This is just a short rant, but I see this all the time. If you go to a dealer's website, and look at the "Meet our Staff" page you might see something like this:
A single name and phone number, and possibly an email address, with a big black silhouette where a photo should be. Sometimes there will be just a single person as a contact,
sometimes you can see multiple black silhouettes filling the page. How have you not gotten around to adding a photos yet? My guess is that some dealers do not think that is important.
I think this sets the stage for how you view digital marketing. One of the ground rules to succeed in digital marketing, is to treat digital customers the same as "real world" customers.
Don't give them less service, don't wait to respond to them, or treat them as any less important than customers who stop into your dealership. Having photos on your website is part of
this as well. It is hard enough to establish a personal connection with someone by email or text, but please, at least put a face to go with the name. How much nicer is it for a
customer to walk into a dealership, and see that same friendly face they have been talking to online? This is an easy fix too. You don't need to hire a professional photographer,
your iPhone will do if that is all you have. Find a light wall in the dealership, where you have good lighting (no shadows on faces) and shoot the photos. At the very least you
should have photos of Sales and Service Managers, sales people, and other customer facing employees. I think it would be challenging to market your dealership as "friendly" or
"personal" if the only images of your team are faceless black shapes.
I’ve worked with automotive manufacturers and dealers for more than 20 years, and the same challenges surface over and over again. Corporate teams struggle to successfully roll out new programs and initiatives across their network of highly dispersed dealerships. Dealers feel inundated with information from the corporate office, and lack the support and tools needed to succeed. And the field gets to play mediator, stuck in the middle of that strained OEM/dealer relationship.
Last October, we stepped in to help one national auto brand solve these challenges when they rolled out a new customer-loyalty program. By leveraging technology to roll out and monitor program performance, the client saw positive changes across the organization in three key areas.
1. Improving Transparency and Alignment Across the Organization
One department within this automotive company was focused on driving customer satisfaction and retention. It wanted the entire organization to rally around that goal, and set out to launch a loyalty program that would reward dealers with strong performance and encourage weaker dealers to improve performance. But to make it work, the deapartment needed a way to align communications in order to ensure that all parties—from the individual dealerships all the way up to the corporate office—were actively doing their part to deliver on that brand promise.
By tracking key performance indicators in one consistent tool, the department was able to get all levels of management on the same page in terms of program priorities and metrics. What used to be 10 disparate data feeds were consolidated into one tool, providing more transparency across the business. Instead of having to manually collect information, run simulations, and disseminate findings through the field to the dealers, the program manager was able to implement a large number of tasks, reducing her weekly workload by upward of 40%.
2. Empowering the Field to Serve as Consultants
Now that the entire organization was aligned around these goals and priorities, the field was able to better serve both the dealers and the corporate office.
Traditionally, field managers would spend full days preparing for store visits each week. By consolidating all of the relevant resources and information needed in one place, field managers were able to start spending less time compiling and researching information and more time with dealers, digging into performance updates and ways to drive improvements.
With one concise dashboard, field managers were able to quickly review and understand performance, with the ability to view and drill down on metrics at the company, district, and store levels. Time that used to be spent relaying information down from corporate was now spent serving as strategic consultants to the dealers. With the detailed metrics breakdown, they were able to talk to dealers about how their performance compared to others in their district, uncover areas of opportunity and key challenges, and discuss tools and best practices to help them improve.
3. Engaging Dealers to Drive Performance
As with other programs, dealerships were rewarded for hitting goals, but a primary motivator for success was the fear of corporate action should performance slip. At the launch of the program rollout, the company did an analysis of how much compensation was left on the table by dealers not hitting their numbers. With the new tool, field managers were able to better frame discussions around positive motivators, and give dealers a detailed view of how they were tracking against compensation targets.
With previous program rollouts, the field and dealers also lacked insight into how their performance was tracking against other dealers. The new tool provided higher levels of visibility and encouraged dealers to ask and answer questions among their peers, helping the organization uncover best practices of high-performing dealerships. These insights were then used as a valuable toolset for driving improvements among weaker performers.
So, what’s the real impact of aligning, empowering, and engaging your organization with the help of data-driven technology? For the auto brand in this scenario, dealerships that took advantage of the tool were regularly twice as likely to hit their quarterly targets. That’s good for customer loyalty and the bottom line.
Chris Taylor is founder and CEO of Square Root, an Austin, Texas–based SaaS company whose store performance management platform, CoEFFICIENT, helps leading auto and retail enterprises align their organizations, increase transparency, encourage collaboration, and improve store performance.
LAS VEGAS — Western Funding, a specialized automotive finance company focusing on subprime credit, has announced its Triple Pay program. With the launch of Triple Pay, dealers have the opportunity to build a portfolio of accounts that allows them to share in the profits of each deal made.
The launch of this program allows dealers to build a bankable portfolio and receive three different types of payments on the same deal — upfront checks, near portfolio closing and back-end payment streams. In order for the dealer to get their first check, the dealership must produce 50 deals.
“With the release of our newest program, Triple Pay, we look forward to helping dealerships maximize their profits by giving them up to 50% of the interest collected and the entire principal as the customer makes payments,” said Western Funding Vice President Bret Pangborn. “Our focus is developing our current dealer base as well as inviting new dealerships to join our team. To best serve our growing dealer base, we have officially launched our national recruiting campaign for qualified sales representatives.”
Western Funding’s first quarter resulted in an increase to $68.9 million in principal loan balances from $28.7 million in the prior year, a 142% year-over-year growth rate. Western Funding originated more than 2,200 loans in the first quarter of 2015, with the majority of loans being sourced on DealerCenter, officials said. The company’s static losses have continued to improve as a percentage of the amount advanced.
“We are excited with the opportunities in the automotive finance market,” said Western Funding President Guerin Senter. “We continue our strategic growth with a heavy focus on increasing dealer portfolios. We anticipate consistent performance through the end of the year and to end at a $150 million portfolio.”
Dealerships interested in learning more about Western Funding’s Triple Pay program are encouraged to call Western Funding directly at (888) 434-3150.
As a sales professional, please realize the difference in selling value vs price. If you are selling a value-based product against a price-based product, trying to compete on price is a recipe for an unfulfilling sales career. People who make purchasing decisions primarily on price will encourage a bidding situation between competitors.
When selling value, you can avoid bidding situations by establishing your value proposition early in the sales appointment with a discovery question about their intentions: “Is the lowest investment your only consideration, or is quality also important?” You want to hear the buyer say something like “Price is important, but we also want the quality to be good.”
Later in the sales process, if the buyer hesitates on the investment for your product, you simply refer back to their earlier statement about value. “I’m sorry, I thought you said earlier that you were interested in both pricing and quality.”
“Well…yes.”
“Do you feel it is reasonable to pay the same for two different levels of quality?”
“Um…”
Remain calm because that earns you more negotiating time with the buyer. Sincerely ask about the buyer’s previous statement with the intention to understand. You want to discover what she is thinking at this point. If your buyer suggests your value-based product should be priced the same as your price-based competition, then you probably didn’t persuade her very well about the value of your product during the presentation.
The second way to avoid a bidding situation is refuse to participate. Let’s replay the example above. The buyer says, “Your bid is at $4,100 and your competitor’s bid is at $3,600. Match the competitor’s price or I will buy from them.”
You respond with, “I’ll be glad to see what we can do for you about lowering your investment. However, to ensure getting you the highest-quality product, I may not be able to match the competitor’s bid.”
Many buyers are so conditioned to deal in price, they are caught off guard. “Well, uh…why not?” your buyer asks.
That is your opportunity to affirm the value of your products. “Because there are too many ways to cut corners when the money is tight. We don’t believe in cutting corners. We charge enough to do the job right the first time.”
You’ve just planted a seed of insecurity in the buyer’s mind. She starts to wonder what she’ll lose in quality by playing the price game. You just reset the focus of the conversation from price back to value. If she is still in the conversation, she will probably say, “How low can you go?”
“I’ll check on it and get back to you as quickly as possible.” What you’ve just done here is to stall her from purchasing from the competition. If she’s really interested in how low you can go, she will wait for your answer before making any decisions.
The buyer may decide that value is a more important factor after all. Or the buyer may go ahead and buy from the competitor. But one thing the buyer won’t do is bid down your company and negatively affect your ability to move your product at a higher amount with other potential clients. You opted out of the bid-down situation, protected your margin structure, and made a powerful statement to the buyer about the value of your products. More important, you have made a powerful statement to yourself about the value of your products. Most salespeople “talk the talk” about the value of their products, but their actions betray their level of conviction when buyers squeeze them on price.
Copyright Tom Hopkins International, Inc. and Tigran LLC.
Excerpted from When Buyers Say No. Order an autographed copy here for less than Amazon charges for the book: http://www.tomhopkins.com/p/1590.html
- See more at:
http://www.tomhopkins.com/blog/presentation/selling-value-vs-price#sthash.vEh0Tufb.dpuf Resource: Selling Value vs Price Selling Value vs Price
Text messaging with buyers can be a useful tool for dealerships, according to a new study from Edmunds.com.
“Texting will by far be the most dominant mode of communication in the future,” said Edmunds President Seth Berkowitz.
Edmunds acquired startup texting technology CarCode in October and now offers the service to dealers as a mobile app that facilitates texting between sales associates and potential customers. The app plugs into the dealership’s website and redirects users to their phone’s native texting application.
Starting today, that same feature will be available through the Edmunds mobile app, the company said.
According to the Edmunds study of activity on CarCode through March, text messaging has a few advantages over its digital grandfather, the email.
The close rate on text message exchanges during the study period was 20 percent better than on email leads, and 40 percent of text message sales converted in two days as opposed to 32 percent of email lead sales.
“The rapidity of the exchange for texting is far different than email,” Berkowitz said. “It’s an immediate way to communicate like by phone or chat, but you don’t have to be tethered to your device.”
Response time for text exchanges that result in a sale was six times faster, according to the Edmunds study, and conversations were 20 percent longer for text exchanges that close.
More than 3,100 dealerships are using the CarCode plug-in on their websites, and in April, more than 23,000 consumers connected with dealers through the mobile app. Berkowitz said the texting feature is bringing in new customers for these dealerships, growing their contact lists by roughly 20 percent.
Though Berkowitz is confident that texting will be the new king of mobile communication for dealerships, he said that right now, it hasn’t been popularized because people don’t know it’s possible.
“People barely know about it now, but as they do, texting will surely be the preferred way for buyers to communicate,” he said.
Resource:
Edmunds study finds texting can be key for dealerships
ORLANDO, Fla. — Declines in gas prices and finance charges related to auto loans helped drive a nearly 2% decline in the annual cost to own and operate a vehicle, which, according to AAA’s 2015 Your Driving Costs report, came in at $8,698.
This study examined the cost of fuel, maintenance, tires, insurance, license and registration fees, taxes, depreciation and finance charges associated with driving a typical sedan 15,000 miles annually. The study noted that drivers can expect to spend 58 cents for each mile driven, or nearly $725 per month, to cover the fixed and variable costs associated with owning and operating a car in 2015.
“Fortunately, reduced gasoline and finance costs more than offset rising costs in other areas,” said John Nielsen, AAA’s managing director of automotive engineering and repair. “As a result, car owners can look forward to saving approximately $178 this year.”
Fuel prices fell 13.77% to 11.2 cents per mile, which equates to $1,681 per year —a $286.50 decline from a year ago. And compared to last year’s study, the average cost of regular unleaded fuel fell nearly 13% to $2.855 per gallon.
This decline, coupled with improvements in vehicle fuel economy, resulted in an average fuel cost of 11.21 cents per mile. The decrease, the study noted, made owning a sport utility vehicle slightly less expensive than owning a large sedan.
Car owners also benefited from lower finance charges related to their auto loans. They fell 21.02%, or $178, to $669 per year.
And with rising car sales and stiff competition among dealers, many manufacturers are offering low finance rates to attract buyers. In 2015, average vehicle finance rates dropped 21%, AAA found. That equates to approximately $15 per month in saving on a typical five-year loan.
The study also noted that vehicles are also losing value at a faster clip, with vehicle depreciation rising 4.10% to $3,654 this year due to increasing new-car sales and the influx of used and off-lease vehicle entering the marketplace. This increased supply has resulted in lower values and selling prices for used vehicles.
Insurance costs are also on the rise, increasing 8.99%, or $92, to $1,115 per year. AAA’s calculations are based on low-risk drivers with excellent driving records. “While premium calculations are confidential, this modest increase of $7.67 per month may be due in part to high-cost modern vehicle features such as infotainment systems, advanced safety features and lightweight materials that can be more expensive to repair and, therefore, insure,” AAA stated in its press release.
Maintenance costs also increased 0.99% to 5.11 cents per mile or $766.50 per year (+$7.50). Annual maintenance, including labor time and repair part costs associated with factory-recommended maintenance, was factored into the 2015 survey along with average costs of an extended warranty, the study noted.
Maintenance costs varied widely by vehicle type, but, on average, were up slightly from 5.06 cents to 5.11 cents per mile. “A recent survey of AAA-Approved Auto Repair shops found that the majority of drivers are behind schedule in routine maintenance, including oil changes, tire maintenance and battery inspection/testing,” AAA noted.
Costs related to license, registration and taxes also increased 3.74%, or $24, to $665 per year. Vehicle prices rose modestly in 2014, the study noted, contributing to an overall increase in state and local tax costs. Additionally, some states increased fees related to vehicle purchasing, titling, registration and licensing.
Tire costs are also up, rising 1.03% to .98 cents per mile, or $147 per year (+$1.50). “Due to the competitive and dynamic nature of the tire market, tire costs in 2015 remain relatively unchanged, rising by just .01 cents per mile,” AAA noted.
AAA’s study also discovered that going small doesn’t always keep more money in a vehicle owner’s pocket. The firm noted that owners of minivans and sport utility vehicles will benefit from the 4% decline in annual driving costs due to lower gas prices and finance rates, the study putting the total cost to operate such vehicles at $9,372 and $10,624, respectively.
“When shopping for a vehicle, smaller isn’t always cheaper,” cautioned Nielsen. “A minivan, for example, can carry up to 7 passengers, yet costs $100 less to own and operate each month compared to a large sedan.”
AAA has published Your Driving Costs since 1950. That year, driving a car 10,000 miles per year cost 9 cents per mile, and gasoline sold for 27 cents per gallon.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA US) will now offer employees of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and FIAT dealerships the opportunity to earn a college degree through Strayer University’s Degrees@Work program, developed in collaboration with the automaker.
The new Degrees@Work program will enable employees of participating dealerships to earn no-cost college degrees and help FCA US dealerships attract top talent, improve the skills of existing employees and significantly increase employee retention, officials said.
“Many of our dealers have expressed concern over the availability of talent to fill open positions due to business growth and turnover in their stores, especially in metro markets,” said Al Gardner, head of Dealer Network Development, and president and CEO of the Chrysler Brand, FCA US. “Our goal is to position our dealer network as the ‘employers of choice.’ Our collaboration with Strayer demonstrates our focus on building our dealers’ hard-working employees’ skillsets to help them perform at an optimal level while also investing in their long-term success.”
FCA US is launching this initiative in collaboration with Strayer University, an accredited university offering associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees to all FCA US dealership employees. Strayer University is a postsecondary institution with a more than 120-year history educating working adult students at campus locations across the country and online.
The first phase of the Degrees@Work program is being launched to FCA US dealers in its Southeast Business Center with up to 356 Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and FIAT dealerships. FCA US dealerships in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee may now offer their employees the opportunity to enroll in online and on-campus degree programs for summer and fall terms from Strayer University, which is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
“FCA US is a true innovator for taking concrete steps toward reimagining the way education and business work together,” said Karl McDonnell, CEO of Strayer Education, which owns Strayer University. “We are proud to partner with an organization that is tackling national issues of college affordability and the skills gap head on. FCA US is creating new ways of learning that work for both the employer and the employee — skills are developed that immediately drive measurable results and employees are given a pathway to a college degree without debt.”
The program was developed based in part on input from dealers and their employees. Depending on the selected program of study, courses will range from business administration and accounting to education, information systems and other areas. Courses will be offered online with 24/7 access for employee flexibility around work schedules, as well as at Strayer’s campus locations throughout the United States. Credit will be offered to dealers’ employees for training and work experience to accelerate completion of a degree program.
“Dealers tell us that education is a benefit frequently-requested by their employees,” Gardner said. “With the increasing cost of a college education, offering free college degrees without the burden of debt presents a significant value that we are pleased to provide and that differentiates us from our competitors. It will certainly help us attract and retain strong talent.”
AUSTIN, Texas —The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Enforcement Division issued a cease-and-desist letter to CarGurus and the Texas Automotive Dealers Association (TADA) last week, stating that it will take enforcement action against dealerships if the automotive shopping site does not revise its advertising practices within 30 days.
At issue is the way CarGurus lists the prices of used vehicles on its website, including projected savings below market value and price drops. “… A savings claim or discount offer is prohibited except to advertise a new motor vehicle,” the DMV’s letter, obtained by F&I and Showroom, read, in part. “No person may advertise a savings claim or discount offer on used motor vehicles.”
The Texas DMV Enforcement Division says that unless CarGurus removes the “offending advertisements” within 30 days, it will take action against dealerships with inventory listed on the site to the tune of $10,000 in administrative penalties each day a violation occurs, as well as other disciplinary actions.
Industry pundits like F&I and Showroom and Auto Dealer Monthly columnist Jim Ziegler have been critical of CarGurus’ business practices, claiming, among other things, that the firm displays dealers' inventory on its site without their knowledge.
“I personally view CarGurus as the most hostile, anti-dealer website yet,” Ziegler wrote in a June 2013 column. He also placed the blame on other lead-generating sites like Cars.com for feeding dealer inventory to CarGurus.
“Another thing I don’t like about CarGurus.com is the site rates dealers and their deals,” Ziegler wrote, in part. “Labels, from my understanding, include ‘Great,’ ‘Good,’ ‘Fair’ or ‘Bad’ dealers. What gives the site the right to do this? And what standard is it using to rate these deals?”
On Wednesday, CarGurus Director of Legal Allison Beakley contacted Texas dealers alerting them to a call between the company and the DMV’s Director of Enforcement Bill Harbeson and Corrie Alvarado, the enforcement attorney who signed the cease-and-desist letter. The call is scheduled to take place today, April 30.
“We plan to resolve this issue promptly and prior to the 30-day deadline,” Beakley wrote. “In addition, we will update you by Tuesday, May 5, of the results of our call with the Texas DMV and the status of the issue.”
A CarGurus spokesperson, who confirmed the firm works with more than 6,000 U.S. dealers and gets inventory feeds from more than 100 sources, including inventory hosts, vehicle OEMs and other third-party lead providers, said the company is working with the Texas DMV to resolve the issue.
“We are working closely with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles on this issue, and we expect to have a resolution very soon,” read the statement the CarGurus spokesperson issued to F&I and Showroom. “Once resolved, we will communicate immediately with our dealer customers in Texas.”
Copied on the Texas DMV’s cease-and-desist letter to CarGurus was Karen Phillips, executive vice president and chief counsel for the TADA. In an interview with F&I and Showroom, she said the association won’t be involved in today’s discussion between the Texas DMV Enforcement Division and CarGurus.
“That’s between the two of them,” she said of today’s call. “I did send out the information to my membership to let them know what was going on.”
Phillips added that dealers are subject to the jurisdiction of the agency for their own advertising and if they have an agreement with CarGurus to market their inventory, but she doubted dealers would be held responsible for any advertising violations if CarGurus posted their inventory on its site without their knowledge.
“If an entity has web-scraped their information and the dealer doesn’t know about it, then I’m certain that the agency will take that into account,” she noted. “And I think that might be an issue where if I were to receive a complaint from the agency, and I could show that I had not signed up with whatever service provider that is, because I don’t have a contract with them, then I think the agency would take that into account when deciding whether or not to go forward with the complaint.”
