DealerRefresh Top100

[joe.pistell]

•Selling Cars is a Zero Sum Game•
As the noose of 'less choice' tightens on dealers, dealers lose their edge. Pioneering dealers need to keep an eye on fresh innovators making superior sites and superior experiences to help them stand out from the pack.

 

[Carsten]

As I tried to tease with my comments.
I bet a lot of the OEMs are eyeing Tesla and seeing some brilliant profit light bulbs go off.
RId yourself of franchised dealers and control the vertical to the buyer's parking space.

If buyers can't haggle why do they need salesman, manager, finance person to deal with when buying a car?

If I am thinking this, wouldn't the OEMs be thinking this, too?

 

[BillKVMotorCo]

I will die on this hill: The majority of customers don't WANT to negotiate. And, because of that, they don't need salespeople. But I believe they DO need customer service reps and someone they know they can go to for help. That's why I don't hire salespeople. I hire people who I know will take care of my customer. Here is a couple of examples of my staff:

Tonya - worked as a manager at Sonic (the fast food joint) for 20 years
Jon - was the HR manager of a small manufacturing plant for 15 years
Duncan - a charismatic musician right out of high school with a ton of energy
Remy - track star straight out of the Congo with a passion for life

 

[Carsten]

I think you are on the right track with the HR decisions. That's what I would really like to experience. I want this, tell me what to sign, call me when you are ready for me. IF you make me wait, make sure I have a super comfy chair and you are filling me up with coffee and have a decent wifi connection.

Why don't customers want to negotiate?

 

[BillKVMotorCo]

I think you are on the right track with the HR decisions. That's what I would really like to experience. I want this, tell me what to sign, call me when you are ready for me. IF you make me wait, make sure I have a super comfy chair and you are filling me up with coffee and have a decent wifi connection.

Why don't customers want to negotiate?

That and take care of me after the sale.

They want to get a fair price right up front and get the deal done as quick as possible. As you mention, it's all about speed anymore. Why do people buy milk at the gas station? Why do they buy groceries and cosmetics at Wal-Mart? Why do they hit McDonalds over the restaurant with the best burger in town?

 

[Carsten]

I think you're on to something!

I remember when America went quantity over quality. This evolved into cheap and nasty. Which created a consumer, who if I may be blunt, became ignorant. They don't know what good service is anymore.

Go to the barber? You're out in 10 minutes. No ... nothing special. I pay $35 in Japan and spend at least 90 minutes there.

Go to a sit down meal, you might get a refill before the check is plopped down on your table and you need to tip 18-20% on the tax included price.

People shop at wal-mart because it's easy. All in one experience.
McDonalids because they see value in saving 2%. (they probably tip 18% because the register asks).

i think the Dealers who will boom will be the ones that figured out how to fix the Carvana model or have learned that making your customer feel good about their experience will boom.

I asked a friend in real estate why a 1% listing service is better than the 6% that everyone pays. He said that you actually get better service because all the wasteful activities are removed and he can sell more. I bet this applies to dealers too.

 

[Alex Snyder]

I will die on this hill: The majority of customers don't WANT to negotiate. And, because of that, they don't need salespeople. But I believe they DO need customer service reps and someone they know they can go to for help. That's why I don't hire salespeople. I hire people who I know will take care of my customer.

Buying a car is an emotional decision. If it weren't, there would only be one kind of car. Everybody needs a pat on the butt to say they're doing the right thing. And over 80% of people will switch to a different car at the time of purchase.

People will always buy cars from other people. This is why so few go through the full digital retailing tunnel.

I do agree that dealers prefer to negotiate more so than customers. But customers are on guard because they're so concerned about being ripped off.

 

[joe.pistell]

I do agree that dealers prefer to negotiate more so than customers. But customers are on guard because they're so concerned about being ripped off.

I soooo disagree.

I had a pal buy a new car. He was sooo pissed that he was 'forced' to negotiate. I knew my pal very well, I said "Anthony, I bet you knew exactly what you wanted to buy, AND, you shopped every dealership within a 4 hour drive. And, I bet you found the dealer with the lowest price AND I bet you offered a lower price." He said "yes and so what?" I replied "I rest my case. No dealer wants to negotiate, you saw the price and 'worked' the dealer".

 

[joe.pistell]

I do agree that dealers prefer to negotiate more so than customers

What if you went into Verizon or Apple. You got a demo of a new phone. You asked for a tradein on your old phone. You got the numbers, but it was too high and you walk.

What if the sales rep saw you walking and said "wait a minute, if I could get you an extra $100 on your tradein and gave you one month service for free would you buy it today?"

Yea. Car dealers are assholes. NOT.
Try that at Tesla. NOT.

 

[Alex Snyder]

I soooo disagree.

I had a pal buy a new car. He was sooo pissed that he was 'forced' to negotiate. I knew my pal very well, I said "Anthony, I bet you knew exactly what you wanted to buy, AND, you shopped every dealership within a 4 hour drive. And, I bet you found the dealer with the lowest price AND I bet you offered a lower price." He said "yes and so what?" I replied "I rest my case. No dealer wants to negotiate, you saw the price and 'worked' the dealer".

Well, the next time your family takes their dealer group one price, and you get to listen to all the perspectives from staff, customers, and competitors, we can have this argument more productively.