Computer geeks and cone heads are ruining part of the auto business as well as profits.
Don't get caught up in the hype. Best Buys admits that 35% of the items they sell get returned because people can't understand how to use the item purchased. I recently bought a dish washer that had a 26 page instruction booklet on how to turn it on and operate it.
I just used my Tom Tom to take a 186 mile trip to a dealer. I was asked do I want to avoid toll roads. This now made the 186 mile trip turn into 256 miles going around Philly. Do you think any one with common sense would pay the $4 tolls to save all that time and distance or go the extra miles?
The same with dealers. A lick em stick em envelope with the dealerships name on the top left and a sheet of printed paper inside is wasted money compare to a hand written letter and envelope. Good idea but poor results.
Very few times do I see a manager looking up on the computer who has an appointment that day. They always look it up when going to the managers meeting with the owner or GM to do a report. The best way is to have a dry eraser board up so everyone can see what is going on at a glance. I recently herd an owner say I want all my sales people putting friends on FB and contacting there customers every day. There system can tell the owner who is doing what and can shut down that sales reps system if not done. To me this abuse to the customer and the cone heads have it so you can't do sales the right way. What do you think?
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Brian Ankney on -
Hello Fran, I am glad you made it home. We are excited to have Peterson Toyota in your next success story for AutoSuccess.
-
Permalink Reply by Fran Taylor on
-
Thanks Brian I am happy to help. I don't think we have to make things so hard. Some of the changes we make are common sense decisions. Best of luck to everyone at AutoSuccess and thank you for asking me to write success story's.
-
-
Dealers and sales reps have to experiment with this and figure it out. Some dealers make sales reps go on FB and Twitter every day and try to sell something. Other dealers I know won't allow any sales reps to use Fb or anything at all There is a difference in talking to your friends and a person you don't know. Each should be handled different. Thanks Tom your point is well taken.
-
Permalink Reply by Bobby Compton on
-
I agree Fran!
Appointment board, write up and sold board front and center fully visible.
Computers take away the visibility of action for the entire store to see.
Visible boards keep everyone in sync...
Great share my friend...
-
-
Thanks Bobby. Years ago the imports had a major advantage because of the quality of produce being offered to the public. Not true any more. We have caught up and in some cases passed them. We were forced to change to compete. The same thing with the internet and advertising. I know of a dealer that got 162 leads through a marketing company using the net and didn't sell one car. The marketing company and the net did it's job but the untrained sales person wasn't. At some point we will be forced to not use computers so much and concentrate on what works best. In some cases it's old school and working with the new to make the basic changes that works.
-
-
In respect to advertising via the Internet or any other source, you're spot on.
I look at like this; Two simple rules for running a dealership.
#1 Drive the traffic
#2 Handle the traffic
One without the other is useless...
I'm an old school freak and a new school junkie... Combined and ever changing, as in green and growing is a great way to roll...
I love your insight Fran, ALWAYS TOPS AND RIGHT ON!~
-
-
Thanks Tom And Bobby for your input. Here is some things dealers are doing to use old school with new technology. A dealer has Saturday's question and 5 winners get a free oil change. Example. Name a place on earth that it doesn't rain for 50 years or more. The customers have to email them there answer. The winners are announced the next day and emailed as well. The dealer announces all weddings, new born, charity events and so on. This was done long ago in the paper. New technology allows us to reach more people but we can't expect people to respond with sale, sale sale, all the time. There are some quality internet people and advertising company's . Fact find and see who is producing for dealers and can back up what they do for dealers. Find the dealer that says, if business is bad I hope it stays that way. Thats the guy you want to listen to. I promise you they are mixing up new with the old school ways. When all the dust settles I'am sure people will figure it out.
-
Permalink Reply by John Fuhrman on
-
Frran,
Great discussion. The Internet, just like the telephone, and a work sheet is just a tool in the box. And, if sales people would check out the tool boxes in service, they would see hundreds of tools owned by each tech. As the techs know, not every tool is used on every job. But, every tool does have a specific function and knowing that function is what creates the value in the tool.
But, if you took a hammer and tossed it on a beautiful beachfront lot and then came back a week later, there would not be a beach house there. One has to use the right tools for the specific job and do so consitantly to become good at it. Dealers are so worried about sales people chatting with friends on Facebook that they ban it. That's like the days of restricted phone lines so they could see who is calling who. Both are counter-productive. If you let people use the Internet, there will be some "abuse" and socializing. So what. This isn't grade school with a "no talking" policy.
Sales people need to do a bit of everything for contacting customers. That includes the Internet as well as some face to face prospecting, networking, and even direct mail. All of these have a place in a sales person's tool box and each should be used with the intention of gaining customers. At the end of the year your W-2 will not be broken down by who you contacted over the Internet or walked in. But the size of it will be in direct proportion to how many tools you use during the year.
-
-
I agree with you John. All the best in the auto business that sell do all kinds of prospecting. Sure beats setting around and waiting for something to happen. The cool thing is there are some prospecting tools that get your name [ sales reps ] seen several million times a year. Takes ten seconds to do this at delivery. You let the prospecting tools do the work for you. Thanks.
John Fuhrman said:
Frran,
Great discussion. The Internet, just like the telephone, and a work sheet is just a tool in the box. And, if sales people would check out the tool boxes in service, they would see hundreds of tools owned by each tech. As the techs know, not every tool is used on every job. But, every tool does have a specific function and knowing that function is what creates the value in the tool.
But, if you took a hammer and tossed it on a beautiful beachfront lot and then came back a week later, there would not be a beach house there. One has to use the right tools for the specific job and do so consitantly to become good at it. Dealers are so worried about sales people chatting with friends on Facebook that they ban it. That's like the days of restricted phone lines so they could see who is calling who. Both are counter-productive. If you let people use the Internet, there will be some "abuse" and socializing. So what. This isn't grade school with a "no talking" policy.
Sales people need to do a bit of everything for contacting customers. That includes the Internet as well as some face to face prospecting, networking, and even direct mail. All of these have a place in a sales person's tool box and each should be used with the intention of gaining customers. At the end of the year your W-2 will not be broken down by who you contacted over the Internet or walked in. But the size of it will be in direct proportion to how many tools you use during the year.
© 2024 Created by DealerELITE.
Powered by
