http://dealeretraining.com/
http://www.drivingsales.com/ratings/products/stan-sher
https://www.facebook.com/dealeretraining
Stan Sher of Dealer eTraining Talks about Auto Response Email at GNYADA
Showing posts with label auto dealer training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label auto dealer training. Show all posts
Monday, December 31, 2012
Stan Sher of Dealer eTraining Talks about Auto Response Email at GNYADA
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Stan Sher Reviews Dealer eTraining Auto Response Email at GNYADA
http://dealeretraining.com/
http://www.drivingsales.com/ratings/products/stan-sher
https://www.facebook.com/dealeretraining
https://twitter.com/stansher
Saturday, September 29, 2012
KPA Offers 7 Scholarships to Attend the Internet Sales 20 Group
We don’t promote conferences very often. Those who have seen KPA at conferences know that we attend nearly all of them, speak at most, and engage with dealers as our primary reason for going. These things make promotion of the events challenging as we know that we’re getting a benefit from them so it’s almost like “double dipping” when we promote them as well.
Every now and then, one comes along that deserves our support. This October, the event that we’re supporting is the Internet Sales 20 Group in Chicago October 23-25. We are extremely excited by the way that this event differs from most conferences. It is as much of a networking event as it is a learning experience with a wide variety of speakers and automotive professionals attending. Unlike most events, this one has tangibles attached to attending that have never been offered in our industry.
In an effort to get the most savvy dealers in the country to attend, KPA is offering 7 scholarships that will pay the $1,495 conference entry fee. We are looking for a single sentence answer to the question:
“What is the breakout marketing initiative that will emerge in prominence in 2013?”
To enter, simply post a comment on this blog post, post your entry on our Facebook wall, or email it to me directly at jrucker@kpaonline.com. Three of the scholarships are reserved for current KPA clients and prospects. The other four are open to the dealer community. Winners will be selected Wednesday, October 3rd, so get your entry in as soon as possible. Only one entry per dealership employee, but if you win and want to bring additional dealership employees we would be happy to work out those details with you.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
The Selling Process…has it changed?
Does your dealership have a BDC or Internet Sales Department? When appointments show up to the dealership, is there a set process to handle these customers? Let me let this thought process for a second…
Ok, so right now you are probably realizing that you do have these departments yet they are under performing. Perhaps you have trained your sales staff in the basic methods of the road to the sale or you might have just hired a few “green peas” and thrown them out on the floor to learn as they go. Sound familiar?
Here is a fact: Over 90% of consumers go online before they walk into a dealership.
Here is another fact: In order for the showroom to be packed, traffic needs to be generated through appointments. Walk in customers do not just walk in like they used to.
When a BDC appointment comes in, how are the customers being greeted? Are they still saying, “Can I help you?” If this is still happening, your dealership is in trouble. The proper way to handle a proper meet and greet is as follows: “Welcome to ABD Motors, my name is Stan and you are? Great meet you. Are you here for a VIP appointment with our guest relations department?” Qualify the information. One you know what is going on make sure to inform management and the BDC that their appointment is here. Now continue with your road to the sale starting with logging the proper information into the CRM while simultaneously building really good rapport. Make sure to read the notes in the CRM that are already there so you can build that common ground. This is just the beginning of the process.
Are your sales consultants prepared to handle the modern customer? The modern customer shows up with an iPad and/or iPhone. They do not need to walk in printouts because they have the information in a digital format. These customers ask questions to which they already have an answer right at their finger tips. At the same time while working with your dealership they are also reading reviews about your dealership as well as others.
So what has changed? Not a lot really. The real change is the quickness of the transparency that dealers need to have. The processes that we have been taught over the years still apply to the selling professional. However, the modern day selling professional needs to be armed with knowledge of how to use certain consumer websites to pull factual information; sell the value of the car as well as the dealership’s online reputation. This modern day professional needs to be able to take out their smart phone at delivery and film a customer testimonial as well as take a picture of the customer with their new vehicle. There are so many great apps available on mobile phones that can really help a sales professional do amazing things that will enable a smooth, efficient, and powerful road to the sale process.
If anyone has questions on how to achieve sales greatness by using the modern road to the sale process, please feel free to contact me at stan@dealeretraining.com
https://www.facebook.com/dealeretraining
http://twitter.com/dealeretraining
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
July 2012 Automotive Internet Sales "Dealer of The Month Winner" Eric Nichols of Apple Honda - Congratulations!
Congratulations to Eric Nichols, Internet Sales Manager in Riverhead Long Island!
Eric is Delivering 52+ units per month in a 2.5 person department-
AIS - How Long have you been in the Automotive Sales Industry?
EN - 5 and 1/2 years. I was in the United States Navy before that for 4+ years.
AIS - How did you go from Navy to a Car Dealership?
EN - I worked some dead end jobs until my brother, Brian gave me a job in a BDC.
AIS -What type of training did you go through?
EN - Nothing except what was regurgitated down from the managers at the dealership, who were making it up as they went or heard something from somebody or the OEM. Until we hired http://www.DealereTraining.com / Stan Sher.
AIS - How did you meet up with Stan Sher and his company?
EN - Ironically, the GM brought him in after seeing that Stan Sher was a trainer for the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association. At first, Stan "Mystery Shopped" my dealership. Needless to say, I wasn' t that thrilled at first LOL! However I have become close with him and have learned a lot. Basically all of the ideas I had that were swirling in my head, Stan helped me articulate them and implement them.
AIS - So, I am going to transition the conversation for a little bit...
Tell me about your department in detail...
EN -
* Website Provider - http://www.dealer.com
AIS - Do you like them?
EN - Yes, no issue to date.
* CRM - http://www.dealersocket.com
AIS - Do you like them?
EN - I actually LOVE them!! It is my biggest tool! It is my command center. It is my complete accountability for my GM. After, Stan Sher helped setup processes in the CRM and create a guideline for how to measure the results in the BDC the tool has become my best friend.
AIS - Since you got excited when I mentioned the CRM, lets go a little deeper...
How do you use your CRM?
EN - We have an automated Email Action Plan, Data Mining, Lease Retention, Unsold Showroom Follow Up, Internet Leads, Incoming Phone Ups... Everything.
AIS - Any Social Media Integration with your CRM?
EN - Not at this time. Although we learned from Dealer eTraining the importance of incorporating social media into follow up especially with leads that have no phone number or leads that are unresponsive.
AIS - What is your internet lead process?
EN - First, there is ONLY 1 "automated" email template... The 1st one. Then we send manual emails for the next 14 days... THEN it goes into the "automated category" until day 44. Then it goes into a MONTHLY Email Protocol. We incorporate value builders and stress the importance of our positive online reputation in our process.
AIS - How long do you follow up with a prospect?
EN - 180 days... 90 days is NOT Enough Anymore. In fact, some OEMs require longer processes. We noticed that our customers have extended their buying cycle to as long as 180 days.
AIS - How do you handle the Phone Call Follow Up Process?
EN - It is different...
As soon as we get the lead, we IMMEDIATELY make the phone call. If we do not connect, Then we call them AGAIN, later on that day.
So, another way of explaining it is for the first 10 days we call TWICE a day... Morning and night, for a total of 20 calls in ten days.
Then we go from 10 days to 12 days to 14 days...
Then we call 21 -26 - 31 THEN we start calling monthly.
AIS - Who is your inventory solution?
EN - We have our own photo studio then we upload to http://www.VAuto.com
AIS - Who is your call monitoring solution?
EN - Call Measurement powered by DealerSocket
AIS - What is your Online Reputation Management Strategy?
EN - We were using Dealer.com but just cancelled to go to www.slipstreammedia.com - THEY ARE AWESOME! We are of the highest rated Honda dealerships in New York on DealerRater, Google Places, and other sites. It is a requirement of all of our staff members to attain at least one review per week.
AIS - What are you doing for Social Media?
EN -
* YouTube
* Posterus
* Tumblr
* Blogspot
* Carmind - http://www.carmind.com
AIS - What is your video and or VSEO strategy?
EN - We are using Flip Stream for it all. We learned basic in-house strategies for VSEO from Stan and use these practices at times.
AIS - What other additional resources, tools, websites, blogs etc... do you use as part of your "success strategy".
EN -
- Stan Sher / Dealer eTraining Blogs and Videos
- Sean V. Bradley / Dealer Synergy Videos
- www.automotiveinternetsales.com
- All Google tools... ESPECIALLY Google Analytics
- DealerRefresh
- Driving Sales - I actually wrote an article on Driving Sales
(I will POST it HERE)
“Use the Source” By Eric Nichols
For the first time in automotive history dealers can now get an accurate idea of where their marketing dollars are going and how well they are performing. Yes I am taking about the all mighty source. No not the force, “THE SOURCE”. It may not be able to help you move items around or read people’s minds, but it does something even better…. MAKES YOU MORE MONEY…
In my years as a BDC rep and a BDC director, I have learned that the source can be mastered and understood now more than ever before. How is that you ask, quite simple with the following simple steps I have come up with you will be able to not only save on your marketing dollars but will you can profit off of it.
Step 1- Understanding Sourcing…. The traditional advertising types radio, TV. Newspapers never gave you an accurate idea of if your marketing efforts where effective. When sourcing you need to use the parent, child approach.If your paying for all these campaigns you need to know what is working
PARENT= SOURCE meaning the broad spectrum source.
EXAMPLES OF SOURCE CODES
Fresh-up- A fresh up is any customer that comes to the dealership for no other reason but driving by or just walking into the dealership.
“NO ADVERTISING YOU ARE DOING BROUGHT THEM IN”
PHONE UP- Any customer who calls into your dealership that cannot be sourced to any specific advertising or 1-800- tracking #. Meaning if a customer calls your dealership using one of your individual 1-800 #’s and it shows up under that marketing effort, such as website, auto trader, cars, autousa, vehix, dealix etc……..THEY ARE NOT A TRUE PHONE UP THEY ARE WHATEVER MARKETING EFFORT THEY ARE TIED TO. INTERNET, TV, RADIO, ETC… EVERY MARKETING EFFORT SHOULD HAVE INDIVIDUAL AND SEPARATE TRACKING #’s FOR EACH AD.
Internet- any prospect that comes from any form of digital advertising online. It’s pretty simple as stated before if they send a lead/email into you it is pre-sourced in your CRM and labeled where it came from. Same with the internet phone calls your call tracking will say what website it came from. “INTERNET IS NOW ALWAYS GOING TO BE THE MAJORITY OF YOUR CUSTOMERS YOU TALK TO. LIKE IT OR NOT ITS FACT.”
INTERNET/FRESH-UP- Last but not least my own creation. So before I explain to you what an Internet/Fresh Up is. Let me ask you a question.
A customer walks into your dealership and you ask how did you hear about us? They are going to say the either one of the above sources. It is your job to dig to see where they came from. ASK ASK ASK.
Statistics say out of 100% of all traffic
8% emailed before coming in
12% called before coming in
80% came in without emailing or calling.
Now that 80% is a curious thing do you think that 80% just came in for the heck of it, No something brought them in. Now are you ready for the Shocker out of that 80% of unknown origin. 75% of that # saw you on the internet, Car buyers will hit your website or your car listing about 7 times before they come in and the time searching is 15hrs or more online shopping. All you need to do is ASK... Don’t take the easy way out it’s your money either you ask or make sure your people ask.
- YOU COULD POTENTIALLY BE EITHER..
- WASTING MONEY ON BAD ADS
- CANCELING MARKETING EFFORTS THAT ARE MAKING YOU MONEY. Example... My dealer principal wanted me to cancel a major listing company because we were not tracking well with leads. I put the foot to my people to ASK ASK ASK….. And low and behold it was one of the top reasons for my walk-in traffic sales.
So the point is that just because they are a walk-in doesn’t mean that you can’t source them correctly. Yes they did not email or call but a certain marketing approach brought them down find out what it is. If it’s the internet you need to know that. Hence INTERNET/FRESH-UP. It’s neither a true internet nor is it a true fresh-up.
CHILD = TRACKING CODE
Don’t worry no long drawn out explanation on this one. Tracking code is the exact marketing listing, basically whatever company you are using that is promoting your listing. Simple as that.
So now that I have explained the different sourcing structures, how do you us put a plan into effect to get these sources? The only efficient way to do this is the following way and it may sound like a pain in the rear but it’s the only effective method.
HAVE A GREETER AT THE FRONT DOOR TAKE ALL INCOMING UP SHEETS AND LOG THEM INTO YOUR CRM… MAKE THEM RESPONSIBLE FOR IT. WE ALL KNOW THAT SALES REPS DON’T CARE AS LONG AS THEY MAKE A SALE THEY DON’T CARE WHERE THEY COME FROM AS LONG AS THEY COME IN. IT IS ON MANAGEMENT TO ENFORCE THIS. Having the greeter enter all info into the CRM will also ensure an accurate count of how many showroom visits you truly have. I have worked with managers who don’t collect log sheets, they throw them out to increase their closing ratio, they lose them the list goes on and on. As a GM, GSM, Dealer principal, BDC Manager it is on you to make sure that this is followed to a tee. The reason being is not only proper sourcing but proper follow-up is completed. And as you know that means more money in all of your pockets. Times are hard in our business now make the most out of everything you get in the door.
TO BE CONTINUED..... EPISODE 2: THE RETURN OF THE DUPLICATE
SOURCE - http://www.drivingsales.com/blogs/usethesource/2012/06/10/use-the-s...
AIS - GREAT STUFF!
AIS - What types of advice do you have for other ISMs or Internet Departments reading this article?
EN - EASY... Analytics. Analytics. Analytics...
VERIFY everything. Be sure. NEVER Guess. I learned that by mastering your CRM reporting, Google Analytics, and other reports that you will always be able to monitor the success and/or shortcomings for the BDC department as well as the dealership.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Automotive BDC Internet Retention - Guest Relations
http://dealeretraining.com/
https://www.facebook.com/dealeretraining
Automotive BDC Internet Retention - Guest Relations
http://dealeretraining.com/
https://www.facebook.com/dealeretraining
Automotive BDC Internet Retention - Guest Relations
http://dealeretraining.com/
https://www.facebook.com/dealeretraining
Friday, May 25, 2012
Check and Train Yourself - Automotive Dealer eTraining
http://dealeretraining.com/
https://www.facebook.com/dealeretraining
Stan Sher of Dealer eTraining explains the importance of constant training and evaluation of current skills, thought patterns, and processes. One should never be satisfied with where they are and should seek to improve.
Check and Train Yourself - Automotive Dealer eTraining
http://dealeretraining.com/
https://www.facebook.com/dealeretraining
Stan Sher of Dealer eTraining explains the importance of constant training and evaluation of current skills, thought patterns, and processes. One should never be satisfied with where they are and should seek to improve.
Check and Train Yourself - Automotive Dealer eTraining
http://dealeretraining.com/
https://www.facebook.com/dealeretraining
Friday, February 10, 2012
Online Reputation Management Workshop - Dealer eTraining - Stan Sher - February 15, 2012
It's that time again. The Greater New York Dealers Association is holding a workshop on Wednesday February 15, 2012 where I will be presenting on Online Reputation Management. This is a hands on workshop where I will be discussing the importance of online reviews, how to get them, and how to leverage them to build value in the sales process.
I was just made aware that I have some of the most prestigious dealerships in the country coming to my workshop as well as OEM representatives. I am honored to be a featured speaker for the Greater New York Dealers Association. If you are a dealer in New York, you want to send your people to this class because the content is powerful and eye opening. Let Stan Sher and Dealer eTraining help your dealership create initiatives that will enable your dealership to grow sales and service opportunities.
Please visit http://autoedcenter.com/education/seminars/12-02-15-online.php and http://autoedcenter.com/education/seminars/pdf/12-02-15-online.pdf to register and find out more information about this class.
As always, Dealer eTraining is available for in-store and virtual training for automotive dealers nationwide. We are commited to helping your dealership be successful. For more information, please visit http://dealeretraining.com/ or email Stan@dealeretraining.com
Monday, November 7, 2011
Stan Sher (Dealer eTraining) Greater NY Dealer Association Nov 2011
http://ow.ly/776Yt http://www.facebook.com/dealeretraininghttp://www.dealeretraining.com
Stan Sher (Dealer eTraining) invites all greater New York area dealers to attend a workshop on how to effectively utilize email marketing on November 22, 2011.Another Dealer eTraining Testimonial - Automotive Internet Sales Training
http://www.dealeretraining.com
http://www.facebook.com/dealeretraining
Another Dealer eTraining Testimonial - Automotive Internet Sales Training
http://www.dealeretraining.com
http://www.facebook.com/dealeretraining
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Auto Dealer Target Roundtable
http://automotiveinternetsales.tumblr.com/ http://autodealertarget.com/roundtable/ I was a part of this event http://autodealertarget.com/roundtable/ and if you are a dealer or vendor you need to check this out.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Create The Be-Back
http://www.dealeretraining.com/ http://www.linkedin.com/in/stansher83 http://www.facebook.com/dealeretraining Picture this...you are a sales consultant working at a dealership. You have gone through all of the steps and you are going through the negotiation process. After all is said and done the customer decides that it is time to leave and a deal cannot be made. It got down to the customer not being satisfied with the trade or the deal that is being offered to them. Does this sound familiar? It should. This is what we deal with the most in our business if we are not making deals. There are many reasons why customers end up not making a deal on the spot. In some cases, sales consultants or BDC reps end up trying to get the customer to come back. In other cases, the customer leaves and never gets contacted again. This all depends on how the dealership is structured with process, CRM, and management styles. I remember as a sales person I would have a manager sit down with me just to make sure that I am pounding the phones. I believe that this can be extreme in some cases. A sales person needs to be dedicated and care enough about their career as well as their livelihood. Successful sales professionals still use the telephone and innovative methods of communication to follow up. A few months ago, I wrote an article about the number one sales person in the country for Hyundai. The man sells 60 units per month consistently and makes twice what his sales manager makes. He is dedicated. Now comes the interesting aspect of this article. How do we follow up with these customers that did not buy? How do we create a process to ensure 100% follow all of the time? I recently had a dealer client ask me to create some processes for different objections for why people did not buy. After evaluating their dealership, their product, and how their staff operates I was able to create a custom process for various objections. It adds a few more calls per day to the BDC but will create more be-backs. My thinking is that every action needs a reaction. If they do heavy follow up, make a lot of calls, send properly crafted emails, engage in social media follow up, you will create a big enough buzz to get these customers to come back and make that deal. It is all about process, process, process, process, and you guessed it PROCESS!!! Along with process comes the training on handling these opportunities. Along with the process and handling these opportunities comes effective communication between sales and BDC departments in order to have effective follow up. Now let's think about this for a second. What do we do when we get a fresh internet lead? We follow up with a solid phone call, email, and social media engagement process for a set amount of days, right? If we are serious about initiating contact with the prospect, why are we not serious about getting a bigger interest out of them after we have engaged them and had a chance to build rapport face to face? Why not create a similar type of strategy for someone who already has your attention? Shouldn't it be easier to sell them a vehicle at this point? It might be a great idea for dealerships to consider having a process for handling customers that did not buy with a solid, mandatory follow up plan. Since it is a numbers game dealers will see tremendous results and a better be-back ratio. This can be done for customers that do not buy due to trade issues or pricing issues. If the OEM makes positive program enhancements, it might make sense to create a process to engage those prospects that left and did not buy. Dealers and managers need to remember that persistence pays off big dividends. Think about it. Stan Sher is the founder and president of Dealer eTraining, a premier automotive internet sales and digital marketing consulting company. For more information, please feel free to call 732-925-8362 or email stan@dealeretraining.com .
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Create The Be-Back
http://www.dealeretraining.com/ http://www.linkedin.com/in/stansher83 http://www.facebook.com/dealeretraining Picture this...you are a sales consultant working at a dealership. You have gone through all of the steps and you are going through the negotiation process. After all is said and done the customer decides that it is time to leave and a deal cannot be made. It got down to the customer not being satisfied with the trade or the deal that is being offered to them. Does this sound familiar? It should. This is what we deal with the most in our business if we are not making deals. There are many reasons why customers end up not making a deal on the spot. In some cases, sales consultants or BDC reps end up trying to get the customer to come back. In other cases, the customer leaves and never gets contacted again. This all depends on how the dealership is structured with process, CRM, and management styles. I remember as a sales person I would have a manager sit down with me just to make sure that I am pounding the phones. I believe that this can be extreme in some cases. A sales person needs to be dedicated and care enough about their career as well as their livelihood. Successful sales professionals still use the telephone and innovative methods of communication to follow up. A few months ago, I wrote an article about the number one sales person in the country for Hyundai. The man sells 60 units per month consistently and makes twice what his sales manager makes. He is dedicated. Now comes the interesting aspect of this article. How do we follow up with these customers that did not buy? How do we create a process to ensure 100% follow all of the time? I recently had a dealer client ask me to create some processes for different objections for why people did not buy. After evaluating their dealership, their product, and how their staff operates I was able to create a custom process for various objections. It adds a few more calls per day to the BDC but will create more be-backs. My thinking is that every action needs a reaction. If they do heavy follow up, make a lot of calls, send properly crafted emails, engage in social media follow up, you will create a big enough buzz to get these customers to come back and make that deal. It is all about process, process, process, process, and you guessed it PROCESS!!! Along with process comes the training on handling these opportunities. Along with the process and handling these opportunities comes effective communication between sales and BDC departments in order to have effective follow up. Now let's think about this for a second. What do we do when we get a fresh internet lead? We follow up with a solid phone call, email, and social media engagement process for a set amount of days, right? If we are serious about initiating contact with the prospect, why are we not serious about getting a bigger interest out of them after we have engaged them and had a chance to build rapport face to face? Why not create a similar type of strategy for someone who already has your attention? Shouldn't it be easier to sell them a vehicle at this point? It might be a great idea for dealerships to consider having a process for handling customers that did not buy with a solid, mandatory follow up plan. Since it is a numbers game dealers will see tremendous results and a better be-back ratio. This can be done for customers that do not buy due to trade issues or pricing issues. If the OEM makes positive program enhancements, it might make sense to create a process to engage those prospects that left and did not buy. Dealers and managers need to remember that persistence pays off big dividends. Think about it. Stan Sher is the founder and president of Dealer eTraining, a premier automotive internet sales and digital marketing consulting company. For more information, please feel free to call 732-925-8362 or email stan@dealeretraining.com .
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