Joe Webb's Posts - DealerELITE.net2024-03-29T14:34:30ZJoe Webbhttps://www.dealerelite.net/profile/JoeWebbhttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9181311656?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://www.dealerelite.net/profiles/blog/feed?user=2uuak2wamo3vj&xn_auth=noThe R.U.L.E.S. of Active Listeningtag:www.dealerelite.net,2021-06-30:5283893:BlogPost:13634292021-06-30T17:50:58.000ZJoe Webbhttps://www.dealerelite.net/profile/JoeWebb
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Everyone wants to be heard. Yet the person you’re speaking to isn’t always listening. Customers seek someone to understand their goals, deliver a solution, and facilitate a purchase experience. To do this well, though, requires being skilled in active listening. Do your salespeople understand that listening is a skillset?<br></br><br></br></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Whether it be on the phone or in-person, every good salesperson must pay undivided attention…</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Everyone wants to be heard. Yet the person you’re speaking to isn’t always listening. Customers seek someone to understand their goals, deliver a solution, and facilitate a purchase experience. To do this well, though, requires being skilled in active listening. Do your salespeople understand that listening is a skillset?<br/><br/></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Whether it be on the phone or in-person, every good salesperson must pay undivided attention to the shopper. Whereas passive listening are those situations where communication is essentially one-way, and the receiver isn’t providing any feedback or showing they’re listening, active listening proves to the person speaking that you’re right there with them. You understand what they’re saying. (Sure, at <a href="https://dealerknows.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DealerKnows</a>, we also train “reflective listening”, but for today’s discussion, I want to share the steps your team must embrace when active listening.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>These are the R.U.L.E.S. of active listening:<br/><br/>R: Respect the customer</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>U: Understand their goal</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>L: Listen with both ears and eyes</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>E: Eliminate distractions</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>S: Summarize their needs and next steps<br/><br/></strong></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Let’s dive into each one individually.</span></p>
<p><br/> <span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Respect the customer</span></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In sales, from the start, we need to recognize that the shopper is the one that needs to be served. It is not our needs that are at the forefront here, but theirs. Paying undivided attention, showing empathy, and refusing to judge them are all integral to giving them respect. Without them, our job is non-existent. We need to be polite and be interested; grateful they chose to shop with us.<br/><br/><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Understand their goal</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This is where salespeople must listen to both verbal cues, as well as subtext. Is it product availability information they need? Is the price a concern? Are they simply looking to see who can be trusted? Those elements can be verbal or subtextual clues they share, but it is the salesperson’s responsibility to ask the right questions as to how best be of service to them. By asking pertinent (non-redundant) questions, you’re proving that you’re active listening. This helps you both generate rapport, identify needs/concerns, and control the flow of conversation. What does the customer need to move forward? That is their goal.<br/><br/><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Listen with both ears and eyes</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Obviously, we must listen with our ears, but are we comprehending, cataloguing, and taking notes (if necessary)? Just because salespeople <em>hear</em> a customer, doesn’t mean they’re listening. It is important to <em>listen</em> to the customer, which means having full comprehension of what they are saying. A shopper’s words aren’t noise, they’re clues.<br/><br/></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Then there is listening with the eyes. I can’t express the importance of eye contact when a shopper is in front of us. Face-to-face communication, including body language, plays a major role in a salesperson’s trustworthiness. Don’t stare, but make sure your attention isn’t constantly broken by directing your gaze to anything other than your conversation with them. But Joe, how do I listen with my eyes if I’m on the phone with them? Easy – look at the notes you take, rather than spending time on a device that may distract you. Which leads me to…<br/><br/><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Eliminate Distractions</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As we grade how sales calls are handled as part of our <a href="https://dealerknows.com/services/training/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BDC Training</a>, we hear countless instances of the salesperson dedicating their attention to their computer, rather than the caller. This causes hold time, dead air, long pauses, alerts that “my computer is going so slow”, all of which proves that the sales agent’s attention is divided. Short of a legal pad with which to take notes, your full attention must be given to the person speaking. Whether on the phone or face-to-face, don’t look at your phone. Don’t jump on a computer. Callers can hear you clicking away on your computer. Don’t interact with others in your organization just passing by. Make sure the shopper knows they’re your sole priority.<br/><br/><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Summarize their needs and next steps</strong></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Any good conversation involves two-way communication. How to best show a shopper that you are active listening is by repeating back to them a summary of what they said, reconfirming what their expectations/desires are, and then alerting them as to what the next steps you (and they) will be taking to achieve their goal. Not only does this action clear up any potential confusions, but it proves that you are now in lockstep with them on their purchase. Moreover, you are then dictating the remainder of the purchase process. This allows you to take control.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As a society, we speak to each other every day. The moment we feel we are being ignored (or, worse, marginalized or dismissed), we lose value in the conversation. We lose interest in the person to which we are speaking. If it is in the environment of retail sales, there is nothing more valuable that building rapport, nay, relationships with our clients. Sales professionals throw out the standard phrase of “I want to earn your business”, but if you want to <em>prove</em> you do, it starts with active listening.</span> <br/> <br/> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Want to hear more? <a href="https://dealerknows.com/rickrolld/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Listen to Joe sing</a> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">about loving customers by improving your CRM process.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9181356681?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9181356681?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="500" class="align-left"/></a></span></p>"Imagine" - A Message to the Automotive Industrytag:www.dealerelite.net,2020-03-25:5283893:BlogPost:9490232020-03-25T18:30:00.000ZJoe Webbhttps://www.dealerelite.net/profile/JoeWebb
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A message to all in our automotive industry.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">All of our businesses are hurting right now. No one is exempt. You are not alone.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Many don’t realize how important dealerships and the businesses that serve them are to our society. Between the countless people our industry employs, to the taxes and philanthropic involvement our communities receive, we are…</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A message to all in our automotive industry.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">All of our businesses are hurting right now. No one is exempt. You are not alone.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Many don’t realize how important dealerships and the businesses that serve them are to our society. Between the countless people our industry employs, to the taxes and philanthropic involvement our communities receive, we are vital.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">So I’ve enlisted some of my friends to help me share this message of inclusivity. Because we’re all in this together. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">STAY HEALTHY. STAY HOPEFUL. – And now, our automotive version of John Lennon’s Imagine</span></p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dBVeFBIsYcY?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</p>
<p><br/> <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Please Share this message to send positivity to others in our industry.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">And thanks to the cast I assembled to share their talents, time, and vocal stylings to this project.</span></p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4226854717?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/4226854717?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-full"/></a></p>The Importance of Recon Infotag:www.dealerelite.net,2015-06-12:5283893:BlogPost:4565202015-06-12T20:19:09.000ZJoe Webbhttps://www.dealerelite.net/profile/JoeWebb
<p><span class="font-size-3">What used car shoppers are looking for most of all is peace of mind. As a dealer, you should be educating your staff, and marketing your vehicles, to deliver that peace of mind. The fact that you spend internal dollars reconditioning trade-ins and from-the-auction inventory should not be withheld from today’s consumers. If anything, sharing this information with them can help improve both your merchandising efforts and customer confidence in their purchase…</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">What used car shoppers are looking for most of all is peace of mind. As a dealer, you should be educating your staff, and marketing your vehicles, to deliver that peace of mind. The fact that you spend internal dollars reconditioning trade-ins and from-the-auction inventory should not be withheld from today’s consumers. If anything, sharing this information with them can help improve both your merchandising efforts and customer confidence in their purchase decision.<br/><br/></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">CarStory recently released a </span><a href="http://blog.carstory.com/what-do-used-car-shoppers-want-new-study-reveals-habits-needs-and-wants/" target="_blank" style="font-size: 12pt;">used car marketing study</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> as to what shoppers stated was the most important used car information they sought. </span><strong style="font-size: 12pt;">Condition of the vehicle and Service History were two of the top three elements buyers wanted to know</strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> (#1, and #3 respectively).</span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.dealerknows.com/sharing-your-recon-info-dealerknows/what-do-buyers-want-to-know/" rel="attachment wp-att-21837"><img class="alignleft size-large wp-image-21837" src="http://www.dealerknows.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/What-do-buyers-want-to-know-1024x780.jpg" alt="What do buyers want to know?" width="640" height="488"/></a></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">Moreover, CarStory has been able to create a tool that reads the words within a dealer’s vehicle descriptions, and populate the information into their free <a href="http://carstory.com" target="_blank">CarStory Market Reports</a> (which reside on automotive marketplaces and dealership SERPs and VDPs alike). For that reason, it is not just enough putting a vehicle through recon. You need to celebrate those items addressed by your service department online for the world to see. Shoppers will respect your transparency, and it will help build value in the vehicle. Example:<br/></span><br/><a href="http://www.dealerknows.com/sharing-your-recon-info-dealerknows/recon-info/" rel="attachment wp-att-21840"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-21840" src="http://www.dealerknows.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/recon-info.png" alt="vehicle reconditioning" width="763" height="152"/></a></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">When negotiating with a used car prospect, whether they be in store, or online, sharing recon info is instrumental in building value in their vehicle of choice. Again, you should be leveraging all of the internal data, and third-party resource info, to build a customer’s confidence in their decision, and add value to the vehicle they're considering. Recon info is the rare bit of information that the shopper cannot generally find online, and yet, it is it incredibly rewarding to your merchandising and sales efforts when you share it. Little is more valuable than peace of mind.</span></p>Is This the Beginning of the End for TrueCar?tag:www.dealerelite.net,2013-08-22:5283893:BlogPost:3822922013-08-22T15:55:36.000ZJoe Webbhttps://www.dealerelite.net/profile/JoeWebb
<p><span class="font-size-3">TrueCar has had a rollercoaster ride in the automotive retail industry over the past few years. However, it appears things may be taking a turn for the worse (both for TrueCar as well as its participating dealer clients). Read on, as I reveal their new policy changes that will have a negative impact on dealers, as well as my in-depth interview with a top eCommerce Directors about this change.<br></br><br></br></span><strong style="font-size: 12pt;">Cliff…</strong></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">TrueCar has had a rollercoaster ride in the automotive retail industry over the past few years. However, it appears things may be taking a turn for the worse (both for TrueCar as well as its participating dealer clients). Read on, as I reveal their new policy changes that will have a negative impact on dealers, as well as my in-depth interview with a top eCommerce Directors about this change.<br/><br/></span><strong style="font-size: 12pt;">Cliff Notes:</strong></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><a href="http://www.dealerknows.com/is-this-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-truecar/truecar/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.dealerknows.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/TrueCar-300x147.png?width=300" width="300" class="align-right"/></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br/>Having aggregated so much data to benefit consumers over the years, TrueCar challenged the retail market to deliver competitive pricing to their online shoppers. However, as more shoppers funneled into their site (and partnering sites), it was obvious that dealers needed to take notice of the TrueCar machine. Fairly quickly. dealers began taking issue with the way TrueCar came about some of the consumer-facing data that was being shared. Then the “dust-up” happened. Industry leaders such as Jim Ziegler and Jerry Thibeau led the charge against TrueCar, and urged dealers to cease the data extraction they were allowing TrueCar as it was only being used to bite them in the proverbial backside. TrueCar (after an unnecessarily long battle to prove what they were doing was acceptable), reconvened with others in the industry and reengineered their site to be more dealer-friendly. Since then, TrueCar has once again dominated the third-party lead segment (with the help of venture capital backing and strong corporate relationships with affiliate partners). My dealers, for instance, all seem to have significant success with TrueCar opportunities. However, there were questionable charges that frequently popped up. In most instances, TrueCar relented and maintained that the “customer is always right”. In this case, their customer is the dealer. That is about to change.<br/><br/></span><strong style="font-size: 12pt;">The Bombshell:<br/><br/></strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As of September 1st 2013, TrueCar is altering their “Write-Off Policy” for dealers. Essentially, TrueCar states that their customers are so much more “deep-in-funnel” than all other lead providers, dealers on their Per-Sale payment model will no longer be allowed to request write-offs. Whether or not those sold customer originated in their CRM before becoming a TrueCar lead no longer matters. In other words, even if you sold a customer four vehicles in the past, and that customer submitted a lead on Edmunds the month prior that arrives in your CRM, AND comes in and speaks to a sales associate, leaves the dealership, goes on TrueCar, submits their information again, and inevitably purchases from your dealership, the dealer will be unable to request a full write-off.<br/><br/></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I’ve attached a version of the new TrueCar Write-Off Policy, effective September 1st 2013, at the bottom. In the end, the dealer will have to pay. You will see that partial write-offs (up to $100) will be granted to those dealers on the Pay-per-sale model, but only for extenuating circumstances. Subscription-based dealers have no write-offs.<br/><br/></span><strong style="font-size: 12pt;">The Reason:<br/><br/></strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As an automotive consultant, I can see this policy change happening for only a couple of reasons. Let it be known that I did not once take to a public forum during the previously described “dust up” to wage war against TrueCar. I believe their business model was a profitable one, and sense consumer-facing data will rule our industry sooner rather than later. I made no indictments of them, but did educate the clients of </span><a title="automotive consultants" href="http://dealerknows.com/" style="font-size: 12pt;">DealerKnows</a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> about TrueCar’s initiatives. However, we did this during our normal, one-on-one consulting times and not online. I feel, though, as an advocate for our dealer industry, I should bring to light this policy change that could have a negative impact on both DealerKnows clients and all participating TrueCar customers. (They’ll know soon enough).<br/><br/></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">TrueCar states that they are not a lead generator, but simply a new consumer strategy with which to purchase automobiles from dealers. For that reason, if another lead provider sends a dealer a lead that predates the time TrueCar sends the same customer’s info, it doesn’t matter. TrueCar still deserves credit because the customer obviously prefers the TrueCar way of shopping, so they say. From the outside, it appeared TrueCar was back on their way to dominating the lead market, but this type of policy change must mean they are struggling internally with a cash flow problem or that they are just showing their true stripes. Maybe they are the cash-grabbing corporation they were originally assumed to be. It has to be one of those two reasons. Making this policy change will end up costing dealers more money. (At least, it will to those dealers that pay attention to the Per-Sale invoices they receive and attempt to legitimize said charges.)<br/><br/></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This was admittedly brought to my attention by a respected eCommerce Director from one of our DealerKnows clients in Chicago. This individual prefers to remain anonymous. I thought I’d get his perspective on this policy change, how it affects his dealership, and his thoughts.<br/><br/></span><strong style="font-size: 12pt;">My Interview:<br/><br/></strong><em style="font-size: 12pt;">Joe</em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: In a few words, tell me about how you viewed your relationship with TrueCar prior to this policy change?<br/><br/></span><em style="font-size: 12pt;">eCommerce Director</em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: I’ve had a 7-year relationship with them. When everything went down with TrueCar over a year ago, we got off the program for two months, but then back on. At the time, we had felt like they had gotten checked back into place and straightened up their act. They promised to be better dealer partners. We came back aboard and had relative success with them. We still didn’t close them at the rate I’d like, but made an additional 5-7 sales per month per store (about 25 sales total a month). Even with the $399 cost-per-sale and a lower margin than usual, this was in line with what I accepted. But I was writing off a lot of their supposed claimed sales.<br/><br/></span><em style="font-size: 12pt;">Joe</em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: How many TrueCar sales per month would you say were questionable?<br/><br/></span><em style="font-size: 12pt;">eCommerce Director</em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: 50%.<br/><br/></span><em style="font-size: 12pt;">Joe</em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Holy crap!<br/><br/></span><em style="font-size: 12pt;">eCommerce Director</em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Over the past year, we’ve written off half of the sales they attempted to take credit for. My friend at another store writes off 60% of his claimed sales. Whether they were duplicates, customers we were already working, past customers, owner referrals, or even if someone at the same address of a sold customer – roommate for instance – goes on TrueCar, they would attempt to invoice us for the sale. They’d just send the bill because their system will grab anything and everything that might possibly be a link and charge dealers for it.<br/><br/></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Things got complicated six months ago when they attempted to charge me for phone calls that were coming from Yahoo Autos. Even if we hadn’t picked up the call, and even though TrueCar sent no info of this customer into the CRM, they would somehow match it up with sold customers from our database. I found this unacceptable and pushed to get away from receiving “phone leads”. If it doesn’t originate in my CRM from them, I have no way to verify its validity. So it is useless to me and I couldn’t, in good conscience, pay for those sales.<br/><br/></span><em style="font-size: 12pt;">Joe</em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: On average, what was your experience like getting write-offs?<br/><br/></span><em style="font-size: 12pt;">eCommerce Director</em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Up until this last year, it was relatively easy. We didn’t have many serious arguments. The last 90 days it has been a battle though. They seem smug about writing something off now. More combative. I think they have investors trying to tell them how to make more money, and, just like last year, it slapped them in the face. Now, this Write-Off Policy is another sleazy way to extract dollars from dealers. They claim they never had a write-off policy before, and now they’re going to hit every dealer on Sept. 1st with the bad news, giving them no adequate time to make a decision. A good dealer partner would never hit a valued customer with a major policy change with no notice like that.<br/><br/></span><em style="font-size: 12pt;">Joe</em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: What do you think this Write-off Policy will end up costing your group additionally each month?<br/><br/></span><em style="font-size: 12pt;">eCommerce Director</em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: It’s $399 cost per sale and I was writing off 50% of the total sales. I was already paying for the 25 legitimate sales as a group per month. This policy change just bumped my cost for TrueCar an additional $10,000. That is a huge pill for any dealer to swallow.<br/><br/></span><em style="font-size: 12pt;">Joe</em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Do you feel this has broken the relationship and will this affect the longevity of your partnership with them?<br/><br/></span><em style="font-size: 12pt;">eCommerce Director</em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Right now, they’re on the chopping block. I’m just waiting for permission from the owners to rededicate the money elsewhere. I can spend $20g elsewhere and get 25 legitimate units per month, that’s no problem. And probably with higher margins. I’m not going to waste my time taking screenshots of customers to get only a quarter percent of the write-offs solely so they can double their profits. Not cool.<br/><br/></span><em style="font-size: 12pt;">Joe</em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Why do you think TrueCar made this policy change now? Especially since they seemed to have won back the dealership trust they had lost during the “Kill the Beast” debacle?<br/><br/></span><em style="font-size: 12pt;">eCommerce Director</em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: I think back to how the founder of TrueCar was promising to be a better dealer partner in the future. The fact that we are a week away from this policy change date and the greater percentage of their dealer network doesn’t know about it proves to me that they don’t care about us dealers and don’t belong in this industry. That it is one year after a massive online, state, and national battle and they’re doing this undermining crap solely to double their own profits, it’s unbelievable. I don’t know how they’ll recover without, once again, getting knocked down by the dealer population and having to rethink their strategy.<br/><br/></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I look at TrueCar as the spoiled only-child in a family that always got their way, would misbehave with no punishment. They keep misbehaving and misbehaving until their parents, in this case the dealers, give them a good spanking. (Not that I ever strike my kids, but you get the picture of what must happen to correct this negative behavior.) Only then does the child fall in line. Eventually, they’ll start getting spoiled and misbehaving again. It’s happening here.<br/><br/></span><em style="font-size: 12pt;">Joe</em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">: Thanks so much for your input.<br/><br/></span><strong><span class="font-size-3"><a title="TrueCar Write Off Policy Effective September 1 2013" href="http://www.dealerknows.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/TrueCar-Write-Off-Policy-Effective-September-1-2013.pdf" target="_blank">Click here to view The Write-Off Policy<br/><br/></a></span></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.dealerknows.com/is-your-dealership-on-a-treadmill/joefooter/" rel="attachment wp-att-20340"><img class="alignleft wp-image-20340" alt="Joe Webb" src="http://www.dealerknows.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/JoeFooter.png" width="559" height="76"/></a></p>
<p></p>Every Dealership Needs a Hans Grubertag:www.dealerelite.net,2013-07-20:5283893:BlogPost:3786142013-07-20T16:26:57.000ZJoe Webbhttps://www.dealerelite.net/profile/JoeWebb
<p><span class="font-size-3">Buy-in. Utilization. Execution. Process. Training. Accountability. Management. These are all things that dealerships require to function in today’s competitive marketplace. And yet, on far too many dealership lots, those being tasked to execute their job’s duties are turning a blind eye to them. Your dealership needs a Hans Gruber.<br></br><br></br></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It is commonplace for salespeople to push back or simply choose …</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">Buy-in. Utilization. Execution. Process. Training. Accountability. Management. These are all things that dealerships require to function in today’s competitive marketplace. And yet, on far too many dealership lots, those being tasked to execute their job’s duties are turning a blind eye to them. Your dealership needs a Hans Gruber.<br/><br/></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It is commonplace for salespeople to push back or simply choose </span><em style="font-size: 12pt;">not</em><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> to do what is asked of them. They are </span><em style="font-size: 12pt;">unwilling</em><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> to perform those tasks necessary to generate profit and sales. Meanwhile, the managers don’t </span><em style="font-size: 12pt;">manage</em><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> their teams and hold them as accountable as they should. The inmates are running the asylums at dealerships and NO ONE seems willing to ruffle the feathers of their own employees. Everyone wants to be a nice guy or gal. No one wants to be an enemy to their co-worker, even if it is a subordinate that they would be disciplining. But, make no mistake; your dealership needs someone willing to be a villain. You need a Hans Gruber.<br/><br/></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545124199?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="220" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545124199?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="220" class="align-right"/></a>Hans Gruber, an iconic role played with scene-chewing delight by Alan Rickman in one of my favorite films ever – Die Hard, is considered one of the greatest bad guys in the history of cinema. He was charismatic, focused, direct, adaptable, educated, menacing, and in charge. Had it not been for a wise-cracking, divorced dad in a wife-beater, he’d have pulled off one of the most lucrative heists on screen. And he was doing it with panache and style while also being vicious. Having empathy for other people’s woes, while commendable, can sometimes be costly to the greater good. Simply put, Hans Gruber knew how to handle his business.<br/><br/></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I’m finding that more and more, managers are unwilling to make waves. Or they are hesitant to push their teams out of their comfort zone for fear of upsetting the staff. This is wrong. Utilization of technology, completing scheduled tasks inside of CRMs, following process directives, and staying educated on product and trends should be REQUIREMENTS of today’s sales teams. And managers must clearly dictate that they are REQUIREMENTS. Alas, they do not. If salespeople are unwilling perform the obligations of their roles, don’t bend to their will. Don’t back off because someone is bellyaching. Be a Hans Gruber. Let the subordinates know your store’s process and policies are what they are, and if they don’t like it, there’s the window. Don’t be afraid to fire, demote, scold, discipline, suspend, punish, write-up, or hold accountable your team for not doing their job.<br/><br/></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">When Karl (a strong, emotional personality…a leader of the mercenaries) wanted “blood”, Hans managed the situation, addressed his concerns, gave him hope for gain, but kept him on course with directives. He didn’t just let Karl do what he wanted. He took control. He was a villain (a trusted one) even amongst his own crew. That is what dealerships need. Be willing to play the villain. Otherwise, be open to hiring a “bad guy” so long as this new leader is willing to earn the right to demand action from their team, in ways other than simply feeling entitled due to the title on their business card.<br/><br/></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Automotive dealerships can be stress-filled, ego-driven environments and some employees respond to force rather than request. If an employee (and never forget they’re an “employee”, not their own boss) is unwilling to do what is asked of them, it’s sometimes necessary to wield your power, make a change, put your foot down, and demand they adhere to your orders.<br/><br/></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Don’t let your salespeople determine what is in the best interest of the dealership. A little villainy can go a long way; especially if you have Hans Gruber addressing the sales team with one of his stylish ultimatums…</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong><em>“We can go any way you want. You can walk out of here or be carried out. But have no illusions. WE are in charge. So, decide now, each of you. And please remember: we have left nothing to chance.”<br/><br/><br/><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545124293?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="650" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545124293?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650" class="align-full"/></a><br/></em></strong></span></p>If Your Friends Jumped Off a Bridge...tag:www.dealerelite.net,2013-05-23:5283893:BlogPost:3712912013-05-23T13:10:57.000ZJoe Webbhttps://www.dealerelite.net/profile/JoeWebb
<p><span class="font-size-3">If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you as well? Is that what your mother always asked you growing up? When caught making a mistake or doing wrong, children will always look to point the finger elsewhere. They’ll blame it on a friend, a neighbor, a bully, or an instigator. They were just following someone else’s lead… even if they knew it was wrong. That’s their excuse.…</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you as well? Is that what your mother always asked you growing up? When caught making a mistake or doing wrong, children will always look to point the finger elsewhere. They’ll blame it on a friend, a neighbor, a bully, or an instigator. They were just following someone else’s lead… even if they knew it was wrong. That’s their excuse.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><a href="http://www.dealerknows.com/if-your-friends-jumped-off-a-bridge/friend-jumped-off-a-bridge/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.dealerknows.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/friend-jumped-off-a-bridge-300x225.jpg?width=300" width="300" class="align-right"/></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br/>Dealerships around the nation are doing wrong and using their competitors as the excuse. It’s called “the destination bump” and it is when dealers choose to withhold the destination charge from their online pricings and, essentially, bump the customer for the legitimate fee when they arrive. (Let’s face it… unless you’re new, you knew what I meant when I said “destination bump”, but I thought I’d defined it anyway.)</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><br/>We know it’s not right to lure in customers under false pretenses, but dealerships are doing it nonetheless. Why? “Well… it’s because the dealer down the street does it.” They follow suit because they believe it helps them remain competitive in the market. This should no longer be an acceptable excuse. Dealers recognize that price is important to customers so they think that if a local dealer shows a lower price, they might get the business instead. And that may be the truth. On the flipside, we must realize that your competition may be showing the customer a lower price, but a better way to describe what they’re doing is luring a customer in under false pretenses. They may indeed “get” the business instead, but they certainly aren’t trying to earn their business.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><a href="http://www.dealerknows.com/if-your-friends-jumped-off-a-bridge/no-jumping-from-bridge/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.dealerknows.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/no-jumping-from-bridge-300x225.jpg?width=300" width="300" class="align-right"/></a><br/>In today’s competitive marketplace, I challenge you to try and earn business the right way rather than playing into the hand of archaic, cruel marketing devices that won’t score you anything long-term other than a bad reputation. Knowing that ratings and reviews are such an important factor for driving traffic to your websites and dealerships, we shouldn’t give into these stereotypical games solely because it is “the way of the world” around your dealership.</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><br/>So… If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you? Sadly, some still will. But they’ll be jumping into a mix of bad reviews, worse ratings, and untrusting customers. It isn’t so cool if that happens. Now who’s to blame?</span></p>Just Say No...tag:www.dealerelite.net,2013-03-25:5283893:BlogPost:3615892013-03-25T13:24:31.000ZJoe Webbhttps://www.dealerelite.net/profile/JoeWebb
<p>Who owns the customers? Where do your employees work? Are prospects even being called back? Some dealers don’t know. All because we allow some of our sales team members to do it their way. You’re feeding into their problem. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I’m asking you to ‘Just Say No’ to…</p>
<p>1) Letting salespeople use their own personal email addresses when responding back to customers.</p>
<p>2) Allowing salespeople to make all of their (so-called) follow-up calls to happen from their…</p>
<p>Who owns the customers? Where do your employees work? Are prospects even being called back? Some dealers don’t know. All because we allow some of our sales team members to do it their way. You’re feeding into their problem. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I’m asking you to ‘Just Say No’ to…</p>
<p>1) Letting salespeople use their own personal email addresses when responding back to customers.</p>
<p>2) Allowing salespeople to make all of their (so-called) follow-up calls to happen from their phones.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The prospect submitted a lead into your store… not your salesperson. So do not allow your team to respond back from their own personal @aol, @msn, @yahoo, @hotmail accounts when contacting the customer. You are a business. Act like one and require your employees to use company-only email. It helps with the branding and it clears up confusion for the customer. Moreover, it ensure <i>you</i> and your software are retaining the customer in <i>your</i> system.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And stop letting your salespeople convince you that they’re making their outbound calls from their cell phones. It’s BS. It shouldn’t be allowed. They are likely lying about the amount of calls, but either way, it is disconnecting the customer from the dealership. While I know that the employees own the relationship, the companies own the customers. If a customer isn’t answering attempts from the dealer phones, I’m fine making a call attempt or two from the employee’s cell, but not all. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>These two problems are really just lazy employees’ drugs of choice. It’s called “because it is easier for me” and they spike it into their veins every time they choose to do it their way. Step in. Get involved. Call an intervention. And break this bad habit cycle before it affects the dealership as a whole.<br/><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545143114?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545143114?profile=original" width="300" class="align-full"/></a></p>For the Good of the Storetag:www.dealerelite.net,2013-01-25:5283893:BlogPost:3498832013-01-25T20:00:00.000ZJoe Webbhttps://www.dealerelite.net/profile/JoeWebb
<p><span class="font-size-3">What is for the good of the store is sometimes an unpopular choice for the employees. It requires them to do more than what they are currently doing. It asks them to solve problems, take initiative, and complete more tasks. It is very common that salespeople will care more about what is “in it for them” than what is in the best interest of the dealership. At no point should a salesperson’s unwillingness to execute tasks supersede what is in the best interest of…</span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3">What is for the good of the store is sometimes an unpopular choice for the employees. It requires them to do more than what they are currently doing. It asks them to solve problems, take initiative, and complete more tasks. It is very common that salespeople will care more about what is “in it for them” than what is in the best interest of the dealership. At no point should a salesperson’s unwillingness to execute tasks supersede what is in the best interest of the dealership.</span><br/> <br/> <span class="font-size-3">Creating policies that benefit the dealership often ruffles feathers. Sadly, a disgruntled sales force scares dealers more than the absence of customers nowadays. The inmates run the asylums at far too many dealerships. What is for the good of the store often is a sales team that tows the line and follows the commands of wise management. They adhere to company policies, mandates, and processes to create the best situation for a profitable, sustainable company. Ownership must not be scared of the pushback when it comes time to pushing their people for better performance.</span><br/> <br/> <span class="font-size-3">Accordingly, Sales Management and Used Car Management must adhere to the newer processes and technological ways if it is best for the store as well. We are in an ever-changing industry and the tried-and-true methods from the 80’s and 90’s are no longer tried nor true. They have evolved and sales volume, profitability, vehicle turn, and reputation will all suffer if a more streamlined, advanced, intuitive process is not adopted now. Salespeople and Management must be willing to utilize all of the technology provided to them in an effort to increase productivity, accountability, and thoroughness in the marketplace.</span><br/> <br/> <span class="font-size-3">This is a plea to get away from the ego-driven power plays we hold so dear. No more sabotaging tactics or technologies that serve the greater good. No more petty bickering. It is common to see management play politics, not reinforce best practices, and turn a blind eye to negative behavior all in an effort to thwart forward-minded thinking. Strategies evolve. Yet, even though it can be proven that executing additional, technology-focused tasks can have a positive impact on a dealer’s bottom line, if it interferes with the historical rhetoric from a manager in the store, the tactic is discarded and disregarded. Even if the manager or salesperson realizes they are in the wrong, if a new “best practice” contradicts what they’ve been spouting to be true, they will work to sabotage it. People would rather save face and lose money than swallow their pride and make a killing when it comes to advancing their beliefs and efforts. This must stop. No more politics or grandstanding in an effort to keep smart business down.</span><br/> <br/> <span class="font-size-3"><img width="250" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545122572?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="250" class="align-right"/>Salespeople must recognize this is not their job, but a career. They must strive to learn. Strive to do better. Strive to master new selling strategies. Strive to utilize the resources and tools they’re given. There is no one to blame for an 8-car month, but themselves. With that said, managers must manage. And to manage people, you must hold them accountable to their tasks, reward them with positive reinforcement, and punish them when they falter. There is no need to have a manager if they are unwilling to truly manage their people to do it better. Moreover, no one should be given the designation (and responsibility) of manager if they’re unwilling to execute the technological and management duties of their own position either. Not if the duties asked of them are, once again, for the good of the store.</span><br/> <br/> <span class="font-size-3">Some employees may not like change. They already fight tooth and nail to prevent it. We must champion the understanding that the needs of the store are more important than the egos of the employees. People must learn to do it better. When it comes to embracing technology or innovative tactics, it is time everyone realizes that what is for the good of the store will, in the end, help them as well. Doing good doesn’t just happen. Doing good takes work.</span></p>Grading Automotive Website Providerstag:www.dealerelite.net,2012-07-03:5283893:BlogPost:3069622012-07-03T13:51:17.000ZJoe Webbhttps://www.dealerelite.net/profile/JoeWebb
<p><em>Disclaimer: I must preface this by saying it not intended to make any enemies or friends. This is not meant to hurt anyone’s business, call out how they perform for their clients, highlight weaknesses or put stock in one product over another. This was nothing more than a simple experiment.</em></p>
<p>I was out to dinner with my wife recently when I ran into an old college acquaintance. Very quickly I discovered that she works in our industry for a startup website provider. I tell her…</p>
<p><em>Disclaimer: I must preface this by saying it not intended to make any enemies or friends. This is not meant to hurt anyone’s business, call out how they perform for their clients, highlight weaknesses or put stock in one product over another. This was nothing more than a simple experiment.</em></p>
<p>I was out to dinner with my wife recently when I ran into an old college acquaintance. Very quickly I discovered that she works in our industry for a startup website provider. I tell her that I, too, work in the industry (not in the same category), but wondered what made her tool stand out above all others, to which she replied “We have the best SEO in the business.”</p>
<p>I chuckled out loud. I’ve heard this before. What secret sauce could one website provider have that the biggest and best providers do not? This is a constant uphill battle for dealers trying to differentiate one vendor from another. So I took it one step further. We at DealerKnows believe in practicing what you preach. If you have the best SEO in the industry, certainly your own website marketing efforts are up to par, correct?</p>
<p>I decided to run an analysis on many of the primary automotive website providers (culled from another forum’s vendor ratings page as well as a few industry mags I read) using <a href="http://marketing.grader.com" target="_blank">Hubspot’s Marketing Grader</a> tool. This is one of the very same tools that my good friends at PCG Consulting and PCG Digital Marketing use to evaluate potential clients’ websites. This tool measures elements of your website marketing such as<br/><br/></p>
<p>• On-site/off-site SEO<br/> • Indexed pages<br/> • Inbound authoritative links<br/> • Blogging frequency, <br/> • Social media performance<br/>• Analytics and more<br/><br/></p>
<p>Hubspot also puts on some of the best information-packed webinars about Internet operations in the world, so I figure their evaluation tools (while not perfect) would provide me more details about the prowess of these vendors’ websites than I could personally analyze myself.</p>
<p>By no means is this meant to sway your opinions of your current or potential website partners. DealerKnows doesn’t have any horse in this race, and, truthfully, don’t even have any specific knowledge or experience with a couple that made the Top Ten. Either way, we assembled a <a href="http://www.dealerknows.com/grading-automotive-website-providers/" target="_blank">downloadable whitepaper</a> that you can review to see how the different website companies very own sites stack up in comparison to their competitors when using a third-party tool, such as the Marketing Grader from Hubspot. Once again, we are not claiming this tool is the answer to all marketing prayers or has any relevance as to how well they market their own clients’ websites, but Hubspot’s Marketing Grader is utilized by some of the leading SEO providers in our industry, so it has some credence.</p>
<p>With that, I’d like to congratulate the TOP TEN !</p>
<p>• AutoRevo (Grade of 91)<br/> • Dealer.com (Grade of 90)<br/> • DealerFire (Grade of 88)<br/> • Naked Lime (Grade of 87)<br/> • LiquidMotors (Grade of 83)<br/> • DriveDigitalGroup (Grade of 82)<br/> • VinSolutions (Grade of 81 – tie with eCarList)<br/> • eCarList (Grade of 81 – tie with VinSolutions)<br/> • DealerOn (Grade of 80 – tie with DealerImpact)<br/>• DealerImpact (Grade of 80 – tie with DealerOn)</p>
<p>By Hubspot’s standards, these providers have done a great job optimizing and marketing their own websites. Great job, everyone!</p>
<p>If you’d like to see how all other website vendors fared in the Hubspot ranking study, please visit our <a href="http://www.dealerknows.com/grading-automotive-website-providers/" target="_blank">DealerKnows</a> blog and download the complete whitepaper with the full list of grades. While there, please comment and let us know what you think about this experiment. Would you like to see other vendor categories compared?</p>If Support...tag:www.dealerelite.net,2012-05-23:5283893:BlogPost:2992982012-05-23T15:45:58.000ZJoe Webbhttps://www.dealerelite.net/profile/JoeWebb
<p>If Support…</p>
<ul>
<li>Responded with a call instead of silence</li>
<li>Gave you immediate attention instead of a support ticket number</li>
<li>Answered the phone immediately instead of a queue</li>
<li>Has a queue, then you know something is desperately wrong</li>
<li>Responded with action instead of a timeline</li>
<li>Categorically ranked your need based on how much it is their fault and handled those first.</li>
<li>Wasn’t overseas</li>
<li>Is handled with grace and humility instead…</li>
</ul>
<p>If Support…</p>
<ul>
<li>Responded with a call instead of silence</li>
<li>Gave you immediate attention instead of a support ticket number</li>
<li>Answered the phone immediately instead of a queue</li>
<li>Has a queue, then you know something is desperately wrong</li>
<li>Responded with action instead of a timeline</li>
<li>Categorically ranked your need based on how much it is their fault and handled those first.</li>
<li>Wasn’t overseas</li>
<li>Is handled with grace and humility instead of arrogance and finger-pointing</li>
<li>Did it for you rather than emailing you details on how you can do it yourself, when you have time</li>
<li>Took responsibility for the miscues of their products rather than play the blame game</li>
<li>Contacted the other 3<sup>rd</sup> party vendor proactively instead of requiring you to relay the message to them</li>
<li>Understands what it is like to do what you do</li>
<li>Actually has more staff than the sales team</li>
<li>Has the ability to fix rather than to dictate and file</li>
<li>Tries to keep you in the loop rather than at bay</li>
<li>Cares about their role in your success</li>
<li>Is as motivated to fix the issue as you are to solve it</li>
</ul>
<p>….then that is a Support department that I can stand behind. Unfortunately, far too many support departments in our industry fall short. Share with me other ways you feel a Support team can earn your respect and retain your business.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545109883?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545109883?profile=original" width="400" class="align-full"/></a></p>Press the Fleshtag:www.dealerelite.net,2012-03-19:5283893:BlogPost:2845002012-03-19T15:08:45.000ZJoe Webbhttps://www.dealerelite.net/profile/JoeWebb
<p>If you haven’t heard, there is a bit of political campaigning going on right now. Candidates are using every medium of communication to engage potential voters. They are using the social mediums, but, shockingly, that isn’t all they are using. They are out stumping. They are shaking hands and kissing babies. They are standing behind podiums in public. Are you campaigning for customers in the same way? Not sleazy, like a politician, but publicly in the community?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It is…</p>
<p>If you haven’t heard, there is a bit of political campaigning going on right now. Candidates are using every medium of communication to engage potential voters. They are using the social mediums, but, shockingly, that isn’t all they are using. They are out stumping. They are shaking hands and kissing babies. They are standing behind podiums in public. Are you campaigning for customers in the same way? Not sleazy, like a politician, but publicly in the community?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It is amazing how social networking has connected us as a society and, at the same time, seems to be making companies less social. Too many people are touting social media as the primary focus for consumer interaction, but ignoring <i>real</i> interaction. Well, I have a news flash for you (read: “news flash” was a colloquialism said back in the days of newspaper and television). Companies that are active in their communities, participate in local events, and THEN celebrate their grassroots efforts on the social platforms will be those that truly drive business forward.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545109611?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="200" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545109611?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="200" class="align-left"/></a>Social media cannot only be about asking interesting/cute/engaging questions or holding self-serving contests, much like campaigning isn’t just about writing idealistic memorandum. You need to share your involvements with your constituents. People like watching others interact. You must socially share your attendance in different organizational activities and local events. Much like your dealership has always done (attending local chamber of commerce events, hosting job fairs, supporting a little league team or sponsoring an event for a charity), the same involvement in your local community is as crucial as ever. Only now, you must broadcast it to your social supporters.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So I urge you… press the flesh. Get out in your community. Let the sun splash warm across your face as you shake hands with the people around you. Then, simply document your activities. This type of content far outweighs the OEM-induced vehicle/product blogs that are far too common on Facebook walls for dealerships. Just recognize that, in an effort to capitalize on your grassroots efforts, you want to be press releasing about your involvement in said events beforehand, taking photos and videos while on-site at these events, and blogging about your participation afterward. Highlighting this type of local, out-and-about, multimedia-enriched content will be the key to truthfully being more social in social media. </p>A Heaping of Thought for your BDCtag:www.dealerelite.net,2011-10-03:5283893:BlogPost:2284102011-10-03T04:44:47.000ZJoe Webbhttps://www.dealerelite.net/profile/JoeWebb
<p>Sometimes it is not the skills of your people that cause your store’s numbers to flatline. Sometimes your BDC is fledgling, not because their phone scripts are poor or that the technology is weak, but for the fact that they just don’t see the full impact their role plays in the organization.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When I train a dealership on-site, the first thing I do is impress upon their BDC and Internet Managers that their daily duties are greater than the tasks built out for them in the…</p>
<p>Sometimes it is not the skills of your people that cause your store’s numbers to flatline. Sometimes your BDC is fledgling, not because their phone scripts are poor or that the technology is weak, but for the fact that they just don’t see the full impact their role plays in the organization.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When I train a dealership on-site, the first thing I do is impress upon their BDC and Internet Managers that their daily duties are greater than the tasks built out for them in the CRM. I believe that your BDC knows what is expected of them. They know they must answer the phone quickly with a positive tone. They understand the importance of asking either/or questions and going for the appointment. They see the value in being researched and giving the customers the answers to their questions.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The problem they have? They don’t do it every time because they don’t see the value and importance of each opportunity. Over time, leads become so customary that the people handling them don’t attach a true dollar value to each one. As time goes by and leads pour in, they become impersonal to some. It is not difficult for a BDC agent to overlook the importance of every lead and every appointment set, but the sales team is hit noticeably hard when the floor traffic slows down. You, as a manager, dealer principle, and owner must connect the dots and relay the big picture to your appointment-setting team. Sure, you can say that their job depends on it, but I like bringing things a little closer to home. Everyone can be empathetic.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Explain to your team that you know they have the skills to execute their job at a 10 on a 1 – 10 scale, but also know that they don’t perform that way for every opportunity. For every time they give an effort of a 5, they are likely costing the salesperson on the floor a chance to provide for their family. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I tell them “Your efforts, and the energy level and enthusiasm you bring to each and every call or lead opportunity, determines whether or not “Greg” on the floor has to look his son in the eyes while at Target shopping toward month’s end and explain to him why he can’t buy him the toy that he so desperately wants. He has to look like less of a person sometimes in his child’s eyes only because the BDC didn’t give their best effort every time to drive in all of the traffic they could have.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It is not scripts or tools or templates all of the time. It is the abundance of opportunities that go unvalued. One less appointment set means nothing to your BDC team, but one less sale here and there can mean the world to a salesperson. And to their family.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Relay this. Make sure you put a heaping of thought on your BDC’s shoulders and they understand the ripple effect. Their bad mood or lack of energy and focus truly has an impact on how a good person lives their life. Hopefully they will take more ownership of each and every gift they’ve been given.</p>Spoil Sporttag:www.dealerelite.net,2011-08-10:5283893:BlogPost:1823242011-08-10T13:51:36.000ZJoe Webbhttps://www.dealerelite.net/profile/JoeWebb
<p>Once again, another dealership ruins it for the rest of us. Recently, a customer in Anchorage Alaska was the winner of a 2009 Nissan GT-R on eBay Motors with a bid of $55,100. Now, the dealer (Honda of San Marcos) is refusing to sell the vehicle to them. The bugaboo: It was a No-Reserve Auction.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This is another shining example of how a dealership participates in a platform without knowledge, training, or guidance, and gives our industry a black-eye. The dealership is…</p>
<p>Once again, another dealership ruins it for the rest of us. Recently, a customer in Anchorage Alaska was the winner of a 2009 Nissan GT-R on eBay Motors with a bid of $55,100. Now, the dealer (Honda of San Marcos) is refusing to sell the vehicle to them. The bugaboo: It was a No-Reserve Auction.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This is another shining example of how a dealership participates in a platform without knowledge, training, or guidance, and gives our industry a black-eye. The dealership is claiming that they didn’t know about the Reserve feature and our demanding the winning bidder purchase the vehicle for $4,000 more. To me, I think the dealer should have to eat the difference and THAT is the price to pay for not knowing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I urge dealers to not get involved in platforms (eBay, Craigslist, Social Media) if they DON’T know what they are doing? Read a blog, seek guidance, ask someone from your 20 group, go onto DealerElite and hunt for someone that works for eBay to ask them a question… anything. But don’t try to do it yourself without any preparation as it will always come back to bite you. There are endless discussions and experts that can point you in the right direction. Don’t involve yourself in a new marketing channel without guidance.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now that the dealership is standing their ground, the winning bidder has been taking his disappointment to the blogs and getting a heck of a backing. (Read the article here - <b><a target="_blank" href="http://tinyurl.com/hondaofsanmarcos">Autoblog article about Honda of San Marcos vs. eBay Motors</a> </b>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>What do you think? Do you think the customer should pay more money for the vehicle after following all of the rules, paying a pretty penny, and STILL winning the vehicle? Or do you believe the dealership should have to suck it up and learn and lesson?</p>Preparing to Grow Your Internet Departmenttag:www.dealerelite.net,2011-07-26:5283893:BlogPost:1663592011-07-26T15:16:14.000ZJoe Webbhttps://www.dealerelite.net/profile/JoeWebb
<p>Before you begin recruiting, interviewing, or hiring for the position of Internet Manager/BDC/Internet Director, there are three crucial things you must do first.</p>
<p><br></br>1) Determine the hierarchy of the store. Who will this person, in a new department, be reporting to? Often anyone from sales managers to salespeople believe they can delegate work to someone in the Internet department while the top stores usually have a director or GM as the only entity that presides over the…</p>
<p>Before you begin recruiting, interviewing, or hiring for the position of Internet Manager/BDC/Internet Director, there are three crucial things you must do first.</p>
<p><br/>1) Determine the hierarchy of the store. Who will this person, in a new department, be reporting to? Often anyone from sales managers to salespeople believe they can delegate work to someone in the Internet department while the top stores usually have a director or GM as the only entity that presides over the Internet team. Decide who is in charge of what and this will help you understand the type of candidate you need to hire.</p>
<p><br/>2) Develop a pay plan based upon your goals for the Internet department/BDC and reward these specific metrics. What specific tasks must they complete and how will it drive business? Beyond sales goals, do you want them to achieve a certain level of contact made/engagement? Will you be thrusting inventory duties, website responsibilities, or, social/video tasks upon them? If so, build out the pay plan with escalating levels of income predicated upon their success with these initiatives. The structure of this position (A-Z, appointment setter, Director) will help determine the pay plan.</p>
<p><br/>3) Create a written, detailed job description specifying all duties, expectations, hierarchies, necessary skills, and intended earning potential. </p>
<p><br/>Once you have this framework for their position, you understand how to begin looking for the right candidate.</p>Is Your Website Traffic Down? Google Says So.tag:www.dealerelite.net,2011-07-02:5283893:BlogPost:1455132011-07-02T16:00:00.000ZJoe Webbhttps://www.dealerelite.net/profile/JoeWebb
<p>I popped open my <strong><a href="http://dealerknows.com" target="_blank">DealerKnows</a></strong> email this morning and saw that Google Analytics sent out a Benchmark Newsletter. (See below). If you recall, when signing up for your Google Analytics account, you were offered to "opt-in" to anonymous data-sharing with Google. Well they've consolidated the data and are making some modifications to their standard benchmarking report. The information is revealing, but how does the…</p>
<p>I popped open my <strong><a href="http://dealerknows.com" target="_blank">DealerKnows</a></strong> email this morning and saw that Google Analytics sent out a Benchmark Newsletter. (See below). If you recall, when signing up for your Google Analytics account, you were offered to "opt-in" to anonymous data-sharing with Google. Well they've consolidated the data and are making some modifications to their standard benchmarking report. The information is revealing, but how does the information affect you?</p>
<p>Apparently, overall website traffic is down. Over the last year, websites have seen reduced page visits, lower time on-site AND a lower bounce rate. <strong>Let me ask you, have you seen your dealership websites statistics improve or slightly lower over the last year?</strong> If you have seen it improve, I bet it is only because you likely have dedicated a little more time to exploring SEO, SEM, inbound link strategies, video usage, and fresh content on your site.</p>
<p>Take a look at the letter below and let me know about how your website statistics have changed over the last year.</p>
<p> </p>
<br/>
<table border="0" align="center" width="712" cellspacing="0">
<tbody><tr><td width="371"><p><font size="+1" color="#666666" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Google Analytics Benchmarking Newsletter</font> <br/><font size="+0" color="#666666" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2011, Volume 1, July 2011</font></p>
</td>
<td width="214"><img align="right" height="40" width="207" alt="Google"/></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table border="0" align="center" width="712" cellspacing="0">
<tbody><tr><td><h2><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">1. Introduction</font></h2>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Welcome to the first volume of the Analytics Benchmarking Newsletter!</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This month, we are replacing the standard "benchmarking" report in your Google Analytics account with data shared in this newsletter. We are using this newsletter as an experiment to surface more useful or interesting data to Analytics users. Data contained here comes from all websites which have opted-in anonymous data sharing with Google Analytics. Only those website administrators which have enabled this <a target="_blank" href="http://www.google.com/support/analytics/bin/static.py?page=troubleshooter.cs&problem=gatsc&selected=a11_a11h2_a11h2t1&ctx=gatsc_a11_a11h2_a11h2t1_87515">anonymous data sharing</a> will receive this "benchmarking" newsletter.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">You may be wondering, how many websites are in this "anonymous data sharing" pool? Currently, hundreds of thousands, and we've endeavored to make all of the metrics here statistically significant.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The date range of comparison for this newsletter is from November 1, 2010 - February 1, 2011. Comparison is done with data from November 1, 2009 - February 1, 2010. Absolute metrics such as total # visits, pageviews, or conversions for all opted-in websites are not reported.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">To simplify the prose, the phrase "websites" will represent "websites which have opted into anonymous data sharing with Google Analytics" for the rest of this newsletter.</font></p>
<h2><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2. Site Metrics</font></h2>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Compared to a year ago, websites have seen reduced pages / visit, average time on site, as well as bounce rate.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></p>
<table cellspacing="0" border="1" align="center">
<tbody><tr><td></td>
<th>11/1/09 - 2/1/10</th>
<th>11/1/10 - 2/1/11</th>
<th>Difference</th>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>Pages/Visit</strong></td>
<td>4.9</td>
<td>4.5</td>
<td>-0.4</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>Bounce Rate</strong></td>
<td>48.2%</td>
<td>47.0%</td>
<td>-1.2%</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>Avg Time on Site</strong></td>
<td>5:49</td>
<td>5:23</td>
<td>-0:26</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></p>
<h3><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2.1 Breakdown by Geography</font></h3>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Our anonymous database has aggregated geographic breakdown at the country level. Here are a few representative countries and their respective aggregate metrics. The first number in each cell represents the metric for the date range 11/1/10-2/1/11. The parenthesized number is the Year over Year delta compared to a year ago.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></p>
<table cellspacing="0" border="1" align="center">
<tbody><tr><th>Country</th>
<th>Pages / Visit</th>
<th>Bounce Rate</th>
<th>Avg Time on Site</th>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>United States</strong></td>
<td>4.7 (-0.1)</td>
<td>42.5% (-6.1%)</td>
<td>6:06 (-0:10)</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>United Kingdom</strong></td>
<td>4.9 (-0.3)</td>
<td>41.5% (+0.2%)</td>
<td>5:38 (-0.27)</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>France</strong></td>
<td>4.4 (-0.4)</td>
<td>49.7% (+1.4%)</td>
<td>4:40 (-0:08)</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>Brazil</strong></td>
<td>4.1 (-0.1)</td>
<td>47.8% (-2.9%)</td>
<td>5:20 (+0:03)</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>China</strong></td>
<td>4.1 (-0.1)</td>
<td>58.2% (+1.0%)</td>
<td>3:46 (+0:37)</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>Japan</strong></td>
<td>3.9 (-0.1)</td>
<td>48.6% (-9.0%)</td>
<td>3:47 (-2:59)</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></p>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">For bounce rate, the distribution by country is plotted below:<br/>
</font><br />
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></p>
<center><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img/></font></center>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></p>
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The distribution above is annotated with some countries -- which seem to indicate a story of leisure and stage of economic development. For a related metric: average time on site, the distribution by country is plotted below:<br/>
</font><br />
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></p>
<center><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img/></font></center>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The type of countries annotated in the average time on site graph above seem to be in reverse order as those in the bounce rate distribution.</font></p>
<h3><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2.2 Breakdown by Traffic Sources</font></h3>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Traffic sources below are identified by how the "source" and "medium""" parameters are received by the Google Analytics collecting servers. Here is an <a target="_blank" href="http://www.google.com/support/analytics/bin/answer.py?answer=60126">article</a> describing what these designations refer to.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></p>
<table cellspacing="0" border="1" align="center">
<tbody><tr><th>Traffic Sources</th>
<th>Pages / Visit</th>
<th>Bounce Rate</th>
<th>Avg Time on Site</th>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>Direct</strong></td>
<td>4.0 (-0.5)</td>
<td>47.2% (-4.0%)</td>
<td>5:21 (-0:07)</td>
</tr>
<tr><td></td>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>Referral</strong></td>
<td>5.0 (+0.1)</td>
<td>43.1% (-1.1%)</td>
<td>6:36 (-1:48)</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>Organic Search</strong></td>
<td>4.9 (-0.1)</td>
<td>47.9% (-1.1%)</td>
<td>4:43 (+0:06)</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>CPC Search</strong></td>
<td>5.6 (+0.0)</td>
<td>41.4 (-1.7%)</td>
<td>3:57(+0:07)</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></p>
<h3><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2.4 Conversion Rate Distribution</font></h3>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Many marketers' favorite metric is conversion rate. Here is the worldwide distribution of Google Analytics "goal conversion rate" by country.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></p>
<center><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img/></font></center>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Would anyone have guessed that states which are known for conversions are also high for their citizens' goal conversion rate? Note that for some states with few population, the statistical significance of the conversion metric comes into doubt.</font></p>
<h2><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3. Traffic Sources</font></h2>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Traffic sources below are identified by how the "source" and "medium" parameters are received by the Google Analytics collecting servers. Here is an <a target="_blank" href="http://www.google.com/support/analytics/bin/answer.py?answer=60126">article</a> describing what these designations refer to.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></p>
<table cellspacing="0" border="1" align="center">
<tbody><tr><th>% Visits from Sources</th>
<th>11/1/09 - 2/1/10</th>
<th>11/1/10 - 2/1/11</th>
<th>Difference</th>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>Direct</strong></td>
<td>36.5%</td>
<td>36.8%</td>
<td>+0.3%</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>Referral</strong></td>
<td>21.0%</td>
<td>19.4%</td>
<td>-1.6%</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>Search Engines</strong></td>
<td>27.0%</td>
<td>28.0%</td>
<td>+1.0%</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>Other</strong></td>
<td>15.5%</td>
<td>15.8%</td>
<td>+0.3%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></p>
<h2><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4. Operating Systems</font></h2>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Browsers and Operation Systems (OS) are identified by the "referrer" string sent by users' browsers.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></p>
<table cellspacing="0" border="1" align="center">
<tbody><tr><th>% Visits from OS</th>
<th>11/1/09 - 2/1/10</th>
<th>11/1/10 - 2/1/11</th>
<th>Difference</th>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>Windows</strong></td>
<td>89.9%</td>
<td>84.8%</td>
<td>-5.1%</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>Macintosh</strong></td>
<td>4.5%</td>
<td>5.2%</td>
<td>+0.7%</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>Linux</strong></td>
<td>0.6%</td>
<td>0.7%</td>
<td>+0.1%</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><strong>Other</strong></td>
<td>5%</td>
<td>9.3%</td>
<td>+4.3%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></p>
<h2><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">5. Comments</font></h2>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This is the first volume of our Analytics Benchmarking Newsletter. We hope that it provides useful insights. If you have specific comments or suggestions on how to improve this newsletter, please send your feedback to: <a target="_blank" href="mailto:analytics-benchmarking@google.com">analytics-benchmarking@google.com</a>.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<br/>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Happy analyzing,<br/></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Google Analytics Team</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>I look forward to hearing from all of you.</p>
<p> </p>Getting Ready for the Content Gametag:www.dealerelite.net,2011-04-17:5283893:BlogPost:815182011-04-17T18:07:26.000ZJoe Webbhttps://www.dealerelite.net/profile/JoeWebb
<p>While speaking to a 20 Group last month, I was asked if transferring leads to the sales floor is the best way to manage online opportunities. Simply put, I prefer an Internet department still to this day. I understand many are saying "disperse leads to the sales floor because all customers are internet shoppers anyway and they should be able to assist them". Here is the flaw... constructing well-worded replies without spelling errors and well-thought out responses with grammatically correct…</p>
<p>While speaking to a 20 Group last month, I was asked if transferring leads to the sales floor is the best way to manage online opportunities. Simply put, I prefer an Internet department still to this day. I understand many are saying "disperse leads to the sales floor because all customers are internet shoppers anyway and they should be able to assist them". Here is the flaw... constructing well-worded replies without spelling errors and well-thought out responses with grammatically correct sentences often takes a more educated, dedicated individual - and we know those are often not those handling customers on most showroom floors.<br/><br/>If you have been hiring from the beginning for that purpose then, by all means, put them in charge. Most likely, though, you have a mix of intellectual product junkies and stuck-in-their-ways old car dogs. There won’t be any autonomy in responses so you just aren’t ready yet.<br/><br/>Also, for quality customer interaction to take place, usually the responding party needs to be either well-versed at overcoming objections or be given the authority to price and negotiate with online consumers. Hence, this is why an actual Internet Manager is still so valuable. Yes, I like having a dedicated department performing those lead-handling duties.<br/><br/>Then I was asked if all of the salespeople should be in control of a dealer’s digital marketing / social media presence and content creation. “Heck no!” was my immediate answer to that. They should be “involved”, but certaily not “in control”.<br/><br/>That being said, just to enter the content creation game, your dealership will need:</p>
<p><br/> 1) An Executive (or executive-level entity) to manage the dealer's social presence, brand message, and content sharing.<br/> 2) One content creator writing blogs/stories, taking pictures, and shooting videos (vehicle, salespeople bios, customer testimonials, events, locally-driven material, walk-arounds, and fun stuff) and sharing the creations with the Executive<br/> 3) All employees to "Like" the primary dealership FB page, participate in a little of the content’s creation, and assist in the "sharing" of said content provided from the primary page off their own FB pages and into their sphere of influence.<br/> <br/> So you really just need a minimum of two people to run it. If you are the executive in this instance, then great. You still need a content person. Find a college kid that takes theater or journalism, is comfortable in front of and behind a camera, and bring them on at least part-time (full-time if they're a college graduate). If you can't hire, look into the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.automotiveinternships.org/news/archives/dealerknows/">Automotive Internship Program</a>.<br/><br/>Then find the right portal in which to manage your online presence. At NADA I saw a company called Social Dealer with a good product for this. ReachLocal's ReachCast looks good as well. AAN (Automotive Advertising Network) has a content-creation portal to help turning RSS feeds from the OEM quickly into blogs, press releases, and microsites). Exteres Auto and MyGoso are supposed to be very good as well, but I’m not as intimate with their products as the others. All offer some semblance of reporting and control that allow you to better manage your reputation, presence and content.<br/><br/>But it starts with the structure of your store and the people you designate to CONTROL the leads, the content, the technology, and your presence that will determine your online success.</p>Spring Trainingtag:www.dealerelite.net,2011-03-30:5283893:BlogPost:762262011-03-30T20:00:00.000ZJoe Webbhttps://www.dealerelite.net/profile/JoeWebb
<p>Baseball season is back in full swing. (See what I did there? Yes, very cheesy, I know). And spring training for the teams is coming to an end. They’ve spent well over a month preparing themselves and their minds for the day-to-day responsibilities that go along with a season of baseball. Trainers, managers, and coaches get together to evaluate their personnel and to get them ready for action. Several dealers do the very same when they seek out training for their team.<br></br><br></br>Dealers…</p>
<p>Baseball season is back in full swing. (See what I did there? Yes, very cheesy, I know). And spring training for the teams is coming to an end. They’ve spent well over a month preparing themselves and their minds for the day-to-day responsibilities that go along with a season of baseball. Trainers, managers, and coaches get together to evaluate their personnel and to get them ready for action. Several dealers do the very same when they seek out training for their team.<br/><br/>Dealers seek out trainers because it is necessary to have experts of different disciplines take a look at what you are putting out on the field of play. You often need a skilled tactician to analyze your team, pinpoint opportunities, address concerns, teach fundamentals, build up your strengths, and eliminate your weaknesses. Most importantly, it is the extra set of eyes from an outsider that helps shape a team into a successful bunch of athletes.<br/><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545107015?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="330" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545107015?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="330" class="align-center"/></a>The problem is, far too many unemployed, out-of-work Internet Managers are calling themselves “consultants” and muddying the water of best practices. (I’m only saying this because all season I’ve been doing my own “spring cleaning” where we clean up the mess made my another ill-prepared “consultant” the dealership mistakenly brought on before us.) Just because someone reads the blogs, comments on the social networks, and attends conferences while achieving mediocre to slightly above average results at a non-descript dealership does not make someone a consultant…let alone a trainer. These people are turning around and regurgitating articles they’ve read of best practices written by others, passing them off as their own ideologies, and implementing them into dealerships with no understanding of how to actually “teach” someone the philosophies behind it. This is why the power of a Trainer or Consultant only goes so far.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545107484?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="240" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545107484?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="240" class="align-center"/></a>Any respectable, “true” consultant or trainer will tell you that they can only take you and your team so far on their own. We, as “true” consultants can get your team up-to-snuff on the fundamentals, help you set the best line-up and put the best people out on the field together. We can recommend what type of equipment to use and give you a plan for attack, but we can’t manage. A trainer can surely review the outcome of each game and help plan for the following day (as we do with our <a href="http://virtualdealertraining.com" target="_blank">Virtual Dealer Training</a> program by listening to phone calls, monitoring email correspondence from your team, and analyzing reports with the team’s management), but we can’t be on-site all the time. You need a manager on the field watching over each game that can call plays on the spot and make quick decisions based on the situation in-store. We, as trainers, need someone on-site – <strong><i>our </i></strong>advocate – that can continue to deliver our message and carry through on the collective game plan.<br/><br/>Spring training time is upon us. The summer season is right here at our doorstep. Have you made sure that your team is trained by the best? If they are up to bat more often during the summer months, are you making sure that there is an on-field manager watching each cut they take? Do your managers have someone they can rely on to discuss performance opportunities?<br/><br/>It’s time to play ball. Have you prepared your team to take the field and win?</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545107533?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="400" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2545107533?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="400" class="align-center"/></a> </p>