It’s time for the DealerRefresh “Best of 2007” posts. This is a round-up of the year’s best-received posts along with some of my personal favorites.

So, if you missed anything from 2007, here’s a second shot at it.

• Are you missing internet leads from your dealer website? – be careful that our leads are not “evaporating”

• Nada 2007 Review – My personal review of NADA 2007

• 5 Steps to better customer service! – Why is it so hard to come by good customer service in the automotive vendor industry?

• While I requested quote from your dealer website, I also sent it to… – This one got some attention.

• Have you been "Flogged" ?? – This can suck when it happens!

• Do videos really help sell cars? – Do you really need videos of your inventory?

• I met my future BDC agent – She is pretty young, but a sponge for learning.

• Is your SEM vendor acting in your best interest? - some of you have really just wasted a lot of money

• Speculation on the future – somewhat frightening – Can you see what a mess all of this could put all of us in?

• Are the "Phonebook to Web" services worth anything? – SuperPages.com – YellowPages.com – Yellowbook.com – what is their worth?
• Should dealers be blogging? – 5 reasons why dealers do not blog.

• Are our manufacturers worse than we are? – Why are other manufacturers so far behind?

• High traffic with low conversions? Is this a franchise-related problem? – Watching  Internet traffic patterns shift.

• AutoUSA – Something isn’t kosher! – Was AutoUSA sending me duplicate leads?

• Are you skipping steps? – It’s easy to forget about the basics.

• What’s Wrong With Video? – Using video help build transparency.

And of course lets not forget to include the DealerRefresh comment record breaking..

• AutoTrader.com Pricing??? Post with over 120 comments and still counting. 

It was exciting going back and reviewing all the posts and comments for 2007. There were quite a few more then what I had thought. The number of people participating continues to grow, though I know there are still a lot of readers out there reading but not commenting. So for 2008 I encourage you to participate.

THANKS TO EVERYONE for reading DealerRefresh and for their participation in 2007. We have a great community here and some of the best talent in the industry participating. It’s truly exciting and I can’t wait to see what 2008 brings us.

Jeff Kershner

I get so sick and tired of these internet customers. You can’t make a dime off of them and they’re waste of my time. Let me tell you WHY!

They come into the dealer armed with information and print outs from Edmunds, KBB.com and other various websites. You end up spending half the day with them; answering their questions, explaining to them that what they read in the forums is misrepresented truth, test driving several vehicles while they compare everything to their print outs. After spending half of the day with them, building rapport, performing a great demo and product presentation while being very professional and courteous, I have to hear “I know your invoice, back end and the dealer incentive for this car, so I want your absolute BEST DEAL!”.

Two to Three hours later I realized that I just spent way too much time with this customer AND I’m about to make a whole WHOPPING $50.00 bucks for a mini deal. Really, it’s not worth the effort unless it’s a volume unit that puts me over the edge for a bonus. Otherwise, I’d rather wait around for a normal customer to visit the showroom floor, someone that I have a chance of making some real money on, and someone that will appreciate the service and time I can offer them.

I’m not sure why, but the Internet sales manager still feeds me a few leads from time to time. You almost never get these customers to answer you back. I’ll send them an email with my contact info asking them to call me for more information on the vehicle they are interested in, but that’s a waste of time cause they never contact me back. MAYBE two out of a hundred times I’ll actually get someone on the phone, BUT when I do, they’re either a bunch of kids playing around on the internet or worse yet, some schmuck wanting nothing more then “YOUR BEST PRICE” only so they can shop around with my numbers.

The Internet sales manager keeps telling me that I need to follow up with emails and phone calls, phone calls and emails. He’s always telling everyone that it takes an average of 9 phone calls to get a customer on the phone. If that’s not enough, I have to figure out this CRM to track and makes notes for all the emails and phone calls Iactually  do make. Who has time for that? I just want to sell a car and If a customer is truly interested, they’ll call me back or answer my freaking email.

On the rare occasion when I actually get one of these internet customers to come into the showroom, they usually want to steal my car and want FULL retail for their trade-in. Comeon people, you can’t have it both ways! I mean, this is a business and we are here to make money. The last time I checked there wasn’t a steeple and a cross on top of our dealership building. I thought we were here to make a profit.

You know what’s really interesting? My best customers (and the ones that give me the best CSI scores) are ALWAYS the ones that pay the most for their car, or at least allow decent profit. WHY IS THAT? Truthfully I’d rather have these people all day long. I don’t mind spending the extra time with these customers. I always remember my paying customers and send them cards during the holidays and even call to wish them a happy birthday. These internet customers have no loyalty to the dealer or the sales people so why even waste that much energy on them? The way I see it, the return doesn’t make much sense. And if they actually refer a friend or family member, they want the same nothing making deal.

I’m at work from bell to bell most days and this is what I have to deal with. Is this what the future holds for being a car sales professional? I’m not sure how much longer I’ll keep doing this. I think I speak for myself and many of the sales people that have been in this business for sometime. Case example, look at Circuit City! They move over to a non-commissioned sales force, fire off all of their highest paid sales professionals and now their customer service is the pits and their stock is worth whole $4.63.  The Internet has ruined the car sales business.

Guest Posting by Earl Veteran
 

I realize this isn’t totally relevant to our usual topics, but this is GREAT marketing. Plus, who doesn’t like the Whopper?

Burger King’s Whopper Freakout has to be one of the best TV / Web viral campaigns ever. ""It’s seven minutes long. It pisses off Burger King customers. It makes fun of competitors. In other words, it rocks!"

I’m totally craving a Whopper now!

A new study by Capgemini identifies changing buying habits driven by the Internet.

"the Internet is at the top of the list of information sources for consumers when researching car purchases;

80% of those surveyed now use the web, but the way it is being used is changing. New online tools such as search engines, automotive blogs and web forums have become key information sources for vehicle buyers who are turning to user-generated websites to obtain a more objective view."

• 29% referred to consumer-to-consumer sites like blogs and forums when researching information
• 78% of respondents rely on search engines.

Happy Holidays everyone!  How about a little break on Dealer Refresh, with an explanation of what each month means in the car-year.   Have some fun with it!

That’s right, save your champagne and New Years songs for September.

September:  First “oh shits” hit when sales start to slow.  New model year arrives to help make more sales. Salespeople are still living large.  Vendors are doing okay.

October: Second “oh shits” hit.  More new models roll out to help.  Salespeople start complaining about not having traffic.  No more new vendors!

November: Executive management “oh shits” turning into – “somebody make changes”.  New models selling for invoice.  Salespeople stop using their drycleaners.  Vendors keep a knockin’ but can’t come in!

December: That “somebody” starts figuring out which outside managers can be recruited and who can be replaced.  New models have incentives from manufacturers.  Salespeople start dipping into savings.  Vendors fired!

January: Newly recruited managers start and old managers leave.  New models being sold for under invoice. Salespeople start getting jobs in the real estate business.  What’s a vendor?

February: New promises from management. Those new models are being traded in.  It is time to start training salespeople again.  Vendors are saying NADA FTW (For The Win)!

March: Management heads back to the golf course.  KBB & Edmunds start buying cars again.  Massive sales hiring begins.  Dealers start calling vendors with a timid “hey – remember me….yeah, we fired you in December, but….”

April to August = no worries…keep bringing me new vendors!