The obvious goal of marketing and sales is increasing revenue. They are so closely intertwined it often surprises me that in many cases sales staff are not taught about the complexity, cost and how to benefit from marketing efforts of their employers.

Third party car shopping sites and the convenience of mobile as well as video content has virtually everyone seeking the rarely available unbiased information when doing their research online in pursuit of purchasing a car. The percentage of potential buyers visiting multiple dealerships to "shop around" has steadily declined. A recent study by Cox Automotive also shows a simple, pressure-free shopping experience can help build customer satisfaction.

Dissecting the car buyer’s journey means diving in to get a deeper understanding of your customer’s behaviors and getting in front of your buyer at the right time with the right message throughout the buying process will be the difference between higher vs. lower closing ratios. It’s just as important for your sales team to understand the buyer’s journey from pre-market, in market, to the joy of handing over those keys.

Embracing consistent coaching and enlightenment of your team helps them with taking a look at the big picture to understand everyone’s role within its success. Employees who understand not just the company vision, but the challenges and how their efforts help achieve company-wide goals will go a long way.

The NADA reports that mass-market dealerships, have increased advertising to $630 per new vehicle retailed. This and attribution analytics are an extremely valuable resource for your management team. Sharing a deepened understanding of the data with your sales force can create empathy and patience that will help them overcome objections while resulting in decreased employee turnover and increased sales and retention.

DLA offers a large suite of automotive dealership sales and management workshops. Contact me to book your team for an upcoming workshop.