In this entry, I am going to focus on a simple topic – but "simple" in no way means it's not important. And you would think that it should be a matter of common sense and not overlooked – but I see this happening all the time with sales people. It’s as bad as a sales person who calls and leaves a message wanting you to call them back, but they say their phone number so fast, you need to listen to the message five times before getting it. Today I am going to focus on BlackBerry Etiquette. (And this can apply to iPhone, Palm – or whatever other mobile device you use to communicate with prospects and customers.)

Digital Signatures

At our stores, we issue every ISM a BlackBerry. We pre-set these with the ISM’s digital, branded signature, so they’re ready to go. I have our ISMs send a test message from the BlackBerry to a yahoo or other account to verify the information is correct and looks good. We make sure to program the following into our signatures:

Full name

Name of the dealership

All contact phone number – main, cell phone, etc.

Business email address

Business URL

end with quick friendly note to let them know that this is orignated from your wireless email device.

for example: "PS: Not an auto response, wireless communication in Action, :) smile I'm here."

BlackBerries On-hand at All Times

Our ISMs use their BlackBerries to respond to all new leads, unless they are at their computers and logged into our CRM tool. They also carry their BlackBerries with them, and use them at all times during business, as well as non-business hours. While not mandatory, we encourage them to use their BlackBerries to respond to any inquiries even when they’re not working. This can be as simple as 2 or 3 lines acknowledging receipt of an email, and letting prospects and customers know they will respond back in more detail at a later time.

Four Essential Elements of Using a BlackBerry:

1. Address your prospect using their name – by first name, or by Mr. or Ms. last name. Don’t just write “Hi there,” or anything else that can be construed as less than professional.

2. Address at least one specific comment or question that was asked by the prospect. For example, if your prospect is interested in a Honda Odyssey in silver, you can mention that you have a nice selection of Honda Odysseys to choose from AND you do specifically have silver in stock as well.

3. Indicate what your follow-up action will be. If you are responding on a Sunday, indicate you will call first thing Monday morning with more details about their request. Or, if you are presently with a customer, say you will contact them as soon as possible. Call them within minutes of your email and be sure you have the information they have requested.

4. Send yourself an email from Blackberry to verify that your signature line and information is correct and in place. To do this you have to have another email address that is not forwarding the emails to your blackberry or you will have an issue of email looping. Your signature on BlackBerry emails should be stamped at the server. Also, it is very important to ensure that you use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. These are clear indications of your level of professionalism (or lack of) in dealing with the potential customer. Do not treat BlackBerry email like a text message or IM! Use complete sentences and no text slang; no How R U, BRB, NP, etc. are acceptable.

Once you've carefully checked your message, then send it! You'll have much better results with clients and prospects if you take the time to send thoroughly professional messages from your BlackBerry.

quick note: Talk to your CRM or ILM provider to integrate your blackberry with the system so you have a string of running record of all the communication (incoming and outgoing). It will help you greatly when working with your customers.

Why is the car business so prone to this?

I was talking to my friend at a dealership in the south and she recently left the store. I asked her why, after all it made no sense to me. She is smart, knows her stuff, very successful, the dealership values her and she makes a great living. Why would she leave?

You guessed it, the GM cut her pay because she was making too much. Can you believe that? Unfortunately I can, I’ve seen it so many times. The dealership decides that someone is doing so well, and making more than they should, so they cut the pay back to what they believe is realistic. One of two things usually happens: the person quits (as in this case) or their performance drops. Rarely does the performance increase. So if probability says you will fail with this approach, why do we do it?

I believe we do it for two main reasons; (a) The pay plan was wrong to begin with or (b) We are simply not thinking straight as a manager. Let me explain.

Fixed pay plans represent the most upfront risk to a dealership. If an employee has a 5k salary, and brings in 10k of gross, they effectively are taking home 50% of Gross. Its easy to see it would be tough for the dealer to be happy about that situation. But what’s wrong with the situation its not necessarily the pay plan, it's the employee performance. After all if the employee was on a 5k salary but brought in 100k of gross any dealer would be happy.

At the end of the day fixed pay plans like that where there is a large base to cover are the most risky, but offer the most potential reward for a dealer (from an expense structure.) A variable pay plan, is the hallmark of the auto industry; it represents little risk to the dealer and the employee is rewarded for growth. Meaning, for example, 25% of gross is just that... the dealer only pays out if he receives and he only pays out the 25% weather its a lot or a little.

A dealer should never cut anyone’s pay, on a commission only plan, just because they are making too much money. There are plenty of other reasons, legitimately unless the dealer offered an inappropriate and balance pay keeping the market in mind.

Now like the title says, “Loser pay plans”. A dealership is loosing money and they advertise for a manager. Now their pay plan is geared towards a loosing department & loser manager. They are willing to offer unreasonably high % of commission based on their previous performance in the department. Now a smart manager takes up the challenge knowing the potential and rewards and takes the department to the next level. Now the pay becomes a problem for the dealership and they can’t imagine paying this losers pay plan to a winner. Now they cut this manager’s pay to make sure winner is not on a loser pay plan he will make too much money.

I see this way too many times, dealer principles and General Managers need to drill down and have a balance pay plan that is not a loser pay plan. Is this really that big of a deal. Do you really like to start with new manager every quarter? I would love to hear what you guys think of winner on a loser pay plan?

Now for the weekly check list. ISMs need to be completelting these items on a weekly basis and reporting to their management on their progress of each of these items. Following this task list regularly will greatly increase your success: Weekly Check List Date _______ 1. __ Visit dealership website. Call toll free and other phone numbers to ensure they're working and being answered properly. 2. __ Check AutoTrader, Cars.com, UsedCars.com, and/or other third party website photos, pricing information, and phone numbers. 3. __ Blind shop competitors selling both similar and different makes and models. 4. __ Post any upcoming Events and Specials on website. Be careful about posting any future discounts or pricing - those should be only posted once they are on, or when they are about to end to instill urgency. 5. __ Schedule broadcast email once per month, at the beginning of the third week of the month. Preferably, send on Tuesday or Thursday afternoon. Always have something for the customer first and foremost — give them a compelling reason to open your email. 6. __ Schedule automated targeted email campaigns to existing customers, including interests, specials, birthdays, etc. 7. __ Check with vendors to see if there are duplicate addresses they are sending leads to, to former employees, etc.. 8. __ Test templated emails to see how they are arriving to customers. 9. __ Check your site for manufacturers compliance or non-compliances issues. 10. __ If you find any issues, send an email to your vendor (so you have it in writing), cc-ing your GM or ID, and immediately follow up with a phone call. If the issue is not resolved in 24 hours, re-send the email, and cc you GM or ID. They should take it from there. Following these processes and checklists will help you maximize you efforts and success! Good luck.

In my last blog entry, I listed the key objectives that all dealership personnel should keep at the forefront of their minds, particularly your sales team. That was the "10,000 foot view," the high level. Now I'm going to get down to the 10-foot view with very detailed, tactical objectives. The following is Check Lists that your Internet sales reps should be checking off daily. ISMs I work with find that by dating, checking off, and initialing these lists, they stay focused on the key things they need to do in order to be successful. Daily Check List Date _______ 1. __ Answer all Urgent Emails in ILM/CRM, follow sales process in place, preferably LIFO (Last in first out). 2. __Visit dealership website online. Make sure you are open for business on website. Submit test leads, alternating sources, such as Contact Us, pre-owned vehicle lead, new vehicle lead, etc. 3. __ Visit your Pre-Owned site for accuracy of data: car images, specials, pricing, links, and phone number. Then submit a test lead. 4. __ Visit New Vehicles section, and do the same as above. 5. __ Log on to manufacturers' ILM site, if you have one. In most cases, where youhave one, it is a part of your dealer certification requirements. 6. __ In ILM/CRM, mark sold and enter gross profit. Make sure to sync w/DMS. 7. __Visit your manufacturer's retail site. Check links to your dealership. Submit an inquiry with your dealership's business Zip code and DMA. 8. __ Visit vendor websites — trying a different vendor each day, i.e. AutoUSA, then Dealix, then Dealer.com, Cobalt, etc. Send test leads, and make sure you are receiving leads. Make sure your ILM/CRM is up to date with leads' return email addresses. 9. __ Test your outgoing emails to your personal or test email accounts, including Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, etc. 10. __ If you find any issues, send an email to your vendor (so you have it in writing), cc-ing your GM or ID, and immediately follow up with a phone call. If the issue is not resolved in 24 hours, re-send the email, and cc you GM or ID. They should take it from there.

As the director of e-commerce for multi-franchise automotive groups, I often gets requests from dealers looking for direction on how to efficiently run multi-franchise, multi-rooftop dealerships efficiently and in a way the maximizes all profit opportunities. Obviously, it takes a sizable amount of organization and planning to run multiple rooftops, but you'll see that many of the philosophies I follow lend themselves to every size dealership, including independents. In this blog, I will share tactical advice on running a sales operation that is going to put you and your team in the optimal position to win. I'll cover everything from hiring to tracking results, re-organizing and staying motivated. "Key Objectives" Can Your Entire Team Recite These? I'm going to start with something rudimentary, but which a surprising number of people within organizations fail at and that is being able to clearly articulate the organization's key objectives and goals. These objectives need to come from the top down and if a sales team, in particular, cannot recite these objectives it's management's fault. If anyone working in your dealership comes to work and does not have these objectives at the forefront of their minds, and in infused in everything they do all day long they may as well go home. Here they are, every day, we need to focus on these key objectives: Selling more vehicles Making higher gross Achieving higher CSI scores Improving your service and part business Gaining more marketing share Finding more new customers Keeping current customers happy That's it. All activities that your team is engaged in everyday at the dealership should be in line with those key objectives. If there is a decision to be made the answer needs to be "will it help achieve these key objectives."