its “Designed By Car People For Car PeopleTM” slogan. Auto/Mate is committed to winning its customers’ business each and every month with no long-term contracts and free software upgrades. For more information follow us on Twitter @AutoMateDMS and subscribe to our blog at www.automate.com/blog.
About WorkplaceDynamics, LLC
Headquartered in Exton, PA, WorkplaceDynamics specializes in employee feedback surveys and workplace improvement. This year alone, more than two million employees in over 6,000 organizations will participate in the Top Workplaces™ campaign—a program it conducts in partnership with more than 40 prestigious media partners across the United States. Workplace Dynamics also provides consulting services to improve employee engagement and organizational health. WorkplaceDynamics is a founding B Corporation member, a coalition of organizations that are leading a global movement to redefine success in business by offering a positive vision of a better way to do business.
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Auto/Mate Dealership Systems
Your Employee Turnover Won't Change Until This Changes
Word has it that many dealers are still having problems finding and keeping 'good' salespeople. According to the 2016 NADA Dealership Workforce Study, the average turnover rate for salespeople is 67 percent, and as high as 72 percent at non-luxury dealerships.
High turnover rates in the auto industry are not news. But is the problem really the lack of 'good' salespeople, or is the problem with the way dealerships are treating their salespeople? It's an important question and something that dealers should figure out, because consulting firm ESI Trends estimates that employee turnover costs the average dealership half a million dollars every year.
The fact is, sales consultant turnover rate won't change until these two things change:
1) Pay Plans
The average starting salary for college graduates today is $52,569 according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). The average salary for car salespeople is $31,000, according to Glassdoor.com. Sure, there's a chance you can make a lot in commissions; but there's also a chance that you won't make a lot in commissions.
And let's face it: selling cars is a stressful job. Why put up with the stress and long hours when you can go pump gas and make almost as much, without all the stress?
Some forward-thinking dealerships are addressing this salary gap with higher salaries and smaller commissions based on CSI scores or other factors. Unfortunately some dealers believe that without commissions as incentive, salespeople won't do the work. This belief is misguided because there are plenty of ways to hold salespeople accountable. When you hire an accountant, are you worried that they won't do the work because they're getting a salary?
Until dealerships rethink their pay plans and come up with packages that compete with other companies in other industries, they're going to have a really hard time finding and keeping the best talent.
2) Workplace Culture
Auto/Mate currently has over 180 employees and a turnover rate of one to two percent. It's a big deal if we lose two or three people a year. This is no accident. Creating a workplace culture focused on employee engagement and happiness is the top priority of upper management in our organization. And when I say top I do mean top. We care about it more than revenue and more than customer satisfaction.
I see the eye-rolling skeptics out there, but here's how this works. Employee engagement is our top priority because happy employees take great care of customers. Happy customers become loyal customers. This has a positive impact on the bottom line, so ultimately the shareholders are happy too.
I have written extensively about how to increase employee happiness. But the one, core nugget of advice is this: your employees have to believe that you really care about them. This can't be faked. If you don't know your employees' spouses names, or their kids' names, or you don't know which of your employees are going through a difficult personal challenge, you don't really care. And your employees know it.
When you care about your employees, they care about you and your company. They care about the company's mission and vision. They will feel part of something and be motivated to help make it a success. And they won't want to leave.
So if employee turnover is an issue at your dealership, address pay plans and focus on workplace culture. What are your tips for reducing employee turnover?
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Auto/Mate Dealership Systems
Five Fun Team-Building Exercises for Your Next Sales Meeting
I'm a big advocate for sales training. I think meetings and training are important aspects of building a strong sales team. However, there's more to team building than just meetings and trainings. Sometimes your team needs to step out of their comfort zone, get competitive, get physical and have some plain old-fashioned fun in the process!
Here are a few ideas that will elevate your next sales meeting to an entertaining and productive team-building exercise:
1) Cooking Competitions
We did this at one of Auto/Mate's summer sales meeting and even the most cooking-averse guys admitted it was fun. We rented space at the local culinary school, divided our sales reps into teams and challenged them to a cook-off. The school provided two chefs (presumably to make sure we didn't burn down the kitchen) and all the ingredients. During the evening we consumed the finished meals along with some nice wine as we judged our sales peoples' cooking abilities and had a lot of laughs.
2) Laser tag
Remember paintball? Laser tag is similar but with less pain involved for the participants. Many communities have laser tag arenas with urban 'sets' complete with ramps, buildings and barriers to duck behind as you try to tag your opponents. Laser tag is exhilarating, fast-paced and takes you away from every day work concerns as your focus narrows down to the basics: hit or be hit, win or lose.
3) Knockerball (aka Bubble Soccer or Zorb Football)
This is a fun idea for a sales meeting or even an employee picnic. Divide your employees into teams, let them don big plastic bubbles and run into each other at full speed. You will feel what it's like to go flying through the air like an NFL running back knocked out of bounds, but without fear of injury.
4) Improv/Comedians
Auto/Mate also tried this a few years ago. A local theatre group produces an Improv-style training workshop that's very relevant for salespeople. A couple comedians made comparisons between stand-up comedy and the typical sales process (something that we can all relate to). Check your local Improv venue and local theatre groups to see if they offer something similar. If you can't find one, try hiring a local comedian and introduce him or her as the new salesperson or a sales trainer. Let chaos and comedy reign as the sales meeting progresses.
5) Escape Rooms
Your sales team is locked into a room and has one hour to find clues and figure out how to escape. Escape rooms require problem-solving skills, critical thinking and teamwork. Auto/Mate employees did this recently in New Orleans and it was a blast; but the more important takeaway was that it really requires working together. Every person has his or her unique skills that contribute to solving the puzzle.
Escape rooms have recently become very popular; just Google "escape rooms" in your city to find one. Most facilities have several types of rooms to escape from, such as a dungeon, a study or a ship's hold. Rent one room for your entire sales team, or two rooms and see which team escapes first!
What team-building tips or exercises can you suggest? Do you have additional ideas for turning a sales meeting into a memorable bonding experience?
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Auto/Mate Dealership Systems
How to Introduce a New Technology Into Your Dealership
Every year at NADA I am amazed at the number of new and exciting technologies being introduced. Some are completely new, like virtual reality showrooms; others are upgrades to existing applications that dealers use on a daily basis, such as a CRM or DMS.
It's easy to get excited about a technology that promises to increase revenue, streamline processes or improve the customer experience. But before signing on the dotted line, dealers know they've got to get buy in from the managers and employees who will be using the technology.
As any dealer knows, this can be a problem.
The biggest obstacle that dealers face when introducing a new technology is employees' fear of change. Have you ever run the idea for a new service application, CRM or DMS by your managers and employees, only to face resistance? They dig in their heels and say things like, "We've done it this way for 25 years. Why change now?"
They fear the change will be disruptive to business, or they fear it will take too much time to learn. So the employees insist they won't use the new technology, and all too often, the dealer caves to their resistance.
The problem with this is that today's dealerships must keep up with technology in order to compete. Independent service shops are being built from the ground up with technology incorporated into every step of every process. Much of this technology is designed to improve the customer experience; from mobile tablets to diagnostic tools and texting communications platforms.
In sales, industry disruptors are promising customers a fast and pleasant online buying experience, bringing them to the point where customers can pick up their new vehicle at the dealership or even have it delivered. Other dealerships are experimenting with a no-haggle experience provided by 'product experts' instead of salespeople, with promising results.
Are you confident your dealership is delivering a better, faster, more pleasant customer experience than it did five years ago?
Has your dealership embraced technology as a way to improve the customer experience?
Are you at the end of the rope with one of your current vendors?
As a dealer, if you feel strongly that a new technology will help keep your dealership competitive, it's important that you don't cave to employees' fear of change.
This doesn't mean you have to force your decisions onto your employees against their will. As you may know, I'm all about creating a great workplace for employees. It's difficult to keep employees happy when they feel like they are being forced into something.
So the key is to get their buy-in. Make them want the technology, or at least be open to trying it. Here are a few tips on how to accomplish this.
1) Discuss your decision. Hold a meeting with the department manager or managers that will be using the new technology. If they are resistant to the idea, ask them why. Don't accept an answer like, "We've always done it this way." Ask for specific reasons why they think the current technology, or current process, is better.
2) List pros and cons. Have a list of pros and cons for the new technology, as well as the current/existing technology or process that will be replaced. Go through the lists with the manager and ask them their opinion and input on each point.
3) Present your business case. Be open about the cost, potential revenue increase, ROI and any concerns that you may have. If they are still resistant, ask them to present their business case. Can the status quo deliver better results, and if so, how?
4) Give employees a say. You may not be giving them a vote, but they can certainly have a say in how, when and where the new technology should be implemented. The more you involve your managers and/or employees, the more they feel like they have some control over the situation.
5) Start small. If the technology can be introduced in a small way, or rolled out slowly, such as mobile tablets in the service department, offer a compromise. Suggest trying it with one service writer; preferably someone who likes the idea.
6) Form cross-functional teams. If the technology is a major system such as a CRM or DMS, the earlier you can involve your employees, the better. Form a cross-functional team to help in the selection process. They may resist at first, but as the process moves forward and you demonstrate that their input and feedback is important in the decision-making process, they will warm up to the idea.
7) Offer training. Be sure that everyone knows they will get the necessary training in order to come up to speed on the new system quickly. Deliver on that promise.
8) Demand accountability. Let your team know that you are demanding accountability for using the new technology. Then ask the manager and/or employees to define how they will be accountable, and what the consequences will be if they are not.
Thanks to technology, ten years from now the way we sell cars may look nothing like how we do it today. Dealers who embrace the coming changes early on stand to benefit the most, because they will be giving customers what they want.
Change is hard, sometimes scary but always necessary. But the more you can involve your managers and employees in the process, the more likely they will be to adhere to the decisions made. Instead of figuring out all the reasons why the new technology won't work, they may actually take ownership of the process, get excited or at least be less resistant to the impending change.
1 Comment
DrivingSales
This is SO fantastic! New technology is always really hard, especially in a dealership because lots of people are involved. I love this!
Auto/Mate Dealership Systems
Why Your Star Performers Shouldn't Automatically Become Managers
It's a pretty common scenario; your best performing salesperson also happens to be ambitious. A management position opens up and the salesperson lobbies hard. It's difficult to deny this person; they've worked hard and made your dealership a lot of money. So do you automatically promote them?
Maybe...maybe not. It really depends on the type of person they are, and the type of person you want in a leadership position at your dealership. Great managers have certain skills, and great salespeople have certain skills. Sometimes those skills conflict.
Let's take a look at some of the traits that nearly every great salesperson shares:
Confidence
The best salespeople are confident about their own abilities and confident about their understanding of the product, the customer and the market. They are not afraid to challenge decision makers. As salespeople, this means they aren't afraid to challenge the customer if incorrect assumptions are made. This is a necessary skill in sales in order to overcome objections. But if you promote that salesperson into management, you better be prepared to start having your own decisions challenged.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. Leaders should be challenged once in a while. And great managers are confident about their abilities too, but they can also show humility. As C.S. Lewis said: "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less." The best managers are very team-oriented and work well with their subordinates, fellow managers and bosses. If your star performer operates with a 'we' mentality, instead of an 'I' mentality, by all means promote them.
Resilience
The best salespeople don't get discouraged easily. No's roll off them like water off a duck's back, and every 'no' they encounter means they're that much closer to a 'yes.' Resilience and optimism stem from confidence and come easily to some people. It may be difficult for someone like this to understand the mindset of someone who does get discouraged easily. When I ran a large dealership, I saw my share of resilient salespeople dismiss their peers who struggled with rejection.
Obviously, someone who gets discouraged easily will not last long in sales. But teaching and coaching can go a long way in turning an average, willing performer into a good performer. Great managers know how to teach, coach and motivate their team. That should be their primary role. If your star performer is the type who motivates their fellow team members to do better, instead of dismissing them as inferior, by all means promote them.
Productive
The best salespeople know how to manage their time well. They are focused and productive. They make the calls, send the emails and go the extra mile without having to be asked. They are self-motivated, naturally persistent and they don't need their boss's approval. They know how to pat themselves on the back and say "Good job, me!" Their own success is reward enough.
You think this is good, right? You want your managers to be productive, too. But sometimes a star salesperson has trouble adapting from doing the work to getting others to do the work. They may be tempted to step in to help close the deal because they know how to get it done.
The best managers, on the other hand, know how to make their team more productive. In a study titled The Value of Good Bosses, researchers found that people working for "good bosses" were 10 percent more productive than people working for "bad bosses." In this study, bosses supervised an average of nine workers, so the combined productivity increase was equal to the amount produced by an average worker. In effect, having a "good boss" was like having an extra employee in that department!
Not coincidentally, this research team found that "good bosses" identified their primary objectives as teaching and motivating. If your star salesperson has the skills to teach their team how to be more productive, by all means promote them.
If your star performer doesn't have these skills, I'm not saying that you shouldn't promote them. Like other skills, management skills can be learned. Share your concerns and if the salesperson can acknowledge their own shortcomings and commit to improving them, and if you are willing to teach, coach and motivate them to becoming a good manager, then by all means promote them.
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3 Comments
Brandin Wilkinson
Woodworth Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Ltd.
Good article Michael. I like the concept of breaking down the process for goal setting in your Sales and Service Departments. One adjustment we made, but we're likely smaller than your dealer, was we tied every employee to the bottom line. We've seen an increase in profit, expenses lowered (especially the small daily ones that seem to add up), and we have a culture where the majority of our advertising goes back to the clients who purchased from us, an example being sending them a hand-written thank you card along with a personalized gift, something that relates to one of their hobbies. By doing this, we allow the client to do the advertising for us. We've discovered that our quality of clients went up, there were more of them, the process was easier and more fun, and due to relying on word of mouth advertising for the most part, that holds every employee accountable to providing excellent customer service because they want that client, and the clients friends/family, back in the door as much as anyone else does. It's eliminated a lot of the micromanaging in the dealership which has created a better morale and has allowed me to focus more on the leadership side of things. There are multiple structures that could be incorporated. I'd never go back to hourly wage now.
Brandin Wilkinson
Woodworth Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Ltd.
Oh I almost forgot, for Marketing, try researching more into Jay Abraham. He has great strategies for any area of marketing, he's a game changer!
Michael Esposito
Auto/Mate Dealership Systems
Thanks Brandin, they say sometimes what's old is new again. Sending hand written thank-you's is one example of what used to work but has been forgotten, it's nice to know that you have brought that back and it still works. It's good you're trying something different with pay plans, I've been an advocate of changing those in dealerships for a long time.