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Uncle Joe's Make Over Diary

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#91
Regarding the overwhelming choices in technology... The technology has to match you first.

For example,
Why bother with video if your pics need help?
Why bother with PPC if your AutoTrader & Cars.com isn't performing to your desires.

Nail the basics 1st, and roll out the other stuff later.

DD, you're ahead of me! In your case, you have an excellent sales process, so, when you rev up the marketing machine, your team's skills are best of class and your management style adds new bodies when the traffic warrants it. In my case, lead counts are up >300% yet sales are flat YOY.

Changing management is HARDER than deploying technology.

Go Get 'em!
 
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Dominion DMS
#92
JoePistell said:
Regarding the overwhelming choices in technology... The technology has to match you first.

For example,
Why bother with video if your pics need help?
Why bother with PPC if your AutoTrader & Cars.com isn't performing to your desires.

Nail the basics 1st, and roll out the other stuff later.

DD, you're ahead of me! In your case, you have an excellent sales process, so, when you rev up the marketing machine, your team's skills are best of class and your management style adds new bodies when the traffic warrants it. In my case, lead counts are up >300% yet sales are flat YOY.

Changing management is HARDER than deploying technology.

Go Get 'em!
Click to expand...
Joe, you know that when the marketing is right, the quantity and quality of your leads improves. The main reason that I am going back to a store or stores is that I miss working with salespeople. You can take a young person with a high school education and show them how to make an above average living. What salesperson doesn't want to work an ample number of high quality leads?

If I had seen a 300% increase in sales but flat sales, you would see one radical cajun standing on someone's desk. It wouldn't be the first time that I called a meeting. It destroys your ROI, your budget and the morale of your salespeople. I do know of one organization where the Internet department desks their own deals. Not only have they increased sales and closing ratios but also gross.
 
#93
ddavis said:
Joe, you know that when the marketing is right, the quantity and quality of your leads improves. The main reason that I am going back to a store or stores is that I miss working with salespeople. You can take a young person with a high school education and show them how to make an above average living. What salesperson doesn't want to work an ample number of high quality leads?

If I had seen a 300% increase in sales but flat sales, you would see one radical cajun standing on someone's desk. It wouldn't be the first time that I called a meeting. It destroys your ROI, your budget and the morale of your salespeople. I do know of one organization where the Internet department desks their own deals. Not only have they increased sales and closing ratios but also gross.
Click to expand...


DD, I soooo understand where you are. We all LOVE to do what we LOVE to do (does that make sense? ;-) hahaha.

You love to coach and improve people, I love to make that phone ring. Selling cars is a team sport, If you want to dominate, you need sharp managers all working toward a common goal.

I assumed commissioned reps would devour the new leads and write themselves fatter pay checks. What has happened is the new lead volume has made it easier to for the reps to fill their belly and relax.

That lesson took too long to learn >:-/ Now its my job to make my other managers see the light and not be satisfied with their pay checks.

We'd make one hellofa great team DD! :)
 
#94
JoePistell said:
DD, I soooo understand where you are. We all LOVE to do what we LOVE to do (does that make sense? ;-) hahaha.

You love to coach and improve people, I love to make that phone ring. Selling cars is a team sport, If you want to dominate, you need sharp managers all working toward a common goal.

I assumed commissioned reps would devour the new leads and write themselves fatter pay checks. What has happened is the new lead volume has made it easier to for the reps to fill their belly and relax.

That lesson took too long to learn >:-/ Now its my job to make my other managers see the light and not be satisfied with their pay checks.

We'd make one hellofa great team DD! :)
Click to expand...

Joe, you can't coach fat and lazy. You work too hard to have ISMs lay down on you. I would be having an Internet meeting to discuss how the dealership's objectives are not being met with an increase of leads. State a new minimum acceptable sales volume/ISM. Then discuss some of the ways that the store can correct this:

Add additional people
Allocate leads by closing ratio
Change pay plans

I assume that the desk gets credit for the Internet sales. By having your own desk, they will have to work harder.

I posted a daily scoreboard that showed the number of leads, appointments, closing % of leads, and sales. This was posted where everyone could see it. Low percentage people didn't get leads.
 
#95
Dealers and most sales people / managers are competitive my nature.

Weekly ILM reports - showing the dealers and or departments individual ILM numbers.

Every week I send out a report with ALL our dealers showing where they are with Leads, Appts, Shows and Sold in numbers and percentages. I grab this right from the CRM. When this hits management inbox - it's getting looked at. I've never met a GM or Manager that didn't want to know what the other dealers are doing.

Reports like this bring about questions and eventually buy-in. If you have the right managers.

If your a single dealer, use national averages or even better, make friends with another another ISM/dealer like yours outside of your AOI to compare with each week.
 
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#96
Google has changed it's algo*, drop what you're doing and do a "yellow pages" search on Google

An example would be: [make][model] for sale near [location]


*Google has made another change to it's Search system (often called an algo). These changes have nick names, this one is called Panda 2.5
 
#97
I have to stop a minute and give a shout out to the Dealer Fire Gang. Easily the classiest banner art I've ever seen... EVER.

dealerfire_topbanner.jpg

The message is subtle.. almost to a fault. When you click on the banner here on DR, the unique art style is there on the landing page too. Thats smart. Now add in 5 custom art messages, each custom art message has a matching custom landing page.

That's some slick work, kudos to the Dealer Fire gang!
 
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