Comment

Comment by Kristopher Hampton on February 23, 2015 at 2:01pm

All great comments.   No Mr. Bennington I am not upset at anyone.  I love these great discussions.  I think we have gotten a little off track as to what this particular article was addressing, but the conversations are really good. I love your portfolio picture books with client testimonials.  The term old school is not a bad thing.  People love old school methods and I think your way has always been the best.  It still has the same effect as the internet, but even more personal.            I will try to address all the questions individually.

The Active Delivery.   First I would like to say that I teach Service Department Training. We do not teach sales training for the the sales floor team.  The "Active Delivery" is a process that many dealerships follow.  It is a system of steps to follow when delivering the car to the buyer.  I do not claim to be an expert on this and will differ my comments to a sales professional.  

Dustin-  It is more important than ever to have a personal emotional connection with every client you see. Great comments.  Over the past 15 years the industry has gone to automated systems with no heart.  People are yearning and searching to do business with that really care about their needs.  We think we are so connected with people because of the internet, email, and automated systems that are played out, but we are losing clients daily because of this new technology that makes things faster and easier right?  Easy to think you are doing your job with a 1000 emails a day when in actuality if you just talked to 5 you would of made 3 sales.  We are humans that are so happy when we get our actual name written on our starbucks treat.  

Steven- Love the Mcfly video.  This article is about taking care of the new car buyer after the sale.  All departments in a dealership should find ways to work together.  The situation about the car needing $2000 in repairs when really the advisor should send them to the sales team for a new ride.  I get that.  In rare cases like that, the client should be given the option at least.  Longevity is the key point.  Doing right by every customer, even if you personally take a loss on rare occasions, that clients word of mouth will bring it back around.

Steven as far as the 2 for 1 movie passes and getting a live band to play in the waiting area.  Although funny, we know that dealerships can't do it. Here are some things we implement with our clients.  

• Keep all TV's off news channels. (It creates a negative vibe no matter what)
• Offer more than just Coffee and water (hot chocolate, Tea, Sodas, maybe granola bars or some fruit.)
• Free Wifi (Advisors should always play up the waiting room amenities)
• Cell phone charging station (doesn't take much to get the latest chargers)
• laptop work stations with power outlets

Those are just a few.   

I appreciate all the great talking points ladies and gentlemen.  lets keep it going!!  

Comment by Brian Bennington on February 23, 2015 at 2:05am

Stevie!  You've got me wrong!  I couldn't even begin to understand how to repair "dealer weaknesses"  even if I was so inclined to want to.  That's "daydream" stuff.  When you're talkin' "changing dealership processes," you're talkin' changing human nature.  And, they're getting more set in their ways because of the number of half-assed emails, sales calls and presentations they're suffering through.  AN has had articles about it recently, and the problem is getting worse.

As for "improving the performance of the sales force thru processes," that's sounds more and more like a "Golden Fleece" hunt.  (I handle not teaching how to do effective written follow-up to a bunch of car reps, most of whom aren't even slightly interested in doing it, by just doing what needs to be done in a "turnkey, no dealer involvement" fashion.)  What interests me more is developing a process that can get a vendor an appointment with a receptive decision maker that wouldn't involve something like sexual favors, etc.  Now, that brings me "on point" and I'd bet there's a market for it!  Mulling it over, the first criterion would have to be that what's being pitched has to be simplified to easily agreeable understanding.  Next, you'd have to move the initial dealer contact to the least common medium of delivery....  Humm....  Then theirs building a reason why the dealer decision maker would want to talk, and more importantly, believe the vendor?  Thinking about it, though, the sexual favors would be a lot easier!        

Comment by steven chessin on February 23, 2015 at 12:33am

Brian - The only person I get mad at is me. You and I have found dealer weaknesses we know how to fix. To some extent that is what everyone here has in-common. 

Dustin - Every dealer has process problems - from the smallest independent to the largest corporate groups. Everyone here is a process fixer or needs a problem fixed. Either by an old and forgotten solution - or a new technique they have never seen before. Look to the right at the upcoming events - they are all about fixing the problems. 

Comment by Dustin Postma on February 22, 2015 at 9:49pm

Absolutely the process of the red carpet is a must.... the problem for many dealerships is PROCESS... the more dealers i see the less process i witness them having. Its like marketing. .. most dealers think of markering as more of how much they are spending when what they should really be looking at is the core of where marketing starts. .. with your team and the processes they are following. .. if this is not happening... then the dealer will never be successful.... you have to be customer focused in order to have a business that needs customers to survive. Think about that ....

Comment by Brian Bennington on February 22, 2015 at 9:20pm

My ole' buddy Steven,  I'm having a hard time figuring out just what your comment means.  I think it's too abbreviated for me to generate an accurate response.  Are you angry about my comments to Kristopher?  Are you happy with them?  Just know I'm the guy who respects every opinion you have even though I have a feeling we're  "marching to different drummers."  (Or is that "bongo players"?)     

Comment by steven chessin on February 22, 2015 at 8:53pm

Brian - Make as many copies as you want for any purpose. If the purpose it to create a book to convince future customers  - what's a book ?   

Comment by Brian Bennington on February 22, 2015 at 7:59pm

Hey "Frenchy",  The fact that you work with someone as classy, wise and "tuned-in" to the business as Ms. Whitesell is an excellent endorsement of your judgement.  Yes, I'm mentioning that now because of her appreciation of a "personal sales tool" I used.  (Now there's an "old school" term you never hear much and, of note, I think the "old school/new school" terms were created by the same people who overuse acronyms, more concerned they appear intellectual than if the people listening to them understand what they say.)

Now, if you'll allow me, I've got another question.  And, I hope you'll humor me by keeping your answer to an either/or rather than some form of "political-style" composite.  If you had only one copy of a photo of your customer, their vehicle and you, do you think it would be better put on FB, a truly "long-shoot" selling proposition over-inhabited by the "15 minutes of fame" people first identified by Andy Warhol.  (Can you believe I've got a brother-in-law who actually posts photos of what he's currently eating?)  Or, add it to a matching hand-written testimonial, and then put in a "media" with many like it that every customer your dealing with reads just prior to you talking numbers with them?  You know, those two, three or five hundred dollar bumps you can get do add up.  One other thing.  How many other reps I might be selling against are going to have a book of testimonials with photos the prospect can review?  Do you think I had an advantage?

Forgive me for mentioning it, but I was somewhat surprised you didn't suggest using the photos for something along the lines of what I did.  Had you never heard of it, or did you dismiss it as too "old school"?  I'm not being facetious as I'm truly interested to know?     

   

Comment by steven chessin on February 22, 2015 at 5:41pm

Sally  ---  Every business wants customers to come back to the store. Car dealers have that built-in with service.Maybe salesmen should be notified by service advisors and sales advisors by salesmen when a customer is coming in. Shouldn't the salesman always meet their customer when they come back ? Send them to lunch and a movie with a 2-4-1 pass, or a guest pass to the gym,or best of all -- send them on a test drive in a new model. Some stores have salons and internet cafes. Seems to me that bringing the car in should become more of a customer satisfaction opportunity beyond what Pep Boys offers. A complimentary coffee and car wash is weak. Whenever I see customers in a waiting room I think that these people deserve so much more. "Hello, McFly" ! 

Comment by Sally Whitesell on February 22, 2015 at 10:08am

Relationships between departments get damaged in many ways.  Sometimes it is egos but more often it is a lack of knowledge about each others job responsibilities.  For example, a salesman may not think it is a big deal to have their new car customer just "Bring it on in" for a detail or quick repair.  In reality it can throw off an advisor's whole afternoon.  Did the salesman send the we owe or tell anyone they were coming?  Did they set up a loaner car or rental and who is paying for it and the technician?  Then there is the dreaded phrase of "This will only take a few minutes."  It takes a few minutes just to check the car in and process the RO.  It is all in creating the right perception.  If you really want your departments to understand each other and work together, let part of their training be spending part of a day in each others department.  This includes parts, which is another whole can of worms.  To our sales teams out there, how about pulling up each days service appointments and seeing if any of your clients are scheduled.  Imagine how special they would feel if you actually went out and welcomed them or at least said hello and offered to get them a cup of coffee.  It's the little things that make a big difference!  Brian your customer portfolio sounds amazing!

Comment by Brian Bennington on February 21, 2015 at 7:43pm

I don't know, Kristopher.  With your wickedly debonaire 'stache and goatee, and your exceptional "content" perception, I think I'm gonna call you "Frenchy."  I'm happy at how successful you were defining the comedy vs the serious aspects of my response and look forward to your post explaining "active delivery."  But, I'll warn you ahead of time, I plan to scrutinize it closely, so make sure you substantiate it's not just a "regular delivery" with some spin added. And, lest I forget, please extend my greetings to Sally, as I had the good fortune to chat with her several months ago on the phone.

As to my "polaroid collection," first let me say I think you've got me "nailed."  You were mighty close with your prediction, but I don't have them on a wall, I keep them in binders in our warehouse and they're all specifically attached to a "hand-written by the customer" matching testimonial I designed right after I got in the business.  How it worked?  Any rep in the vicinity would shoot the photo with my camera  Then, I mailed the testimonial with a return envelope I made sure went to the general manager.  When it was returned, which was over 80% of what I mailed, the GM would give it to me after he read it and I'd mount the photo on it and put it a binder, readily available for new customers to peruse.

As to why it was returned to the GM, like many big producers, I could be a pain in the ass, and him regularly reading what my customers thought of me definitely bought me some "leeway."  I still have over 40 binders, each with approx. 50 testimonials.   I usually divided them up by models and, when I learned what the customer was looking for, I'd give him that binder.  I even photocopied the testimonials of the doctors I sold, and would use them as a handout to "shopping doctors."  Like police, the people they trust the most are other doctors.  As to how it was used, during the "pencil" they'd read the binders while I was out of the room.  On rare occasions, it would be a real deciding factor in the purchase, especially if the new customer knew my old customer.  But, it's primary function was to "build the bump (profit)."  Really, it's about as close as you can reasonably get to having a bunch of your old customers telling your new customers how good you are, and their smiling faces next to me and the vehicle in the photo packed an added punch.  An extra bonus was taking a couple of binders along when I was looking for a better sales job.  The interviewer would look them over, and I inevitably was asked "when could I start"?

Your concern about building benchmark practices in a sales force is admirable.  But, I think its foundation is personally motivated self-determination.  (Harder than hell to teach.)  For me, an experience sales rep, I hired into car sales expecting to see a vast difference in "dealership styles," so the things I did were conceived to advance my opportunities, not necessarily the dealerships'.  There are a lot of clowns in this business and I wasn't going to "stay hitched" to a dealer that wasn't as serious as I was.  By the way, I been in business operating the programs I've developed for a small group of SoCal dealers for over 20 years.  And no, I'm not looking for new business so this isn't some sort of subtle "sales pitch."  Any new client would have to "bend over backwards" expressing interest in what we do for me to even consider a presentation. – Hey "Frenchy," I hope to read more of you soon!    

    

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