Customers that show on the lot are like a slice of cake.

Recently, I had an owner of a dealership tell me his ISM (Internet Sales Manager):  ”His head is stuck in the computer way to0 much and its costing him money. Really?  When an up hits the lot, it’s like the waitress serving a slice of cake with icing on top and a fork at the side. Ready to enjoy or in many cases devourer. What went into the making of that delicious dessert? “The cook” placed the mix in bowl, added milk and eggs, stirred it up, poured the batter into a greased up pan, placed it in the oven and baked it for 30 minutes. He then plated the slice of heaven, rang the bell for the waitress to pick-up.  Only then can “the waitress” serve it to you.  It takes more time to “make and bake the cake”, than it does to serve and eat it. So too, when a customer hits the lot, hours of digital research from the customer has taken place on your web site. Hours of communication from your staff has been placed in motion. The communication that takes place from digital correspondence is equally as important as the customer on the lot. Without the mixing of the ingredients, there is no slice of cake. Do you place the same importance on digital communications as ups on the lot? The waitress can’t serve a slice of cake that the cook didn’t bake.  Your Internet department is your cook, the sales team is your waitress. If you ask Guy Fieri I’m sure he will tell you it takes both to run a successful restaurant.  How successful is your cook and waitress?  Are you recognizing the success of the cook and waitress both in your dealership?  Most of the time, the cook is the unsung hero of a restaurant. Is the same true with your staff that communicates to your customers electronically?

Just a thought…….

Customers that show on the lot are like a slice of cake.

Recently, I had an owner of a dealership tell me his ISM (Internet Sales Manager):  ”His head is stuck in the computer way to0 much and its costing him money. Really?  When an up hits the lot, it’s like the waitress serving a slice of cake with icing on top and a fork at the side. Ready to enjoy or in many cases devourer. What went into the making of that delicious dessert? “The cook” placed the mix in bowl, added milk and eggs, stirred it up, poured the batter into a greased up pan, placed it in the oven and baked it for 30 minutes. He then plated the slice of heaven, rang the bell for the waitress to pick-up.  Only then can “the waitress” serve it to you.  It takes more time to “make and bake the cake”, than it does to serve and eat it. So too, when a customer hits the lot, hours of digital research from the customer has taken place on your web site. Hours of communication from your staff has been placed in motion. The communication that takes place from digital correspondence is equally as important as the customer on the lot. Without the mixing of the ingredients, there is no slice of cake. Do you place the same importance on digital communications as ups on the lot? The waitress can’t serve a slice of cake that the cook didn’t bake.  Your Internet department is your cook, the sales team is your waitress. If you ask Guy Fieri I’m sure he will tell you it takes both to run a successful restaurant.  How successful is your cook and waitress?  Are you recognizing the success of the cook and waitress both in your dealership?  Most of the time, the cook is the unsung hero of a restaurant. Is the same true with your staff that communicates to your customers electronically?

Just a thought…….

 I get an email today from a dealer friend of mine today and he ask;

 Do you know of anybody dropping AutoTrader all together?

It’s ungodly expensive and we just haven’t seen the results.

 My first response from the top of my head is, Yes there seems to be a lot of “chatter’ out there the last few years about reallocating dollars from AT and Cars to other digital advertizing. Then it hit me, I wonder “if” this was some motivation behind Autotraders recent spending spree. Diversify before losing more revenue?

 Dollars started going down for Autotrader a few tears back, they sell a piece for cash to buy and diversify? I certainly no expert, I’m just wondering.

 Getting back to his original Question, in my local market Rockford Illinois Cars.com closed that gap in the last 3 years. In the past Autotrader out produced cars.com by 25%. However, they were less expensive, so it was a push. In the last few years I had equal success. So Cars.com was a better value. I always sold enough unique sales from each source to pay for itself. I always knew there may be better ROI out there.

 Truth be told they are easy leads……..  

 How bout you?

Cutting back on 3^rd party?

Dropping Cars and Autotrader all together?

Seeing same numbers as year’s gone “buy”?

 I get an email today from a dealer friend of mine today and he ask;

 Do you know of anybody dropping AutoTrader all together?

It’s ungodly expensive and we just haven’t seen the results.

 My first response from the top of my head is, Yes there seems to be a lot of “chatter’ out there the last few years about reallocating dollars from AT and Cars to other digital advertizing. Then it hit me, I wonder “if” this was some motivation behind Autotraders recent spending spree. Diversify before losing more revenue?

 Dollars started going down for Autotrader a few tears back, they sell a piece for cash to buy and diversify? I certainly no expert, I’m just wondering.

 Getting back to his original Question, in my local market Rockford Illinois Cars.com closed that gap in the last 3 years. In the past Autotrader out produced cars.com by 25%. However, they were less expensive, so it was a push. In the last few years I had equal success. So Cars.com was a better value. I always sold enough unique sales from each source to pay for itself. I always knew there may be better ROI out there.

 Truth be told they are easy leads……..  

 How bout you?

Cutting back on 3^rd party?

Dropping Cars and Autotrader all together?

Seeing same numbers as year’s gone “buy”?

At this years NADA convention a group of us went to BB Kings for some Professional Networking, Eric Miltsch, Joe Pistell, Rick Chavoustic, Joe Webb and myself were out sharing ideas’.  I always find this to be to most valuable time at conferences and training sessions.

When we arrived I had a terrible case of heartburn. I asked the server if she had any antacids, to which she replied, "No."  I thought to myself, I would give $10 bucks to relieve this misery. I bought a round of drinks and tipped her well. I took my lumps and settled with putting up with the acid reflux for the night. Later in the evening I went to the men’s room and found a porter assisting in the washing of hands. Low and Behold a tall bottle of Antacids! YES! RELIEF! Then it hit me, I could have had relief 30 minutes sooner had the bartender knew what the porter had in stock. So I told the restroom attendant, the bartender needed to know his health care inventory. He politely said, “Sir could you mention it to her”.  

I was happy to help both of them with the possibility of making more money by taking the very best care of their customers. I tipped him $10 bucks for a few antacid tables. I then realized the bartender thought she was to good to communicate with the lowly men’s restroom attendant. So, I explained to the young lady she indeed did have the antacids I was looking for. She looked at me and said “How the hell am “I” suppose to know what he has the in men’s John?”  

I was livid, “HEY, I tipped you 10 bucks for drinks and would have tip more if you would have better communication with your teammates/business associates.”

As I was walking back to our table I realized how many times we do the same thing at our dealerships. The lowest paid job in the dealership can have the biggest impact on the sale. If the porter’s job is to make sure the cars are clean, then his last touch of the vehicle is the first impression the customer receives. Many times, the highest paid staff blames the lowest paid staff for problems. That could be a disconnect in communication. When the staff doesn’t have a clearly communicated job description they start the day with a handicap. If we as the professionals give any excuses to the customer, how do we look in the eyes of the consumer? If the service department doesn’t listen to the customers complaint and gives the bush off answer of, "All cars are like that", that is a disconnect of communication.

So I ask the question, Where is disconnect of communication your business? Where is disconnect in your processes? We all have them. We need to recognize them and have a plan to minimize how many we have. I came across a blog post on MoreBusiness.com and found these to be excellent tips on communication with our teammates at work.

In a nutshell, the best communication strategies for your business should incorporate the following:

Integration: Connecting the present communication with what is happening in the company and the other modifications that employees are being affected by.

Keep it Succinct: Make sure that your message is not overcomplicated. Keeping it simple makes for clarity.

Be Straightforward: Don't be ambiguous about what you want to convey. Honesty is really often the best policy to adopt.

Address your Target: Just as it is required for marketing your products externally, you need to segment your audiences and target your message according to the requirements of each group of employees.

Make it Personal: Help your employees to understand how they are affected personally. When people know exactly what's in it for them, they respond more effectively.

Make it Memorable: Ensure that your message is striking enough to stand out from the many communications employees receive every day.

Use Multimedia: Utilize various media and methods to get your message across. Take the help of your marketing department to learn about the various means you can employ.

Focus on Being Results-Oriented: Make an assessment of how effective your communications are and devise follow-up strategies according to the results. Incorporate your successful measures as a part of the overall strategies of communication.

By the way, the antacids are on the restroom sink next to 10 different colognes!

At this years NADA convention a group of us went to BB Kings for some Professional Networking, Eric Miltsch, Joe Pistell, Rick Chavoustic, Joe Webb and myself were out sharing ideas’.  I always find this to be to most valuable time at conferences and training sessions.

When we arrived I had a terrible case of heartburn. I asked the server if she had any antacids, to which she replied, "No."  I thought to myself, I would give $10 bucks to relieve this misery. I bought a round of drinks and tipped her well. I took my lumps and settled with putting up with the acid reflux for the night. Later in the evening I went to the men’s room and found a porter assisting in the washing of hands. Low and Behold a tall bottle of Antacids! YES! RELIEF! Then it hit me, I could have had relief 30 minutes sooner had the bartender knew what the porter had in stock. So I told the restroom attendant, the bartender needed to know his health care inventory. He politely said, “Sir could you mention it to her”.  

I was happy to help both of them with the possibility of making more money by taking the very best care of their customers. I tipped him $10 bucks for a few antacid tables. I then realized the bartender thought she was to good to communicate with the lowly men’s restroom attendant. So, I explained to the young lady she indeed did have the antacids I was looking for. She looked at me and said “How the hell am “I” suppose to know what he has the in men’s John?”  

I was livid, “HEY, I tipped you 10 bucks for drinks and would have tip more if you would have better communication with your teammates/business associates.”

As I was walking back to our table I realized how many times we do the same thing at our dealerships. The lowest paid job in the dealership can have the biggest impact on the sale. If the porter’s job is to make sure the cars are clean, then his last touch of the vehicle is the first impression the customer receives. Many times, the highest paid staff blames the lowest paid staff for problems. That could be a disconnect in communication. When the staff doesn’t have a clearly communicated job description they start the day with a handicap. If we as the professionals give any excuses to the customer, how do we look in the eyes of the consumer? If the service department doesn’t listen to the customers complaint and gives the bush off answer of, "All cars are like that", that is a disconnect of communication.

So I ask the question, Where is disconnect of communication your business? Where is disconnect in your processes? We all have them. We need to recognize them and have a plan to minimize how many we have. I came across a blog post on MoreBusiness.com and found these to be excellent tips on communication with our teammates at work.

In a nutshell, the best communication strategies for your business should incorporate the following:

Integration: Connecting the present communication with what is happening in the company and the other modifications that employees are being affected by.

Keep it Succinct: Make sure that your message is not overcomplicated. Keeping it simple makes for clarity.

Be Straightforward: Don't be ambiguous about what you want to convey. Honesty is really often the best policy to adopt.

Address your Target: Just as it is required for marketing your products externally, you need to segment your audiences and target your message according to the requirements of each group of employees.

Make it Personal: Help your employees to understand how they are affected personally. When people know exactly what's in it for them, they respond more effectively.

Make it Memorable: Ensure that your message is striking enough to stand out from the many communications employees receive every day.

Use Multimedia: Utilize various media and methods to get your message across. Take the help of your marketing department to learn about the various means you can employ.

Focus on Being Results-Oriented: Make an assessment of how effective your communications are and devise follow-up strategies according to the results. Incorporate your successful measures as a part of the overall strategies of communication.

By the way, the antacids are on the restroom sink next to 10 different colognes!