10 Steps in a Road to A Sale - Professional Automobiles Sales

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Thursday, January 13, 2011

Dealers Need to Get Back to Basics

Written by Ted Craig

Thursday, 13 January 2011 02:57 PM

Rod Heasley still has the dealership training manual from when he started in the business in the 1970s.

The advice it offers remain as relevant today as it did then.

Heasley, the national sales director for AutoSave, recently presented a Back to Basics seminar for members of the Michigan Independent Automobile Dealers Association s metro chapter.

The key message was dealers need to stop thinking like people who sell cars and start thinking like people who buy cars.

That requires looking at every aspect of a business, including how the business looks.

dealers to walk across the street and study their stores appearance. He said they need to make sure the cars are all lined up, that the window stickers are all in the same place, that old advertising banners don t clutter the lot.

Heasley said he's visited dealerships before where cars on the frontline had flat tires.

The most basic details matter, such as providing clearly marked customer parking.

Dealers need to write ad copy in a way any consumer can understand. Heasley said to avoid the alphabet soup of most cars ads and spell out features such as air conditioning and power windows.

Having salespeople who can bond with shoppers remains crucial.
Heasley said how much a customer likes a salesperson drives a majority of auto sales.

All salespeople should always have a consumer take a vehicle for a test drive.

When they do that the salesperson should move into the backseat and stop talking about halfway through.

This allows the customer to take mental ownership of the vehicle, Heasley said.

Most dealers know the basic steps to success, but they forget them in the daily rush of work and fall into ruts.

Heasley suggests taking simple steps to get out of ruts, such as taking a different way to work.

He said dealers need to remember why they work - to provide for their families.

A good home life is essential for a good work life.

If you don t have that support, it s not as easy job, Heasley said.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Military Pay - Outstanding!

If you get this more than once, feel honored that you know more than one
person who supports our military and appreciates what they do.

If you don't forward it, you don't deserve their sacrifice.

CINDY WILLIAMS was appointed by Obama as an Assistant Director for
NATIONAL SECURITY in the Congressional Budget Office.....

Military Pay
This is an Airman's response to Cindy Williams' editorial piece in the
Washington Times about MILITARY PAY, it should be printed in all
newspapers across America.

Ms. Cindy William wrote a piece for the Washington Times denouncing the
pay raise(s) coming service members' way this year citing that she
stated a 13% wage increase was more than they deserve.

A young airman from Hill AFB responds to her article below. He ought to
get a bonus for this.
"Ms. Williams:

I just had the pleasure of reading your column, "Our GI's earn enough"
and I am a bit confused. Frankly, I'm wondering where this vaunted
overpayment is going, because as far as I can tell, it disappears every
month between DFAS (The Defense Finance and Accounting Service) and my
bank account. Checking my latest earnings statement I see that I make
$1,117.80 before taxes per month. After taxes, I take home $874.20..
When I run that through the calculator, I come up with an annual salary
of $13,413.60 before taxes, and $10,490.40 after.

I work in the Air Force Network Control Center where I am part of the
team responsible for a 5,000 host computer network. I am involved with
infrastructure segments, specifically with Cisco Systems equipment. A
quick check under jobs for "Network Technicians" in the Washington, D.C.
Area reveals a position in my career field, requiring three years
experience in my job. Amazingly, this job does NOT pay $13,413.60 a
year. No, this job is being offered at $70,000 to $80,000 per
annum............ I'm sure you can draw the obvious conclusions.

Given the tenor of your column, I would assume that you NEVER had the
pleasure of serving your country in her armed forces.

Before you take it upon yourself to once more castigate congressional
and DOD leadership for attempting to get the families in the military's
lowest pay brackets off of WIC and food stamps, I suggest that you join
a group of deploying soldiers headed for AFGHANISTAN; I leave the choice
of service branch up to you. Whatever choice you make though, opt for
the SIX month rotation: it will guarantee you the longest possible time
away from your family and friends, thus giving you full "deployment
experience."

As your group prepares to board the plane, make sure to note the spouses
and children who are saying good-bye to their loved ones. Also take care
to note that several families are still unsure of how they'll be able to
make ends meet while the primary breadwinner is gone. Obviously they've
been squandering the "vast" piles of cash the government has been giving
them.

Try to deploy over a major holiday; Christmas and Thanksgiving are
perennial favorites. And when you're actually over there, sitting in a
foxhole, shivering against the cold desert night, and the flight
sergeant tells you that there aren't enough people on shift to relieve
you for chow, remember this: trade whatever MRE's (meal-ready-to-eat)
you manage to get for the tuna noodle casserole or cheese tortellini,
and add Tabasco to everything. This gives some flavor.

Talk to your loved ones as often as you are permitted; it won't be
nearly long enough or often enough, but take what you can get and be
thankful for it. You may have picked up on the fact that I disagree with
most of the points you present in your open piece.

But, tomorrow from KABUL, I will defend to the death your right to say
it.

You see, I am an American fighting man, a guarantor of your First
Amendment right and every other right you cherish...On a daily basis, my
brother and sister soldiers worldwide ensure that you and people like
you can thumb your collective noses at us, all on a salary that is
nothing short of pitiful and under conditions that would make most
people cringe. We hemorrhage our best and brightest into the private
sector because we can't offer the stability and pay of civilian
companies.

And you, Ms. Williams, have the gall to say that we make more than we
deserve?

A1C Michael Bragg, Hill AFB AFNCC

IF YOU AGREE, PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE AND
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT OF THE AMERICAN FIGHTING MEN AND WOMEN.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, January 8, 2011

The World's Most Addictive Drug!

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ORG:Robert Hutson Ford Lincoln Chrysler Dodg
TITLE:Sales Manager
TEL;WORK;VOICE:229-985-6603
TEL;CELL;VOICE:229-251-2462
TEL;VOICE:1-888-509-1616
ADR;WORK:;;2316 First Ave SE;Moultrie;Georgia;31788;USA
LABEL;WORK;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:2316 First Ave SE=0D=0AMoultrie, Georgia 31788=0D=0AUSA
X-WAB-GENDER:2
URL;WORK:http://RobertHutson.com
EMAIL;PREF;INTERNET:Thomas@DigitalCarGuy.com
EMAIL;INTERNET:Thomas@RobertHutson.com
REV:20110108T171708Z
END:VCARD

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano
Your Digital Sales Manager

Ford Announces Fuel Economy Figures for 2011 F-150 EcoBoost V-6

From: Mike Levine

Sent: Friday, January 07, 2011 1:59 PM

Subject: Ford Announces Fuel Economy Figures for 2011 F-150 EcoBoost V-6

Ford Announces Fuel Economy Figures for 2011 F-150 EcoBoost V-6

Ford's all-new 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 for the 2011 F-150 has been officially rated by the EPA at 16/22 mpg city/highway for two-wheel drive trucks and 15/21 mpg for four-wheel drive models.

Those numbers give the twin-turbo six-cylinder yet another boost in credibility as Ford positions the engine as a suitable replacement for larger V-8 engines, which have long been the traditional mills used for max towing and hauling duties but are known for being thirsty at the fuel pump. Using regular gas, the EcoBoost makes 365 horsepower and 420 pounds-feet of torque.

Ford has already shown that the EcoBoost engine can outperform competitors' V-8s in a towing test at Davis Dam in Arizona. Ford has also demonstrated the EcoBoost's durability by torture testing a line-built engine on the dyno, pulling logs in Oregon, towing more than 11,000 pounds for 24 hours straight on a racetrack and competing in the Baja 1000 off-road race.

Ecoboost-mpg-2-560

We've driven EcoBoost-equipped 2011 F-150s several times and have been impressed with its diesel-like performance – 90 percent of its torque band is available from 1,700 rpm to 5,000 rpm – and almost unnoticeable turbo lag.

The flat power curve also enables EcoBoost F-150s to run with the tallest (numerically lowest) rear axle ratios of any Ford half-ton, as low as 3.15. That helps enable the high fuel economy numbers, especially on the highway, without sacrificing much performance.

The 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 is paired with Ford's updated 6R80 six-speed transmission, which is standard across the 2011 F-150 lineup. The transmission features a new manual shift mode for 2011 that allows the gearbox perform like a manual transmission as long as it isn't redlined. The 6R140 also features Progressive Range Select for every engine, which allows a driver to reduce the number of available gears so it's easier to tow up a grade and hold a specific top gear, like 5th, without worrying about the truck upshifting and getting bogged down.

The 2011 F-150 with the EcoBoost V-6 is expected to go on sale before the end of winter with a $750 premium over Ford's 5.0-liter V-8 and a $1,750 premium over the entry-level 3.7-liter V-6.

Ecoboost-mpg-3-560

The Ultimate Guide to US Pickup Truck Sales in 2010

From: Mike Levine

Sent: Thursday, January 06, 2011 10:54 AM

Subject: The Ultimate Guide to US Pickup Truck Sales in 2010

Ultimate 2010 U.S. Pickup Truck Sales Infographic

Pickup truck sales rebounded in 2010, with significant volume gains over last year's depressed sales levels.

Here's look at the numbers of trucks sold last year, according to sales data provided by J.D. Power and Associates. J.D. Power's "Power Information Network" figures are unique because they break out full-size truck sales into light- and heavy-duty classes. Monthly figures released by Chrysler, Ford and GM aggregate both light- and heavy-duty truck sales (including chassis cabs, when sold) into a single number without revealing class splits.

J.D. Power removes the Ford F-450/F-550 commercial trucks from the tallies, so chassis cab versions aren't included. They do, however, report Ram 4500/5500 chassis sales. GM doesn't sell trucks in these classes. So, to make this fair, we're presenting Ford's full-size truck data with and without chassis cabs, of which 21,134 were sold, according to J.D. Power.

Full-size Pickups

Full-size pickup truck sales rose 20.3 percent last year and were 13 percent of the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of all vehicles in December, a level not seen since 2008, having increased steadily from the low-10% range of early 2010. Full-size pickups made up 11.6 percent of all vehicle sales in 2010.

While nearly every full-size truck brand grew sales, Ford dominated with a 27.7 percent jump and a 38.6 percent share of the market, the largest share its held since 2001.

The only full-size pickup brand that lost year-over-year sales in 2010 was Cadillac, lending support to the conventional wisdom that casual truck buyers are gone from full-size pickups for good. Cadillac EXT sales fell 14 percent.

Small Pickups

Small pickup sales volume rose slightly last year, ending a slide that's lasted more than a decade in the stale segment but market share amongst all vehicle continued to fall, to just 2.3 percent, its lowest ever share. Most of the volume increase was due to strong sales of the Nissan Frontier, which rose 42.3 percent, the highest percentage sales gain of any high-volume pickup in 2010.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

SUV Prices May Drop Due to Gas Prices

SUV Prices May Drop Due to Gas Prices

Gas prices rose to around $3 per gallon over the recent Christmas holiday.
Overall, gas prices have almost doubled in the last 2 years, and the predictions for future prices don't look pretty.

So what does all this mean for car buyers?

It's likely there will be some huge price drops on SUVs and pickup trucks, while smaller cars will see price increases if gas continues to rise this year.

Back in 2008 when gas prices hit record highs, consumers turned away from larger vehicles and embraced more fuel-efficient and looked at smaller cars.

Some dealers, in desperation, were offering unbelievable discounts on large SUVs and pickup trucks.

The reverse is also true - small and fuel-efficient cars, due to higher demand, will start seeing price increases, just as they did back in 2008.

If you're thinking of buying a large SUV or pickup truck,do it now. If you're thinking of buying a compact, fuel-efficient car, you may want to wait to buy one.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Most Powerful Aspect of Social Media

The Most Powerful Aspect of Social Media

You hear about the experiences your customers are having at your business (good or bad),

but are you doing something about it.

As I've said before it's the difference between what's expected and the actual service received
that will dictate whether or not they will talk about you,

and they are talking,
it's up to you though if you want to exceed those expectations and gain positive word of mouth or negative word of mouth.

Social media is good for a lot of things: building relationships, finding and spreading news, marketing, a good laugh,

keeping up with your friends and family and a host of other things,

but there is another aspect of social media that most businesses aren't using. Free Feedback !

The best part of Social Media is that it is a marketing tool that also serves as a collaboration tool as well as a marketing tool. When you implement Social Marketing in this collaborative fashion, then you go a long way to building a true social business by harnessing the true voice of the customer.

Building An Empire By Building Brand Ambassadors

Earlier I said that an emphases was being put on bringing in new customers instead of creating brand ambassadors, before you lambaste me though let me explain what I mean by that. Auto dealerships are notorious for being short sighted, they think in terms of today and because of that they tend not to think in terms of compounding customers.

Much like compounding interest, which Wikipedia defines as "when interest is added to the principal, so that from that moment on, the interest that has been added also itself earns interest", compounding customers works much the same way.

Dealership A

Dealership A spends a ton of money on advertising, they have catchy jingles and bring in a ton of customers every month. They give service that is expected but aren't very good at following up. Let's say that they sell 100 new customers every month, by new I mean that they aren't repeat or referrals. Through their advertising they are building top of mind, or so their radio and TV reps are telling them so they keep spending a ton of money each and every month on advertising but they still are only selling 100 cars each and every month.

Dealership B

Dealership B is a referral machine, they treat their customers right and work mainly through word of mouth. Management places an emphases on client follow up but they don't spend much money on traditional marketing so they aren't building a lot of NEW awareness but they are increasing their monthly unit count, but slowly.

Dealership C

Dealership C is a hybrid of Dealership A and B, they have a good marketing mix and spend a fair amount of money on tradition advertising but they also put an emphasis on customer experience and building brand ambassadors and relationship marketing (social media). They understand the Law of Compounding Customers (not really sure if it's a law, I may have just made it up! ) and that each and every single month, because 45% of their sales volume is from repeats and referrals, that they will grow perpetually, if they keep doing what they are doing.

If you follow with me here for a second I will explain in mathematical detail, to the best of my ability anyway, how you can take advantage of the Law of Compounding Customers. Let's say that in month 1, Dealership C sells 50 new customers and 35 referral and or repeat customers for a total of 85 units. Because of Dealerships C's exceptional track record they know that 45% of their customer will either come back or give them a referral.

Instead of starting from 0 each month they know that in any given month, the new customers they sold in previous months will either come back or send them referrals 45% of the time. In other words, out of the 50 they sold the previous month they can expect an additional 22 sales sometime in the future. If this keeps happening, month in and month out, the number of repeats and referrals will compound on the new customers in addition to the repeats and referrals in the previous months.

Breaking It Down

By listening to your customers and increasing the total customer experience in your business you create an environment for rampant word of mouth. If the point of sale experience matches how you portray yourself on social networks and in traditional advertising then you have the beginnings of a truly great customer experience and which increases your chance of effectiveness and frequency at creating influential brand ambassadors.

But, it all starts with listening to your customers and using that knowledge into your business operations.

This helps to make an even better customer experience.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

Twitter

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Monday, December 27, 2010

10 New Year's Resolutions for Your Dealership Which Will Create a Revolution in 2011

10 New Year's Resolutions for Your Dealership Which Will Create a Revolution in 2011!

Historically, during the week between Christmas and New Years, we all breathe a huge sigh of relief that the Christmas rush is over, and we then reflect over the success or failure of our business over the past year. A meeting with Comptroller/CPA Firm usually takes place, where the true profits are discovered after taxes, bonuses, LIFO adjustments, depreciation, etc. Our minds then shift to setting business goals, usually a percentage of increase in units and sales over the performance of the year past by! While in our personal lives, many of us set goals, we call New Year's Resolutions to perhaps lose weight, eat healthier, stop smoking, spend more time with family, etc. This year, let's consider actually setting New Year's Resolutions at our dealerships, which could revolutionize the way we are conducting our businesses, hence positively reflecting on the bottom line!

1. Setting Measurable Goals - The key word here is "measurable". Most goals are set with great intentions, but incorrectly as they are too general, lacking detailed specifics, or a game plan. If you want to set a goal of retailing 100 more new cars this year, it needs to be broken down into month, week, per salesperson, and what you need to do to accomplish this goal in regards to inventory alignment and marketing schemes. Now, weekly and almost daily, these goals can be monitored, measured and tweaked to get you back on track! Remember: "You can't manage what you can't measure!"

2. Evaluate Your Staff - Yes, take a real hard look at first your management staff and then each and every employee individually. Take time to sit with each manager and discuss both their personal goals and career goals, and enforce management doing the same for their team members. Put a monthly assessment plan into place where all employees' performance is graded in 3 areas: attitude, performance, and profitability. This in itself will cause all to bring their game up to another level and expect ramifications if they do not meet required levels of performance. Stop settling for mediocrity in your workplace, as you know the old saying, "If you can't fire them up, fire them!"

3. Train, Train, and Retrain - Why is it that everyone knows the most important step to success in your dealership is having well trained, knowledgeable employees representing your brand, your name... your shingle, yet they still don't do it! The face and the voice of the dealership, everyone who comes in contact with a prospect or client needs to know how to look, how to act and what to say, to make the most of each opportunity. Missed opportunities equate to lost sales which is the greatest profit leak in your stores in all departments. Well trained employees, equipped with professional word tracks, product knowledge, sales techniques, and a great likability factor, will minimize your lost sales and guarantee more repeat and referral business as well! Rethink training as on-going process, time set aside daily allocated for just training, rather than an orientation event!

4. Delegate and Empower - Successful "leaders" have learned the art of delegating and empowerment, two very different things. While delegating assigns a task to someone with the hopes it will get done, empowerment is so much more! Identify your strengths and weaknesses and those of your staff, as your staff members will have skills and talents allowing them to do a job better than you! Empower projects to them wisely according to their skill level, while allowing them more authority and flexibility over the assignment. The art of empowerment involves your employees, making them a part of the problems and the solutions. You will then be awarded with a committed, proactive team of individuals, whose unique skills are being developed, producing exceptional results for your dealership!

5. Create a Positive Working Environment - We all know that a positive, friendly, clean, and spirited work environment will boost employee morale, improve productivity, while reducing turnover cost which again contributes to the bottom line; however, we all do not know how to accomplish this! By human nature, employees crave structure in the workplace. A well designed handbook, job description, monthly evaluation will all contribute to helping them understand your expectations of them. Set your expectations high and they will work to exceed them! Communication is the key to building a team environment; be approachable, share company missions and goals. Show you care about each and every employee by listening to them and respecting their ideas, and extend appreciation and give recognition when due, as everyone needs to feel they are valued! Lastly, have some fun; a happy working culture breeds effective leadership, team-building, and will attract clients who want to do business with a company which breeds a positive and spirited working culture!

6. Engage in Social Media Platforms Effectively - Social Media: namely, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter for now...To engage or not to engage...That is the question! Well, YES, to be a prominent force in your marketplace, your community, you should engage, BUT engage wisely! I say this because so many dealers have Social Media accounts but are doing a poor and ineffective job engaging with their community, maintaining daily activity via posting relevant information, and learning to be an interesting and fun friend! If your dealership is not properly staffed with numbers and talent to handle this very important responsibility, consider outsourcing your Social Media. Your activity can be linked to your reputation via review sites, which will act as a 3rd party testimonial site, boosting the integrity of your business, while at the same time, increasing your search engine optimization! With over ½ billion people engaged in facebook alone, who would not want to participate effectively and even advertise on these platforms for a very cheap price? Take the leap, engage in social media wisely, and the results will be infinite!

7. Look at Your Operation through the Eyes of Your Clients - It's January 3rd, 2011 and you are driving into work... Imagine yourself as one of your prospects driving to your dealership for the first time. Maintain this role throughout the entire process of parking your car, walking up to the building, entering the building, interacting with folks, visiting the restrooms, service drive, customer lounge, etc. From an omniscient view, take a whole new look at the retail operations of your business... Is the parking clearly marked? Is the building updated, clean, and welcoming? Are the employees resonating friendly, professional, and helpful? Is your customer's time respected? Are organized processes in place? Is the customer lounge accommodating to all clients? Not only should your facility be conducive to its employees, but more importantly an attractive and proficiently run business for its prospects and customers!

8. Examine Your Current Prospecting and Marketing Practices - Are your traditional marketing and advertising methods working effectively for you? In 2011, try reexamining the allocation of your advertising budget and align funds according to what's driving the consumer to your stores! Is your web-site current and refreshed daily? Other then inventory, are you updating service and parts specials, including "What's New" content through blogs and video? Why not empower your employees to make testimonial videos differentiating you from your competition... "Why should people buy from you?" Perhaps focusing more attention to your on-line presence and email/text blasts would be more beneficial than the emphasis on the traditional print ads and radio commercials. Who really buys a car from you because they heard a loud, obnoxious ad on the radio followed by ten seconds of disclosures screaming "marketing gimmick"? Brand Imaging provides the perception of your dealership's personality, heart and soul...Although the ROI may be more difficult to measure; the proof lies in the bottom line!

9. Wrap Your Arms Around Your Community - When was the last time you and your staff reached out to the community and made a difference? Many dealerships very generously make annual contributions to causes and various charities in a monetary fashion...and that is great; however I am not talking about that! Get your entire staff involved in volunteering their time and making a mark in the community. Perhaps organizing a "clean up" day, planting flowers in town, visiting a nursing home on Valentines Day, or helping with 4th of July events! Encourage all employees to join local groups or organizations such as Lions Club, Kiwanis, Small Business Associations, etc. as this will open the door for most to engage in community affairs! Highlight local youth in your company newsletter, host a car wash for the local cheerleaders! The members of your community are prospective car buyers; however, if you enter this endeavor in the true spirit of caring, the rewards will be fruitful!

10. Schedule a Compliance Audit with a Reputable Firm - Automotive Dealerships are one of the most stringently regulated businesses in this country and our exposure to non-compliance fines and penalties is overwhelming! Do not take the risk by performing only self-audits in your dealership, but hire an expert in this field! Areas of concern include but are not limited to Privacy and Red Flag, Safety, Sexual Harassment, Deceptive Advertising, Finance Practices, Buyers Guides and Monroney labels, Right to Know, Employee Law, Cash Reporting and much more...probably over 100 federal and state regulations and requirements for car dealerships! One Attorney General Claim or lawsuit could put you out of business with actual penalties, legal fees, and the associated costs incurred through the negative publicity! Don't let this happen to you!

Perhaps all 10 resolutions I mentioned above may not apply to your dealership, maybe just pick a few and have fun with it! Gather a group of inspired, committed individuals together to form a focus group who will create a "plan of action" to put these items in motion. They can be responsible to monitor the progress or lack of, and empowered to tweak where necessary. Now buckle up your seat belts, and hold on to the dash... A Revolution for Change at your dealership in 2011 will take you to new heights in the way of profitability, as well as becoming a dominating force in the market place!

Good Luck and Happy New Year!!!

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano

229.251.2462

http://www.wardsdealer.com/interneteletter/auto_dealership__crm_101130/index.html

Can't Make it Here, We'll Take it There!

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Thursday, December 9, 2010

Auto Dealership CRM Systems Work, When Used

By Steve Finlay

LAS VEGAS The head of an 88-store dealership group regularly checks to see if his sales people make follow-up phone calls to prospects, not just send them emails.

One day, while checking his electronic activities log, he noticed one store's Internet department was skipping the calls. He phoned the manager and identified himself. At first thinking it was a prank call, the manager said, 'Yeah, right.'

When the manager realized who it was, he started making excuses, telling his boss that many customers prefer emails to phone calls.

'Baloney' said the dealer principal, who then got in his car and drove to the dealership for a face-to-face talk.

I said, 'Did you fire him?' Jonathan Ord, CEO of the customer-relationship management firm, DealerSocket, says in relating the story.

The dealer replied: 'Heck no, I didn't fire him, but he won't be doing that again.'

Ord relates the story at the recent Driving Sales Executive Summit presented with Wards Auto. His point is that successful CRM efforts require dealer principals playing active roles.

CRM software helps dealerships systematically capture, record, sort and leverage customer information on a grand scale; track sales leads from beginning to end; and keep in touch with car buyers post-sale.

VanTuyl Group's Cassie Broemmer says dealers must monitor CRM efforts.

Still, many dealerships fail to use CRM systems anywhere near their capacity.

It has to come from the top, you can't expect sales people to roll it out, says Cassie Broemmer, director-marketing and customer retention for the VanTuyl Group, a dealership chain based in Phoenix, AZ.

Management should set daily work plans, make sure calls indeed are made, monitor calls periodically for quality purposes and coach staffers on best practices, she says. You have to push it or it won't succeed.

Every customer's name and contact information needs to go into the system, says John Velicsanyi, CRM administrator for Galpin Motors Inc., a dealership group based in North Hills, CA.

His boss, Bert Boeckmann, wants that, he says. It's really important. We regularly train people on how to use the CRM system. Otherwise it's garbage in, garbage out.

Galpin Motors puts every customer's name into CRM system, John Velicsanyi says.

Part of Galpin's pay plan takes into account sales people's efforts at scheduling customer appointments.

Besides monitoring follow-ups, Galpin also looks into lost sales opportunities, Velicsanyi says. We want to know why they were lost. Sometimes, a salesperson will call back a lost customer and end up getting an appointment.

If sales managers use the CRM system, so will their staff, Ord says at a conference session on maximizing the value of existing customers.

Short-term, staffers will use CRM tools because management is monitoring them, he says. But long-term, it provides value and sells more cars.

CRM systems also allow dealers to conduct email customer-satisfaction surveys.

Ord recommends brevity. Ours asks three questions: Were you happy? Did you get what you wanted? Would you recommend the dealership to family or friends? And there's a comment box. We get a 34% response rate.

Last year, Galpin Ford put its CRM system in high gear in an effort to retain its title as the world's No.1 Ford store for the 20th year in a row.

We were 200 units behind the other store as the year was ending, Velicsanyi recalls. We put money into spiffs. We sent out emails saying, Help us be No.1 for the 20th year. We did calls, email blasts and end-of-lease programs.

Galpin ended up keeping the title by a 13-vehicle margin.

sfinlay@wardsauto.com

Find this article at:

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano