Toughest job in the Dealership?

[Jeff Kershner]

I often think the Internet Sales Manager position is the toughest job in
the dealership! Would you agree?

We are constantly defending our department, fighting for larger budgets
and overall respect for our department. We are often the one that establishes
any form of process for sales and follow-up within the dealer.

We have to interact sitting behind a computer, know how to send effective
persuasive emails, get customers on the phone, schedule appointments, manage our
inventory, update our websites, post specials, deal with lead providers and
other 3rd party companies, track statistics from our websites and sales (that
the typical floor sales manager would not even understand the concept of).
Then the very next minute we have to put our game face on to meet and greet
a customer, demo and close a sale.

Ohh, I could go on and on. Just keeping up with the technology is a job by
itself but then you have to understand Search Engines, ILM or CRM software too.

Then you have a month where everything comes together, reaching some crazy
high percentage of over all sales only to cause the RED FLAGS to rise.
You're questioned.."how you could sell as many cars" and are they all really
"Internet Customers"?

You have to LOVE IT!! You know why..because you track everything and you
have to ammo to prove that every customer you sold using internet marketing was
indeed a sale that is fully creditable to your efforts.

Split personalities is what you have to have in this realm. That is what
makes a true Internet sales manager so different and such a commodity. We are
a rare species.

So this leads me to a POLL...As an Internet Sales Manager, are you paid what your
worth?

Take the poll and share with others some of your thoughts and comments!

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polls.blogflux.com

 

[Ryan Gerardi]

Your polling applet is not appearing so I am forced to write a comment. Jeff, you know that I do not work at a dealership so I can not give a credible take on your declaration. I will say this however.

In my organization, most of the workers, especially management, will tell you they are so busy it is rediculous; that they have so much going on and so many people demanding so many things from them that it doesn't seem possible, and to be fair that is typically the case. But I know that it is natural for us to see our own jobs as one of the busiest and/or most difficult in the organization.

I think this is a sign of the employee working hard and taking ownership of his work and also of having a dynamic work environment, like you do. Some workers do not feel this way. They have some things to do and their jobs are well defined. They come in, do their thing, and go home. But in your case, everything you said is probably true. But I suspect others in the dealership would argue they have the toughest job. Like the Service Manager, or the GM.

So, I am not one to say whether or not the ISM is or is not the toughest position. I would say however that it sounds like one of the more exciting jobs there.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Great point Ryan. I do personally take full ownership of my department and everything I do. I guess my point of the post; I know I have many readers that are just starting off and work for dealers and GM's that lack in knowledge on what it takes to be successful leveraging the internet. That many times makes for a difficult work environment and can make this position that much harder.

-Jeff

 

[Mike (blog)]

Any position, in any business, in which you strive to do really well, requires a lot of energy and hard work. For busy car dealerships my vote for toughest job is Service Advisor. If you've never done it, do it for a week or so. You'll have a new appreciation for your position.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

The Service advisor is a tough position no doubt! I was a honda service advisor for over 3 years and you are dealing with customer complaints all day long. BUT at 5:30 when the service department was closed, I did'nt have to think about my job. Work was left at work.

 

[jakewirth]

I think Jeff is right and this is the reason:

Most auto dealers, and I talk to many on a weekly basis, simply fail to see the value in the Internet in general! From my experience as as an Internet Manager, I quickly realized that the Internet Department is still scary territory for many Dealerships and that must be due to a lack of information. Most General Manager's and Dealer Principals rely solely on their NADA Groups for information on new and emerging ways to sell more cars.

Unfortunately, they attend these meetings every so often and come back with a whole set of new ideas. All you Internet Managers and Directors out there can SURELY testify to this! Then what follows is a lot of excitement and motivation from Upper Management leading into a lack of commitment and follow through.... probably because they tried the new Idea for 15-30 days and simply gave up on it, anxiously waiting for the next NADA Group meeting to hear what the next "big idea" is!

From what I have learned it takes on average 90 DAYS to see the full results from ANY new advertising source or Marketing Idea!

I imagine that Dealerships felt the same apprehension when the Finance Department was first introduced. Its just takes time folks, along with dealership-wide commitment (buy-in) in order to utilize the Internet Department as a Profit-Center in the Car Biz!

If we are all in this for the long-haul, whats the hurry? As the great Bob Marley said, "....don't worry, everything is gonna be alright." Yes Mr. Dealer is gonna be alright, provided that you stop Micro-Managing you Internet Director and trust what he has learned from Dealer Refresh!

Lets all stand up, take a deep breath, sit back down and realize that the way people are shopping for their next vehicle HAS changed! If you want to earn their business Mr. Dealer then you will simply have to re-think the way you market to your target audience.

If not, no hard feelings, they will just simply buy a Mercedes from Jeff Kershner!

 

[Jeff]

It all starts at the top of the food chain.

Cell phones, pages, add, and floor reps that don't know how to qualify a deal before desking it...

Most sales managers are old school car salesman in all ways. They are usually older, brought by even older, start the retail at $6k/over and $6k/under on trade (only to offend the educated consumer), computer challenged, have long-time bonds with the newspaper rep that stops by and hands them that ad with their picture, name and stores phone # listed, and never have taken the time to learn where 90% of car shoppers start shopping now.

They believe- to hire BDC/Internet employees they need to hire a car salesman, internet sales= low gross, and $1000/month for a 24hr/7days a week advertising source... you gotta be outta of your mind!

Sometimes we as "car people" forget about the actual buying process the customer experiences. Sure, some big hits still happen from the drive-by that happens to catch the "right" sales rep. But let's be for real. Where do the managers go when THEY want the big screen, plasma tv? Or search real estate listings for their next mansion? Sure they go to the best buy (note the name) place, or do the walk-through when narrowing down the options. But where did they start?

My equation: Successfull BDC/Internet = Dealership long term success

So is a GOOD bdc/internet professional at a dealership worth the money and time to develop?

For many customers that is the first experience with the dealership. Often, Bdc/Internet managers are the sales rep, managers, and sometimes the F&I.

Quality Bdc/Internet managers are worth more than most Sales Managers when they produce the numbers.

Computer skills, internet savvy, marketing knowlegde, sales ability= PRICELESS

 

[Anthony Troia]

First I would like to say that it is a pleasure to find this type of information about the internet sales manager positions and functions. I have been developing and marketing all types of businesses and services on the internet for the past 10 years and was recently hired by a local dealership to optimize their websites. Website optimization is a process where you get a website to rank on the first page in Google, Yahoo, Msn and many other search engines, using a specific key word, words, or phrase.

The dealer had several different people in this position before me. Most were sales men with limited internet knowledge and experience. With in two months I increased the hits to the site by 38% and sales from all over the country. I want to comment about the importance of this position with in a car dealer or any other company. If 80 % of people today are looking online and shopping online before they even enter a store don’t you think going forward this is the type of position that will be highly marketable and warrant a six figure income plus bonuses?

I did some research about this position and it led me all over the internet and here is one of my stops. I searched nation wide for internet sales manager positions and I came up with the following. Most of the car dealers that listed a salary range they are willing to pay people $80,000 to $150,000 per year. There are other companies besides car dealers that will pay up to $200,000 per year. In my opinion this is definitely one of the, if not the most important positions at any company. The life line of any company any where in the world is new customers. I think this should be a $200,000 and up position.

 

[Derrick Daye]

Internet Sales Manager may be the hardest position today in terms of defending its purpose and value. The blur of new technology and relationship building online is a space that 'old school' management is struggling with. We all know that fundamentally the problem goes well beyond an 'unknown' landscape. Or even the fear of change. If the dealer is not meeting the customer’s needs face-to-face now, why should things be any different online?

There is good news for the Internet Sales Manager. Time is on your side. It is weeding out 'old school' every day. Within the next decade you will be seen as the new champion. The dealers will not crown you, the customers will. They have decided they want a better customer experience. They are speaking with their keyboards. From the internet they are better informed. They are safe from fast-talkers. And they have lots more choices of where to buy. The interesting thing is it is the negative associations that are attached to buying cars in person that are driving customers to the internet!

I have another thought about ISM’s. They seem to be pioneers. Early adopters. They run towards change. They will someday be recognized for saving the dealer industry.

A final thought for any dealer who reads this. You do not have control over the manufacture of the product you sell. The identical vehicle can be found at every dealership that sells your brand. What you do have complete control over is the experience you provide your customer. This experience can be your point of difference, and your greatest competitive advantage. If you are selling on quality, service and low price, News Flash: customers can get that anywhere. It’s time to create compelling reasons to buy from you. Reasons that make the product secondary.

 

[Gerald (blog)]

Perhaps I am missing something, or others haven't picked up on it, but as an Internet Director, I am also responsible for parts & service's presence on my website. Funny, their budget comes out of mine, I am responsible for that budget (SEM, PPC, etc.) and any DECREASE in parts or service. Yet, for some reason, when there is growth, there seems to be no remuneration or credit. Still think you're paid what you're worth?