Craddle to Grave ISM Pay Plans?

[tomfohr]

The arguement that will never end.... Craddle to Grave or BDC/Appointment Setter.

One of the biggest problems that I see with the Craddle to Grave mentality is that we expect the Internet Sales People not to be like typical sales people and take the path of least resistance and just cherry pick through the leads and only really work 100% on the leads that are the easy deals and not grind the rest of the leads, yet we have them on a typical sales person's pay plan.

So, could we get the productivity and results from a craddle to grave Internet Sales Person without loosing the personal connection that it offers by just having the right pay plan?

Finance Managers all over the country are paid based upon product penetration so what if we paid Internet Sales People based on conversion ratio? (Ex. > 10% conversion = 25% commision, 12% conversion = 30%, 15+% conversion = 35%, ect) Would we be getting more of the results we are looking for out of our Craddle to Grave guys and not have to make the switch to a BDC/Appointment Setter?

Curious to hear others ideas for payplans for Craddle to Grave ISM's?

 

[ddavis]

The arguement that will never end.... Craddle to Grave or BDC/Appointment Setter.

One of the biggest problems that I see with the Craddle to Grave mentality is that we expect the Internet Sales People not to be like typical sales people and take the path of least resistance and just cherry pick through the leads and only really work 100% on the leads that are the easy deals and not grind the rest of the leads, yet we have them on a typical sales person's pay plan.

So, could we get the productivity and results from a craddle to grave Internet Sales Person without loosing the personal connection that it offers by just having the right pay plan?

Finance Managers all over the country are paid based upon product penetration so what if we paid Internet Sales People based on conversion ratio? (Ex. > 10% conversion = 25% commision, 12% conversion = 30%, 15+% conversion = 35%, ect) Would we be getting more of the results we are looking for out of our Craddle to Grave guys and not have to make the switch to a BDC/Appointment Setter?

Curious to hear others ideas for payplans for Craddle to Grave ISM's?

I assume that when you say conversion, you mean sales as a precentage of leads. I used cradle to grave. What would you pay my guys that averaged over 20%? Is that front and back? I'm in!

The Internet Director controls most of this through marketing strategy and supervision. The key is having quality leads and that is the Director's responsibility. Excuse the vulgarity, but who's fault is it if you allow your ISMs to eat like elephants and shit like birds?

 

[ryanabbott]

We have 4 rooftops in our organization and we use the "appointment setter" option. Each store has 2 ISM's and they handle every incoming phone call and lead. They are compensated with a weekly salary as well as a paid per Shown appointment bonus. Once the appointment enters the facility, they are turned over to a sales consultant who has been briefed on the situation. It has worked out well for us and we are focused more on selling the dealership rather than selling the vehicle over the phone. Obviously every opportunity is unique and you have to answer the questions that are asked, but our first act is to try to get that appointment.

Our shown appointments have increased over 1,025 from last year to this year. What was supposed to be a down year b/c of the lack of import inventory, we have managed to have a better year than last. I'd like to think it is b/c of our process but only time will tell.

 

[ddavis]

We have 4 rooftops in our organization and we use the "appointment setter" option. Each store has 2 ISM's and they handle every incoming phone call and lead. They are compensated with a weekly salary as well as a paid per Shown appointment bonus. Once the appointment enters the facility, they are turned over to a sales consultant who has been briefed on the situation. It has worked out well for us and we are focused more on selling the dealership rather than selling the vehicle over the phone. Obviously every opportunity is unique and you have to answer the questions that are asked, but our first act is to try to get that appointment.

Our shown appointments have increased over 1,025 from last year to this year. What was supposed to be a down year b/c of the lack of import inventory, we have managed to have a better year than last. I'd like to think it is b/c of our process but only time will tell.

Ryan, you call your appointment setters ISMs? I've worked in stores where the philosophy is: "you can't sell a car over the phone, get 'em in". The most common complaint, that I hear, about appointment setters, is that they will say anything to get a customer in.

At my last store, I had nine cradle to grave ISMs. We had outgrown our facility. We didn't have enough drops, computers, phones and desks. I had the same problem at the previous store. With limited resources, it was imperative that we had the very best people utilizing them. Obviously, appointments are important but sales are the main objective. I would be interested to hear your closing ratio to leads, year over year.


Ultimately, I would like to run a department where they were all ISMs and a Business Development Center focused on plus business.

 

[ryanabbott]

I guess I would call them "Client Care Managers" rather than ISM's. When I began at Saturn 6 years ago, I was thrown in front of a computer and told "Get them in the door". I had to battle with managers for numbers and I did anything I could just to get them in and turn them over to a salesman. I got paid on the total gross profit for the store so as long as I thought I contributed to the sale I was happy. I did Myspace, Youtube, Facebook, Blogs, Twitter, Video specials, etc.. I was learning more and more everyday and the leads became an after thought after a while. This thinking lead me to my position I have today but didn't do the position of ISM justice. I think with the number of leads and the proper follow through, being appointment setters is all we can ask our ISM's to be. Then having someone like myself oversee them and do the misc. stuff is where it's at. If you are having your ISM's follow the lead all the way through to the sale then you are missing a lot of follow up b/c there isn't that many hours in a day!

Ultimately, I would like to run a department where they were all ISMs and a Business Development Center focused on plus business.


This is my main goal and I think we are a year or so away from it. We have a good team here and they each have their own special skill. If I can get them all together I think we could have a great team. All four stores under one building, it would be my own little Voltron!!

 

[ddavis]

If you are having your ISM's follow the lead all the way through to the sale then you are missing a lot of follow up b/c there isn't that many hours in a day!

That is exactly why I limited the number of leads to a maximum of 85/month per ISM. I don't know anyone in this market that closed a higher percentage of leads. It really didn't matter because more phones wasn't an option.

 

[ryanabbott]

That's the way to do it. 85 is where I would cap it also. I just wish I could employ 4/5 per store to be able to do that. Unfortunately we aren't there yet.

 

[ddavis]

That's the way to do it. 85 is where I would cap it also. I just wish I could employ 4/5 per store to be able to do that. Unfortunately we aren't there yet.

Allowing your ISMs to cherry pick the leads is a very expensive proposition. From another post, you are buying leads through TrueCar but you don't have enough ISMs to handle your existing leads?

 

[ryanabbott]

We handle our leads based on priority. We can handle them all as I said above, we are appointment setters. If my team were going cradle to the grave then yes, 85 per would be our limit as well. Our website, etc. leads come first. With TruCar, we only pay for what we sell. It has given us more opportunity and we try to maximize every opportunity the best way we can. Our Internet Department has grown a lot this past year and just last month our Honda Internet Team resulted in 54% of the stores sales.

 

[danoneil]

At my dealership we have 2 dedicated ISM's who handle all the leads. We make appointments and follow up until they have responded they are off the market. I get paid a salary plus a set fee for every car the department is involved with. When a customer comes in, whoever greets them, gets them. If we take a deposit, then the sales manager decides who gets the deal.

We do not deliver or test drive customers. All we do is handle the leads and involved with marketing. 600 leads a month - 40% of sales come via internet & a 13 to 16% closing percentage on average.

It's a simple plan. Salespeople are happy.