best practice of the week in this week’s edition, you’re gon na learn the four words you’ll, never hear your sales managers say again also we’re gon na show you how to increase the F & I profits all with no customers walking into your office And then, finally, we’re going to show you where you can find $ 60 or more worth of room, so your managers can sell more finance products now, if this is your first term to our channel and you want to improve your sales skills, learn how to use Psychology to close more car deals and then finally, your unbiased dealership product reviews go ahead and make sure you subscribe and then click the bell.
So you don’t miss out on learning anything new.
Now, let’s get started and let’s go to work well folks, it’s happening.
Kovach.
19’s done more than unleashed this mysterious deadly virus to the world.
It’s actually caused as car people to let loose of a century old proverb.
That’s been shattered by sales managers from all around the world.
In fact, never again with any legitimacy will a Sales Manager be able to out of the words just get a man.
In fact, I mean right now, with more than half the nation on lockdown, just getting them in that’s kind of falling by the wayside.
You’re just trying to sell a vehicle any way you can and you’re doing a great job with no customers coming into the showroom.
I’ve amazed how dealers, since mid-march of pivoted and found ways to embrace home delivery and find ways to be able to sell vehicles remotely customers that are in the market for cars right now, they’re loving you for this, because now they get to interact with you.
The way they want and if they want to see it and touch it in person, there’s still the traditional showroom visit, but it’s that second option, the one that’s spawned out of this nationwide lockdown, that’s the one they’re really craving the same one, that’s been romanticized since 1994, when the first dealership website went up and that’s the complete online transaction driving sales university did a digital retailing survey with guests who had bought vehicles completely online in the past, and they asked them what’s missing from the dealerships online process.
The have two answers: online financing and accessories they’re still missing.
They felt from the dealerships digital retailing process when we reflect back 20 years from now.
I wonder: will this be the moment in time that we mark is the birth of the remote sale and home delivery? Will this be the time when dealers make this standard operating procedure and it’s part of everyone’s process that they sell vehicles remotely and they deliver them to customers homes? Maybe so I mean now that we’ve let this genie out of the bottle.
I think it’s gon na be difficult to put them back in, but that’s my two cents.
What do you think? Will the remote deal stick or is it just a fad and by fall we’ll be back to doing business as normal? What do you think, please leave me a comment now, if you’re one of the ones that does believe that remote sale and home delivery genies out of the bottle and you’re not stuffing them back, then why not take a look at creating a process? A new and efficient process, one that allows your customer to be able to choose to do business with you the way they would like to do business.
Now that’s going to mean taking a look at your current process and how you can fit the remote sale and the home delivery into that process.
Or it’s going to take a look at restructuring your process and then taking a look at your sales team and seeing if you’ll need to restructure them or reassign responsibilities or change a few things to make it work and make it efficient.
Now one of the big questions – that’s on everybody’s mind is how does the finance department is going to pivot, so they can still be efficient and have profitability.
If you’re going to be able to pull off this home delivery and this remote sale a process changed, it allows for a remote sale and a home delivery option brings with it a lot of questions, especially when it comes to the finance department.
You want to make sure you maintain efficiency and profitability in there, especially when they’re not talking to somebody face-to-face.
So how do we do that? Well, let’s start! First with the same place, your customer interacts with you for the first time and that’s your dealership website.
Take a look and see how you’re currently marketing your finance department online and if you take a look at what other dealers are doing, you’re going to see a wide spectrum there you’ve got some dealers on one hand that are doing nothing.
The majority have a finance page with pictures of the finance managers, and maybe some email addresses also some Apr, specials and typically a credit application and then there’s some of you you’re putting it all out there I mean you’ve got payments right next to the prices and The photos you’ve got lease versus buy options.
You’ve got financed product menus cash, you’ve even got a payment calculator in a chat with the finance manager feature.
When you look at the pros and cons of both schools of thoughts here, you’ll find that one of the biggest advantages of putting all those marketing tool is up there online is creating trust.
The transparency of all the tools up online helps create that trust with your guests which, whether they know it or not, is really what they’re looking for when it comes to a dealership.
However, by quoting a payment online without knowing your guests, credit history, payoff amount deal structure underwriting stipulations total loan advance that could lead to some big misunderstandings, especially if your desk doesn’t qualify for the quoted payment that they saw online.
In fact, elin Solutions did a recent survey that showed 75 % of online payment quotes had to be reworked because they didn’t take into account all the factors that we just discussed and, of course, by not having a payment estimated and put next to your vehicle detail.
Page you’re not gon na, have to face this issue of really working the payments, however you’re gon na lose some of that trust factor that we talked about earlier.
As I listened to their discussion, I couldn’t help but think that perhaps there was a third option, one that took the advantages of both schools of thought.
And that’s this.
What if you took all the digital marketing tools that helped create trust for the finance department and put them on the finance page and then next to the vehicles on the prices? You had a message there.
That said, do you want a payment quo that takes you to an explanation page that explains the difference between an exact payment quote and an estimated payment quote, and then it asks your guess how they’d like to proceed? If they want the estimated payment quote than one’s generated for them, if they want the detailed payment quote or the exact, then they’ll realize why it’s going to be a little bit more difficult to generate that quickly and that they would need some additional information to provide.
That exact payment well now that you’ve decided and informed your sales department on how you’re going to market the finance department online.
It’s time to find out how we’re going to get all the paperwork’s and how we’re going to create some finance profit without a customer actually walking into your office.
But first I’d like to hear from you: which option did you like best in regard to the payments online option? Number one: an estimated payment on the vehicle detail page option: two: no payment or option number three, where I tweaked and combine the two processes just go ahead and put option one two or three.
If you would, in the comments section a big question that still needs to be answer is how are we going to create a remote sales and home delivery process that allows for your finance department to be able to get all the paperwork signed to be able to Still sell finance products and to be able to take care of that new car delivery checklist, that’s so important to the factory.
Well, I see you looking at me there.
I can see you through the camera or philia, and I know what you’re thinking and that is, how are you going to be able to get all this done if you’re not belly-to-belly with a customer? Well, if you think about it, it’s not a new problem to our industry.
In fact, 20 years ago, when we started dealing with these online guests and people emailing in, we had to deal with the out-of-town online internet sale right, and what we did back, then, is what we need to do today, and that is we need to get the Finance department and the sales department together on this, an Internet sale, they need to be intertwined, the finance and the sale part it needs to work together and what this means is.
If you want to secure financing and sell some finance products, the finance manager is going to need to talk to the customer before they come in from out of town with the check they’re going to have to talk to them before the customer comes into the showroom And okay, I’m not telling you anything, you don’t know.
You’ve probably done some of these in the past before the Kovach, 19 lock downs and you didn’t like it and we didn’t like it 20 years ago either and that’s because it’s out of the ordinary and we tend to not like abnormal situations or things that go Against our processes – and I think what we really need to do is ask yourself: why is it not normal? Well, first, because most customers, they tend to try to buy closer to home if they can, and so the out-of-town customer has really been the exception and then the second reason it’s not the norm.
It’s our industry, our salespeople they’re, just too good at pushing the you have to come in as part our sales process.
I did it many of you have done it.
Many of you still are doing it and that’s okay, but when we do that, we need to realize that we miss out on a whole segment of customers that only only want to purchase online and have the vehicle delivered to their home.
It’s no different than the landlord that doesn’t want to rent to pet owners if they choose to do that, that’s fine, but they need to realize and understand they’re gon na miss out on that whole segment of prospects, and I guess, if you know you don’t want To have a home delivery and remote sale process, then the process you currently have is fine and you can just forego some of those people and that segment of customers that wants to purchase entirely from home and to be able to have the vehicle delivered to them.
Now, this lack of process is what leads to the poor back end: profits on internet deals and then based on our experiences with internet deals.
We decide to enter a deal stink and they can’t be profitable, and so then what a salesperson brings us an internet deal or an Internet sale in the future.
Our attitude and effort towards that a lot of times perpetuate our attitude towards a no net deals and that is they stay, and so our effort in our attitude towards it stinks and then we continue this cycle over again of Internet deals, not profitable.
So therefore we don’t try so therefore they’re not profitable and it becomes what they call it self-fulfilling prophecy.
I know you prefer to sell face-to-face, so do i and so does every do on the country, but it’s not about what we want.
It never really was, and especially now I mean the only reason it worked for so long was that so many dealers were united in this, yet a man stance that it worked.
It became what customers had to do to the look and buy cars, but rest assured they didn’t really like it then, and most of them they did it, but they held their nose where they were doing it and they were hoping.
There was a better way and if you think about it, the automotive industry has been moving in the direction of the online sale and the home delivery for some time.
In fact, consumer demand would have pushed her all the way through and eventually dealers would have had to offer some type of remote sale and home delivery, and they would have created processes.
It’s just now.
This pandemic and lockdown is accelerated.
The shift and, if we’re going to have to deal with this remote sale and home to every let’s not just deal with it, let’s perfect it, let’s master it now, this new need of the home delivery right now, coupled with the fact that many of your dealerships Have had to lay people off on the sales team, furlough or move to part-time? Never.
Has there been a better time to consider a restructure of your sales teams, job responsibilities – I did number ones just basic survival mode.
In fact, most of you probably initiated a program like this back at the end of March, when this covin 19 outbreak first started and that’s all sales team stays in their current roles, salespeople, they complete the remote home delivery and then you can hire drivers.
Deliver paperwork.
Do pickups those types of things that a salesperson wasn’t required to do idea.
Number two: I’ve named the band-aid plan now.
My guess is that if you’ve got ten salespeople on your sales floor, two or three of them would be good candidates to learn, finance and right now, with every F & I training company on the planet, offering some type of free training.
Why not take advantage of our current situation now train these two individuals to be able to sell products, execute all the paperwork be able to submit and rehash finance deals? In fact, let’s call them senior internet sales managers.
Now these individuals they’re going to need to be high energy rock stars because they’re going to handle all your high internet sales leads they’re going to present and demonstrate vehicles they’re going to handle finance and they’re going to deliver vehicles Plus because now they’re trained in all Aspects of the sale they could serve as your delivery, finance manager in situations where the guest wants to to do this as a home delivery and not come in to the dealership.
I did number three.
I simply named the modern day sales team.
Now what I did here was: I took some of the concepts from idea number two and I just found a way to balance out the workload a little bit now, let’s pretend for a moment that your dealership sells a hundred new and used cars a month.
Now your team consists of ten salespeople, a general sales manager, two sales managers to finance managers and to business development agents.
Now what you’re going to do is you’re going to create five of these senior internet sales manager roles like we did an idea.
However, we’re going to go ahead and find a way to kind of release, some of the workload from that.
So what we’re going to do is create five product and delivery agents.
Now the product and delivery agent they’re going to be very, very important because they’re going to need to do killer presentations and demonstrations, whether it’s in the store or at a guests home once the product and delivery agent complete the presentation and demonstration.
They then turn the deal over, but they work together with the senior net sales manager, the senior net sales manager is going to negotiate the figures, work out, the payments, arrange the financing and then go ahead and execute all the legal paperwork and complete the delivery up Until the point of doing the new car delivery, then the purchase and delivery agent, whether it’s at the guests home or it’s at the dealership, they’re, going to go ahead and complete that new vehicle delivery and they use vehicle deliveries as well.
And if your guest opts for a complete online remote sale with a home delivery, you’d simply schedule a videoconference.
The videoconference would be with the product and delivery agent, the senior net sales manager and, of course, the customer, their self.
At that video conference you’d review, all the paperwork you’d go through the finance products and then you would go ahead and sign the paperwork either electronically or you’d.
Have your product and delivery agent go ahead and take the vehicle out to the customer and have the paperwork signed at that time? No, obviously, there’s still a lot of details that would need to be worked out on idea.
Number three, though, things like compensation plans who goes into what role and whether you need maybe five or six or seven of these senior net sales managers, and maybe only two or three of the product and delivery agents or some type of different mix there.
However, what I really like about it is: it brings the sale part and the financing part together, and I think that’s one thing.
That’s kind of missing right now, a lot of times, there’s a disconnect, sell the car and then arrange the financing when the customer kind of sees it intertwined is one part of the process.
My advice would be take action right now and go ahead and try option number two use it as a pilot program and take two or three of your sales people off the floor right now and go ahead and have them trained to be seen.
Your internet sales managers, or whatever you want to call it, take advantage of that free training and see if this role is something that would work for your dealership.
Finally, I do believe I mentioned something at the top of the video about finding an extra $ 60 or more worth of room, so you could have more finance profits.
Well, let me give you three ways that you can increase finance profits while you’re doing the remote sale in the home delivery.
Now, the first way, this new modern-day sales team that we described an option number three – is going to help increase finance of profits during the remote sale on the home.
Delivery is through increased rapport and the last customer time in the dealership.
Now you have to remember: you’ve got this new senior in that Sales Manager role, whether you choose five or six of them or, however, many of you be necessary for your store and they’ll be able to do finance.
So that’s going to unblock some of this natural bottleneck that will occur at a dealership during busy times trying to get into the finance department.
Also, since the senior net sales manager has been involved from the very beginning of the process, they’re gon na have a lot more rapport with this guest and make it much easier to arrange a time to present their finance products and complete all the paperwork.
Whether it’s in dealership delivery – or it is a home delivery with the remote sale.
I think your guests will happily agree to an appointment time.
Rather, they don’t have to wait four to five minutes or even longer to get in the business office on say a busy Saturday afternoon and because they didn’t have to wait.
That’s going to increase customer satisfaction.
Now that, coupled with the increased rapport that the scene, you know that sales manager establish because they got involved so much earlier in the transaction, that’s going to help your desk be much more open minded when they’re listening to the presentation of these finance products and services, The second way to increase profits in the finance department, with Ramona on the home delivery, is through a customized finance product video.
Your dealership creates these for your particular products that you offer your dealership and then you send it to your guests as an appointment.
Confirmation reminder you send it as part of that, and then it serves two purposes one to give them a quick introduction to the products that you’ve got in the finance department and then to is an appointment reminder for the time that you’re going to go ahead and Present the product and execute all the paperwork.
Now, let’s serve kind of as a pre presentation tease if you will, because you’re not actually going to put any prices on here, you’re just going to explain to the guests the products and they’re going to.
Let them know that you customize the products that are interested in to the miles they drive in the length of their ownership and the third way to increase profits in the finance department is to save your guests money on car insurance.
What legally does every single customer that finances a vehicle need to have yeah full coverage insurance, and did you know in a recent study by dealer policy? They say around 80 percent of us are paying too much for car insurance.
Imagine right before you presented your finance products if you could go to a special website and enter some information about your customers, current car insurance and be able to receive up to 12 different quotes.
That would save your guests up to 60 dollars in savings on car insurance, and what do you think you could do with that goodwill you created in the extra $ 60 and budget that you helped them find you think that would help and sell on a service Contractor tire and wheel or some type of valuable product that helped them and helped you I mean at least I can’t afford it as off the table now right.
All you have to do is build value and you’ll sell more products.
They are probably saying to herself.
I love the idea of creating an extra $ 60 in a room for the finance department, but how do I easily go about doing this? Well, I recently did a vendor product review on a company called dealer policy and they’re the ones that have a Fast Pass tool that allows you to be the hero and help save customers money on car insurance.
If you and your finance team want to learn how to help create an extra $ 60 worth of room in the finance department, go ahead and click on the video.
That’s going to be coming up right about now: .
