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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Ways Dealers Can Approach COVID-19

As of March 17th, Coronavirus , according to the CDC has been reported in all 50 states and the National death toll is now at 100. https://apple.news/AMWdwIdgRrmjujUTUe1vQQ. There will have to be more efficiency in serving customers with the latest pandemic spreading through out the country. This has placed a new challenge on all dealerships as to the way business has been previously done.

Amid the Coronavirus crisis, challenged dealerships will have to get creative with Sales and Service.

Several Ways TO Address COVID-19 Pandemic To Keep Dealerships Moving

Now is the time to for all dealerships to assemble with their Leadership Teams on a daily basis and use the phrase “guys what if?” Each day you and your team need to have some “what” if moments to think things through as to “what if” we have no customers in the showroom amid the Coronavirus crisis which has affected a great deal of businesses across the country. You need these sessions daily simply because each day is unknown and the period of time for this Pandemic to end is unknown. Besides you have a sales staff who may have some concerns seeing as how floor, phone and internet traffic have all changed. Perhaps your BDC/Internet Departments and Service Departments have seen a big influx in their traffic. Now is the time to make some adjustments, perhaps maybe taking a few guys from the floor and having them to help with the higher demands of customer needs since more will communicate on line or phone versus coming to the showroom. Your Service Department if it hasn’t already will certainly see an increase in their call volume and internet leads that will have more customer demands for the servicing of their vehicle. Service Customers will have more needs. So each day I recommend you have those short meetings to kick around the “what if’s” to discover new ways to serve your customer during this crisis.

Train Your Sales Teams

The time is now to strengthen your Sales People, Sales Managers, Service Managers, BDC Managers all will have time to train their teams. This is the time for Dealer Principals and General Managers or even Operations Directors to sit down to place accountability on their Sales Managers like never before to train. Training in the sense that veteran Sales People will not be exempt from participating in these sessions. Here’s why no one should be exempt because we have entered a time where the way of doing business has changed and you will need to have a different skill set today going forward. I suggest you get with your Sales Managers and Service Managers and devise and plan of attack as how you can approach the Pandemic that has literally change the day to operation of a dealership as we have know it. The training should focus, ways to communicate with customer, text messaging, video training on how to do a virtual walk around, home test drives and health in the work environment as well as the use of Social Media. Each dealership will have its own agenda as to how they adapt to selling cars and servicing customers but no matter what training will be the king of it all.

Social Media…Take Advantage!

With over 80 percent of the American workforce being home quarantined the usage of Social Media viewing time will drastically increase. At one point in a recent study in Forbes Magazine, roughly 45% of the World’s Population uses Social Media during their down time. Well now for Americans who will be home for as long as couple of weeks to a couple months until the Pandemic ends, Their Social Media usage will increase from the average person spending nearly 2 hours and 30 minutes per day to probably 3 to 4 hours per day. There lies and opportunity for dealership across the country to get stronger in their digital marketing and advertising. I suggest if you have not already place on your dealership’s website, Social Media pages that you are open for business online and that you can purchase a car all online. Going live on Social Media outlets is another great way to connect with your customers or potential customers that you are keeping your dealership clean as well as talking about your adjusted business hours. This also a great time to get your ads on to Social Media and maybe even offering “A Store to Driveway Service” of their new car. Basically you will have to really be more Customer Service Oriented in the sense of your buyers will all be communication with you differently now. This is good because the new challenge that is in front you, is in an experience that will make your dealerships so much better because of the adjustments you will have made. So take full advantage of this current situation and become dominant in the lane of digital market and selling through Social Media.

Other Ideas To Sell Cars During COVID-19

Each day will bring a new challenge simply because our world as we normally know it has been turn upside down by this current New Normal. However, there are so many opportunities out there that just need to be brought to life. Your ideas will come from meeting, talks with other dealers like yourself, Automotive News and Car Biz Television. Wherever they may come from they will have been thought out and well designed. You have the opportunity to become one of those dealers who can possibly set a new trend when comes to selling cars during the coronvirus crisis. I want to leave you with some other ideas to help you get your creative juices flowing to make your dealership better.

1.) Make Customer Safety a Big Deal: Create a video for the customer who has agreed to purchase a car showing them the clean process of the exact car they are buying to ensure their safety. People are afraid and we must create a new level of trust with our customers.

2.) Create A Cleaning Process: Post on your website, place video on your service department televisions in your waiting areas that show and talk about you cleaning the service area multiple times a day. Also, create one that will letting them know how you will clean their car after service is completed.

3.) Offer Valet and Drop Off Service: Now more than ever people are going to want service and will need service to their vehicles now that they are home. Which means you may want to consider them dropping the car off and perhaps having the dropped by at home or work depending on their situation to ensure their safety as well provide them with simple easy in an out service.

4.) Online Service Appointment Setting and E-Pay Service Billing: If you do not have appointment setting and electronic billing system in your Service Department, well you had better get with the time. People are looking for convenience and emailing or texting your customer their bill would certainly be great or to go a step a further email the itemized bill with a breakdown of their bill. Also, provide them with them the options to call their Service Advisor who can go over any issues or concerns on the bill. Just know that you must get creative and think what would make the customer experience a good visit right now.

5.) Utilize Customer Mining Tools: Whether you use Auto Alert, Automotive Mastermind or whatever your customer mining tool of choice is now is the time to take a deep dive into it. Everyone should have a system in place and a Sales Manager that oversees this as another entire department. Equity Mining can truly enhance your dealerships numbers as well as your dealerships gross profits. Since customers will have more time on their hands at home, what a perfect opportunity for you to reach out to them and talk to them about taking advantage of their vehicles equity. Equity that may ever keep their payments the same or perhaps lower their payment. Just know this right now there are customers who lease will be ending during this Pandemic, there will be customers who’s loan is almost completely paid off and there are some nice older cars that you can use on your Used Car Lot. We must utilize everything we have and make deals continue to happen.

Now is the time that all dealerships must adapt and adjust how the sell cars, take care of their customers in Service and how well each one of you utilize your customer base when using your mining tool. The times have change and you all must keep moving forward.

*Lastly, tweak and make the adjustments necessary to your new ways of selling and servicing customers until you perfect it!

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.

8 Step To Building A Winning Culture Within Your Organization

People are and always will be the key to your organization’s success. The happier your people are… the better they perform and more successful your company becomes.

* Here are eight key essentials your organization must possess to build a Winning Culture.

Find Great People Who Compliments Your Image

As you begin to build your team and make a push for success, you definitely want people who understand their role and importance within your organization. You see, when you have people who know what your organization’s mission statement is about, then the alignment to success can begin or continue. Everyone who works within your organization wants bring value and enhancement to your team. They are the one key_ that is a perfect fit in their role in your organization who too are seeking the opportunity for career advancement. You also have to have people who look act sound and think like a true professional in their role. The people you want are team players who work well with others. The worst person you could have in your organization is a self-centered individual who wants everything to be about them. You cannot succeed without a team of people working together for one common goal. You absolutely must have People who think exactly as the Mission Statement. For example if your Mission Statement says that our customer service is guaranteed to make our customers happy, then everyone who works in your organization should know that we must all treat that customer like royalty when they enter your business. If you have everyone with a clear understanding on customer treatment, then you certainly have people who compliments the image of your organization’s structure.

Invite Your People To Buy Into The Process

When you can convince everyone who works within your organization to believe in the mission statement of what your organization is all about, something magical happens_growth. If you follow sports in particular the NBA, professional basketball then you are aware of what the Philadelphia 76ERS are doing right now. This team has been the laughing-stock of the league for years, losing year in and year out with no hope of change in site. However, this year they have gotten everyone to buy into what they call“The Process.” In the 2015-16 season the team finished with an embarrassing record of 10 wins and 72 losses. In 2016-17 season they finished with record of 24 wins and 54 losses, a an improvement from the previous season. Now in 2017-18 season thus far they have eclipsed their first 50 Win season with only 30 losses still with a third seed in the Eastern Conference for this years’ playoffs. How did they do this? By getting everyone on to buy into “The Process,” which is getting the players and coaches to trust in what the front office was doing. They assembled a team of players who were willing to make the sacrifices of being on a losing team for a while, with the intention of building a winning team in a couple of years while adding other players in the process. The same needs to apply to you and your business, bring in people who will buy into what you are selling, as a builder of the winning process to build a “Winning Culture ” simply because it starts with the people you have as well those ones you are recruiting. History happens to repeat itself when you bring people a group of people together for one common goal, the winning magic happens. You must create a culture that aligns with you core values.

Create A Culture That Aligns With Your Core Values

Culture is the way we do things within a certain environment, which operates by a set standards that affects the daily outcome of an organization. Today you hear many organizations use the “core values” phrase, emphasizing what they are all about. So what is your organization all about? Does everyone within your organization know what you are all about? You see, if you are pondering about these questions then you had better make sure you have your leadership team to start emphasizing your core values more often. For example, if one of your core values is to make customers feel like an honored guest in your dealership, then it should and must be taught to everyone in your dealerships. If you have certain a way of doing things in your dealership, then it should be taught to everyone in your dealership. Policy and procedures are all a part of your core values as well the culture of your dealership. Most of all you want to place an emphasis on having fun and creating a winning culture for your people to experience, besides culture matters to your employees and your customers. So build core values that entice people to work for you and to buy from you.

Maintain and Evolve Your Culture Carefully

Building your team is going to be crucial to your future but creating a culture matters more than ever. So you must build a culture that can grow and adapt as the generations began to change, as technology changes, overall you must be prepared. That’s why you must work to have clarity within your people as to what your expectations are by consistently emphasizing your core values to maintain what you are all about. Just like the Philadelphia 76ers , they are an organization that must continue to evolve into more than a contender but grow into a Championship caliber team. You must want the same for your organization_growth from what you have without going backwards to where you once were. How do you begin to maintain and evolve your culture carefully? One by being transparent about what’s expected of everyone, also letting your people know your are not the smartest one in the company and that you need their input to grow. Next you must let everyone know that their individual importance is a must have in order for your organization to grow. Most of all you need everyone  performing at their highest level everyday and that motivation to perform at a high must start with all your leaders.  Now in order to do all these things you will need active communication daily as well as active listening. Training and role clarity are key to maintaining and growing your culture carefully.

Work As A Team

If you want to build a Winning Culture, then you absolutely, positively have to build a winning team. Your team may take time to build,  get the right people for the job roles you have in your organization or maybe your team will be formed with a bunch of misfits in which you have to build from.  No matter what it maybe, your job is to lead, manage, and train your people to be the best at what they do and to work together. You see, everyone definitely achieves more when you all work together. That’s why you must have a mission statement that is so clear that your purpose is known. In today’s world in any organization everyone must know the common goal which means everyone should know your mission statement. You see, too many times a organization’s mission statement is missed and failure sets in. The reason failure really sets in is due to lack a communication in the details. Clarity is needed when you have a group people working, no matter the size you must have clarity amongst your people. There is a saying that the “devil is in the details.” When you don’t have clarity separation sets in and the vision gets blurred, things fall apart. Teamwork is a must and for you organization to have a Winning Culture; Cultures are all about the way an environment functions as well as how it operates day-to-day. Just remember, there’s strength in numbers and when the numbers are all working together, there is nothing that can stop the success of an organization.

Have Fun

You must have fun! As we all know putting in a good day’s work can be long and trying for many people. However, when you can bring laughter, excitement and enjoyment to the work place, your people are much happier. Yes, of course we can all say that money should make people happy but having a great work culture can make for a great day of work. Here are few suggestions, create team competition or perhaps consider having different events throughout the weeks or months based on the time of the year. For example, we came up with our March Madness competition where we put the names of the sales people who sold the first sixty-four cars and we the drew the names once the sixty-four teams in the NCAA Tournament were selected. We the place the schools on a large bracket board in which each winner was given a payout with each victory by their selected teams, which got larger as their teams advanced. This always brought out excitement and early competitive success in the sales people at this dealership to get the month off to great start.  An enthusiastic staff will always work together and have fun which creates a fun, exciting and winning environment. You can also get creative with training in making it fun and competitive too for example, at your dealerships you should have walk around competitions with your sales staff. Create days where the your training becomes fun_just remember fundamentals starts with fun of course. So help your people to get sharper mentally by making learning fun. Overall, “Winning Cultures” can be fun and exciting but it all has to start at the top with ownership, then leadership as well as management.

Train Your People Regularly

I am a true believer that companies and organizations that train well succeed all the time. You cannot become a “Championship Caliber” organization without training and training consistently. Organizations fail when they put training on the back burner and treat it like it’s a secondary deal. Listen up! If you really want success, then invest time, effort and money into training your people. Now what type training will depend on what your organization’s specific needs. If it is customer service, then get someone who specializes in that. If it maybe selling skills, then hire selling skills expert. No matter what you want to improve on_ stick to it and make known you expect results. Measure the success of training by actively monitoring the progress in the areas that need improving. Most of all hold your leadership team accountable. Accountability will keep everyone focused. Just remember, training starts at the top.

Learn From The Past

We must take past experiences and learn from them what not repeat. It’s like a child touching a hot stove and it burns them… teaching them a lesson about heat also, learning about danger. However, too many times in the Automotive Industry we cannot seem to learn from getting burned the first time when it comes to rehiring ex-employees. Dealerships get desperate, lazy and impatient and hire a person whom was either fired or the left you hanging by going somewhere else without warning. Or perhaps you decided to use a vendor, trainer or something to that nature that didn’t workout in the past. What am saying.? …the obvious that we must clearly evaluate what we have learned from past failures and put in place measures to not let history repeat itself. Here’s what I suggest to anyone who wants to be successful…don’t be stupid twice; learn the lesson the first time and move on from vendors, trainers, hiring agencies and un-loyal sales people who hop from dealership to dealership. Learn from your past mistakes and make every effort not go down that road again. This thought process alone will be the best thing to keep your organization no matter what it is in line with being successful.

*All these steps are part of what I truly know and will forever believe that builds “Winning Cultures.” Think about when have ever seen a successful organization where there’s no fun and everyone involved were miserable… I will wait, go ahead? If there, was their success didn’t last long. What I am saying is that you must have people who enjoy doing what they do, love and respect the people they work with and have a passion for success.

About Roger

Roger Love is a Championship Attitude Expert who help organizations to build Winning in the environments. Roger truly believes that businesses fail when there’s no clarity in an organization’s purpose. Roger has a methodology that emphasizes a Championship Attitude mentality is must today for success, which is the beginning of creating a great work environment where everyone wins!

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Ways to Handle Adversity

Life will always place obstacles in your way, there two choices be stalled by it or get over it!

Adversity 

Just this week America elected a new President to lead the most powerful country in the world and it has brought plenty of adversity. Donald Trump will become the Forty-fifth President of the United States of America on January 20, 2017. Just like any other election contest their has to be a winner and there has to be a loser. 

However, this Presidential election is no different from any other where it has always brought joy to some and discomfort along with concerned to others. Where there is concern, discomfort there lies adversity and fear everytime.  Fear for some reason continues to surface and survive in the world today thus creating adversity. It has been once said before that fear’s survival is one hundred-percent depending on the individual(s) who are often keeping it alive, which means you will always have adversity until you kill it over and over again!

Here are 7 ways to deal with adversity:

1. Developed a “Championship Attitude”, Starting with a I can, I will and a I must make it attitude!
2. Think about it: most of the time the average person reacts to adversity with fear and discouragement. You must know that trouble will last as long as you allow it to exist. Strategize ways to overcome adversity.
3. Surround yourself with positive people: you cannot make it through adversity alone. All successful people surround themselves with others who are positive and encouraging during tough times. 
4. Seek advice from others who have overcome the same situation you are in.  Remember, you are not the only person a particular situation has happened to. We all will face some form of misfortune; true Champions in life find away to deal with it and you can too!
5. Have a “Pity Party”  and get over it: It’s perfectly okay to be emotional, sad or even cry. As kid I hated to lose at anything and I would be sad or even cry simply because I couldn’t accept losing. I didn’t allow myself to process it all and learn that it was going to be part of life I would have learn to deal with and learn from it.
6. Process it and think about your options: when you are looking in the face of adversity we all must remember that our minds can and will play tricks on us if we get caught up in our emotions too long. We have to think and breathe during our controversial times. If we could just take a moment to think that our live is ninety-percent good and only ten-percent of the time filled with misfortune. So we must know that we can get over all our life obstacles if we would just believe!

   

   Believing you can overcome obstacles, is a BIG step in overcoming life’s challenges!

7. Be Still and Quiet: The greatest things you do for yourself during misfortunes is get alone and be quiet, sitting still. I truly believe this is the quickest way to process adversity and a new beginning to recovering from your adversity.

We all have to remember that that single most important ingredient is recovering from adversity is our attitude. We can choose to be positive about adversity and get over it or be negative about adversity and remain stuck in the mud of adversity. The choice is yours.

Be Great 

Roger 

Find out more about Roger Love