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Mar 2, 2011

BP, Default = no "gateway page", just links to the dealers page as it does now. Dealer opt in creates gateway page.

D. Rawls · Mar 2, 2011

Excellent Wine Brian;

Alright, here it is plain and simple.

Capture 'the handshake', capture the ROI.

Who handles the handshake? Consultants, for over 120 years. If AT and Cars are to survive an Information Age zeitgeist shift, then they must Stop Selling Subscriptions, and Start Selling Results.

Easy enough, I think to enjoy with your wine - you can call this "cheese".

And, call me tomorrow champion.

Brian Pasch · Mar 2, 2011

Joe
Are you suggesting that the link to the dealer site pops up a landing page with lead capture designs, created by the dealer? What happens when they do not fill out the page, where do they go?

Brian Pasch · Mar 2, 2011

I'm not sure if its the 2005 Dalla Valle Cabernet I'm enjoying tonight but I can not understand what the hell Donnel Rawls just said.

D. Rawls · Mar 2, 2011

Okay Champions!

Joe you are almost there, president! However, the idea that a consumer is satisfied with only the 'price discovery' is a farce. For many dealers who have survived a turbulent transitional era in automotive retail spaces (and for some who have not...), the idea that each and every auto deal stands on its own merit has been established.

At Auto Buyer Consultants, my company down here right in Atlanta, GA, I have been working through an idea I shared with Chip and the crew at AT many years back - let's call it '04 or '05 when they came up with the "create your dealership on our website" concept. It is called "Active Communicating", and it has tremendous scope, so I am challenging myself here to keep it focused on your synthesis of thought, Joe.

Active Communicating will work something like this for auto retail present.

'A Handshake' is the currency of an Information Age (not Internet Age, Joe) wherein the commerce is 'Socialization' and the commodity 'Information'.

At the root of the problem preventing AT and Cars from being able to optimize their current value propositions (and the Revenue Models attached to them) is they are in the capsule of an 'advertising age' - no pun intended.

You see, Joe, advertising is becoming obsolete each and every day. It has been surpassed in an Information Age by ACTIVE COMMUNICATIONS. When I recognized these things, I began to build out the first auto retail platform that targets 'consultants' - the top 20% to 25% of auto retail professional sales consultants, that is. I recognized the value proposition the consumer seeks has always been dependent upon a conversation between these two parties - 'the consultant' and 'the consumer'.

So, (stay focused, Dee) the key to auto retail future is to remove as many unnecessary layers between these two as possible, and to initiate the handshake as early as possible.

At AT and Cars, the handshake has yet to be identified as the 'Currency' of an Information Age, and they therefore offer a subscription-based value proposition to dealers (both on the verge of obsolescence, today) that ignores the value of the actual transaction.

If these vendors you cry out to for ROI are to REALLY introduce something, then it should be a product based upon "Active Communicating" which harnesses the valuable conversation between the two most essential components of any auto retail transaction. They would harness the manpower of the dealer clients they currently struggle to keep on their subscriber lists by leveraging a transaction-based proposition to the professional consultants responsible for managing the conversations and handshakes that are the true ROI.

Give me a call if I got off focus, champion. I think I brought it home well, though.

Mar 2, 2011

Would auto dealers be willing to pay on a CPC type model in order to get the click through for that vehicle? Without something like that Autotrader, and the like, would be losing their lead information.

If there are too many unanswered questions people may need to look at a few different ways to resolve this too. Often times you'll see marketing information where dealers have an opportunity to answer some of the questions such as the vehicles comments. Granted you can't put in a lot of the stuff you like and stay within the guide of the aggregater but folks have to learn to wisely, and creatively use the space they have to answer some of those questions themselves.

Mar 2, 2011

Ran out of space. Eureka link NEEDS a gateway page that displays an incentive created by the dealer, where shopper leaves contact info .

Win+win=more ROI

Mar 2, 2011

Ran out of space. Eureka link NEEDS a gateway page that displays an incentive created by the dealer, where shopper leaves contact info .

Win+win=ROI

DrewAment · Mar 2, 2011

Joe - Have you seen the new 2011 product from ATC? Really highlights a link back to the dealersite.

joe.pistell · Mar 2, 2011

Mr. Perry and Mr. Golub, if I may speak for the dealer body, it’s well known that we all are upset about the high costs of advertising in classified sites like AutoTrader.com and Cars.com, but, it’s not the costs of the services, it’s the lack of visibility to your shoppers! Gentlemen, this is the Internet Age, even newspapers give us coupons for shoppers to submit. Why in the world have you not built your system to give shoppers tools to REWARD both shopper and dealer? (aka lead generating tools) Please help us create ROI!

The potential for lead generating opportunities are literally everywhere on your sites! Today, I’d like to focus on just one opportunity... I’ll nickname it “The Eureka! Link.” Let’s go find it!

Is there a moment in Classified Shopping that splits the casual car shopper from the highly motivated shopper? My “Uncle Joe” marketing instincts are telling me yes, and if I’m right, it’s got win-win written all over it. First, some back ground…

Shopping on the web is now 2nd nature for many of us. Whether it is travel, real estate, automobiles or appliances, the mechanics for shopping a high-ticket purchase is almost the same for every industry.

Here are the steps:

research for products to fill the need
price discovery on that product
possibly communication beforehand
the transaction itself

IN THAT ORDER. If this makes sense to you, here is the simple path to a merchants door. Research, Price Discovery, Transaction.

I want to focus on the “price discovery” stage of shopping, and establish it as a CORNETSTONE in the shopper’s Internet journey.

Here’s an example to clarify my point:
Say you’re planning a vacation; you’ve got the “product selection” narrowed down to Aruba, but, you’re not ruling out Bermuda. You need a finalist. It’s time to compare costs between the two destinations. You compare costs with the “price discovery” tools and now you’re down to one! We’ve all done it right? Imagine how frustrated you’d be if there was No Expedia, No Orbitz or No Kayak. I say that “Price Discovery” sites are a critical part of decision making process. There’s no denying it, “price discovery” tools are at the center of internet shopping!

How does this apply to car shopping? “I want to fly to Boston on the 3rd, find the best prices, but I can’t arrive later than noon”, sounds the same as “I need a SUV that seats 7, with AWD, a good price and less than 30k miles”.

Shopping behavior is shopping behavior, regardless of industry. It’s the same mental drill down process. It’s a TASK BASED PROCESS called “Shopping.”

Ok, we’ve established that the steps of internet shopping are: Research, Price Discovery, Transaction, then lets side step out of vacation shopping and into automobile shopping. We have Research, Price Discovery, Transaction, now it’s time to put names on them:

Research = Edmunds, KBB, OEM, etc..
Price Discovery = Cars.com, AutoTrader.com, etc…
Transaction = DEALER'S WEB SITE

Ok, it all fits! Where to next?

In the travel biz, the Kayak.com shopper can execute the transaction right at Kayak. In the automobile biz, the shopper is ready for the “transaction” but, as we all know so well… the auto shopper vanishes…. WHY? Because there are a lot of questions unanswered.

We know from AutoTrader/Polk research that the typical car shopper will spend MANY hours inside the classified sites. They’ve invested time and energy into drilling thru classified pages, finding the best choice. The auto shopper who is ready to buy has to visit the dealer(s) in person. They use the “price discovery” tool to drill the list of many choices to a small list. What makes Auto Industry different from the Airline industry is the Auto shopper can’t buy online. There are too many unanswered questions. Where do they go to find more answers? THE DEALER'S WEBSITE.

The “Eureka Link” is the link to the dealer’s home page.

Mar 7, 2011

I am chiming in a little late. I have to say that this was a great read. I cannot wait to see what kind of General Managers we will have running dealerships in 10 years. I still see some of the same old school tactics being used in some stores while others are embracing change. It is a never ending battle to get people to change their thought process. It will be great to see internet managers become properly trained desk people.

@Jeff Collins, the reason why more people are not on these forums is because they a) don't know or b) don't care

-I discovered this site 5 years ago when I started searching "internet sales training or "internet sales advice". Now I am a proud member of the forum. I even wrote an article on here before. I am thinking it is time to write another one soon.

Brian Pasch · Mar 2, 2011

Jeff

That's right on the mark. You bring up the bigger question: How do we reach the unreachable via a channel that they ignore?

For me, it's one 20 Group at a time...like John The Baptist...preaching the Gospel.

JCollins · Mar 2, 2011

LOL. Already booked for Pasch's Boot Camp and DD. Really looking forward to it. BTW, great post Rob. It's too bad that the individuals that stand to benefit the most from posts such as these rarely, if at all spend time on forums like DealerRefresh

Mar 2, 2011

Jeff, Sounds like you need a vacation, could I suggest April in Sunny Orlando Florida with a bunch of great people.

Mar 2, 2011

Thanks, Michael and I am looking forward to learning from you!

Mar 2, 2011

Jarrod, You've really made tremendous strides at your store. Great to hear you're coming to Orlando. Have you signed up for the Automotive Digital Marketing Boot Camp?

JCollins · Mar 2, 2011

Yup! This is good stuff. I watch how managers dip their big toe in the water, but that's as far as it goes for the most part.

" Are they merely leaning on the “internet manager” to handle that aspect of the business?"

I find the above comment intriguing. I am guilty!! I have in the past enabled the entire staff to become co-dependant. Digital Mktg, Reputation Mgmt, SEO, CRM Architect, Social Networking and last but not least please come fix my printer!!!!!! ARRRGH!!!! I need a Red Bull!!

Mar 2, 2011

Rob,
I recently made the decision to change career paths from that of vendor to an e-commerce role in a dealership group. Your post sums up the reasons for the move perfectly. There is so much potential for those dealers willing to learn and keep up with the ever changing times; I just had to get involved at the dealership level. My hope is that I will soon be able to learn more from you and other forward thinkers at events like the Automotive Marketing Boot Camp. Again, great post!

Mar 2, 2011

Rob great article! As you already know I have turned a 0 internet presence at Volvo of Fort Myers to a powerhouse in SEO, Lead Generation, web design and social media. You are 100% right that the Internet Managers of today are going to be the dealerships backbone in the next few years. Look forward to seeing you in Orlando.

Brian Pasch · Mar 2, 2011

Rob
Great message for dealers. The strategies that Dealers and Sales Managers need to master in order to market their cars and expand their brand is going through so much change.

Investing in education allows dealer leadership to gain the knowledge they need to inspect the recommendations of their marketing partners and stay ahead of their competition.

Heck, it's hard for industry specialists to keep up with all the changes that Google and Facebook have been rolling down the alley. Normally, only dealer principals go to 20 Group meetings, 3 or 4 times a year. The GSM and ISM are normally left behind.

Dealers can not afford to rely only on the "Internet Guy" for digital leadership. I've seen too many instances when this person leaves and the dealer is scrambling for understanding. Dealer principals and Sales Managers need knowledge to lead their organization's digital marketing strategy let alone best practices for CRM, Phones, and Lead Management.

Thank you for being willing to share your knowledge at the upcoming Automotive Marketing Boot Camp. Your knowledge on video marketing and optimization will make your technology showcase well attended.

Can't wait to see the faces on the attendees when they see just how many places your videos show up for local search in Florida! See you in Orlando!

Mar 2, 2011

The Internet Managers of today will be our General Managers of the future. I tell my team leaders this every month, and believe in it strongly. Our industry needs bold leaders that are willing to embrace the changes in how our shoppers buy cars and interact with dealerships. Change is never easy, and good leaders know how to make difficult decisions to "adapt and overcome"... Rob - you have been doing a phenomenal job, keep up the great work!

Mar 1, 2011

Currently there are thousands of sales managers manning the towers at car dealerships across the country. Many of them have paid their dues on the floor, worked their way up to the desk and honed their skills as a sales manager.

The question is where will your next sales manger come from?

What will be their pedigree? More than likely they will have been trained to sell cars at your dealership or some other, with the same culture and motivations that have been in play for years.

We have all seen the auto sales industry move towards an ecommerce model in the past few years’ right; or have we? Will the next sales manger that your dealership brings on board or promotes from the floor be cut from the same cloth as those that came before; will they be obsolete by the time they get comfortable at their new desk?

At the onset of the automotive internet world as we now know it, many (too many) dealers shoved the nice guy who just couldn’t cut it on the floor into the internet department. Now I see a necessary turning of the tide. Even at the most ecommerce centric dealerships there remain the old guard at the tower. Yes they're still getting the job done and many of them are great at what they do, but for how much longer? How many sales managers currently working the desk can truly evolve and keep step with what is happening digitally in our industry? Are they merely leaning on the “internet manager” to handle that aspect of the business?

Our customer is now becoming our network, and like it or not the network has already begun to dictate how businesses operate. The days of businesses pushing their products and processes on the consumer are coming to an end. The rise of online reviews and dealer reputation management are just the beginning, of a major shift in the way all business is conducted, including the auto industry.

Dealers that embrace training and development of their management and sales teams will have the upper hand moving forward. They will have the people in place with the skills necessary to keep their dealership relevant and growing in this digital economy. It is no longer possible to have just one person at your dealership that gets it, and feeds it to the rest of the store.

For many dealers this may seem like science fiction and for some this may hit a nerve, but to all this is a wakeup call. Invest in training your team. The biggest assets that your dealership has are your most educated team members. They are your dealerships future, and will help you to dominate your market now. Consider this; your next sales manager had better have worked their share of deals and “leads” before being considered for the job. If your dealership is going to be successful, it is vital that you invest in education.

The next level begins with a first step; send your two best and brightest team members to the Automotive Digital Boot Camp in Orlando, Florida April 16 – 18. Review the schedule with them before they go and set expectations for what they should take away. Send them with a focus on the areas that you want to see your dealership improve on and help them initiate a game plan upon their return. This will be the best investment that you can make for your dealerships future, guaranteed.

Where will your next sales manger come from?

Mar 8, 2011

I'm glad you enjoyed this 1 article out of the 5. Did you know this series was inspired by CRM sales people? Over 90% of them promising the world but never delivering; spewing garbage basically. That is why I wrote this series of articles to be vendor-neutral. It is about understanding CRM. Maybe you should read the entire series before poking a sales pitch in it.

Mar 8, 2011

Love the article. I haven't read them all yet, but I think this is a great resource. We have a new Automotive CRM and are asking people to try it free and give us their feedback. We're certainly going to take some of the above suggestions into consideration to help make the choice easier for our customers. - Try us free at http://bit.ly/autocrm - oh and we also integrate with your website!

Mar 3, 2011

I'm glad you all enjoyed the series. I hope it serves as a piece dealers can turn to for at least a few years. I say "at least a few years" because I truly believe there will be more innovation and usability tweaks from all CRM companies that do a lot to revolutionize the perceptions on CRM systems today.

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