What Happened to Managers Training Salespeople?

Did you watch Car Lot Rescue on Spike TV last night? I did - it was both entertaining and inspiring!

As one who trains Internet Sales Departments in auto dealerships, it reinforced to me that without a well-trained, motivated sales team who have a positive attitude, it doesn't matter how much money a car dealership spends on advertising or how good their business development center is at bringing prospects through the door. The customer experience when they arrive will be lacking. Lack of product knowledge, combined with a lack of sales training from management, seasoned veterans and experienced trainers leads to inferior results and people turning over.

By the way - Claude, the Sales Manager, who Tom ripped into for not training his salespeople, was actually my GSM at the first dealership I worked at, 13 years ago. We had an EXTENSIVE new hire sales training program at the time, in which Claude participated, but ownership had been instrumental in ensuring that it happened.

It wasn't so long ago that salespeople couldn't work with a customer by themselves for at least 4 weeks - until they PROVED they could be a professional, but that practice is now long gone. For those who weren't around the business then or forgot, here's how it worked:

CLICK HERE TO READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE ON HTTP://INFINITEPROSPECTS.COM

Adam Ross is the Managing Director of Infinite Prospects, Inc. Adam is a seasoned veteran of the car sales industry who has more than 12 years of Automotive Internet Sales experience on both the dealer and vendor side, and educates car dealerships on maximizing sales and fostering relationships through technology. Adam has thousands of connections in the automotive industry. From lead generation websites, to implementing best practices for following up with prospects and closing appointments that lead to sales, Adam is the person you want to lead you through the technology landscape. He'll help you select the best sales technology for your car dealership, get your team running at top efficiency using the tools necessary for success, and maximize the capabilities of the solutions you already have in place. Contact Infinite Prospects at (201) 448-7253 to speak with Adam.

Connect With Infinite Prospects on Social Media

• Twitter
• Facebook
•  LinkedIn
• Google+
• DrivingSales
• ADM Network
• Flickr
• Tumblr
• YouTube
• Press Room
• dealerElite
• Daily News
• Brand Yourself

Does your Dealership have Unclaimed Facebook Places Pages?

If the answer is yes, claim them and merge them with your current Fan page!

Many dealerships have multiple Facebook pages representing them out there. Which page are your customers checking into? You can merge these other pages with your fan page, but you must claim each of these non-fan-page  pages before you do so.

Here's how to claim and administer the pages that are not your fan page, but represent your business:

Digital Marketing Department for Car Dealers... Can it Pay Off?

I originally wrote this blog post (CLICK THIS LINK) almost 2 years ago, titled, "We need to Re-Position and Re-Name The Internet Department," on AutomotiveDigitalMarketing.com, but the subject matter is more relevant than ever. An "Internet Sales department" will, sadly, no longer be sufficient for car dealerships going forward. That day is coming sooner rather than later.

As online consumer use has grown, the size of the staff working to capitalize on that



increased usage has remained relatively stagnant. There will continue to be the need for appointment setters responding to leads via email and phone, business development coordinators to make lease retention, unsold showroom and service follow-up calls. However, there is also enough work in marketing a dealership online to occupy one person (or an entire staff) on a full-time basis, in a DIGITAL MARKETING DEPARTMENT without that person having the burden or responsibility of setting appointments or selling cars. Most dealerships assign this role to the Internet Sales department, who are then forced to split their time performing both their original role (calling leads and selling cars) and this new added role of online marketing and keeping up with the latest trends. As a result, most of the time you will both see a drop-off in sales productivity and see a valiant but usually inconsistent attempt at marketing the dealership - limiting yourself in both areas.

Just to name a few of the responsibilities this department could cover better, simply because they can dedicate a full-time effort, rather than a part-time one:

• Monitoring and reacting faster to ongoing changes to Google algorithms effecting search presence,
• Overseeing the online Review Site (Reputation) Management for the dealership
• New Social Networks popping up just in the last year that can't be ignored (Google+ and Pinterest), added to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Tumblr, FourSquare,  and many others
• Publishing more often to your Company Blog
• Reaching out and sharing best practices across the online Digital Automotive community on sites like dealerElite.net, DrivingSales.com, DealerRefresh.com, AutomotiveDigitalMarketing.com, AutomotiveReputation.com to name a few.

My favorite analogy to describe this is: think of your hand. You have 5 fingers - each of them represents a profit center of the dealership (New, Used, F&I, Service, Parts). All 5 are connected to a palm, which ties everything together and makes each finger that much more powerful. The palm is the DIGITAL MARKETING DEPARTMENT. Fingers + Palm = Hand, which can accomplish much more than any one finger or two fingers can.

Compensation would be largely salary-based, with specific goal bonuses for # of check-ins in a certain time period, minimum number of outbound posts, volume of inbound engagements, and other measuring tools currently available that would show increase in reach, popularity and brand awareness. What are your thoughts about this idea?

Please comment below or visit my website to connect with me, Adam Ross, Managing Director at Infinite Prospects, and schedule a no-obligation FREE one-hour consult on your dealership's online marketing strategy.

Improve Your Monthly Internet Sales on InfiniteProspects.com

CAR DEALERSHIPS - IMPROVE YOUR MONTHLY INTERNET SALES!

Visit our All-New, Content-Rich Website at http://www.infiniteprospects.com NOW!

Are you overwhelmed by the multitude of Internet marketing choices?

Infinite Prospects provides expert insight into Automotive Internet Marketing solutions for dealers and sales professionals.

Infinite Prospects Releases its v3 website - (screenshot of homepage)

 Through personal, one-on-one coaching, you will discover:
» Secret marketing techniques for online auto sales success
» How to take advantage of the newest online trends and opportunities
» Insider knowledge to proven processes that increase monthly sales
» How to gain customers' attention through the latest marketing products and services

Learn about how Infinite Prospects can help your dealership sell more cars online. Whether you need on-site sales training and consulting for your car dealership, technology training and consulting, or to guide your team through the follow up and sales process with both automated and manual contacts, Infinite Prospects is there for you. We are authorized resellers for InstaQuote, PureCars, Cargigi, eXteresAuto, AutoE Dealers and HomeNet, to name a few, plus we are Certified in Teaching and Training AVV WebControl. Contact Adam Ross, Managing Director at Infinite Prospects today - call (201) 448-7253 or visit our content-rich website at http://www.infiniteprospects.com. We look forward to your feedback and comments!

Testimonial of Infinite Prospects Consulting by All Star Mitsubishi

Close 15% Of Your Leads Every Month

I was inspired by a discussion on DrivingSales, an automotive social networking site, where an Internet Marketing Manager at a VW dealership was soliciting help on improving his closing percentage above its current consistent 10%.

This manager has a basic set of steps he follows, which are widely accepted as the best practice to achieve the best results in the automotive industry:

• AutoResponse
• Send Qualifying Questions (Fact Finding) email
• Send Price Quote email
• Call Customer
• Follow Up

I had a few suggestions for him, which you can apply to your dealership's process to improve your closing percentage:

1. How many days out are you currently following up with each prospect? And how often do you email/call them? Converting more 30-90 day old prospects through diligent follow-up is a key factor in increasing closing ratio.
2. Do you send TARGETED broadcast (bulk) emails? Targeting by model would make the offers more relevant to your existing prospect base.
3. Do you have a sold follow-up EMAIL process that incorporates asking recently sold customers for referrals from their family and friends?
4. Have you heard of InstaQuote? It's an automated email quoting system that works with your CRM tool to stop-the-clock and send a custom multi-choice email quote to each prospect. This would eliminate having to spend as much as 10 minutes per lead building a multi-price menu to email the client. The quote can also include useful links to pages on the dealership's website, plus to the dealer's social media outlets and 3rd party rating sites. Infinite Prospects is a distributor and can show you how it works. Pricing starts at just $399 per month, month-to-month contract with a 30-day money-back guarantee...

Each of these tips could help you save time or engage more prospects, which will add an extra few deals each month. With those additional sales, you're talking about significant positive impact to your dealership's closing percentage.

Infinite Prospects can help your dealership implement these ideas and much more. Please call Adam Ross at (201) 481-1424 or visit our website for more information.

Infinite Prospects helps car dealers sell more cars online through Internet sales contact process evaluation, coaching and training. Distributor for #PureCars, #InstaQuote, #CarGigi, #AutoETechnologies, #Carfeine, and #SalesDialers. Visit our website at

http://www.infiniteprospects.com.

How should dealerships price new cars online?

As an Automotive Internet Sales Expert, I am often asked:

How should I price my cars online for my dealership? 

Dealerships need to have a strategy for setting markup on new vehicle pricing online. Of course, consumers want to see the lowest price for the car they want. So... give them what they want!

Remember that front-end gross is only one of the many ways to profit from a sale: you also have the Accessories/Warranty avenue, plus the potential of profiting from a trade-in. That doesn't even count the future service revenue or ancillary profit received from any referrals the consumer may send you.

The best practice I've seen, after years of experience, research and thought, is:

Mirror-image the markup and pricing offered in your traditional offline advertising, most often your newspaper ad.

Mirror-imaging your traditional advertising pricing gives the consumer a consistent, trustworthy experience. It's also legally and ethically the right way to treat a customer.

Many consumers shop using a combination of tools: reading offline ads, communicating directly via email, visiting the showroom, calling the sales department, visiting your dealership's website, etc. Shouldn't consumers receive the same price on a vehicle regardless of which channel they use to communicate with your dealership? (That's a rhetorical question).

A good friend and I were discussing the matter and he brilliantly observed, "When a dealership purchases a newspaper ad, they place an offer out there having little to no idea exactly who is going to read the ad, and whether it's resonating. But with a price email you know exactly who is receiving it, and depending on which CRM tool you use, whether they saw that price. Why wouldn't you hit them with the ad pricing?"

What are your thoughts about pricing strategies for car dealerships?

Focus on Long Term Follow Up

Is your dealership's Internet sales process focused largely on converting consumers within the first 72 hours of receiving their lead? If so, you're leaving a large chunk of sales on the table...

How much time do you spend working your 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90-day old prospects?Probably not enough...

While this published data may be a few years old, the statistics have not changed much since that time. Put together a strategy with a combination of phone calls, personal emails, email newsletters and direct mail (where possible) to stay in touch with the consumer for 90+ days and keep your dealership in their thoughts.

Excerpt from: 2008 AUTOMOTIVE ESHOPPER EXPERIENCE STUDY, conducted by The Cobalt Group and J.D. Power & Associates. 

"The 2008 J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com Study found that on average AUIs (Automotive Internet Users) report that they first decide to buy a new vehicle 15.4 weeks before they actually purchase one. Three weeks later they begin using the Internet to find information, which is approximately 12. 4 weeks prior to purchase. By the time they have narrowed their vehicle selection down to one vehicle they are typically 5 weeks away from purchase. This information is key to both understanding the best time to target and market to Internet shoppers and to understanding that shoppers may be in-market for different periods of time...

The longer a lead remains unsold, the more likely it is to convert to a used vehicle.Dealers should respond promptly to leads and have systems in place to market to car shoppers in a way that addresses what the consumer is likely to purchase based on the age of the lead. Suggesting a used vehicle alternative to a new vehicle lead as the lead ages could help convert the lead to a sale. Additionally, with a third of leads converting after 90 days, dealers who continue to market to consumers will benefit by selling to those with purchase timeframes beyond a three month period."

What strategies does your dealership employ to stay in touch with consumers?

BDC Metrics, Standards and How to Measure BDC Reps

I recently was browsing the Automotive Social Media site DrivingSales.com and came across post by a GM asking a set of great questions, soliciting advice on BDC metrics, standards and measurements.

"I'm wondering what are industry standard/best practice metrics for BDC performance. Specifically, What are standard appointment scheduled and appointment show percentages for both phone leads and internet leads? Additionally, what are the standard sale rates for each? How should BDC representatives be measured effectively and with what metrics?"

I felt compelled to give my thoughts on the matter, and wanted to share them with you...

"What are standard appointment scheduled and appointment show percentages for both phone leads and internet leads?"

In my experience, both running and then working with hundreds of dealerships' BDC and Internet Departments over the past decade, it really depends on the following factors:

• How many prospects is each appointment-setter handling monthly?
• Optimally, depending on skill level, each BDC rep should be able to reasonably handle 150 new leads/mo., while simultaneously following up with as many as 300+ unreached and unsold prospects from just the 2 or 3 prior months. 
• A remarkable person can effectively handle 250 new prospects per month; meaning there are also as many as 500+ additional older prospects (just from the prior 60 days) to continue to follow up as well. Only a precious few top-level BDC reps have the skill to reach out personally via phone and email to 750 prospects on a rolling monthly basis...
• The more they handle, the lower your contact ratio, appointment sets and shows, and closing percentage will be. 

• Optimally, with 450 prospects (150 new, 300+ older) to contact monthly, in my opinion, top BDC reps should achieve:
• A 50%+ actual contact made percentage, or 225 contacts (including older prospects now ready to buy). 
• From those 225 prospects reached, 120-160 appointments set should be expected monthly (30-40 weekly, 6-8 daily).
• From the 140 average appointments set, 60-70 appointments should show. Are they greeted by the person they set the appointment with and properly TO'd to a Sales or BDC Manager? How your dealership handles the hand-off can affect your closing percentage drastically.
• From your 60-70 shows, you should expect to close 15-35 deals per month (10% vs. new leads received on the low side, 25% vs. new leads received on the high side). I understand that this is a pretty broad range, but so many unknown variables play in here, that once the customer arrives, it's really up to the sales team to take over and make the sale happen.
• That's going to depend, among other things, heavily upon:
• the inventory available (colors, options, etc), 
• the availability of test-drive vehicles, 
• whether the price and experience they received when they arrived at the dealership was consistent with the one offered online - if they received a price and came in based upon that price, then price was not likely an objection, and may have been the selling point. If they receive a different price on the same vehicle when arriving - that can kill a sale very quickly.
• the rapport that the salesperson developed with the potential buyer
• the market competitiveness of the price offered
• Some dealerships are more "on-the-ball" than others, and that results in a higher closing percentage. 

• How does your dealership address pricing requests? 
• Calling the prospect prior to emailing a PRICE MENU (with choices) to address the request, or worse, never emailing any pricing to address the request, will result in lower contact ratios, lower appointments set, fewer shows, and ultimately, fewer sales. 
• Addressing pricing up-front will allow the first phone conversation's tone to change from adversarial and skeptical (on the prospect's side), to understanding that you're willing to address any and all questions on price in a timely, professional manner. It conveys a message that you're not afraid to discuss price, which is what the majority of consumers think since it's still very often difficult to get real pricing from dealerships.

• How long do the people in your BDC actively work a prospect before declaring it "dead"? 
• Some un-trained, un-managed BDC reps give up too early in the process, after not hearing from a prospect after 5 or 6 calls and several emails (usually about 2 weeks, max). Sometimes, the buyer was collecting information to make a decision 2-3 months down the road, but since the BDC rep didn't continue to stay in touch, the dealership potentially lost out on that sale. 
• The less time, on average, each prospect is worked, the fewer deals outside the current month's leads will be sold, reducing your closing percentage and wasting the opportunity to more cars every month. A good way to measure your department's effectiveness at long-term follow up would be to count the number of days the prospect was worked from the last lead received or last walk-in date.

"How should BDC representatives be measured effectively and with what metrics?"

• Measure them based upon:
• average response time, 
• average # of days it took per prospect from lead to close, 
• # of new prospects received this month, 
• # of prospects still active from prior months, 
• # of prospects with actual contact made, 
• # of appointments set, 
• # of shows, 
• # of closed, 
• % of closed deal revenue vs. new lead expenses for the month.

What metrics do you use in your dealership? Do you agree with my opinions and ideas? Thanks for reading this - I realize it was kind of lengthy...