What is your answer

If you only had $40,000 dollars to spend for the month for advertising. Where would you use it to reach your targeted market. Would you target the 8 pm to midnight run on TV? would you run drive time on Radio. Would you Saturate your zone with mail? Would you bring in an event team. Let's read your thoughts.

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Permalink Reply by Fran Taylor on July 22, 2010 at 8:03pm
I read all the answers and there are some good ones. There is a difference between advetising and investing. I suggest take the 40k and invest in training your people how to go get their own customers. 5k a month for 8 months will get you over $500,000 in return. Thats a return. Read the success story I wrote comming up in Auto Success Magazine in August. A dealer that was #1 in the state went to #1 in 6 states in six months doing this training. Unlike advertising each month and hope it works, compared to training that stays with them forever.. This isn't the only dealer in the article. A Chrysler dealer just set an all time record after 9 months of this training. His salesmen were taught the same thing. I was asked to write 12 more articles of the dealers using this training. I will be writting the same success storys but with different dealers. It is much better to invest in training that sticks than hope advertising works each month. He who trains the most makes the most. Just be picky who you get your advice from. Call me for a free chat. Thanks.
Permalink Reply by MANNY LUNA on July 22, 2010 at 8:42pm
Thats what am saying!!
Fran you are The # 1 Trainer in my Book!
And your hearing this from a 50 car man!
Manny Luna

Fran Taylor said:
I read all the answers and there are some good ones. There is a difference between advetising and investing. I suggest take the 40k and invest in training your people how to go get their own customers. 5k a month for 8 months will get you over $500,000 in return. Thats a return. Read the success story I wrote comming up in Auto Success Magazine in August. A dealer that was #1 in the state went to #1 in 6 states in six months doing this training. Unlike advertising each month and hope it works, compared to training that stays with them forever.. This isn't the only dealer in the article. A Chrysler dealer just set an all time record after 9 months of this training. His salesmen were taught the same thing. I was asked to write 12 more articles of the dealers using this training. I will be writting the same success storys but with different dealers. It is much better to invest in training that sticks than hope advertising works each month. He who trains the most makes the most. Just be picky who you get your advice from. Call me for a free chat. Thanks.
Permalink Reply by Michelle Dones on July 22, 2010 at 9:13pm
Fran and Manny,

Training is a key to keeping clients but advertising brings new clients to your door. You can have an excellent sales team but if you don't advertise them how would anyone know they are there to seek their knowledge and experience. Do both and you are headed to success.

MANNY LUNA said:
Thats what am saying!!
Fran you are The # 1 Trainer in my Book!
And your hearing this from a 50 car man!
Manny Luna

Fran Taylor said:
I read all the answers and there are some good ones. There is a difference between advetising and investing. I suggest take the 40k and invest in training your people how to go get their own customers. 5k a month for 8 months will get you over $500,000 in return. Thats a return. Read the success story I wrote comming up in Auto Success Magazine in August. A dealer that was #1 in the state went to #1 in 6 states in six months doing this training. Unlike advertising each month and hope it works, compared to training that stays with them forever.. This isn't the only dealer in the article. A Chrysler dealer just set an all time record after 9 months of this training. His salesmen were taught the same thing. I was asked to write 12 more articles of the dealers using this training. I will be writting the same success storys but with different dealers. It is much better to invest in training that sticks than hope advertising works each month. He who trains the most makes the most. Just be picky who you get your advice from. Call me for a free chat. Thanks.
Permalink Reply by Steve Richards on July 23, 2010 at 1:24pm
The initial $20,000 should be invested to re-train and de-program the sales team members who aren’t Neanderthals. The sales team would have to learn modern sales strategies that don't create confrontation, sound like "car salesman rhetoric", and help engage they consumer in "intelligent conversation." Investing money this way would allow them to better handle the 88% of prospects who aren't presently buying from any given store. The last thing a dealer needs is yet another marketing campaign; the first thing a dealer needs is a sales process that's designed to cater to today's informed customer.

$10,000 should be allocated to help recruit and attract talent that "gets it." "Gets" that a management-centric sales process is offensive, inefficient, and expensive. "Gets" that a sales process that is customer-centric is only a new idea to the retail automotive industry.

And finally the last $10,000 should be allocated to a customer and employee appreciation party.
Permalink Reply by Mark Gregory on July 25, 2010 at 12:42pm
I'd use the budget to create amazing word of mouth experiences for existing customers. By being creative this could lead to free advertising well IMO the future. The idea would be to generate ongoing referrals and word of mouth. Since we couldn't be prescriptive as to what needed to be done for rhe customers we saw in the month the objective would simply be to spend the $40k in a way that drives WOW experiences.
Permalink Reply by Jon 2Tone Smith on July 26, 2010 at 2:58pm
Wow...Im glad to see you said exactly what I was gonna post. Not that I would bring in a sales event team but...I use to run a few teams and we did very good. The way a successful even team runs their business is untouchable if done in the right way. I got married (now divorced) but thats why I stopped and dealerships have been calling to get the team back on the road nationwide. Something about going into a dealership that does 25 units a month at $1850 a copy and doing 45 units at $2500 a copy in one week makes you feel good about yourself and what you have learned in the auto industry. Problem is too many sales event people get greedy and try to steal money. I'll probably be back on the road soon. Without networks like this and people like ya'll myself for one and the people around me would never get to where we are today. Training is a must.
Permalink Reply by Lin Poissonnier on July 28, 2010 at 12:49am
I would put in the salespersons hand go back to selling knock on the door bring them in and pay the ones doing it. Put the cash out in the meeting. Let them know it's thier money we can give it to the ad companys or you can put in your pocket. 40000 divided by 20 is is 2000 per salesperson if they all bring in people . Some will make more some less.
Permalink Reply by Robyn DaLuz on August 10, 2010 at 11:17am
I'd spend the 40k on various web-based marketing strategies (i.e. social media, pay-per-clicks, banner ads, email blasts). I would also set aside a small amount to enhance the dealerships sales process. Using a web-based CRM application will increase sales beyond the potential of most advertising. This investment will continuously increase sales while marketing eventually phases out. A web-based CRM application makes your dealership sales activity virtual. Email customers, create up sheets, retrieve e-leads, contact customers, and much more from anywhere, even your mobile phone!!!

You spent money getting them in the door, don't lose them with a outdated sales process. Salespeople need technology, they need computers, and they need a CRM. People are using the internet to buy everything from clothes to houses, cars are NOT excluded!!! Therefore you need the internet to sell them! To successfully run a dealership in 2010 and remain competitive, dealers need to get with the times. I see too many dealers out there thinking they can continue business as usual with a pen, paper, and file cabinet. The business has changed and so should you!

Marketing will get them in the door, a CRM will sell the vehicle and keep them coming back!!!

If you think you can't afford a CRM, think again! AutoRaptor CRM works with all dealers to ensure an affordable CRM is within reach. Never a contract! Always affordable! www.autoraptor.com

The AutoRaptor Team
Permalink Reply by Heather Wirtz on August 11, 2010 at 10:57am
I know I am biased, but I also know it works. I would launch a Mudd Hypercasting platform and based on their MIT database of car buyer intelligence, choose 4-5 media drivers to get my audience to the site.
Knowing my market, I would choose email, direct mail, broadcast radio and maybe cable if the package was aggressive.
I would strategize this plan around a fantastic offer and call to action. What I love about it, is then I would know exactly how much of my $40,000 resulted in ROI and feel good about all the captured leads and sales I gained. It wouldn't be wasted and I'd have the analytics to prove it.

~ Heather

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