Alex thanks for your comment and applause. I try to take off my vendor hat at every one of these events I am asked to speak at. You're right I had not read your post; New Dealership Processes until just now.

Very interesting to choose to break something forcing a new way of doing things, I absolutely agree with it. This concept is crystallized for me in Seth Godin’s book All Marketers Are Liars. It’s a great read.

You're also right that I go to the extreme with it. As dealers we think in extremes and I wanted the dealers in the audience to take at least that away from this panel. The more time I spend analyzing the TX. Direct Auto sales model the more I realize that many of the things we do in our dealerships are distractions and by focusing with intensity on the fundamentals we will get much farther than trying to be first in the next big thing (the silver bullet)

These fundamentals being:

1. A human optimized main random access website, focus on the user everything else will take care of itself – Google

2. Proper online merchandising of your inventory, the right pictures the right way (taken by you not some disinterested 3rd party)

3. Vehicle listing strategy, Paid sites & free sites

4. Pricing strategy, not the cheapest just competitive and priced to turn not for max gross (a hard one for a dealer to grasp)

5. PPC straegy for conquest customers

6. Finally a conversion focused strategy using microsites and conversion paths for all of the above

If a dealer can get these things dialed in then they can move on to the longtail and advanced elements of online marketing like social media if you don't have this foundation then the longtail isn’t sustainable.

Hope that makes sense and again thanks

Sorry about that Eric. I am going to have to add your last name to spell check - lol. You're a Miltsch again.

Alex,

Great summary...appreciate the mention. Great seeing you as well.

Farley's presentation was incredible; one theme that rang out to me on a consistent basis was the need to connect to our customers on a new emotional level - one that provides the customer the ability to customize an element of their experience.

(and this can apply to the consumer from the retail level all the way up to the OEM level)

Great to see everyone and finally meet so many of the people I've connected with online over the years.

Oh yea, Alex - my mess of a last name has 5 consonants in a row...Miltsch.

John Doe,

What state are you in? Is your market saturated w/ same brands? I.e., I'm in SoCal, there are 16 Honda dealerships in about a 30-40 mile radius.

Are the Internet teams emailing and phone calling? Are they giving price over email?

Are they "working" the deal or not trying very hard?

How many leads are duplicates? When using multiple lead providers, and getting that many leads I've found about a 15% duplicate- lead ratio.

80 cars in stock new/used is a problem! How many of those prospects would have purchased if you had the inventory?

These are some of the things I would ask/research to figure out where the issue is.

Keep Pushing!

Ok, obviously my name isn't John Doe but after you read what I'm about to post- management would #@!*% me if the location was disclosed, naturally.

Lead count includes 100% verifiable contacts for most online advertising sources; emails and phone calls to 800#'s. Total does NOT inlcude local calls or walk-in traffic. Sit down for this one...

Just over 800 emails and phone calls received in OCT with total units sold- somewhere around 50. Lead sources include manufacturer websites, dealer websites, Autotrader, misc Homenet outlets- nothing weird or eccentric. We carry two prominent import brands with a total of 80 new/used vehicles in inventory.

Have fun with this one- thankfully my job function is soley to optimize websites and ensure proper lead distribution to CRM and copies of leads to all managers company email in text format.

Do the leads suck- or are processes lacking?

We can never let a "process" interfere with a customer! I've seen soo many managers put the process before the customer and watched many a buyer leave frustrated! That's not to say we run everything in a state of chaos, however; we need to make sure our processes put the customer first!

Question: How many Internet department's are out there looking to gain market share from out of there target geography vs. just staying local? Thanks!

Joe

I have to figure out a way to get more leads. I'm stuck with what Nissan sends me, including all the 3rd party leads I get, but lately it seems the quality really, really sucks. Knowing this is a pure numbers game, I'd love to quadruple my leads to 500 vs. the 150 I get. I know for a fact, I will sell 4X the cars and make 4X the money (for the dealership) - but getting my GM to see this is a stretch. My owner hates the internet and doesn't care if we have a website but I know this is a place to make money. Any ideas??

Ralph - never post again without a drink in hand! I'm glad to hear we're on the same page, and I think we were on the same page last night too.

Ralph Paglia,

That was by far, the most entertaining, personable, fun read from you ever!

I highly recommend you write only when tired. And, when you're really looking to smack one out of the park, starve yourself too!

"...shredding the Internet and BDC team’s processes apart like pulling strips of string cheese..."

hahaha... somehow that made sense!

I'm seeing some marketing savvy sales people leverage Dealerrater to build their own personal brands online and promote the quality of their customers buying experience. They are using the personal reviews to create a distinct advantage against their competitors but also their own dealership colleagues. The positive mentions of their names by their customers is allowing them to spread that message in other online communities. It really keeps them focused on earning a good review. It's one of the best tools to build their OWN name in our business.

Alex,

I caught this post of your on the tool bar i built which shows DealerRefresh, Kain Automotive and ADM on the same mashed up scrolling feed, and... I just had to respond because you have discovered something i learned the hard way, and which most people think I am nuts when describing. When I first started working at Courtesy Chevrolet in Phoenix, I came from a job at Reynolds which had me working with their CRM team for several years. I firmly believed that it would be a waste to attract customers in any way if the sales team was not yet trained to follow an effective process, regardless of whether we are talking about showroom, phone or Internet, I (like so many others) believed in "Plan, Prepare, Train BEFORE Inviting Customers. So, my first two months at the Chevy store I was like a Grizzly Bear with a King Salmon, focused and shredding the Internet and BDC team's processes apart like pulling strips of string cheese (I'm at the Red Rock in Vegas and hungry). And, we started making process... I was damned proud when we went from a 7.2% Internet Lead to Close Rate and from 8% to 11% Incoming Sales Call to Close rate. Then one day the dealer (Bill Gruwell) asks me to come to his office. After I explained what I was working on and showed him the numbers (bragging somewhat), he was polite but not smiling... The store's total sales had gone down and he expected my work to yield INCREMENTAL sales, not just doing a better job of tracking everything so my team got on more deals and we were able to claim a higher percentage of the store's business... He already knew how much business the Internet was brining in, and that's why they hired me... Or something like that. I am paraphrasing based on memory, so Bill, Scott and Mark if you read this please forgive me if I don't get it word for word... The bottom line was this:

Stop trying to perfect the processes and get more people into the dealership! get more leads, get more phone calls and if the CRM and Process performance ratios stay the same, we will sell more cars. So, being the smart ass that I seem to be less and less of as I get older, I said to Mr. Gruwell something like this:

"More leads is easy sir, it is just a matter of budget, figure an average of $20 a lead and multiply that by the number of increased leads you want me to get and it's as simple as that..." (today I know what a f*&^#ing idiot I must have sounded like. But, the Gruwells are VERY sharp operators and Mr. G did not blink... He took a pencil and piece of paper and said something like: "OK, so can I use 7% closing rates as a safe average?" As my chest puffed out, I said "Yes SIR, my processes are so pure and so effective, you can count on me for BETTER than a 7% Close Rate... Sir, YES Sir!". So he looks at me and says "OK, I am giving you an extra $20,000 a month to generate 1,000 more leads and sell an extra 70 cars above and beyond what you did last month...". As I walked out, I had that gnarly knot in my stomach like when your holding an Aces over Kings Full House in a Poker game, slap it down and the other guy quietly lays down 4 Deuces... Yet, the "Idiot Lesson" I would receive had only just begun. After I went to every known lead provider and found out we were already buying every Chevy lead we could get in the Phoenix Market, out of sheer desperation i turned to online advertising and microsites which meant I had no time to monitor processes... I was able to get lead volume over 5,000 a month, processes be damned, and somehow everything fell into shape and we sold thousands of cars... But ONLY after I threw away the blueprint and focused on opening up the spigot of customer communication opportunities. Which somehow seems like a similar experience to what you described in this post... sort of... OK, cut me some slack here, I am in Vegas and sleep deprivation does weird things to people!

Seth Godin had his own article on the About Page: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/09/f... ...just wanted to add it here.

The best About Us page: http://www.thefordstory.com

You nailed it Alex. I think everyone gets so focused on "Selling Cars" that they forget the basics like what makes you different and why they should buy from you.

Great article. I look at the About Us page as the best way to let everyone know what you are about both on a business and a personal level. If your dealership is sponsoring events, that should be on there. I agree that social network pages should be on that page as well. I also think that reviews from DealerRater need to be on there. It is a great opportunity to include videos of testimonials and even a letter from the Owner or GM. It is the best opportunity to add personality to the dealership.

Jeff Great post! I was just scrolling around and come across this one.  One of the biggest reasons that dealers don't go social is the fear of not being able to properly do it right.  Which in fact as you pointed out above that hit the nail on the head which is still the problem dealers have today. 

Not having the proper social media strategy is where dealers that have gone social get hurt in the long run. Then that is the reason they don't believe it works. 

Just like websites, when not properly maintained by the dealer (uploading monthly specials, etc etc) the dealer then feels the website doesn't work for them. 

When I scroll through all the auto dealers on Facebook / social networks etc. I still notice about 80% of them have a friend page...!

Great post! 

Nice one Jeff! (Thanks to @globalcopywrite for flagging this beaut piece.)

I've just spent a several weeks trying to buy a car, and the dinosaur syndrome seems to extend beyond social media.

Same dirty tricks, same old gender bias.

Interestingly, if one dealer had've sent a follow-up email like he promised, he probably would've got my business.

Not sure if you allow links, but if you do, our dealer debate is at http://mybrc.myobnet.com/2010/09/09/auto-destruct... Best regards, P.

Andrew DiFeo said on October 8th, 2009:
"I’m in Joe’s camp. Before you can maximize your opportunities on your own website, I wouldn’t put a lot of resources behind Social Media…just yet a least."

The key thing to extract here (IMHO) is "...maximize your opportunities on your own website..." The deeper and deeper I get into this thing the more I am convinced that everything starts with the dealer's website - and that 99% of them fail at the mission they are tasked with accomplishing. But I'm sure this topic is already a thread somewhere on the forum, I just haven't taken the time to find it. We could go on and on....

Hey Devin,

Lighten up a bit...

I think you are WAY too myopic in your vision.

Social Media if used PROPERLY. I REPEAT...USED PROPERLY...can, will and has proven itself over and over and over again.

I really just don't understand how dealers, assuming you are a dealer...(considering you didn't put any hyperlinked info when scrolling over your name), like yourself, can just with a wave of the wand just dismiss an entire INDUSTRY within an INDUSTRY...just like that.

Devin...here is a cold hard fact:

Almost every single person that walks INTO your showroom or lot has visited your site at least once if not twice. Oh and yeah they are checking out your competition literally at the same time. Some people even have spilt screens opened and view the sites side by side.

Bottom line is that a dealer wants to stay relevant for the next 5 years...this is what they need to do.

A few years ago very few dealerships were doing anything remotely close to Social Media. Even still today, many like yourself, are reluctant to do anything that DOES NOT bear fruit IMMEDIATELY.

Why are you guys so impatient? Search Engine Marketing, when done correctly, takes up to 1-3 months to show up by Google. With Social Media, you're impact is immediate. You are showing your clients that you are with it. That you are forward thinking. That you actually want to evolve with the times as opposed to being a relic of the past.

Will someone join your facebook page to read over and over again? No. Will they read your Tweets? No. Will they pay attention to anything at all? Probably not, BUT...and here is the HUGE BUT. By keeping your name and reputation out there and being in the forefront of your competition you are engaging your customers as they read their email, read their tweets, or check their updates. Your name stays out there. Think of it as viral advertising.

There are a million and 1 ways to do a successful Social Media campaign. The first step to making it happen is visualization of what is possible.

And now I get to pick apart your examples:

1) Train the salespeople, service writer, and parts guy to have a great attitude, smile, be fun, and LISTEN to the customer. (Think Southwest Airlines)

[Wait a minute...did you just say TRAIN your SALESPEOPLE? What planet are you on? Have you spent time in most dealership? Not going to happen. No incentive.]

2) Obtain info from all your very expensive sold and UNSOLD leads. Setup a great promotion that everyone will want to sign up with. Mandate the name, address, and salesperson name to be eligible.

[of course...EVERYONE...will just sign up. Poof! just like that. Wow, incredibly realistic scenario there.../sarcasm off]

3) Get everyone of your salespeople to send out monthly personal mailers that say something other than a sales pitch. (this is not impossible!)

[Get the salespeople to send out ANYTHING...good luck with that one. THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE! I've been around many, many, many dealers and sales people from different parts of the US. There is one common theme: least flow of resistance. Whatever is the easiest way around doing ANY work is chosen. That goes for any job BTW, not just the auto industry.]

4) Mandate that every salesperson sign up for Facebook. Train them on how signup, search for all their friends, and tell them to not actively try to sell something.

[Ummm...most of the salespeople are ALREADY on Facebook because their kids that are in college are on there or their wife is on there, etc. FYI, people don't use facebook like that. Facebook is a bit more organic in the respect that most if not all the people that are your friends on there are indeed your real life friends and family. Twitter is anyone from Romania to NYC to Timbuktu. LinkedIn is in a sense the formal version of facebook, but for business.]

Devin, I am sorry if I have come off as semi-crass, but you can't just knock an entire sub-industry that is literally changing the way business is done all over the world. I'm sorry, you just can't.

The proof is in the pudding, just open your mind to what is possible rather than what's in front of you.

I believe that a "company" social media presence will be a waste of time unless it is really worked. Social Media is for socializing with people, not for selling product. If a dealership used SM to promote interesting conversations with their customers and never tried to sell something, then it would be a huge hit.

When it comes down to it, nobody cares about your business. They only care about and relate to the experiences with the people of your business.

For example, I just had some service work done to my Subaru. The dealer is part of a large dealer group. I was treated like a number instead of a person I will not be taking my car back to that dealer next time because of one person. I made a decision to not do business on the entire group because of one person.

There will actually be a time in the future where you won’t have many marketing choices. The newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, and even email are slated for extinction. (Did you know that many colleges around the country have stopped handing out email addresses to incoming freshmen? Have you seen the demo of the future Google Wave?)

I believe that it is very easy to have a profitable dealership these days.

1) Train the salespeople, service writer, and parts guy to have a great attitude, smile, be fun, and LISTEN to the customer. (Think Southwest Airlines)
2) Obtain info from all your very expensive sold and UNSOLD leads. Setup a great promotion that everyone will want to sign up with. Mandate the name, address, and salesperson name to be eligible.
3) Get everyone of your salespeople to send out monthly personal mailers that say something other than a sales pitch. (this is not impossible!)
4) Mandate that every salesperson sign up for Facebook. Train them on how signup, search for all their friends, and tell them to not actively try to sell something.

It is only after these four steps that I would even consider a “company” social media effort.

Imagine how powerful it would be if your sales staff treated all your leads like Southwest Airlines treats their customers.

Imagine getting the mailing information from every one of your leads and hitting them with a totally personal message from the face of your dealership.

Imagine every one of your salespeople just getting in touch with their 150 friends and the sphere of influence that your sales staff now wields.

Here is a question for you.
Why are 90% of the sales people in the country NOT promoting themselves persistently?

well. simple. they are lazy.

You’re going to laugh but I strongly believe that dealers are still somewhat skeptical of social networks branding their business online! Because their business models doesn’t support on-line efforts to “MAKE IT HAPPEN” have you ever listened to received calls from consumers inquiring on autos on line and hear what comes through phone very depressing! We’ll it is basics 101 dealers don’t take the time to effectively train their BDC/Internet Managers, Sales Staff to be in compliance with a process or procedures to = positive results! I see it every day in the field it really is amazing that dealers want to sell more cars via internet but forget training is the “keys to success”!