Yes, you're being left behind

[I autoknow]

......I was at a recient meeting with about 60 dealers who were there to learn how to change there business model. 80% were 55 years and older. The most common question was ; "OK , I know I need to change , but who is going to do it for me "? "I'm not tech savy". Frankly these guys have missed the boat that left 9 years ago. With the rapid, almost quarterly changes happening I see almost no help of even getting the DP's , Managers and 55 and older sales dude to learn the new skills to adapt to todays car biz.. Interns ? Maybe. A new Dealer School focused on todays car biz.. On-line education and training ? What would be the most effective ? What is the most urgent priority ?

 

[Joe Pistell]

Want new blood on the sales floor? Change the pay plan, change the hours worked.

A Pioneers that I follow:
Auction Direct USA: Your Trusted Source for Quality Used Cars in Raleigh, NC. CarShop | Home Subaru Dealer Wichita KS | Subaru of Wichita Toyota Dealer in Littleton MA Near Acton and Westford | Acton Toyota of Littleton

Bottom line.
Change starts at the top. No bandaid solutions to the existing model.

 

[@terrencegordon]

Brian, if I'm understanding your response correctly, there is no dispute. Dealers SHOULD educate themselves and understand enough about all aspects of marketing (online and offiline) so that they can have a constructive dialogue with their agency. There is no argument there...nor should there be. The more the dealer knows, the better the working relationship with the Vendor.

What I will argue is the granularity of involvement from the Dealer. I personally don't think any dealer (the Joe Pistells of the world aside) should be hiring staff to actively MANAGE their online marketing - meaning the actual media buying, reporting and maintenance of those programs. And by hiring an intern, you are assuming there's someone at the dealership to monitor their performance.

If I was hired at a dealership tomorrow, with all my online marketing experience I would still hire a 3rd party agency / vendor / consultant to buy and manage my media. At the end of the day, I just need the bottom line ROI report and the ability to decipher it.

 

[@shaunraines]

It's really easy to point out the obvious need in our industry relative to what we now call digital marketing. EVERY ONE that reads the articles and comments here at DealerRefresh should be in agreement that education and commitment to continued training should be a top priority for dealers. Internet training, education and preparedness should have been a top priority for dealers for the last 10 years. It's a true reality, but it's far from a new reality. So, why are most dealers still in neutral?

 

[Tired of the Hype]

Shaun - Dealers are still in neutral because most of the "training" offered by companies today are just commercials for their own products. In fact. most of the vendor training I've witnessed consists of vendors peeing on dealers and telling them that it's raining.