The “7 Habits” of a Strong Internet Sales Process

Why our Internet Sales Process matters more now than it ever has, and the seven key points we must execute to be successful.

By: Henry Staniecki

Advanced customer-attracting tactics like SEO and Social Media Marketing are a big focus in the retail automotive industry right now. A great many tools are being developed by every vendor imaginable to take advantage of the latest…

Traffic is slow, business is weak, the economy stinks and banks aren’t buying. Repeat this mantra 100 times and see how you feel. I promise you that if you replay this message enough, you will believe it as absolute truth and become depressed and desperate. No matter what circumstances are at present, the choice is simple: You choose to win or choose to lose.

The one single ingredient that is always present in any success story is self-determination. You are always…

1. Manage your stores Online Reputation. In todays market more than ever customers decide if they want to come to your store before you even know it. Get in front of your reviews not behind them. Ask for reviews.

2. Inventory display. Change up the layout of your lot moving new and used vehicles around. Make it clean and organized. Sales people need a routine. Twice a month make this part of their job to display your profit maker…

In business, compounding interest is often referred to as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” In business, and especially sales, I compare the compounding effect of interest to the compounding effect that occurs with current customers who can become repeat customers and referral machines.

You may have seen examples of how someone can start an Individual Retirement Account when they are 25, invest $2,000 a year and by retirement age they will have a significant seven-figure…

Back when I first started desking deals, the “seasoned” salespeople would tell me, “Let’s do this deal; we’ll make up the gross on the next one. It’s easier to get iron than customers.” I believe there was a change in that attitude in 2008. Four years later, Buy-Here-Pay-Here (BHPH) dealers are still facing the challenge of finding enough choice inventory for their business model while maintaining portfolio performance.

In my last BHPH operation we operated a little different than…

Simplicity can be an automotive dealership’s best friend. Your mission should not only be to save time when engaging your customers, but to have a simple process of connecting with them. The goal of any dealership is to run as efficiently as possible, and a Desking Tool can help you achieve this goal.

The process of creating specials and deals within multiple DMS’ can be less than ideal.  With a proper Desking Tool, installers should make sure that your DMS is linked up with your CRM…

One of the keys to being a true dealership partner amongst a sea of vendors is having the willingness to “share the playbook” with our clients and prospects. This is much more important today than ever before in the world of automotive internet marketing because the changes are happening too rapidly. Marketing professionals and companies must stay on top of…

Demotivation is the biggest problem any business can ever have. It is your biggest business success killer you can ever have. Have you recently questioned how motivated your staff is?  The motivated role models and examples of business excitement is not as affluent as you imagine. Motivation affects your staff and your productivity. Before you wonder what happened, I suggest taking quick inventory and ask what have you done lately to KICK the demotivation out of your business door??

You did it-and you know you did it. You not only let yourself down-you let your family and friends down. Just think of how much you’ve let down all of the people who love you, trust you, and rely on you. You denied any wrongdoing to anyone who would listen until the cries of innocence became silenced. It took only seconds to be singled out in the lineup-the…

There is not much discussion on automotive forums  regarding Dealer Management System (DMS) innovation. 

The automotive DMS market is dominated by two companies today: Reynolds and ADP.  

So I ask dealers on this forum:

"Has the dealer community not seen a…

We all use traditional methods -- and now increasingly digital methods, such as Craigslist, Cars.com, and Autos.com -- to scout for used cars. Getting the best results can be a challenge, especially in today's economy: it takes consistent monitoring and persistent effort to find quality used vehicles.



Are any of you leveraging alternative methods to add used cars to your inventory? Most auto auction houses have evolved to now offer online auctions, and during a recent search for a…

In 2013, there will continue to be a growing number of people who have their smartphones and tablets handy while watching television. People are multitasking more often now than ever before while enjoying their television time. They are Tweeting, posting to Facebook, and visiting websites all from the comfort of their living…

According to an AutoNation study, U.S. auto sales are expected to hit the mid-15 million unit range in 2013, thanks to a stabilizing housing market and strengthening economy.

As the positive economic outlook encourages potential clients to consider a new or pre-owned vehicle in the new year, how is your dealership focusing its campaign accordingly? What do you think will be most important to highlight: resale value, safety features, excellent gas mileage? Are consumers looking for…

What's the common image of a salesperson? The big bad wolf.

The big bad wolf seeks and destroys. It's a predator who pounces on its prey, eats the weak and leaves a bloody mess behind. This image makes the job of salespeople a lot harder than it should be. The good news is that this creates an opportunity to kill the wolf and turn the negative into a positive.

If you were to ask 10 customers what they hate about salespeople and the buying experience, you'd get an earful. Take…

Since it is that time of year, here are some ideas for commitments you may wish to make for 2013. As you’ve heard me say many times, “If you measure it and then scoreboard it, performance will improve!” Many of you are probably measuring and scoreboarding some of the following key performance indicators, but I doubt if any of you are measuring all 11 (a “lucky” number) of them:

1. Actual flat rate hour Productivity per Technician against objective on a daily,…

When I was in 1^st grade my Dad took me on a Father and Son campout sponsored by our church.  It was late spring at Lake Tahoe – cold, gray and drizzly.  I spent a lot of time warming by the fire.  We did take a spin on a speed boat but no one would let me drive.  So when one of the dads broke out some boxing gloves and drew a ring in the sand, I was thinking this…

Let’s see… We demand the following… Correct?

1. We expect terrific meet and greet, power handshakes and hugs. Real effort.
2. We anticipate, fantastic fact finding, customer information, trade, decision makers, all finance understanding.
3. We believe in tremendous walk-around, complete features and benefits and explained with…

I happen…

When you read the title to this article, did it make you wince? Did it make you a little angry? For most of you, you have already let your resolutions go to the wayside with empty promises. The good news is that you can achieve most, if not all, of your resolutions.

First of all, words are cheap. You must truly decide. You are who you decide to be at any given moment. When you truly decide to achieve something, you begin to walk, talk and act more like that person who…

The other day I was in a meeting with a potential client. We were discussing automotive SEO best practices and the way that the search engines are changing the way they rank. We talked about the best ways a dealer can stay ahead of their competition for their current keywords while moving up in the competitive keywords in the area.…