Dealer World

Zach Heller Joins Dealer World as Northeast Sales Manager

Everyone at Dealer World Is grateful for all our clients and business partners and we are thankful for everyone who chose us to help them and hope to continue those relationships for many years to come.

With that being said, here are thoughts that our team members are thankful for this Thanksgiving holiday.

Danielle: I am thankful for my loving family, good health, a happy home, a job that I love, plus all the amenities and luxuries we have in life that are sometimes taken for granted.  I am thankful.

Troy: I am thankful for my family, my friends, our staff, and dealer partners, that keep me pretty busy and being surrounded by good people!

Terene: I am thankful for the health and happiness of my family.

Cody: I am thankful for my family (which definitely includes the cats) and old video game hardware & software!

Ryan: I’m thankful for my family, friends, direct-port nitrous injection, four-core intercoolers, ball-bearing turbos and titanium valve springs.

Lisa: I am thankful for my friends and family, good food and vacations in sunny Florida. 🙂

Jacquelyn: I am thankful for my health, my family, and my cats. 💞

Kathy: Thankful for the gift of “time”…the time on this earth to spend with loved ones and doing the things I love.

Kaitlyn: I’m thankful for all of my friends and family

Arnold: I am thankful that I’m with a great company who is exponentially growing. It is a pleasure to be a part of – and watch – all the progress being made not just with clients but also within the industry. On a personal note, I am thankful for my wife, daughter and my German Shepherd (who is the best alarm system in the world.)

Matthew: Thankful for my wife, my son and the great family/friends we have around us. Thankful for the moments in each day and looking forward to some great blessings in 2023!

Gino: I am thankful for my family and the obstacles we’ve overcome this year!

Steven: I am thankful for a place to sleep, and food to eat!

Kevin: I am thankful for Family, Friends, and Football.

Christopher: I am thankful for my girlfriend, the gym and my continued journey to being my healthiest self, my family, and my dog. My dog is really cool.

Alan: I am thankful for my family, health, job, friends, Rangers Hockey and my Guitars!!!!

Sabrina: I’m thankful for family, friends, new traditions, and pumpkin pie.

Dave: I am thankful for my family and three dogs.

Gregory: I’m thankful for the position I’m currently in with my career that provides me with the flexibility to spend more time with family and friends.

Zach: I’m thankful for being alive, healthy, family, love, and being able to make my future successful. You may ask, “why alive?”. Google Gary V odds of being born. The future successful is because anything we set our minds to; we can make it happen.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Will: I’m thankful for my friends, family, and my pet snake 🐍

Michael: I am thankful for friends, family, food and being provided the opportunities to succeed.

Once again, we hope you enjoy the holiday with your families, eat a lot of good food, watch football (if you’re into that) and, in general, just be thankful for all of the gifts that life has brought your way. Thank you and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

You let Kwik-Fit eat the market and it costs them nothing.

Visiting Paul de Vries has a rich tradition of bringing American automotive speakers to the Netherlands. At this week’s #DCDW Event, it was Troy Spring, owner of a major marketing company, who came to teach the public an – at times painful – lesson in marketing. After two hours of listening, the only conclusion is that the vast majority of companies mishandle leads, both on ‘entry’ and ‘exit’. Except Kwik-Fit.

The American Troy Spring does not have the same dominant appearance as a Brian Benstock or the reputation and slick presentation of a Brian Pasch, the two most famous Americans introduced to the Netherlands by De Vries. Spring is a website builder and quite technically oriented. The first twenty minutes of his presentation was about ‘touching the consumer’s heart’. According to him, it is first about gaining trust, ‘calls to action’ only come much later in the process. The basics were explained on the basis of well-known examples such as Apple, Tesla, Amazon and the large CarMax in America. Not to copy, but to learn from. And to ensure that the conversion of ‘spontaneous’ visitors exceeds three percent.

“Don’t show all kinds of unnecessary information.”

A number of lessons should never be forgotten, says Spring. “A good website is built in such a way that you work with baby steps towards a conversion. First, the trust and heart of the consumer must be won, only then information is requested from the consumer. And only then do you show the stock.” And you show that stock in horizontal rows of three or four cars instead of one car by car. “Then you provide an immediate overview and the opportunity to make a choice. Model, price, and mileage is initially more than sufficient. And if a consumer clicks through on a car, there must be as large a picture of the car as possible. And a logical call to action, where everything is aimed at preventing any noise. Do not show all kinds of unnecessary information, that will only distract.”

On the conversion path

Whereas before the break those present saw how it should be done by means of examples, after the break they were told how not to do it on the basis of – according to Troy – random Dutch examples. The after-sales page of Louwman’s website contains too much SEO text and lacks a logical choice field. The Wassink Autogroep website reminded Spring of Nickelodeon, but much too insistently, because Wassink immediately wants all kinds of information from the customer. At Lieuwes Roden, the vehicle page was far too messy. He thought the mobile site of Van Poelgeest (and thus of more BMW dealers) was wonderful. “But it is the worst possible site imaginable from a sound perspective. In no way is the visitor taken on the ‘conversion path’.”

Incidentally, it immediately appeared that Spring had seen the old website, the Van Poelgeest site has now been renewed and much better, according to the American.

According to Spring, every company should have a conversion manager. “That is the great loss. Now there is a website builder and there are marketers. They do their thing, but nobody is responsible for what happens to all those visitors on the site (leads). The successful companies do have them, and that’s why those sites are all built in the same way.”

“If new sales go down later, the workshop will become very important.”

Spring also saw some bright spots in all the websites mentioned, but when it comes to aftersales and service, dealers and universal car companies score downright sadly, says Spring. Whatever combination of keywords he used, such as ‘tyres’, ‘oil’ or ‘service’ in combination with a city or brand, there is rarely a dealer or universal in the search results.

Always on display: Kwik-Fit.

That’s not just a lack of marketing effort, Spring noted. “It is a matter of having the website in order and making sure that your Google settings are correct. Kwik-Fit doesn’t even have to advertise now, just because they have their settings in order, they now run off with the leads. Free. And make no mistake: if things go a little less well in car sales, the workshop will become very important in order to make a profit. Just like now is the time to anticipate the rise of EVs. Why don’t I see a single car company in the tire commercials? They are also among EVs.”

Spring – who repeatedly stated that he did not intend to become active in the Netherlands – also explained how they set up lead management for their customers. “What we now see is that a lead is forgotten after a few days. That’s really not done. Every lead must come in a CRM package. Even if this person has bought or is going to buy a car elsewhere. Our funnel extends to ten years. The only action that needs to be taken is that a cold or lost lead is classified into sub-funnels, for example those for people who bought elsewhere, or people who declined a purchase or trade-in. We then have a separate program for all those ‘trays’ in which we approach the customer. Very friendly, never intrusive, and always with the option to end the conversation.”

“Many companies are now simply doing it all wrong.”

One of the best examples for Troy is approaching customers who bought elsewhere. “After three months, they receive a message in which the company wishes them success with their purchase, states that it hopes to be able to make an offer again one day and wishes the customer the best. Nothing else. Later again they receive such a message and then after a certain time we will inform them that we have a maintenance offer, or new stock. All messages that they often do not receive from their own dealer. In this way we are increasingly able to warm up leads that seemed lost, because there comes a moment when they are ready for interaction. So, we didn’t have to do more than determine the container in which the lead belongs.”

Spring is an optimistic person: but many companies are simply doing it all wrong. “While there were smart people walking around who can arrange it well. But soon it will be a crisis and then it will be too late. Then it turns out that you have lost the battle to the Kwik-Fits and other companies that do get it. But if you learn to play the game now, it will pay itself back twice during economically more difficult times.”

Translated from Dutch. A review originally published on Automotive Management regarding Troy Spring’s keynote sessions at DCDW November 2022 in the Netherlands.

There are all sorts of coaches and trainers in our industry. But there is a difference. Trainers are brought into an organization to teach a specific set of skills – kind of like what Liam Neeson is famous for saying in the movie Taken.” Maybe the trainer is there teaching sales skills, maybe they are teaching how to use a technology or perhaps it is product knowledge. The definition of coaching, however, is much different. According to Wikipedia:

• “Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a coach, supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance.”

While this may sound similar, it isn’t. Why? Because a coach is someone that is present all of the time. And should be in some form of management role. Most managers don’t take the time to identify or observe their staff. In the automotive space, managers tend to forget about the salesperson that is kicking butt monthly and focus on those that aren’t. Even then, the “coaching” turns into a negative thing as in “if you don’t sell 10 cars per month, we will have to let you go.” Rather than taking the time to “coach,” the feedback has been turned into one that makes the employee feel undesired and puts undue pressure on them.

Coaches should be leaders. Leaders don’t just coach, they do intentional coaching. What does that mean? It means that not only should leaders be looking at their underperformers but also be open to those employees’ feedback. Leaders aren’t all-knowing. Perhaps there is a good reason for those employees to be underperforming. An analogy would be something similar to telling a carpenter to build a house and, when they can’t, firing them. Had the leader listened, he might have learned that the carpenter didn’t have a hammer – or maybe even nails.

On the other side of the coin, leaders shouldn’t forget about those employees that are doing great but rather discuss with them how they can improve. Just because 20-car Freddy is killing it every month doesn’t mean that a leader shouldn’t discuss with Freddy how they can get to the next level and become 25-car Freddy. For leaders, it’s easy to underestimate how much help their employees need for them to achieve MAP (the Minimum Accepted Performance) regardless of whether they are under or overachieving.

Leaders have to get away from simply identifying and coaching underperformers with a negative mindset but rather trust their employees, and collaborate with them as partners in a positive way. Leaders will ALWAYS have time for their employees. Leaders will ALWAYS be willing to listen to their feedback and, most importantly, leaders will ALWAYS be able to identify when THEY are wrong and be willing to be coached by their staff. What’s that famous phrase: A great leader is someone that is a great follower?

Don’t let time stand in the way. Your people are the most important asset your business has. By either ignoring them or throwing negativity at them rather than listening to their challenges as well as how they think those challenges could be fixed, you are doing your business a disservice.

When was the last time that you took to do a leader walk? A leader walk is simply when a leader visits every employee in every department in order to observe, interact and find “in the moment” opportunities to be involved and coach their employees. A great leader doesn’t allow separation between themselves and their staff but rather creates opportunities with which they can be a part of their organization in an open and visible way to not only show appreciation to their staff but also to listen to them, hear their challenges in real-time and discuss with them how – between the employee and the leader – those challenges can be overcome.

Stop staying in the leader/manager “Ivory Tower” hiding behind the one-way glass and get involved with all departments in the organization. Observe and interact with not only employees but also other management peers and customers. Find out what motivates them, develop relationships, recognize and reinforce the right behaviors while offering appreciation, encouragement and seeking input. A leader is a role model and a teacher. By following this advice, you’ll create a better company culture, find your employees overachieving, increase retention and create a better customer experience. Now stop reading and start doing.

-Originally published by Digital Dealer

In the automotive industry, we tend to think about conversions in a funnel-type journey not only within our marketing and sales but also with the outcome of the customer’s journey. We lead them down the path that we want them to follow and hope that they end up in a sale. Am I wrong? Many dealers judge all of their marketing and technology partners’ results on two things:

1. How much did I spend?
2. How many cars did I sell?

It’s typically that simple when evaluating performance. A dealer or General Manager looks at their doc sheet at the end of every month and, invariably, they see that they spent $3,000 with a marketing partner but only sold 3 cars for $800 in gross. (or some amount of money less than what they spent.) In my opinion, this is unfair to the vendor. With customers sometimes doing initial research when they are “thinking” about buying a car, the results that a vendor brings in may not show up for 90 days or more until the customer is actually ready to buy. If the Dealer/General Manager is making decisions on a 30-day basis on whether to keep or cut a marketing vendor based on these criteria and with this length of time, they may be doing a disservice.

I get the funnel analogy. Top funnel are people who may want to buy. Bottom funnel are people closer to buying. Dealers tend to ignore, however, the top funnel customers when analyzing vendor partner’s performance. Why? Because they can’t draw a straight line between a “lead” and a sale!

I’m not here to talk about sales attribution, however. Personally, I don’t think “conversions” ever end. I’ve had people drive 60 miles in a dense automotive community to mine just to save $50! That’s insane! What I’m talking about is whether the “sales” conversion is the “final” conversion.

Let me share a story. Presidential nominee and U.S. politician, “Barry Goldwater’s family owned a department store in Phoenix, Arizona. At a party Goldwater was seen in a garish, flowery tuxedo. ‘One thing about owning a store,’ he told the amused guests. ‘You’ve got to wear the things that don’t sell.” *1

Automotive dealerships tend to focus more on the sale than on the after sale. This amazes me seeing as service penetration accounts for a large majority of the revenue that keeps the lights on especially in the current time that we are in. Dealers, however, are still hyper-focused on sales and pay little attention to warranty, recall, parts and regular maintenance revenue.

This industry is NOT the “Field of Dreams!” It’s not “If you build it, they will come.” Do you think a customer that bought a car from you wouldn’t consider taking their vehicle to an independent like Jiffy Lube? You know that they would and, oftentimes do. That’s why the independents are winning the battle for customer-pay regular maintenance. Think that you’ve got a stranglehold on warranty and recall work? What about your competing franchise competition? With many states legislating retail labor rates for warranty service, dealers should be aggressively pursuing these customers.

While I’m not saying don’t pursue sales, I’m simply saying that, in my opinion, dealerships shouldn’t neglect other revenue producing departments in their stores. If you go to almost any dealer’s website, their “service” page either barely exists or is outdated. If, however, you visit Jiffy Lube’s website, it is filled with information, pricing and content informing customers how and why they should choose them. If we return to the story of Mr. Goldwater, the lesson that exists is that dealerships should be wearing the clothes that don’t sell. Namely service-related offerings that are being missed. Whether that’s because customers are choosing Jiffy Lube over the dealership, choosing to have warranty and recall service done by a competitor or dealerships missing out on customers that don’t even know they need it.

Conversions don’t stop at the sale. The customer’s journey doesn’t stop when they buy a car – unless you let it. Smart dealers realize this and continue their customers on a journey that can lead to a lifetime of service and referrals as well as brand and dealership loyalty. That one customer that bought a car from you can easily be transformed from the $800 loser to the $100,000 winner over their lifetime. My advice? Don’t stop at the sale. Nurture the relationship as long as possible while creating as many more as you can. Never stop. This is a long-distance run. Customers will follow if you are a good leader. As they say, the best leaders are also good followers. There is no “final conversion.” It’s a never ending relationship that will benefit your dealership – and a dealership simply needs to say “I do.”

*1 Fadiman & Bernard, Bartlett’s Book of Anecdotes, Page 141

A dealership’s reputation is often determined by the customer’s last experience. If the customer had a positive experience, he or she most likely will be willing to share it with others. The same is true if the experience was negative. Thus, it’s important a dealership creates a positive experience for everyone who interacts with it. Any interaction customers have with your dealership is a reflection of your brand. Branding is not just a marketing responsibility, but also something that everyone at the dealership needs to be part of. That’s why hiring the right person, training them the right way, and having the right tools available are essential to not only giving your customers a great experience, but also helping build your brand and customer loyalty. One of the most influential tools that dealers can use to affect customer experience and branding is customer relationship management (CRM) software.

Relationships

The days are gone when dealers relied on CRM only to manage leads and customers. Today, the most progressive and successful dealers use CRM to manage their customer relationships. They use CRM to sell their “brand” by developing and managing long-lasting positive relationships and creating the ideal customer experience. This can only be accomplished by offering a positive customer experience through marketing, prospecting, the entire sales process, the sales follow-up, and service.

Data Vs. Leads

Dealers often neglect their customer database and spend too much time, money, and effort acquiring new leads through advertising and third-party lead providers. These leads usually offer very little information and are not dealer-exclusive. If dealers focus solely on attracting new customers and neglect their existing clientele, they run the serious risk of losing the loyal customers they worked so hard to acquire. A CRM captures a valuable database of information that a dealer can use to improve its customer interactions and increase retention.

Today, we know more about a customer than ever before. We know every call, email, letter, and text that we send them. We know where they live, their phone numbers, and their email addresses. We know every lead they have submitted and every vehicle they have ever looked at. We also know what vehicles they own or have previously owned. We know their service history and average repair order cost. We know the estimated mileage, trade value, and if the customer is in an equity position. We have all of this data, but are you using it? Do you have processes in place to know and understand your customers? A dealership needs to access this data to customize customer marketing and follow-up with relevant and timely messages through their preferred methods of communication. Are your marketing efforts aimed at the 2 percent of people who are in the market for a new car or the 98 percent that are not?

CRM and Your Brand

Customers are loyal to a company because of the quality of its product and/or the excellent customer service they receive. Because dealers do not have exclusivity on the products they sell, customers have many options when purchasing a new vehicle. With multiple dealerships selling the same cars, the distinguishing characteristic is how you treat your customers. CRM allows a dealer to distinguish itself by the service it provides.

Dealers talk about how dedicated they are to customer service, but delivering on it is an entirely different matter. As mentioned before, your brand is determined by your relationship with customers, which evolves from hundreds of small interactions (leads, phone calls, emails, visits, service). These interactions add up to build or destroy a brand. Since a majority of these interactions originate from CRM, it is important that it matches the image you want to portray.

A positive customer service experience should occur at every touch-point. To them, branding is about faith and trusting you when you say, “We care.” Ultimately, people don’t trust companies, they trust people. It is critical to build this trust. When a salesperson says he or she will call tomorrow, the CRM must prompt that salesperson to call. If a customer says he or she doesn’t want to receive calls at home, that should be respected. The customer expects the dealership to respond quickly when a lead is submitted. The customer expects to receive something of value in return for his or her email address, not a bunch of spam.

Today’s Customers

Today’s customers do not want to be sold to. By the time they contact a dealer, they have already done their due diligence. They need someone to engage with, to facilitate the sale, and to celebrate with when they make their decision. Customers are more likely to research the company’s brand, such as looking at online reviews or social media posts regarding past customer experiences.

Besides price, why should customers buy from you? It should be all about experience. With CRM, dealers can better serve their customers, speed up the sales process, and create a positive experience.

CRM Examples That Drive Positive Experiences

CRM desking multi-payments allows you to present customers with numbers, allowing them to choose their payment versus being pushed into a payment. This speeds up the negotiation process, improves CSI, and helps you hold gross.

When a customer comes looking for a used car you don’t have, instead of allowing them to leave, search your CRM with them for customers you sold that vehicle to three to four years ago. Offer the owner of the possible trade a free car wash or oil change for bringing his or her car in.

Create customized business campaigns to send the right message to the right person at the right time.

Introduce recently sold customers to the service department and your website to set their first oil change. Meet them in the service drive when they come in to follow up on the sale and ask for a referral.

Use the CRM data-mining tool to find customers in an equity position that qualify for a lower payment by getting a new vehicle

Make your salespeople 24-hour salespeople with a mobile CRM. They’ll be able to enter and follow up with customers from anywhere at any time.

Negative Experiences

We can’t control every interaction, and they’re bound to happen. You can, however, control how you react to negative experiences. Make sure you uncover negative experiences through surveys. If you receive a negative survey result, quickly enroll that customer into a campaign that notifies those that can correct it to immediately reach out to resolve the issue.

Communication is key to great customer service. Surprisingly, these customers often become your best customers after you have spent time listening to them and resolving their issues. Learning from your mistakes is another important aspect of good customer service. Document heated issues into your CRM notes to ensure the same mistakes aren’t repeated.

Reward Loyal Customers

Do you know your most loyal and long-standing customers, those who have bought more than four vehicles or spent over $100,000 at your dealership? Your CRM can identify and segment these customers to notify you when they visit your store. Create a customer appreciation campaign to thank and reward them for their repeat business. Offer sales and service discounts to incentivize them to continue doing business with you. Offer them rewards for their referrals. Invite them to special VIP events, such as new model introductions or a customer appreciation party.

A CRM can keep you proactively maintaining positive relationships, not just responding when something goes awry. Your CRM is even more effective when combined with marketing, branding, and customer satisfaction. Your dealers will become much more efficient when they use CRM for more than just contact information. Manage customer relationships, create better customer experiences, increase your CSI, and grow your brand today by fully utilizing your CRM.

My first job out of high school was selling cars. At that time, I remember my sales manager telling me and the other salespeople to make our daily follow-up calls. Some salespeople would say they completed their calls, even when they hadn’t. It became a constant battle. Apart from not making the calls, these particular salespeople were notorious at finding ways to cut corners and cheat the system. While this may not be the norm, how do we hold our salespeople accountable for their daily, weekly and monthly activities?

CRM Ensures Accountability

In today’s dealership, 80% of the leads received come through the phone and/or Internet. That means that 80% of their business is dependent on the salesperson’s ability to schedule appointments that drive people into the showroom. CRM utilization becomes critical when managing these processes. CRM allows salespeople to achieve new levels of production with unsold and repeat customers, thereby increasing their personal incomes. CRM enables salespeople to work more efficiently, be better organized, and better manage time and relationships. Managers now have access to reports that enable them to monitor all activities, and can help coach and motivate each salesperson.

Accountability was low at that dealership because the managers were not monitoring the daily actions of the salespeople at the dealership. What they thought was being done in the dealership, often wasn’t. They had no concrete way to show that it was or was not happening.

Tracking Opportunities

In order to improve accountability, utilize reports to track the number of new opportunities that your salespeople are entering into the CRM. Nothing is worse than seeing someone take multiple customers without entering those customers into the CRM. One common rule from dealers is: “If it isn’t in the CRM, it didn’t happen.” If data is not entered into your CRM, it throws off your marketing and ROI reports.

Tracking Phone Calls

The second key metric is phone calls. It is important that your CRM is integrated with your phone system in order to track outbound phone calls. Having salespeople mark all of their calls completed is one thing, but it’s even better to have proof that the call was made, and how long they were on the call. The top salespeople are constantly those who take the time to make the most calls. If your state allows it, record your calls. This is great for managing quality and training.

Make sure to monitor inbound calls as well. Most customers are calling multiple companies, and this is often the first contact the customer has with your business. If your salespeople don’t handle inbound and outbound calls correctly, it will ultimately affect your conversion rate.

Email and web lead tracking is also important. You need to know how many emails the salespeople are receiving and sending out, as well as how long it is taking them to respond to their web leads. Salespeople love people that come in and buy, but what about those that don’t buy, or those who are hard to get in touch with afterward? Make sure you are looking at reports that reflect this data.

Pipeline Management

Pipeline management is key for success. When salespeople get busy, the first item taken off their plate is prospecting. When salespeople stop prospecting, the pipeline eventually runs dry. Make sure that as part of tracking calls, you know the type of calls the salespeople are making. Ensure there is always a focus on prospecting. Salespeople also have a tendency to move people to “lost”. This is a way to get the CRM follow-up to stop or to hide those customers that didn’t work out. Do you have a review process in place for a manager to look at each “lost deal” and try to “save a deal”?

Activity Reports

Some CRM tools have a daily activity report or check out report that shows everything the salesperson has done for the day (opportunities, appointments, calls, talk time, emails, etc.). When I worked at one dealership, I noticed they had a problem with accountability, so they instituted a new process. Before a salesperson left for the day, they would print out a report and give it to their manager to check out. The report told the manager everything they had done as well as all of the calls they didn’t complete. Quickly, managers were able to see what had been done and what had not been done. Often, the manager would send the salesperson back to make more calls before they left. Salespeople began to feel ashamed when they handed in their sheet that showed low call volume. It motivated them to make more calls. The dealership drastically improved their follow up process and began to see an immediate increase in their sales.

Have a Plan and Set Goals

Having a plan and setting goals are essential parts of improving accountability. It is crucial for salespeople to establish a set of daily, weekly and monthly benchmarks that help them measure and manage their ultimate goal. If the goal of each salesperson is to sell “X”, don’t focus on the end goal. Monitor the activities that will help them reach that goal. It also helps if the salespeople are included in setting the goals. If you do this, they should have a personal stake in the outcome. Without inclusion, salespeople will figure out the best excuses in the world about why they can’t meet their goals.

If you have a salesperson who isn’t taking responsibility, then you may need to mentor them individually. Focus on their behavior and the issues at hand. They need to be held accountable for their actions, which can include low prospecting activity, not meeting sales targets, or low margin sales. As accountability grows, your salespeople will form a good habit of doing the things they must do on a regular basis. With a few changes, you’ll help them get on their way to becoming a top producing salesperson.

I recently visited a dealership and I talked to the general manager and asked how the store was doing. He mentioned that their sales weren’t where he wanted them to be. As I discussed with him more, he gave me his reasons that leads and traffic were down, and that they weren’t selling as much. As I listened to him, it didn’t sound like he had a defined solution yet. I felt more that he was just planning to wait until things changed. This got me thinking about what I would recommend and this is what I came up with.

Get Desirable Pre-Owned Inventory

If you don’t have the right inventory it will not bring people into the dealership and it will sit on your lot. Don’t wait for people to trade their vehicles in. Find which vehicles you have had success selling in the past (High Gross + Low Days to Sell), and acquire more of those. Look to people that you sold those vehicles to, and get those owners in to get their trade that you know you can sell. Those people will need vehicles too. This increases your serviceable customers as well. If someone comes in looking for a car you don’t have, don’t tell them you will call them if you get one and let them leave. Look through your sold database and try to find someone you sold that car to and get them to come in because you have a buyer.

Reach Out to Anyone in an Equity Position

Find people who own the previous body style, getting towards the end of their warranty and that you can get into a new car for $0 down while keeping their payment relatively the same. Look at your service drive. If anyone is bringing in a car that is out of warranty, they will most likely have a costly customer-pay RO. Let them keep that money and use their car as a trade to get into a new one. Call people who are in an equity position on their birthday and offer them a Birthday Special. This will also help you acquire more inventory.

Your Database is Gold

Quit focusing just on acquiring new customers. Your DMS and CRM are loaded with customers and prospects. Use your own data and proactively reach out to people before they start shopping. If they have submitted a lead, they have probably submitted leads to other dealers as well and the only way to win that deal is by lowering the price and your gross UNLESS you provided (and have continued to provide) a great customer experience and have created a loyal customer.

Reduce Your Response Time

Make sure that you are quick to respond. Customers are still experiencing 45 min to 2-hour+ response times at some dealerships because the lead goes to the wrong person. Make sure the leads are going to the right people who are working and available. Try and respond while they are still on your website. If a lead goes untouched for 15 minutes, every rep and manager should be notified and someone should jump on it.

Incorporate Text Messaging

Make sure your customers know they can communicate with you via text messaging. They might be in a meeting when you call them and more likely to respond. Make sure you are using a compliant opt-in and opt-out texting tool. Otherwise you are putting your dealership at risk of a costly lawsuit. Using the right texting solution allows you to track what is being communicated to the customer and will attach to the customer’s file in your CRM so that communication is preserved.

Keep Your Salespeople Accountable

Make sure people who are visiting the store get put into your CRM. Have the receptionist keep track of how many people they see pull up, walk the lot, walk through the showroom, and even visit for service. Often salespeople only put customers into the CRM when they think there is a chance to sell them. But the simple fact that they came in presents an opportunity right in front of you. Make sure you capture the customer’s data so that your reporting will be more accurate and accurately tell you what is bringing people in. If there is something that is working but the customer is not being put into the CRM, you may stop doing it. Also make sure that your salespeople ask, “What brought you in?” or “How did you hear about us?” You want to do more of what is working and you will only know if they are asking – and recording – those answers. Make sure they are making their calls. Listen to their calls. They should be asking for an appointment and not just to come by whenever. If they are not with a customer, they should be trying to get people to come in. Salespeople love the easy walk-in versus working to get someone in.

Get Managers Involved

Have managers confirm appointments. This makes sure that the salespeople are setting quality (and real) appointments and introduces customers to the manager earlier in the process rather than at the end when tensions are high and patience is low and the manager comes in to close the deal. Hold your managers accountable to manage their employees, talk to every customer and do their one-on-ones.

Speed up the Sales Process

The biggest frustration consumers have with the car buying process is that it takes too much time. Look for areas in which you can shorten the time that the customer is at the dealership. Keep the time away from the customer to a minimum. When the salesperson goes to the desk, this is when they either start talking amongst themselves and getting cold feet or shopping your competitors while sitting inside your dealership.

Create the Ideal Customer Experience

With so many dealers nearby that sell the same vehicle for the same price, why should someone buy from your dealership? It should be about the experience. What are you doing to make it the experience the customer wants? What do they want? Do you know? Something quick, easy, transparent, helpful, and without stress is a pretty good start. For most, buying a car is the 2nd most expensive thing that they will ever buy and comes with a lot of emotions. Understand their concerns and issues and proactively deal with them. Bad reviews and surveys are OK. They tell you what you need to fix. Often dealers are more concerned with the manufacturer’s CSI survey then they are of actual customer satisfaction. Reach out to customers who give positive feedback and surveys to go rate you on Google, Yelp and Facebook. But listen to the unhappy customers so that you can learn an outside perspective.

Reduce Employee Turnover

Our industry has always been plagued with turnover. Most people leave because they are not happy and/or successful. Often, we hire anyone, even someone with no experience and have them watch some training (maybe) and then throw them on the floor to sink or swim. Have your managers take time to train them on how to succeed. Give these new salespeople the tools that will help them to do their job. Managers need to make sure that they are setting goals with the salespeople, going over their metrics, coaching them, and helping them realize the tools management has in place is not to be “Big Brother,” but to help them be successful.

Automate as Much as you Can

Let your software do as much work for you as possible. Most processes get set up and forgotten. Let your software keep you organized, in contact with everyone and ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. Run lots of campaigns that are very targeted and specific with both the audience and the message.

Reward Loyal Customers

Do you know who your most loyal and long-standing customers are? Use your CRM to identify and segment these customers to receive notifications when they call or visit your business. Create a customer appreciation campaign to thank your loyal customers and reward them for their repeat business. Send them birthday, anniversary and special occasion cards in the mail. Offer discounts to entice them to continue to do business with you. Offer incentives for their referrals. Invite them to special VIP events, such as new product introductions or a customer appreciation party.