Scott, business is business and you need your people to do the walk and not just talk the talk. I agree with you 100% with a call to action by the salespeople. I been there done that in my past years in the trade and I understand the Chicago market well, I live there. Are you doing (I am not saying that you are not so don't be offended) offering as much support and giving 100% as an owner more than great “words”, which are good to do always. The point is if you have for example a good salesperson, are you helping them get through these tough times and sticking with them to build in to the future or kicking them to the curb when numbers are down? Owner's never want to hear or talk about this but when I managed one of two things would happen if someone's numbers were down. One, I would fire them because this was not the right business for them period. So why make it insufferable and let them find a better fit career or pay them even without selling enough vehicles to justify because it was worth the long term investment and just the right thing not to starve someone out till they quit. Tough conversation but that is how progress and success comes. All the best and regards to you.

I will also speak on behalf of Nick Olsen at Cardone Training. I went through their training, it made not just myself strong but our whole team as a ONE!

I am glad to see you here Nick! High 5 to Cardone!

Pete - As they say " Momma needs a new pair of boots"......

Would you like my formula to the most amazing JEN KOOL-AID in town??

Jen, now that is the how I like to hear it. Keep kickin some...and makin $$$.

DAMMMMMMMMMN!!!

I love it! Yes I am also to the point of punching someone in the face from hearing the "They won't buy" excuse. "Expenses are tight" on and on and on...

Ooooooh no! I feel I better get my drink on with the most fabulous Jen KOOL-AID!

Come on! Really this is the time to shine. Take on the customers out there that your competition is not willing to pick up the phone for! Make those cold calls, get out the lot and wave at the passing traffic, market yourself, create an image and HECK YAH give them the warm hand shake! It surely makes a difference.

Salesmen are putting themselves at a desperate measure right now. They are so worried about their paycheck instead of selling the value of the vehicle itself! That kills the deal.

Reading the negative press puts you in a slump, STOP READING IT!

So desperate and scared of what is going on. Come on guys & gals. Get your feet on the street.

Not to be biast, but as we called the used car lot "THE PIRATE SHIP". I stuck with the boys and sold a SH*T LOAD of cars. TOP DOG or should I say TOP BROAD! I was not scared of what was going on.

We sold hard, We sold good & damnit we made a good living.

During these times of recession, hard times & banks aren't buying; this is the BEST TIME TO SELL!

Little guys going under, this is the time to take their traffic, their clients THERE SALES!!

OK OK the Jen Kool-Aid just worn off! But there is my final $0.02 on what is going on.

ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE!!!!!!

SO TRUE! Survival of the fittest. I've been waiting for these days - and we are ready!

Pretty common sense that it's the truth and I would 100% agree...the real challenge though is for leaders to turn words into action, philosophy into results. As an owner of 2 sub prime stores in Chicago, I can't tell you how many times I have presented great "words" to my staff and watched some of them nod their heads in agreement only to go back to the path of least resistance later in the week, and for the record they do not work there any longer...my point to anyone who was motivated by the e mail mentioned is to not leave it there-go out and actually convert those words/emotions into actions and actions into results. Do it for your dealer, for your salespeople, for the porters you're keeping employed, and most of all, do it for the person in the mirror getting paid every day for doing the right thing. Because everything listed was "right" and "basic" and not worthy of a trophy. So if anyone is doing anything less than mentioned (especially in these times), tell the person in the mirror collecting a full paycheck for doing an 80% job that somehow their existence is justified...or start doing 100% of the job.

Things will change and they will get better-keep your head high.

Scott Falcone
Bob Watson Chevy
World Hyundai
Chicago

Great post. Sometimes all we need is a little kick in the ass to make us remember what exactly it is we do in this business..

Jeff, "Here, only the strong survive"...It's so right to but so wrong. That's the oxymoron of it all. You can't fix the top (factories) if some of the infection remains at the franchise level.
The reality is that each factory has to be able to choose some of the stores to close. The franchising system in most states will make that tough. Also, I am sure you heard that GM may kill Saturn. That's just stupid and that new selling mantra didn't fail to deliver but the quality of the product did. Who's watching out for the best interest of the retail workforce in all of this? Free labor without any kind of base for rep's has to end. So "only the strong survive" is the same vomit reflex I get because that is what a millionaire owner can say because it costs him nothing by paying nothing to the people that ARE working hard, taking test drives, following up on sold vehicles, taking care of customer's service needs and on and on. In times like this, I have been there a few times, the WORST salesperson is hanging on to the showroom door handle or up'ing people at the front of the driveway lot grabbing on to door handles. I have seen the worst and the industry will survive but good and honest salespeople will not with a strong survive mentality.

Sorry Jeff, I mean- I sometimes vomit after reading comments on this site...

I sometimes vomit after reading some of the posts on this site...

Great post and dead on. Dealers have to change from the business as usual mind set. If you continue to do the same things over and over, how can you expect different results.

“Thoughts determine what you want, ACTIONS determine what you get.”

Hey everyone, just wanted to leave a comment (obviously) on the above post.

It's dead on...

I work for one of THE MOST TALENTED SALES TRAINERS IN THE COUNTRY...Grant Cardone

This post above is right on with what he's always said..

-Take responsibility
-Keep pushing forward
-Keep expanding
-Figure out a solution rather than complain about the problem
-Sharpen your skills
-Get deals done by not giving up on people!

Every day I talk with about 70 or so salespersons and managers.

Their attitudes cover the whole spectrum, and guess what?

The guys who are looking for the deals, looking for ways to GET IT DONE, and keep their #'s up are doing just that!

They are making it happen

The others that I talk with tell me how bad it is... no traffic, bad economy... cuss me out cause they're not selling anything. Get mad when I offer help, etc.

So... take it for what it's worth, but those out there who are looking for solutions will certainly find them. We'll just lose a lot of dead weight in the process.

Live Long and Sell Strong!!

Nik Olsen
Cardone Training
nik@grantcardone.com

I disagree - I never sold anything! I just listend and learned what my customer needed to buy rather than what they wanted to, and then I helped them do it.

The succesful examples listed in the email are built on the basics of "qualifying" a customer's needs to earn their trust and then their business - in that order. I practiced that philosphy when I decided to sell Hondas in 1975 when Chicken Little first entered the scene. I determined that it was easier to represent something that people needed - gas mileage - then to "sell" them something they thought that they wanted, like luxury. These really are tough times - which simply means that people NEED professional help more than ever. The answer to making money is to earn it by being the last professional standing - or at least the last one that a customer ever meets. Remember, we may "sell" ourselves and our services but in these tough economic times all that customers need is to purchase reliable and economical transportation so help them do it. After all, what are friends for!

I found this article very amusing. As I look around at my fellow salespeople, I can see a few them in their McDonald's uniforms already! I'm lucky be employed at one of the few dealerships (a domestic one at that!) that I KNOW will survive this 'economic slump' and come out better than on top. I enjoyed reading this article, and think it is dead on. Thank you for sharing! I intend to share it with the rest of the dealership.

This is the message that we need most to hear.

Thank you.

I have a rock on my desk with this message engraved. "Some people make things happen, some people watch things happen, while others wonder what has happened." Isn't it up to all of us to just do it right!

Rob is spot on.... Make it Happen!

Great piece. Remember - it is our job to LEAD our people through this demanding market. There have ALWAYS been recessions in the market, it is basic economics - dealers that have been in business for a long time have survived because they SELL cars during times like this. Keep your chins up!

I was always taught not to make excuses. It's a sign of your own weakness I was told my first day selling cars. Why than do I hear it 100 times a day. I appreciate messages like this, thanks for posting.

I love the car business!

That is dead on and that is what our crew have been saying for the last few months. Great post, thanks for sharing!

If you have the staff and expertise to setup your own email marketing campaigns I would suggest a hybrid approach that involves renting a dedicated server.

This can run $300-$500 a month but can give you unlimited emailing, domains and database management without the headache of hosting your own server inhouse and dealing with firewalls and software upgrades.

Setup a domains outside of your main URL that can be targeted for various promotions; service, parts and sales.

The issue with Godaddy is that they charge you for large emails list capability (you have to buy additional SMTP relays) so you can be paying a few hundred dollars a month if you want to send out 5-10K emails in a 1-2 day window. Their default free mail account is 250 a day.

Just a little something about email your prospects. We have noticed that simple text emails have been getting a better response than elaborate html emails. It's the same concept as snail mail. If you get a personal letter vs. bulk mail you are more likely to open it. We've done the same for our email campaigns and have had great results.

We also have our own MS Exchange Server; however we NEVER use it for sending our Broadcast Emails. We have run into the problem of the server being shut down for a long period of time or being black listed by ISP’s. If you want your own mail server I would recommend using your CRM/ILM Providers server to send out your broadcasts. Additionally I would check with your CRM/ILM provider and make sure they have a rock solid Broadcast procedure in place including how they deal with Opt Outs and unparsed Emails. There is nothing worse than trying to send out emails thru your CRM/ILM and the customer never getting them due to being black listed.

Our dealership does host our email onsite and I manage our spam filter. It is a hardware solution called a Barracuda - it really does wonders!!!

Regarding the broadcasts, I would alsways stay away from using your own mail service or your ISP's server for that. I have run in to problems being listed on spam lists because our DNS records were incorrect. A real hassle, I promise. Most ISPs do not allow braodcasts because they have timers on their servers and if too much mail goes out at the same time, you get flagged. You can get around this, by setting timers yourself to mail in smaller bunches, but it is a hassle.

In addition, the good mail handling services including your CRM should have a working relationship with Google, Yahoo and other mail services, so their mail does not get listed as SPAM. Always keep an eye out on mail being returned a lot from one specific provider, because that could be a SPAM problem. I had this happen in the past when using AVV where Yahoo was blocking our email.

Anyways, having your own mail server is a cost effective way to run your mail - we use a windows XP Pro Box (cost less then $1,000), but braodcasts you are better of running through a third party.

Ok here it is non-geek speak (and I speak it fluently)
Don't send blast from your main company email domain. You will get flagged as a spammer and have a hard time communicating with your customers by email.
Godaddy has the best deal going based on price/features. They give you a free email account with every domain you register. If you are doing microsites you should have a bunch. It has a pop3, smtp and web access.
Our web site provider (ebiz) offers free mail with our sites, check your provider.
Our CRM system (Cardone/Dealerpeak) uses it's own mail system to trickle out email so that it is not blocked as bulk or spam. 2500 emails will generally take 4 to 6 hours to send. There are many remailers out there.
Keep it simple, make your technology work for you. Many times we get dazzled by all the new great features offered to us and then no one in the dealership can understand how to use it. If you need any other assistance feel free to email me with your questions.
Matt Young
Director of IT
Jack Ingram Motors
Myoung@jackingram.com