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Dec 6, 2010

Kim - that's one of, if not the, biggest problems with things today: NOW. It is all about now.

When I was selling cars I was caught-up in the now. It wasn't until I moved into a management position that I learned to look past now. Once I began thinking about the future I started to grow. Without empowering people to think beyond now, things will never change.

NOW = Arrested Development.

Cookie · Dec 6, 2010

Dealerships do more than Sell Cars. I have personally experienced on numerous occasions Greed and Dishonesty from the SERVICE departments. Those experiences affect my perception of the dealership as a whole. To be fair however, I have experienced some truly exceptional services visits over the years. There are a few dealerships that I walk into where if I'm told it's $1000+ dollar repair...I don't blink an eye. I trust them. Whenever possible I patronize "reward" these dealerships for their honesty and integrity over the years. When buying a vehicle I want the simple truth in the pricing. If the difference between dealer A and dealer B on even "identical" vehicles, I'll choose the dealer I want to continue to work with over the years...a few hundred dollars isn't going to change that...but a few thousand dollars difference....

Dec 6, 2010

Professionals in sales learn to build relationships over time. They know how to under promise and over deliver even in the smallest degree. If there is no relationship building so the customer can feel confident about referring family, co -workers and friends, They feel like another number and act like one. The overall problem is car sales staff get paid for the now, leaving no reason to realize the importance of the later.

Scott Hengtgen · Dec 6, 2010

Accountability is a lost art for a lot of dealerships, from the dealer down. Selling a car is really an easy process untill you put the human equation in the mix. So many stores just go nuts when you tell them they should offer all the information a customer needs and wants. If the customer was not committed to buy he would not be at the store. I believe you should write everyone that steps foot on your lot. Don't be afraid to be different and make the buying process fun for the customer, honest and transparent with real numbers.

Dec 6, 2010

Well put Dennis

It's funny that you bring up the four-square because I kid you not I saw more than one dealer in the past two weeks that was using the same four-square worksheet that I first met in 1993.

And almost verbatim, the manager was telling this poor newbie to start high on the price, low on the trade, short term the payment....blah blah blah.

You can't ever go wrong when you're just honestly selling the value of your product.

In 1996 I worked at a Toyota dealer where we had one price used cars. No haggling period. I remember a guy walked on me over $300. I told him all the service and everything else we did to make this car nicer than any other Camry he'd ever find. He left...then 2 1/2 hours later he came back and said, "you stuck to your guns and were willing to let me go so I'm going to trust you...but it damn well better be as nice as you say."

He bought the car and I made a really good commission, that I felt great about because I knew I was honest with the guy and the car was immaculate; like every car that we had at that particular dealership.

Value is something a customer deserves. Honesty is something a customer deserves. A well trained professional is something a customer deserves.

If a customer arrives angry it may be the last dealer's fault but if they leave angry...it's our fault.

(And I know these are things I was reminded of when I had the privilege of working with you Dennis)

DennisGalbraith · Dec 6, 2010

What a fantastic discussion! The need for accountability, as so correctly pointed out by Mat and Jeff, is not going to go away. When Scott says, "The customer learned from the best…the dealership personnel," let's recognize that the past-tense nature does not mean the retail sales habits of yesterday. It means the retail habits so many people are exposed to the first time they buy a car on their own.

Young people are often so worried about getting financed they can't keep up with the ink flying on the four-square sheet. The average age among auto salespeople is considerably higher than it is at BestBuy. For many, it is the first significant transaction they ever make with a much older person. They often listen to the nice old man the way they were taught to and get lied to up one side and down the other.

The art and practice of screwing young people is alive and well. The repercussions will last long after the practice has ended. At too many stores, the end has not even begun. Knock it out of the park with great social media and demonstrations of value and honesty. That is the way to kill this beast.

Dec 6, 2010

Tom,

I agree with your statement completely. However, I think the reason we 'bend over backward' is because something hiccuped along the way in the process. Let's face it, if the customer likes us, they don't slaughter us in the surveys. If they slaughter us on CSI we can do one of two things:

Say "what a jerk, he/she was nice in person but obviously an awful customer blah blah blah..."

Or, we can get a mirror and say: "How do I prevent this from happening again?"

My point is this: if we take responsibility we will sell more.

Dec 6, 2010

I have to disagree with Mat. The customer you do the most for and bend over backwards for is usually the one that rips you a new asscome survey time.

Dec 5, 2010

Joe,

First off I have to say that the story was a fun read and I do agree with you...but only partially.

Customers do lie to us but I honestly have to say that I agree with Grant Cardone and something he said a LONG time ago: "Buyers AREN'T liars; we make them lie."

You ask why buyers feel the need to negotiate if they have all the tools and then answer your own question with: "Because they are programmed to, because they want to and lastly because they are buyers. Buyers have a task and that task is to work the seller."

"Because they are programmed to..." Why programmed them to be like this? Oh, that's right...we did. Not you and I necessarily but many of our predecessors who really did act like the cast of Used Cars.

"Because they want to..." I have to call BS on that one. As a whole, buyers HATE negotiating with us, they just feel like they have to. From a buyer's perspective they feel like someone has to get their ass kicked in a dealership transaction and they don't want it to be then...so they put on the gloves and prepare for a fight. Think about it for a moment. They don't beat up the clerk at Starbucks on their overpriced cappuccino do they? That's because Starbucks did a great job at convincing people their product is worth the money and that the price is the price. I don't necessarily believe we can do the same in the dealership (hence Saturn being gone) but I think you see where I'm going.

Finally their "task is to work the seller". I think it's less about them 'feeling tasked to work the seller' and more of a feeling that they need to learn negotiation skills or they feel they will be taken advantage of...by us.

Negotiation for many of us is a skill, a sport...and even an art. Heck, I have to say that I find it fun and look at it as a way to sharpen my skills personally...especially in those moments where I get my ass kicked by a customer.

For the customer though, negotiation is viewed as a necessity in order to get a good deal.

I am sure this last statement won't be popular but I'd be less than honest if I didn't share it so here goes.

If we put more focus on learning to sell the value of our products, dealership and staff and less focus on whining, complaining and being angry with the consumer for adopting our own negotiation tactics...we'd all be selling more cars and probably have a stronger repeat and referral business.

The customer is our life's blood, our income and our future. If we want more of them we just need to learn how to serve them in a way that makes them feel safe enough to stop fighting.

Hence the reason repeat and referral customers are the easiest to close and hold the most profit. If we win their trust by taking care of them right from the start, they will be willing to pay us more for great service in the future.

Dec 5, 2010

This video was great. To a certain extent I agree with Joe. There is a percentage of people that are like that. It really is a small percentage (around 10% of the customers). It feels like a lot at times. We just need to know proper methods of communication.

Dec 5, 2010

Scott pegged it when he said "The customer learned from the best…the dealership personnel." For years the game was the same all over the country - price high and negotiate down. When the customer was good at negotiation, we made money. When the customer was a bad negotiator, we hit a home run.

So what's changed? Al Gore - Okay, SOMEBODY - invented the internet. Pricing became transparent. Everybody knows everybody's asking prices. Customers, other dealers,everybody! For dealers that continued to price high to leave lots of negotiation room, traffic dried up. For dealers that price to market, there's not much, if any, room for negotiation.

Adam said that customers want the feeling that they are getting a good deal. He's exactly right. They've been taught (by us) that negotiation is the only way to do that. We need to teach them that the world has changed.

Jeff talks about taking away the customer's reflex objection. That also removes their need to negotiate at all, or at least as much.

My boss, Dale Pollak, has been traveling around the country speaking to, and learning from dealers. There are ways to use the transparency of the online market to justify your asking price in advance of any negotiation. To use documentation to REPLACE negotiation.

Dale held a webinar in November titled: Documentation Replaces Negotiation: 4 Easy and Effective Strategies to Improving Gross Profit. The webinar was recorded and is available here: http://www.vauto.com/company/news-resources/webin... Dale's not selling anything here and neither am I. There's no pitch and nothing to buy. The strategies Dale discusses can be implemented by any dealer with the tools they already have.

When you can get a customer to feel that "WIN" without any negotiation, you've both won.

Scott Hengtgen · Dec 4, 2010

The customer learned from the best...the dealership personel. You just have to remember one thing. When the customer lies to you it is called dealing, when you lie to the customer it is called unfair business practices. Just accept it and go on.

Dec 4, 2010

I love the video...

AdamR · Dec 4, 2010

People want the feeling that they are getting a good deal. No matter what information they have, no matter what the price is of the car they probably won't feel like they are getting a good deal unless they haggle. Then it feels like they won.

There are some dirty dealers out there but most are honest. They are just like any other business; they want to make a profit.

What drives me nuts is when people call or email about a vehicle and want a discount before they have even seen the vehicle. Or those who have a "friend" who goes to the auctions and can get them what they want so they will only buy the vehicle you have for X amount. They are liars.

Dec 4, 2010

Why do they WANT TO NEGOTIATE before they buy?

Confession:
I am rather new to this biz (2002) and when I got an offer to become the marketing director for a local Chevy Store, I pushed back on the offer. What would I tell my friends?... What would they say? "Look at Joe, he's stepped down to working for a car dealer, the poor guy."

I was self-employed, that's cool! I was living the life, I was pretty damn good at Golf (but never as good as Jerry Thibeau

. Working for a Car Dealer was never on my radar. If the offer wasn't eye-popping, I'd NEVER bring myself to "step down" into the den of wolves who devour the meek.

Wow, was I wrong!

I listen to the calls, the emails, the dialogue on the floor and at the desks. The consumer expects and wants a NEGOTIATED discount to purchase a vehicle. Many (but not all) shoppers are out for blood and will "bend the truth" (aka lie cheat and steal) to improve their position.

It didn't take me long to realize the public perception of the evil dealer and the slaughter of the innocent buyer was totally an Urban Legend. The Internet has blown that into million pixels and has arguably tipped the scales in the buyers favor.

But... the legend persists, we've see it all the time. Bloggers and journalists writing about the Evil Car Dealer and how they want to eat your children.

To all these pandering and lazy wordsmiths, I tell you all look around, this is 2011, not 1981. Information is now universal. If a shopper needs to find the lowest price all it takes is a few keystrokes and the shopper can shop every single dealership within 200 miles. Shoppers know dealer invoice. Dealer profits are compressed by the internet. A $35,000 transaction hovers between .0028% over or under invoice. If the shopper has a trade-in, they have 3 different independent valuation guides plus services that can offer them cash on the spot.

If car shoppers have all the tools needed to find the car at the best price, then why do they WANT TO NEGOTIATE before they buy?

Because they are programmed to, because they want to and lastly because they are buyers. Buyers have a task and that task is to work the seller.

Here is a video that sums it all up.

What if car shoppers used car shopper tactics when renting a movie?
(All you vendors out there will like this video too)

I am here to tell the world that BUYERS ARE NOT INNOCENT LITTLE LAMBS, THEY ARE GRINDERS.

What do you think?

TuneyFish · Jan 4, 2011

Blogging is a very time intensive task, but also can be rewarding on many levels. I find it relaxing to write up something and publish it whether its something for a client or for one of my own blogs.

One of the things I've found very useful in managing many blogs is to keep an ongoing list of titles to choose from.

This accomplishes a great deal of thought that usually takes place before writing the post, however if you've thought about how you might want to write about something put it into your collection of blog titles and when you write one of them just cross it off, or better yet think of how you could create another title that leverages the one you just wrote about.

Eric Miltsch · Jan 2, 2011

Alex,

Great thoughts. I've tried to follow the same formula as well.

Wouldn't change a thing. (Except for finding more time)

(C+QC)W = Successful Blog

philipzelinger · Dec 2, 2010

Hi Alex,

Thanks for the Blog on Blogs! Of course I agree with your shared wisdoms which begs to make the point that linking information from other relevant bloggers to compliment the content on your site -- as well as theirs - provides added content and reciprocal S.E.O. for both blog sites.

Couple that with the ability to create a local network of like minded bloggers across multiple verticals discussing community focused issues that fuel conversations beyond buying or servicing a vehicle and you will tap into the viral nature of social media where C2C + B2B = B2C SQUARED!

The market is a conversation that exists before, during and after a customer's buying/servicing cycle. If those diverse conversations can be accessed from one central site -- like your blog -- then when your followers are in the market for a vehicle they will turn to their friend in the car business who they have already included in their daily habit to learn about what is going on in their virtual and real community.

After all, what are friends for!

Dec 2, 2010

well put, its a chore sometimes to keep from being an online commercial but not coming across as too cheesy.... come to think of it i'm not totally convinced i do either all that well but i keep at it! thnks for the post, i can show the gm i am not alone in my perspectives at least!

AdamR · Dec 2, 2010

Alex,

Love reading your postings. Agree this is one of your best ones for 2010.

It's funny you posted this today because I just started a blog for the dealer I work at. Your post was helpful.

Dec 2, 2010

Alex,

This was your best post for 2010... maybe I'm just a blog freak. Great insight!!! The content issue is where dealers/bloggers end up giving up.

I use a lot of non-auto bloggers for inspiration.

Dec 2, 2010

Nice article Alex. I completely agree that once you find a nice read you keep coming back to see if they are consistent.

I find it very hard to keep all online properties updated so being consistent and "the writing" would be the take home for me.

Thanks for explaining that no one is really reading a blog for SEO or cars info, they really care about the holes in your socks!

-mike

dwhitemd · Dec 2, 2010

Well done, Alex. So many bloggers really don't get it!

Alex Snyder · Dec 2, 2010

I didn't get into blogging until I started writing for DealerRefresh almost 5 years ago. As soon as I did, I recognized the potential and quickly set out to turn this new-found platform into something that would benefit my dealership. I have a lot to thank Jeff for; blogging is a big one on that list.

I'm not here to sell you on dealer blogging. I'm here to help you understand how I got into it (sort of a case study) and what some of the key elements of blogging are.

Shortly after getting the dealership blog setup there was a bit of a panic as we ran out of content ideas fairly quickly. Yeah, this was a project we just dove into without giving it a ton of thought - TypePad only cost $14 a month then. Because there were not many other dealerships maintaining a blog we had to pave our own way.

Some of the automotive blogging websites, like AutoBlog and Jalopnik, have been absolute gold mines of content ideas. By subscribing to their RSS feeds or daily email subscriptions you can keep up with these sites fairly easily.

Key Takeaway: We were very comfortable writing about cars and automotive stuff all day, but we found customers don't respond to too much car stuff. Most people don't like to talk about cars because most people really don't care much about cars (it was as tough for me to write this statement as it is for you to read it). So, write about cars for SEO.

Consistency (Step 1) and quality content (Step 2) are the two biggest success factors of a blog.

I'll dive into consistency a little later, but can tell you that people like reading about people. They also like reading about things that are close to them. Your local market will respect you more when you concentrate on local content.

One of my favorite blog reactions occurred when we featured one of our BDC team members, Ryan Montville. Ryan mentioned that "for some reason, my socks never seem to match!" Soon after the article went live Ryan took a phone-up and was asked if he was the guy with the sock matching problem. If I recall correctly, he spent more time talking about socks than about the car the caller wanted and scheduled an easy appointment.

You can watch what Christine Knowles does with Checkered Flag's facebook page to see that people don't engage on car discussions.

Here are some exceptions on writing about a car:

I got word that the new BMW X6 had just arrived; it was a Friday. I posted a quick blog article about its arrival and we had people in line to test drive it Saturday morning. By the way, nobody reacts to online content faster than BMW. A truck carrier actually trusted us to stash a prototype 5-Series GT somewhere hidden while he unloaded the rest of our cars. Little did he know a few of us were snapping pictures like we were running from Godzilla. Those photos ended up on our blog, then a BMW forum reposted them, and I even saw links coming back to us from Edmunds and quite a few other places. However, we got a call from BMW within hours and had to pull them down. For a while there we were the authority on BMW 5 Series GT searches and got quite a few phone calls from prospects off our mischief (I should say "my mischief" - BMW, I take full responsibility).

New product arrivals and sensational "opportunities" are the two exceptions to my statement about people not liking to read about cars. At the end of the day it is all just quality content that you are delivering to your target audience, so know your audience.....or experiment to find out who they are.

Consistency is a tough one; it always is. In order to get consistent we hired a public relations agency to write 5 blog articles per week. They were fantastic and some of the DealerRefresh O.G.'s might remember Audrey Knoth (Increase Sales by putting Web 2.0 in your Handbook & Web 2.0 Essentials for Dealers to survive Economic Crisis), who also wrote a few DealerRefresh articles. Audrey was that writer and she is fantastic. She really helped us to pioneer blogging and many other new technologies as well. Without embracing the ideas Audrey, a non-car person, brought to the table I don't think Checkered Flag's online public relations (call it social media if you wish) would ever be where they are today. Don't be shy about reaching outside of the industry for some help here....especially if this next step isn't for you.

If you don't like to write (Step 3), don't blog.

I'm sorry to say that as I know so many people don't like to write. Virtually everyone online can read and I have yet to meet a person who was incapable of reading another person's emotions. People can tell when you're writing for a job and when you truly enjoy the content you're creating.

I've obviously talked about blogging from the customer engagement and public relations perspective. From what I have seen most dealers are using blogging solely for SEO purposes, and there is nothing wrong that. However, if you make your tagging & titling relevant enough for SERP dominance and a customer to actually click on it, then how are you converting that customer on the content within the article they have come to read?

Feb 12, 2011

I am a former HomeNet employee, and my suggestion to all Dealer Principals is to make sure you are very clear and precise as to your NDA terms, and accesses to your inventory data. I have never seen any unlawful use of information personally there. I am bound by many NDA requirements myself, any will not speak specifically about anything here. I only caution, that there is a wealth of information in any dealers DMS system, and that it is controlled by the access granted. I would advise that specific reports be created for polling, and that no "standard" polling scripts be permitted. I would advise that, while Autotrader claims that they will run HomeNet as a separate entity, they are still the parent company, and thus privy to all data that passes through HomeNet.

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