This week we’re especially sensitive to the date of 9/11/11.  It’s the 10^th anniversary of the event that changed our lives.   So from everything from the TV shows replaying those unthinkable moments to the incredible volunteer efforts happening to honor those who lost their lives on that day and those who fought to save lives on that day, the message is clear; volunteering is a huge part of who we are.

So the question I’m asking is that if we know that volunteering brings people together on a national level on this momentous day, are you doing your part to volunteer in your community?

Business development is not just about sales and marketing.  It’s about a community.  They won’t be there for you unless you are there for them.  A pretty simple concept.

Today's job seekers are looking for more than stock options and 401(k) plans and today’s consumers are looking for more than a great price on a new car.

Dealerships both large and small are interested in being good citizens.  Everyone wins in this scenario. The company, the employees and of course, so does the community.   Obviously good relations with the community, a positive public image and a cohesive, motivated workforce are a given, but volunteering initiatives also bring out the leadership skills in employees who might not have the opportunity in their everyday position.  Lastly, it could also promote interaction between all of your departments.  

Volunteering continues to grow in popularity, currently at a 30-year high, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates more than 60 million Americans volunteer each year.  Research also suggests that if you want to attract Generation Y talent, volunteer opportunities are a priority as they consider their options.  

A volunteer program is a great way to boost morale.  Who doesn’t like to help someone?   Let your employees come up with ideas on causes they’d like to be involved in…if they’re passionate about it, they’ll be more likely to contribute.

If your employees are short on time, maybe there’s a service you can donate.  Word gets around when you are community focused.   Remember, “what goes around, comes around.”

Volunteer programs are worth the effort because they show employees and the community what the company is all about.  They offer proof to employees and the community that your company cares about more than just making a profit.  It also shows your employees that you see them as a contributing member of society who wants to make a positive contribution…not just someone who wants to collect a paycheck.

So, all Americans will be remembering 9/11 their own way, whether volunteering or another chosen method.  But after the anniversary date, the tradition should still continue as part of our business culture and everyday lifestyle for the communities we serve, and that serve us.

This week we’re especially sensitive to the date of 9/11/11.  It’s the 10^th anniversary of the event that changed our lives.   So from everything from the TV shows replaying those unthinkable moments to the incredible volunteer efforts happening to honor those who lost their lives on that day and those who fought to save lives on that day, the message is clear; volunteering is a huge part of who we are.

So the question I’m asking is that if we know that volunteering brings people together on a national level on this momentous day, are you doing your part to volunteer in your community?

Business development is not just about sales and marketing.  It’s about a community.  They won’t be there for you unless you are there for them.  A pretty simple concept.

Today's job seekers are looking for more than stock options and 401(k) plans and today’s consumers are looking for more than a great price on a new car.

Dealerships both large and small are interested in being good citizens.  Everyone wins in this scenario. The company, the employees and of course, so does the community.   Obviously good relations with the community, a positive public image and a cohesive, motivated workforce are a given, but volunteering initiatives also bring out the leadership skills in employees who might not have the opportunity in their everyday position.  Lastly, it could also promote interaction between all of your departments.  

Volunteering continues to grow in popularity, currently at a 30-year high, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates more than 60 million Americans volunteer each year.  Research also suggests that if you want to attract Generation Y talent, volunteer opportunities are a priority as they consider their options.  

A volunteer program is a great way to boost morale.  Who doesn’t like to help someone?   Let your employees come up with ideas on causes they’d like to be involved in…if they’re passionate about it, they’ll be more likely to contribute.

If your employees are short on time, maybe there’s a service you can donate.  Word gets around when you are community focused.   Remember, “what goes around, comes around.”

Volunteer programs are worth the effort because they show employees and the community what the company is all about.  They offer proof to employees and the community that your company cares about more than just making a profit.  It also shows your employees that you see them as a contributing member of society who wants to make a positive contribution…not just someone who wants to collect a paycheck.

So, all Americans will be remembering 9/11 their own way, whether volunteering or another chosen method.  But after the anniversary date, the tradition should still continue as part of our business culture and everyday lifestyle for the communities we serve, and that serve us.

Does the industry need more women to do the Selling in order to sell more cars?

 

Let's face it. Talk to a woman about buying a car from a male sales person and almost every time you’re going to get a horror story about being treated poorly, coming away feeling like they were taken advantage of, and in some cases, being told to bring your husband back with you when you’re ready to buy a car.

Thanks to the internet, women have slowly but surely gotten their hands on the tools and information they needed to go in, negotiate their terms and buy a new car with a sense of preparedness they never dreamed of!

Women are dominating the consumer buying decisions in all markets!  In the auto industry, women influence over 60% of the car buying decisions, yet less than 10% of automotive sales people are women.  Is that a good formula, or can we do better by increasing the percentage of women on the sales team?

First of all, why would women make a great addition to your sales team? 

1. We know that they can relate to all types of women buyers, have experience with families and of course, men tend to like them.
2. It’s not just about the cars.  YES, the sales person must know their product, but they must also know how to develop and maintain a personal relationship.  Who would you say is better suited to both of these requirements?

It all goes back to knowing your customers!  If your buyer is logical and can walk away from a purchase, chances are a male sales person is a good match.  But, if your buyer processes emotionally and associates themselves with the brand…you might want to take a second look at adding some women to your sales team.  Women can flourish in the automotive industry by making their customers feel good about their decision to purchase.

Get some feedback from the guys, and then mix it up a little for the better!

 

Yes, you'll pick up product knowledge about cars as you go, but almost all prestige car purchases are made based on the feelings that they give the client.  Generally speaking, it's no secret that women understand feelings better than men do.

Can you see how this would give women ( you ) a huge advantage in a business relationship where the client is making an emotionally-driven decision ( acknowledging that the decision is often camouflaged with 'logic' )?

 

• As women make 60% of buying decisions, the auto trade needs to draw women as sellers in order to win women as consumers.

• Research by the UK Institute of the Motor Industry shows that car retailers need more women because they are better suited to the modern auto sales environment than men. Women are better at following car-sale processes and are better organized than men, the research found.

• Warwick University research has shown that women are more adept at “relationship” retailing than the traditional (and increasingly less popular and successful) “transactional” form. That sea change in sales is acute in auto retailing.

• In a New Straits Times of Malaysia article, Jo Cameron of the Institute of the Motor Industry said the auto retail sector should welcome “Women in Work” program funding from the government.

 

 

Does the industry need more women to do the Selling in order to sell more cars?

 

Let's face it. Talk to a woman about buying a car from a male sales person and almost every time you’re going to get a horror story about being treated poorly, coming away feeling like they were taken advantage of, and in some cases, being told to bring your husband back with you when you’re ready to buy a car.

Thanks to the internet, women have slowly but surely gotten their hands on the tools and information they needed to go in, negotiate their terms and buy a new car with a sense of preparedness they never dreamed of!

Women are dominating the consumer buying decisions in all markets!  In the auto industry, women influence over 60% of the car buying decisions, yet less than 10% of automotive sales people are women.  Is that a good formula, or can we do better by increasing the percentage of women on the sales team?

First of all, why would women make a great addition to your sales team? 

1. We know that they can relate to all types of women buyers, have experience with families and of course, men tend to like them.
2. It’s not just about the cars.  YES, the sales person must know their product, but they must also know how to develop and maintain a personal relationship.  Who would you say is better suited to both of these requirements?

It all goes back to knowing your customers!  If your buyer is logical and can walk away from a purchase, chances are a male sales person is a good match.  But, if your buyer processes emotionally and associates themselves with the brand…you might want to take a second look at adding some women to your sales team.  Women can flourish in the automotive industry by making their customers feel good about their decision to purchase.

Get some feedback from the guys, and then mix it up a little for the better!

 

Yes, you'll pick up product knowledge about cars as you go, but almost all prestige car purchases are made based on the feelings that they give the client.  Generally speaking, it's no secret that women understand feelings better than men do.

Can you see how this would give women ( you ) a huge advantage in a business relationship where the client is making an emotionally-driven decision ( acknowledging that the decision is often camouflaged with 'logic' )?

 

• As women make 60% of buying decisions, the auto trade needs to draw women as sellers in order to win women as consumers.

• Research by the UK Institute of the Motor Industry shows that car retailers need more women because they are better suited to the modern auto sales environment than men. Women are better at following car-sale processes and are better organized than men, the research found.

• Warwick University research has shown that women are more adept at “relationship” retailing than the traditional (and increasingly less popular and successful) “transactional” form. That sea change in sales is acute in auto retailing.

• In a New Straits Times of Malaysia article, Jo Cameron of the Institute of the Motor Industry said the auto retail sector should welcome “Women in Work” program funding from the government.

 

 

Every once in awhile, you’ll hear somebody, usually an older person, say to a younger, more frazzled person, to step back and take one thing at a time.  That’s because a long time ago, people prided themselves on being able to clear their minds and focus on the task at hand and not let anything deter them from completing their job.   My how times have changed!  Now, the more hurrying and scurrying we do, the more agitated we are and the more balls we’re juggling in the air just goes to show everyone how important we are and how well we; wait for it…MULTITASK.   Multitasking has become such a way of life that we have 9 ways to check email, Facebook, Twitter, send and receive messages and generally stay connected with people we want to and even those we don’t.  It’s so important to multitask that some companies require it as a skill in their job descriptions!   Have you ever been talking to someone either professionally or personally who is “multitasking?”  Yeah, it’s pretty annoying.  They don’t retain half of what you’re saying and you come away feeling pretty unimportant to that person, whether you admit it or not because the bottom line of what we’re talking about is paying attention.   We are wired to pay attention.  When you don’t pay attention, mistakes are made. Plain and simple.  The more you focus on something, the better you get at that particular thing. If you’re focusing on your customer and helping them achieve their goals then your sales will reflect it.  If you’re multitasking, chances are, your sales will reflect that as well.   I’m not saying cell phones, emails and texting are bad things.  I love them!  What I am saying is learn to manage them instead of letting them manage you.  Leave all of that in the background and pay attention to what’s in front of you…the customer.  It works every time.

Every once in awhile, you’ll hear somebody, usually an older person, say to a younger, more frazzled person, to step back and take one thing at a time.  That’s because a long time ago, people prided themselves on being able to clear their minds and focus on the task at hand and not let anything deter them from completing their job.   My how times have changed!  Now, the more hurrying and scurrying we do, the more agitated we are and the more balls we’re juggling in the air just goes to show everyone how important we are and how well we; wait for it…MULTITASK.   Multitasking has become such a way of life that we have 9 ways to check email, Facebook, Twitter, send and receive messages and generally stay connected with people we want to and even those we don’t.  It’s so important to multitask that some companies require it as a skill in their job descriptions!   Have you ever been talking to someone either professionally or personally who is “multitasking?”  Yeah, it’s pretty annoying.  They don’t retain half of what you’re saying and you come away feeling pretty unimportant to that person, whether you admit it or not because the bottom line of what we’re talking about is paying attention.   We are wired to pay attention.  When you don’t pay attention, mistakes are made. Plain and simple.  The more you focus on something, the better you get at that particular thing. If you’re focusing on your customer and helping them achieve their goals then your sales will reflect it.  If you’re multitasking, chances are, your sales will reflect that as well.   I’m not saying cell phones, emails and texting are bad things.  I love them!  What I am saying is learn to manage them instead of letting them manage you.  Leave all of that in the background and pay attention to what’s in front of you…the customer.  It works every time.

Last week we talked about how to overcome sales objections.  This week I want to dig a little deeper into some specific objections and why they may be occurring.  You can’t possibly cover every reason that someone heads you off at the pass, but maybe you can read into some of these and apply them to your situation!

The three main drivers or tactics a buyer will use are the classic stalling technique, saying they don’t understand, or just being skeptical about the whole deal.  You can’t cure anyone of their fears, but you can turn them around by being interested in their objectives, not yours.

Let’s look at these objections individually along with some tried and true methods to win your customer over.

 

Your buyer is skeptical.  If the buyer seems doubtful about your product, or you, it could be because:

You’re overselling and it sounds too good to be true instead of realistic.

He/she doesn’t trust you.  You haven’t proven yourself to them.  Maybe you’re talking on your terms instead of theirs. Listen and evaluate.

You might not understand the buyer’s needs…don’t assume!  Good questions are just as important as good answers.

The buyer may feel you’re not being honest. Answer all of the buyer’s questions.  If you don’t know…FIND OUT!  (they will)

There is a general misunderstanding or lack of communication going on.

Take the time to get to the facts and offer the solutions necessary to close the sale.

You have to know what the buyer’s goal is before you try to suggest a solution. If his main concern is to save money, then speak in terms of providing the solution and help him reach THAT goal instead of offering him the hottest vehicle on the lot because it’s cool.

Even though you’ve been doing this for awhile, don’t generalize your statements.  The buyer chose you, now take care of him/her.

Stalling

Procrastination is an ugly thing.  You want to be understanding, but come on already!  But what if the buyer isn’t the decision maker?  He’s just the gate keeper. You’ve got to get to the key master!  Find out who the decision maker is and ask to meet with the two of them together to help move things along.

Your buyer wants to compare your vehicle and prices to others.  It happens.  But you’re confident your product is the best. AND, what other services can you offer that will make that buyer WANT to come back?

 Your price is too high.  A lot of people are tightening the belt, but I don’t have to tell you this…you’re in sales!  We’ve got to be creative with benefit oriented solutions and add-on services to offset this objection.

This is where we’ll stop for today.  Benefit oriented solutions are tricky.  But let’s face it, if done right, those extra added benefits, can not only close the immediate sale, but drive future sales for all of us.

Last week we talked about how to overcome sales objections.  This week I want to dig a little deeper into some specific objections and why they may be occurring.  You can’t possibly cover every reason that someone heads you off at the pass, but maybe you can read into some of these and apply them to your situation!

The three main drivers or tactics a buyer will use are the classic stalling technique, saying they don’t understand, or just being skeptical about the whole deal.  You can’t cure anyone of their fears, but you can turn them around by being interested in their objectives, not yours.

Let’s look at these objections individually along with some tried and true methods to win your customer over.

 

Your buyer is skeptical.  If the buyer seems doubtful about your product, or you, it could be because:

You’re overselling and it sounds too good to be true instead of realistic.

He/she doesn’t trust you.  You haven’t proven yourself to them.  Maybe you’re talking on your terms instead of theirs. Listen and evaluate.

You might not understand the buyer’s needs…don’t assume!  Good questions are just as important as good answers.

The buyer may feel you’re not being honest. Answer all of the buyer’s questions.  If you don’t know…FIND OUT!  (they will)

There is a general misunderstanding or lack of communication going on.

Take the time to get to the facts and offer the solutions necessary to close the sale.

You have to know what the buyer’s goal is before you try to suggest a solution. If his main concern is to save money, then speak in terms of providing the solution and help him reach THAT goal instead of offering him the hottest vehicle on the lot because it’s cool.

Even though you’ve been doing this for awhile, don’t generalize your statements.  The buyer chose you, now take care of him/her.

Stalling

Procrastination is an ugly thing.  You want to be understanding, but come on already!  But what if the buyer isn’t the decision maker?  He’s just the gate keeper. You’ve got to get to the key master!  Find out who the decision maker is and ask to meet with the two of them together to help move things along.

Your buyer wants to compare your vehicle and prices to others.  It happens.  But you’re confident your product is the best. AND, what other services can you offer that will make that buyer WANT to come back?

 Your price is too high.  A lot of people are tightening the belt, but I don’t have to tell you this…you’re in sales!  We’ve got to be creative with benefit oriented solutions and add-on services to offset this objection.

This is where we’ll stop for today.  Benefit oriented solutions are tricky.  But let’s face it, if done right, those extra added benefits, can not only close the immediate sale, but drive future sales for all of us.

Remember the good ‘ol days when you opened the phone book and the best ad won your business?

Well not anymore!  Now, thanks to social media, you have to be on constant alert to promote AND protect your professional and personal reputation.   Sure it looks easy…just go online and post some nice things about how great you are on your website, Facebook and Twitter. It’s a great way to reach the public!  But no one ever warned you about the public reaching back!

There are basically two kinds of online reputation traps you need to be aware of and manage:

1. The public interaction you receive after engagement, and

2. The personal items you and your friends post on your private pages that somehow make it into your professional world.

Online media is a great tool for reaching audiences who weren’t always in your grasp.  Everyone gets the warm and fuzzies when customers go online to say things like “great job Bob!” and “I can’t wait to go back!”  The frightening part about social media is when people go online and say, “Bob is a jerk” or “Tom never takes my problem seriously.”  Or, when people see those pictures of you that wouldn’t even show your mom. Those comments spread like wildfire and it takes a lot of work to resolve the challenges they present.

You need to first and foremost, be proactive.  This is your business, your livelihood…and it doesn’t get more personal than that!  Some DOs and DON’Ts for protecting your reputation online:

o

DO set up some automatic alerts to notify you when your business is mentioned in a review or blog

o

DO list your company in local search sites and make sure it’s complete!  This helps you get better search results and push the negative search results down.

o

DO respond to people who post negative comments to let them (and everyone else who is watching) that you care about customer service.   DON’T try to reason with them online, but DO reach out and begin communicating privately.

o

DO set up some analytics on your site so you can identify demographics, key words used in searches and other metrics that will help boost your ratings.  Google offers some good tools for this and they’re easy to use.

o

DON’T recruit people to write false reviews or trash competitors.  It’s the online form of gossip and most people can see through it, kind of like the bully in the playground.

In closing, don’t let the online world freak you out…it’s here to stay.   It is a key influencer for over 80% of consumers today.  You’ve got to run a business and stay ahead of the buzz to be successful.   Go online… check yourself out!  It’s going to reveal a lot more than looking in a mirror.

Remember the good ‘ol days when you opened the phone book and the best ad won your business?

Well not anymore!  Now, thanks to social media, you have to be on constant alert to promote AND protect your professional and personal reputation.   Sure it looks easy…just go online and post some nice things about how great you are on your website, Facebook and Twitter. It’s a great way to reach the public!  But no one ever warned you about the public reaching back!

There are basically two kinds of online reputation traps you need to be aware of and manage:

1. The public interaction you receive after engagement, and

2. The personal items you and your friends post on your private pages that somehow make it into your professional world.

Online media is a great tool for reaching audiences who weren’t always in your grasp.  Everyone gets the warm and fuzzies when customers go online to say things like “great job Bob!” and “I can’t wait to go back!”  The frightening part about social media is when people go online and say, “Bob is a jerk” or “Tom never takes my problem seriously.”  Or, when people see those pictures of you that wouldn’t even show your mom. Those comments spread like wildfire and it takes a lot of work to resolve the challenges they present.

You need to first and foremost, be proactive.  This is your business, your livelihood…and it doesn’t get more personal than that!  Some DOs and DON’Ts for protecting your reputation online:

o

DO set up some automatic alerts to notify you when your business is mentioned in a review or blog

o

DO list your company in local search sites and make sure it’s complete!  This helps you get better search results and push the negative search results down.

o

DO respond to people who post negative comments to let them (and everyone else who is watching) that you care about customer service.   DON’T try to reason with them online, but DO reach out and begin communicating privately.

o

DO set up some analytics on your site so you can identify demographics, key words used in searches and other metrics that will help boost your ratings.  Google offers some good tools for this and they’re easy to use.

o

DON’T recruit people to write false reviews or trash competitors.  It’s the online form of gossip and most people can see through it, kind of like the bully in the playground.

In closing, don’t let the online world freak you out…it’s here to stay.   It is a key influencer for over 80% of consumers today.  You’ve got to run a business and stay ahead of the buzz to be successful.   Go online… check yourself out!  It’s going to reveal a lot more than looking in a mirror.