Modern Retail_A New Day For Auto Dealerships

COVID-19 has now pushed the Automotive Retail Industry into the world of Digital Retail.

Ready or not we are in the Modern Retail Era.

The buzz was around the annual National Automobile Dealer Association(NADA) Convention was about Modern Retail and the Modern Dealership. Many Dealer Principals and General Managers were kind of split about the next changes in the industry that was around the corner. Well fast forward from Feburary to March 13, 2020 just a little under a month after the convention a Stay-At-Home order was issued. This left dealerships scrambling to make the necessary changes to sell cars. This of course began the era of Modern Retail and Modern Dealerships. Modern Retail in my opinion is having customer options as to how they now get to buy or service their vehicles. Modern Dealerships are Dealerships that are now more customer focused on making the buy process simple and no longer complex with long hours of shopping inside Showrooms. Yes, the New Day did come earlier than most Dealers expected_now leaving them with two choices. You can now make the necessary adjustments to be more consumer focus by streamlining your online shopping options with home deliveries. Perhaps you can sit and doing nothing and suffer the consequences not pivoting to my the adjustments required to serve the Modern Retail Customer. Why did dealers wait to be forced into making the necessary adjustments to sell cars in now Modern Retail era that came unexpectedly? Well, many were probably looking at this like they did the Internet Sales Process that happen slowly years ago. However, there were some dealerships who took heed to what Vroom, Car-Max and Carvana where doing; they took good notice to make the necessary changes ahead of time.

Now That We Are In The Modern Retail Era, Here Is What Dealerships Must Do To Make A Transition And Mantain Business.

Dealerships must do the following to make a successful transition into the Modern Retail Era.

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How Dealerships Can Survive During A Crisis

The latest COVID-19 crisis has placed dealerships in a place of adjustments and uncertain times that will change the way business will be done moving forward. These are now the time to step and get stronger by using this time wisely.

Four Things Dealerships Must Do During A Crisis.

1 Do Not Panic!

These times are tough and I get that but the worst thing that you and your dealership staff can do is panic. As a leader within your dealership the worst thing you can do is to allow anxiety, negativity, or worry set in among your leadership team. Maybe you had to make some tough decisions to let go of some people, managers and sales staff or even shutdown your sales department. As a leader it is your job to keep your team’s head in the game and do not allow them to operate in fear!

2 Streamline Your Business

Now is a perfect time to make some adjustments to get your business stronger by streamlining your process. I suggest getting together with your Leadership Team on Zoom, Go To Meeting, Skype or whatever is a great way for you to communicate with your team virtually. Begin to take a look at all your dealerships processes and procedures and begin to evaluate them, make them stronger. Look at your expense structure and go line by line to take a look at advertising expenses too, evaluate if some of these expenses are necessary. However, you decide to streamline your business so when this is over you come out stronger than before.

3 Connect More Deeply With Your Customers

I truly believe that this is a great time for dealerships to take deep dive and really begin to connect deeper with their customer base. Now more than ever your will need to make a stronger effort to connect with your customers. Right now is the time for Owners to get out and make more appearance on Social Media to speak with their customers. Begin by making more announcements with your customers letting them know your are behind our essential workers. Send out video emails to reach out to your customers and let them know that you care about them as to letting them know what your are doing to ensure safety. Of course keep your home test drives and deliveries going and discover ways to make the buying experience more convenient for your customers.

4 Adopt Modern Technology That Fits The Buyers

Whether you agree or not technology is not going away and will continue to get better with time. Which will require you to get better with time, in fact it has already inspired some dealerships to get a head of time. In recent poll of 2200 people conducted by Autotrader, stated that 48 percent of adults say scheduling a test drive during their next purchase would be very appealing. Autotrader also discovered that among middle-income class adults, those making between $50K and $100K-are most likely to say test drives are important. I am quite sure you know this already but I want to remind you of the importance of a test drive. Wouldn’t this be even better if your customers could go your website to schedule a test drive or make a service appointment without having to call in? I believe this is where you need to be because there are dealerships out there already on top of this matter. Now is the time to get modern technology in your dealerships to improve your buyers experience.

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Two Things Sales Managers Must Do Inside A Dealership Daily

73% of Sales Managers spend less 5% of their time coaching their Sale People, according to TAS Group recent study.

The number of help wanted ads will never go away if we don’t stop the bleeding when it comes to Sales Turnover in the Automobile Industry. For some reason we keep having the attitude of the next man up and the next man up continues to provide your dealerships with the same results of placing a help wanted ad which is costing you tons of dollars. Just look in your CRM Tool and it will tell you everything you need to know about your sales; on average dealerships lose around 70% of the business they generate each month. The average store closing percentage is around 30% when it comes to sales closing percentages each month. Many asked the questions what can we do to change the turnover problem? How can we increase our sales each month? How can we increase our gross profits? Well there are two things that all Sales Managers, General Managers and Dealer Principals must do which I will tell you in this short video that can help you to turn this issue around Sales Turnover and save you money as well as make you more money.

We must do these two things in our dealerships.

How To Display A Championship Attitude

LeBron James, starred right into the face of a racial hate crime committed against him on the eve of the NBA finals last week showing why he is a true imitator of a person with a Championship Attitude. During a recent press conference, LeBron clearly displayed the essence of  Championship Attitude while answering questions from the press while being under pressure to make a quest to win another NBA championship. 

You have to commend LeBron James’s response to a distraction that occurred during one of the world’s biggest Professional sporting events. 

Despite making his seventh consecutive NBA Finals, superstar athlete LeBron James was faced with questions that seem to point to his property being vandalized with a racial slur being spray painted on the gate of his Los Angeles home. You would think that most athletes in the NBA Finals would usually be set be addressed the media with questions surrounding the Championship series opening game one. However, in LeBron’s case that was different in the way that he was faced with questions surrounding social injustice in the line of racism in America. 

Handled it like a Champion 

LeBron James fielded questions from the media with class and dignity although he was the victim of a hate crime on Wednesday May 31, 2017. When asked how he felt about the vandalism that was done his to home, he simply replied “it’s tough being black in America.” He also referred to the fact the we still have a long way to go with racial equality. Not to mention he referred back in history by referencing to the death of young Emmit Till, a young Chicago Black teen murdered in Mississippi many years ago that left a lasting stain on racism in America. He also mentioned how Emmit Till’s mother wanted the world to see the sickening things that racism did to her child by choosing to have an open casket at her son’s funeral. LeBron’s no historian but he showed “World Class Athelete Status” in keeping his composure under the circumstances surrounding his personal challenges. LeBron’s attitude also revealed the true character of a person with a true Championship Attitude. Attitude + Energy

Through it all LeBron James was cool confident and focused on becoming a NBA Champion for the fourth time. This is  so important for him and his legacy which has already been scrutinized by many as an athlete who many critics feel that he isn’t deserving of being mentioned in the likes of so many NBA greats before him. So no social injustice has seemed to have distracted him from locking in and performing the way his team and fans alike expect him to perform. Right now LeBron James is faced with many challenges both on and off the court. I only expect him to do what winners do and that’s to display a Championship Attitude no matter what win or lose, controversy or not, LeBron James will remain focused on attempting to win his fourth ring.

How does LeBron James continue to display himself as professional with a Championship Attitude during challenging circumstances?

1. Courage: All champions always display courage during trying situations or in LeBron’s case handling all the distractions that occur despite being in the NBA Finals. Showing up to a press conferences whether his team wins or not. 
2. Composure: Championship Attitude is totally about focusing on your feelings, thoughts, actions and emotions. Most of all learning to channel your attitude into one focused positive attitude. Basically, LeBron displayed that his composure was great as well under control during the recent press conference and he was not going to be affected by the actions of  others(negativity). Why? because he has learned how control his feelings, thoughts, action and emotions with a Championship Attitude. 
3. Positive Attitude: LeBron has for the most part of his career has always kept his feelings, thoughts, actions and emotions under control, especially during trying circumstances. This has to be tough for high profile athlete such as LeBron James, who has to deal with tough criticism from so many people. Through it all he has consistently displayed a positive attitude, one which we all can learn from him. 
4. Confidence: If you want see the tell-tell sign of someone who displays a Championship Attitude, just look no further than their self confidence. LeBron James has for most part shown a great display of confidence in himself despite facing so many challenges over his career. If you want to display a Championship Attitude start with self confidence. One must believe in themselves before they can ever move forward toward their success. Confidence is simply arrogance under control as was once told by my mentor Walter Bond, a top ten speaker in the motivational speaking world. So never be sorry for your confidence as long as it is not absurd and you still display humility just LeBron James does during his appearances in the public eye.

* You got to give respect to LeBron James for his continued display of how to have a Championship Attitude despite all the negative people and circumstances attempting to bring his attitude down.

We can learn a lot from others observing someone’s feelings, listening to their thoughts and viewing the actions during challenging times. 

LeBron James may not be liked by many but many we all can learn to do what he did this past week each time he has been challenged by negativity, is to rise above the noise!

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Why Life Challenges Are The Keys To Your Success!

Life can sometimes seem as if you are in the starting blocks, staring down a series of hurdles(challenges) waiting for you to clear them.

Challenges

We all deal with challenges from the time we are born up until the day we die_it is just a given each day. Our challenges can be as simple as deciding what to wear or even what to eat during meal time. As we all know too they can be difficult in a variety of ways such as solving a problem or figuring out a solutions to a problem whether personal or business related.

Challenges are the majority of the time stressful and none the less no fun to the average individual. The average individual is someone who reacts to a challenge as if they were a soda pop with salt being poured into them; they typically get all fizzled and bent out shape the second they are met with a challenge. Some may even show signs of panic and fear when faced with challenges. Challenges aren’t anything when haven’t faced before; if we would just take a second or two to look back at our past challenges to see that they too were survived, with most of them being solved successfully. We can learn a lot from our past if we could just think back when we were faced with a challenge.

Ways To Face Your Challenges

• Refuse to live in fear:  In today’s society fear is a epidemic that has caused so many people to concede to defeat. If  you desire to win in life you, then you better get over your fears quickly and face your challenges head on. Live by faith and do not draw back in fear. Life is too short to live in that regretful scenario of  “I would of, could of and I should of.” Just simply refused let fear hold you hostage.
• Put setbacks behind you: All too often when we face a challenge we typically recall in our minds previous experiences that didn’t go well. This should be a clear indicator to focus on the challenge that is and to put the previous setbacks in the rear view mirror_never looking back. Know this you are not a failure because you tried somethings previously and they didn’t work. You are a failure when you don’t attempt to face a challenge because of fear. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and if you do get over it and press on! 
• Don’t draw comparisons to others: Reaching your greatness will never happen if you keep comparing yourself and your challenges to others. Be Bold and face your challenges head on, take risks and never compare yourself to someone else’s life. Besides your story is your story and no one else’s. Boldness comes from being who you are and accepting the challenges that are presented in your life.
• Be willing to take action: If you are going to be successful in life, you must continue to take action. Even when you are challenged in life’s circumstances. You can never sit around having a pity party for yourself over challenges that you maybe facing. Search your heart by asking yourself what risks are you willing to take for success? Remember, it has been said that success is failure repeated until a breakthrough happens.  In order to successful, you must take action!

* Master these four keys and your Life, your career will be successful.

Be Great

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You Must Stay Motivated

In today’s world it is essential that you remain motivated daily. No matter what your life circumstances may deal you, you have find ways to remain motivated. If you are ever going to achieve your goals and see your dreams come true you have to remain motivated daily. You are the one who truly understands your “Why” and why you get out of bed each day. However, I want to remind you that some days will be tougher than others and is crucial for you to keep that motivation to get going on the challenging days. 

Please know that there will be circumstances that set you back; of course as Dr. Willie Jolley says “set backs are a set up for a comeback.” So it is essential that you remain motivated in order to succeed.

How do you stay motivated?

Ways To Stay Motivated 

1.) Think Positive: 

A positive mindset is far better than a negative mindset. This means you gotta believe in yourself always. Trust and believe that you can do anything your heart desires. Attitude is always your choice, so choose a winning Championship Attitude.

2.) Have quiet time daily: 

This is principle that most Christian practice daily, some may call it’s devotion or meditation and prayer. Basically it is essential for you stay motivated by getting alone each morning and begin to focus on the steps that must be taken to achieve your success or a time period where you focus on your daily tasks that need to be completed. 

3.) Visualize your “Why”:

Know what you want and visualize what your finished product will look like. You must know what you want and what it will look like when you reach your goal destination. Perhaps place pictures in your phone or photos on your computer to remind daily to stay motivated. 

4.) Eat and Drink healthy: 

The key to you staying motivated is eating the proper foods and drinking plenty of water. You may not agree with me here but trust me what you put in your body does effect you physically and mentally. As you get older you will discover you cannot eat unhealthy meals and load your body with sugary liquids. Your thinking needs be clear and you must be energized to stay motivated. My suggestions are less fried foods more fruits and vegetables; of course drink plenty of water.

5.) Exercise often:

Just liked watching what you put in your body is important, so is exercising. You must know and I am sure you should already know that if you want success it will not be easy and stress is a given to occur from time to time. How we handled our setbacks and let downs can wear on the mind and body. My life changed drastically nearly four years ago as I became ill and suffered from chest pains to daily headache. After six months of doctor visits tests and second opinions, it was discovered I needed open heart surgery. This was from a birth defect in which I was born with and lucky for me it was detected early enough to correct it. I am now fully convinced that stress and being in demotivated environment was key to my health issues. I suggest that everyone implement exercise into their routine at least 5 days a week. 

6.) Surround yourself with positive energetic people: 

I cannot stress this enough, that no one can be successful without the help of other people. Simply put people need people. However, successful people need positive energetic people around them. Energy drives creates excitement and that keeps the motivation in the air. If you are going to remain motivated you must have people around to help you be accountable and to be motivated. Motivational Speakers need daily motivation and so do you if you want be successful and remain successful. Positive people are necessary to keep your motivation alive. It also allows you to do things for your group, which  in turn makes you feel good and motivated to keep progressing toward your success.

Success just cannot happen with your “Why,” your visions, your goals and a team of people who are positive of course a joy to work with. It takes days motivation, stay motivated and great things will happen to you.

Follow these principles and stay motivated with your daily actions. Most of all don’t give up and don’t you dare given in until you win!

About Roger,

A professional speaker who has as message on Championship Attitude that has inspired schools, college students, corporations and dealerships on the importance of winning attitudes. Also a former high school teacher and coach who was once named teacher of the year as well coach of the year. Roger is currently writing a book on Urban Education in America, which tells the story of his teaching career and why it is imperative that we get more Black Males in education in Urban Schools across the country. This book will be a must read if you are an educator or involved in Urban America today. 

http://rogerlovespeaks.com/

Has your business organization seemed to have lost its “Magic”?

* So many businesses, organizations, teams and franchises have lost their “Magic”. What I mean by “Magic” is that many business organizations have forgotten what their keys to their success were, which made them great and successful. No longer are they head and shoulders above the competition. Simply put, most organizations have become average, stagnant and in some instances they have become below average. They have developed a new status-quo called “just getting by” and many times it always brings dissatisfaction and turmoil to all involved. 

Two weeks ago the Los Angeles Lakers, a once storied franchise in professional sports realized that they too had lost their “Magic” and are currently going through some rough times, they haven’t made the playoffs since 2012-2013 season where they were ousted by The San Antonio Spurs 4-0. The Los Angeles Lakers for years were well celebrated for their winning traditions and was once the hottest sports ticket in all of sports. However, they lost their owner Dr. Jerry Buss who orchestrated the winning traditions with the franchise, who passed away a few years ago in 2013 and was then taken over by Buss’ daughter Jeanie Buss. The Lakers also lost Phil Jackson and of course Kobe Bryant in as many recent years. They soon looked around and saw the “Magic” was gone. The winning traditions had stopped. Along with the loss of winning traditions came dissatisfaction in their fan base and in their franchise performance as well. Something was missing, something had been forgotten. 

That something  missing was the “Magic” that once developed those past winning traditions; well actually Ervin “Magic” Johnson, who outside of Jerry West and Kobe Bryant (known by many as the most popular Laker today), Magic Johnson however, was seen as the face of the Lakers Franchise for years. So this month Jeanie Buss, the Lakers Governor and owner knew she was tired of missing the “Magic” and slowly brought back the one person she knew loved the Los Angeles Laker organization just as much as she and her father did which was Magic Johnson in an advisory role. Magic Johnson, once signed a lifetime deal with the Lakers as a player, where he had won Five World Championships before being forced to retire due his HIV contraction. So Jeanie Buss brought back Magic Johnson, who had been involved with the organization off and on for years was brought back to serve as an adviser to the organization but Magic Johnson knew that if he was going have a chance to bring back the “Magic” to the Los Angeles Lakers, he knew that he would need to be a shot-caller (the Boss). So Jeanie Buss, had to make some tough decisions in letting go of her current General Manager, Mitch Kuchak removing her brother Jim Buss from his position as President of Basketball Operations and named Magic Johnson as President of Basketball Operations for the  Lakers.

* So why Ervin Magic Johnson?

Well it’s simple, Magic Johnson has the “Magic” and will bring the “Magic” back to the Los Angeles Lakers organization. So what is the “Magic”? The “Magic” is simply put, implementing a Championship Attitude; it is a culture of positive attitude with the desire and the will to win Championships at all cost.

How can you and Magic Johnson bring the “Magic” back to your business organizations? 

* Here are a few ways you and the Los Angeles Lakers can get the “Magic” back into your businesses.

1. Make the Choice to be Great. 
2. Make sure everyone knows the organization’s goals and intentions.
3. Make sure everyone in the organization knows their importance to the company’s success.
4. Divise a plan with a timeline.
5. Create a winning culture with active dialogue and communication.
6. Eradicate excuses and hold everyone accountable for their actions.
7. Develop positive coaching and mentoring.
8. Make it clear that failure is NOT an option.
9. Be Relentless.

* You can bring the “Magic” back to your business, team or organization by implementing the Championship Attitude methodology to create a winning culture. 

For more information about bringing back the “Magic” and how to implement the “Championship Attitude into your business please contact us.

Be Great!

Roger

Attitude + Energy = Now

Stress is the number one killer of our hopes and dreams, which is inflicted by fear. We spend a great deal of our lives hoping and wishing for something to happen in our favor but for some reason we become afraid to step out on faith. The truth of the matter is we as humans have allowed our minds to conceit to fear and defeat. This is often caused by the Attitude and Energy we chose to have at the time. We live in the now everyday and we must have the right Attitude and Energy daily to live out our dreams of being successful. How does one go about reaching their hopes and dreams? By Having the choice to have the right Attitude and put forth your best Efforts(Energy) every time without fail.

Know that you have the power to Be Great in your “Now” situations. 

The keys to controlling your situations that are happening right now, is by choosing the right Attitude and of  course the right Energy. If we want to be successful, we must change our thought process when facing challenges.

Re-program Your Mind

You have one of the most powerful computers in the world and that is of course your brain. Your brain is more powerful than a load gun and of course it could be resourceful when positive or it can be deadly if filled with negativity. The brain operates solely on our attitudes.

Attitude 

Attitude is a choice we make daily, from hour to hour or perhaps right own down to the minutes and seconds. That choice is always good or bad with no in between feelings when it comes down to your attitude. The word “Attitude” adds up to one-hundred, if add mathematically which means you have to make a one-hundred percent choice about your feelings. Your feelings towards someone, something that has happened in the right “Now.”  That choice was derived from our thought process on how we view and see things shaping out. It is usually factored by a past experience or the influence of people or things around us. Our minds(brains) can sometimes, well majority of the times will make a decision on how we should feel in the “Now.”  This of course triggers our energy which controls our efforts and what type energy we will have in a situation. In order for is to be successful we must be willing to change how we think. Attitude plus Energy will equal how you act everyday. Here are several keys of learning to develop a positive attitude.

• Get up daily and begin to meditate on the day ahead. Know that there may be some obstacles and setbacks.
• Have a game plan “B” the back up plan for the unexpected.
• Read positive material daily.
• Spend less time watching television.
• Surround yourself with positive like minded people. 
• Choose a mentor to help you and hold you accountable.
• Exercise 5 days a week forty minutes to an hour. You need have energy to combat negative energy and stress.
• Immediately remove yourself from negative situations.
• Laugh and laugh often 
• Never complain 
• Have a “Pity Party” for yourself when needed. Be sad momentarily and think of ways to learn from a total let down situation.
• Have a “I will, I can, I must” determined to succeed attitude.

* If you want to be successful live in the now by controlling your attitude and keeping your energy level positive. Do not allow yourself to live in the past with tragic events that took place previously. Just have faith in the skills you have acquired to assist you to live in the “Now.” 

Press on in 2017 you must live in the present moments with positive energy. Besides your energy level doesn’t lie. 

Be Great,
Roger

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Discovering what’s your singular  priority to close more sales.

In today’s world we often find ourselves multitasking with multiple-pages of to do lists jammed packed with projects seems to be what many people are faced with daily. Whether you are a entrepreneur or working with an organization in sales, we are always attempting to complete the daily priorities that are necessary to succeed in sales and business. The word “priority” is singular, not plural. It is referencing to what matters the most. A direct singular focus.

Direct Focus 

 Direct focus requires one to spend a large amount of time on one thing that could lead to improvement in sales immediately. If you can answer this one question, it may give your that singular focus: “what can you do to make things easier now and eliminate the unnecessaries? Your answer could very well be, provide yourself with the laser-locked in focus you need to close more sales. Focusing on one thing at a time will help you to see the big picture to your success.

The  Big Picture

Once you find that singular focus, everything else will typically fall into place. The key to the big picture is developing that direct focus on what’s necessary in order to paint the big picture and bringing understanding to your mission. Your direct focus will predict how you spend your time. 

Attitude and Skills 

Your attitude and skills is what aligns a salesperson’s one thing. Direct focus will lead to spending a lot of time mastering the skills necessary for improving your end results, a sale and customer satisfaction. 

The Extraordinary Key

The Secrets to Successful Selling

• Discover the that “Direct Focus” to improve results immediately.
• Align your purpose with priority, along with passion and skill.
• Commit to success; the best way to do that is by a step by step process.
• Schedule your most important work when your will power is high. Only you will know when it is you perform the best.
• Think BIG, never think small about what you can achieve.
• Eliminate destructive distractions that can limit your focus, i.e television, social media or uninspired people.

This is just scratching the surface as to what you maybe capable of if your develop a Great foundation such these actions. Align these actions with your purpose, with your priority and it may soon lead to increased sales. 

So let’s put these principles in place and into action to close more sales.

*Remember, consistency is the driving force to your success.

*You have to become faithful or few to be ruler over many. Start by building your success in sales with a direct singular focus on one thing that would really accelerate your path to success.

Be Great,

Roger

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Be Strong and Courageous in 2017

There is no time for fear if you are planning on achieving the goals you have set  for yourself this year to become a reality. 

The Year 2016 has left a lasting impression of fear and doubt in the minds of many people throughout the world. We just completed a Presidential Election that left the United States of America in division and turmoil. People are living there lives in fear and worry, searching for answers to their concerns. I haven’t observed in years the the level rudeness people are dishing out to one another; verbally and physically abusing one another to the point where good deeds have gone almost unnoticed. Where’s the Love, where’s the respect and most of all where’s the courage? The courage for people to be free and live out their hopes, their dreams. People are so fearful to point of mental paralysis; their minds are stuck on all the reasons they cannot be successful in 2017. This of course is a time for taking action this Year and most people have set out reach new heights with new goals. The question is how will most people ever reach their new heights this year?  Start by being Strong and Courageous in all their efforts.

This past week was special in the United States of America for a couple of reasons. The first is we celebrated the birthday of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr., which is observed as a National Holiday in the United States of America. The second was the inauguration of a new President of the United States of  America. What does the two events have to to do with one another? The answer is simple, they both involve people who were as well must be strong and courageous individuals to do the or have done the unthinkable jobs of leadership. 

Be Strong and Courageous 

In order to make your visions and dreams come true, you are going to need to be Strong and Courageous.

*Principles to consider if you desire success and progress in your life goals.

1. Place written action plans in effect. No longer can you afford to sit idle waiting for the right time or opportunity.
2. Become a “Risker Taker.” You cannot afford to live out  your goals and dreams living in fear of failure or facing rejection. “Risker Takers” are use hearing no but will not take no for a final answer to determine the fate of their goals and dreams. 
3. Assume responsibility for all your results. You gotta accept the good with the bad if you are strong and courageous enough to accept responsibility for your success and setbacks. This will empower you in ways you couldn’t imagine. You see, when can accept your action in both good and bad, your building strength as well courage into your aspirations(character).
4. “Massive Action,” will rule of all your despondencies. No longer will you be living or acting in fear if you have enough action required to reach your goals and dreams. For example, if you’re making twenty-five sales phone calls per day, sooner later you are destined to have to success. Even if it is just an opportunity to close a deal in the future. Your activity will grant growth and opportunity every time.
5. Use fear as a indicator of growth. Last week I stated “do something that scares the hell out of you!” You see, discomfort can and should become an indicator that you are on the brink of greatness. It’s essential that you develop a sense of being aware that you are about to have a breakthrough. 
6.   Be consistent, day in and day out work your plan. Don’t slack off on your early morning wake up. Don’t slack off on your daily activities. Show up everyday, even when you do feel like it; this will help you to develop strength and courage. 

Lastly, you cannot be successful in anything you do with having the will to sacrifice and the will to be relentless until you win! 

Be Strong and Courageous in 2017

Roger Love

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How to Setup Your 2017 to be a Successful Year

“What Are You Hoping For This Year?

If you are reading this, then you are in a position to WIN again in 2017! The start of a New Year always gives us a chance to renew our goals and visions that we had in place from last year along with the ones we have for this year. This NEW chance we have, gives us hope for each of the present days we wake up to. Which means of course we have to do a couple things to make our goals attainable in 2017.

3 Things We Must Do To Be Successful in 2017

(1) Write down your Goals 

You are more likely to attain success in reaching your goals if you write them ALL down. Write down your personal, business, spiritual and other things that you desire to accomplish this year. These goals are to be viewed daily. This is how you learn to stay sharp and dominate your competition. Now, you also need to put together an action plan mapping things out, how you are going to get there and what’s it going take. This simply means that every morning or night before you go to bed, start writing your goals. This is crucial to moving you closer to your accomplishments you have set for yourself. When writing out your yearly goals make them lofty, write down a goal that you have been wanting to achieve as an individual or for your company that you have been hesitant about doing it. In other words write down a goal that scares the “Hell”out of you! Knowing you have written down this scary goal will anchor your commitment and will force you to be accountable which will propel your daily performance. You see, when you write down what you want to accomplish daily, it locks you in to be laser focused on your goals and it keeps the long term goals fresh in your vision.

(2) Write out everything you plan to do daily 

Vision is important to successful people when comes to keeping something fresh in their minds, they choose to see their goals daily. This is done by writing goals(action plans) down daily whether they are big or small, successfully writing out your to do lists can be beneficial to your level of commitment. Today, more than ever we can not afford to be distracted from our goals. Write out everything you need to daily and decide what’s important and list each tasks as such. If you have your own company or are accountable for a company’s performance as a leader, then this is definitely important. Leadership requires vision and the vision must be clear to all involved in order to be successful.

(3) Be Consistent 

The most successful people and leaders in the world all have one thing in common and that is consistency. Consistency requires a certain level of  commitment and discipline. That level of commitment and discipline has to be so intense that you become obsessed with your goals daily as well as long term. I realize people are sometimes freaked out by people who are highly obsessed with the goals because and they are seen as freaks of nature by some. However, those freaks of nature achieve their goals because they are driven, focused and determined. This thus requires one to be consistent and generally makes these kind of people consistent in their daily activities. You must have great habits and rituals to be successful in achieving your goals. Consistency is the key to your level of success. 

Follow these these three simple things and your 2017 could be your best YEAR ever!

Have an AWESOME 2017!
Be Great,

Roger Love 

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Things to do With Your Extra Hour During The End of Daylight Savings Time.

What will you do with your extra hour tomorrow?
Tomorrow morning at 2:00 AM we will set our clocks back one hour. What does this mean for us and how do we take advantage of it?

Yes, we have all heard it multiple times that time is precious to us and we should use it wisely. 

Well tonight when go to bed on November 5, 2016 we will wake up gaining one hour more in the Morning. This began many years ago 1908 in Thunder Bay in Ontario, Canada and soon spread to Germany in 1916, where they became the first county to implement it entirely. Benjamin Franklin came up with the idea to save candle wax burning and encouraging people to get up earlier to take advantage of the Daylight as he wrote an article in the Journal of Paris titled “Reducing The Cost of Light.” The whole idea was to get people up to take advantage of daylight. 

The United States tossed the idea around starting with President Woodrow Wilson signing it in law during World War I and of course we did not fully adopt into the United States until 1981. Today the last adaptation to Daylight Savings Time was done By President George W. Bush in 2005 which extended it another month, thus bringing us to where we are today. So, what will you do with your extra hour? I have few suggestions for you as to how you can take advantage of your extended time.

1. Get up and read a book you would like read but just didn’t have time.
2. Praying and Meditating: helps to get your mind prepared for your day.
3. Planning out your future projects
4. Completing an unfinished project.
5. Hit the gym again; working out is always a great thing.
6. Spend time with family and loved ones; there is nothing more important.
7. Writing your goals for 2017
8. Recommitment to goals your started this year.
9. Planning your next vacation.
10. Eating the breakfast that you often rush through or miss out on.

Time is truly precious and we must value it especially when we only get time back once a year!

* Time falling back is used to get us prepared for the start of Winter, which also gives us time to prepare, repair things in our lives or just some time to catch our breath and reflect on our lives. 

How will you use your time tomorrow? 

Think about this, tomorrow November 6,2016  is the only day this year we get time back!

Be Great,

Roger

Find out more about Roger Love

Advertising and Marketing Don’t Sell Cars…Here’s why

The average dealership spends 8 times more on advertising and marketing than they do on training.

I’m a firm believer that you can spend all the money you want on advertising , but if you do not have skilled sales people to make,  deals you are wasting money_big time!

Time and time again we see all kinds of dealership advertising and marketing shemes attempted to bring customers on their lots. Yet, when they arrived the majority of the time they are greeted by untrained and unskilled sales people who does not have enough skill or finess to get the customer from the lot into the showroom office. The customers are showing up on your lot at the expense of at least $600/ customer based off your advertising budget and leaving without your management team getting the opportunity put together a deal. I know this sounds simple, but dealerships advertise to sell cars and make money, however, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Advertising and marketing dollars are spent with the intent to gain a return on your investment correct? When truly you are not spending top dollar on your biggest asset, your sales staff who must be skilled enough to get that return on your investment. You spend big bucks with advertising agencies to recruit and hire sales people_you soon take it for granted that the bucks have spent hiring a sales staff is enough to get the job done. Of course dealerships want immediate returns on their investment. You see, this is where most dealerships comtinue to get it all wrong. They stop investing training dollars in their sales and management staff.

How do you get the most out of your money to sell cars?

Start by spending more on training your sales staff. 

Learning something new is and has always been important to improvement. Most dealerships have poor training and development processes in place which is why they cannot get fair return on their investments.

Your sales people sell cars_dealerships don’t!

Know this that no matter how much money you spend on mailers, radio spots, television ads or monthly campaign themes, if your sales people are not discipline and skilled it won’t help sell cars. The name of the game is to generate revenue when comes to advertising and marketing. However, the name of the game should be train to gain and retain; train your people on how to sell cars, close deals of the advertising you spent big bucks on and train the how to retain customers for repeat as well as referral business.

Let’s look at it this way.

If you spend and balance your expenses to spend more on training like advertising, the great things will start to happen. 

Just imagine if you got your entire sales management team and sales team sold_motivated on the importance of training. Of course along with the commitment of spending big bucks on training to structure a great regimen to incorporate advertising and training together in your monthly expenses. Imagine teaching your people how to get in front of customers with your advertising and how to handle the customer properly. Can also imagine that if you transformed an average 8 car sales person who only sell 2 out the 10 customers they meet into a person who now can sell 6 or 7 of the 10 customers they meet on your lot? Now we are talking big bucks and a return on your investment. Just think if you can have consistent training on daily basis how much more your gross per car could improve as well as your net profit. One can only be tickled pink if you could have doubled your training dollars how much more your net profit could double. Talking about return on your investment.

Advertising can prove to be great if…

But if your sales staff does not know how to get a customer more interested in the advertised product, sell them on why they should buy from your store and keep them excited about coming in on your advertisement_ then you are truly Not going get a reuturn on your investment.

You see truly advertising doesn’t sell cars at all. Advertising is a tool used to bring the customer to your store with excitement and interest. Now your sales team has to be coached up and prepared to keep the customer excited about buying a car.

Practice, Drill, Rehearse 

Professional sports teams are peak performers when it comes to their profession. This means they practice daily, drill daily and rehearse daily to be great. That means when it’s game time the are ready to perform at the top level, providing professional services. Question for dealerships are you truly putting professional in front customers you spent big bucks on to bring into your store to gain a return on your investment? Or are you just putting average sales people in front of customers with the hope of selling cars off of your advertising in which you spent big bucks on? You have got to know by now advertising will only get you so far with average sales people. 

Now is the time to start investing in developing well trained and well Coached professional sales people who can give you the return on your investment by training your sales staff on how to do the following:

Get: a true sales professional know how get customers from your advertisement and gain their true interest in your product_selling them a car. (ROI)

Sell: you certainly have to have trained sales people who have been trained and disciplined on the selling process on how to sell cars. So many times sales people who are average skip steps repeatedly and it cost you twice the most with those big bucks you spend on advertising. You must training and train differently than you have been and create a smooth, consistent selling process that will give you a great opportunity to close a deal.

Keep: Average sales people may sales cars off your advertisement however, professionally trained sales people know how sell and get repeat business from their sold customers. If you invest dollars in training you will be able to keep those customers by having a sales person who will follow up if customer leaves without buying from your advertisement, they certainly work to get the back in to the store doubling your chances to close the deal. Retaining your customers starts with training. 

Commitment: a dealership that trains together will certainly gain together. If dealerships will make solid commitment to training together by teaching best practices and processes… then your return on your investment will be great.

Know that training will sell far more cars than advertisement if you are willing to make a commitment to spending big bucks on training.

Be Great, 

Roger

Interested in bringing Roger to your store?

Why Training Will Keep You In The G.A.M.E.

Your odds if making sales in the car business will increase to 80% if you do it right.

When will Dealerships and Management teams learn the value of training? 

For the last 25 years I spent the majority of my career in people leadership. I started out in Education as a Teacher-Coach and later in Automotive Sales Management. In both professions I had great success early on and throughout my careers. The reason for my early success is due to training and ongoing training. Training as I was once taught by a mentor _training is what keeps you in the G.A.M.E.  it’s what  compels people to become successful. The word “game” I am going to break it down to you in the form of an acronym so you can understand this concept as it relates training and success.

Athletics was once a huge part of my life as kid, which is why I truly believe I am successful at what I do today along with the accomplishments I have made in my lifetime. As you know athletics just like anything else we learn requires a learning phase –Education-Knowledge first. 

Education-Knowledge 

As former educator I truly understand that learning is and should always be an ongoing process. In other words you should never stop learning if you want continued growth. However, what usually happens to a great number of people is the educate themselves, gain a little knowledge and stop after reaching a certain level of success. When their competition is constantly educating themselves to become bigger, faster and stronger than they ever was. You see, these kind of people know and trust the Education-Knowledge phase. They see value in education and become inspired to gain knowledge to improve themselves along with their position in the corporate world. Successful people on any level in the world know the importance of educating themselves to gain knowledge which gives them the edge over the opposition. While, people who think and dream about being successful sit on the sidelines making excuses about why they can’t and aren’t successful. These people are average and have the same opportunity as their competition, but they refuse further educate themselves to gain the knowledge they need to compete with others in being successful. Right now and just like it has always been the people and successful businesses are committed to education in order to gain knowledge, which winners view education as their gateway to success. This is ( Education-Knowledge) what keeps you in the G.A.M.E. You must master all phases of the G.A.M.E.

The following phases are what I truly believe will keep individuals and businesses on pace to be successful consistently.

G. Represents that there must be quest for constant growth. 

As rule I truly believe that if  your are going to successful in anything, you must first have a vision of where you are and where you want to go. Not only where you want go but what you want your success to look like, who it involves, your people needed, your level of education needed along with constant benchmarks to measure where you are. I mean every single day there should be goals and reminders for you to see and the people on your team to see the daily progress. In other words there should be goals set i.e., like the dealership I managed we mastered growth by setting goals constantly for us to pursue daily. When where were the number one volume store in the Midwest we set a goal of  a ten percent increase every month and every year. We placed a individual sales chart and store sales chart to be viewed by both the management and the sales team. We also encouraged in store competition along with visualizing where our competition was in the zone. The most important activity in the growth process was how we kept our eyes on th ultimate prize, which was how well the Nationwide stores were doing in volume selling the same product we did; we were searching constantly for growth. We kept reminders in front our people to keep ourselves in the G.A.M.E. However, the most important phase we emphasized daily was training; keeping that Education-Knowledge phase as the foundation to our success.

A. Activities and Actions are key to keeping you in the G.A.M.E.

What you do with daily activity in anything weather it business, education, sports or just simply in competition will be the end results of your level of success. I view daily activity as habits and rituals-what you and people are doing daily. You have start great habits and rituals by teaching your people great skills. This has to happen with the understanding that it has start out with you or someone educating and developing skills in you along with your staff to begin to advance your business to another level. by executing these skills daily. Your training and skills activities must be done in the form of practice, drill, rehearse(PDR). Daily training activities must be engraved into your people so deeply until it formulates into skill set that is valuable enough to move your business forward. These skills that have been developed are now a must that you put into action each day, now your people don’t have to think about what they should be doing, they should just react confidently in their performance. Your actions and activities will keep you in the game. However, you cannot allow complacency to set in. You must measure and evaluate where your actions and activities have brought you. Now the question should be are we growing and where do we need improve in order to grow? To stay the game your actions and activities must become so massive with the intent of sustaining a constant growth to keep you in the G.A.M.E.

M.

Motivation is a huge part of being in the G.A.M.E. if you plan on be successful at what is you do and desire for your business.

So many people and businesses fail simple because they lose motivation! As simple and silly as it may seem that I am saying this, it is so true. You must stay motivated and keep your people inspired and motivated. I cannot tell you enough how many times I have spoken on the phone to meeting planners and  General Managers who were requesting to bring Motivational Speakers like myself to motivate and inspire their people. You see, if companies, schools, dealerships and athletic teams understand that motivation is key to staying in the G.A.M.E., then you along with your entire leadership staff had better take notice and know that you must consistently look for ways to motivate your people to be successful consistently.  I know money drives and motivates many but you must discover other sources to motivate your people. One way is through the leadership in your building. Leaders if your are them must know they are the teacher, coach, motivator and inspiration to your staff. Which means they must have  what I call a ” Championship Attitude.” A “Championship Attitude” simply put is leader who knows what it takes to get the motor in their team going and they will not stop until they see the results that are needed to win a championship in their field. Success cannot happen without positive impactful leaders who are simply a reflection of the Education- Knowledge phase taught and emphasized by you the leaders of yourorganizations. Motivation is what will really keep you and your team focused on the ultimate goals. Motivation will make people know how important they are to the team, it will inspire them to do their best everyday, it will create self-accountability and most of all it will inspire great habits and rituals to be great at what they do. Your job as the leader of your, business, school or team is to educate, motivate and inspire your people to achieve greatness and nothing else. A clear indicator of that is when you post daily results will be the reactions of your people’s performance;  developing an attitude to want get better or the peer pressure to do be put on from other team members to encourage your people who are struggling. This is a clear sign that your team is coming full circle and their heads are in the G.A.M.E.- motivated. 

E.

My wife says this to me over and over “Energy don’t lie!” You know what she is right. Energy does not lie when it comes down to success and executing. 

If you and your team are going to execute, they must come to work with energy and excitement. In order to get your people energized and excited  you must create a positive winning culture in your business. How do you create a positive winning culture? Number one starts with the attitude of  you and your leaders. If you have a positive attitude about the business, then your people will too! Create different goal accomplishments to celebrate growth such as having candy cart for your staff especially if the work in cubical enivorment, hold positive meetings outside if it is a nice day. Bring in guest motivational speakers or get the owner president of the company to appear to speak and encourage them,  if they are absent from the building. Your sole purpose everyday is create energy to motivate your people. Set cash bonus goals or even team trips if your people work in groups. Energy has start with you and your leaders by encouraging your people and celebrating them as much you can to let them know how valueable they are to the organization. Energy that is consistent is the key to businesses executing and dominating the competition. 

Finally, if you can train your people with great enthusiasm and be consistent with your skill development along with a steady training regimen, you will keep your team in the G.AM.E. In the G.A.M.E. simply implies being on top of your game and having the will along with the desire to compete dominate your competition; you will be successful. Staying in the G.A.M.E. will require planning and strategy. Know this that if you think, execute and dominate you will be in the G.A.M.E.

Be Great, 

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