Blog about them until they give in Alex!
I feel your pain and I have to give you credit for coming up with some very compelling specials.

Thanks Jeff for another great article and topic.

This topic reminds me of about 8 years ago talking to a GSM in charge of 15 stores arguing that the "net" is a fad with regard to e-commerce.

He predicted that Carmax, will be gone in a few years. Autonation's corporate systemization will never work and that people will never want to see video of vehicles.

So within 5 years after making that statement that franchise sqeezed all the lemon out their stores and heavily relied on push pull and tow sales, guaranteed trade $$$ and midnight madness sales. The result they now have two stores and have heard that 90% of all their business is secondary finance and sell 100 new fords a month in a major suburb outside Chicago.

On a side note: are your coupon pop-ups really working?

Adapt or die. If your last generation management or dealer principle and don't know to surf Youtube once in awhile or at least registered a MySpace or what Linked In is and see what its all about, it's time to move on or be gone.

Read into these quotes by Bill Gates as you like;

"We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction." From his book, "The Road Ahead," published in 1996.

"And so it's fair to say what's going on today is like the arrival of the printing press, or the telephone or the radio. And these communications tools did have pervasive effects. They made the world a smaller place. They allowed science to be done more efficiently. They allowed politics to be done a new way. They had a modest impact on how people were educated, but people were optimistic that they would make a very big change. Now, the personal computer connected to the Internet is far more powerful in many ways than any of these other communications devices." Harvard Conference on Internet Society, May 29, 1996, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

(THIS IS THE BETWEEN THE LINES FOR ME ON VIDEO BELOW)

"I'm a great believer that any tool that enhances communication has profound effects in terms of how people can learn from each other, and how they can achieve the kind of freedoms that they're interested in. E-mail in Russia was very key in allowing people to get together and think about, did they want to revert back to the previous mode of government? In country after country, you can see that having these tools, there has really made a pretty incredible difference.

I own a company that is heavily postioned to provide a dynamic video service. Time, distance and trust is the problem and video can overcome this barrier and help you sell more vehicles. I don't want to abuse and respect this site so I won't self promote and only mention if that's okay Jeff.

If you use video into your selling model it either has to be:
1.) Entertaining or
2.) Informative
3.) There is no three. So just put a video of your cat doing silly things then.

Leave the "Hi I am Joe Smoe" at so and so dealer at home.
Why I make that comment is that we all have seen video e-mail and my opinion, if it's not a cute women talking to me I have zero attention span and vise versa for women. Or even better if its not Oprah or Rachel Ray in that personal video e-mail your sending to a female buyer...delete, mark as spam, etc.

All the best,

Pete

Of course you'll have to chase deals from time to time, but Branding yourself and or your department works. As mentioned before video is a powerful tool if used effectively.
You must make the customer aware that you are their link to the best service, deal etc.

We use video introductions of all of our Internet Sales and Delivery Team. The video is short and casual, but it puts a face on the person on our end of the keyboard.
Believe it or not strong appoinment setting skills go a long way.

Confirming the appointment the night before, and giving the customer specific instructions as to what to do when they arrive to save them the most time works. When you tell a customer while firming up the appointment that you will have all of the information pertaining to their purchase so they "Won't have to start all over again" when they arrive. It really makes an impact. Just don't be desperate, please ask for me....yada yada. Be professional. Run your department like you would run your own business.

Reis: Here is my suggestion. You need to monitor the effectiveness of whatever you or your team does. I can track 35% sales of my dealership to the Internet I believe I influence 50% or Higher. I believe this as the other forms of advertiseing dollers have dractically decreased without loss of sales.
Have a toll free number directly to your department with a call monitoring program. Have a CRM with effective lead management and tracking.Market every way possable. review the results.

uh oh looks like we have more Ky. folks showing up....
Evelyn don't listen to these guys and gals they just want to start trouble and beat up on autotrader.

This is my first visit to this site and I'm glad I found it. I've been in this position for about a year and a half and it's good to know that I'm not the only one faced with some of these issues. All of the suggestions I've read are good and I look forward to implementing them. I find the greatest difficulty I face is getting buy in from the sales managers.

VIDEO! Video your inventory - with you in the video!! Place your inventory I my website, and any other place that you can find video car sales. Not many dealers have caught on yet w/video and that's why I started this site! Sell yourself and your inventory! Be creative and have fun with it. People will remeber you and your inventory Give it a try - www.usaonesourceauto.com.

There's a website called MyLiveSignature that has a cool free tool that creates your personal signature in about 100 different font styles. I use it now for everything and adds a professional touch that most of the others dealers are not doing. Check it out.. and it's free!!


Chris K.

Reis-

The first thing you need to do is a little detective work periodically. Many of these customers that are sold are buying after they have contacted your store. Depending on how many vehicles we have sold, I will scrub the deals with my CRM by looking for names/phone numbers from the DMS and those in the CRM, Cars, Autotrader and SEM campaign phone reports. You will find a couple of more vehicles each month.

Second, you need to give the customer a reason to contact you. Perhaps to have a stance of no pricing over the Internet or phone, your best price is in person, or a pop-up coupon with a $200 value, $400 if they schedule an appointment. Perhaps a flat-screen t.v. with any Internet sale (about $250 shipped from Circuit City).

Third, give the customer a reason talk to you when they come in. Things like you are a senior associate and have more latitude for working deals, you can deliver the car and paperwork to them, since you already know what they are looking for you can save them time AND money, rather than starting from scratch when they come in. You will have a vehicle waiting on them when they arrive when they schedule an appointment with you, etc.

These and the social networking ideas are the way to differentiate YOU AND your dealership from the others.

Good luck!

I think it is something as simple as tracking the customers that email you, and matching them up against the closed deals log.

I manage a large internet department where we average anywhere from 180--200 deals per month. Much of my time is matching closed deals with lead records I maintain in an excel program.

With the amount of the deals you are talking about, you should be able to create a manageable tracking system, combined with email proof or, like others have mentioned, incentive for the customer to ask for you.

I use a "Preferred Internet Price Code", which is actually the Customer Number my pathetic CRM tool assigns to each incoming lead. The customer is told to bring in the sheet we email, with their PIPC on it, to avoid the rigamoral and experience our "Internet Experience."

I hope this helps. Bellyaching and foot-stomping leads to unnecessary aggravation, bitterness, and poor performance. Simply take matters into your own hands and play Columbu..quietly and confidently.

Best of luck...Rob L.

Hello Reis,
I know this maybe a little late but I figure you may still want to hear my two cents. There is only one way to solve your problem...become the trusted leader within your market. In my opinion you can not control every factor within your market, yet you can control how effectively you position yourself within your marketplace. Today's success does not depend upon products, a consumer can purchase the same vehicle from you or a competitor a hundred miles away. Being successful in today's market depends upon how you position/market yourself or your knowledge. Despite what you may think, you are a business owner (salesmen are independent contractors) and you must begin to think as such. If you can position yourself as the one person that understands the way people feel, the challenges they face, you will dominate your market. Adopting this mindset will set you apart from 98% of everyone else within your dealership and within your market.

One more important comment...

Make sure the pay plan works for you! Base of atleast $300 a week + $175 flat minimum on mini deals, and 30% on gross and used.

Do not work for free! so -- get some balls and hold a meeting with the GM and Owner. You can get a job anywhere man... dealers are looking for MORE SALES... but if you are going to do the groundwork, getting these people in the door, you better get paid for it.

There's a new Sheriff in town... it's YOU!

A few things...

First off, I finally convinced my dealership to make the plunge and TK Carsites is going to create us a real website - the best product they have, and now I don't have use Nissan's site to let my customers build and search for cars...from my website! I got a big 888# and all calls come right to me, but after the new site is up, I can only imagine how many better leads I'll get right from my own website... so I am glad I am the sole i-Guy for my top volume Nissan dealership... I am gunning for 30+ deals a month soon.

So to sum it up, invest in a nice site with all leads and calls coming to you

Secondly, but sadly I have had to abandon my Craigslist ads, as they were all getting flagged by some idiots who think Craigslist is for the small guy... I'm moving on, it was free, and you get what you pay for!

I did use http://postlets.com which I highly recommend...

Lastly.. be upfront in your emails... explain this is not the dealer price, but a special opportunity, and by coming in and not asking for you - you are being taken advantage of. In your face is NOW what it takes, and I tell people flat out if they come in and don't ask for me, and I find out - the dealership will cancel the deal!

It's a lie... but who cares, they pay attention when the prospect of losing the deal altogether is possible.

Scott

So sorry yanked your soft spot there buddy, I went back and found your friends site Bill Phillips. I have to say I looked at the wrong site first time. Excuse me but it was the first one to show up and it said Automotive Internet Management and it says they will call your customer within thirty minutes.

Mr Phillips site has a good intro and I am sure he is very good at what he does, Reis it might be a good idea if you call Bill Phillips and see what he has to say. No argument there.

Frank,
I am trying after 15 minutes to find where Bill Phillips want to talk to any of your customers, for ANY Fee.. Maybe you should have spent more time on the site, watched the intro video and done some more reading.

Ryan,
There is NO Saviour in the car business, there are just some guys who are better than others.

Reis,
Fortunately there are people who don't actually take the time to do the research and get all the detail's. You sound like a guy who has been thrown into a tough spot in your dealership, I understand wanting to maximize, profit, units, etc. I have had a chance to work with Bill Phillips in the past and he happens to be much better at this game than any I have dealt/worked with. It wont cost you anything to call, you may end up with a pro player on your team.

Personal opinions are just that, opinions, Reis asked a great question, only a few gave him what he asked for.

Ryan,

Sorry about the hard-ass start to this thread. Unfortunately, there is a lot of truth to it though. I've been in this business since birth, and have been working for Checkered Flag on and off since 1989. On my current stint with the group I'm going on 10 years, but it wasn't until about 4 months ago when the owner told me something that changed my entire outlook. I was upset with the way things were going in a few different areas. I felt like I couldn't get things to go my way (I was in the same boat as Reis, but in a different part of the ocean). The owner of Checkered Flag took me out to lunch and explained that he started this company without any help or automotive experience. Everything he learned about the automotive business was developed on his own. He told me there is a way to get anything done, but it is up to me to find the path to make it happen.

I cannot put the whole context of that lunch, or the months of frustration that built up to it, into this post. You'll have to take the gist of it out of what I have here already and use your imagination to fill the holes. In a nutshell, I was given a perspective on the school of hard knocks that I have now taken to heart. It is not all punch and tackle tactics though - it is about working smart to find your own way.

I used to take no for an answer. I used to let things happen because I thought that was just the way things were. No longer!

So, I apologize if my initial response to this thread was a little on the hard-ass side. However, don't despise debate. It is something to be appreciated and desired. If you don't get all sides/opinions then you're short-sighting yourself.

Like Joe said, this is what makes Dealer Refresh so great - it is a forum for everyone to benefit from all perspectives and view points!

Bill Phillips with Automotive Internet Management would like to call your customers for you within 30 minutes for small fee, at least that is what it says on the front page of the website, I did not look any further into it.

My dealer principle said to me six years ago if you cant get someone to come into the dealership and ask for you then dont whine about it. Big eye opener.

I suggest picking up the telephone and calling your customers asap. First one to call is the first one to sell. A good lead management tool is required and tracking your conversion rate is also very important among other trackable numbers. Listen to what the pros have to say here and possibly they might share some of their spreadsheets for tracking data, why track data? because you cannot improve what you do not know.

how many unique visitors do you get a day? how many leads? (there is your conversion) how many appointments? how many showed? sold? new, used?

And who the heck is Bill Phillips and where has this Second Coming been all my life?

I've been battling the same problem. I hate the way this thread started with all that negativity, but it is sometimes hard to stay away from that attitude. However, I agree with Alex that if this job/path ain't working for you, go get/make another one.

It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it.

Reiss,
You want to effectively grow the number of vehicles sold thru the Internet department..

1. Call Bill Philllips @ Automotive Internet Management 949-716-7716.

2. Listen to what he has to say..

3. Do exactly what he says..

4. Reap the benefits...

Its really that easy..

Reis,

I have had this problem at my dealership also. I had to reconsider the way that I was looking at the situation in order to fix it. Think as if you were the customer... What is in it for me to ask for you when I come in? If you can't think of physical reasons or benefits of working with you, then that may be the problem. It took me awhile to realize that setting an appointment with my department was no different than just coming to the dealership when they felt like it. So, two things have been helping to solidify our ability to make sure that people we talk to call to set an appointment before they come in.
1.) What are you going to do for them? Create some type of obligation by telling them all of the things that you are going to do BEFORE they even get to the dealership..... People will feel like they have to come because of all the hard work you are doing...

2.) We implemented a Benefits Package just for online shoppers who purchase through our department- It isn't much (I would have liked to have gotten more) 2 free oil changes (in the form of a $50 John Jones Gift Card), $50 in gas, and $250 owner loyalty coupon for a discount off their next purchase.... It seems to be working for us because our appointments and closing ratios are up, and we even had one guy call us from outside the dealership right before he went in to set the appointment because he had forgotten he needed one! (Sales Managers weren't to happy about that one)

A lot of dealerships offer a package like this, and it might work for you. It is not expensive or complicated. Just some suggestions.

I want to thank everyone and there are some good idea's. I will definitely take them to DP. Thank you all!!!!!

You all want to know something?

DealerRefresh ROCKS!
Just look at this thread, 6 different ways to address the challenge! What a treasure it is!

Post On!
Joe

Reis,

I would start by putting prices for your vehicles on the website. I noticed you have them on AutoTrader. Speaking of AutoTrader-dump the Pontiac and Nissan stock videos. You and Steve borrow a good video camera (not a flip cam the resolution is too low) and shoot a commercial for each of you. Use that on AutoTrader instead. See if you can get the dealer principal to agree on putting the videos on the home pages of your sites as well. Once people get to know you they will seek you out. Good Luck...