Is The Road to the Sale Obsolete? by Jim Ziegler

Is The Road to the Sale Obsolete?

A lot of conversation these days by 'New Age' - 'Next Gen' - car people saying the 'Old School' sales processes are no longer valid with today's consumers.

Just the reference to the term  'Old School Car Guy' is an insult designed to  conjure up mental images of an extinct Mastodon being sucked down into the tar pits after eating the last brown shriveled leaves off of the trees. The hidden message in these terms is that you're stupid and we're smart... an intimidation by negative labeling.

In truth, the retail car business is forming sides in the turf wars between the techies and the traditionalists. AND, nobody is giving ground.

I have just returned from an extended 'road trip' of twenty-three cities in fourteen weeks, coast to coast, actually working in dealerships... speaking at major conferences... and performing consultancies. In other words, I am seeing a lot of best practices - what does, and more importantly, what does not work.

To quote myself here: "Average People with great processes will produce incredible results."  You can't manage a high-production dealership with an army of 'Prima-Donnas' all doing their own thing without structure or management.

Even though I have embraced technology as part of the sales process; it is not the entire process.  Automobile Sales still have to have a structured process from 'Meet and Greet the Customer' through 'Deliver the Vehicle and Follow-Up'.

I don't believe there will ever be a day when technology will entirely replace the human relationship in car sales. The things we do and the words we say are our toolbox.

Time after time, I've experienced dealerships' transformations to much higher volume sales and much higher profitability when the management installed and enforced a "Sales Culture' with defined step-by-step, measurable and accountable sales processes.

Unfortunately, most dealerships have never quantified exactly what they expect sales persons and managers to do and say as they interact with your customers.  Oh, we have a vague idea BUT very few managers can tell me their exact process... and very few can honestly say their sales professionals are doing it the way they describe it.

That's why I consider myself extremely fortunate that my career began as a car sales professional and that my first management position was as an F&I Manager. If I owned a dealership today, I would require that all of my Sales Managers had F&I experience.  A great F&I Manager is a master of  'The Process' and has to be a precision closer with a stop watch running.

Is it any wonder the sales department is always amazed when the Finance Manager repeatedly 'bumps' the customer after they thought they had all the money. Perhaps, processes and training had something to do with it.

I've always said that F&I Managers have more skills, more schools and more specialized training than anyone in the dealership except the technicians.

Jokingly, I've always said... "Most Sales Managers learned their job by watching somebody who got fired."

We have the tools today to achieve 'super productivity'.  There are great CRM programs available to organize, measure, and manage sales and follow up BUT, these programs are only as good as the managers who are responsible for the results. Technology is an enabler and a productivity accelerator but it is only works if competent sales management  is on top of it.

So in other words, there is no 'Old School' or 'New School' ... there are only processes that incorporate both. 'The Old Car Dog' that resists and fights everything new, or the 'Next Gen' with no track record who believes they know it all...both have to bend and adapt to 'The School of What Really Works' . 

One characteristic shared by virtually every successful dealership in the country is that they have well-defined sales processes and that they require every sales person to follow these processes without exception.

So, the original question was Is The Road to the Sale Obsolete?

The answer is emphatically... NO

AND the answer is also ...YES

The trick is teaching managers to be managers and sales professionals to be students of their profession... and for both to be masters of the processes.

Keep those emails coming... JIM

 

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Comment by James A. Ziegler on November 15, 2011 at 10:00pm

WOW! Look at the quality of the comments so far. I am ingratiated to have such wonderful and insightful people commenting here...Thank You...

 

Comment by Jason McIntosh "Jmac" on November 15, 2011 at 9:34pm

I love this post... A very relevant & current topic! I may not be as old of a "Dawg" but as long as we are counting dog years I've been in the Biz going on 105 years! "Social Media" was virtually non existent...

I agree. Processes is what brought us into the 21st century to begin with and bridges the gap into the next!

Jim without "processors" there would be no technology!

As a younger "Old Dawg" I have to say that the dealership I grew up in actually used some of YOUR materials as a benchmark for training and I myself can remember training "Green Peas" influenced by previous "Old Dawgs" such as yourself...  Referencing some of your material Look around at all the cars you drove past to get here today, everyone of those was sold by a salesperson that earned a commission, some of them more than one salesperson earned a commssion...

All still true today! You sir are timeless as well as the processes that were put into place even before the great "Alpha Dawg" To quote an old song... "Old dogs never die"

Considering my first management job I recall my frustration as a young manager dealing with not integrating old process into new processes. I think integration plays a key factor and thus that is the reference of "old school" because some won't integrate.

I believe your success proves that it can be done... "old dawgs" can learn new tricks and even perform them better if they integrate and adapt. Experience is the foundation technolgy is built on!

You have my vote.. Rock on!

Jason "Jmac" McIntosh

 

 

 

Comment by Ed Brooks on November 15, 2011 at 9:29pm

Great post Jim! Let me start by saying I’m proud and honored to consider you a friend. I do joke with you about being a “Caveman Car Guy”, but I don’t consider you a dinosaur at all. You’ve adapted New School practices where they made sense and kept us focused on the fundamentals of the Old School that should never go out of style.

 

I do think there are some misperceptions that some Old school folks have about us New Schoolers (and even though I’m no spring chicken, I do consider myself to be firmly in the New School).

1) We aren’t against process – at all. Process is vital to any well-run organization. Doing your own thing without structure or management is the same recipe for disaster it ever was.

2) We don’t think technology will replace the human element in Car Sales.

 

Above I said “we” where maybe I should have said “I”. From here on I’ll endeavor to speak only for myself. I do think The Process could use a tweak or two. Where the traditional process says “Negotiate”, I’d replace it with “As much as possible, Replace Negotiation with Documentation”. For many dealers, this tweak to the traditional process can speed the close, hold more of the asking price and lead to happier customers… and better reviews. It's just adding a new tool to our toolbox.

 

Where I do sometimes get frustrated is when I see dealers that act as though the Internet hasn’t changed anything, at least not fundamentally. The shift in the balance of power is real. Most customers walk in with much more knowledge today than they did even ten years ago. That renders some of the old tricks not only ineffective, but actually detrimental. The key is accepting and embracing the changes and night fighting them. The Internet can be the worst thing that ever happened to the car business or a tremendous opportunity, depending on how you approach it.

 

When I see a dealer like Adam Barish embrace something new to power a jump from 30 to 130 used cars a month, I’m convinced that many of the “New School” ways are the path to increased profitably.

 

Jim, I applaud your ongoing journey of seeking out the best of the new and combining with the best of the old to develop 'The School of What Really Works' . 

Comment by Jae Chang on November 15, 2011 at 7:26pm

My first mgmt position was also in F&I, that's where everything and anything that can happen, happens.  How does one work a deal with understanding structure? I see so many who think they can and fail ( not in their minds obviously ), and give away the store.

Great Article Jim, tools are only as effective as how they are used properly.

Thanks again!!

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