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Creating a Culture of Accountability at your Dealership

August 2, 2018 by Scott Thompson Leave a Comment

Accountability doesn’t just happen … it’s a learned behavior. It’s a culture that can be developed. Every week I work with dealers to help them transition from a traditional negotiation based sales model to an Upfront Pricing sales model. This entails leading meetings and workshops that take a deep dive into their standard operating processes and procedures. We discuss everything from pay plans to their road to the sale to help uncover areas for improvement. Inevitably during these conversations, one concern or frustration always comes up. “We’re going to need to hold them accountable for that if we are going to be successful.” No matter what the issue is, there is always a realization that they are not doing a good job of holding their employees accountable for day to day job responsibilities. This leads to continuous break downs in process often followed by a myriad of “band-aids” aimed at correcting the root of the problem.

So how can you create a Culture of Accountability in your dealership? There are four main areas you should look at first.

Job Descriptions

When was the last time you dusted off your dealerships job descriptions and took a look at what was written on them? When were they written? If I were a betting man (and I am), I would guess most of them were written five, ten or even twenty years ago. A lot has changed since then! Do you know that the number one complaint of employees is not related to pay? It is that many have no idea what their daily responsibilities are, much less what encompasses success. If you’re like most dealers, your Job Descriptions were written by someone in HR or perhaps a Sales Manager with little attention being made to the actual job responsibilities. Most dealers use them out of necessity, not as a tool for success. Successful dealers use Job Descriptions as a tool to Coach, Lead and Mentor their salespeople. A well written Job Description should include two main parts: Checklist of daily responsibilities and Experience/Attributes desired in an applicant. When written correctly, it will serve as a valuable tool for the dealership to hold employees accountable.

One-on-Ones

How often do you sit down with your Salespeople and conduct one-on-ones? Daily? Weekly? Monthly? Challenge yourself and your Sales Managers to take 5-10 minutes every morning for each salesperson. Make sure your receptionist is aware that you are not to be interrupted during this time except for emergencies. In addition, put your cell phone away, avoid answering calls and by all means don’t check your email. This is uninterrupted time for you and that Salesperson. You should be prepared for these meetings and the Salesperson should be prepared as well. Develop an agenda that can be used repetitively so everyone knows what will be accomplished. During this meeting, you are responsible for Coaching and Mentoring them … not Managing. In other words, don’t just review their performance for the current month. Spend this time helping them improve their skills. Focus on whatever they need to do differently to get better results.

Checklists and Measurements

Someone much wiser than me penned the quote “What gets measured gets done”. There couldn’t be any truer words as it relates to the car business. Is your dealership incorporating daily, weekly and monthly checklists and measurements for your employees? This includes your Management team as well as your Salespeople. Develop a checklist for each position and hold them responsible for completing each of their tasks. When these are being checked daily during One-on-Ones, it improves the odds for creating consistency and the culture of Accountability.

Training

I know … I know … you’re really busy. You try to train, but there just isn’t enough time in the day to do everything. The first thing that falls to the wayside is usually Training. What if I told you that you could spend only 15 minutes a day with your team and greatly increase your bottom line sales results? Could you find that kind of time? I’m sure you could. The problem with Training is that it takes effort. You can’t just stand in front of a group of Salespeople and talk to them for 15 minutes and expect to drive great results. You have to plan and prepare for each session. So, I would encourage you to look into training resources that you already have or invest in material from a third-party that you can use.

In the end, it all comes down to you. How committed are you to implementing the necessary changes to create a Culture of Accountability? If you are committed to the necessary changes, you will definitely be rewarded for your efforts. Oh yeah … and your employees may just thank you.

Filed Under: Auto Industry News, One-Price Selling, Training, Upfront Pricing

Friction in the Automobile Sales Process

December 19, 2017 by Katie Lambert Leave a Comment

Reduce friction in the automotive sales process with one-price selling

Friction is the resistance to motion. Skiers understand that reducing friction allows their skis to glide smoothly and effortlessly down the slopes. Identifying the sources of friction in the automobile sales process and reducing or eliminating them can help us encourage customers to glide smoothly and effortlessly toward vehicle ownership. It’s simple. Less friction is more fun for both skiers and auto shoppers. Reducing friction in the automobile sales process is an important goal when looking at the end-to-end journey of a shopper. Friction at any point along the journey can discourage, distract or delay the shopping process. One-price selling is an important tactic in the goal to reduce friction for consumers shopping for a vehicle. Let’s look at some of the sources of friction that dealers may wish to address to increase sales, market share, and efficiency. We’ll also comment on how reducing friction creates a better customer experience.

Are you visible online?

If a shopper is looking for vehicles like the ones you sell or searching for you by name online are you easily discovered? If you are not optimizing your site so that Google serves you up in the search results that creates friction. If your paid search isn’t putting you in the top 3 results you’ve created resistance to moving ahead. Today the automobile sales process starts online and usually includes search.Without an optimization and paid strategy that makes you ubiquitous for the important branded and non-branded terms, you’ve made it harder to do business with you right out of the gate.

Is your website experience smooth and friction free? 

Look at your Google Analytics metrics and see which pages get the most traffic. Most of your visitors want to see your vehicles. Your used SRP and VDP are probably your most visited pages followed by new SRP and VDPs. New car specials usually round out the top pages. Shoppers want to know do you have it? What’s it look like? Does it have the features I want? What is the price? What is special or on sale? A home page that is full of buttons, pop-ups, starbursts and other distractions runs the risk of creating friction through the paralysis of choice. Too many choices create confusion, paralysis, and dissatisfaction. How clean and clear are your VDP pages? Are your pictures spectacular? Are features easy to find? And perhaps most importantly is your price prominent. Considering merchandising your vehicles without prices? Think back to your reaction that last time you searched for a product online and you couldn’t see the price. It was probably frustrating and caused you to jump to another site. That’s friction and it will cost you sales.

Hello. Is anybody home?

According to leading call management solution Call Revu 360 one in three sales calls goes unanswered. Before you spend more advertising dollars to generate calls, leads and walk-in visits you need to plug the leaks in your phone system. Nothing says we don’t care about you like a phone call that goes unanswered or a call put on hold or a call sent to an extension that never picks up. Why aren’t your receptionists and BDC agents some of your most prized team members? Nothing reduces friction at a critical moment in the sales journey like a great phone process and top notch, motivated people answering your customer’s questions. Think about your phone process. Are customers gliding smoothly and effortlessly towards a new vehicle or do you have friction?

Your Sales Process

You’ve done everything right. From your online presence to your web experience all the way through a phone inquiry. Everything has gone smoothly.  And now wonder of wonders the customer is on your doorstep. At this point does your process reflect the fact that your customer has spent over 12 hours online researching their next car on as many as 25 websites? Are you ready to guide your customer smoothly and effortlessly on the final leg of their journey? Or, are you going to start from the beginning and turn the shopping process into a 4-hour ordeal featuring 2 hours of back and forth negotiation? The One-Price automotive sales process implemented by Ryan Adams Group reduces friction at the most critical step in the sale.   Experience demonstrates that shoppers perform the vast majority of their research online and enter the dealership ready to buy. The transparency and straightforward nature of the one-price process reduce friction significantly and allow your customers to glide into a new vehicle.

A Change in Thinking

Consider the path your customer takes to your showroom during the automobile purchase process. Examine all the points along the way that create friction. Remember friction is resistance to movement. Think about what you can do at each step in the shopping process to reduce or eliminate friction.

 

 

Filed Under: One-Price Selling, Training

Every Business Wants To Be Special

November 15, 2017 by Katie Lambert Leave a Comment

Every business wants to be special. Being special in the mind of your audience means they prefer you to other alternatives and value your products and services more highly. Shoppers are naturally attracted to businesses that are special.

The idea of specialness can seem vague. How do you know your business is special? How can you intentionally create specialness?

Three Factors Create Specialness

 

Difference, Relevance and Familiarity make a business special

 

  1. Differentiation – what are the features and attributes that make your business dramatically different and better versus your competition? Differentiation can only be defined in relation to your competition. Your business may have some wonderful capabilities but if your competitors possess them as well they are not different. As an example, a large inventory selection may be important to your customers, but if every other competitor has a similar size inventory it is not a point of differentiation. For more in-depth information on differentiation see our recent post. 
  2. Relevance –  think of relevance as the degree to which a product or service solves a problem or satisfies a need. If your differentiated features don’t satisfy needs or solve problems for a significant customer group those features are not contributing to the specialness of your organization. As an example, being family owned may differentiate your business but is that relevant to a large group of customers?
  3. Familiarity – You can’t be anonymous and special. Familiarity means your customers are not merely aware of your business but have knowledge of how they may be affected in a positive way. Awareness means I’ve heard of you. Familiarity means I know enough to buy. Craft your communications to bring a deeper understanding of those attributes that truly set you apart.

Finals thoughts: If you aren’t different customers won’t pay a premium. If you aren’t relevant they won’t care. If you aren’t familiar they won’t understand you well enough to buy.

About the author: Alan Krutsch

 

Filed Under: One-Price Selling, Training

New York Times – How to Soothe Luxury-Car Buyers: Add Perks and Subtract Haggling

July 18, 2017 by Katie Lambert Leave a Comment

By Eric A. Taub from the New York Times Wheels section, July 6, 2017

Read the article from the New York Times Wheels section on the approach Lexus is taking to enhance the customer experience. Ryan Adams Group is working with project managers at G.P. Sandy to deliver Lexus Plus training to dealerships across the country.

Link to the New York Times article here.

 

Filed Under: Auto Industry News, One-Price Selling, Single Point of Contact, Training

Staff for Success – One-Price Dealerships

April 6, 2017 by Katie Lambert Leave a Comment

Staff for success with one price

Here is part 2 of 2 of our interview with Brian Pasch on CBT News. We discuss the one price or up front pricing business model and the important role of recruiting and creating a career path. In “How to Staff for Success”, we will address:

  • The Enterprise Rental Car strategy for attracting young talent
  • Recruiting recent college graduates
  • Providing a predictable income
  • The importance of a career path
  • Work/Life balance
  • Serious training versus “sit by Mike”
  • Single Point of Contact
  • Simplified F&I menu
  • Increasing the throughput of the dealership

Curious about up front pricing or single point of contact? Call Alan at 612.308.8539

Watch the interview here. 

 

 

Filed Under: Auto Industry News, One-Price Selling, Single Point of Contact, Training

We’re Presenting at DMSC

April 5, 2017 by Katie Lambert Leave a Comment

one-price at dmsc

We are pleased to have been invited to speak at DMSC (Digital Marketing Strategies Conference) on May 22, 2017, in Napa, California. The Digital Marketing Strategies Conference is a high-level executive planning event, designed to assist automotive dealers with creating a market-dominating strategy for the year ahead. Held annually, this event brings the top thought leaders from the automotive marketing industry to beautiful Napa Valley for an intimate conference experience unlike any other. This event is for the progressive dealer interested in learning how to be a part of their dealership’s digital strategy and lead their teams in a digital age. Our presentation on the one-price business model is just one of many that will be delivered by industry experts.

Ryan Adams Group’s presentation, Why One-Price and Why Now? , kicks off the first day of the conference. We will address how the one-price business model affects recruiting challenges, margin compression, differentiation through customer experience design, e-commerce and speed of transaction. One-price dealer financial composites will illustrate how a one-price business model impacts profitability.

Interested in attending? Get information here.

Filed Under: Auto Industry News, One-Price Selling, Single Point of Contact, Training

Awareness versus Familarity

March 1, 2017 by Katie Lambert Leave a Comment

Awareness versus familiarity

How often have we heard the expression “if we could only increase our brand awareness we could increase sales?” Awareness has a wide range of meanings. Some people may assume when I am “aware” I know everything about a brand or a product. Others assume that if I am aware I have only heard of the brand or product. That’s a wide range of understanding, so what is the difference? There can be all levels of awareness – from I just heard the name and I don’t know anything else all the way to a high a level of understanding of the brand or product.

Questions that measure levels of awareness provide some insight. A typical research question to measure awareness is “have you heard of brand X? Yes or No”

The percent of people that answer yes gives an estimate of awareness. Unfortunately, our past studies have shown that awareness has a low correlation to purchase. Being aware that a brand exists is not enough to stimulate purchase. Since the goal is raising sales we must have a measurement that can predict sales.

Our preferred measure is “familiarity.” Familiarity means “I know something about the brand or product. Familiarity means I have an impression or point of view about your product or brand. It is possible to have high scores for awareness and low scores for familiarity.

If your business is under-performing you may want to look at the level of awareness and familiarity you have. You must create awareness to get familiarity. However, awareness alone is not sufficient to drive purchase! Familiarity is the beginning of engagement with a brand that leads to purchase.

Ryan Adams Group is here to help you. We are committed to a better customer car buying experience. Call if you are curious or visit us at RyanAdamsGroup.com.

Filed Under: Training

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