How you recruit and hire your dealership Sales, Internet and BDC professionals, sets the performance “tone” for your entire dealership. A few months ago I wrote “Change Please – Who We Hire and How We Hire“. In that article I introduced to you the concept of an effective Employee Life Cycle System (ELCS) – something very few dealers have in place to consistently refer to when recruiting, hiring and managing their employees. An ELCS is a systematic objective process that once implemented will help you to:

1. Attract better qualified job applicants
2. Decrease your recruiting time
3. Conduct more effective interviews
4. Effectively motivate, develop and manage your dealer employees (in less than 2 hours per year per employee!)
5. Decrease the cost of your recruiting
6. Decrease your turnover and the high costs associated with it…….

My four part series will provide you a comprehensive Employee Life Cycle System you can implement in your store immediately. In this first article I will address Recruiting – how to attract qualified sales and customer service professionals to YOUR jobs!

Lets get started!

Recruiting for your Dealership

Consistently recruiting top talent does not depend solely on luck. It takes planning. To “plan” a more effective recruiting campaign there are four key areas that need to be followed to dramatically improve your likelihood of attracting a higher caliber job applicant. These areas are:

1- Job description – (knowing what you are looking for)
2- Employment ad – (short, concise and effective)
3- Recruiting venues- (fish where the fish are)

Creating a Job Description

Create an accurate thorough job description for the position at your dealership which you are hiring – you can’t “find” what you don’t know you are looking for!

If your store does not have job descriptions for every position within it then now is the time to start. Creating a job description sets clear cut expectations for the employee and an important tool when managing your employees.

A job description should include:

• Job responsibilities
• Required education
• Required experience
• Skill requirements
• Ability requirements

Be sure to include the job title, as well as whom this person reports to and the date in which the description was created. Engage other managers who might have valuable input for this job description so everyone is singing off the same hymn book.

Dealer Employment Ads

Once a job description has been complete, you are now ready to write an effective employment ad. Creating an effective and compelling employment ad using your job requirements will make employment ad writing easier than ever!

An effective format for a dealership Sales, Internet and or BDC professionals should include:

• Job Title
• Job Tasks and Requirements
• Company Information- i.e. Tenure, CSI/SSI scores, repeat and referral business and community involvement
• Application Steps in your hiring process – make sure to clearly direct the applicant to how they should apply i.e. website, email, fax cover letter and resume. Refrain from having the applicant “stop” with open “application periods”, this is a less than professional approach.

Oh and whatever you do, do not state compensation numbers in job ads! Premature, very tacky and old school!

Quick SAMPLE AD Start

Internet Sales Representative

ABC Dealership in NW Indiana is currently accepting applications for the position of Internet Sales Professional. The professional we are in search of will possess impeccable time management skills, second to none relationship building ability and an attention to detail only a proven track record can validate. Excellent computer, phone and communication skills an absolute must.

ABC Dealership is proud and protective of our award winning customer satisfaction levels, our robust sales and will be adding another professional to our team to maintain these standards while continuing to grow our dealerships business.

We are second to none, and are in search of the sales representative who is second to none as well. If you have experienced success in these areas, please apply!

Please apply via our website www.abcdealership.com click on “career opportunities”

Or

Please apply by faxing your resume and a cover letter to: 555-555-5555 Attention Mr.Smith (No phone calls please)

Quick SAMPLE AD Start

Recruiting Venues

Think outside of the box – stop going to the same watering hole expecting to attract different fish!

Refrain from newspapers. Use online job search venues, shop and compare cost and exposure.

Implement an employee referral program. Employee referral programs are less expensive and more successful than conventional employment searches, long term.

Hold a job fair – dealerships not only get great results for their current job opening(s) but are also well on their way of creating an ongoing applicant pool for future hiring needs. Use local colleges and their job search student resources.

Always be recruiting! When you are out and about and you run into that “super customer service friendly clerk” at your local super retailer – give him or her your card and ask them to apply!

Make sure you set the stage at the time of recruiting for a long and mutually beneficial “employee life cycle”. You can easily attract a better qualified applicant to your employment campaign – the question is after their first meeting with you or your point person at the store will they care if they ever hear from you again? Did you give the applicant a favorable impression?

Accurate, clear and honest representation of your dealership and the job is the key during the recruiting process in order to set the right expectation for the job applicant. If the correct expectation(s) are not set you will be setting yourself up for the disappointment that comes when you think you hired a winner and false expectations creates a “whiner”.

There are two things you can do in order to prevent unrealistic expectations during the initial faze of recruiting. First make sure that the store and/or the position is not over sold. Big promises of high earnings early in the game which are unrealistic become a major blow to a new hire once they are on board. Sending false messages about the culture of a store (i.e. training, support, managements involvement when there really isn’t any) runs neck and neck with false earning expectations. These mistakes are sure fire paths to turnover.

In my opinion we have never had a better applicant pool available for our dealership jobs than we do today. We just need to roll up our sleeves and put our game plans in place to attract them to our stores, then select them effectively.

In the next article Screening and Interviewing I will outline step by step how to screen and interview each and every candidate in ½ the time you are used to with a 100% increase in efficiency.

Why does buying a vehicle have to be such a disappointment? My last two car shopping experiences have been less than pleasurable.

Three years ago my Acura TL was coming off lease and it was time to start shopping for a new car. Since my previous two vehicles had been Acura’s, I was ready for something different. My experience with Acura had always been top notch, so I guess you could say I was spoiled.

I had the itch for a convertible and decided one Saturday morning to stop by a Ford dealership. I told the salesman who greeted me that I was interested in checking out a GT convertible. He proceeded to walk me outside where he pointed out several on the lot. I informed him I would like to drive one to get a feel for the car and see if it was something I really wanted. We went back inside and he ventured off to the sales tower. When he came back he informed me that they did not have any to drive since the three they had were sold. I told him it didn’t have to be a convertible; a hard top would at least let me get a feel for the car. Back to the sales tower he went, when he returned I was informed the GT’s were sold out as well. I told him, “thanks anyways” and left. Needless to say, I was not happy about that experience.

The following Monday I ventured off to another Ford dealership in an attempt to get a proper demonstration of the Mustang. This time I got an eager salesperson willing to take me on a test drive. If what I am about to share with you does not sell you on the value of a test drive, then I don’t know what will! As I turned out of the dealership driveway I noticed the brute power of the car, it felt good! The sound of the engine was intoxicating. As I shifted through the gears, I envisioned myself driving the car down the road on a warm summer day with the top down. I was convinced even before returning to the dealership that this was the car I wanted to own. I sat down, worked out a deal that I was happy with and took delivery three days later.

I thought back to my prior experience at the other dealership and decided to write the owner a letter. I had hoped that they could learn from my experience and provide future prospects with a better experience. Three weeks went by and I heard nothing. Then one day I got a call from the GM of that Ford store. He proceeds to quiz me. One of his questions: “why didn’t you tell my sales representative that you wanted to buy one?” I told him that I didn’t know I wanted to buy the car until I drove it and fell in love with it. Then I explained to him that a customer shouldn’t have to inform the salesperson that they want to buy a car in order to be taken on a test drive. I was then verbally assaulted on the phone, which resulted in me hanging up on him. How that store remained in business as long as it did is beyond me. I am however pleased to inform you that they were forced to sell to a competing dealer who is well known for her excellent customer service.

This now brings us to the present and pending lease expiration on my Mustang. Six weeks ago I had to bring my car in for an inspection sticker. While I was waiting, I made my way to the show room to check out the new ones. To my surprise the salesperson who had sold me the car was still there. Of course I had not heard from him but once since I took delivery. I told him my lease was going to be up soon and that I would be interested in possibly leasing another one. Since he was getting ready to do a delivery, he told me he would work up some numbers and call me back later that day. After two days with no phone call I picked up the phone and called him. He apologized and said he was extremely busy and promised he would call me back shortly. Later that day he called me back and informed me that Ford was no longer leasing the Mustang. He told me that he thought they would be coming out with a program shortly and he would call me back. You guessed it, I have not heard from him since.

Last week I decided to check out the Infiniti G37 Convertible. The sales manager who runs the store was somebody I had worked with prior to becoming a trainer, so no issues with getting excellent service. They took me on a test drive and gave me a quote that was reasonable. Not being 100% sold on the car, I decided to think about it. One of the things that I did not like was the sound of the engine when operating in the higher RPM range. It sounded nothing like the Mustang which was what I was accustomed to.

After thinking about it for a few days, I decided to go with the Infiniti. On my way back to the Infiniti dealer a funny thing happened, my car somehow drove itself to a Ford dealership two miles from the Infiniti dealership. I should also mention that this Ford dealership was the one that previously owned the other Ford store where I had my prior bad experience.

I entered the showroom and after five minutes of standing around by myself, I decide to walk outside and look at a car in the front row. Another five minutes go by and still nobody to speak with. At this point I am now thinking this was a bad idea visiting this particular dealership. I started walking back to my car, but the lure of the Mustang pulled me back to the showroom. Finally somebody greets me; I proceed to tell the sales rep that my Mustang is coming off lease and that I might be interested in leasing another one. I inquired if Ford was leasing again and he was unable to answer my question. How can a Ford sales rep not know what’s going on — this is ridiculous! He has me sit down at his desk while he inquires. He comes back and tells me “no” but we do have zero percent financing with some really nice rebates, why don’t we work you up a payment on a purchase. I agreed to consider a purchase even though I’ve grown accustomed to leasing. He then asks me to fill out a form; I notice it’s a credit application. My reply: “why would you have me fill this out, I haven’t agreed to anything yet?” He tells me he needs to run my credit to figure a payment. I then told him he was @#%$&@ nuts if he thought I was going to let him run my credit before agreeing upon a deal. He then proceeds to inquire about my needs, which of course is a good plan. I tell him what I would consider for options and off he goes to see his manager. I am guessing he’s having his manager run some payments for me, but not this joker; nope, he’s off running a vehicle locater for Mustangs. So he comes back with a few vehicles which don’t even come close to what I am looking for. I then tell him “don’t you think we should agree on a price before you waste your time looking for a vehicle?”

While he’s off touching base with his manager again, I notice a Joe Verde training manual sitting on the floor behind his desk. I have to chuckle since this proves my theory that all the training in the world won’t make you a better salesperson. It takes discipline and commitment to want to get better. If there’s no accountability or measurement device in place, there’s no way you can expect improvement.

Upon his return he actually gives me what I am looking for, and surprisingly it was an attractive offer. Now he’s got my attention, I am actually thinking it’s going to be the Mustang and not the G37.

The Mustang’s had been changed a little since I bought mine, so I figured I had better drive one and see what’s new and improved. One of the things I had always disliked about my current Mustang was that the hood flexed and twisted when driving at higher speeds on the highway. The car did not have very good aero dynamics. It appears Ford fixed this issue with the newer models.

Well you’ll never guess what this guy tells me when I inform him that I wanted to drive one? Are you ready for this? “We don’t let customers drive the GT’s until they agree to buy one.” I should have just got up and walked out right then and there, but I wanted to beat some sense into this knuckle head, so I proceeded to share the story about my past experience at his sister store which they no longer owned. He then folded and agreed to take me for a test drive. When are these salespeople and managers going to realize that the test drives sell the car? Once again, I felt the strong desire to own one after the demo.

Now I had to decide, would it be the Mustang or the G37? The only thing keeping the G37 in the picture was the fact that I liked the lines and luxurious feel of the car. Cons, there was no room to store my golf clubs with the top down. Also, I wasn’t overly crazy about the sound of the engine when accelerating aggressively.

Part of me wanted to go back and drive the G37 again, but I decided to explore the Mustang more. I was close to pulling the trigger. I told the rep to see if he could get me the color combination I wanted. He came back and told me there were no cars available in black or candy apple red with a tan interior. I truly believe they were trying to sell me the car in stock which I did not want. I told him to call me if he found one and then left the dealership. I would have bought the car right then and there had they come back and told me they could get me the one I wanted. He called me ten minutes later and asked if I would consider another color and I suggested he keep looking. It’s been four days since that happened and I’ve yet to hear back from him. I don’t think he realized how close he was to selling me a car.

If he ever calls me back he’s going to get the, “you did” call since I ended up going back to the Infiniti dealer later that day and purchased the G37.

What should you take away from my experience?

1. Treat customers with respect!
2. Strongly suggest a demo, don’t wait for your customer to ask you.
3. Do not skip steps! Sell the value in yourself, your dealership and the vehicle before quoting price!
4. Do everything in your power to sell the customer while they are in your dealership.
   - Managers, TO your customer before they leave since your sales rep might not always be telling you the whole story.
   - Customers are often at the “tipping point” and a gifted sales team will find a way to tip the customer in their direction.
5. Always follow-up with your customers no matter what you think. What you are thinking and what the customer is thinking are quite often two completely different thoughts. Bridge that gap with a follow-up conversation.

Do you have a similar experience to share? — when did you realize the test drive was crucial to the sales?

To make matters even worse, you’ve lost control of everyone because of the Internet.  Your customers are free to say what they want to hundreds if not thousands of people in as little as 140 characters.  Your employees are friends with all of your customers while displaying photos of themselves smoking a cuban cigar and drinking rum on a vacation in Costa Rica.  What a Public Relations nightmare!

How do you get everyone back to the good old days? You don’t.

Without control we’re scared little business people, but we’re missing the bigger picture.  It is a new world where the rules still have not been defined.  Sure, we can write company policies that prohibit employees from using facebook at work or stopping them from participating on blogs, but what does that really gain?  People are always going to find a way to do what they want.  I say nurture it!

Instead of throwing the Fourth Reich at people, why not implement the Second Declaration of Independence.  Teach your staff the best way to communicate online.  Help your happy customers find the review sites and facebook pages that best let them tell their great story about you.

We are very fortunate in the automotive business to have sites like DealerRefresh and companies like GOSO, DealerRater, Pasch Consulting, and many others who will help us find the best way to nurture people into advertising machines for our business.

If you think you’ve lost control, this is how you get some of that control back.

Running from Training?

Just as some top athletes train by running, many senior managers in the automotive industry run from training.

Perhaps it’s due to the way most managers came up in the car business; or maybe it’s simply a fear of technology, but it seems that more often than not, Dealers, GMs and other senior managers avoid even the mention of digital marketing or Internet sales process training.

From the free webinars offered by companies like Cars.com to the informal in-store vendor visits to the full-blown Internet workshops and conferences, it is rare to ever see a General Manager or Dealer Principal in attendance. Are they really too busy to learn what’s happening in the medium that attracts at least 90 percent of their customers?

What makes this phenomenon the most troubling is that the Internet is no longer a “specialty” reserved for the “computer literate” among us. Regardless of age, background, or income; virtually every consumer in the US has a high IQ (Internet Quotient) – this includes the very GMs and Principals who leave the basic understanding about arguably their most important asset – their online persona – to the “techies.”

It’s Not That Difficult

Interestingly, digital marketing and the tools that drive great Internet sales processes really aren’t that difficult to comprehend. This is especially true when you realize that most senior managers in the automotive business can whiz through green screens at mach speed using every sort of nonsensical shortcut and outdated DOS prompt. It’s enough to make an Internet manager’s head spin when they see a parts manager checking inventory, a service manager closing out an RO, or a GSM running reports for his save-a-deal meeting.

Ninety-nine percent of the tools used by Internet managers aren’t half as complicated as those used by other departments in the dealership. Learning to master these new tools, however, is vital for today’s GM – that is, if he/she still intends to be in the car business in five years.

Learn Now or Suffer the Consequences

If today’s desk managers, new car managers, used car managers, GSMs and GMs don’t learn how to manage sales activities using their dealerships’ CRM tools, for example, their Dealer Principals will soon have no use for their services. Likewise, if these same leaders don’t understand the basics of Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media and Reputation Management, they will forever be at the mercy of unscrupulous vendors out to take their money or younger managers out to take their jobs.

That’s the bad news for these managers. The good news is that learning about digital marketing is cumulative: the more you know, the easier it is to learn new concepts. This means that those managers who learn some basic website design strategies today will more easily grasp the concepts of how small changes affect visitor counts and conversion rates later, for example.

From CPM to PPC

Internet marketing concepts, even those in the so-called realm of Web 2.0, are often so intuitive and practical that most older managers who finally learn the basics generally go through the following three phases:

1. The Huh, that’s it? Phase – This phase occurs when you explain how simply something on the Internet works, like how Google decides which website to rank 1st and which one to rank 10th. GMs will often lean their heads slightly to one side and utter, “Huh, that’s it?”
2. The Wow, that was easy. Phase – In this phase, the GM learns how simple it is to make a huge impact on their store’s overall sales just by employing some of the rudimentary concepts of digital marketing. You’ll hear them exclaim “Wow, that was easy,” in a moment of great self-satisfaction and triumph.
3. The Why didn’t you teach me that sooner? Phase – In this phase, the GM realizes that they were foolish for ever being afraid to learn about the Internet, and so he will often blame the messenger for having hid this great and powerful knowledge from him.

Actually, blaming the messenger isn’t too far off from what should happen. While there are certainly plenty of GMs who have had no desire to learn anything about the Web, the fact is that many early Internet managers (and even some today) squirreled away their wealth of knowledge to improve their job security.

It’s now time to share the wealth – senior managers and Dealer Principals who get a taste of Internet skills training aren’t going to want to stop.

This is the case with every dealership I work with, as I find it silly not to include the Dealer Principal, General Manager and any other dealership leader we can find to join in the training. Once they understand how simple the Internet concepts are – and how a pragmatic approach keeps them from overspending or overreacting – they want more.

So Where Should I Start?

Dealership vendors are the most logical place to go for some basic skills training around the tools you’re using. Chances are that in-dealership training might be something you’re already paying for, yet underutilizing. Even if in-person training isn’t included, nearly every vendor will provide regular webinars or an online library of training. Seek out the free stuff first.

Of course, if you don’t know what you’re looking for when you read a Google Analytics report or a Daily Activity Sheet from the Lead Management Tool, simply knowing how to produce these isn’t doing you any good. In cases like this you likely should seek professional help. (Hint: professional help doesn’t always mean costly.)

From online resources like blogs (such as the one you are reading now) and e-newsletters to great conferences like Digital Dealer and even your own 20-Group meetings, you can always find Internet sales experts willing to share their knowledge. Additionally, most of these folks love their opinions so much that you can often engage them for some free advice. Of course, with these methods you don’t get the whole picture all at once, so you have to be diligent about seeking out the next expert or topic.

If you’re in need of something more in-depth and complete, NCM (the company that started the 20 Group concept) is rolling out the most robust eCommerce Management training ever offered. It’s a two-session, full week comprehensive immersion into the Internet. Coursework includes everything from developing a proven Internet sales process to leveraging social media to drive more sales. The curriculum is intense, but promises to be delivered is a way that even the uninitiated will easily grasp.

The NCM Institute is offering four separate sessions in 2010, and GMs and Dealer Principals can attend for free (provided they have at least one paid attendee from their dealership). The best part is that you don’t have to be an NCM client to attend. For more information, visit NCM at www.NCM20.com and click on the Education link.

(In the interest of full disclosure, I am one of the trainers conducting these seminars. Of course, that’s also why I know how valuable these sessions will be to senior leaders in our industry.)

About the Author: Automotive industry veteran Steve Stauning has served on both the dealer side and vendor side of the business. He is the former director of eCommerce at the Asbury Automotive Group, and he currently heads up both a digital marketing solutions firm Pladoogle and an automotive ecommerce consulting firm Kain-Stauning.

“When were you hoping to purchase one?”

On the phone or in person, I hear salespeople ask this question all the time.

I am going to share a story in which I was able to learn a valuable lesson early on in my career…

Back in the mid 80’s I was working for a Mazda Volvo dealer as a salesperson. It was a Saturday in early April and the weather outside was that of a summer day. It was the first real nice day after a rough winter. Days like these brought people out of their homes in large numbers. By noon I had closed my first deal of the day. My manager told me: “get back out there and get me another one Thibeau.” That wasn’t very hard to do since the lot was crawling with ups. Considering myself an expert on sizing up the right prospect, I approached a young couple looking at the Volvo’s. After introducing myself, they asked me if they could drive a couple of the different models. I asked them that famous question we salespeople like to ask: “when were you hoping to purchase one?” They replied with, “probably next year.” I instantly went from having a great day, to wondering, “why me?” I made small talk while I thought about having to spend valuable time test driving these folks who had no intentions of purchasing today. Meanwhile my peers were feasting on real customers who were here to buy. Not wanting to be left out of the feeding frenzy that was taking place, I finally said to my customers, “folks, I only get paid if I sell a car and since you’re not here to buy one today, I really need to find somebody who is. If you would like to come back on Monday or Tuesday I’ll be glad to let you take a few cars for a test drive then.” I was quite surprised when the couple told me that they understood. They informed me that they would just look around and come back another day when it wasn’t so busy. So I gave them a card and off I went in search of my next sale. I found another customer and ended up spending the next few hours selling a gentleman a Mazda. During that process I noticed that one of the other salespeople had latched on to the couple I had dusted earlier. I watched as he actually took them on several test drives. What really amused me was the fact that this was a salesperson with whom I often competed with for sale rep of the month honors. While digging through keys at the key board, I actually laughed at him and told him he was wasting his time since these folks were not buying until next year. Well an hour later I see him working numbers with the manager. Shortly after that I see them in the business office talking with the finance manager. I later found out that the young couple I dusted had actually purchased two brand new Volvo’s. Well needless to say my peer was the one laughing and I was left humiliated. Not to mention I ended up losing sale rep of the month honors to him by one unit.

I digested that experience and vowed that I would never make that mistake again. What I had done is let those customers sell me. They changed my way of thinking instead of me changing theirs. When asking “how soon were you planning to purchase one?” you’re allowing the opportunity to ruin your attitude. This will lead you to skipping steps and thus you won’t take your customers seriously. Assume every customer you come in contact with is ready to buy today. When they tell you “no” several or more times, then and only then have you earned the right to ask: “when do you think you’ll be ready to purchase one?”

You’ll also notice I mentioned in my story that I thought I was an expert when it came to sizing up prospects. Well trust me when I tell you, there’s no such thing as an expert when it comes to sizing up prospects. You keep doing that and you’ll get burned sooner or later. They’re all prospects and they should all be given the million dollar presentation.

One would think this story was geared for a salesperson, but there’s also a message here for sales managers. This is probably happening in your dealership today. Often it’s the person you think is your best salesperson. Your best salesperson may be achieving his/her success while blowing through your customers. That’s why it’s so important that we make sure every customer is being logged (including phone-ups) and track true closing percentages. I’ve seen cases where a top salesperson will sell 20 vehicles off 200 prospects and the dealership will put him/her on a pedestal. Where had the dealership taken those 200 prospects and dispersed them to the rest of the salespeople who were achieving a 20 percent closing ratio, the dealership would have actually closed 40 sales instead of the 20. If a salesperson is getting 200 prospects in a month, it’s because the other salespeople are letting him/her get away with it. Normally this is due to laziness and a non competitive environment. As a manager it’s your job to make sure this doesn’t happen in your store. So how are you going to ensure that this doesn’t happen in your store? I could make some suggestions, but I would rather the community share their suggestions in the “comments” section.

About the Author: Jerry Thibeau is a sales trainer and the President of Phone-up Ninjas (check out his new site). His company focuses on helping dealerships around the world increase sales by teaching automotive professionals the proper techniques for scheduling more appointments with phone and Internet customers.

Generally there are two scenarios one would send an auto responder; the “on-hour” and the “off hour” auto responder. If your CRM is incapable of differentiating between the two, then I would demand this feature from your CRM vendor, or consider finding a new CRM vendor.

Let’s start with the “on-hour” responder. Is there really any need to send one of these? Your sales team or Internet rep should be able to respond to a lead in a timely manner, thus who needs the auto responder. That first real message from the salesperson is the auto responder. For those of you saying “what if we can’t get to them right away?” well I would say that’s hogwash. There is no reason why a dealership shouldn’t be able to respond to an Internet lead within 15 minutes. If you can’t, then some process is broken in your dealership. This is a customer visiting your dealership in the form of an electronic transmission. Would you let somebody stand out on your lot for 30 minutes before going out to help them? Then why should an Internet lead be any different.

I personally believe it’s every person’s responsibility in the dealership to make sure Internet leads are handled in a timely fashion. Everyone from the Dealer Principal down should be watching response times and making sure customers are handled promptly and professionally. Most CRM tools now have the ability to notify a person on their cell phone when the lead has arrived. Not to mention, managers can normally see on a dashboard which leads have been handled and those that have not. It’s about execution folks! If you’re not executing then somebody needs to visit the process and put one in place that’s going to give you the best possibility to execute in a timely manner.

Now let’s talk about the “off-hour” Internet lead. This is one case where I think we should send an auto responder. The one’s I’ve seen lately are not exactly thrilling me. So let’s think about what we would like to accomplish with the “off-hour” responder. For me it would be about setting up a phone conversation with the customer once the dealership has opened. With that in mind, here’s an auto responder that I would personally be using:

(Customer first name),

I just happened to be checking my e-mail and I noticed your request for information on the (model). Our dealership is currently closed, but I will be contacting you in the morning when we open. Would you prefer an early or late morning call? Also, which number would be best for me to reach you?

I look forward to helping you with the (model) and thanks for choosing (dealership name).

Sincerely,

Jerry Thibeau
ABC Motors
595-749-2015

That auto responder should not be sent 1 minute after. I would say 10-15 minutes would seem more realistic that it came from a real person. Hopefully when I arrive in the morning there’s an e-mail waiting for me with the details. If I am a customer who is up at 2:00AM submitting leads, this is going to make me think…”I don’t want to be getting no phone calls at 9:00AM when they open, maybe I better respond to this.” So wouldn’t it be nice if we had a reply from the customer telling us exactly when to call them. One would think this would increase our contact ratio when attempting to call Internet customers. You get that Internet customer on the phone, it now becomes a phone-up and you’re one step closer to making that appointment. There is also something else you can put in that template which will help your cause, but unfortunately I have to leave some things in the bag of tricks for dealerships currently paying for my services.

About the Author: Jerry Thibeau is a sales trainer and the President of Phone-up Ninjas. His company focuses on helping dealerships around the world increase sales by teaching automotive professionals the proper techniques for scheduling more appointments with phone and Internet customers.

The greeting is so simple, but often overlooked. I am not just talking about in person, but on the phone as well. It takes just five seconds for a person to form a positive or negative impression of you and your business. In person, the customer will not only form that impression by what you say, but also by your physical appearance. On the phone your only tools are words and tones.

While on my way to train a dealership recently, I had a personal experience that really drove home the power of the greeting. It was late at night and my flight was four hours late arriving. After picking up my luggage, I took a shuttle bus to the rental car agency. As I approached the rental agent, she greeted me with, “You better have a reservation” in a very sarcastic tone. She was obviously having a bad day as well. Well I was in no mood for a disgruntled rental car agent, so in a condescending kind of way I replied back, “Is that how you greet all your customers?” Well now I get one of those looks back (hand on hip, one eyebrow raised, head tilted) and I realize this is not going to end very well for me. Sure enough they have no record of my reservation and I was unable to produce one on my Blackberry. After 15 minutes of argument, I walked in the pouring rain to the rental agency next door. Needless to say my mood had gone from bad to down right ugly. Upon entering the second rental agency, I was greeted by a young man. He had a big smile on his face and said in a thick accent, “Welcome to National Car Rental my name is Bem and I am going to help you with all your car rental needs this evening.” Still disgruntled from my last experience I replied, “I sure do hope so; do you have any rentals available?” When he said “yes” I smiled back at him. The whole time I was there interacting with him, he continued to smile and engaged me in conversation. Turns out he was from Nigeria and was very happy to be here in our country making a decent living. By the time I left there, I was in a great mood even though it cost me $95 per day for the rental; oh and did I mention I was soaking wet? While driving to the hotel I thought about my first experience and wondered… had I used a little charm on the first rental agent could I have changed her mood and saved myself a soaking walk in the rain? Obviously the answer is “yes.” It all starts with the greeting, not just hers to me, but mine back to her. I’ll tell you it’s a lot harder for somebody to treat you rudely when you start off the conversation with a positive upbeat greeting and a smile.

If you consider all the customer touch points in a dealership, it’s real easy to see how important it is that everyone be well versed in the art of a proper greeting. I would recommend that you start by observing how your employees greet customers. That includes your sales department, service department, parts department, operator, receptionist and cashier. Watch how they interact with customers and listen to their recorded phone conversations. Once you have a good picture, start a campaign within your dealership by getting your employees focused on how they should greet customers. Monitor your progress and continue coaching as needed.

As a phone trainer, I listen to hundreds and hundreds of recorded calls each month and I am amazed at how poorly these customers are often greeted. If it’s bad on the phone, it’s usually not any better in person.

So how would I greet a customer? Well it’s not always about what you say, but how you say it.

• Make sure you look your best each and every day. When you feel good about the way you look, you’re more apt to display a level of confidence and professionalism. Remember the way you felt the last time you bought a new suit and wore it for the first time?
• Greet each customer with a smile; smiles are contagious. Smile at somebody and see if they don’t smile back at you. Even when on the phone a smile goes a long way.
• Make and maintain eye contact with your customers.
• Come up with a greeting that is positive, upbeat and just a little different than that of your competition.
• Remember that it may be the zillionth time you’ve answered the same questions or transferred a call, but for the person asking or calling, it’s their first time.
• Use voice inflections to add more meaning to your greeting.
• And most importantly; remember that the person in front of you or on the phone is your most valued possession–a customer.

When in dealerships training, I’ll often take sales calls to demonstrate the proper procedure for handling customers. I just happen to have a few recorded calls demonstrating the greeting I use with actual comments from customers. Please visit the following link to see how a proper greeting can help your dealership create a positive experience for your customers:

Follow this link for some interesting and fun greetings.. http://www.screencast.com/t/OGM4ZmE5Y

About the Author: Jerry Thibeau is a sales trainer and the President of Phone-up Ninjas. His company focuses on helping dealerships around the world increase sales by teaching automotive professionals the proper techniques for scheduling more appointments with phone and Internet customers.

Why would you stick to the templated About page when you know everything about yourself?  Don’t you sell yourself every day?  Sell yourself, the house, and then the product…right???

If you’ve been following DealerRefresh for any amount of time, I think you may have figured out that my articles are always inspired.  After 5 Billion years of the Internet (that’s like 10 minutes) we’re still not paying attention to the About page, so let’s make a strategy for it.

There are 3 core things you should have on your About Page:

1.  Who you are

What makes you different?  What makes you the best dealership to work with?  Do you have a value-added program?  Sell yourself!

2.  What can I do for you

What services do you offer.  It might be obvious to you that you sell Toyota’s, but the obvious to you isn’t always the obvious to the customer.  Do you service them?  Can you provide dent removal services.  I think you get the idea.

3.  How can you contact me

I’m sure you have a link to your address, a fancy directions creator, your phone number(s), your store hours, and all that kind of stuff.  Make sure it is on your About Page!

How about some other things…

4.  A few testimonials

If you’re a certified DealerRater Dealership you can feed your last 10 DealerRater reviews right in.  Get your site host to help you because most don’t allow dealers to input their own JAVA.

5.  A video

It is true, the average American is reading less and watching more.  If you really want to get your message across, add a video.

6.  Link to your other pages

If you have a YouTube Channel, a facebook fan page, blog, or a twitter account link to it!

7.  Optimize it!

This could be an entire posting on its own.  Make sure your page is geographically targeted to your marketplace.  Create an idented listing of your “About Page” on Google.

Make sure your name is part of your keywords on your Home Page and also on your About Page, and create links between the two pages.  You do this simply by typing out “About Us”, “About Me”, or whatever you want to call your About Page on your home page and then turn it into a link to your actual About Page.  That’s really all there is to it, and Google will (hopefully) do the rest of the work.

More resources on how to setup your About Me Page.

We cannot afford any longer to over look these critical areas in our stores, it’s costly, time consuming and frustrating to everyone involved, management, employees AND the customer.

How we hire and recruit our Sales, Internet and BDC professionals, sets the “tone” for the entire store and how it performs as an employer and a place to do business.

I can walk into a store anywhere in the country and in less than 30 minutes, be able to identify -with uncanny accuracy, if the store has a hiring and employee management process in place that management religiously follows (Employee Life Cycle Management System). Here are the clues:

Clue #1  ATTITUDE
WITHOUT a hiring and management process in place: There is a “feel” to the store of dishevelment, chaos and negativity observed through the actions of the employees. Smiles are not in abundance and seriousness prevails. This is due largely in part to the “uncertainty” that being an employee in the store brings to their lives. Few minimum requirements are established with a solid performance game plan for employees and management alike to follow in order to achieve these goals.

Clue #2  SALES
WITHOUT a process: The stores sales are not anything to write home about, the struggle is constant, and the “struggle” is sensed in the “attitudes” of the employees in the store. Management and employees are stressed due to frustration and fear. Lack of a game plan leaves employees feeling out of control.

Clue #3  CUSTOMER SATISFACTION LEVELS
WITHOUT a process: The stores CSI and SSI scores are below minimum requirements. This is due largely to the fact that stores employees are NOT satisfied, do not feel valuable and operate in fear and uncertainty most of the time. This “fear” and uncertainty is always passed on down to the customers.

Clue #4  CUSTOMERS
WITHOUT a process: Customers in the showroom and or service department do not appear to be at ease. Customers are in the dark as to “what to expect next”, this creates anxiety. Since the sales people are not “managed” consistently, they do not interact consistently with clients.

FACT 1 : Wrong hiring choices and mismanagement of employee’s are the leading factors in unsatisfied employees. Unsatisfied, mismanaged employees is the leading factor in low sales and low customer service satisfaction scores (CSI)

FACT 2 : It typically cost a dealership between $2500~$20,000 to recruit, hire and train a Sales, Internet or BDC professional, not to mention the hidden costs of lost sales, low productivity, poor customer satisfaction, and lack of repeat business.

THE CAUSE: Lack of a CONSISTENT hiring and management plan/process that they follow when hiring and managing Sales, Internet, and BDC professionals

We are notorious for “hoping” that we hired the right employee and that a manager will instinctively know how to manage…hope is not a plan! A simple Employee Life Cycle System is all the average dealership needs to hire more effectively as well as manage and develop employees consistently.

What is an Employee Life Cycle System (ELCS)?

An ELCS is a step by step process that is used to consistently, objectively and fairly recruit, hire, manage and develop employees- from the time they are recruited until the time they leave, voluntarily or involuntarily.

Dealerrefresh.com and HireRite, Inc. will present to you as a four part series a complete “PLAN” or “Employee Life Cycle” to hire, manage and develop your employees more effectively and efficiently. Once implemented you will:

1. Attract better qualified job applicants
2. Decrease your recruiting time
3. Conduct more effective interviews
4. Effectively motivate, develop and manage your employees (in less than 2 hours per year per employee!)
5. Decrease the cost of your recruiting
6. Decrease your turnover and the high costs associated with it

The 4 part series will cover:

Part 1- Recruiting effectively- how to attract qualified sales and customer service professionals- to our industry and YOUR jobs.

Part 2- Interviewing and screening consistently and objectively- get the information you need to make, educated hiring decisions.

Part 3- Managing as well as developing ALL of your sales and customer service employees in less than 2 hours per year per employee! – eliminating “seat of the pants” managing and therefore “seat of the pants results”

Part 4- Employee retention- how to keep the talent you have AND the new talent you found.

Lets get started…stay tuned!

About the Author: Wendi Venable is the author of Finders Keepers “How to find and keep the best automotive sales and customer service professionals” and President of HireRite, Inc.

1) Denial – Refusal to believe and accept that things have changed, typically involving some loss. All efforts and energy invested in resisting that conditions have changed.

2) Anger/Blame – Finding a target to blame for the change. All energy and effort is spent on finding someone or some institution to assign as reason for current situation.

3) Bargaining and Hope – This stage involves people bargaining and hoping for someone to save them. This is a low level of responsibility. Lots of businesses are in this phase today as they wait for the banks to free up capital or the government to come in and suddenly save the day. This is just another level of denial of the situation.

4) Apathy – Acceptance that things have changed and no one can save you and that in fact there is nothing you can do about it! This results in people moving into major contraction and worsening of their own condition by saving money, energy, resources, creativity and any efforts to figure a way out. The higher your responsibility level the shorter this stage and the lower your responsibility level the longer this stage. Apathy is a form of quitting or withdrawing.

5) False Acceptance and Action – A spurt of effort to accept conditions and do something about it resulting in inconsistent and disappointing actions. This is the first stage of accepting that things have changed but in this first stage of acceptance most underestimate the degree of change (pain or loss) and then take actions based on earlier scene.

6) Disappointment (another level of apathy) – . Because the actions used are from the past they will not result in satisfactory levels of production causing disappointment, confusion and possible frustration. This however results in and prepares the individual, team or company for true acceptance of the situation and what is required to dig out.

7) True Acceptance Stage – This final stage is where the individual or team becomes fully aware of the amount of change for the first time and is now prepared to let go of the past and move into the future. This is the first time that an awareness of the need for new skills and actions will be needed. In this final stage of acceptance people will experience a reinvigoration and excitement about their business and future and become highly interested in reinventing themselves and their business.

In just the last weeks I have personally conducted over 100 tele-conference calls directly with over 800 business owners, executives and managers. The results of those calls suggest people are moving through the stages. Clearly the companies and individuals that are taking the time to have conference calls with me are going to have a higher degree of responsibility, so the statistics that follow are most likely not representative of the general population.

Here are some of the results obtained from the teleconference calls with me.

• Almost 80% of them stated they are no longer concerned with who is to blame but rather what they need to do.
• Over 95% believed as a result of the call that no one was going to come in a save the day. (This is critical realization for moving on.)
• Almost 100% of those on the calls expressed disappointment in the results from the actions they were taking and realized they were in the false acceptance stages.
• 99% of these same people acknowledged that they needed to learn new actions, new skills and new approaches for the new economy and that this change had to start with management.
• 98% agreed that while their economy was problematic, it was not the problem. This is also critical to recovery, as anyone in the blame stage will not take action as they are using all their energy and creativity assessing who is responsible.
• Lastly, over 90% believe the call moved them through the stages more quickly so that they could reach the final stage of ‘True Acceptance’ and start taking new actions to achieve new results.

About the Aurthor: Grant Cardone is a speaker, author, sales trainer and CEO of Cardone Training Technologies. Author of Sell To Survive and other Audio, Video, and training programs, for more information on Mr. Cardone visit grantcardone.com