Is The Road to the Sale Obsolete? by Jim Ziegler

Is The Road to the Sale Obsolete?

A lot of conversation these days by 'New Age' - 'Next Gen' - car people saying the 'Old School' sales processes are no longer valid with today's consumers.

Just the reference to the term 'Old School Car Guy' is an insult designed to conjure up mental images of an extinct Mastodon being sucked down into the tar pits after eating the last brown shriveled leaves off of the trees. The hidden message in these terms is that you're stupid and we're smart... an intimidation by negative labeling.

In truth, the retail car business is forming sides in the turf wars between the techies and the traditionalists. AND, nobody is giving ground.

I have just returned from an extended 'road trip' of twenty-three cities in fourteen weeks, coast to coast, actually working in dealerships... speaking at major conferences... and performing consultancies. In other words, I am seeing a lot of best practices - what does, and more importantly, what does not work.

To quote myself here: "Average People with great processes will produce incredible results." You can't manage a high-production dealership with an army of 'Prima-Donnas' all doing their own thing without structure or management.

Even though I have embraced technology as part of the sales process; it is not the entire process. Automobile Sales still have to have a structured process from 'Meet and Greet the Customer' through 'Deliver the Vehicle and Follow-Up'.

I don't believe there will ever be a day when technology will entirely replace the human relationship in car sales. The things we do and the words we say are our toolbox.

Time after time, I've experienced dealerships' transformations to much higher volume sales and much higher profitability when the management installed and enforced a "Sales Culture' with defined step-by-step, measurable and accountable sales processes.

Unfortunately, most dealerships have never quantified exactly what they expect sales persons and managers to do and say as they interact with your customers. Oh, we have a vague idea BUT very few managers can tell me their exact process... and very few can honestly say their sales professionals are doing it the way they describe it.

That's why I consider myself extremely fortunate that my career began as a car sales professional and that my first management position was as an F&I Manager. If I owned a dealership today, I would require that all of my Sales Managers had F&I experience. A great F&I Manager is a master of 'The Process' and has to be a precision closer with a stop watch running.

Is it any wonder the sales department is always amazed when the Finance Manager repeatedly 'bumps' the customer after they thought they had all the money. Perhaps, processes and training had something to do with it.

I've always said that F&I Managers have more skills, more schools and more specialized training than anyone in the dealership except the technicians.

Jokingly, I've always said... "Most Sales Managers learned their job by watching somebody who got fired."

We have the tools today to achieve 'super productivity'. There are great CRM programs available to organize, measure, and manage sales and follow up BUT, these programs are only as good as the managers who are responsible for the results. Technology is an enabler and a productivity accelerator but it is only works if competent sales management is on top of it.

So in other words, there is no 'Old School' or 'New School' ... there are only processes that incorporate both. 'The Old Car Dog' that resists and fights everything new, or the 'Next Gen' with no track record who believes they know it all...both have to bend and adapt to 'The School of What Really Works' .

One characteristic shared by virtually every successful dealership in the country is that they have well-defined sales processes and that they require every sales person to follow these processes without exception.

So, the original question was Is The Road to the Sale Obsolete?

The answer is emphatically... NO

AND the answer is also ...YES

The trick is teaching managers to be managers and sales professionals to be students of their profession... and for both to be masters of the processes.

Keep those emails coming... JIM

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Comment by Larry McMullen on November 19, 2011 at 1:48pm: Declutter and evolve, if you don't I promise I will make your money ! How many relationships have you built with a customer you loose money on time after time they enter the dealership. Build solid relationships, sell your product. I can sell any car ! If you loose control of the prospect and buy into their surface knowledge of your product you can never build the, I want, it and I want it now aspect of the impulse buy. I love internet prospects usually they have no idea what they are getting themselves into when they enter my house. Heck I have no problem matching prices!!! They require us to be Hybrid sales consultants. Know your pay plan, if I am giving you less than a fair deal on the price. I most certainly am going to use everything in my toolbox, to sell you the Diamond fusion, simonize, road hazard, gap, service contract, rate. Never be afraid to ring that sponge. Most of the general public never has the opportunity of being part of something big. When was the last time we were actually part of something big !! Rarely ever! We may have the preception that at one time we were an important contributor to the next big thing ! When in actuality there was a great speaker who sold you that idea. Think about it. Man has always made the money, money only makes you the man when you are humbled by this statement. What Mr. Ziegler brings to light here is simple. There is no FUN without fundamentals. The only way to extract the fundamental process to the fair deal and make every customer, is to be not only a student of your profession, but to not fall in the hands of false profits. Usually these are up lines who could not make it in the trenches. They usually hate you because they feel threatened by your YTD. Fortunately I have allways, and continue to align myself with the best in the auto industry. Evolve or dissolve !

Comment by Guy Manasse on November 19, 2011 at 12:04pm: Jim,

Is the Road to the Sale obsolete, your answer is totally correct, yes & no:

In my travels as a CRM company, Process/System is the most heavily used word. What amazes me is how quick Dealers get off of their Process/System and how many Dealers do not know that their team is actually off of their Process/System.

Dealers need to take the time to review by asking Sales Managers and Sales People to walk them thru a whole selling Process. Dealers also need to pull random Deals Sold and look at all the paperwork, look at the desked deal worksheets, F&I Menu, Legal documents, Service Intro's, all part of process. My dad had a saying "There are a million system/processes out there, but if you deviate you no longer have a system/process" Managers have to be constantly checked to make sure that they are following your rules and not creating their own Road to Sale within your store. But your Yes to obsolete is when Dealers are still doing business from the 60's and do not convert to the 20th century, which as you know is still a huge number out there.

Comment by James A. Ziegler on November 18, 2011 at 3:57pm: Kevin, I am going to somewhat disagree. Marketing is definitely a technology issue, but the sale process is still dominantly on the showroom floor. I am traveling nationwide 200-250 days a year, working with many dealerships, hands-on. YES, there are those buying on the Internet, BUT we're still seeing more human interaction than strictly technology sales. JIM

Comment by Stan Sher on November 18, 2011 at 12:06pm: Very nice. I got a chuckle out of it when you said "Jokingly, I've always said... "Most Sales Managers learned their job by watching somebody who got fired."

Such a true statement.

Comment by James A. Ziegler on November 18, 2011 at 9:01am: In my travels it is amazing to see how disorganized THE MAJORITY of dealerships have become in the sale process. Oh, we talk a good game... and everyone knows what we're supposed to be doing BUT, in reality; it just ain't happening that way. When I was in retail, my success as a manager was NEVER because I knew so much more than everyone else... BUT RATHER... my success was always because I did those things in reality that others only professed they were doing. In other words, The Road to the Sale lived and breathed and my sales people really did what we said we did with real customers, every time, without exception.

... PROCESS RULES.

HERE'S A ZIEGLERISM... "Most dealerships do not have a knowing problem...you have a doing problem"

Comment by Jim Kristoff on November 16, 2011 at 3:30pm: Great share Jim!!

Every dealership needs to have well thought out, practiced, memorized and rehearsed processes that are executed every time with every customer to succeed!!

With customers having so much access to information, the process needs to flow smoothly.

An "old school" car guy once told me...."A good process should be like a woman's dress......short enough to be interesting, yet long enough to cover the subject!!"

Comment by Larry Bruce on November 16, 2011 at 3:01pm: AMEN JZ! Every manager in a dealership should go through Finance. That is a process more dealers should adopt your dealership will be much more efficient for it.

I agree with Ed I don’t think most “New Schoolers” discount process there are those who take things to the extreme, but for the most part everyone believes there should be a process that is measured and repeatable.

The internet & technology hasn’t changed human behavior its just given them access to more information, it has fragmented the customers attention, it has put customers further out of personal touch making it harder to build report (See The Digital Divide) and its caused a shift in the process, but it hasn’t blown up the process.

Over a year ago I put this slide up on slideshare.net that documents the “Evolution of the Road to a Sale” as that is what is taking place its an evolution of the process not a referendum on having a process or not.

So the question shouldn't be “Is the Road to a Sale Obsolete” it should be “Is the Road to a Sale out of date?”

The answer to that question is an emphatic YES!

Larry Bruce @pcmguy

Comment by James A. Ziegler on November 16, 2011 at 12:47pm: You know Joe, in the words of the late Groucho Marx... "If we don't sell too many of these, we might break even."

Comment by Joe Clementi on November 16, 2011 at 12:04pm: Jim, Thanks for putting together your opinion on this highly debated topic. I’d like to share my humble front line opinion if I may?

There is a direct correlation between process evolution and gross profit. Having a clearly defined, well-trained process can certainly make the difference between mediocre and excellence. While I agree with the idea that integrating "old school" practices into the "new school" process; the combinations can contrast one another. Today’s customers have a myriad of technology tools available to them that weren’t available to them a mere four years ago. It’s much more difficult to walk a customer through a process that they want no part of. Customers can come in with their tablets and Smartphone’s and access a quote from any number of dealers in seconds. Unfortunately, those dealers rarely quote above cost, let alone leave any desirable form of profit.

Fundamentally, the internet has shifted the balance of knowledge. I want to echo Ed’s comments “The key is accepting and embracing the changes and not fighting them”. Technology levels the playing field in sorts. That is, every dealer has to train their staff to provide service excellence. The old “four square” is now the new “first pencil documentation” process. The only disadvantages that technology has on our business are those dealers that consistently price their products below costs. That pricing strategy gives the impression that we’re dealing with distressed merchandise and unqualified sales people. The message is reverberated throughout social media outlets and clearly gives one the opinion that invoice isn’t real.

I believe in building value, creating a relationship and presenting products based on performing the proper evaluation. Hell, I’ve been to several of your training events and YES I have bought into the process. The sentiment dealerships have now is the cheapest price wins. Some dealership's have embraced the WalMart mentality, while others balance the Nordstom service approach with the Target pricing strategy. Sites like truecar.com do nothing for the quality of our franchises! In fact, dealers are paying the “marketing genius” $299 a car to LOSE money! How does that benefit anyone but truecar and the consumer?
Thanks for allowing me to share an opinion in this debate.

Comment by Lizelle Landino on November 16, 2011 at 12:39am: "Average People with great processes will produce incredible results" This is absolutely hitting the nail on the head JIm. PROCESSES !! What a challenging word that has become for many dealers. Streamlining internal processes can be challenging, but is NOT consistently applied this across the board!

I love this article and really enjoyed reading this tremendously! There is no specific "right" way or "wrong" way Old school , New etc that has the only correct answer and solution. Every single dealer is different, every single human is different.

My questions is; If you’re not critiquing your clients business processes, then what exactly are you doing?

Being critical doesn’t mean being an ass-h***, it means being as knowledgable or even more knowledgable about the industry, the processes, and the competition. It is how you define what "old" or "new" methods will work at that given time and why!

Love this Jim- it was exceptional!!