ShowroomBest Practices

Another article about COVID-19?  Ugh! Snap! And oh, my! Employers everywhere are tired with having to handle this additional burden to running their business. But, now, more than ever, it’s important to mitigate your risk by being consistent and current in how you handle COVID. Don’t let your guard down now.    In this article, we will limit our discussion to the federal perspective on COVID as each state may have its own rules or requirements.  FACT: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) says you can mandate employee vaccinations for employees physically entering the workplace based on business necessity subject to reasonable accommodation requirements. In essence, if it is a threat to the safety and well-being of employees and customers, you can require vaccinates. Very few jobs at the dealership may be completed by being isolated by plexiglass or office walls. Most require daily face-to-face customer contact that cannot be eliminated. FACT: If vaccines are required, employees may claim two (2) accommodations: Because of their sincerely held religious beliefs (i.e., Title VII of the Civil Rights Act), or Because of their disability (i.e. the Americans with Disabilities Act) If an employee asserts an accommodation request, call your employment lawyer for more specifics on how to handle the situation. Each case is different based on the facts. FACT:  To protect your employees and customers, ensure you have the latest signage from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and your state safety and health departments. For example, current CDC guidance has different masking requirements depending on whether you are in a low or medium to high-risk transmission area. Click here for more information. FACT:  As the employer, you are still required to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) and sanitizing stations. Outbreaks at the dealership? If you are having frequent positive COVID situations at the store, you may need to revisit your policies and their efficacy. If you make changes, document what you are doing. Are you required to keep a log of positive cases, or report to your state? Make sure you are doing so if required. If OSHA, or any agency, visits you, they want to know what you are doing to protect everyone. Be diligent here.  FACT:  If you sell fleet vehicles to the government, or have a federal contract, then you may be a federal contractor. If so, you must follow federal COVID mandates required by Executive Order. You may also be subject to mandatory vaccine requirements if you have 100 or more employees.  FACT:  On September 9th, President Biden signed an Executive Order requiring employees of contractors doing business with the federal government to be vaccinated which builds off a previously issued Executive Order from July. President Biden also mandated that OSHA is developing a rule requiring all businesses with more than 100 employees to ensure their employees are fully vaccinated or require workers who remain unvaccinated to produce a negative test result on at least a weekly basis before coming to work. This mandate also requires employers to provide paid time off for the time it takes workers to get vaccinated or to recover if they are under the weather post-vaccination. It is unknown if employers will have to pay for the cost of testing and/or the time associated with testing.   This situation continues to evolve. Don’t “take on” risk by being lackadaisical when it comes to COVID. Author's note: The above article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.

It’s obvious that fluctuations in inventory are going to dominate the automotive narrative for the rest of 2021. And while it seems like we’ve just overcome the challenges that COVID-19 brought to the automotive industry, we’re slapped in the face with another big one: the infamous inventory shortage. So let’s not forget some of the lessons we learned as an industry when it comes to marketing during a crisis so that your dealership can stay resilient during this crisis as well.  Stay flexible  When COVID-19 first hit and the government shutdown orders went into effect, it took time for most dealerships to update their marketing messaging across all channels. For some dealerships, “Come on in for a test drive” was still their main message on their websites and in their ads, making it completely irrelevant to shoppers at the time.  Dealerships that had the infrastructure to be flexible and dynamic in their marketing strategy during the pandemic were not only able to turn around their messaging quickly, but they were successful in seeing results - even during a crisis - since they didn’t rigidly define things like messaging and budget. Dealerships that pre-allocated budget to Facebook and to Google were less resilient during COVID-19 because it took them longer to realize the shift in consumer behavior from search to social while at home. Dealers that had automated marketing budgets-- fluid budgets that self-allocate based on where the best opportunities are in real-time - were seeing much better results since the learning curve was faster and more efficient.  When we think about this as it applies to the inventory shortage, it’s important to understand that the market is unpredictable, but one thing is certain: dealerships need to be where their shoppers are in order to not miss an opportunity. Even during this tumultuous time, shoppers are still looking for their next car, and most likely at a higher gross, so make sure your marketing strategy is flexible to change in real-time and react fast. As soon as inventory turns, or comes in, your dealership’s marketing strategy should be ready to go and in sync with your dealership’s goals.   Reassess marketing (don’t pause)  While our gut instinct may be to pause marketing spend during any crisis, we learned during COVID that there are long-term risks to this . Firstly, you want to keep your brand awareness high. Even during tough times, people need to service their cars and renew their leases, so making sure those shoppers choose your store over a competitor is crucial. Dealers should be focused on gaining and retaining customers for life; cutting all marketing spend will restrict your dealership from doing this successfully.  That being said, difficult times present an opportunity to really assess ROI and productivity. So while pausing may put your dealership at a disadvantage, this is the perfect time to do a deep dive on your data and make sure your marketing ROI is high, so that you can still be the dealership of choice for shoppers during any crisis.  Do whatever it takes to bring shoppers to your dealership  During COVID-19, dealerships scrambled to implement a digital retail solution in order to stay relevant for their customers. Even if most consumers weren’t actually transacting 100% online, the software gave shoppers the opportunity to cut time in store and start the process online. This was a way for dealers to attract customers and stay relevant during the pandemic.  Similarly now, dealerships still need to do whatever it takes to get shoppers into their doors. So even with low inventory levels, dealerships should consider advertising inventory that’s on backorder and not yet in stock. This helps your dealership gain customers for life before they go to competitors. Focusing on trade-in acquisition campaigns or investing in a strategy to move more stuck/aged vehicles can also help your dealership market to customers while aligning with business goals to get more inventory and sell lot rot at the highest potential gross.  Do whatever it takes to bring people to your dealership during this time, no matter what the crisis. And usually, this involves a pretty efficient marketing strategy. 

It takes more than great prices and great products to win over customers today! The number one opportunity in your business right now lies in improving your communication. You may have a great message, but if that message never gets through to your customers, it doesn't matter.  There are four questions customers ask before they fully engage. How these questions are answered ultimately determines how your message is received and if it is received at all. To be clear, these questions have nothing to do with the features of your products. They are much more personal; yet, they are the same for everyone. These influential questions are:  Why listen? Who cares? So what?  and  Why now?   Your customers may not come right out and ask you these questions directly, but that doesn't mean they're not asking them. The best communicators listen beyond the words, understanding that sometimes the words don't even matter. When you can answer these questions with confidence, connection, and congruency, everything changes! The business of our business is people, and it's the way that we treat each person and the way that we communicate personal value which matters most. Why Listen? The first question your customers are asking is: why listen? They want to know why on Earth they should listen to you. Here is the good news: you do not have to be the best at what you do; you do not have to be the smartest; you do not have to be the most talented, and you do not have to spend weeks establishing credibility or building trust. All you have to do is be likable. If they like you, they'll listen to you!  The 1st Law of Influential Conversations is:  Style is more important than substance initially.  Face it, we all like people who are just like us or how we'd like to be! Your customers are no different, and they all communicate in their own way. When our customers perceive us to be different from them or how they'd like to be, our message loses its influence. The best communicators tailor their style and approach by quickly identifying keywords and phrases that most resonate, by taking special care to speak in a tone, volume, and tempo that is most pleasing, and by using an adaptive body language to create the most familiarity and alliance. Moreover, the best communicators ensure that their words, voice, and body language are all communicating the same message.  When we tailor our style to each customer, it not only puts us in a position where our customers want to hear what we have to say, but it is also the only way to truly acknowledge, respect, and enjoy their differences.  Who Cares? The second question your customers are asking is: who cares? They want to know that you understand them. Without a little empathy, we are flat-out handicapped in getting our message through to our customers because people don't care what we know if we don't know them! It's not enough to have all the facts. It is their feelings, not your facts, that drive their behavior.  The 2nd Law of Influential Conversations is:  Their feelings dominate your facts.  Your customers are all led by six emotional motives. To feel important, to feel independent, to feel responsible, to feel secure, and to feel loved. The best communicators make each deal bigger and more meaningful to their customers by skillfully skipping the small-talk and asking really good personal questions, which help them learn, lead, and leverage what's most important. If we want to bring value, add value, and become persons of real value to our customers, we must align our messages with what really drives our customers.  When we discover the feelings that are motivating our customer's behaviors, we can position our messages so that they're not just received, but so they hit home and make perfect sense.  So What? The third question your customers are asking is: so what? Customers want to know how your product impacts them and their lives specifically. We all want to be able to lead others to take action and do business with us. Unfortunately, the only way anyone does anything is if they want to do it. It's not enough to provide your customers with reasons to buy. Your customers have to personally own the reasons to move forward. After all, customers buy for their reasons, not ours! The 3rd Law of Influential Conversations is:  Their words matter more.  Their words matter more because when they say it, they take ownership of it! It's all about taking what you know needs to be said, and guiding your customers to seek it, see it, and say it. The best communicators don't pitch. Instead, they paint pictures that help customers see themselves needing their product, they tell stories that allow customers to see themselves enjoying their product, and then they ask key questions that help customers articulate exactly why they should be buying their product.  When we help our customers experience exactly how our product impacts them and their lives, then our customers will be able to articulate exactly why they should move forward. Again, when they say it, they own it! Why Now? The fourth question your customers are asking is: why now? They want to know why a decision should be made now, versus later, or not at all. One thing is for certain: our customers will not take action until they want to take action. Urgency is not found in your customers simply watching or listening to someone or something. Urgency is created when your customers interact and experience something that is meaningful and exciting. Is your process fast, fun, and interactive? The 4th Law of Influential Conversations is:  Interaction fuels action.  The best communicators leverage the momentum that is produced through interaction to create an environment where their customers want to move forward. Nothing inspires action more than genuine interaction, but genuine interaction can only happen when both you and your customers are completing a task together. This could be filling out a survey together, completing an application together, experiencing a product together, or selecting various options together. What's important is that whatever action you're taking, you're taking it together!   When we work with our customers and not just work for our customers, the whole deal becomes something that has mutual purpose with urgency, and everyone will want to see it through. The number one opportunity in your business right now lies in improving your communication. It's not enough to have a great message. We have to communicate in a way in which our message gets through to our customers. Answering the influential questions above with confidence, connection, and congruency, changes everything! When more customers know why they should listen to you, when more customers feel that you understand them, when more customers understand how your product impacts them specifically, and when more customers clearly see why they should act now, more sales are sure to follow. 

So, you want people to buy your cars.  Let's say I'm your customer. As a car dealer, you know why you want me to buy from your dealership... So you can stay in business, hit your factory monthly goal, or finish number one in your zone, district, or country. That part is easy. But can you tell me why I should choose your dealership? What exactly do you have that others don't? Can you make me an irresistible offer? When the time comes for you to articulate your 'Why Buy From Us' story — be it on your website, or the sales floor — are you doing it successfully? After all, there's a lot of competition out there. The market today is full of consumer choices. There are new car dealers, used car dealers, Carvana, Vroom, and many more players. Many of these competitors will have almost everything that you do — be it great service, friendly sales staff, or appealing inventory. This makes for a very competitive market. A successful dealership needs a strong value proposition. Having a strong 'Why Buy From Us' message will make it easier for car buyers to choose your dealership over your competition. This story needs to be crystal clear — if it's too long, your customers will tune out. If it's not competitive enough, they'll go with the better option.  But how do you make the best offer, while still making the most money? Here's where I can help. My job is to help car dealers make more money while maintaining high customer satisfaction and retention. A good 'why buy from us' story needs to have a concrete offering — otherwise known as a product package. To help you make your story more competitive, I want to share with you the most popular 'Why Buy From Us' products. When it comes to choosing which one to add to your arsenal, there's no right or wrong choice. Each product addresses a different concern — you should know your market and which option makes the most sense. The most popular 'Why Buy From Us' products 1. Vehicle Return Program  The uncertainty caused by COVID-19 is real and has a detrimental effect on car sales. Many consumers are afraid of losing their jobs or being furloughed, creating hesitation in buying a new car. A Vehicle Return Program allows your customer to walk away from the car deal in case of job loss. During these trying times, this program can give your customers the extra confidence they need. If you can give them that security, they'll be more likely to choose your dealership. 2. Lifetime Engine Guarantee    Consumers know how expensive car repairs are. The most expensive of all is to repair or replace an engine. Lifetime Engine Guarantee covers the engine for as long as your customer owns the car and performs all scheduled maintenance at your service department. This is a win-win in terms of marketing and service retention. 3. Dealer-Owned Pre-paid Maintenance   You have two choices; either sell factory Pre-paid Maintenance or your own. Dealer-Owned Prepaid Maintenance is only good at your service department, which is good for you. With that in mind, you need to make it more enticing for your customers. The best approach is to give away the first year and upsell to three or five years in the finance department. 4. Combo Products  Preload 6 months of a combo product and upsell to a longer-term in finance. There are numerous combo products available — tire and wheel/key replacement/paint and fabric protection/paintless dent repair. Most consumers already understand and value these products, so the upsell shouldn't be an uphill battle.   How to deliver your 'Why Buy From Us' story A clear cut 'Why Buy From Us' story is the most effective marketing and customer acquisition/retention message. Make sure that it is properly displayed on your website (home page), and in the showroom.  It should be quick to explain, and easy to understand. It is mission critical that all of your staff are properly trained. Salespeople have to know what is included with the purchase of the car, finance managers have to know how to upsell, and service advisors have to know how to process a claim.   At the end of the day, your goal is to stand out from your competition and increase your market share. Not having a clear 'Why Buy From Us' message simply means you are ceding market share to your competitors, and that is something you cannot afford in 2021!

The 2020 coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns have forced the automotive sales industry to get creative to keep the — frequently proverbial — doors open. From video calls to solo test drives at a customer’s home to complementary service appointment vehicle pickups, the customer experience looks much different now than it did just a few months ago. For most dealers, moving some parts of the sales experience online will be the new normal for at least the rest of the year. Whether you haven’t had the capacity, bandwidth, or the know-how to create these new contactless customer experiences, here’s how you can create the groundwork to run them smoothly.  Social distancing dealership appointments Depending upon the regulations in their region or state, many dealerships have had to deal with permanently closed salesrooms, while some have been able to sell cars by appointment only. When setting up private dealership appointments, treat the appointment like you would any other business meeting — it has a start time and an end time. It’s not a great experience if your first appointment is running behind, and the next customer arrives to find that there are a lot more people in the dealership than they’re comfortable with. Also, schedule a gap of time in between your appointments for sanitization practices. Wipe down surfaces and door handles. Offer masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer to your customers as a courtesy, especially if the customer will be touching cars on the showroom floor. Virtual appointments If you can’t open your doors for customers, you can schedule virtual video calls and record walk-around videos of vehicles the customer is interested in. This is our most popular contactless solution dealers are adding to their vehicles on CarGurus. You can run these on your smartphone or set up a computer with a webcam on your showroom floor.  It sounds painfully obvious, but make sure the car is clean. Vacuum the floors and fabric surfaces, wipe down the dashboard and clean the windows. If you’re recording a video walk-around to send to a customer, make sure your dealership’s contact details — such as phone numbers, email address, and website — are clearly displayed next to the video in the email or on your website if it is hosted there. Limit the video length to no more than two minutes to hold their attention and cover all the details and condition of the vehicle in the commentary. If you already know some details about the potential buyer, such as having three kids or a dog, make sure you personalize your description to match their needs. It will help them see themselves in the vehicle, even if they can’t actually get in the driver’s seat yet.  Free test drive at home Test drives are the bread the butter of car sales, and you can still do them if your dealership doors are closed with free test drives at home. Like private dealership appointments, you need to schedule the appointment with a start and end time. Set a limit on how long and how far a customer can test drive the vehicle. Make sure to calculate the time it takes for you to drive the vehicle to their home, the test drive duration, and the drive back to the dealership in the total appointment time.  Help your customers feel safer by wearing gloves, a face mask, and using hand sanitizer and offer these items to the customer when they’re in the vehicle. You can also use plastic steering wheel covers, floor, and seat covers, and plastic on the center console to keep contamination to a minimum. Contactless purchase Of all the contactless services dealers are offering right now, contactless purchasing will most likely stick around longer than the others. Buyers are open to it: according to an April 2020 CarGurus survey of 722 car buyers in the U.S., the percentage of car buyers open to buying online jumped up from 32% before the pandemic to 61% in April 2020.  Before you get started moving offline paperwork online, check with your state regulations. Some states require physical signatures for automotive sales if that’s the case, overnight the contract to the customer with a prepaid return envelope so that they can mail you the signed documents right back at no cost to them.  Free home drop-off Many dealerships were offering vehicle delivery even before the coronavirus pandemic started. To run a smooth home drop-off, many of the same rules that apply to home test drives apply here. Schedule a delivery window with the customer, come prepared with personal protective equipment for yourself and the customer, and designate an assistant to follow you in another vehicle so that you have a ride back to the dealership. If you can, have the customer sign the paperwork in advance through contactless purchasing or try to limit your physical contact with the customer when handling the paperwork.  Regardless of which new customer experience you’re putting in place at your dealership, the most important thing is to communicate these changes to your customers early and often. Explain the precautionary steps you’re taking to keep them safe in detail. They’ll thank you with their repeated business and brand loyalty when they need servicing or another vehicle in the future. 

Webster's Dictionary defines a Professional as "a person engaged in a specified activity as one's main occupation rather than as a pastime." The world of Sales especially requires this desire because it takes time to build relationships, referrals, and longevity in the business. Throughout my career I've developed a discernment for people that just wanted a JOB versus those trying to establish a career and be a PRO. We all know the immediate paycheck will certainly not keep people invested that are just searching for a pastime. I've found that a true PRO possesses a combination of the following traits. So I challenge you to ask yourself - What is your PRO Level? PROfessional It all starts with you. Be the employee that shows up 15 minutes early every day instead of 15 minutes late. Take pride in your appearance because comfort exudes confidence. Whether it's a three-piece suit, skirt and heels, or a pair of jeans, pullover and boots. Just make sure you walk in dressed to impress and not wrinkled from the bottom of the laundry pile. Comb your hair, do your makeup if that's your thing and trim up those beards gentlemen. Avoid the gossip circle at the water cooler and bring up the people around you instead of putting them down. Be the leader that everyone looks to as an example, instead of the person they all hide from and avoid. You have a responsibility as a PRO to serve the clients walking in the door and the employees around you. My friend, Tony Dupaquier of the Academy, defines a PRO as "Performing at the Highest Level Possible." PROactive in the PROcess Get involved early in the deal. My process starts with the trade appraisal. I want to know the W's of the trade purchase–What they are trading, When did they buy it, Where did they buy it, Why are they trading, and Who is on the registration. The answers to these questions can quickly speed up your process and address the customer's concerns immediately. The more information you know upfront, the faster you can accurately complete a transaction. Then move to the sales desk. Find out how they are desking this deal and what other pertinent information you will need when addressing the customer. Are they shopping us with another dealer? Are they financing or paying cash? Were they shown 84 months or given on the road numbers? Are they a potential lease customer? Did the process create an opportunity for the F&I department? When your approval comes with stipulations–did you verify them before contracting? Paying attention to the smallest of details can speed up contract funding, pay traded vehicles off in time, and reduce floor plan fees. PROcure & PROtect Procuring the sale of the vehicle while protecting the dealership is the main purpose of the finance manager. Our number one job is to get that vehicle signed, sealed, and delivered no matter what the method of payment or number of products they buy. Even if that means taking the dreaded zero profit deal. But most importantly we need to do it the RIGHT way–ethically and legally. If your deal ends up in a courtroom can you defend it and protect the dealership? Are the documents properly disclosed and signed? Did you present every option to every customer? I've read a lot of comments on social media groups about finance managers only motivated by maximizing their pay plan. But I encourage you to take a different perspective - we are here to provide a service to the customer and the dealer. If you do that at a PRO level, the profit will follow. My friend Marv Eleazer explains it perfectly by saying "A PRO always does the job with excellence placing the customer and dealer needs ahead of his own." PROducts Product knowledge is a key component to being a PRO. It is difficult to explain the advantages of a product's coverage to a customer if you don't understand it yourself. Read your contracts, read your contracts, read your contracts. Believing in your product takes that principle one step farther. You may be able to "sell" anything, but are you matching the right products to the right customer, or are you just "selling" to make profit? A true PRO would never sell a product to a customer that doesn't need it. I saw a quote once that said: "Don't sell a product, provide a solution to a problem." This has always stuck with me when presenting a menu and explaining options. Work with your service department, make the service writers and vehicle technicians your best friends. They have the most hands-on experience with the coverage, so use them. Create testimonials and monetary spiffs for leads that come from that department. PROduce No matter what your beliefs, judgments, or preconceived notions of a customer–an F&I Manager has a critical role in producing an A+ customer experience. My friend Justin Gasman of McCaddon Buick, GMC, Cadillac stated: "A PRO is someone who has focused intensity and sweats the details while being mindful of the timeframe and expectations that come with the career." Stop judging based on credit score, income and trade. Sit down and have a conversation with the customer that has been brushed off by three other stores down the street. Listen to their story and get the information you need to truly help them. If you can produce a happy customer - they will listen and trust your advice when presenting their options. A bad customer experience can create higher chargebacks, costing the dealership and you money. A disgruntled customer can also affect your long term business with bad reviews. The online world of business reviews and survey information is consistently growing. In a media of FREE advertising, we can't afford to get it wrong. PROfit In recent years, the automotive industry has recognized a shift in dealer profit from the front end to the back end of a car deal. With mounting competition, educated car buyers, and legal ramifications, the Finance Office is rapidly becoming a major profit center for today's dealerships. Profit is a very serious term in this industry, and how we make it has changed drastically. That profit can also come at a substantial cost to your employees. Long hours and crazy schedules consistently disrupt the balance between work and personal life. Essentially, we are losing profit, by killing ourselves to make profit. Now don't take me the wrong way, I know we all have bad days. So how do we make small changes in order to increase our PRO level? We start with ourselves. In the midst of the chaotic moments, remind yourself to BE A PRO! It is easy to get frustrated, throw in the towel, and yell at everyone in your direct path. I never said being a PRO would be easy. Nevertheless... If you want to increase your PRO level - Be PROactive in the PROcess, PROcure the sale and PROtect the dealer, know your PROducts, create PROfit and PROduce a positive customer experience and relationship that will create repeat business.