apr05

.biz.biz.biz

April 2005

Read this month�s and previous issues online at www.AutoSuccess.biz

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WE’RE THE LEADER IN USED CAR SALES

AutoTrader.com is a car-selling giant. We contribute

to more used car sales than our two closest

competitors combined,

delivering more traffic,

more leads and more

profit. AutoTrader.com

accounts for more than $50 billion in annual sales.

WE’RE THE LEADER IN PARTNERSHIPS

Leaders partner with leaders. As we continue

our exclusive relationships with AOL, Univision,

CompuServe, Netscape and Edmunds.com, we

proudly announce our newest partner–Yahoo! Autos.

This partnership alone will put your vehicles in front

of an additional 22 million shoppers. No other

source provides this kind of exposure.

FOUR FACTS THAT WILL CHANGE HOW YOU SPEND

YOUR AD DOLLARS.WE’RE THE LEADER IN USED CAR BUYERS

The old days of car shopping are gone. The

Internet has surpassed newspaper classifieds as

the #1 place people go to find a car. And the

#1 website on the Internet is AutoTrader.com,

leading the way with over 8 million shoppers

every month.

WE’RE THE LEADER IN DEALER SATISFACTION

AutoTrader.com is #1 in dealer satisfaction.*

We deliver the highest overall value, the largest

number of monthly used

vehicle leads and the highest-

rated customer service in the

business. No wonder so many dealers are smiling.

©2005 AutoTrader.com is a trademark of TPI Holdings, Inc. and is used under license. *2004 MORPACE International, Inc. Dealer Image Study.

Still using the newspaper as your main vehicle to reach car buyers? It’s time to run with AutoTrader.com. For more information, call 1-888-249-6860.

✔

✔

✔

✔

#1 in overall value

#1 in lead generation

#1 in customer service

#1 consumer brand

44782_AT_AT5_218.indd 1 3/3/05 5:14:40 PM

SUMMIT IIBESTBESTPRACTICESPRACTICES

Scott JosephPresident and CEO, J&L Marketing, Inc.

Case Study: Johnson City Honda: Sells

65 extra cars a month and grosses

increased $1,300 per car.

You will learn a growth strategy

that will:

- Add 33% to your bottom line and not

increase ad budget

- Grow your customer base

- Increase your average gross per unit

- Increase purchase frequency plus

customer residual value

Dean EvansVice President of Marketing, Dealix

You will learn:

- Benchmark metrics for your GM and

your dealership � gross proÞ t PVS, ROI,

and more

- Maximizing third party automotive sites

- Converting �Be Back� leads into sales

- Optimizing your CRM and Lead

Management tools

Sean WolÞ ngtonOwner, BZResults.com

Case Study: How to use BDC/Internet

departments to sell 100 - 500 extra cars

a month.

You will learn how the best dealers:

- Setup a successful BDC/Internet Dept.

- Use the web to promote all your proÞ t

centers

- Use the web to drive showroom & phone

trafÞ c

- Sell old stock, vehicles & parts inventory

- Use email marketing to drive more trafÞ c

for zero cost

Chip PerryCEO and President, AutoTrader.com

Internet Advertising Best Practices.

You will learn:

- How to maximize the value of your

Internet advertising

- How to make your vehicles stand out

from the competition

- How AutoTrader.com�s top

performers achieve their outstanding

results

David KainPresident, Kain Automotive Inc.

Internet and BDC Training Specialist

You will learn:

- How to maximize lead generation from

your Web site

- E-mail templates and phone scripts to

convert leads into appointments

- Hiring and compensating your Internet

team

- Mapping out the best Internet sales

process

Las Vegas, NV • May 19th & 20that The Venetian Hotel & Resort

Randy BaroneExecutive Vice President, Sales &

Marketing, American Auto Exchange Inc.

Bringing State-of-the-art technology to

your automotive business.

You will learn:- Eliminate wholesale loss and unproductive inventory- Consistent 20-22 day inventory turns- Maintain proper inventory mix- Instant buy/sell recommendations- The art of appraising- Group trade capabilities- SmartLaunchTM based on eBay marketplace data- abX Transaction Network

Ed ParkinsonAccount Supervisor, Who�s Calling, Inc.

Leveraging Who�s Calling to sell more

products and services.

You will learn:- The movement from data to managing opportunity in the area of sales, service, marketing and quality assurance- Assets and liabilities of the inbound sales call- 2004 Cumulative Voice Monitoring data base on 70,000 inbound sales calls- Road blocks to the appointment- Lost deal manager

Jeff CowanPresident, Jeff Cowan�s Pro Talk

Increasing Sales, CSI, and Customer

Retention on your Service Drive.

You will learn:- To take control of the Advisor, Write- Up% and your Service Drive- Substantially increase your Customer Satisfaction Survey Scores- How to get your customers to happily accept realistic promise times- How to increase Customer Paid Labor by 4/10ths in 10 days- Establish a professional selling culture on your Service Drive.

Sean GardnerJoe Verde Trainer, The Joe Verde Group

How to close more sales in today�s

market.

You will learn:- The facts about buying, selling and closing the sale- What closing isn�t, and why most sales are lost out on the lot- The 3 best closes (that have nothing to so with dropping price)- Understanding objections - the secret to turning a �no� into a �yes�

Rob ChesneyDirector of Autos, eBay Motors

You will learn:

- What is eBay?

- eBay Motors overview

- Listing strategies and marketing

yourself

- Managing your auction and account

- Resources

REGISTER NOWLimited Seating

May 19th & 20th, 2005The Venetian Hotel & Resort

Las Vegas, NVDealers & Managers Only

Special hotel room rates forattendees only *

Two days of intense learning.Improve your results no matter how

well you are already doing.

ONLY $595fully transferable, no refunds

Call Now

800.849.4113or visit www.autosuccess.biz

for more information

* must be an attendee and register by April 26th, 2005

CHECK

Brian BenstockParagon Honda & Acura

Case Study: �#1 CertiÞ ed Dealer & #1 Honda eDealer Shares All�.

You will learn how we:

- Increased our used cars sales in one

month

- Improved inventory management &

reduced average turn

- Attracted more quality pre-owned trafÞ c

- Reduced our used car ad expenses

Rad WeaverRed McCombs

Case Study: �Ford & Toyota Dealer Sells 500 Extra Cars Online�.


- Increased our Internet sales from 40

- 500 in one year

- Tripled our Web site trafÞ c through free

marketing

- Increased our leads from our Web site

- Staff, train, pay, and keep great people

- Handle pricing to maintain gross proÞ t

Robert RevereCourtesy Chevrolet

Case Study: �Courtesy Chevrolet becomes #1 dealer in US�.


- Sold 380 extra cars from our BDC in

September

- Staff and pay our team

- Integrate our BDC & Internet department

to work together

- Increase our sales by increasing our

appointments

- Used technology to automate most of

our processes

Roy ReutterSheehy Auto Stores

Case Study: Sheehy.com increases leads from 400 - 2400 per month.

You will learn how Sheehy:

- Increased lead and sale volume without

increasing lead expense

- Improved sales and reduced cost per

sale at the same time

- Improved proÞ tability by improving the

quality of leads through their own site

- Increased closing ratios & avg. gross

proÞ t with process improvement

- Sold old stock units via the Web

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Angelo ChavezInternet Sales Director, Burt Automotive

Case Study: Internet sales force sold 2,464 new and used vehicles in 8 different automobile line in 2004.

You will learn:- Create an Internet department that is independent of the dealership- Hiring and training practices that allow your sales team to be self reliant- Grow an Internet team that is responsible for up to 40% of the store�s monthly production- Using a lead management tool to increase appointment sets and calculate

ROI

Darren HaygoodDirector of CRM & Internet Sales,

Lokey Automotive

Case Study: Lokey Automotive Group triples Internet sales - by spending less!

You will learn how to:- DeÞ ne your dealership�s CRM strategy. BDC vs. dedicated personnel- Maximize your ROI - Ignore the hype and start realizing REAL results- Achieve HIGHER gross than with your walk-in customers- Achieve 20/20 vision for your dealership. 20% Closing Ratio & 20% Retail Mix- Turn leads into Phone Ups - Phone Ups

into appointments

INSI

DE

AutoSuccess Magazine is published monthly at 3411 Pinnacle Gardens Drive, Louisville, Kentucky, 40245; 502.588.3155, fax 502.588.3170. Direct all subscription and customer service inquiries to 877.818.6620 [email protected]. Subscription rate is $75 per year. AutoSuccess welcomes unsolicited editorials and graphics (not responsible for their return). All submitted editorials and graphics are subject to editing for grammar, content, and page length. AutoSuccess provides its contributing writers latitude in expressing advice and solutions; views expressed are not necessarily those of AutoSuccess and by no means reflect any guarantees. Always confer with legal counsel before implementing changes in procedures.© All contents copyrighted by AutoSuccess Magazine, a Division of Systems Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited without express written consent from AutoSuccess. AutoSuccess may occasionally make readers’ names available to other companies whose products and/or services may be of interest; readers may request that names be removed by calling 877.818.6620. Printed in the USA.Postmaster: Send address changes to AutoSuccess Magazine, 3411 Pinnacle Gardens Drive, Louisville, Kentucky 40245.

3411 Pinnacle Gardens Drive Louisville, Kentucky 40245

! Toll Free: 877.818.6620 " Facsimile: 502.588.3170

Patrick Luck, Editor & Publisher• [email protected]

Susan Goodman, Vice President• [email protected]

Courtney Hill-Paris, Sales-improvement Strategist• [email protected]

Thomas Williams, Creative Director• [email protected]

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is being sure of what you hope for, and certain of things you do not see

8101112141516202224252628293032333436

ChulaSchlesinger

Saying a Lot Without Saying a Word ZigZiglar

Prioritize to Grow YourDealership to the Next Plateau and Beyond

ScottJoseph

BruceThompsonDoes Your Wholesaler Owna Bigger House Than You

CarolMartinHow to Identify and Sell to the Accommodator Personality

DavidKainInternet Sales Success:Strategies for Management Involvement

KirkManzo How to Conduct Effective Save-a-Deal Meetings

AllenBladThe Latest in CRM is a CRC:Customer Relationship Center

Get Into the Game of Life and Be Someone

Four Keys to Integrity Selling, Part 3 SeanWolfi ngton

MichaelYorkPersonal Development isPersonal, and Commitment is the Key

StaceyDiPiazzaNew Law to Affect All WhoDeal With Consumer Credit Information

DanVogelHow Successful Dealers Capitalize on Internet Leads

AnthonyHall How to Select the Vehicle

BrianTracyUpgrade Your Knowledge and Skill

MarkTewartFive Tips for Beginning Sales People

TonyDupaqueirCommon Illegal Practices to Avoid

FranTaylorStop the Poverty and Start the Prosperity

PattiWoodThe Body Language of Listening

Why is Your Prospect Leaving SteveHiatt

God Bless America

888 2 TEWART (283.9278)

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As a salesperson, Mark�s ideas have been huge in increasing my sales with unique marketing ideas.� Chris Hanson, Salesperson, Hibbing Chrysler, Hibbing, MN.

�By following Mark�s ideas, we have increased our sales by 20 units a month and have increased gross proÞ t by over $200 per car.� Seth Silgar, General Manager, Ward Chrysler, Carbondale, IL.

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If You Know the Best Kept Marketing

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Maybe you to have found that recruiting

and training is getting tougher. You run

ads that bring derelicts and then struggle

to Þ nd the time to train them properly.

Maybe you are in the minority who have

hired the right candidates but don�t have

the time to train them or the materials

and information to train them with that

works for the price conscience, educated

buyer. Maybe you are sick and tired of

taking crap from loser, unproductive,

bad attitude salespeople you currently

have because you are having a hard time

replacing them. You would love to get rid

of their bad attitude but you keep them

because they are warm bodies.

You see, success at recruiting and training

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with running more ads that already don�t

work. So often, even when you get a good

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don�t get trained properly.

Whether it�s your Þ rst year in

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veteran, you will love to never again talk

to anyone unless you want to. Recruiting

should only be done when you want to,

not because you have to! Don�t let your

competitors steal all the good salespeople.

So why is it so hard to recruit and train

good salespeople. Marketing and training

incest! Everyone runs the same ads on

Sunday saying the same things as twenty

other frustrated dealers. Next, you take

a loser candidate and train him with

Þ fty year old sales training drivel from

material created from a sales trainer

who hasn�t sold a car in twenty years

AND�didn�t sell much when he was a

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With constant inbreeding of recruiting

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Breakthroughs come from going

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ChulaSchlesinger

Get Into the Gameof Life and Be Someone

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special feature

Orrin Hudson, nationally recognized chess champion, author and motivational speaker, launched Be Someone

Inc. in 2001 as a crime prevention program. Upon hearing of an incident in Queens, N.Y. in which a young black man robbed and murdered several Wendy’s Restaurant employees for a mere $2,000, Hudson, a former Alabama State Trooper, vowed to dedicate his life to preventing crime in American youth.

Since then, he has worked diligently to incorporate his life mastery mentoring programs into schools, community centers, churches, juvenile detention centers and anywhere he can arrange to set up a chess board. Hudson mentors children by teaching them the time-tested strategies of chess as a metaphor for life’s lessons.

“Three hundred years ago Benjamin Franklin wrote an essay on the benefi ts of chess and the life lessons the game provided. Today those same strategies still apply. If you play chess, you have the keys to success in the palm of your hand.” Orrin Hudson

AutoSuccess recently interviewed Hudson, former owner and manager of a successful car dealership for over ten years, to fi nd out how his programs work and why he has gained such notoriety for his innovative teaching techniques.

AS: What is the Be Someone solution?

Hudson: When it comes to life, many people are afraid to get in the game. They don’t feel confi dent or are afraid they will fail. I teach children and adults if you can learn how to think progressively, recognize patterns and have self-confi dence you can succeed. When children win, we all win.

AS: What is the winning formula?

Hudson: If you can think, you can play. If you play, you can move. If you move, you can win. Success in life is related to a clear, succinct strategy, or the moves that one makes. Being willing to make some mistakes during the learning curve is what it takes to win. Learning from those mistakes is worth thousands of dollars in education.

Many people are so afraid of losing they won’t even get in the game. They sit on the sidelines while life passes them by.

AS: What inspired you to dedicate your life to education?

Hudson: My life was diffi cult as a child. I was one of 13 children growing up in a housing project in Alabama. I saw fi rst-hand what poverty, hopelessness and crime can do to a child’s perspective of their ability to succeed. I was fortunate to have a teacher who believed in me and taught me how to play chess. That changed my life and helped me fi nd a new direction. This is what I strive to do with the children who enter my mentoring programs.

AS: Who were your most infl uential mentors and teachers?

Hudson: Mr. James Edge, the teacher who fi rst introduced me to chess when I was young and involved in petty theft. I was a juvenile entrepeneur on the road to crime. As an adult, I have had the privilege of working with some awesome mentors. I owe a great deal to the following authors, speakers and motivation coaches: Jack Canfi eld, Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, Mark Victor Hansen, Anthony Robbins, Zig Ziglar. They have supported my work, helped me through diffi cult times and shared their vision with me. I am truly grateful for their continued support and friendship.

AS: How many children have attended your classes, and what positive changes did they experience?

Hudson: I have mentored over 15,000 children in more than 30 schools in fi ve states since Be Someone was launched in 2001. Teachers and parents report amazing changes in attitude, self-confi dence, the ability to concentrate and over-all increased self-esteem. Grade-point averages improve as students learn to trust their ability to think at a higher level.

This is the key to combating crime in our youth. We have to give them hope in order to dream. Without dreams they have nothing to strive for or look forward to.

“If children don’t believe in themselves or their future, they easily accept crime as an

everyday occurrence in their lives. They don’t know they can have more, do more or be more unless we provide them with the vision and the tools to accomplish more.” Orrin Hudson

Not all children respond as positively as I would like, but I feel I have been successful 95 percent of the time. I am very pleased with a few exceptional children who learned to appreciate their abilities and turned from petty crime. For example, 17-year-old Octavious Tallington was on a destructive path headed straight for jail. His mother had tried everything she could think of to stop his criminal behavior.

Octavious carried a gun, had gang affi liations, used recreational drugs, refused to attend school and was involved in miscellaneous crimes. An intelligent, but misguided, young man, he saw no hope for his future; nor did he have any support system in place to get off the drugs and get back into school.

Upon completion of the Be Someone program, his mother reports his negative attitude and criminal behavior has been replaced with positive enthusiasm. He no longer carries a gun or associates with gang members. He chose to complete his education and now attends school regularly. His future is bright because he was able to understand how he could win at life and create a more positive, attainable vision for himself.

AS: Does age matter in learning how to play chess? What is the youngest student you have taught?

Hudson: My youngest student was 4-year-old Pecola Thompson. Her parents arranged for private lessons. She is an unbelievably bright child. She learned the game quickly and was winning against children twice her age. Even a young child has the ability to learn. For example, most are capable of learning up to fi ve languages. They do not lack capability; they lack teachers willing to spend the necessary time to instruct and challenge them.

I mentored a very young group of students ranging from fi rst through sixth grade at the Benteen Elementary School in Georgia. There were 103 children in the program. The top 26 players challenged several college

www.autosuccess.biz8

students at the Dekalb Technical College. Lead by their sixth grade captain, Dontavious Jones, they had very impressive wins.

AS: You have been recognized numerous times as a community leader and a man who strongly promotes community involvement. What community projects are you working on?

Hudson: I usually have two or three main projects in the works. I am currently planning for the 2005-2006 Be Someone Day in Atlanta, Ga. This is an annual back-to-school celebration that focuses on the importance of education. Be Someone provides school supplies and books for students who can’t afford them. We serve lunch to hundreds of the homeless and celebrate community service.

Through my work with Landmark Education in Atlanta, I have been given a tremendous opportunity to serve others and work with some of the brightest and energetic business people in the metro area. They have taught me the importance of giving back to the community and helping in small ways as well as raising funds for special projects.

AS: What is the future of Be Someone Inc.?

Hudson: We foresee our programs in every elementary, middle and high school by the year 2010. Our outreach is to the everyday man and woman who want to improve their lives and create their dreams, as well as students and the elderly who are combating Alzheimer’s disease. Chess stimulates the mind and challenges one’s ability to think progressively, recognize patterns to plan strategy and improve concentration time. Everyone can benefi t from these skills.

Our goal is to raise $250,000 this year to keep our programs running and develop a center where we can teach. We hope to attract more volunteers to help with administration, as well as mentoring.

Be Someone special. Sponsor a child today through a scholarship or visit www.besomeone.org to contribute to this tax deductible, non-profi t organization.

“When children win, we all win.” Orrin Hudson.

Orrin Hudson can be contacted at 800.901.3057, or by e-mail at [email protected].

april 2005 9

Limited Seating

May 19th & 20th, 2005The Venetian Hotel & Resort, Las Vegas, NV

Dealers & Managers Only

Special Dealer and Manager Speakers with Case Studies


Two days of intense learning.Improve your results no matter how well you

are already doing.


Call Now


for more information* must be an attendee and register by April 26th, 2005

SUMMIT IIBESTBESTPRACTICESPRACTICES

CHECK

SEE MORE INFORMATION ON PAGE 4

continued


Saying a Lot Without Saying a Word

ZigZiglarsts ms ls fi s sf

sales and training solution

In addition to speaking and writing, you communicate with your facial expressions and body language. Have you ever heard

anyone ask, “Are you okay?” and been surprised when they said you looked worried,

tired, sad, unhappy and so on, because you thought you were hiding your problems pretty well? Surely you’ve seen people who look so dejected, with their heads hanging, shoulders sagging and feet dragging, that you wanted to go over, ask them what was wrong and offer to help in any way. You felt their pain just by looking at them.

When the words that come out of your mouth don’t match the expression on your face or the stance of your body, it confuses the person with whom you are trying to communicate. Consider these examples:

• When you shuffl e papers on your desk while an associate or employee is telling you something, you communicate that what you’re doing is more important than what the other person is saying. When you look the associate or employee in the eye and nod or shake your head as that person talks to you, you communicate that you’re listening intently and that what’s being said is meaningful to you.

• When as a manager you keep your door closed, you communicate that you do not want the employees you are paid to manage to bother you. An open-door policy encourages openness and makes you approachable, which makes you part of the team you are in charge of leading.

• When a factory superintendent keeps his offi ce at the back door next to the parking lot and leaves the door open, he communicates to workers that he’s open to them and interested in what they have to say. When his offi ce is up front and the door remains closed, he communicates an entirely different message.

All kinds of communications deliver scores of messages - some of which are not intended. For example, people who are consistently late communicate that they believe their time is more important than the time of the person who has to wait. Most people can forgive an occasional slip, but those who are perennially late lose friends and infl uence in the process.

Yes, what you communicate does make a difference. Consider what your actions and expressions communicate and make the necessary changes.

Zig Ziglar is the chairman of Ziglar Training Systems in Dallas, TX. To subscribe to Zig�s free weekly newsletter visit www.ziglartraining.com. Article reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

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SteveHiatt

Why is Your Prospect Leaving

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One of the only things worse than missing a sale is not knowing why you missed it. And had you known the prospect’s true

objection, you could have overcome it and sold a car. Here are some tips.

Don�t believe everything you hear.It is often a stressful situation buying a car, and when under stress, people often say things they don’t really mean. Don’t take this personally; these people have no clue who you are yet and will trust you after rapport has been established.

Don�t attack. Often we attack an objection before the prospect even lets the words fi nish coming out of his or her mouth. Sometimes we get the silliest objections and then make them sillier by attacking them. The best way to handle this is to let the customer get the whole objection out. Often they talk themselves out of the objections by listening to themselves state it out loud and actually hear how silly it is. If we attack right away, the prospect is forced to defend his or her own statement no matter how crazy it is. Brian Tracy says effective listening is to pause before replying. A short pause, of three to fi ve seconds, is a very classy thing to do in a conversation. When you pause, you accomplish three goals simultaneously. First, you avoid running the risk of interrupting if the other person is just catching his or her breath before continuing. Second, you show the other person that you are giving careful consideration to his or her words by not jumping in with your own comments at the earliest opportunity. The third benefi t of pausing is that you will actually hear the other person better. His or her words will soak into a deeper level of your mind and you will understand what he or she is saying with greater clarity. By pausing, you mark yourself as a brilliant conversationalist.

Don�t assume.What they are about to tell you may not be what you think it is. People also have varying levels of perception, so what may not be a problem for you is a problem for them.

Soften.In some form, acknowledge the objection. Simple phrases like, “OK, that’s fi ne, and I can appreciate that,” do a ton for making your prospect feel heard. Their perception is everything. By doing this you keep them

from raising more defenses.

Clarify.Take the time to let other people talk. We assume we know what our customer wants or, worse yet, we take everything the customer says at face value. Take the time to really get to understand your customer with clarifying questions. Think of them as the newspaper reporter questions: who, what, why, when, where and how. Try to get your customers to expand so you have more information. This information can help you focus on and present to their hot buttons.

Try questions like: “How so?” “What do you mean?” or “How do you mean specifi cally?” “What would you change about your car?” “What do you like about your car?”

Sometimes more complex objections require: “How did you arrive at that?” “Why do you feel that way?” “Suppose we could handle that?”

Here are some word tracks to keep people from leaving:

“Okay, I can appreciate that you want to go think about it. Before you go, and so that I can be better prepared for the next time we get together, what is it you are to concerned about? Is it the car, the dealership, the

service, the warranty, maybe me, the sales person, or is it the price?”

“No problem folks, hey before you go, would you mind telling me where you are on the scale of one to 10 on getting this car? One being no way, not if it was free, and 10 being, let’s do it now. Where would you be? Eight. Great, what’s keeping your from being at a 10?”

“Susan, you know, I have an awesome job helping people get a product that they can really enjoy. Doing this is just like working a jigsaw puzzle. All we need to do is make sure that all the pieces are out on the table, and then we can move them around until everything looks perfect. I am really good at that part of my job; I just need to make sure we have all the pieces. Are we missing any pieces that you know? Maybe the car we chose isn’t right or is too expensive, the fi nancial considerations such as the down payment or the price seems out of reach, could you tell me?”

With commitment and practice you’ll make more sales. How does that make you feel?

Steve Hiatt is the owner of Mountain Mitsubishi in Tacoma, WA. He can be contacted at 866.265.5616, or by e-mail at [email protected].

april 2005 11


ScottJoseph

Prioritize to Grow Your Dealership to the Next Plateau and Beyond

sts ms ls fi s sf

marketing solution

What are your strategies to acquire conquest sales – New Business?

Let’s say instead of draining your energies on cutting costs, you focused all your energies on improving - acquisition of new customers via your ads. Say you test different headlines and offers. You could conceivably multiply your responses TWENTY FOLD. Twenty Fold! Every time you run the ad! Even if it only improved by 10 percent, how would that affect your dealership, your sales people and you personally?

O.K., that’s the theory. But what are the key “leverage points” most relevant to you right now, and for the rest of 2005? The ones on which you should be focusing. And how do you harness them?

For the remainder of this article we will focus on two key areas on which you can focus your energies; 1. Customer Acquisition and 2. Customer Nurturing.

Acquisition Strategies � Acquiring New Customers:1. Create a programmed referral system.Referrals are very often the most cost-effective and major source of new business. Instituting a programmed ongoing system takes away the hit and miss. Referrals no longer come by default, but in a predictable ongoing stream. You can create referral cards (maybe your dealership’s own VIP card), have a system of follow-up letters to previous customers or give them gifts for referring.

2. Acquire business by endorsement.Constantly look for ways to have other business owners with similar or related markets recommend you to their customers. This borrowing of someone else’s goodwill can open entirely new and sometimes massive markets. Having a local credit union send out a letter to their client base promoting a sales event at your dealership is a perfect example. Can you put together a win-win offer that will make recommending you attractive to the owner of that client base, while making responding irresistible to the client?

3. Create advertising that actually works. Do you make use of the fact that testing may

increase your ad response 10 or 20 times? Do you measure the effectiveness of your ads? Maybe 90 percent of your ad budget isn’t working at all! Do you test headlines? Do you test the offers you make in the ads? Do you always make your ads “direct response” ads that engender a response and don’t simply “fl y the fl ag”? Do you rerun ads that work?

When you measure the responses, you can make informed decisions about whether a particular ad pays. If it does, your ad budget becomes meaningless because you just keep running it over and over until it stops working. You may blow your ad budget by 50 percent and make a fortune. But you can only know by measuring.

4. Use direct mail. Do you use direct mail? When you fi nd the formula that works for you it can open up totally new markets instantly. Do you test the lists? Response to one list can return 1,000 percent or more than another list. Do you test the timing? Do you test the format? Do you experiment with different offers?

5. Create events that attract prospects.Do you create an event for new model introductions, model year clearances, year-end clearances and your store’s anniversary, grand opening, remodeling, etc? Do you run seminars or demonstration days and invite qualifi ed prospects to come and sample your expertise. A seminar on child seat safety is a perfect example.

6. Maximize your closing ratios.Do you ensure that your managers and sales people really understand the dynamics of prospects-to-sales ratios? Those simple higher-performance standards at this point can double sales with no extra cost! Are they superbly trained to convert enquiries to sales by opening relationships instead of closing sales?

Nurturing Strategies � Nurturing Existing Customers.1. Identify your customer’s true needs.Are you continually focused on the fact that it is six times more cost-effi cient to generate new business from your existing customer base than to try and acquire a new customer?

Do you have a programmed approach to talking with your previous customers by

phone or letter to help them buy from you again or simply to say, “hello, we’re still here and we appreciate your business”?

Are you providing a noble service to your customers by educating them to the things you are already doing for them so that they fully understand the value of what you do?

Perhaps more importantly, do you fully educate them to the things you could be doing for them? If they need the services or products you provide, and you are not ensuring that they purchase again from you, you are doing them a disservice. In it’s crudest sense, given that they are going to seek out someone to service those needs and wants, if you don’t do everything in your power to ensure they continue to buy from you, you’re guilty of casting them out into the shark-infested waters of your competition. And will they look after your customer as you would?

Do you take steps to make certain you are getting all the potential business from your existing customers?

2. Do you add value?Do you make them feel special with closed-door sales or advance-notice events? Do you make your customers into members with special privileges?

Do you provide them with a hotline service or support that goes above and beyond the industry standard?

Do you have a set of performance standards that sets out clearly for your customer what they can expect from you? And, more importantly, are your people totally committed to those standards?

Will it add value if you do what you do faster?

By focusing on these priorities, you’ll magnify and multiply your effort and energy, and it’ll refl ect positively and rapidly on your bottom line.

Prosperous marketing!

Scott Joseph is the president of J&L Marketing Inc. He can be contacted at 866.429.6846, or by e-mail at [email protected].

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Internet Sales Success:Strategies for Management Involvement

DavidKainsts ms ls fi s sf

marketing solution

In designing a successful Internet process at a dealership there is a critical element that is often overlooked. That

critical element is the involvement of sales managers. These key managers interact with the Internet team on a daily basis and their buy-in and support to the overall process is essential.

Sales Management IntegrationMany dealerships are under the impression that it is necessary for the Internet department to be a stand-alone entity working outside the dealership selling process. This separate designation is typically a throwback to the early days when the Internet customer was actually quite unique and had special requirements in their purchase process. Nowadays with as many as 80 percent of consumers using the Internet during the buying process, that assumption is no longer valid. The Internet shopper is now the Average Jane or Joe and we have to assume all of them want a special process. To meet their needs and sell over the Internet in high volumes, a dealership must utilize all it’s management team, especially it’s sales managers.

A Full PlateThe daily tasks of a sales manager are quite daunting already, and in setting up their involvement in the Internet process a dealer must be sensitive to his or her workload. If you look at the full plate in front of a sales manager you will discover he or she is responsible for many actions beyond just managing the sale of vehicles. Selling is actually the part they enjoy! They also create ads, review daily work plans, order vehicles, work with wholesalers and rehash deals with lenders and on and on.

Given his or her full plate, it is no surprise that the typical sales manager has little time to waste. That is why as an Internet sales person you should develop an Internet lead into a “normal” type of customer. By communicating to the manager that the Internet customer is a real buyer you gain his or her attention. Sometimes we hurt ourselves by complaining out loud that leads are bad and that a lot of customers are just

playing online. This stays in the manager’s memory and unfortunately casts suspicion over the value of all leads. You have to be mindful of this in your interaction with the manager and publicize the Internet customer as the real deal. In this way we maintain their support on the customers we can appoint and gain their advice on how to motivate those customers who won’t appoint or respond.

Working Internet deals effectivelyWorking Internet deals with a sales manager should be normalized as much as possible. Successful fl oor sales people know how to get the manager’s attention when they are working a deal. It’s simple – bring them a completed worksheet with the customer’s intentions clearly spelled out. Show the manager you have followed the steps to the sale as prescribed and the manager will become fully vested and provide the guidance and support necessary to close the deal.

Savvy Internet sales people can do the same thing even when the customer is not in the showroom. Bring the manager a completed worksheet like you would a showroom customer. Show the manager you have followed the “steps to the Internet sale” and the manager will provide the necessary support.

The steps to the Internet saleAs I mentioned before it is important to normalize the Internet sale as much as possible for you to sell in high volume. This normalization means creating your own “steps to the Internet sale.” These steps typically include:

• Respond to each lead quickly by e-mail and telephone• Interview the customer, build rapport, review specs and discuss trade intentions• Describe the Internet sales process including how you handle pricing, trades and fi nancing• Schedule an appointment that is convenient• Confi rm the appointment by e-mail and phone• Prepare for the appointment by selecting inventory and preparing a worksheet• Alert the sales manager of

the customer appointment and review worksheet• Present and demonstrate the vehicle, trade appraisal, service walk, sales manager introduction, etc.• Involve the manager when necessary• Sell and deliver the vehicle• Follow up with sold and unsold customers

By following these or similar steps you will gain the sales manager’s attention and he or she will defi nitely be available to support your efforts.

The toughest step is gaining the appointmentSetting an appointment and getting the customer to show is the real reason Internet selling is more diffi cult than showroom selling. To get the deal you must fi rst get the appointment. You have to convince the Internet customer it is in his or her best interest to make an appointment. To do this you must describe to them an environment that is attractive and then be able to back it up when they get to the showroom. This is where support from your manager is essential.

Making the Internet appointment specialOnce the customer has agreed to the appointment, your manager must make it easy for you to create an environment for the Internet customer that is easy, convenient and takes less time than a typical showroom visit. You will need your manager to help you streamline the visit with priority appraisals, manager turnover and quicker access to fi nance. Get your manager to greet your customers when they fi rst arrive and create that special feeling. Your track record of following the steps to the Internet sale should convince your manager that your customers typically purchase so they should be very responsive to this request. Ultimately, they want to sell a vehicle, and if you do your part in getting the customer in the door your manager will do his or her part of helping you close the deal.

David Kain is the automotive Internet training specialist at Kain Automotive Inc. He can be contacted at 800.385.0095, or by e-mail at [email protected], or visit www.kainautomotive.com.

april 2005 15

KirkManzo

How to ConductEffective Save-a-Deal Meetings

sts ms ls fi s sf


Each morning examine the previous day’s sales activities. Daily save-a-deal meetings are the most effective way to

accomplish this task. Every morning all the managers of your dealership meet to review and discuss yesterday’s activities. In order to accomplish this in a timely manner, the desk manager’s responsibility is to log every point of contact any of your sales people have with a non-employee (up), even the people driving through the lot.

A manual desk log is preferable, and if you use a computer-based tracking system, every opportunity should be entered to get an accurate up count each day. Remember if they are on your lot, they are there because they need to add or replace a vehicle and believe you may have what they want.

Recording accurate stats is critical to make adjustments in what you will do to make more money. The log should be color coded for effi ciency during the review at the daily save-a-deal meeting. Green for sold, pink for a hot prospect and yellow for a dead deal.

If improving your front-end gross is your number one focus vs. increasing volume (choose which is of greater importance at this time) begin reviewing the green sold list fi rst, if volume is your bigger issue start with the pink hot prospect list fi rst.

In reviewing the sold vehicles, you should examine how much profi t was produced both on the front and back end. For this reason someone from the F&I department should be present each day to report on yesterday’s F&I production results.

In reviewing each sold unit use the Plus / Delta Approach to examine your results. Plus meaning you did a good job, the customer is happy and we made a good profi t. The question you then ask is simply, “Why?” Record and repeat what is working. Improve or delete what isn’t.

Delta meaning what would you do differently? Now knowing what you do about the situation of this sale, a poor result, how could this be avoided today if presented with similar circumstances? Mistakes and failures are a part of life; you can’t avoid them. How you respond and learn from them is the key to your improvement.

The pink list of hot prospects should be discussed to determine how to entice this customer to do business with us now. Was it the trade, the payment, the selection? Regardless of reason, a manager that did not

work with this customer yesterday should call them today and ask what could be done to help them.

Schedule your daily save-a-deal meeting to start 15 minutes after your sales people are scheduled to arrive at the dealership. This insures they all arrive on time each day before you start a management review of yesterday’s sales efforts. Allocate about 20 minutes for your meeting. As time permits review two and three days back on the sale logs for all pink hot prospects still listed.

After completing a review of the sales log (print it out and highlight if computer based) then transition to your scheduled one-on-ones we discussed in the March issue.

Go make something happen!

Kirk Manzo is the general manager at Ziegler Supersystems. He can be contacted at 800.858.6903, or by e-mail at [email protected].

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How to Identify and Sell tothe Accommodator Personality

This is the fi nal article in a series of three dealing with how you can increase sales simply by adapting your business

approach to suit the specifi c needs of your buyers. Our fi rst article “How to Identify and Sell to the Entrepreneur Personality” delved into the behavioral traits of time-driven, enterprising prospects who usually know exactly what they want and precisely how to get it. Our last article in AutoSuccess was titled “How to Identify and Sell to the Technician Personality.” It outlined ways to evoke a positive response from shoppers who seem rather reserved and well informed but perhaps also a bit skeptical of the entire sales process.

This time, we’re identifying the Accommodator.

What�s the hurry?While our fast-paced society seems driven by people who are nearly frenetic, it’s important to keep in mind that there are still some out there who will willingly take the time to savor a moment. They feel no real compulsion to rush through transactions and prefer to adopt a rather laid back approach to life. They’re usually relatively easygoing, upbeat and able to take things as they come.

They tend to be caregivers, individuals from all segments of society who take great pride in helping others, nurturing, going the extra mile. They like to be precise in everything they do and often second-guess their own conclusions, over-think and talk themselves into and out of ideas repeatedly.

If your latest potential buyer seems gentle, sociable, laid back and in no real hurry to make a purchase, you’re likely dealing with an Accommodator personality. It’s probably safe to say this will be anything but a quick sale. Accommodators dislike making snap decisions; however, you can save yourself needless frustration by learning how to cope with their rather unique approach to business.

First, be aware that Accommodators like to know the specifi cs of everything so they can avoid making mistakes. They’ve been known to abruptly call a halt to their actions or redo things that were perfectly fi ne to begin with; they fear acting hastily

and regretting it later. Your job will be to push them along gently and offer plenty of reassurance that they’re picking out the right vehicle for their needs; stay upbeat and earn their trust. It may be benefi cial also to share some anecdotal information about yourself, as Accommodators usually enjoy people and like to know more about them.

Keep this in the front of your mind: Accommodators often feel more compelled to follow through with their plans when they know that doing so will help someone else. Therefore, do not hesitate to show them that you indeed want, need and would very much appreciate their business.

Accommodators often tend to be nonassertive, unhurried, conscientious extroverts who respond best to an enthusiastic, but more suggestive than shark-like sales approach. But how independently minded are they? Should you give them their own space, leave them alone for a while, let them draw their own conclusions?

Because Accommodators typically rely on others to show them the way, it’s probably best to maintain a close relationship with them. They should genuinely appreciate your attempts to steer them in the right direction. Do not hesitate to probe into what they’re really looking for in a vehicle. Be up front when you don’t have answers for them, though, and resist any urge you might have to just guess.

Walking out empty handedIf you’ve done all you can to clinch a deal and your Accommodator prospect still tells you he or she needs more time to consider the options, make follow-up calls to maintain rapport. It’s important to keep your name and your offer fl ashing through their minds and, as always, renegotiating may help.

If and when your Accommodator returns to the dealership, don’t assume that a deal is at hand. Just when you think all is well and he or she is ready to sign, the risks inherent to the fi nalization of any business venture may be too much for your anxiety-riddled would-be customer to handle. Once again, your encouragement and warmth may ease fears and help dispel any feelings of buyer remorse.

The behavior of Accommodator personalities refl ects their fi rm desire to do things properly, not cause problems (either for themselves or others) and make good judgment calls. While it is probably true that much patience is needed when attempting to secure their buying commitment, it is also probably true that they’ll thank you and remember you for the efforts you made when guiding them through what for them is a gut-wrenching experience.

You may also fi nd they have sent new business your way by recommending you to friends and family members. And, if they can fi nd you when they’re ready to buy again, these persevering creatures of habit will likely come looking for you. The return on your initial investments of time and tolerance could be remarkably high. As a sales professional, it’s important to realize that each one of your ups will behave differently, and you must be fl exible if you want to maximize opportunities to close deals. Entrepreneurs, Technicians and Accommodators, like other personality types, come with various measures of their specifi c traits. While each group falls into a similar pattern and general trends can be detected, it is wise to learn more about yourself so you can better determine what you might need to modify in your work approach and what might be best left as is.

Carol Martin is a senior consultant with The Omnia Group. She can be contacted at 800.601.3216, or by e-mail at [email protected].

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BruceThompson

Does Your Wholesaler Owna Bigger House Than You

fs feature solution

Does he or she deserve to?

If a wholesaler provides a genuine service

to dealers and immediate relief to their

inventory woes, then perhaps he does. But

more often than not, when the wholesaler is

making profi ts on the vehicles he just bought

from the used car manager, the store is losing

business.

Survival in the retail automotive world

requires skill, determination and drive, and

the playing fi eld is not always level. Those

with talent and discipline tend to be more

successful than others, and in the used

vehicle world, there are wholesalers and then

there are true market makers. Wholesalers

who have achieved “market maker status”

do so because they have connections and

the ability to turn thousand dollar profi ts in

a matter of minutes.

These wholesalers are able to do this

because so many intangibles determine a

vehicle’s value. Miles, color and condition

are just a few of the factors that can swing

a vehicle’s value. With all the other things

a used car manager has to oversee and all

of the distractions present in the dealership

environment, it’s fairly easy to pick off the

thousand dollar winners from him. For the

average UCM, being on top of the market

on every trade is almost impossible, but

there are consequences for his actions — or

inaction. When consumers are not getting

top dollar for their vehicles, it’s easier for

the store’s competitors to steal the business

by putting more money in the trade. Letting

a customer walk because the wholesaler has

been allowed to set the market on a vehicle is

a formula for disaster. Clearly, dealers must

put the right money in trades rather than

allow wholesalers to set the market.

Mike Hockett, CEO of Auction Broadcasting

Company and founder of Adesa, recalls

feeling in his wholesale/retail days that he

had failed if he missed a vehicle by $35.

The average cost of a vehicle in 1975 was

approximately $3,500 and imports hadn’t

yet hit America’s shores. Today, hundreds of

product lines and trim levels appear on the

market, but dealers are doing things today

just like they did in 1975, 1965, even 1955.

Here’s a sobering thought:

Although the retail automotive industry

has drastically changed in the last 30 years,

the way dealers do business has not. And

one of the most neglected areas, which can

dramatically affect a store’s revenues is the

appraisal process.

The scenario is typical and is played out

in hundreds of stores every year. Dealers

fi nd out that an appraiser has made poor

decisions 90-120 days after he’s been hired.

Volume and grosses start declining and

wholesale loss goes up. Further investigation

determines that inventory is under water

and that a real problem exists and is about

to get worse. The customary response is

reactionary, but a more appropriate and

possibly preventative action would be to

proactively monitor this critical position and

take early steps to eliminate potentially bad

situations.

Simply stated, there is an art to appraising a

vehicle, and not everyone has the gift.

Monitoring the appraiser’s performance

ensures that dealers have the best opportunity

to trade for every customer’s vehicle without

buying the business. Conversely, the dealer

needs to know whether his store is merely

stealing trades to offset wholesale losses.

The problem has always been that there

are simply no tools that allow dealers

to proactively measure and manage the

appraiser. There is a tremendous need for

tools that help the appraiser avoid mistakes

by giving him real-time information that will

enable him to make better decisions.

Recent industry developments suggest that

dealers now have the appraisal tools they

have needed for years. Three of the top

fi ve automotive groups in the country are

employing them, as are hundreds of stores

across the United States. The positive results

are becoming transparent with the recent

earnings announcements, and the big public

cap companies are seeing substantial lift and

profi tability in their used car business.

More than 500 stores using newly developed

appraisal tools participated in a study on

their new system’s effectiveness. In most

instances, the tools had been in place

for at least 12 months. The results were

astonishing. When the tools were initially

installed, the dealerships were losing an

average of $300 on every vehicle appraised,

traded for and wholesaled. Today those

same stores are making a $10 average profi t

on these same vehicles. That’s a dramatic

swing. What’s even more compelling is that

these dealers are trading for more vehicles

april 2005 21

they appraise this year over last. Close ratios

and performance metrics are tracked to

each appraiser. So if an appraiser values 10

vehicles and trades for 3, he has a close ratio

of 30 percent. The objective is to increase

close ratios while mitigating wholesale loss,

and the dealerships using these tools are

realizing signifi cant performance increases.

It is generally accepted that anyone can buy

a trade by putting too much in the vehicle.

It is also the reason a UCM or an appraiser

can show signifi cant sales improvement

in his fi rst 90 to 120 days. Ultimately, it

catches up to him, which is why there is

a 60 percent UCM turnover ratio in the

industry. What this study showed was that

although wholesale loss on trades had

essentially been eliminated, close ratios had

increased by 7 to 8 percent. This type of

improvement is very signifi cant, especially

on a large scale. Collectively these groups

might appraise 250,000 vehicles in a given

month and wholesale 100,000 of them.

Because the groups were able to increase

close ratios, they sold an additional 18,750

vehicles this year over last because their

appraisers made much better decisions. And

they eliminated an astonishing $3 million in

monthly wholesale loss while trading for

more vehicles.

The study further revealed that the best

appraisers in the country have 64 to 65

percent close ratios with negligible wholesale

loss. The average is 38 to 39 percent with

marginal wholesale loss and many were in

the 20 to 22 percent range with substantial

wholesale loss. That’s a substantial disparity.

Comparing one Ford store in the study to

another within a few miles of each other

revealed incredible differences. The fi rst

store had a 22 percent close ratio and was

losing $50k a month in wholesale loss, while

the one across town was at 53 percent close

ratios with no wholesale loss. It became

obvious that the 22 percent closer was trying

to steal trades by appraising them $3,000

below NADA trade-in value. The 53 percent

closer hit the same vehicles at $1,500 below

NADA trade-in value. That’s vital when each

store appraises 600 vehicles a month and it

means that one individual at the dealership

is worth 186 additional unit sales because he

makes better decisions! Smart dealers would

surely agree that it is imperative to monitor

this critical position.

This kind of analysis was done randomly all

over the country and the results demonstrate

that the disparity had nothing to do with

store ownership, geography or product

line. Instead, the results indicate that the

difference in these performance levels

had everything to do with the individuals

making the decisions and the processes they

followed when valuing a trade. Today most

appraisers rely on instinct and emotion when

appraising a vehicle. That might have been

acceptable 25 years ago when the average

vehicle had an average value of $3,500,

because if an appraiser missed a vehicle,

he didn’t miss it by much. But today’s retail

automotive environment is a much different

world. Decisions with such potent fi nancial

impact should not be left to chance.

It is often said that the true value of a vehicle

has nothing to do with its book value. The

true value of a vehicle is what it will bring at

the point of sale. New evaluation tools now

allow the appraiser to immediately see his

past performance with a particular vehicle at

the point of appraisal. This key staff member

can actually drill down and see photos, as

well as the condition of the vehicle and

details of each retail transaction. This “apples

to apples” comparison eliminates guesswork

and introduces an element of science into

what has previously been a gut decision.

These tools can also tell him whether the

vehicle is needed at his lot, based on past

performance and current stocking levels.

Real-time access to this type of information

is transforming the way vehicles are valued

at the stores that were studied, and this

technology is serving as the primary catalyst

for increased lift and profi tability.

Appraising is an art, and like any art form,

it has few masters. But with the new tools

of the 21st century, mastery of the art of

appraising is becoming more accessible

to dealerships, creating a very powerful

competitive advantage for those who learn

to use these tools effectively. The study

referenced in this article is available at

no charge from American Auto Exchange

Inc. It may also be downloaded from this

magazine’s Web site.

Your wholesaler should not live in a bigger

house than you do. Make the right decisions

at the point of appraisal and watch your

numbers soar.

Bruce Thompson is the chief executive ofÞ cer and founder of American Auto Exchange Inc. He can be contacted at 800.901.3017, or by e-mail [email protected].


Four Keys to Integrity Selling, Part 3

SeanWolfi ngtonsts ms ls fi s sf

leadership solution

Welcome to the third article in our four-part series on successful behaviors that hold the key to peak performance. These

four keys to integrity selling determine whether a sales person will struggle to sell 10 units a month or become a top producer who earns into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

A Recap of Key Traits That Drive Successful Beliefs and Behaviors:

1. Achievement Drive 2. Goal Clarity3. Healthy Emotional Intelligence4. Excellent Social Skills

Previously, we described Achievement Drive as the power to beat the odds, to triumph over challenge and to tap into deep reserves of persistence, determination and a never-give-up attitude. Goal Clarity means having clear, specifi c, written goals that you truly believe are attainable and that you feel you deserve to achieve. The focus of this article is on Healthy Emotional Intelligence which grants us the ability to understand emotions and how they impact behavior. Without it, a sales person with high achievement drive and goal clarity will sell you some cars, but wreck your CSI ratings and the morale of your dealership in the process.

At the foundation of emotional intelligence lies a strong sense of self-awareness that allows top sales people to adapt their behavior and do things that might not come naturally, but need to be done to increase success. We all have habitual attitudes, beliefs and actions as well as a behavior style that come to us naturally. People with healthy emotional intelligence are aware that what’s most natural and comfortable isn’t always what’s most effective. If they’re successful they adapt, if they’re average they do what feels good, taking the proverbial path of least resistance.

Let’s say one of our sales people (we’ll call him Joe) has strong personal beliefs about the advantages and benefi ts of leasing. Joe believes leasing is the best way to lower the

customer’s true cost of driving, minimize resale risk, increase owner loyalty and provide more car for less money. He loves that it gets the customer back to the dealership in an equity position before they get aggravated with the higher cost of maintenance and repair. If Joe feels this passionate about a particular way of paying for a vehicle but lacks the emotional intelligence to keep his feelings in check, he’s likely to blow the deal entirely when he encounters a customer who “just wants to own it.”

Emotional intelligence produces traits like stability, persistence, steadiness, even-tempered control and the ability to deal with rejection. This can be an incredible asset in your Customer Relationship Center (CRC) where a person might not always be in the mood to dial, but has the ability to recognize this and does it regardless. You don’t need a CRC to appreciate the power of enhancing the ability to deal with rejection in the car business. One look at the showroom traffi c log and we have proof that selling isn’t easy. How many customers do we have to greet before we sell a car? How many incoming phone opportunities do we have to handle before we set an appointment? How many outgoing calls does it take before we reach the person we need to speak with? What

can all that rejection do to a sales person’s enthusiasm when welcoming the next opportunity to the showroom fl oor? If we allow fear of rejection to rule our actions, we soon learn the best way to handle it is to drop the unsold follow-up process entirely because the odds are simply not working in our favor. The best sales people realize this and refuse to allow fear of failure to cripple results.

Healthy Emotional Intelligence helps a sales person recognize that fear of rejection kills success, if allowed to rule behavior. Build emotional intelligence and you’re better equipped to deal with negative emotions and resistance to change. But how do we recognize a person with strong emotional intelligence? They’re driven by a strong sense that they create value for others. They maintain a level emotional response despite the ups and downs. They understand their own emotions and the infl uence emotions can have upon their sales behaviors. They’re able to pick themselves up after repeated rejections or missed sales. They’ve learned to replace negative emotions with positive ones.

If understanding and controlling our emotions is essential for attaining higher levels of performance results, how can we cultivate high emotional intelligence in ourselves and our staff? It’s not something that can be intellectually learned; simply knowing about it doesn’t mean you have it. Rather, it needs to be experientially developed. William James said, “Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.” One great way to encourage doing the things we fear is to offer positive reinforcement; to catch your people doing something right. You can ask for examples in your daily Make-A-Deal meetings and weekly sales meetings. People often need to be reminded of the success they enjoyed when doing something they originally feared or simply weren’t in the mood to do. Look for the fi nal installment in this four-part series next month, when we will turn our attention to Excellent Social Skills.

Sean WolÞ ngton is the owner of BZResults.com. He can be contacted at 866.802.5753, or by e-mail atswolÞ [email protected].

Healthy Emotional Intelligence helps a sales person recognize that fear of rejection kills success, if allowed to rule behavior. Build emotional intelligence and you�re better equipped to deal with negative emotions and resistance to change.

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Personal Development is Personal,and Commitment is the Key

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Commitment is Cool.And what’s even cooler is how it can lead you to remarkable results. One of the great myths of top

performance and big success is that it’s all about motivation. It’s motivational speakers and motivating sales people and paying the price and blah, blah, blah.

News fl ash: Motivation is temporary. Success in anything demands the constant of commitment - yours.

Commitment is stronger than motivation. But before you can commit, to anyone or anything, you must believe. Walt Disney once said of making dreams come true, “When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably.”

Commitments are a big part of personal development - and life and work and relationships and getting the most from each. It’s just another reason why personal development is so, well, personal. Because some of the things I’ve committed to might not hold the same personal value to you. And visa versa.

Commitment means you resolve to do what it takes on a consistent basis, even when you don’t feel motivated. Like today. Or maybe tomorrow. What have you committed to that means no matter how you feel you’re keeping on? Your marriage? Parenting? Your work? Selling? Reading? Listening? Writing? Teaching? What have you committed to?

The clues of success are yesterday’s wisdom and today’s revelation all rolled into one. They are historic clues and visionary thinking. But the reason you absolutely must be something or see something or become something is personal. And it requires a commitment on your part to arrive at your desired destination.

Become a History MajorHistory can give you the model to high achievement: the clues, the stories, the successes, the way others did it. The only thing you shouldn’t accept from history is why it’s never been done before. That’s the limitations of the past. And this is the Future. The impossible is done everyday, somewhere. You could be next in line for breakthrough success.

Epictetus was onto something in the second century. “First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.”

How can you become better at commitment? Make it Personal. Here’s my short list:

Commit to beginning.Beginning to do what you’ve never done to become what you’ve never been. Beginning is exciting. It’s an adventure to start something. At least try looking at it from that uncommon perspective. The clichés of the masters aren’t all clichés. It is true that you don’t have to be great to start something, but you do have to start something to become great.

Commit to thinking.What if Napoleon Hill were right? Think, and grow rich. What if there really was something to Sir Isaac Newton’s answer to the question on how he discovered the law of gravity? “I thought about it all the time.”How about Ralph Waldo Emerson’s clue, “We become what we think about all day long?” Hmmm. The evidence begins to pile up when you become a good student. Think. Deeply. And then capture your thoughts on paper. Before you know it, you’ve got a vision and written goals on how to get there.

Commit to giving.Giving makes you bigger than you are. The more you give, the more you pour out, the more life will be able to pour into you. What are you thankful for? What have you been given in life? And how do you measure what you have?

Try measuring your worth not in dollars or possessions, but the things in your life for which you would not take money. Priceless things not for sale at any price.

Commit to life.Don’t trade living for existing.

Want the rest of Michael’s List of The 10 Commitments? Visit www.AutoSuccess.biz.

Michael York is an author and professional speaker. He can be contacted at 800.668.5015, or by e-mail [email protected], or visit www.MichaelYork.com.

One of the great myths of top performance and big success is that it�s all about motivation. It�s motivational speakers and motivating sales people and paying the price and blah, blah, blah.

News flash: Motivation is temporary. Success in anything demands the constant of commitment - yours.

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april 2005 25

StaceyDiPiazza

New Law to Affect All Who DealWith Consumer Credit Information

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FACTA applies to anybody who maintains consumer information and any business that�s regulated by the Federal Trade Commission.

By June, 2005 every company that deals with consumer credit information will have to change the

way it does business. That’s the day that the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) goes into effect. This new federal law was designed to reduce the risk of consumer fraud and identity theft that is created by the improper disposal of consumer information. Its impact will be felt by auto dealers and other any business that have access to consumer’s credit information. Those subject to the rule will have the next six months to bring their operations into compliance.

The rule requires that these companies destroy all consumer information before it is discarded. Auto dealers that don’t properly destroy this information will face severe penalties, which could include civil liabilities; the threat of class action suits and state and federal enforcement actions.

Although all businesses will feel the impact of the new rule, it especially singles out auto dealers, consumer reporting agencies, lenders, insurers, employers, landlords, government agencies, mortgage brokers, and other users of consumer reports. FACTA applies to anybody who maintains consumer information and any business that’s regulated by the Federal Trade Commission.

It’s important to remember that FACTA covers more than paper. The rule covers any medium that contains personal information, whether it’s paper, CDs, discs or even hard drives. Infoshred has been asked by many companies to destroy hard drives, even though these companies have already removed the information from the drives. They want to be absolutely sure that no information can be retrieved from these hard drives, so we physically destroy and dispose of them.

What does FACTA mean to your dealership? That you need to really monitor and implement policies and procedures for the

destruction of information. For example, you’ll need to shred credit applications, consumer reports, fi nance and lease transactions and anything used in the credit check and fi nancing process. In the past, you might have thrown this information into the trash, or recycling bin. Now this information has to be destroyed. Throwing it away or placing into a recycling bin will not satisfy the new FACTA rules. The information must be disposed of in a confi dential waste program, where it is securely destroyed.

Many businesses used to recycle offi ce paper, but that won’t satisfy the new requirements. Shredding sensitive documents will satisfy the FACTA requirements. When you use a professional shredding service, discarded paper goes into what is called a Closed System‚ that safeguards the documents from the time they are discarded to the time they are destroyed and disposed of. Security is the key to making sure your business satisfi es FACTA’s requirements.

Stacey DiPiazza is the owner of Infoshred LLC. She can be contacted at 866.826.8434, or by e-mail [email protected], or visit www.infoshred.com.


How Successful DealersCapitalize on Internet Leads

DanVogel

With more car shoppers increasingly relying on the Internet, now is the time for dealers to revisit their online lead

management practices when handling these serious customers. The results of an R.L. Polk & Co. study indicate that dealers are not reaping full benefi ts from online sales leads partly due to lack of effi ciency in the leveraging of resources and information during the follow up process. Another even simpler reason, may be that it is diffi cult to understand the unique needs of online consumers.

According to J.D. Power and Associates, nearly two-thirds of consumers begin the car buying process using the Internet as a research tool. Industry analyst fi rm Jupiter Research reports that 22 percent of new car sales in 2004 were Internet-generated*. If dealers invest in effi cient lead management programs that promote personalized and timely follow-ups, the percentage of sales from Internet leads could be much higher. Smart dealers understand that the key to improving sales is to increase close rates on leads.

The Polk study uncovered important insight about the behavior of online buyers that is sure to take dealers in the right direction when following up with online leads. The study, which tracked about 50,000 Purchase Requests**, found that 67 percent of consumers who submitted a new vehicle Purchase Request bought a vehicle. Two-thirds of those consumers purchased within 90 days, and one-third purchased within 30 days, with the average time from Purchase Request submission to purchase at approximately 50 days. The likelihood to purchase tapered off each month following the request. These fi ndings highlight the need for dealers to respond immediately to online leads, as well as maintain regular points of communication during the critical weeks thereafter. What holds true for showroom customers seems to ring true for virtual shoppers as well: people do not car shop for fun. Consumers that do their research online and visit virtual dealerships should be tended to as seriously as walk in customers. But how can showroom attention be lavished upon the virtual consumer?

Dealers can begin by reshaping their view of online customers and by realizing that all buyers want to be treated as a vital part of the sales process even if they are online. Bringing a semblance of the showroom to the Internet will make a monumental difference, provided that online purchase requests are managed in a timely and serious fashion. Here are a few best practices to help dealers increase sales and continue to build solid relationships with Internet customers.

Understand The Online ConsumerOnline buyers tend to do more homework, because they have a higher capacity to gather market information. They also want to save the time spent at the dealership. These customers still value personalized service, which can be translated to the online experience via methods like testimonials, HTML e-mails and inventory links. Dealers can go beyond the regular follow up of a few standardized welcome e-mails and phone calls. Implementing a user-friendly interface, as well as sending targeted e-mails that focus on a customer’s buying profi le and specifi c inquiries can make a huge difference. These exchanges leave good impressions with the customer and let them know they can expect great service once they come into the dealership. Subtle details and attractive visuals communicated by the dealership online can take the place of a smile and a handshake and can pave the road to winning a sale.

Ensure that your Web site puts the customer in controlJust as good sales people put the customer in control, a good Web site will offer customers control and fl exibility by providing helpful inventory options. Price comparison examples can assist online buyers by giving them more options to consider. For example, a customer who has requested a price quote for a 2005 Honda Civic will appreciate a price comparison to a 2005 Honda Accord as well as a price comparison of a high-end 2003 or 2004 Honda Civic. Keep in mind, these are the same type of comparisons that an on-site user might ask for. Prospective buyers will be impressed by online functions that save them time by addressing their needs and priorities proactively.

Build a long-term relationship A great way to develop dealership loyalty is to show concern for a customer’s needs

even when there is no immediate sale to be made. Regular targeted e-mails that are visually stimulating and promote a call to action can be issued to the entire customer base. Creating a pattern of regular e-mail communication that includes add-on options, price quotes and even an electronic photo of the sales person can be particularly effective, especially when they are followed-up with phone calls to secure the prospect’s attention.

Invest in a good lead management tool The good news is that an effective lead management tool can centralize all this customized outreach and help dealers with effective and timely communication from the initial inquiry to maintenance. Effi cient ongoing communication should enable the dealership to increase customer retention, decrease the amount of time required to close leads, and, in the process, save the dealership signifi cant amounts of money.

Lead Management Check List • Does the program easily integrate with your dealership’s existing dealer management system (DMS)?

• Does the customizable aspect of the program meet your dealership’s relationship-building goals?

• Can customer inquiries be tracked across multiple channels and eliminate redundant follow-up?

• Is the program user-friendly, allowing a short training period for management and sales staff?

*Source: Jupiter Research “Overview of Online New and Used Car Markets” October, 2004**Study was conducted using Autobytel Purchase Request Data from March to November 2003.

Dan Vogel is vice president and general manager of AVV, a subsidiary of Autobytel Inc. He can be contacted at 866.826.8907, or by e-mail at [email protected].

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AnthonyHall

How to Select the Vehicle

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Selecting the correct vehicle for our prospects is a critical step in the “Road to the Sale.” It has a big effect on the outcome

of the negotiation process. It determines whether you make a fair and reasonable profi t.

The two factors in helping a prospect select the correct vehicle are: Good Fact Finding Skills (i.e. Who? What? Why? When? and Where?) and In Depth Product Knowledge. Remember, the majority of people don’t actually end up buying the vehicle they thought they wanted when they fi rst came into the dealership. Truly knowledgeable sales people will

take the information they gathered in the fact-fi nding stage of the road to a sale and combine it with their product knowledge to help the prospect select the vehicle that not only meets the prospect’s needs and expectations but will also save the customer money in the long-term ownership of his or her automobile.

Once you’ve gathered all the facts, ask the prospect, “If we had an automobile that would fulfi ll all your needs and wants and would save you thousands of dollars would you consider it?” The answer is most likely going to be yes. Now direct your customer to either a used vehicle that matches their desire or a new base model.

By doing this you have created fl exibility. Normally, the customer will still want to look at the vehicle they fi rst told you about during the fact-fi nding interview. But by incorporating this into your vehicle selection process two things happen: One, you have created an opportunity in the negotiation process, if needed, to have a switch or fall-back vehicle to go to if the primary vehicle of their choice proves to be out of their budget range, and two, you have also eliminated the “one shot wonder” mentality.

Sales people have got to create fl exibility before they go into negotiation. This will help increase their opportunity to sell more cars to more people rather than let a customer go after negotiation because we could not get to the customer’s payment range on a specifi c vehicle.

Inventory awareness is also key to this process, not only the new car inventory but also the used car inventory. Knowing this will help you utilize your opportunities when you have the prospect in front of you.

Points to Remember1. Always help the customer select a vehicle he or she can get excited about. The more excitement, the more gross profi t. 2. Don’t allow a customer to pin you down on a specifi c color or equipment package.3. Always walk the customer into the inventory.4. Keep control of the selection process.

Anthony Hall is a training consultant at Ziegler Supersystems. He can be contacted at 800.610.9047, or by e-mail at [email protected].

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april 2005 29

Upgrade Your Knowledge and Skill

BrianTracy

Selling is the process of helping a person to conclude that your product or service is of greater value to him

or her than the price you are asking for. Our market society is based on the principles of freedom and mutual benefi t. Each party to a transaction only enters into it when he or she feels that he or she will be better off as a result of the transaction than he or she would be without it. In a free market, the customer always has three options with any purchase decision. First, the customer can buy your product or service. Second, the customer can buy the product or service from someone else. Third, the customer can decide to buy nothing at all.

For the customer to buy your particular product or service, he or she must be convinced that it is not only the best choice available but he or she must also be persuaded that there is no better way for him or her to spend the equivalent amount of money. Your job as a sales person is to convince the customer that all these conditions exist and then to elicit a commitment from him or her to take action on your offer.

In a way, selling methodologies are merely responses to customer requirements. At one time, customers were relatively unsophisticated and poorly informed about their choices. Sales people catered to this customer with carefully planned and memorized sales presentations, loads of enthusiasm and a bag full of techniques designed to crush resistance and get the order at virtually any cost.

Customers are now more intelligent and knowledgeable than ever before. They are experienced buyers and they have interacted with hundreds of sales people. They are extremely sophisticated and aware of the incredible variety of products and services that are available to them, as well as their relative strengths and weaknesses of those products. Many of them are smarter and better educated

than most sales people because of the Internet and they are far more careful about making a buying decision of any kind.

In addition, they are overwhelmed with work and under-supplied with time. Because of the rapidly increasing pace of change, down-sizing, restructuring and the competitive pressures surrounding them, customers today are harried and hassled. They are swamped with responsibilities, impatient, suspicious, critical, demanding and spoiled. To sell to today’s customer requires a higher caliber of sales professional than has ever before been required. And it is only going to become tougher and more complicated in the months and years ahead.

Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, think continually about reasons you can give your customer that your product and dealership is the very best available. Why does he or she buy or refuse to buy?

Second, upgrade your knowledge and skills every day so you can sell more effectively. Remember, your customers only get better when you get better.

Brian Tracy is the chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International. He can be contacted at 866.300.9881, or by e-mail at [email protected].

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Second, upgrade your knowledge and skills every day so you can sell more effectively. Remember, your customers only get better when you get better.

MarkTewart

Five Tips for Beginning Sales People

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1. Educate Yourself

Don’t wait for managers or anyone else to give you the sales education you

need. Unfortunately, the automobile industry has been stuck for years in a, “Throw them in and see if they can swim mentality.” Some dealerships take new recruits to a meeting room and have them watch training tapes for a day and expect them to be trained. Neither of these options will increase your odds for success.

Begin a massive self-education program that will continue your whole career. Combine visual, auditory and experiential learning. Listen to sales and motivational material every day on the way to and from work. Read, watch DVDs and then put it all

together by role-playing with a manager or fellow sales person. Education Creates Motivation - Motivation Breeds Perspiration - Perspiration Creates Elevation.

2. Avoid Cancer

Attitude is everything in sales and life. All companies are full of people with negative attitudes and limiting beliefs. These beliefs and attitudes begin to perpetuate into a culture that is counterproductive to all sales people and potentially deadly to the new sales person. You can insulate yourself from the cancerous attitudes by taking the following steps. 1. Avoid smoke-and-joke circles. There has never been a positive conversation in one of these pity party circles, and there never will. Avoid them like the plaque. 2. Utilize motivational material daily. Nobody can be fully self-motivated all the time. You need tools to assist you. CDs, DVDs, pictures, music, books, quotes, spiritual material, mentors and mastermind circles are all tools that you should use.

3. Utilize a Follow-Up System Religiously Pick a manual or software system that you will use from day one. Every customer, every prospect, every time. When you start with an organized system, you will be focused on the fundamentals that will make you successful both short- and long-term. Collect as much data as you can on each prospect and customer and organize your follow-up by using post cards, letters, gifts, newsletters, e-mail autoresponders and sequential autoresponders. Persistent = consistent.

In sales and marketing, you must always remember the order of importance of potential sales. Your current customers will always provide you the most return on investment. So often, new sales people are in a constant mad dash for new customers and forget to maximize the potential of the ones they just sold. It’s easier to maintain a good system that was created from the beginning than it is to start a new one later on.

4. Take Massive Action

It’s all about action management, not time management. You have 1,440 minutes in

everyday. Success is determined by the actions you take in those minutes. Avoid the time trap of getting caught up in the stuff. Stuff are the things that are minor in nature that we spend most of our day in that create little results. Don’t major in the minor. Continually ask yourself if what you are doing will contribute to a sale either now or in the future. Keep the main thing, the main thing. Each day you must evaluate your actions and create a stop-doing list. After reviewing your day, determine what actions you should lessen or eliminate. Start your day with major actions so it sets a trend for the day. Jump in, don’t wade in.

5. Be Your Own Marketing ManagerDon’t expect any business or anyone to bring you customers. You must take the mindset from day one that you will provide 100 percent of your own customers and anything your company provides is extra. Start by creating your own brand. What will your slogan be that defi nes you? Utilize your picture, caricature and slogan on all marketing materials and business cards. Create your own Web site as a benefi t to the customer that can be integrated with all marketing material.

Next, determine your ideal customer base that buys your product. You can purchase lists of people who drive your brand of product from one of many different list providers. Begin a multi-step marketing approach to these potential customers. Read as many books on copy writing as possible to learn the secrets of getting people to take action from your words. Educating yourself on marketing and copywriting will pay you more dividends than any other single thing you can do.

Sales people are made, not born. It’s the people who do the work, who learn to market themselves, follow-up, handle rejection, persist and maintain a winning attitude that win in the sales profession.

Mark Tewart is the president of Tewart Enterprises. He can be contacted at 866.429.6844, or by e-mail at [email protected].

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Common Illegal Practices to Avoid

TonyDupaquiersts ms ls fi s sf

f&i solution

Including products in a payment without disclosing it to the customer as a separate optional product when presenting a menu.

The legal term for this is “Menu Manipulation.” Packing a payment from the sales desk is illegal, and the same rules apply in the business offi ce. This problem arises when a VSC is sold, and the business manager includes a maintance agreement in the deal. Once the customer fi nds out that there is a separate charge for the maintance agreement that was not independently disclosed, the dealership becomes susceptible to litigation for deceptive and deceitful business practices. Menu manipulation will also create a problem when the contract is canceled and a refund is due to the customer. The solution: Ensure that every customer has a full understanding of every product that is included in the payment or quoted from the

menu. Depending on the state you are doing business in, you may have to disclose a separate price for each optional product and not just quote a payment.

Power Booking Power Booking occurs when false information is given to a lender concerning the specifi c equipment level on a pre-owned vehicle. In many stores, it is the pre-owned manager’s responsibility to ensure that the book-out sheet on vehicle accurately refl ects the equipment on the vehicle. However it is crucial to remember that business managers are ultimately responsible for protecting the dealership. Lenders follow up with customers to ensure that the vehicle sold does, in fact, have a bed-liner, step rails, leather seats, alarm system, sunroof, etc. If the lender discovers you inaccurately represented a vehicle, the dealership may have to buy back the contract, which would destroy the dealership’s relationship with the lender. The solution: Ensure the equipment

level of the vehicle is the same on the book-out sheet. Ask customers a few questions during the interview to double-check the equipment level.

Trading rate for product Although it is not illegal, it is a bad practice. The solution: Never tell a customer that a better rate is available if they purchase a product.

Falsifying information to the lender In response to the identity theft problem, more lenders are checking the accuracy of the information on applications. Some lenders verify prior to the deal being approved, whereas many lenders are double-checking after funding the deal. Many banks have auto approvals, depending on a credit score. Dealerships will spot-contract a customer if the credit score falls into the “automatic” approval limits. Even if the customer is an automatic, this does not mean the business manager can give that customer a raise on income or increase their work time to ensure compliance with the automatic criteria. If a business manager gets caught doing this, the dealership will have to buy back the contract. The solution: Make sure that all information on the credit application is correct and accurate, and do not help or coach the customer on what to put on a credit application.

When it comes to the business offi ce, everything that is done must be 100 percent accurate, 100 percent of the time.

Tony Dupaquier is the director of F&I training for American Financial & Automotive Services Inc. He can be contacted at 866.856.6754, or by e-mail [email protected].

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When it comes to the business ofÞ ce, everything that is done must be 100 percent accurate, 100 percent of the time.

FranTaylor

Stop the Poverty andStart the Prosperity

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To the people who are complaining, I have several questions to ask you:

1. Are the managers doing daily training?2. Do the managers spend time each morning helping sales people get appointments?3. Is the dealership spending $2,500 per sales person each month on advertising?4. Do you have a good mixed inventory?5. Are your sales people advertising for themselves with prospecting tools to get their own clients?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, you can automatically increase sales.

A store whose goal was to sell 50 used cars a month, showed 62 cars on their used car list. Thirty-four were on the lot ready to go. The rest were coming in to go to service and the others were going to the auction. No way was this dealership going to deliver 50 used cars in one month. The numbers didn’t match up. Want to sell 50? Then, have at least 50 front line ready.

Another dealership wanted to deliver 140 new and used a month. They spent $34,000 and delivered 101 cars. Their challenge is they only have nine sales people. Want to sell 140 cars? Have 14 sales people. Their numbers didn’t match.

Even if you have the correct amount of sales people and are spending $2,500 a month per sales person, how much more could you

make if you said “yes” to all 5 questions listed above. This is how you can make more net profi t, have more fun and slow down turnover. Start where others stop, and when you have done your very best, look for help. Sales people need training and education now more than ever. If you are not

doing well, do the things listed and stop the poverty and start the prosperity.

Fran Taylor is the owner of Taylor Techniques. He can be contacted at 866.848.9864, or by emial at [email protected].

april 2005 33

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The Body Language of Listening

PattiWood

You’re sitting in the offi ce with your customer as he or she talks about what kind of car he or she wants

or perhaps the challenges he or she is having with a product or service. You want the customer to know that you’re listening, you know it’s important to show concern, but you’re a little tired, or they’re going on and on or maybe they’re saying some negative things and you’re feeling a little defensive. What can you do to help you focus and show him or her that you are listening? What body language cues show that you are listening? Be gentler with your listening.

G-ive facial feedback

It is so easy to zone out as a listener, but when you do you can give a blank, open-mouthed look that resembles the face of a kid after fi ve hours of cartoons. You’re not winning friends and infl uencing people. Drool is not very appealing. You have to work your abs to have toned stomach muscles, and you have to work your face to have toned empathetic skills. Let your facial expressions show your emotional response to the message. If the customer is concerned, show understanding by furrowing your brow. If the customer is unhappy, frown and lower your eyes. If the customer is angry, close and fl atten out your lip like a sealed envelope. Briefl y matching facial expressions not only shows your customers that you are listening, it creates the same chemicals in your brain that body language shifts are creating in theirs and you will actually feel what they are feeling and understand them more effectively. What are some positive facial feedback expressions?

E-ye Contact

A listener should give more eye contact than a speaker. Research (Pease 1981) suggests that if you want to have good rapport, you should maintain eye-contact 60 to 70 percent of the time that someone is speaking to you. Women have been shown to be better at this than men and actually need more eye contact from listeners in order to feel comfortable in the conversation. Even research on small children shows that little boys told to converse on a topic sat side by side and

talked to each other staring off into space, and little girls moved the chairs to face each other and watched each other with full attention for their entire conversation. This may be because dominance is communicated by either staring or a lack of eye contact. You need to make good eye contact, but don’t stare. Research shows that normal business gaze focuses on the eyes and the upper forehead and social gaze drops down to also include the nose and the mouth.

N-od your head

Occasionally nod your head to show you are listening and empathetic with the speaker’s message. An added bonus of nodding your head is that it releases endorphin-like chemicals into your bloodstream to make you feel good and feel more affable about the speaker. T-urn off technology

We have become so accustomed to answering the phone and looking at our computers, leaving our hands on the keyboards when someone comes into our offi ces to talk, and leaving our cell phones and PDAs on and attached to our waists at all times that we forget how rude all those things are. Signal your intent to really listen by turning off your computer, the ringer on your desk phone, cell phones and pagers and saying out loud, “Let me turn this off while we talk.” It’s amazing what a difference it will make in the impression you will give to your customer - because so few listeners take the time to be that polite. I suggest that when you are on the sales fl oor you remove any visible technology. Hide your cell phone and PDA, rather than wearing them on your waist. When you have them in view, you’re saying nonverbally that someone else is more important and could interrupt you at any time.

L-ean forward

Proximity that is physically close signals your desire to be emotionally or physically close. I don’t mean get in the customer’s face and be the close talker, merely lean in toward the speaker. Research shows that in a seated conversation a backwards lean communicates that you are dominant. A

forward lean shows interest.

E-xpose your heart

Make sure that you turn toward the speaker. Orient the heart and, ideally, the upper portion of your body, toward the speaker. People self-disclose more to listeners facing toward them. Even a quarter turn away signals a lack of interest in the speaker and makes the speaker shut down. It also says something about your response to the message. Research shows that when people feel under attack or defensive or have low self-esteem they protect their vulnerable heart area on their chest. Body language is a wonderfully symbolic language to communicate you are an open, confi dent speaker and listener. You need to show your heart. There are gender differences. When men are sitting directly across a table or desk from one another the desk or table almost acts as a castle wall and the direct heart-to-heart message changes to a challenge creating a feeling of competition between men and making them share less than they do when they are seated side to side.

R-emove barriers.

That means take away things that block the access or view between the customer and you. The barrier used most often is the arms. Though we have more than 60 different motivations for folding our arms, customers see any arm fold as a barrier and a cue that you are not listening. In fact, of all the different body language postures, the arm fold is the most obvious indication of a lack of interest. You actually retain 30 percent less information from the speaker when you listen with your arms crossed. So unfold your arms. In addition, move the phone or stacks of papers that sit between you on the desk that block yours and the customers’ views. Sometimes the blocking is subtle.

There is no greater gift to give to someone than your interest. Be gentler with your listening.

Patti Wood is the president of Communication Dynamics. She can be contacted at 800.849.3651, or by e-mail at [email protected].

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AllenBlad

The Latest in CRM is a CRC:Customer Relationship Center

The key to success lies in how dealerships defi ne CRM. With the benefi ts to capture repeat and referral business, many dealers

have committed to a business development model because they realize that full-time effort equals full-time results. In an effort to maximize results, fi nd more customers, sell a higher percentage of that traffi c and keep them loyal to sales and service, we made the decision to rethink CRM. We found that solution to traffi c trouble wasn’t more advertising or more people in the call center or even a BDC. We’ve enjoyed a 900 percent increase in sales with our Customer Relationship Center and a shift away from conventional advertising to digital marketing.

While dealers may have an infi nite number of ways to defi ne CRM or CRC and the best

strategy and tactics for implementation, one thing to agree on is the desired results:

1. To fi nd and attract more quality prospects and traffi c to the dealership at a lower cost2. To sell a higher percentage of those customers 3. To keep those customers loyal to both service and to sales

Our fi rst task of a CRC is to fi nd and attract more quality customers. Since it is increasingly diffi cult to rely on walk-in traffi c, we need to fi nd alternative ways to drive more traffi c at a lower cost per sale. If seven out of 10 customers use the Web during the buying process, it makes sense to use the Internet as a marketing medium. Leveraging the Web as a marketing opportunity lies in creating a virtual dealership that can increase loyalty, business and satisfaction for all your profi t centers: sales and service, parts and body shop, rental, fl eet and F&I. We leverage three simple strategies for using our manufacturer’s site, lead providers and our own URL to drive traffi c.

Three Simple Strategies:1. Manufacturer’s Site:Customers often start here as a way to begin the product search and research process. Leads from the manufacturer’s site to our URL, are early in the buying cycle and often require months of meaningful follow-up.

2. Lead Providers:We use third-party providers because they have a national presence and can reach people to which we wouldn’t ordinarily have access. Some customers are more comfortable contacting them or may feel they will get a better deal with them, but just as all dealerships are not created equal, all lead providers are not created equal. What’s great about the Web is that everything is measurable, and it’s a piece of cake to track and measure cost per sale so we can determine instantly which ones are better than others. Lead aggregators make that process even easier today and can save valuable time by providing complete information needed to set an appointment.

3. Dealership’s Own Web site:In addition to creating sales leads, the goal of

www.Rothrock.com is to market the whole dealership. Step one is to help sell a car today, and step two is to promote all the other profi t centers (service, parts, subprime, etc.). It’s a marketing center, plus an information source. As a result, three different types of traffi c will be created: Internet, phone and showroom, and herein lies the link to CRM.

With a virtual dealership that functions as a marketing center, the increased Internet, phone and walk-in opportunities provided the impetus to defi ne a strategy and process for the CRC. That strategy and process is easier to implement with an action plan that includes the right people, pricing, technology and tools to turn profi t leaks into profi t opportunities.

Best practices for using your Web site and a CRC to help Þ nd, sell and keep more customers:People – Recruit, hire and train the right people with the skills, confi dence and persistence.

Process – Clearly defi ne the process from beginning to end for every customer touch point; be it phone, Internet or showroom to ensure that everyone has a clear vision and understanding of what should be.

Place – Do your people have what they need and the infrastructure to support your vision of a CRC?

Tools – Technology and tools don’t sell cars, people do. But it’s amazing how the right tools can help you get more done with less effort.

Measurement – Tracking and measuring your performance results are the only way to hold your people accountable and make sure that they’re implementing the process you’ve defi ned, utilizing the tools you’ve invested in and building value with your customers.

Allen Blad is the general manager at Rothrock Chevrolet and Lotus. He can be contacted at 866.815.2339, or by e-mail at [email protected].

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The NIADA.TV Television Network has responded to popular demand and is now featuring LIVE PROGRAMS and LIVE SPECIAL EVENTS!

• Over the next several months, you won’t want to miss any of these great programs, so mark your calendars and stay tuned to NIADA.TV.• Live programs and Live Special Events will also be rebroadcast several times before becoming regular programs on the Education

Channel or placed on the Member Channel.• Live events are free to members, subscribers, and to anyone within the industry who logs onto the network at www.niada.tv during

live broadcast times.

THURSDAY, APRIL 21ST 2-4 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST)“Legal and Regulatory Issues Facing Dealers Today”

An open forum broadcast before a live studio audience of dealers in Columbus, Ohio. Hosted by Keith Whann and facilitated byMichael York, NIADA.TV’s Chief News Correspondent, this program will focus on various legal and regulatory topics and issues facing theautomobile industry. Tune in to hear Whann’s analysis and answers to some of the biggest legal questions facing automobile dealers today!Rebroadcast on April 23rd and 26th beginning at 9am Eastern Standard Time (EST) for 24 hours

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8TH 1-4 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)“2005 NIADA Convention General Session”

If you are unable to attend the Convention, this is your chance to see the opening session of NIADA’s 59th Annual Convention andExpo, broadcast live from the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. The event begins with an association update given byExecutive Vice President/CEO, Michael Linn, to be followed by a Keynote Address from Michael York entitled “Becoming Uncommon inToday’s Economy.” The session wraps up with the NIADA Legal, Legislative and Regulatory (LLR) Open Forum hosted by Keith Whann,General Counsel, along with LLR Committee Members.

FRIDAY, JUNE 10TH 8-10 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)“NIADA 2005 National Quality Dealer of the Year Awards”

Here’s a chance for a front row seat to the 2005 NIADA National Quality Dealer of the Year Awards, broadcast live from the fabulous Peachtree Ballroom at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. This great event will honor past award recipients,highlight this year’s nominees from around the country and present the 2005 National Quality Dealer of the Year. This is one night youwill not want to miss!

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