Reaching Higher

It's Time to Change Your Skin!

2010-04-17T12:29:00.005-05:00

Post by Paul Rogers

Important Announcement Regarding Your GSMarketing Website!
GSMarketing is pleased to announce our newest versions of skin choices are now available in your Fusion Tool. Please read the following information regarding the importance of switching to one of these HTML versions for your dealer website.

Benefits of the new HTML skins:
· An HTML-based framework with Flash components to allow faster load times and incremental loading on all pages
· Banner control buttons on the homepage allow customers to scroll through the library
· SEO-friendly fast links contained at the bottom of the homepage for better SEO opportunities
· Updated Incentives page with a more linear design and consistency with the Specials page
· Enhanced ability to view a vehicle’s image slideshow by clicking on the actual image or clicking the next or previous buttons

It’s Quick and Easy to update your website look today!

Simply visit https:\\fusiontools.clickmotive.com and enter your username and password
1. Select DESIGN from the menu on the left
2. Choose one of the three HTML 'Extreme' skins
3. Save! (it may take up to 12 hours to fully populate the changes across all servers)
If you need any assistance, please contact GSMarketing Web Support at 866-428-9104 or websupport@gsmarketing.com

The Blurb and SEO

2009-11-23T13:14:00.001-06:00

Search Engines primarily ‘read’ content in text. Therefore, GSM websites provide a space on the ‘Home’ and ‘About Us’ pages for text, so a dealer can enhance the already excellent Search Engine Optimization of those websites. This space (on the ‘Home Page’, it’s called a ‘blurb’) has some default text, so it won’t be blank, but it is left up to the dealership person in charge of website content to add specific text that will enhance that page’s SEO.

When a dealer is deciding what goes into this ‘blurb’, they should do their best to think how a customer might think: “If I were a prospective Toyota buyer, how would I search for a dealership in a Search Engine – what would I type on the search bar?”

25-40% of all searches for our websites are a variation of the dealer’s name. Another 25% of searches are name/city or make/city. Prospects are searching much more specifically today, so a listing of all the vehicle series (Highlander, Camry, Yaris, etc.) is also important. The city where the dealership is physically located will be in several locations in the website, however, the ten cities in the dealership’s PMA will NOT be listed anywhere – unless the website maintenance person in the dealership places that information there – in the ‘blurb’ and the ‘About Us’ page. We encourage them to ‘think local’ with this list of cities and/or counties served. Focus on the ten cities that they would like to capture in their own market and don’t worry about cities 100-200 miles away.

In addition to this list of cities and series of vehicles, a dealer should be certain that any other local distinctions should be listed – ‘nicknames’ or regional names should be there! Examples of these might be; the Metroplex; ArkLaTex; the Twin Cities, the Quad Cities, the Valley; the Hill Country; the Bay Area, the Southland, etc.

Thinking like a customer, it is also likely that they might forget the name of the dealership, but will remember the location, therefore they might type in streets, freeways or landmarks. They may type ‘Toyota dealer’- on I-15; - near first avenue; - downtown; - near the bay bridge”, etc. A dealer should include a general description of their location using these terms as well.
All of the above items MUST be written in a sentence format – not simply a list. Lists are what Google refers to as ‘word stuffing’ and too much of that will get the website removed from the Search Engine results completely!

Once a dealer has designed this ‘blurb’, they really shouldn’t change it much, unless they move, something else around them changes or Toyota adds a new series, like the Venza. However, since Google and other Search Engines hate a stale website, the website maintenance person should add a sentence to the bottom of their blurb and it should change regularly – perhaps as often as twice a week. This sentence can include an invitation to visit the dealership; changes to the website or inventory; the latest dealership sales event; grassroots events; new owner clinics; etc.

By thinking like a customer, including LOTS of keywords and frequently updating the last sentence of the blurb, a dealer can significantly improve their SEO and increase the number of visitors to their website and dealership.

New Toyota 4Runner

2009-10-05T11:35:00.003-05:00

Post by Julie Chisum

I just thought I would pass this article along to all of you.
It would be a great piece to send to customers or post on your own blogs.
There is a really good photo gallery that's there as well.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/24/2010-toyota-4runner-debuts-with-four-cylinder-trail-grade-model/

Sharpen Your Saw

2009-09-14T13:22:00.002-05:00

Post by Paul Rogers
There is an old story told in trainer training about a certain woodsman who was using a dull saw to cut up a log. After a few minutes of observation, a friendly neighbor suggested that he take some time out to sharpen his saw. The woodsman’s reply was, “I can’t stop now, I’m too busy sawing.”

We have a very strong tendency to do the same. We are so busy keeping up with our work in an ineffective manner, that we don’t take the time to really find out how to be more effective. JD Power and Assoc. has found in their surveys that if an Internet Specialist will attend training, specifically focusing on the Internet Customer for at least eight hours, they will sell twice as many cars as those who were not Internet trained. Double the productivity is quite an incentive to “sharpen your saw.”

At GS Marketing we look for lots of opportunities to learn more about how to sell more effectively to the Internet Customer. We attend web conferences and we read every thing we can find on effective techniques that are working for other industries, using the web.

If anyone tries to tell you that there is only one way to use the Internet to sell cars, they are lying to you. I’m not saying that there aren’t some very successful programs and dealers who are doing a great job. There are! What I am saying is that the Internet is constantly changing, as are the demographics of the people who use it. What worked last year, may not work this year.

If you receive some resistance from your management team on attending training that is offered in your area, perhaps you can share with them a quote that I got from the Utah Auto Dealer’s Association. “If you think that training your people and having them leave you is expensive, try not training them and having them stay.”

We at GS Marketing will continue to offer training regionally across the country. We strongly encourage you to take advantage of this training since it will bring to you the latest findings of what is working for effective dealers nationwide. Our whole goal is to help make you wealthy by providing Technology and Training so that you can reach your grandest goals and highest potential.

Road Food Reviews - Hot Dog Joints

2009-09-14T12:55:00.004-05:00

Post by Paul Rogers
Okay - they may not be P.C.; they may be gross to some (Nick); but I really love a good hot dog! Here are some of my favorites...
- Portillo’s – best place I know in Chicago for a dog – or an Italian Beef sandwich!
- Grey’s Papaya – these are New York-style dogs in New York City – natch – Nathan’s has been around longer but these are great…
- Costco – I know – how can this be on the list? I live in the part of the country where you can’t get good Vienna Beef dogs or ‘red hots’. If you’re jonesin’ for a dog, their Polish Dog can meet the fix
- Varsity – an Atlanta institution – great dogs served fast – “whaddayhave?!!”
- Pink’s – L.A. – be prepared to wait, my last time it was 45-minutes in line on the street, just for a hot dog – but worth it – keep an eye out for celebrities, if you’re into that sort of thing.
- Tony Packo’s – Toledo – some people STRONGLY disagree on this one, and I will admit, it’s kind of strange, but their homemade buns are actually better than their dogs, but I like ‘em anyway – I just stay away from the chili!! M*A*S*H fans – if you don’t already know about Packo’s – shame on you!

Road Food Review - Parasol's Roast Beef Po Boy

2009-09-10T15:27:00.006-05:00

Post by Julie Chisum
On our last trip to New Orleans, Paul and I made it over to Parasol's to try their Roast Beef Po Boy. I think I enjoyed it more than Paul, but I'd say it was delicious.
Very tender. Great bread. Extremely messy.
I also really enjoyed this cheesey pile of yum:

And, when in New Orleans, this seems to find its way to your food:

A few things worth noting: This place is a dive. (My favorite!) There are very steep stairs you must climb to get to the restaurant, so pick up your drinks in the bar (downstairs) first.

Road Food Review - Bern's - Tampa, Fl.

2009-09-01T14:27:00.002-05:00

Post by Paul Rogers
An experience, not just dinner! One of the other restaurants in my Top 5 in America list - thanks Troy for introducing me to it! This is one of the most unique restaurants in all the world! Only place I know where they don’t even cut your steak until you order it. You can order a steak three different ways - by ‘cut’; by weight and by thickness. So you can have a 1” thick, 14 oz. Strip or a 3” thick, 20 oz. Filet! Whatever you want! They grow their own herbs and veggies, their waiters have to work there a year in the back before they can wait tables (some have been there for decades and make six figures!), they have a million bottles of wine (NOT a $1,000,000,000.00 worth – a million bottles) and they let you look at a couple thousand of them, literally, on the wine cellar tour. After dinner they take you upstairs, next door to the private dessert rooms, where you choose the lighting and the type of music you like. Their Macadamia Nut ice cream is most delicious!
WARNING! Be prepared for this to be an event – last time I went with a friend I left Orlando at 6pm, drove an hour and a half to Bern’s, sat down at 8 – finished dessert at midnight – got back to Orlando at 2am. Totally worth it!!! No jeans or flip-flops allowed, but the decor is super-funky. If you are anywhere in Northern Florida, you should go.

A Different Kind of Template

2009-08-28T13:54:00.002-05:00

Post by Julie Chisum

We get asked after every class we teach if we can please send new, updated templates.
I'm not sure there is such a thing when it comes to plain jane emails. But, if you will consider using something like www.smilebox.com ($40/year), then you will definitely have something new and fresh to send prospective customers.

Smilebox is one tool we like to use because:
1. It isn't likely to get thrown in spam folders.
2. The customer sees a mini version of what you built instead of just a link, when they open their email.
3. All of your creations are saved for you, making using them repeatedly a snap.
4. You can attach music, video and text with great ease.

Here is an example that I whipped up for you:

Make a Smilebox postcard

Go give it a try and see if you get improved reponses from those leads.
I bet you do.

Check Engine Light

2009-08-27T15:33:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Highlander Hatch Secret Button

2009-08-27T15:18:00.002-05:00

Check out our first video in our new Flip Series.
It was made using our Flip Video Mino.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

You've Got to Give, In Order to Receive

2009-08-27T13:04:00.001-05:00

Post by Paul Rogers
In using the Internet, you will attract a certain type of client. Make sure that the manner in which they are treated when they visit the store is consistent with the way that is most effective in selling to them. You know, the golden rule doesn’t usually work in selling. The golden rule states that you should treat others the way you want to be treated.

But not everyone is like you. If you want to sell someone something, you must treat them the way they want to be treated. They may not be like you and may want things that are completely unimportant to you.

The Internet shopper comes to you from a position of strength; with knowledge and a plan of action. They are educated, credit worthy, time challenged and demanding. They receive a very high level of service in their other transactions and expect the same from you. First, they want to receive all of the relevant information – then the will make a decision. To treat them as if they are the adversary will not only turn them off but will cause them to leave without buying and take all their friends and referrals with them.

You must make a decision as to how you will most effectively sell to this client and then set up procedures to follow in doing so. And then you need to stick with that procedure, fine tuning it as you go.

Are Your Banners the Bomb?

2009-08-17T12:13:00.007-05:00

Post by Julie Chisum

Utilizing your banner space on your home page is a must.

There are several things that great banners will help you accomplish:

1. They will help set you apart from your competition.

2. They can make a great first impression for your visitors to your site.

3. They are your way of announcing what's going on at your actual location.

4. They invite visitors to 'click' and take a deeper dive into your site.

A few do's and do not's:

1. DO have 4-5 banners. DO NOT have 10. Visitors won't wait to get through them.

2. DO have a 'click here' or other call to action. DO NOT forget it--it's important!

3. DO have each banner show long enough for visitors to read them. DO NOT put too many words and only have it show for 3 seconds.

4. DO change them weekly. DO NOT forget you have a banner library in your FUSION back-end tool.

Here are a few examples:

__________________________________________________________________

Go get your Banners on!

Road Food Review - BBQ

2009-08-10T15:12:00.000-05:00

Post by Paul Rogers

Barbeque Joints are dangerous things to recommend… You either love ‘em or you hate ‘em. And, everyone seems to have their favorites – let me tell you about two of mine.

- The Commissary in Memphis – Germantown neighborhood.

The meat is tender, the sauce is awesome, the Banana Puddin’ is delicious! What else do you need from a barbeque place?

- Montgomery Inn in Cincinnati – three locations.

The secret to this place is the ribs – they pressure cook them before they smoke them so there is NO fat and the meat falls off the bone! The sauce is mediocre, but the meat is so good you won’t mind. They make their own chips and they serve a local ice cream – Graeter’s – for dessert – Raspberry Chocolate Chip is one of the best ice cream’s I have ever tasted – and I’m from Utah! (We lead the nation in ice cream consumption – always have – always will!) Montgomery Inn ships ribs, sauce, ice cream, the works, but if you’re a sports memorabilia nut, (or a Bob Hope Nut) you need to visit the place – they have tons of stuff!

- Sonny Bryan’s – the Original on Inwood Rd. in Dallas.

Been goin’ here since the early 80’s – they’ve been around since 1910 – they do it right!! If you drop by at lunchtime, you’ll likely see guys in suits, sitting on the hoods of their Benzes and Caddy’s. Sauce is phenomenal – and warm! - , meat is lean, sides are yummy. They have several other locations, but I prefer the ambiance (???) of the original!

Share It!

2009-07-29T14:54:00.007-05:00

Post by Julie Chisum

Have you seen the latest addition to the GS Marketing sites?

Customers can now share your vehicles on over 50 different Social Networking sites.

Here is a closer look:

What's this good for, you ask? I'll give you an example. My family members occasionally ask me to keep my eye out for certain vehicles. Those family members are also all connected to me on Facebook. (We even have our own group, CHISUM, but that's a post for another day.)

If I click on the SHARE button on one of our vehicle description pages, it will give me the option to select Facebook. From that point, I can send a message (like an email, but in Facebook) to the person of my choosing. A new window opens and you select the person in Facebook that you want to send the link to. It shows the picture and everything.

I sent it to myself so that you could see what it looks like as a message.

Cool, huh? Give a try. Oh, yeah---and don't forget to tell your customers.

Do You Flip?

2009-07-28T15:52:00.006-05:00

Post by Julie Chisum

Do you have one of these?

Would you know what to do with it if you did?
It is an ultra small video camera that takes short videos you can easily use on you website.

Here are a few ideas:
*Record a greeting from your owner or GM to put on your home page
*Shoot a video of your GSM or New Car director announcing new incentives
*Have a series of helpful videos explaining tricky features on new cars
(Nav system, Homelink, changing the time on the clock, what to do if the Check Engine light comes on in your NEW car)
*Do a short walk-around on that one-of-a-kind TCUV you just traded for

It's today. It's relevant. It's affordable.

(http://www.bestbuy.com/ or http://www.target.com/)

Go make it happen.

Road Food Review - The Donut Stop

2009-07-10T15:01:00.000-05:00

Post by Julie Chisum

It's true. I'm a lover of donuts and have made it a personal mission to find the best donut in the country. The top spot is currently held by a place in Amarillo, Texas, called The Donut Stop.

It was started in 1973 by a husband/wife team and over the years, they have grown their business to include eight locations.

Their cherry long john is my favorite, but the chocolate and maple donuts are fantastic, too.

I can't eat any of them without moaning, and that's the truth.

Camry More American than F-150

2009-07-06T16:29:00.001-05:00

Post by Paul Rogers

*Reprinted from the Detroit News*

Survey: Camry more American than F-150
Alisa Priddle / The Detroit News
The Toyota Camry is more American than the Ford F-150, at least according to Cars.com's annual American-Made Index.
The findings further muddy the buy American debate that rages across the country.
Toyota Motor Corp. also is the most American car company, according to the rankings of the index in terms of U.S. content in its cars and trucks.

The findings are based on where each vehicle is built, its popularity based on sales volume and the percentage of the parts made in the U.S. based on the cost or value of those parts.
This year, the Camry (not counting the hybrid or the Solara) dethroned the F-150 which had been a five-time winner. The Ford truck came in at No. 2.
Toyota had the most individual models on the list with four, including the Sienna minivan in the sixth spot, followed by the Tundra full-size pickup, and the new Venza crossover at No. 10.
Detroit's Big Three automakers collectively have five vehicles in the top 10 spots, which is their lowest showing since Cars.com started the index in 2006 and was conducted twice a year initially.
"This year was unique for our index, to say the least," said Patrick Olsen, editor of Cars.com. "The difficult sales environment and changes in cars' domestic-parts content -- both important factors in our index's equation -- played a huge role in how the rankings changed from last year."
The results likely won't go over well in Detroit, said analyst Joe Phillippi of AutoTrends Consulting Inc. in Short Hills, N.J., but the more important point is that the vehicles and many of their parts are made in the U.S. and "we need all the payroll generation we can get."
To its credit, Toyota has maintained its headcount in the U.S., Phillippi said. "There have not been wholesale firings and mass layoffs and they continue to employ a lot of people even in a downturn and their game plan is to continue to employ more."
General Motors Corp. results were impacted because the methodology used excludes models slated to be discontinued that do not have a clear successor. That wipes out the Pontiac G6, for example, which has scored well in the past, but has fallen victim to GM downsizing. Also absent from the list this year is the Chevrolet Cobalt, which has fewer domestic parts and seen its sales fall off because it, too, is being discontinued. It will be replaced by the all-new Chevrolet Cruze next year.
GM retains three vehicles in the top 10 with the Chevrolet Malibu taking the third spot and the Chevrolet Silverado (5th) and GMC Sierra 1500 pickup (8th).
The Ford Taurus had the most domestic parts at 90 percent but landed 9th on the list, largely because the new Taurus is selling about 2,000 units a month compared with about 25,000 Camrys a month.
Chrysler Group LLC has no vehicles in the top 10. The company's high-volume minivan is made in Canada.
Phillippi said while the results may surprise some consumers, it likely will have little impact on buying decisions and he doubts many shoppers research domestic content. "These days, price and incentives are at the top of the list given the squeeze on peoples' budgets."
The index provides some justification for consumers who have been loyal to imports, Phillippi said.
Jim Hall, analyst with 2953 Analytics in Birmingham, called the claims "spurious" and questioned the math given that the index uses a parts count but does not go deeper and calculate the number of labor hours to make each part -- a figure that varies greatly with an engine being very labor-intensive, for example.
In terms of validity, "it's like Michael Jackson saying he's the King of Pop," Hall said of the self-proclamation of the superstar and the Web site in its findings.
apriddle@detnews.com (313) 222 - 2504

Road Food Review - Commander's Palace

2009-06-10T14:53:00.001-05:00

Post by Paul Rogers
This place definitely LIVES in my top 5 restaurants in America! I LOVE it!! Virtually every time I visit I have the same thing:
-Turtle Soup
-Tasso Shrimp Henniken
-Bread Pudding Soufflé
Heavenly – that’s it – nuff said!

Supervised Integration

2009-01-27T14:41:00.001-06:00

Post by Paul Rogers

Another Internet department structure model is what we refer to as Supervised Integration. This is a little like a combination of the Beginning-to-End and Appointment Setter models.
For this one, the Internet Manager who is in charge of monitoring and updating the web site also takes on the task of the initial response to incoming emails and phone calls. This keeps the response time low. They decide then, based on what they know about the customer from the information in the lead and what they know about the work load of their salespeople, to whom they should assign that lead for short and long-term follow-up.
This system works well when the dealership has some established salespeople that want Internet leads. In fact, this is the secret to making this system work. You should only allow a select group of salespeople to handle Internet leads – those who like them and are willing to do the long-term effort required for Internet success. It’s very common to have salespeople that would like to have the additional income, but they either:
A. Hate working with the ‘informed buyer’ because of the perception that grosses will be low, or
B. Lack the willingness to follow-up long enough to effectively close these leads. They tend to be interested in the quick and easy sales.
The benefits of the Supervised Integration structure are that you don’t need to support two different methods of selling. It also tends to improve the purchase experience of all of your customers – walk-in, repeats and online.
The difficulty of this structure is that the activities of the salespeople receiving leads need to be continuously monitored. Because the walk-in traffic always takes a priority, sometimes salespeople place Internet lead follow-up on the ‘back burner’. If a salesperson falls behind on their follow-up with incoming Internet leads, they should be denied additional leads until they can catch up and maintain their lead management.
We are frequently asked which structure works the best – B2E, Appointment Setter or Supervised Integration. The answer is that they ALL work – you must determine which one works best for your sales force, your clients and your philosophy of selling.

Appointment Setters

2009-01-27T08:26:00.001-06:00

Post by Paul Rogers

This Internet department structure model is most common within Toyota in the Northeastern part of the US (the Boston and New York Regions). The Appointment Setter model entails hiring people to make all of the initial responses, and sometimes the ongoing follow-up, to incoming Internet leads and phone calls. It has several advantages – and a few disadvantages, as well.
Everyone agrees that hiring, training and keeping an excellent automotive salesperson is a very difficult task. And then when you find someone that can close a sale effectively, to ask them to be great on the phone, on email and to stick with an incoming Internet lead until the customer is ready to buy (90 days) is extremely difficult. So, why not hire someone for the specific skills that you need? Hire and train people that are great with follow-up but don’t need to be able to close – then keep your closers busy with appointments!

One of the exceptional benefits of this process revolves around response time. In the B2E model, no one is responding to incoming leads when your salespeople are busy selling cars. Since the Appointment Setter is almost always right in front of the computer and the telephone, response time should be much lower, on average. And one of the constants for Internet in automotive sales seems to be that “Response Time = Closing Ratio” (meaning the lower your response time is; the higher your closing ratio is).
However, there are two caveats to the Appointment Setter model. First, there MUST be some continuity from the Appointment Setter’s conversations with the buyer and the salesperson that will be selling the car. The Appointment Setter needs to make notes about the client and pass that information along to the salesperson before they show up. The client does NOT want to feel like everything they said in email or on the phone went to ‘deaf ears’ and they have to start over from scratch! If that happens, what was their benefit in going online in the first place?
Second, the Leadership Team of the dealership needs to watch expenses carefully – specifically the compensation. With the Appointment Setter model you will, in essence, be paying two people to sell one car. Improved closing ratio and higher volume can take care of this issue, but it needs to be watched carefully.
We would recommend the Appointment Setter model specifically if your dealership has an established sales force, with tenured salespeople and little turnover. It may not work as well if you have a lot of new salespeople with little product knowledge, experience or closing skills.

Responses and Relevancy

2009-01-06T10:58:00.001-06:00

Post by Paul Rogers

As you respond to incoming purchase requests (leads) from the Internet, there is a critical factor that you need to keep in mind – Relevancy. By focusing on making every response relevant to that particular customer you will be able to establish two-way communication much more often, improve your Response Survey scores and, most importantly, SELL MORE NEW and USED CARS and TRUCKS!

First you need to ask yourself – “Are all of my email communications relevant to the needs of this specific customer?” Many ISM’s use generic email templates to respond to incoming purchase requests… especially on the initial response. THIS IS A BAAAAAD PRACTICE! Some of these generic templates even ask the customer what kind of vehicle they might be interested in!

Put yourself in the mind of a customer for a minute. You’ve decided that it might be time for a new car. You’ve done your research. You’ve decided that Toyota makes a car that might meet your needs. You may have even spent 15 minutes online configuring the exact car that you would like to own. You finally work up the nerve to send your name and contact information to a car salesperson. And what do you get back for your efforts?
“What kind of Toyota are you interested in?” This response is not relevant to what the customer is asking!

Why do you think that beer companies sponsor hockey games and not figure skating? Relevancy! Both are sports, both happen in the winter, on the ice and both use skates. But research shows that hockey fans are beer drinkers and beer drinkers don’t typically watch figure skating! That’s relevancy in a marketing message.

If you want to sell more cars; if you want to actually talk to more customers; heck, if you want your customers to even remember that they have been communicated with by an actual person from your dealership… YOU MUST MAKE YOUR EMAIL RESPONSES RELEVANT TO THEM!

Before you make that first email response please take thirty seconds and read the lead. You are looking for things such as:
– What kind of car are they requesting?
– How specific is their request?
– Have they owned a Toyota before? (Trade-in)
– Is there something unique about their email address? (Sports fan, hobby, employer, etc.)
– Comments or questions in the purchase request
– How close are they to my dealership?

Then, when you reply, be sure to mention something to your customers that makes the response relevant. Of course the two things that almost all customers want to know and the two most relevant answers that you can give in your initial response are… ‘Do you have it?’ and ‘How much is it?’

From now on – be certain that every email response that you make is relevant to your customer’s needs. Analyze the incoming request, answer the two important questions and, more than anything else, BE RELEVANT!

B2E – It’s Common – Is It Right for You?

2009-01-05T11:32:00.001-06:00

By far, the most common structure used in Internet departments across most of the U.S. is the ‘Beginning-to-End’ (B2E) structure. This means that incoming Internet leads and phone calls are assigned to a specific Internet salesperson and it is their responsibility to follow that customer through to a sale. A few dealerships go so far as to have the Internet salesperson provide the financing assistance as well.

This structure has many advantages and a few disadvantages.
The advantages are:
A) The customer deals with only one person – providing a consistency of the relationship
B) Easier accountability for dealership management – what we call ‘one throat to choke’ J – managers can use the Internet Lead Management System (ILMS) to monitor and manage the Internet salesperson’s activities
C) In most cases, a dealership receives enough leads to be able to have ‘full time’ Internet salespeople – they don’t need to take floor ‘ups’ to augment their income.

The disadvantages include:
A) Problems with response time – when the Internet salespeople are busy selling a car to a customer, who is answering incoming leads?
B) Number of Internet salespeople – because a B2E salesperson should only handle 65-90 leads per month, a high volume dealership could need 10 or 12 of them
C) Turnover can be a problem – especially when a smaller dealership attempts to have only one dedicated Internet salesperson. If they get promoted or leave, then the dealership has to start over from scratch with someone new.

If you choose to use the B2E structure, we recommend that you follow these guidelines:
A) Limit the number of leads per salesperson to a manageable level – 65 – 90 new, unique leads per month, depending on the salesperson’s experience, prowess with the ILMS, volume of repeat and referral customers, etc.
B) Receive or purchase at least 150 new, unique leads per month so that you can afford to have ate least two full-time Internet salespeople at all times.
C) Delegate authority to your Internet salespeople to maintain the web site, quote selling prices and maintain specials and coupons, etc.

Do You Have Any Coupons?

2009-01-02T10:30:00.001-06:00

Post by Julie Chisum

It's just a fact: everyone wants to see if they can save some money, get a discount, or get something for free. So, why not make everyone shopping on your site happy by always having relevant coupons available?

Well, it sounds easy enough, but we usually hear two major reasons that hold Internet teams back from always having great coupons on their sites. Any guesses? Time and Ideas.

There's no magic solution to the time problem, just make sure this task of coupon building and maintenance is assigned to someone. Delegate. You know you can do it.

Now, let's talk about ideas.

We would encourage you to think outside the box when it comes to coupons. You will probably need something a little more enticing than $200 off the price, so what are customers looking for, exactly? Research is showing us that customers still buy from people they like, so use this opportunity to give customers a reason to like you. Offer discounts to members of your communties that make huge sacrifices for not a lot of dough. For example, teachers, EMTs, fire fighters and police officers all keep our communities going and discounts for these folks can go a long, long way for your repeat and referral business, too.

Also, it might be a good idea to post coupons for military personnel. Lots of them are coming home and will need vehicles. Don't forget to tell them how much you appreciate their service by offering discounts or free gadgets.

This brings us to our next idea of gadgets. If you want some great ideas of things to offer, take a look at the Best Buy flier in your local weekend paper. Toyota shoppers seem to love electronic gadgets and games, so why not appeal to them through your coupons?

We've seen dealers offer ipods, portable navigation systems, xbox or wii games, digital cameras, printers...you get the idea.

Our last set of ideas has to do with Service and Parts. It is crucial that you get your Parts and Service Managers engaged in this process, so don't give up until they give you the information you need to build the coupons, or they offer to get them done themselves. Either way, we would encourage you to make sure there are always coupons for Oil Changes (including price and what a customer receives for this service), Filters (air and oil) and Wiper Blades. These tend to be the most requested in the Parts and Service departments, so doesn't it make sense to always have them listed on your site?

So, now that you know that you can delegate coupon building and you have ideas to use, what are you waiting for?

Oh, one last thing. To build these coupons, you need to log in to Fusion Tools and choose from the menu on the left. It will take you step-by-step from there.

The Right Structure

2008-12-17T14:33:00.000-06:00

Post by: Paul Rogers

The right structure holds you and your people accountable and is essential to your success.

Mark Samuel describes accountability as: “Taking action consistent with your desired outcomes”
The ‘desired outcome’ of any Internet initiative should be to sell more products to more people at less cost. Defining your structure should support this. Your chosen structure needs to focus on the items that directly result in more sales, such as:

- Lead Response
- Prospect Follow-up
- Appointment Setting
- Customer Interaction
- Closing Sales
- Delivering vehicles

But your structure needs to also focus on other tasks that are essential, but do NOT directly result in producing revenue. These might include;

- Web site maintenance (Specials; Pricing; Inventory; Vehicle Descriptions; etc.)
- Pre-owned inventory photos
- Monitoring the Return-on-Investment (ROI) of specific lead sources
- Investigating additional lead sources (Aggregators; Online Classifieds; Links; Search-Engine Marketing; Partner Web Sites; etc.)
- Feedback to upper management so that they understand the effectiveness and value of the Internet initiative

Does your current structure allow for all of these things to occur? Does it hold everyone accountable for their actions? Do the bulk of your (and your people’s) daily activities lead you to achieving your ‘desired outcomes’? Are the results of your Internet initiative continuously improving, even in a down market? Can you specifically point out to your management team improvements in sales, gross profit, return-on-investment, cost-per-sale or response time, and attribute those improvements to your chosen Internet structure?

These are the questions that you need to be asking yourself and make the necessary adjustments, based on your answers.

Let's Talk Structure

2008-12-17T13:44:00.000-06:00

Post by: Paul Rogers

What Is Your Structure? What Should It Be?
These are questions that we get quite often and they might be two of the most important ones when it comes to having success with the Internet.

A) You MUST have a defined structure for your Internet initiative!
B) Defining your structure allows you to hold your people and yourself accountable
C) You need a job description that outlines exactly who is responsible for what
D) There are three basic structures – and several hybrids – to choose from

My next few posts will focus on each of these topics.

Defining your Internet Initiative structure is an essential step that many dealerships simply don’t take. (The reason I refer to it as an Internet initiative and not as a department is that many dealerships have chosen NOT to have a separate department, they choose to integrate the Internet into many of their already established processes… more on that later).

A LOT of dealerships just allow the Internet processes to evolve, without a plan or a strategy. Someone is assigned the task of responding to incoming Internet leads and then they add another someone and pretty soon they have a department. Many times management doesn’t really know who does what or how effective the department is. All they even know how to ask seems to be, “How many you got out?”

Defining your structure should be based on several different concepts, including:

Response Time = “What structure do we need to have in place to assure that incoming emails and phone calls are answered in the shortest possible time?” Phone calls need to be answered before the third ring; emails need to be answered in less than 30 minutes – immediately, if possible.

Long-term follow-up = “How can we assure that we stay in contact with our prospects, (incoming email leads) for at least 90 days?” Internet users tend to go online many weeks before they are ready to purchase. THIS IS GOOD NEWS! You can build value in your dealership and eliminate your competition by effectively responding to ALL Internet purchase requests over time.

Volume = “How can we effectively grow our Internet initiative?” You will need to be able to receive more and more email leads since the Internet is such a cost-effective marketing tool and will continue to be more and more important to your dealership’s growth and marketing strategy.

Philosophy = “Do our clients really need a unique way of buying a car, just because they used the Internet to start the process?” If you believe that they do, then you need to go with a structure that offers your customers a unique buying experience. If you feel that your traditional processes are effective for the informed and sometimes demanding nature of many Internet-sourced prospects, then one of the other structures can work well for you.

Why Buy a Toyota?

2008-12-16T10:53:00.000-06:00

The Governor of Michigan got into a debate on television this morning with the former Governor of Massachusetts (and son of the former Governor of Michigan and president of the old American Motors – AMC) about the future of the Detroit Three. Many calls are being made by people – the UAW, certain government officials, etc. – about the need to ‘Buy American’.

So why should your clients buy a Toyota? There are tons of reasons! Toyota’s quality, reliability and dependability are second to none! Most of the Toyota’s sold in North America are made in North America!

Toyota’s resale value is one of the best in the industry. Even though Toyota came in second as a brand, according to Kelley Blue Book’s 2009 residual values released today, by less than 1 point, Toyota had 6 of the top 10 models in the list!

BusinessWeek magazine has an article online about how well Toyota is handling the downturn in the economy… you can look it up here: http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/10/1020_toyota/index.htm. Among other things it mentions that when Toyota closes a plant for a few months, they don’t lay off the workers, causing more hardship on the local economy and hundreds of families. Toyota keeps the workers busy with training or working at another plant or even just cleaning up the plant where they work!

We do NOT want the domestic auto industry to go out of business. We need the Detroit Three to be in business, for the health of the nation and, selfishly, for the health of our suppliers. We want to win market share and ‘owners for life’ while allowing for a robust marketplace. Your customers need to be made to feel good about their decision to buy a new Toyota. Buying a new Toyota is good for them and good for America, too!

What other reasons are you giving your customers to buy a Toyota? Please share with us by posting your comments to this article…

Vehicle Descriptions

2008-12-15T11:23:00.000-06:00

Are you getting the most out of your Used Car Vehicle Descriptions?

Homenet already uses the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to describe the equipment that was on your used cars and trucks when they came from the factory. This includes the trim level, engine, transmission, standard and even some of the optional equipment that was on the vehicle when it left the factory.

However, if you pull up your vehicle inventory in your Homenet admin web site, you can add a unique description of that vehicle.

If you will practice using “marketing” language, you can greatly enhance the desirability of the used cars that you have to sell. This specific description should focus on what is unique about that vehicle, such as:
– Carfax history
– Vehicle repair records
– Accessories added by the previous owner
– It’s a “One-owner”
– Has low miles
– Has remaining factory warranty
– XXX-point Inspection

What is it about this vehicle that can give the future owner ‘Peace of Mind’ when they purchase it? What is it that will make the prospect be willing to pay more to own that vehicle, over a similar one that they can easily find online? Can you offer:
- References from the previous owner?
- A warranty for a limited time after the purchase?
- An exchange privilege or money-back guarantee?

One of the best things that you can do to any pre-owned Toyota is to certify it. Right now, in a time when new car sales are significantly reduced, certified cars, from almost every single IMPORT manufacturer, are up over last year, including Toyota! Toyota Certified offers many of the above mentioned benefits to your customers, such as:
– 160 point inspection
– Vehicle History Report
– 3-month/3,000 mile comprehensive warranty – plus
– Up to 7 years/100,000 mile drive train warranty
– Roadside assistance

The ability to add the label of ‘Toyota Certified’ has proven to increase the sale price, gross profit and salability of your qualifying pre-owned inventory.

Used Car Photos - Wow Factor

2008-12-12T09:49:00.000-06:00

An easy way to make a good impression on potential customers that are shopping on your website, is to have great photos of your used car inventory. Having a game plan and sticking to it, will help ensure that this never happens to you:

When did WENDY's start selling used cars???

This happens for one reason: no one is paying attention. So, here are some helpful hints that will help your inventory photos look more like this:

1. Decide between training and paying someone at the dealership to take pictures OR hiring an outside vendor to do them.

2. Decide on a location. We recommend taking the pictures indoors so that you don't have to fight weather conditions or changes in lighting. Adding your dealership name, web address and phone number to your photos (like the example above) is a good move since your photos are uploaded to other sites like Cars.com and AutoTrader. However, if you don't have the space to take the pictures inside, designate a spot outside and at least have a sign or banner in the background.

3. Invest in a tri-pod. The value far exceeds the expense in this case. Mark on the tri-pod one level for cars and another level for trucks and SUV's. Take the photo at 'steering wheel height'... it make the vehicle look bigger! This will give your photos consistancy and send the message to customers that your dealership pays close attention to detail.

4. Only one vehicle per photo, please. Don't give potential customers any opportunities to focus on other things in the picture. Pull each vehicle aside and make it look its best. Let's use this as an example of what NOT to do:

As you can barely see, this is a Solara convertible. This car should be pulled away from everything else and photographed with the top down on a sunny day. This photo isn't very motivating, but by making a few changes, customers could picture themselves driving down the road, with their hair blowing in the breeze.

5. Inspect the final results. Remember, the purpose of your used car photos is to motivate that shopper to become a buyer. Based on the quality of your photos, would YOU be motivated to buy your used cars and trucks?

What Affects Your SEO? Part 1

2008-12-11T14:16:00.001-06:00

Since roughly 50% of all of your web site traffic will get to you through a Search Engine, it is incredibly important that you do an excellent job of optimizing your web site for those Search Engines. We call this Search Engine Optimization or SEO.

In web site design, there are four basic categories that affect your placement on a Search Engine results page. Based on the search criteria (keywords) that the customer types into the ‘Search’ gadget, the Search Engine will return results that it ‘feels’ will be of the most value to the consumer. What is shown to the customer will be very highly based on where they are located and the following four items:

- Title Tags = labels of about 20 or so characters that describes what is on that page

- Content = the words on the page (Search Engines don’t read pictures or Flash – only text)

- URL = it’s usually wise to own three or maybe four URL’s, such as common misspellings of your true web address

- Links = this determines how ‘popular’ your web site is. If others link to your web site, that implies that your web site has a lot of value to people

Clickmotive, the builder of your web site, does a fantastic job with the first of these four items. They will build literally thousands of pages in your web site, each with a unique Title Tag. If you were to look into a typical car dealer’s web site, you would see maybe 3-500 pages, most of them with exactly the same Title Tag. In a Clickmotive web site, there are typically 2-3,000 pages, all with unique Title Tags.

What Affects Your SEO Part 2

2008-12-10T15:10:00.000-06:00

Search Engine Optimization is one of the critical things that every dealer should pay attention to. There are things that you can do in the other three categories that can improve your placement on the Search Engine results page.
First, you can put some level of custom text on almost every page. For example, you can place a paragraph on your homepage in the ‘Custom Text’ area.

This can and should include all of the communities in your primary market areas, (PMA). If my dealership were in New York City, I might want to be certain that Manhattan, Brooklyn and Harlem were listed somewhere on my web site, as long as they are a part of my PMA. We strongly encourage you NOT TO INLCUDE THE NAMES OF CITIES THAT ARE NOT IN YOUR PMA! This could cause you some severe penalties from Toyota and from the Search Engine itself, when (not if) you get caught. You can also include this information on your ‘About Us’ web page.

To make changes to this Custom Text section, log in to Fusion Tools and select Custom Text from the menu on the left.

Second, you can do some research about similar URL’s and you can purchase those that make sense. If my dealership’s name were Rogers Toyota, I would also want to own Rodgers Toyota and Roger’s Toyota if it were possible, since these are common misspellings of my dealership’s name.

Third, you should look for opportunities to build links in your web site from other related and non-automotive web sites. These can include other dealerships if you are part of a group or a ‘mother’ site for the entire group. Or it may be for the local Better Business Bureau or Chamber of Commerce. If your dealer has organizations that they support like a university, charity or community organization, you should arrange for links from their site to yours. You can arrange for links from your local media web sites to your web site, especially if you are already spending thousands of dollars advertising with those companies.

Finally, although it’s not part of the construction of the web site, one other item that can improve your SEO is frequently updating and maintaining the site. Much of this is done for you with automatic used car specials and updated incentives, but anything that you can do, like new car specials, will also help.

Got Video?

2008-12-10T12:31:00.000-06:00

Continuing with our discussion of things you can customize on your dealer home page, how about we briefly talk about the VIDEO portion? It is located in the upper right-hand corner.

If your dealership has a video that is already made about your sale of the month or your new facility, call the 800 number and find out what format is needed. It's as easy as that. A video library is already loaded for you that includes videos for each Toyota model that you sell. Links to these videos can be sent to customers, so take advantage of this great tool.

Note: Videos only appear one at a time on your home page. They are managed differently than Banners. Remember, Banners rotate through while someone is visiting your home page, while the same video appears until you go into the Fusion Tool and change it. Here is a screen shot of the Video page in the Fusion Tool. Piece of cake.

Enticements

2008-12-09T14:41:00.000-06:00

We've been talking about getting the most out of your dealership's Home Page. We've discussed Logos, Slogans and Banners. Now, we'd like to talk about the little yellow button in the center of your Home Page. That button is called an Enticement and putting the right offer with it can help you receive more leads from your website.

We would encourage you to think outside the box when selecting your offer. The majority of car shoppers are concerned with payment, so $200 off the price might not be too enticing since that is only a few dollars off of the payment. So, what else can you offer? Grab the Best Buy advertisement out of the weekend paper and see what they have on sale. Toyota shoppers tend to love gadgets, so why not give an iPod, XBox game, digital camera, all-in-one printer, portable gps system, or even a vaccuum.

The great thing about this Enticement, is that when you create it in Fusion Tools, it automatically posts in three places on your website. Select Enticement from the main menu on the Fusion home page.

This is the only place you have to make updates and changes to your Enticement and it will show up one these pages, in addition to your home page.

Please remember to track your offer and it's effectiveness and change it at least monthly!

Info-Mania

2008-12-08T18:06:00.000-06:00

Hopefully you have seen the tab at the top of your Home Page with the title "Information."

Do you need some ideas about what should be listed under that broad category? We are here to help. This is a great place for you to brag on your dealership. Customers buy from people and dealers they like, but they can't make that decision without the right information.

Here are some topics that we have seen recently:

About Us/Why You Should Buy From Us

Meet Our Staff (With Photos)

Our Partnerships (With Logos)

New Owner's Clinic (With Photos)

Happy Customers (With Photos)

Toyota Mobility Program

Military Discount Program

Child Safety Program

A few things to remember:

1. If you are going to post photos of customers, you must have written permission. If you can get those happy customers to write a few kind words, the positive effects will go a long way.

2. To create these pages, you simply log in to Fusion Tools and select Custom Pages from the main menu on the left.

*If you get stuck or need more information, call 866.428.9104.

Essentials of a Lead Management System

2008-12-04T19:40:00.001-06:00

We get asked a LOT about Internet Lead Management Systems (ILMS). Here are some of the essentials to consider when shopping for a new system:
- House your database of potential customers.
- Be certified compliant by your OEM.
- Be able to accept leads from all your lead suppliers. Website, Inventory sites like Auto Trader, Third party lead providers, Phone tracking services like Who’s Calling , OEM, etc.
- Be able to ‘read’ the incoming lead, automatically ‘pull’ information from it and plug that information into outgoing emails using <>
- Allow for manual lead/customer creation to log phone and floor-ups
- Be accessible away from the store using any computer connected to the Internet
- Provide an action plan for lead handling and follow-up including, Calendar function, To-do lists, Both manual and automated lead follow-up schedules based on status of lead
- Be able to house a library of quality HTML email templates and be able to pull from that library to semi-automatically send emails
- Supply you with templates at the touch of a button, and allow you to insert your own
- Provide a ‘SPAM-checker’ feature to assure deliverability of emails and templates
- Allow you to run the reports you need to track your business like: Cost per lead by source / cost per sale by source, ROI by lead source, ROI by Salesperson, Closing ratio by lead source, Closing ratios by sales person, Response time
- Have the ability to send Bulk Emails.
- Allow you to sort leads and owners based on several criteria e.g.; age, contact, model requested, trade-in, etc.
- Allow you to market to your current owner base.
- Allow you to easily edit/update customer information.
- Provide two-way communication with the Dealer Management System.
- Accepts leads in ADF, XML and XADF format.
- Multiple levels of user access and control with ‘director’ notification of ineffective sales activity
-Provide inventory integration.
- Allow for ISM schedules to be inserted and automatic ‘round-robin’ dispersal of leads, based on availability
- Allow a ‘director’ to suspend a ISM’s reception of new leads based on performance
- A “30-day Out” clause in the contract – no long term commitments required. Technology changes.

Establish Two-Way Communication

2008-12-04T11:38:00.000-06:00

There are four steps to selling a car from leads through the Internet… Contact; Set an appointment; Have the buyer show up for the appointment and Sell the car. Of these, the most difficult one to accomplish a 60% success rate will be establishing two-way communication with the person who sent you a lead. (By the way, please don’t refer to it as a ‘lead’ when talking to your buyer. I hear salespeople say, “You sent me a lead…” and this means nothing to the buyer… what’s a lead? Instead refer to it as an online purchase request through whichever source they used, such as… “I am responding to the online purchase request you sent through Dealix.com…”)

There are a lot of reasons why the buyer does not respond. Some who use a third party web site had no idea that they were sending their information to a dealer. If they were on your manufacturer’s web site, they may assume that they were circumventing the dealer. Some thought that they would be immediately emailed a price on the vehicle, because that is exactly what some web sites promise. Many are not yet in the actual market for a car; they are in the “thinking” stage and are not yet ready to talk with anyone.

In order to sell the number of cars that you need to sell, you MUST do what is necessary to establish contact with the buyer. I am going to offer three solutions to you so that you can get more of your buyers to respond to you and thereby, sell more cars. Some of these are fairly basic for you, if so, I hope that you are doing them. If you are not, this is your chance to make some changes.

1. Send a response that means something to the buyer

If the person sending you an email is truly in the market now, then almost all of them have two questions in mind… “Do you have what I want?”… “How much is it?” Your email should answer these questions for the buyer, to your complete satisfaction. Let me explain. Many dealerships have a policy of avoidance of the price issue until after they have established contact and have a relationship with the buyer. Even if you cannot quote a price on your first or second email, you MUST address the price issue in a manner that makes the buyer want to continue forward with your dealership as a source for their new car or truck.

Many dealerships send a photo of the exact vehicle that the buyer has requested. Others send a copy of the window sticker, which Toyota now makes available – called V-spec. Still others send three photos… a “good, better, best” scenario that exposes the buyer to inventory alternatives.

One of my personal pet peeves is the email that promises a “no-hassle” experience, but then tells the buyer absolutely nothing about the car they have requested and attempts to turn them into a phone up… “Please call me for more information.” Man, I HATE that! What I dislike most about it is that it is passive and places the buyer in control of the next step, which they seldom take! So the next step is…

2. Go to the phones quickly!

Instead of telling the buyer to call you… Call them… NOW!

Let them know in your initial response that a phone call is coming. Then tell them to call you or email you if they don’t want that phone call. Be prepared with inventory lists and pricing, within your dealerships allowed parameters, so you can answer the buyer’s questions and get them in the dealership to take the car for a spin… (never a test drive!) Your phone technique is just as important as your email and face-to-face skills need to be. Use the telephone to establish trust and rapport and to get the buyer to want to meet you… soon.

3. Have a plan for long-term follow up

Since many of the people sending you an email lead are not yet ready to shop for a car, you need to be ready to communicate new information to them over time.

Your initial response should address the two critical questions on the buyer’s mind… “Yes I have it and it will cost approximately…”. But, after that, you need to be able to offer more reasons for them to buy from you than just price. Unless it is a hard to find vehicle, the person sending you an online purchase request can buy it from just about anyone. You must be prepared to tell the buyer why they should buy from you and your dealership. This should take some work and creativity… you need to differentiate yourself and your dealership from anyone else they might be considering.

You can do this by having several email templates in your files that address the questions… “Why buy from this dealership, based on our inventory, facilities, location, Service or Parts departments, lower tax rate, awards received, years in business, actual owner testimonials, etc.?”, “Why buy from me?”, “Why buy this particular Make?”, “Why buy this particular Model?”, “What else in our inventory might meet your needs and save you money?”

Once you have these email templates created, you can set up a schedule as to when you can send them out and therefore maintain contact with your potential buyers, over time, with new information every time.

Please remember, lots of people promise good service and a “no-hassle” experience, but few truly offer one. One of the most important characteristics of a successful salesperson is credibility… they do what they say that they will do. Don’t just offer a great experience… spend the time and effort to truly give your buyers one.

Embrace Failure to Achieve Success - 4X60

2008-12-04T11:37:00.003-06:00

How many of you like to fail? I will assume that no one raised their hand… that’s what usually happens when I ask that question to a group of highly successful salespeople. Now, please think of anything you have attempted to do, that was new and complicated, that you were successful at the very first time you tried it… walking, talking, hitting a baseball, skiing, selling a car… anything. And even now, with experience and skills, isn’t it true that when you receive an Internet lead, you fail far more frequently than you succeed?

What I want you to do is to embrace failure, manage failure and finally succeed through failure. I want you to accept the fact that most of the people who contact you using the Internet will NOT buy a car from you. That’s okay… most of them don’t need to buy a car from you in order for you to be successful. The truth is, I want you to fail. I want you to fail in order to achieve your goal. I want you to fail 40% of the time to achieve your goal, four separate times and you will still be successful.

Let me explain. Selling a car through the Internet is no different than anything else; there is a process involved. When you first learned to sell cars, you probably learned the 10 or 12 steps to a sale that began with the Meet and Greet and ended with the Delivery. The same applies with the Internet, except there are only four steps, once you have received a lead. Step one is contact; that means that using any means available, you achieve two-way communication with your clients. Step two is to set an appointment to visit the dealership. Step three is to do all in your power to assure that the client shows up for their appointment. Step four is to sell the car, probably using most of the 10 or 12 steps to a sale that you first learned when you started your car-selling career. When I stated earlier that I wanted you to fail at these four steps, I was serious… I want you to fail 40% of the time, four different times. Of course, that means that I want you to be successful 60% of the time! And that will get you to where you want to be.

Step One: Contact. When I stated that you must use every means possible to establish contact, it is because this may be the most difficult of the four steps in which to achieve a 60% success rate. As you already know, there is a phenomenon in Internet Automotive Sales where the customer clicks ‘send’ on their lead information form, from whichever source they are using to send a lead and then they immediately go on a vacation to MARS! You reply by email, hopefully within less than 30 minutes and there is no reply. If you rely on email alone, you may never reach this buyer. You need to send an email that means something to the buyer (more on that later) as soon as is humanly possible. Then you need to follow that up immediately with a phone call. Then you need to send another, different email with content that is also worthwhile to the buyer. You need to vary the time of day that you call and you need to keep calling and emailing until you get a reply… not so frequently that it becomes obnoxious, but frequent enough to be called ‘persistent’.

Step Two: Set an appointment. Why would anyone be willing to set an appointment to visit a car dealership? Simple… because the dealership has something that they want. And I am not only speaking of the car or truck… with a few exceptions they can get one of those almost anywhere. What I am talking about is that not only does the dealership with which they are willing to make an appointment have the vehicle that they are interested in, they also offer something more. You decide what that ‘something more’ is. Is it the best price, the best service, the best selection? IS IT YOU? The buyer has to have a good and valid reason to set aside time in their lives to visit a dealership. I call it… “theygottawannameetya”. The buyer has see value to them of coming down to the dealership and meeting with you, or someone else, and it has to be compelling enough to overcome whatever is holding them back.

Step Three: The buyer shows up for the appointment. While this seems to be the simplest part of the equation, believe it or not, it is a very common point of failure for a LOT of salespeople. I mean, after all, in order to get a 100% appointment show rate, all that has to happen is that the buyer does what they said they would do in the first place. So why is this so difficult… who knows. Perhaps they set the appointment just to get you off the phone. Maybe something came up. Maybe they stopped by a competitor on the way to you. Lots of things happen. You need to do all you can to be certain that it happens with 40% of your appointments and no more. This includes sending a separate email, after the appointment is made, with turn-by-turn directions to the dealership. It means that a manager from the dealership calls to confirm the appointment either the day of the appointment or the day before they are scheduled to arrive.

Step Four: Sell the car. This is the easy part… the ‘no-brainer’. Of the people that send Internet leads, most of you currently sell 50-60% of those that show up at the dealership.

So… those are the steps. I want you to fail 40% of the time in each one of those steps. If you receive 100 leads in a month and 40% disappear with no further contact, that means you will talk to 60 buyers. And if 40% of them refuse to set aside time to visit the dealership, then you will have 36 appointments. If 40% of those people fail to show up for their appointments, then you will have 21 buyers arrive at your dealership. And you are probably selling 60% of those who show up so you will have a 13% close ratio.

If you aren’t currently closing 13% of your Internet leads, figure out which step is weak and work on that one. If you are selling 13% or more, then you should be looking for ways of getting even more leads than you currently are, because you are already very successful and you need to make more money than you are now!

Continuously Measure the "Big Three"

2008-11-20T11:37:00.000-06:00

“That which gets measured tends to improve”

Closing Ratio – will be heavily dependant on your lead source ratios. For example, if you purchase the bulk of your leads from third-party lead providers (AutoTrader, Dealix, AutoUSA) then you will have a lower closing ratio than if your primary source of leads is your own web site. Leads from your own web site will almost always be about specific vehicles, be from “lower-funnel” prospects and close at the highest rate. You have LOTS of lead sources available to you. Regardless of whether you get a lot or a little number of leads from Toyota.com, your web site, SEM or third-party sources; you need to track and measure your closing ratio by source and make certain that whichever source it is, you are getting an excellent closing ratio.

Cost per Sale – has a lot to do with closing ratio. The more sales that you close per lead source, the lower your cost per sale will be with that source. Leads from Toyota and your own web will have the lowest cost per sale (CPS). This is because Toyota leads a free and once you pay for your web site, the more leads you get from it, the lower your cost per lead is. That is why we encourage you to heavily promote your web site in every way possible. In general, your CPS for any third-party source should average less than $200. If you have a source that is higher than $200, there needs to be a very strong, compelling reason to keep them – a high per car gross profit average may be an example of such a reason.

Return on Investment – is determined by the percentage of revenue that you are able to keep, after removing the costs of doing business. For example, let’s say that you sold 100 units and made $120,000. Your lead costs were $9,000 and your other costs (compensation, advertising, etc.) were $33,000. Divide your expenses by your gross and you find that your expenses were 35% - meaning your Return on Investment equals 65% - a very healthy return! Always remember – “More important than what you make, more important than what you spend, is the difference between the two – what you get to keep!”

Email Template - Bought Elsewhere/Referrals

2008-11-18T10:42:00.000-06:00

{First Name} {Last Name}

I wanted to thank you for the opportunity to assist you in your vehicle purchase.

Even though you chose to purchase elsewhere, I hope you will consider giving our service department your business when it comes to servicing your new {Vehicle}.

You can now schedule your future service appointments using our website.

Simply click on the link below and follow the steps to set up any service your vehicle might need. After setting up your appointment, you will receive a confirmation as well as a reminder email the day before your appointment.

Plus, there are money saving coupons on our website. Be sure to check them out when you are setting up your first appointment!

Here is the link: www.ourdealership.com/service

Julie L. Chisum. Internet Manager. {Our Dealership}. jchisum@dealership.com
281-777-SALES. http://www.dealership.com/ . Come Get the Best Deal in Texas

P.S. Who do you know that is next? If anyone you know is in the market for a new or pre-owned car or truck, please pass along my information. I would love an opportunity to help them! If they buy from me, I’ll send you $100!

Email Template - College Grad Program

2008-11-16T10:39:00.000-06:00

{First Name} {Last Name}

Thank you for your interest in the {Make} {Model}. I have several that match exactly what you are looking for and there is a {Blank} Rebate from Toyota through the end of this month!

To see all of Toyota’s current incentives, click here.

The main reason for this email is to inform you of Toyota’s College Graduate Program.
It is a wonderful way for those just finishing school and stepping out into the workforce, to save some money and get the vehicle they’ve always wanted! If you or anyone you know is graduating or will be soon, please pass along the following information:

What You Get:
- $400 toward the purchase of a new Toyota to qualifying graduates
- No money down and no monthly payments for 90 days
- Complimentary Roadside Assistance for one year
- Competitive APRs on New and Toyota Certified Used Vehicles

How to Qualify:

Get that degree! To take advantage of the program you must:
- Have graduated from an accredited four-year college, university, or registered nursing degree program during the last two years or graduate from such a school/program within the next six months,
- Have graduated from an accredited two-year college during the last two years,
- Be enrolled in an accredited graduate degree program or have received a degree from an accredited graduate program during the last two years,
- Have graduated during the last two years from the two-year Toyota Technical Education Network (T-TEN) Program or any other two-year post secondary automotive program accredited by the NATEF, or
- Have completed an electrician apprenticeship/certification program during the last two years through the NJATC and the IBEW.

Get a job! Show proof of present employment, or future employment with a start date within 120 days of your purchase contract date. Toyota Financial Services (TFS) must deem your salary sufficient to cover living expenses and vehicle payments.

Get insured! Bring proof of collision insurance, as required by TFS. See your dealer for details.
Minor credit lapses allowed! Obligations paid within 60 days or less of the due date and non-credit related (e.g., rent, utilities, health club membership, etc.) charge-offs less than $250 are acceptable.

Julie L. Chisum. Internet Manager. {Our Dealership}. jchisum@dealership.com
281-777-SALES. http://www.dealership.com/ . Come Get the Best Deal in Texas

Email Template - Why Toyota?

2008-11-14T10:37:00.000-06:00

{First Name} {Last Name}

Thank you again for your purchase request for the {Make} {Model}. I wanted to take a moment and share some reasons that owning a Toyota is a great decision!

Toyota is celebrating its 50th year in America!
In April 2007, Toyota broke ground on its 11th American manufacturing plant.

It’s estimated that Toyota’s presence in America is responsible for creating approximately 386,000 jobs!

Toyota has contributed over $340 Million to American community and non-profit groups since 1991.

Toyota focuses on fuel economy and low emissions and has won environmental awards from the EPA, National Wildlife Federation and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Toyota offers a very diverse line-up including cars, trucks, vans, SUV’s and two hybrid vehicles. With so much to choose from, I’m certain you will find a fantastic fit for your driving needs. To see the complete Toyota line-up, click on the link below.
www.toyota.com/modelselector

Don’t forget---the best new cars also make the best used cars! The Toyota Certified Used Vehicle (TCUV) program provides a 160 point inspection, 7 year/100,000 mile power train warranty, and Road Side Assistance.
To view our current TCUV inventory at {Dealership Name}, please click here.

There are many incentives available this month on Toyota vehicles! Please visit our site to view them at www.dealership.com/incentives.

In addition to the manufacturer incentives, I am offering a $250 Shell gas card with the purchase of any new or certified used Toyota---but only through March 15th, 2008!!! Don’t miss this deal!!!

Julie L. Chisum. Internet Manager. {Our Dealership}. jchisum@dealership.com
281-777-SALES. http://www.dealership.com/ . Come Get the Best Deal in Texas

Email Template - Why Model? - Tundra

2008-11-12T10:35:00.000-06:00

{First Name} {Last Name}

I wanted to share some information with you regarding the {Make} {Model} that you are considering.

§ The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently recognized the Toyota Tundra with the Top Safety Pick!

§ The Tundra was named the 2008 Motor Trend Truck of the Year!

With three engines to choose from, you are certain to find the horsepower and torque just right for your driving or towing needs. Here are some of the specifics:

4.0 L V-6 Engine 236 Horsepower 266 lbs of Torque
4.7 L V-8 Engine 276 Horsepower 313 lbs of Torque
5.7 L V-8 Engine 381 Horsepower 401 lbs of Torque

For detailed information on the towing capacity of the Tundra, click here.

Julie L. Chisum. Internet Manager. {Our Dealership}. jchisum@dealership.com
281-777-SALES. http://www.dealership.com/ . Come Get the Best Deal in Texas

P.S. Have you taken the Tundra for a spin? If not, consider making an appointment to come visit me or click on the link below to learn more about our “Office Test Drive” Program and our Extra Value Package for our Internet customers.
www.dealership.com/testdrive

EMail Template - Why Model? - Camry

2008-11-10T10:19:00.000-06:00

{First Name} {Last Name}

I wanted to share some information with you regarding the {Make}{Model} that you are considering.

§ AAA and Parents Magazine recently named the 2007 Toyota Camry one of the best sedans for families!

§ The Camry was also named the 2007 Motor Trend Car of the Year!

Each of Camry’s performance components is innovative and tuning them to work in concert is what helps set it apart:

All-aluminum 268 horsepower that delivers 0-60 in 6.5 seconds
28 mpg EPA highway rating with reduced Emissions
6 speed automatic transmission with sequential shift for better control
Sport tuned transmission and chassis for better stability and handling

$250 Gift Card to Best Buy with every purchase of Toyota Camry.
(through 3-31-08)

Julie L. Chisum . Internet Manager . {Our Dealership} . jchisum@dealership.com
281-777-SALES . http://www.dealership.com/ . Come Get the Best Deal in Texas

P.S. Have you taken the Camry for a spin? If not, consider making an appointment to come visit me or click on the link below to learn more about our “Office Test Drive” Program.

www.dealership.com/testdrive

Email Template - Why Me?

2008-11-08T10:17:00.000-06:00

{First Name} {Last Name}

I know how hard it is to trust someone---especially when you are buying a car!
So, I wanted to take a minute and introduce myself.

This is my eighth year in the car business. I wandered in to {Our Dealership} during the summer of 2000, looking for something to occupy my time. I was a kindergarten teacher and I thought selling Toyotas would be good way to spend the summer. It turned out to be a GREAT way to spend those three months!

I’ve made the Master Sales Society 5 of those eight years and helping people select and purchase cars and trucks has become one of my passions. (Some of my others are photography, cooking and playing the drums.)

Hundreds of parents trusted me day after day to take care of their precious little kids for those five years I taught school---I hope you will trust me to help you through this car buying process.

Julie L. Chisum . Internet Manager . {Our Dealership} . jchisum@dealership.com
281-777-SALES . http://www.dealership.com/ . Come Get the Best Deal in Texas

P.S. I have a special this week—with every Camry, 4Runner or Tacoma purchase you will receive a FREE Wii System!!! Hurry in or email me at redraider1@myspace.com.

Email Template - Why Buy Here?

2008-11-06T10:15:00.000-06:00

{First Name} {Last Name}

So, why should you buy all of your future vehicles from {Our Dealership}?
Let me see if I can help answer that very important question.

- We have been in business since 1957, when the blank family opened the dealership on the corner of blank and blank. {Our Dealership} has been selling and servicing vehicles ever since!
- We have been recognized for our excellent customer service with the President’s Award for the past 4 years!
- Our unique and consistent business practices have been featured in Automotive News twice since the year 2000.
- We have WIFI, a coffee shop and deli, Toyota Rental Car, and Quickie Insurance right on our property!
- Our Service Department is ranked #1 in Texas and #15 in the nation with 100% of our technicians being ASE certified.

In addition to all of these reasons, there is also the Extra Value Package we offer exclusively to our Internet customers. This package is designed to save you time and money and is our way of saying thank you. Click here for more information.

I know there a lot of places you can choose to do business when buying a car. I appreciate the opportunity you’ve given me and {Our Dealership} to help you through this process.

If you have questions, you can call or email or we can instant message. I can be reached from 11:30-1:00 M-W-F at REDRAIDER1@yahoo.com.

Julie L. Chisum . Internet Manager . {Our Dealership} . jchisum@dealership.com
281-777-SALES . http://www.dealership.com/ . Come Get the Best Deal in Texas

P.S. Don’t forget to visit our website: http://www.ourdealership.com/ and browse through our pre-owned inventory as well as our late night specials!

Email Template - Initial Response - Model Specific

2008-11-04T10:12:00.000-06:00

{First Name}{Last Name}

I received your purchase request for the {Year}{Make}{Model} and I have great news!
We have that exact vehicle in stock and your special internet price is listed below:

MSRP: $$$$$
Discount: $$$
Incentives: $$$
Your Price: $$$$$ (Good through MM-DD-YYY)

I would also like to take this time to introduce you to our Internet Extra Value Package which is designed to save you even more time and money!

{Our Dealership}Extra Value Package Includes:

- The vehicle(s) you are interested in driving will be pulled up (out of the weather) and waiting for you.
- One $25 Visa Gift Card Just for Visiting our Dealership and Test driving
- A FREE gift from our Parts Department after your test drive
- One FREE Oil Change from our Service Department

*Just print off this email and bring it with you when you decide to come in to see me.

I am ready to assist you in any way, whether it’s information gathering, accessory pricing, or financing options. I’ll be calling you soon just to ensure that you received this email—spam filters can be tricky!

Lastly, please take a look at our Toyota Certified Inventory for some great deals on late model Toyotas with an outstanding 7 year warranty! Just click here: http://www.toyotacertified.com/.

Julie L. Chisum . Internet Manager . {Our Dealership} . jchisum@dealership.com
281-777-SALES . http://www.dealership.com/ . Come Get the Best Deal in Texas

P.S. I noticed that you are trading in a Toyota – How many Toyota’s will this make for you?

Stuck In The Middle

2008-10-18T14:04:00.000-05:00

Let's continue with our talk about your Dealership Home Page, specifically, the items down the middle of the page. This is prime real estate, so make sure you are customizing and updating each section on a regular basis.

First up: Banners

We would highly encourage you to place a banner in rotation that shows a nice, professional picture of your store. This can be a big help to customers and help you promote your facility. You will need to call 888.414.3071 to get the details on what is needed to build the banner but you can manage the length of time and number of banners that go in rotation. For instance, you may want the banner of your dealership to last 6 seconds, and the others to just be up for 3 seconds. This is all managed through Fusion Tools. Here is a screen shot of what that page looks like.

If you need your user name and password for this tool, just call the 800 number and they will get you what you need. You should also have banners that highlight any special events or sales that are going on at your dealership. Just make sure that they are up-to-date. It can do a lot of harm when customers see a Memorial Day Sale banner in October. But you would never let that happen. Right?

What's Up Homie?

2008-10-16T17:59:00.000-05:00

Are you getting the most out of your Home Page? Have you customized all of the areas that are available for customization? Let's dig in and find out. We are going to have several posts that will point out areas that should be customized on your dealer Home Page and details that will help you get the most out of each section.

What's in a name?

A great place to start is with your dealership's Logo. It's important to marry all of the traditional advertising with what is found on your website. Potential customers need to see consistancy in all things that are connected to your dealership and one easy way to do that is by placing your logo on the home page. Just call 888.414.3071 to get it done.

While we're on the subject, and since it's right there in the same section, let's talk about slogans. IF your dealership has a slogan that is used in all other advertising, go ahead and put it right next to your LOGO. Good idea, huh? Just call 888.414.3071 to get it done.

One last point. If you are part of a dealer group or have a Scion store, you can have those logos added at the bottom of your Home Page. Just call 888.414.3071 to get it done.

Vehicle Descriptions Make ALL the Difference!

2008-10-14T16:00:00.000-05:00

If you have a web site provided to your dealership by GS Marketing, we use Homenet to maintain your inventory. The Homenet admin tool allows you to add a description for every used car that you stock.

We would encourage you to use “marketing language” to tell your customers what is unique about that vehicle. Does it have low miles? Aftermarket accessories? Carfax history report? Has your dealership done all of the service to it? Is it a one-owner? Is it certified? Does it have a remaining manufacturer or dealership warranty? Is the previous owner willing to be a reference about its condition?

Here’s a great trick. In your description of EVERY used car in your inventory, add a link back to your web site’s specific inventory page for that vehicle! This may bring more viewers to your web site, but, more importantly, it should also improve your web site’s Search Engine Optimization.

One of the items that determine how high you appear on a Search Engine results page is the number of outside links that you have coming into your web site. With dozens (or hundreds) of your vehicles listed on several third-party sites that includes links back to your site, your SEO should be significantly improved.

Adjust Who You Are, Based on Who They Are

2008-10-07T14:40:00.000-05:00

In using the Internet, you will attract a certain type of client. Make sure that the manner in which they are treated when they visit the store is consistent with the way that is most effective in selling to them. You know, the golden rule doesn’t usually work in selling. The golden rule states that you should treat others the way you want to be treated.

But not everyone is like you. If you want to sell someone something, you must treat them the way they want to be treated. They may not be like you and may want things that are completely unimportant to you.

The Internet shopper comes to you from a position of strength, with knowledge and a plan of action. They are educated, credit worthy, time challenged and demanding. They receive a very high level of service in their other transactions and expect the same from you. To treat them as if they are the adversary will not only turn them off but will cause them to leave without buying and take all their friends and referrals with them.

You must make a decision as to how you will most effectively sell to this client and then set up procedures to follow in doing so. And then you need to stick with that procedure, fine tuning it as you go.

Who Are You?

2008-09-21T14:32:00.000-05:00

There’s a great moment at the beginning of the first Batman movie, (the one with Michael Keaton as the Batman) when a bad guy yells at Batman, “who are you?” This comes after he beats two guys up, jumps twenty feet through the air and lands unharmed and after bullets bounce off his chest. Any one would ask the same question. Many times your clients wonder the same thing about your dealership. Who are you? How can I find you? What can I expect when dealing with you? Are you willing to treat me the way I deserve to be treated or will my perception of you be one of abuse and manipulation?

‘Who are you’ may seem to you like of a silly question, but it becomes a very appropriate one as it pertains to the Internet. In the Virtual World of the Internet, you are what your web site and your emails say that you are. Increasingly, you will have clients whose primary and sometimes only impression of you is what you present in your web site. They will make the decision of whether they wish to deal with you or visit your store based solely on how you present yourself on your web site. Establishing a clear image of who you are entails three related topics; A] Build a web site that informs, entertains and welcomes the guest. B] Get the word out! Let everyone know your web address. C] Make sure your selling philosophy is conducive with your overall message that you want to convey.

Sometimes I think that the CIA is the primary producer of web sites in America. The reason I say that is that many dealerships treat their web address as if it were a national secret. It’s amazing to me how many places we go to train, and ask what their web site address is and no one seems to know. Everyone from the receptionist to the General Manager knows that they have a web site but couldn’t say how to get there. One of the central keys to success on the Internet is to dive traffic to your web site. The URL, {web site address such as http://www.smalltownmotors.com/} should be listed everywhere imaginable. EVERYWHERE! Everyplace your phone number appears, your web address should appear. All your classified advertising should feature it, and not in tiny print like a lease disclosure, but BIG and BOLD. Your key fobs, windows, license plate frames and every piece of stationary from business cards to parts and service tickets should have your web address. Your sales person’s uniform shirts should have you web address. Your radio, and of course your TV ads should feature it. Every employee should not only know what your web address is but should be very familiar with what’s on your web site so they can explain it to their friends and relatives. Make your people proud of their dealership. At one store, they had an evening at the dealership for all dealership employees and their families to familiarize them all with the web site and they went through it with several computers to educate over a hundred people in how to find things using the Internet. Each one of them becomes an ambassador of good will for the Virtual Dealership.

Remember, the Internet, as a marketing tool for automobiles, is still very new, barely ten years old. No one has a lock on the only way to make it work. Like any type of selling, there are lots of ways to sell using the Internet. Some are effective, some much less so. You need to find the way that works for you and make a plan to accomplish it. Many of our clients are experiencing tremendous growth and success through their Internet services. Closing ratios above 25% are becoming much more common and gross profit levels equal to those of the traditional shoppers are being enjoyed by those who are taking this effort seriously and dedicating themselves to it. We hope you will as well.

The 10 Commandments of Internet Sales Success

2008-09-15T14:18:00.000-05:00

1. Assure the total buy-in of all Departments and Management including Sales, Service, Parts, Finance and Accounting.

2. Assign and train a team of Internet specialists

3. Organize the reception of internet leads to assure timely follow-up of all leads as quickly as is humanly possible

4. Build several effective templates of e-mails to simplify the contacting process. Make it personal and warm, not too business-like

5. Follow-up based on the manner preferred by the guest but be prepared for e-mail to be the dominant first contact method

6. Use e-mail to set up the phone call in order to get and appointment

7. Maximize your phone call effectiveness. Setting appointments is the single biggest key to internet success

8. Follow-up as necessary. Don’t be obnoxious, but look for reasons to follow-up instead of reasons not to. It may take a little longer than normal to sell this type of guest.

9. Track your effectiveness. At least these five items need to be tracked on a daily basis:
Number of Leads Received
Number of Contacts Made
Number of Appointments Made
Number of Sales Made
Gross Profit, both Front-End and Back-End

10. Advertise your web address in every place imaginable

R2D2 is Calling

2008-09-10T14:12:00.000-05:00

One of the keys to building a strong first impression with your Internet Guests will be timely contacting of that guest. It is true that the Internet Buyer is usually earlier in the shopping process than the walk-in guest, and will therefore take a little longer to make a buying decision. However, by contacting that guest quickly, their perception of the quality of the service you offer and your desire to earn their business is greatly enhanced. We emphatically encourage you to contact your Internet leads as quickly as is humanly possible by e-mail and then to follow up with a telephone call.

We are regularly asked about auto-responders from your Internet Lead Management System (ILMS). Typically we recommend that you NOT use one during business hours, however, due to reductions in many sales forces and the tremendous number leads and other responsibilities that our Internet Sellers are receiving, perhaps an auto-responder can make sense.
One of the major reasons that we want to make this change is that we believe that most dealerships are currently selling about twice as many cars through the Internet than they are getting credit for.

The reason that we say this is the tremendous number of people who buy from you, that you don’t get credit for. These are those who submit a lead and come in to buy a car, but neglect to ask for the Internet Specialist when they do. We find this to be very common and it’s costing you both money and credibility. We recommend that you initiate the automated response to help you get your name (and a reason to ask for you) in front of the client one more time in order to help them remember to ask for you.

Please don’t use this automated response as an excuse not to follow up with the lead. Automated responses are a very poor substitute for personal contact, mostly because the client knows that it’s an automated response. In fact, this new service may add pressure for timely follow up rather than remove it because now the client has a name of the person who they should be talking to.

Also, please remember, machines can do a lot to make our jobs and lives easier, however when dealing with human beings, especially in a selling environment, personal contact is not only appreciated but is essential to your ultimate success. The quality and timeliness of your e-mails and phone contacts will make the difference between a sale for you or a sale for someone else.

Some Email Template General Guidelines

2008-09-05T13:58:00.000-05:00

Many of us have a difficulty expressing exactly what we would like to say in a business correspondence. In our e-mail responses, it is sometimes hard to get to the point and yet remain diplomatic. For this reason, we would like to offer the following suggestions to improve the quality of your e-mail responses. In your training we offer several templates of effective e-mails.
Here, we will offer some brief guidelines so you can make your own e-mails more effective.

1. More than anything else, the timeliness of your e-mail response will tell the guest that you are interested in earning their business. A quick response means business. If you can set up procedures in your dealership to allow you to respond while the guest is still in your web site, this will greatly enhance the likelihood of a sale.

2. Build templates of typical responses and then simply make the changes of name, make, model, etc.

3. Keep it friendly. Don’t be so business-like that the buyer doesn’t want to meet you.

4. Focus on the benefits to the buyer. Be sure to offer all the services you can. This doesn’t all have to come in the initial e-mail. In fact, sending several e-mails on different topics has proven to be much better than sending one long one that attempts to cover everything.

5. Use Inventory availability to avoid pricing confrontation. Offer several different cars initially, rather than focusing on the one. When it all comes down to one car, the next question is best price. But, if you can offer several options, then the need arises for the guest to come in and pick one.

6. When price does come up, don’t play games. State your price and your policy on pricing and negotiation clearly and with pride. Regardless of your dealership’s pricing policy, be able to defend it and look for the positives of that policy from the buyer’s point of view.

7. Remember to use spell checker or have someone proofread your e-mails. You are dealing with the most educated members of society and spelling or grammatical errors tell them that you don’t care about the details.

8. Be proactive! Asking the guest to call you back or refusing to give them the next step to follow shows them that you are not really all that interested in their business.

9. Seek an appointment. Seek an appointment. Seek an appointment. Seek an appointment. Seek an appointment. Seek an appointment! Seek an appointment. Seek an appointment! Seek an appointment!

Appointments mean sales. You will sell a very high percentage of those you get to visit the dealership.

Internet Jeet Kune Do

2008-09-03T13:48:00.000-05:00

Jeet Kune Do is the type of Martial Arts fighting developed by Bruce Lee and it is in essence a non-form of fighting. Instead of proscribed stances and punches, you “read” your opponent and respond accordingly. Jeet means to intercept; Kune means fist and Do means Way. So Jeet Kune Do means “The Way of the Intercepting Fist”. When you attempt to sell something to a client, you do it most effectively when you “read” them first and then respond effectively to their style of buying, rather than relying on your style of selling. Nowhere is this more important than with the Internet Client. They are {as you have probably found out} educated, time challenged, informed and demanding.

Although we provide templates and training, you need to accept the personal responsibility of finding out what works for you and your clients. You will find an entirely different client and attitude if you are in Idaho Falls than if you are in Seattle. You’ve got to decide what is the best manner to speak to your customers in general and, when you have learned enough about your individual clients, what is the best manner to address their individual needs.

We build your world-class web sites and provide training and resources to assist you, our participating dealers, to become successful with the leads that you recieve. We spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of man-hours to develop and give you the finest product we can. And yet, we can only point the way. We cannot actually “make” you be successful. That you will have to do on your own.

There are some secret weapons, however, that you can use to increase your effectiveness. The most important of these are the Big Three:

1. Immediate Contact upon reception of the Lead.

2. Multiple e-mails to set up the phone call and build a relationship of trust.

3. Seek an Appointment.

In addition to these, here are a few additional suggestions from some very successful Internet Specialists:

1. Use a creative subject on your e-mail. Make the client want to open it up and read it. Focus on what’s important to them without sounding like junk mail or the Publishers ClearingHouse Sweepstakes.

2. When you get a bad phone number, look it up! Many people who give out bogus phone numbers are actually listed in the white pages.

3. Respond to every e-mail you can regardless of your feeling that the lead might be bogus. Some parents might actually be so cruel as to name their son Jim Shue! You will find people who are serious buyers but apprehensive about giving out their information. This also applies to distance. I’ve talked to Internet Specialists in California who regularly sell as far away as Toronto.

4. When you get a business e-mail address, and you get a lot of them, log on to the web site and learn a little about the business before you respond initially. This shows that you are different from the average seller, you are interested in knowing all about your clients and you will go the extra mile to provide service to them.

5. When you respond by telephone, have the April issue of Consumer Reports, your manufacturer’s source manual, inventory lists, Kelley Blue Book or NADA book and any other material that would be helpful to you in answering all your client’s questions.

Remember, if you want the client to buy from you and not someone else, you’ve got to be prepared to give them many reasons to do so. You need to “read” them, understand what they want and know how to respond in such a manner as to assure that when they do buy, they buy from you.