05 Apr 11 Are “Old School” Sales & Marketing Techniques Dinosaurs?
Sometime about 10 years ago the car business reached a fork in the road. The industry was challenged by a newly (or soon to be) informed and empowered customer base. From that point forward sellers have been challenged with a choice: hang on to those old school sales and advertising methods or join the ranks of the next generation dealers who rely on a “more sophisticated” method… a kinder, gentler car business.
This option is still facing thousands of dealers who’ve yet to “choose a side”… but time and distance have now created the opportunity to look back and ask, “Are those ‘old school’ techniques really out of date?”
In an effort to simplify (but at the risk of generalizing), now let’s check out some of the elements of the “old school” method:
• Higher-pressure selling environment
• Dealer-controlled selling method
• Less price/margin transparency
• Emphasis on front-end revenues
• More dependent on traditional advertising like print, radio, television or direct mail
• “Hook” based marketing post
• Customer’s vehicle choice inspired by profit potential and bank advance
• Bigger push for substantial down payment
• Pre-qualification moved toward front of sales process
• Sales are made in person, on the spot, on the lot
Now let’s take a glance at the “more sophisticated” new way of doing things:
• Low-pressure selling environment
• Customer restricted buying process
• Completely transparent pricing and profit margin
• Emphasis on earning money in the long term and willingness to forgo immediate profit
• Focus on quick turn, high volume
• Less dependent on traditional advertising
• Price-based promoting messages
• Customer’s car choice uninfluenced
• Little or no pre-qualification
• Sales method exists in large part in email, on the web, on the phone
So which is better? Which do you believe we think is better?
Of course, there’s no right answer. At last dealers should always decide to do the business in the same way that which they feel most comfortable… and find to be the most effective way.
However, we strongly recommend in contrast to flatly rejecting either “old school” or “new school” techniques and instead cheer dealers to become independent thinkers and operators who are eager to take the best and most effective elements of any approach and use it in their trade.
The real risk is in the vast assumptions that have been developed about the “new economy” and the “new consumer.” There is a sense in the business that all of the customers are very well informed customers who will demand very less price and reject any form of the pressure. These assumptions are simply not true.
In reality, To be frank customers still have the similar lizard mindsets which they had a decade ago. And as clever as it would be if the Internet could speed up the pace of evolution, it can’t and it hasn’t. Individuals still have desires, which are fulfilled by owning a nicer, newer car. They still have anxieties or doubts, which prevent them from entering the buyer’s circle. An effective dealer’s job is to leverage the desires and overcome the doubts.
The thought that consumers in 2010 are data-driven drones who make only purely logical decisions is false and will harm this business. You would be wise to reject that notion and prevent it from damaging your business.
Tactics vs. Intent
Nowadays generalizations are made about dealers who use specific tactics. For instance, we’ve heard dealers who think themselves part of this newer generation accuse other dealers who continue to make extremely high front-end profit making use of “old school” tactics of being somehow unethical.
The broad philosophical question: Is making a profit unethical?
That’s for you to decide. But for the purposes of this article, let’s assume we all agree that making a profit is ethical. This is, after all, the car business… not the car basis.
In fact, Dealers provide the valuable services to the public by the means of finding, sourcing and arranging for the transportation of vehicles to their location, inventorying those vehicles so that customers can browse multiple options, helping customers find and arrange for financing of their chosen vehicle, providing the opportunity to service the vehicles, etc.
Atleast for that the services dealers deserve a profit. (As an aside, nobody questions or criticizes grocery stores, or clothing stores, or electronics stores for making a profit. Why should making a profit at a car store be any different?) How much profit is the right profit? As much profit as the market will bear, one customer at a time.
That aside, the question becomes: Is the use of “old school” tactics wrong?
We submit that the tactics used are far less important than the intent of the dealer using them. A dealer whose mission is to help as many people as possible satisfy their emotional desires by helping them own a nicer, newer car is not a bad person. Can we agree on that?
Then it should generally follow that whatever tactics are utilized to make a sale, as long as the tactics are not dishonest, regardless of “old school” or “new school”, are good and reasonable. And a dealer should find and execute any and all tactics that help secures purchase that they feel comfortable with.
“Old School” Plus “New School”
Makes the Most “Profitable School” In The Industry
In our view, “old school” tactics are wrongly demonized and cast beside by an increasingly contemporary-minded industry simply because they’re old.
Additionally, “new school” tricks are refused by the dealers who are not willing to embrace the new technology, simply because they’re new.
But such polarity doesn’t need to exist. This isn’t Washington! What good do partisan-style, ideological, intra-industry politics do for a dealer? None. The certainty is the best approach is a hybrid approach.
“New School” Dealers should realize:
• The Internet has not reinvented the car business. It is a platform to be used and leveraged, not a savior.
• There’s much more to Internet marketing than just listing vehicles and prices (in fact, that may be the most horrible thing you can do). People are now just looking for the information online leaving beyond just prices.
• Traditional marketing still works and limiting your marketing to the Internet is a dangerous proposition. You’re simply leaving money on the table if you ignore traditional media.
• While more informed, Clients are also emotionally obsessed as ever.
• Lowest price is not the only, or best option (it’s simply the convenient option, chosen by lazy and unimaginative marketers…that’s a topic for a different article).
• Making a profit is not wrong… even in 2010.
• While earning a profit long term is important, your business will grow faster and better if you can also turn a profit immediately. The larger profit you make on the front, the more you can make investments to acquire new customers. The more you invest to acquire new consumers, the bigger and faster you grow.
• Dealers offer a valuable service, and should strive to provide that service to as many people as possible.
• It is completely possible to sell a decent volume and make a decent profit. High margin doesn’t directly equate to lower volume.
• Applying pressure for a customer to make a buying decision is not wrong or evil. In fact many customers are desperate for someone to help them finalize their decision, and a little nudge from the people is all they need.
• As of this writing, people still buy cars in person. We don’t see customers entering in their credit card online and having their car delivered by UPS. Until that becomes the norm, the car business is still a brick and mortar business.
“Old School” Dealers should realize:
• You’re being talked about on the Internet whether you like it or not. You can join and direct the talk or you can be a victim of the conversation that occurs without you.
• More and more customers on a daily basis are turning to the Internet for information. If you’re not there, you will be unseen to those people.
• Making money in a short span of time is important. But long-term profit and the lifetime value of a customer are at least equally as important.
• Because of the proliferation of information, many buyers will know more about your vehicles than you do. Now you will need to go beyond features, and start talking about all other benefits and helping the buyers to realize how his car will make a difference to feel good.
In the final research, the most successful and stable dealers are those who provide high value in exchange for high profit and utilize all the tools and techniques available to them, regardless of age, to accomplish that. Like the dealer who has a video blog AND a radio campaign, or uses a trade hook AND an opt-in form. Old and new are not mutually exclusive and should coexist for best results at your dealership.
Jimmy Vee & Travis Miller are the authors of Gravitational Marketing: The Science of Attracting Customers and founders of the Rich Dealers Institute. They help dealers double their profits in as little as 118 days. Receive a free copy of their special report & video presentation, The New Rules of Automotive Marketing by visiting http://www.RichDealers.com
18 Nov 10 Getting The Help Of Automotive Fixed Ops Magazine For Your Dealership
If you have a dealership and you find you aren’t earning as much cash as you had initially hoped, you could discover a couple of really sweet ways to change this! One of the coolest things you could do is make use of automotive consulting from fixed ops magazine. Fixed Ops magazine has a consulting service called Fixed Ops Consulting which can aid you create a customized business plan for your business needs.
Most importantly, the Foxed Ops Consulting service can assist teach the employees you have now in order to aid get and keep clients. Automotive training for your personnel is a great benefit. Not only would it aid them in your business and aid your company earn more cash, but it would also aid them understand the business also – enriching their lives for more education in the automotive industry.
The automotive consulting would aid your employees learn about how to get new customers and the way to keep the ones you have – the repeat sales, which are amongst the most vital sales you could get! How does something such as this work? Do you need to pay Fixed Ops Consulting? How long does it take? It is actually an extremely easy process.
They’ll come to your business and observe for several days at a time. This observation period will help them see where you and your business requires help and where you’re flourishing. Once the automotive consulting team takes in all this data, they would then come up with a business plan so as to fix any problems they see. This would probably include automotive training for your employees.
The auto industry is eternally changing and if you have an employee who got their degree 20 years ago, odds are the rules have changed in the past five years. So it is important to keep everyone on the up and up and keep them fresh! Upon changing what requires to be fixed and giving automotive training to your associates, they also keep what was working.
Do not worry, they will not change everything, just the things which need a changin’! Once they put the plan into play and everyone gets into the groove of things, the Automotive Consulting team from Fixed Ops magazine would come back to your place of business and see how well the new business plan worked, they will also see if you are having an increase in earnings and new customers added to the pack.
They would even be available to make new suggestions and answer any questions or concerns you might be having about the business, business plan, or automotive training. Fixed ops Consulting looks at all aspects of your business – not just sales. They even look at customer service and the sales department too since this is the “core” aspect of your business.
If your sales individuals are very slack and do not really know how to “sell”, that is okay. Your employees won’t only get training but they will provide service advisor training or service manager training.
To find the best automotive consulting services available in the industry visit http://www.diggingforprofits.com
04 Nov 10 One Thing That You Can Do To Generate Free Publicity And Quality Leads
I’m sure that you’re going to reject the auto marketing strategy which I am going to tell you… but I’m going to tell you nonetheless because IT WORKS.
In fact, this is one little thing you can do that will instantly give your business the power to draw quality clientele that pay more, stay for a longer time and refer repeatedly.
And like we said, you’ll probably reject it …AT FIRST, but once we break this down into manageable pieces (and in plain English); you’ll be chomping at the bit to get started.
Yet before I let you in on this powerful marketing secret, let me just say this:
If you are feeling the effects of tightening wallets, scarce credit and the fear based economic recession then you know you need more horsepower than ever before to convince somebody to release their iron fist and spend money at your store.
We have talked in the past about the significance of confidence and value. We’ve discussed the change that’s occurring in consumer confidence and spending habits.
These dynamics are not becoming better, unfortunately. In fact, they have gotten worse. So what that means is if you’re a dealer trying to get by with a little marketing or even sloppy marketing… or not tracking your marketing efficiency all together, you are really in trouble.
The good news is that you don’t need to stay in this type of trouble forever. You could swing the dynamics of this new economy back in your favor. And what I’m about to tell you would help you do just that.
So what’s it? What is this magic thing that would be able to instantly give your business a swift kick in the proverbial pants and have you attracting many more clientele than you’ve ever gotten even in the good times?
Write a book.
Seriously… write a book.
I am gonna give you a minute to either 1) stop laughing or 2) stop huffing and puffing and spouting off all the reasons why that will never work for you. As a matter of fact, some of the excuses going through your head likely sound a bit like, “I can barely write my name,” or “I don’t have anything to say” or “Who is going to read it”…or better yet…. “I don’t have time to write a book! I have a BUSINESS to run”.
But that’s all nonsense and I’m going to give you a proven blue print to pump out a book targeted to your ideal customer which would automatically position you as an expert in your field this very year.
As you might know we published our first book, Gravitational Marketing; The Science of Attracting Clientele in March of 2008. When we wrote that book we did not do it the traditional way (we do not do anything the traditional way). When we wrote our book we were on a national seminar tour putting on 2-day seminars across the country. When did we have time to write a book?
Well we didn’t but we found time and we have done it for several of our VIP clients since.
Here’s how we did it…and how you can too:
1. Sit down and make an outline of the ten chief questions or concerns your clientele have when purchasing and financing a car.
2. Find somebody to ask you those questions in an interview style setting. Answer the questions as if you were speaking to a client on the lot. Explain in plain English and answer the questions making use of examples and stories. Record the interview.
3. Send the video recording to a transcription company who would transcribe it for you and gives it back to you as text.
4. Find a local newspaper writer or editor and hire them to edit the transcript into more flowing prose.
5. Find a graphic designer to create a cover and layout the inside. Put your picture on the front of the book.
6. Send the book to 48HrBooks.com and have copies made. You could do small runs and still get them under $4 a piece.
Writing a book positions you as a leading expert and authority in the market. It elevates you over all your rivals, reduces buyer anxiety and distrust and speeds up the sales procedure.
A book even opens many doors in terms of local media exposure and free promotion opportunities for your dealership.
Writing a book with our method takes a bit of work upfront but it’s something which pays dividends for the life of your career.
So what are you waiting for? It is time to begin!
Jimmy Vee and Travis Miller are the nation’s leading experts on attracting customers and the co-authors of Gravitational Marketing: The Science of Attracting Customers. Get important automotive advertising tips for FREE by requesting their FREE video training called The New Rules Of Automotive Marketing created especially for Car Dealers and Managers by visiting http://www.RichDealers.com
21 Sep 10 The Many Benefits Of Service Advisor Training
Do you know what service advisor training is exactly and why one must think about investing your money for it? One of the biggest advantages is that if you have a good service advisor you will be capable of increasing the sales of your business. And you would even be able to gain more clients if your service advisor knows the techniques. If customer comes to your business and gets good customer service from your part and your service advisor knows what he is doing, you could be sure that the client will go and spread the word about your business to his friends and family. This will be a free source of advertising for your business and this would assist you in getting more business for your company. But if you have badly trained serve advisor, you would not get any of these advantages.
For many years most of the companies did not provide any attention to this. Extra training to the service advisors was hardly ever given. This would naturally hurt the business and the employees too.
Service advisor were only seen as individuals who would take orders and nothing else, this way lots of business will have been lost. If you have a well trained service advisor but you would even be getting a trained salesperson that can help you to increase your business and sales.
There are situations where are advisor who has received service advisor training will be capable of discussing more services with the clients who come in to your business. This would help you to get more business from the client. But it will even help out the customers, and they will even appreciate your assistance.
An advisor who has received service advisor training will be capable of increasing the reputation of the company. This can again assist in advertising your business to others free of cost. But, to do the job well you would require advisors who have received service advisor training and learn how to handle customers.
Usually three kinds of people come to your business. Firstly the individual who wants to get work done but hasn’t got his car to the shop yet. Service advisors could easily make them purchase extra service if they have been trained properly.
You will also get customers that are calling to compare the prices or trying to find out what is wrong with their car. An advisor that has received service manager training would be capable of getting the customer to your shop and will be able to get business to your company.
There are even few individuals that call to get to know if they could fix the problem themselves. A trained service advisor would be able to get these clients to the business and make them understand that they cannot fix it by themselves. By doing this they will be getting more business to the company.
Finally, the last kinds of customer that a service advisor would be capable of handling are the customers whose cars are already in the shop. It is hard to sell extra services to these kinds of people, but if you have an advisor who has received service manager training they would be capable of getting more services.
To know the several advantages of service advisor training visit, http://diggingforprofits.com/
13 Sep 10 Identifying The Need For Automotive Sales Training
When it comes to any business environment, the requirement for training is always important and this doesn’t differ in the automotive industry. Automotive sales training is essential in the vehicle field but there often seems to be a separation in training when it comes to the service department and the sales department.In the sales department the target is on developing understanding and mastering sales techniques which would enable a person to make connections with consumers so as to sell cars. However, in service departments the focus is on vehicle knowledge and taking the customer’s order. The issue with this type of automotive training is that while vehicle knowledge is vital, you would limit your profit opportunities when you do not have an individual who can make sales to further your service department opportunities.
Your service advisor is normally the individual who performs the meet and greet with customers, assessing what the customer is searching for and recommending extra services. While this person might have a great amount of knowledge on the client’s vehicle, when they cannot convey this information in a convincing and informative manner they will likely be turned down for additional services. When a person participates in service advisor training, the knowledge is vital but the target must be on creating an individual who could make sales in addition to the services a client comes in for. Your opportunity for profit would exponentially increase because of this and this will even improve your automotive service department’s financial contribution.
Another example of a need for reassessment is found with a company’s service manager training. The service manager serves a vital role in the service department as they’re responsible for all aspects including associates, sales, and service. When your service manager’s focus on the wrong areas, your department will probably suffer from low sales and menial production. When your service manager training has a major focus on sales and sales techniques, this person can place a greater demand on their service advisors, increasing sales, and becoming a vital part of the dealerships financial opportunities. Every car owner requires their vehicle maintained in order to keep it running at peak efficiency and it is the responsibility of the service manager to make sure that their advisors not just convey that message to consumers but that they do so with effective sales techniques.
Automotive training is essential in the vehicle industry but ensure you’re applying the right form of training where needed.
Service advisor training and service manager training do demand a huge deal of vehicle knowledge; however knowledge pertaining to making sales is the key to running a successful service department. To discover how you could capitalize on these techniques of automotive training go to http://www.diggingforprofits.com
25 Aug 10 3 Nascar Marketing Secrets That Will Turbo Charge Your Success This Year – Part 1
NASCAR is a powerful business and marketing machine. There’s a lot you will be able to find out about positioning your own dealership just by studying the lead-generating, revenue exploding techniques of this racing giant.
You have probably heard of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. They’re all pretty famous NASCAR stars. But a name you may not know the name Mike Bartelli. Racecar driver? No. But he is a guy that knows lots about speed. Mike is a marketing guy and when it comes to NASCAR and motorsports marketing he is, “the” guy.
Mike is a specialist in motorsports marketing, and as head of Millsport Motorsports he has helped NASCAR see record growth in popularity and sponsorship. Now Mike is chief marketing officer and senior VP of Petty Enterprises.
In a recent interview, Mike divulged some of the techniques to NASCAR’s Marketing Success. We’ve since taken the ideas Mike shared and reshaped them to fit the car business. We are now serving them to you on a silver platter so you would be able to utilize them in your own dealership this year.
So print this out, grab a highlighter or a pen and put on your thinking cap because you are about to go for wild ride.
NASCAR Understands the Power of a Celebrity Endorsement
In building their own monster brand, one of NASCAR’s main strategies was to make use of celebrities and celebrity endorsements to reach new fan bases. The NASCAR approach honed in on target groups of prospective fans that usually will overlook the sport and reached out to them making use of a popular celebrity from film, television, music, sports, etc.
You see, nothing gets attention like celebs… Definitely NOTHING. Whilst NASCAR undoubtedly knows this, several dealers in this country don’t.
The goal of advertising is to get your prospect’s attention. So if nothing works better in getting attention than celebs, why not make use of it?
Demographics do not matter either. Rich investors, CEOs, credit challenged, blue-collar, white-collar they are all attracted to celebs. We believe the reason is reach and frequency. Much like effective marketing is about reaching several individuals and a lot more importantly reaching them many times, celebrities have a huge amount of reach as their job is to be noticed and be heard.
One more motive why celebrities are influential marketing weapons is centered on the power of association. Individuals relate you to those they see you with. If you are hanging out with celebs then you have to be one yourself. This is reassuring to your clients and puts you in a positive light. And naturally potential clients would enjoy aligning themselves with you also, as they too want a piece of that celebrity pie.
Not to mention, consumers are more probable to refer business to the “cool” dealer who hangs out with celebs over the guy they have never heard of. Bear in mind, boring is safe, but it gets you nowhere. Leverage the power of celebrity and your potential buyers would be chasing you down for a sale.
Think this doesn’t pertain to you? Think you can’t use superstars in your marketing because you can’t pay for Dan Marino? Well think again.
There is actually a few low-cost ways you could begin featuring celebrities in your marketing right away.
One strategy we like is designing a mail piece with a full color envelope utilizing images of 3 renowned celebs your target audience would resonate with… let us say, Barack Obama, Tiger Woods, Oprah Winfrey and YOU! You can use the headline, “What Do Barack, Tiger, Oprah and Mr. Dealer Have In Common.” Next to your image you would put your name and “owner of ABC dealership in XYZ town.” BANG, instant celebrity tie in. And that is getting opened.
Or you can use your marketing dollars to buy a celebrity for direct sponsorship, endorsement or events. Of course most A-listers might be out of your price scale but there is always somebody affordable who resonates with your target market. Older celebrities who are no longer in their hay-day or little known celebs like popular contestants on reality TV shows can normally be employed for surprisingly little.
Also bear in mind that the recession influences everybody. Even celebrities jump at the possibility to make some extra cash. More usually than not it’s our impression of celebs and our ego, fear of the unknown and apprehension created by star mystique which keep dealers from leveraging this super charger of a promoting resource.
You could find contact info on virtually any celeb in a book by Jordan McAuley called the Celebrity Black Book available on Amazon.com or contact our office directly for celebrity agent recommendations.
Jimmy Vee & Travis Miller are the authors of Gravitational Marketing: The Science of Attracting Customers and founders of the Rich Dealers Institute. They help dealers double their profits in as little as 118 days. Receive a free copy of their special report & video presentation, The New Rules of Automotive Marketing by visiting http://www.RichDealers.com/special
16 Aug 10 The Right Formula For Your Dealership: Service Advisor Training
Virtually everybody in their life time have gone to a car dealership atleast once. Few of us have even been to multiple dealerships. Through our time at these dealerships, we have probably encountered a sales rep or service advisor that didn’t have a clue what they are doing. They came across as aggressive, they didn’t know lots about the vehicles on hand, and they really made the whole experience very uncomfortable and painful.
These dealership representatives are the reason that the dealership is not doing well. Rather than letting these representatives penetrate your staff and lessen your productive outlook, you must check out service advisor training and service manager training to assist your dealership break that bad pattern.
For those dealerships which will like to do things right, service advisor training is essential. Service advisor training and service management training covers an array of skills which are needed in a good dealership. These skills range from teaching good phone skills, learning time management techniques, learning better selling techniques, handling difficult clients,and the way to process paperwork in the correct and timely fashion. There are several other abilities that service advisor training and service manager training sessions cover; though, these are just a few of the major topics covered.
While some of this may seem like common sense, it is amazing to see how many dealerships don’t have employees that are familiar with these concepts. These staff often would wind up alienating customers, which is something no dealership really wants to do. These employees usually cost the company a lot of money since not just do they manage to ruin the sale they’re trying to make, they often rub customers the wrong way so badly that the clients would tell other people how bad the service is and then those individuals will tell others.
By getting your workers the proper service advisor training and service manager training, you can avoid several negative situations that come from untrained employees. You could ensure your dealership is providing a positive customer experience while increasing the positive profit.
Your trained employees would be capable of speaking to the customer properly, ensure the customer is given all of the right options, and would be capable of pulling off their sales successfully time and time again. By investing in service advisor training and service manager training, not only are you investing in your employees, you are also investing in the profit generation of your dealership for years to come.
To know more about investing in service advisor training and service manager training visit http://www.diggingforprofits.com/
04 Jun 10 How Service Advisor Training Can Help You
A service advisor can help improve the net profitability of your dealership by significant amounts. You might need to consider investing a little bit in hiring a service advisor that is experienced in the art of sales. You want to employ a service advisor with confirmed results that understands how to convert opportunities into consumer pay sales. This article will talk about how to start efficiently training service advisors and service managers.
Service advisors and managers have to be able to notice the desires of clients, and then show potential customers how they can fill that need. Unfortunately, businesses like the auto industry are failing to complete consumers’ requirements just because service advisors are proving to be ineffective. An efficient service manager would find a means to make and lead a team which can easily generate sales whilst making clients happy and increasing client preservation. Learning ways to properly train service advisors is vital to building that team.
A service advisor training program can train service advisors how to detect a want for service and how advisors can efficiently connect with clients to fill that need. Service advisors ought to understand how to communicate with consumers in methods that are respectful, articulate, and clear. The worst service advisors are ones that do not believe the saying, “The customer is always right.” Organizations are constructed upon the financing of clients, to put it simply. Without the customer, there would be no business.
The best service advisor training programs will show service managers how to make use of technology in ways which benefits the organization. This also means picking technology which can to survive 5 years at most, with out having to continually buy the latest in technology.
Service advisors have to walk out of training programs having instilled a mindset of the values various communities of folks have. It’s essential to realize how values differ in the Midwest, East coast, and West coast in order to converse properly and develop rapport with customers. Without this understanding, the littlest mis-value judgments may eventually lose a customer for good.
McDonald’s is a excellent illustration of a company which studies value judgments of various communities. Have you ever seen the variety of McDonald’s commercials that exist? In ads aimed toward urban areas, usually people will be driving in a car together, showing the value urbanites have for efficiency. In commercials aimed toward suburbs, grandparents and children are generally depicted eating food together. The Midwest values family relationships and this is depicted in the commercials.
Service advisor training is essential to their success. Proper training is the key to operating a profitable service center. To get more information log in to http://diggingforprofits.com
21 May 10 How You Will Be Among The 20% Of Automotive Dealerships Who Survive The Current Economic ‘Crisis’
For many dealerships, times are tough. The leads have slowed down, the obstacles of financing should qualify as an Olympic sport and advertising just doesn’t work like it used to.
And the truth is that a lot of dealers are going under. There’s going to be a lot of casualties after this one….your store included.
OR perhaps not.
This current financial ‘crisis’ might really be your best blessing as a small business owner.
Sounds crazy, but here’s the deal.
Several dealers are going out of business. No doubt. It’s already happening. Your job is to be sure it’s somebody else’s business going beneath… not yours. And there are terribly real ways to do this, if you’re really serious about being among the 20% of dealers who can outlive the storm.
I’m going to give you some cold, hard statistics and strategies to assist you in just a moment, but let me begin by saying that if you don’t have the correct systems or processes in place, work them out now. If you have personality conflicts, deal with them today. If you don’t have a system for staying in touch with past customers and unconverted leads, get one.
If you don’t have a crystal clear answer to the question, “Why should someone choose me over different dealers?” figure it out this weekend. If you don’t have a predictable way to get new clients into the door, at will, now is the time to do something about it. If you have floor plan issues or problems with your lenders, it’s better to sort it out this month than next.
Why?
It all comes back to the eternal 80/20 rule, also referred to as the Pareto Principle.
If you’re not acquainted with the Pareto Principle, this rule dictates that 20% of dealerships naturally get 80% of the business. In different words, the 20% of dealers who will survive this present economic storm will do so because they make Sixteen times as much as those in the 80%.
And because of this ability to earn additional capital, when the market does come back (which it invariably does), they’ll be bigger and better than ever, readily positioned to eat up new shares of the auto market.
That might mean a lot more dealers go out of business once more-but it won’t have an effect on you if you’re among the 20%.
So what can you do to make sure your dealership rapidly and effortlessly ends up among the 20% if you’re already in, or teetering towards the 80% class?
Well here’s what dealers in the 20% group do, and what you’ll need to try to to if you plan to survive:
1. They’re sharpening their axe to make sure the dealership runs smoothly…
2. They’re going through further lengths to make sure the staff is well trained…
3. They’re getting a hard hold on the marketing engine that will drive their business over the following few years…
And most significantly, they won’t panic or talk themselves into defeat. They know folks can still purchase cars. Simply not as many. They also know there’s going to be less deals to go around and that they’ll do what it takes to secure that business.
Now, what happens if things get real bad, and unemployment rises to 15% or more? Well if you’re in the 80%, you’ll be forced to lay off and you won’t have the required support workers to run your store.
BUT, if you’re in the 20%, 15% unemployment rates mean you’ll have the choose of the litter of who you would like to work at your store. It means you’ll have the cash to lay off your deadbeats and riff-raff and be in a position to replace them with skilled, professional, hard working people immediately.
So high unemployment rates can be a good thing…if you’re in the right group.
The 20% group will see these hard times as an chance.
Smart folks (those in the 20%) know that now, and the months ahead are prime time to invest in stock, real estate, human capital, marketing, inventory — and they’ll be the ones who really rake it in when the market comes back.
Therefore where will you fall as it relates to the 80/20 rule?
Here’s something else that we know for sure…
1. 80% of the people reading this can create only 20% of the results they need to be successful (harsh, but true)…
2. However 20% of the dealers reading will create 80% or more of the results they have to make it…and make it big!
A small proportion of the dealers reading this right now are prepared to make marvelous progresses in the coming months, whereas the rest are destined to mediocrity.
Now here’s where things get really serious. The 80/20 rule repeats itself, infinitely. Meaning the top 20% splits itself into eighty/twenty. Thus there’s the top 4%.
Then it happens again. 20% of the top 20% of the top 20% — the top 0.8%. That’s where you really need to be. If we didn’t already challenge you enough to be in the top 20…if you REALLY need to come out ahead, try to become a top 0.8% person.
Let’s take a closer look at the .8% person:
Each call is carefully made by a 0.8% person because it’s far more valuable than a call made by an 80% person.
A 0.8% person is aware of how to focus and narrow their labors on those things which are truly crucial. Even though he might have a list of forty three things to do, he’ll hone in on the three or four that are more important than all the others combined. But the 80% folks treat all items like they’re the same, or worse, work on the forty less crucial tasks before they tackle the three or four that basically matter! They have no sense of priority and hence they “busy work” themselves out of survival.
The 0.8% person carefully discriminates what info he will allow into his mind…what he reads, listens to, or watches on TV… who he surrounds himself with. The 80% folks are “open minded” and “tolerant” to just about any person or any idea.
The 0.8% people belongs to some kind of mastermind or “good ol’ boys” club. This can be the type of group that can support, hold up, and go the additional mile for its members. And most of the 0.8% folks pay BIG money to be in these clubs! Yet again, unlike the 80% who would see it as a waste, they realize the value and that some of the most brilliant men of all time, (i.e. Carnegie, Henry Ford, Ben Franklin) all participated in the same.
The 0.8% person is perfectly resistant to disapproval from others…doesn’t care what most folks think… is not affected by pessimism on the news, from neighbors or family members. He realizes that the mass of people is almost always pathetically wrong. The 80% folks…well, they’re the masses.
So, friend, what’s it gonna be for you? 80%, 20%, 4%, 0.8%? Your actions now will ultimately determine your fate of your future. So choose the winning team and get started down the road to success-even in these tough financial times!
Jimmy Vee and Travis Miller are the nation’s leading experts on attracting customers and the co-authors of Gravitational Marketing: The Science of Attracting Customers. Get important Auto Motive Advertising tips for FREE by requesting their FREE video training called The New Rules Of Automotive Marketing created especially for Car Dealers and Managers by visiting www.RichDealers.com
16 May 10 The Benefit Of Service Advisor Training
A service advisor can facilitate increase the net profitability of your dealership by considerable amounts. You will need to consider investing a very little bit in hiring a service advisor that’s experienced within the art of sales. You want to hire a service advisor with proven results that is aware of how to convert opportunities into client pay sales. This article will discuss how to go about effectively coaching service advisors and service managers.
Service advisors and managers need to be in a position to work out the needs of clients, and then show customers how they will fill that need. Unfortunately, businesses like the automotive industry are failing to fill consumers’ wants simply because service advisors are proving to be ineffective. An effective service manager would find a way to build and lead a team that can generate sales while making customers happy and increasing customer retention. Learning a way to properly train service advisors is paramount to putting together that team.
With the help of a service advisor training program, managers and service advisors can learn the way to identify the need for services and the way they can effectively communicate with the customers and keep them satisfied. Service advisors ought to learn the way to communicate with customers in ways in which that are respectful, articulate, and clear. The worst service advisors are ones that don’t believe the old saying, “The client is always right.” Businesses are designed upon the financing of consumers, to put it simply. Without the customer, there would be no business.
The service advisors will be taught to use technology to profit the business through the Best service advisor coaching program. This also means that choosing technology that will be in a position to last five years at most, without having to constantly purchase the latest in technology.
Service advisors need to walk out of training programs having instilled a mindset of the values completely different communities of individuals have. It is essential to perceive how values differ in the Midwest, East coast, and West coast in order to speak properly and build rapport with customers. These service advisor will lose the client for the company if he/ she has has not understood and judge the customers properly.
McDonald’s may be a nice example of an organization that studies value judgments of numerous communities. Have you ever seen the selection of McDonald’s commercials that exist? In commercials aimed toward urban areas, typically individuals will be driving in a car along, showing the value urbanites have for efficiency. In commercials aimed toward suburbs, grandparents and children are sometimes depicted eating food together. The Midwest values family relationships and this is often depicted in the commercials.
Service advisor Training is crucial to their success. Correct coaching is the key to operating a profitable service center. To get additional data log in to http://diggingforprofits.com.
