DEALERS AND MANAGEMENT REPORT A challenging perspective

Qualifying for your bonus is darn hard, right?!

If you are a sales team leader, achieving your monthly sales and profit targets and qualifying for your bonus is darn hard, right?!

Reality check - Your customer does not respond anymore to the advertising month end push.

Why? Because we have educated them that it really doesn’t matter. They know the deal doesn’t change whether it is the first of the month or the end of the month. 

The factory intervention in the RETAIL sales game has changed things. Zero interest rates, huge factory cash rebates, go on and on and on and......  The incredible Internet information available to your potential clients has reduced per vehicle profits because of transactional pricing.  It is affecting your bottom-line, isn’t it?.  It doesn’t have to be this way.  You can sell more value-priced vehicles for a fair and required profit. The problem is your sales consultants are not in control of the sales process any more.  It is a fact.  Your customers don't buy cars the way your salespeople have been trained to sell them.

Fact - Your customers are more prepared to buy than your salespeople are prepared to sell

Your customers don’t show up until they are ready to do business. They arrive focused on the latest program, your best incentive available but they don’t have to come to your store to get this information, do they?  They don’t need to come to your dealership and go through the ‘sales’ presentation to discover the price, their payments, downpayment their credit worthiness, approximate trade value and payout.  They have already got this information.

The rules of the game have changed when it comes to selling automobiles at your dealership today! Has it occurred to you that maybe "the old basics" don't work anymore with the internet savvy buyer?

YOU BET!! Your present customer is very different from what he/she was in the '60s through the '90s.  Selling approaches that you and your sales team take for granted aren't working in 2012.

THE OLD BASICS AREN'T WORKING!   So....Quit using them.

Here is only one example.

\        Most sales managers and most sales trainers still insist on the so-called basic 'meet and greet' for every showroom walk-in. The old ideal was —meeting all prospects with a warm, friendly smile, a warm, friendly greeting ,then take them to your warm, friendly desk to counsel with them.

But, this theory is fatally flawed for many prospects coming to your showroom today.  It would work, of course, if all your customers were not internet savvy, Mr. Nice Guys— warm, friendly, cuddly customers who are delighted to meet your salesperson and can't wait for his/her highly stimulating presentation.   

Reality is—today, 85 % of your prospects do not fit the classic 'meet and greet' model your salespeople have been trained to use! 

Most of your customers are graduates from the New ‘Internet Buyer’s School’.

These people are 'in your face' type buyers.  I call them the 'Don Cherry School of Buyer'.  "Rock'em, sock'em, take the salesperson to the boards quick," technique. They take control quickly. They open the conversation on price!

The first thing these buyers say to your calm, pleasant, go-by-the book salesperson is, "Do you work here? I'm in a hurry and I just want your best price."  Or the price shopper, whose opening greeting is,  "What's your 'best price' on that blue Wombat over there?  If your price is right, I'll be-back."  

Most of your salespeople fail the grade when they are tested by these buyers. They don't know how to handle this ‘aggressive’ customer.  They misread his aggressive words and attitude as if he or she were not a buyer!  Most often that is just not true.

There are good reasons why buyers show up at your doorstep and display aggressive behaviour.

Buyers are educated through the Internet, consumer reports and magazines, dealer advertising, after hours visits.  They don’t need or want a classic interview at your sales consultant’s desk. They don’t need your bumper to bumper ‘walk-a-round’ presentation the way you always have done. Move on.  Most of your customers are impatient with this process.

Bottom-line

If you are depending on old sales ideas and factory training, you are not competing well today. And it costs you and your salespeople.  Too many real buyers get walked, too many deals are a much lower profit than need be, too many low commissions to make an honest living therefore too many salespeople quit our business as a result.

 Sales people need to be skilled, flexible and professional in their sales process today.  Or they fail. The question then needs to be asked, "How prepared are your sales consultants to handle your real life, honest to goodness 2012 customers?"

YOUR customers could be/are dissatisfied with the buying process at your dealership in 2012.  Let me help you deliver a better buying experience than your competition.  Let me work with you to provide a sales process that is up to date with your customer’s preferred buying style. It will make you more sales, more referral sales from satisfied clients and more repeat business.  

Soon you could look forward to the month end with champagne in hand.

Great Success,  Dave.  

Are Your Sales People Equipped for the Internet Age?

DEALERS AND MANAGEMENT REPORT

A challenging perspective(please print for key management)

Dave Kemp, the Automotivator

Ready to Compete in this Internet Age?

If not it will cost you profits.

Today, Dealers and sales team leaders need to be at the leading edge of the sales process and sales team leadership or you will get run over like a freight train over a penny. Are you the freight train or the penny? You are surrounded by a sea of change in this Social Media age. How yuh doin? Around the time you read this, another
· new vehicle will landing on our shores to compete with you,
· another new technology feature will be offered by your competitor and for sure,
· competitive consumer pricing will not provide much improvement in vehicle profit margins.
Technology leaders say half of everything you know about selling vehicles today will be outdated or radically changed within a very few years. During this century we will see more advancement in consumer information than has been seen over the last 5,000 years put together. As a result the impact on dealers and sales team leaders is huge!
Times they are achanging!! It’s all because of the way your customers inform themselves about buying vehicles today. The internet gives them more power over the purchase process today than ever before. Your customers tweet for advice right from your showroom. They share and rate their buying experience at your dealerships on Facebook.
And that makes for some turbulent times on your sales floor because:
Many sales consultants are still trying to sell as if the internet was NOT a factor.
Some dealers are a way behind the sales process curve and yet they keep trying to stay the course with their old sales ideas. The very fact that your clients have so much more access to information on your vehicles and prices they therefore expect and demand a different and improved buying experience. I mystery shop and it ain’t pretty.
Some dealers and sales staff fear the trend of social media. They think the internet only provides your customer with another tool to bonk your sales consultant. Actually informed customers make sales easier for your sales team. It is a fact that information alone does not replace a professionally trained, up to date sales consultant. But your sales consultants must be prepared to succeed with the internet savvy buyer, right? Check out the Art of the Deal in house workshop. 613-253-5300

Automotivator Reality Check - Another big wave is just starting to hit our showrooms now - the retirement of the boomers on our sales teams.
Nationally, for every two boomers retiring, there is only one new person entering the automobile sales force. And because we boomers are workaholics and the younger generation is not, how you lead your sales consultants is critical today. We’re not getting the same work-ethic and attitude from our younger sales staff. They won’t work bell to bell like the previous generations.

Leadership Counts! This younger generation is different in other ways as well. They want sales coaches and mentors, NOT bosses and managers. And they want life-work balance – notice “life” comes first. Many dealers are frustrated with this reality. Hiring and keeping commission sales consultants is increasingly difficult in our showrooms—if we persist in managing this generation the same way we did the older sales consultants.

Maybe the leaders are the bottleneck not the sales consultants. Motivating the Motivators Dealers and Sales Leaders Conference impacts your bottom-line. Email – Dave@Automotivator.com for dates and locations.

Automotivator Key Point. The highly profitable car dealerships have made it through turbulent times and will this time. IF you are the dealer or sales team leader/manager ask yourself this question.
As a sales team leader, what must I do better and differently, with my sales consultants today as the car business evolves to keep my sales team motivated and producing?
Bottom-line - You will get through these times and even prosper if you are growing your leadership abilities to cope with this change. Change is coming every day in our vehicles and for the better—more safe and more fuel efficient. Our manufacturers are keeping the vehicles we sell at the leading edge of technology. It will continue at a breathtaking pace. The buying process is changing at a rapid pace too.
So dealers and sales team leaders need to be at the leading edge of the sales process and sales team leadership or you will get run over like a freight train over a penny. Are you the freight train or the penny?
I have some specific answers. This is my business, professional development in the car business, so you can call today or wait ‘til....
Print for your files. Forward to key people.
For more information call Dave 613-253-5300 or email Dave@Automotivator.com
Dave Kemp was Canada’s youngest Ford dealer without family money, He made all his investment as a high volume sales consultant, motivating sales team leader, and profitable General Manager. He is president of Automotivator Professional Development and Trackstar International Follow-up Systems. He is a car industry expert with decades of success training Canada’s most achieving and profitable automobile dealerships. He shares his sales strategies with thousands of sales team members across North America. http://www.automotivator.com/
Trackstar - Turning Your Walk-outs into Customers and Keeping Your Customers for Life!
Get the Facts - Check the Trackstar system out. Click and Check out this short video.
Definitely the best Hot Prospect and Client Retention system in North America.
1-800-668-0362
Dave@Trackstar.ca http://www.trackstar.ca/
Trackstar is easy to install, uncomplicated to use, and the best follow-up system available in the car business. Many others out there make clerks out of your salespeople …and still don’t work. Trackstar is designed by successful car people, for successful car people. 1-613-253-5300

• DEALERS AND MANAGEMENT REPORT
  A challenging perspective
  (please print for key management)
  
  Dave Kemp, the Automotivator
  10 Ways to Increase Sales and Profits in 2011.
  
  It will Profitably affect YOUR bottom-line.
  
  It’s that time to shift gears and rethink your sales approach for 2011. Energize and activate new leadership actions and attitudes at your store.
  
  The Automotivator Profit Action Plan for 2011
  
  1) Dealers - Stop Hiring Sales Managers - Start Hiring Sales Team Leaders. There is a difference. My experience proves this over and over again. Sales team leaders create profits and sales. Sales Managers keep the status quo.—good sales team leaders are entrepreneurs—they function differently than managers. They think and act differently. Leaders and managers are both necessary but they are not the same functions. Can your sales manager become a sales team leader? YES, if you give them the clear expectation and authority and Professional Development to do their work!! Many will strive with your permission.
  Do you have managers or leaders???
  
  2) Sales Team Leaders – They focus on results every day. They change the focus of your sales consultants from showroom traffic dependent to building their own business as an entrepreneur.
  Three questions for YOUR Sales Team Leaders:
  · What are you doing everyday to help your sales consultants create sales?
  · What are you doing to create wealth for your sales people?
  · What are you doing to stimulate business building activities for your sales consultants?
  
  3) Leaders—Set Daily Sales and Appointment Goals - It’s about personal accountability and action. Only personal goals will motivate individual Sales consultants to sell more. Your team needs to be focused when they come on shift.
  Ø Engage your automobile sales consultants in setting daily and weekly activities to achieve their personal income goals.
  Ø Celebrate success in your sales meetings—buy the coffees and lunches with your achievers.
  Ø Encourage your less successful people by reviewing and giving specific, positive direction that will help them be winners.
  The results are significant and profitable.
  
  4) Sales team leaders - Focus on action activities between ‘ups’. There is a whole lot of business being lost everyday. Customers come, look and leave your dealership every day. My Trackstar clients have a Daily Organizer to create sales. They get into the sales zone quickly.
  · Every showroom walk-out needs to be followed-up at your dealership.
  · 4, 5 and 6 year old past owners need to be connected with and appointments made to purchase again.
  · Referrals need to be targeted daily with each delivery, service departments referrals, orphan customer adopted, internet prospects mined.
  
  5) Sales Team Leaders. Don’t ride the bench and just talk about CLOSING. Be ‘hands on’:
  Ø Get involved in the sale more.
  Ø Arrange to be introduced to each client early in the sale.
  Ø Always arrange to meet each unsold client before they leave and offer encouragement and suggestions that may help them make a decision to buy.
  Ø Be available to coach each consultant, one-on-one, for only five minutes every other day. Focus their activities and monitor their results.
  Ø Approve deals that normally you wouldn’t take to WOW your team and to stop them desking their own deals.
  
  Key Sales Desking Point - You lose lots of sales each week because your sales people stop working deals they think they can’t get you to buy! They walk deals because you are predictable.
  
  6) Avoid Negative Attitude as Leaders. Even when your volume of sales is down, lecturing, bullying and filling salespeople's ears with negative comments won't turn things around—and will likely only make things worse. You don’t like when it happens to you, right?
  You become the source of negative influence. You become someone to put up with not benefit from. Your people don’t seek you out for coaching because they don’t want to catch crap. People avoid pain. They grin and bear it when you are playing the boss but they don’t enjoy the experience.
  
  7) Make Work Fun. Lighten up damn it. Nobody wants to work in a dull job for a boss who constantly yells at, belittles or harasses others.
  Ø Create a team environment that's fun, and people will want to come to work to work, every day.
  Ø Hold spontaneous contests, provide regular incentives have company lunches and gatherings to build team morale.
  Ø Share successes in sales meetings, and be committed in an effort to help every team member succeed.
  8) Provide regular Professional Development. Some dealers or sales managers are control freaks. They won’t access professional development for their sales teams. They think it shows weakness in themselves or worse yet—they think they have all the answers. Wrong.
  It shows they are true leaders. Your sales team will compete better. You are tapping into expertise that can cut through the sales challenges your sales consultants have on your floor. Energize and refresh your sales team. Professional Automobile Sales Training is the best way to create wealth and personal satisfaction in your salespeople’s career as commission–based sales people.
  
  9) Attend my dealers and leaders only, Motivating the Motivators Leadership Workshop.
  Ø The Art of Desking the Deal with No mark-up or low-mark-up vehicles
  Ø Discover your natural leadership style
  Ø learn powerful in-house automobile sales training methods
  Ø find out how to hire winners
  Ø incentives that work and much much more.
  
  For a partial workshop outline go to http://www.automotivator.com/ . Email me today for the dates of our next session. They are great fun and highly motivating.
  
  10) Become even more competitive. Everyone wins. Your sales team leaders and salespeople will have good paying, steady careers, and your dealership will enjoy the higher profits even in your competitive market. Slumber and you lose.
  Sales Productivity is a leadership responsibility
  Sales people don’t decide to sell less—it just creeps up without being noticed and slams you in the head. Leading and managing a sales team is a minefield any time. The wrong moves by management and you lose not only potential sales, but also the sales people who do the selling. It is critical to keep good salespeople and attract good salespeople to keep profitable. It is all about leadership.
  Call me, to discuss your plans for 2011. I only work with a few dealers but they make the most profit and have the least sales staff turnover in our industry.
  
  Print for your files. Forward to key people.
  Contact INFO For more information call Dave 1-800-668-0362 or email Dave@Automotivator.com
  
  Dave Kemp was Canada’s youngest Ford dealer without family money, He made all his investment as a high volume sales consultant, motivating sales team leader, and profitable General Manager. He is president of Automotivator Professional Development and Trackstar International Follow-up Systems. He is a car industry expert with decades of success training Canada’s most achieving and profitable automobile dealerships. He has been a successful dealer, general manager, sales manager, and sales consultant. He shares his sales strategies with thousands of sales team members across North America. http://www.automotivator.com/
  Trackstar—Turning Your Walk-outs into Customers and Keeping Your Customers for Life!
  Get the Facts - Check the Trackstar system out— http://www.trackstar.ca/ Click and Check out this short video.
  Trackstar - Turning Your Walk-outs into Customers and Keeping Your Customers for Life!
  Definitely the best Hot Prospect and Client Retention system in North America.
  1-800-668-0362
  Dave@Trackstar.ca http://www.trackstar.ca/
  Trackstar is easy to install, uncomplicated to use, and the best follow-up system available in the car business. Many others out there make clerks out of your salespeople …and still don’t work. Trackstar is designed by successful car people, for successful car people. 1-800-668-0362

STOP 'COOKIE-CUTTER' DEALERSHIPS

DEALER and MANAGEMENT REPORT

Dave Kemp, the Automotivator

Look-alike buildings are bad for dealer’s profits.

I don’t get it. Apparently some car manufacturers continue to demand a ‘uniform’ look in their privately owned dealership buildings. That is understood to mean, uniform building’s exterior, including colour, design and ‘look’. A ‘uniform’ interior, colour schemes, design layout and ‘look’. Several interpretations of ‘uniform’ from my thesaurus are—unchanging, resembling another, unvarying in design, making things the same.

Many potential vehicle buyers would say it also translates into boring, uninteresting, passive, bland and ordinary. I have heard this factory mandated phenomena described as ‘cookie cutter’ dealerships.

As part of my research for my Professional Development workshops, I interview people who buy new vehicles and ask about their buying experiences. Folks, it blows me away how often people will say that they can’t remember the name of the dealerships they visited in the buying process. Buyers can’t tell one from another when they are shopping the same vehicle brand. Nothing distinguishes one dealership from another. Isn’t that pathetic?

Manufacturer Logo Branding on buildings is critical
Make no mistake, branding dealerships well and effectively is very important for the manufacturer, their dealerships and the buying public. It is a fundamental of effective marketing that the manufacturer’s brand signage should be very prominent and highly visible to appropriately identify the vehicles being sold from the dealership facilities. Great care needs to be taken to ensure that the brand signs are easy to identify and recognize and discover for the vehicle buyer. No argument. Period.

Dealerships need to be Distinctive...too!. Uniqueness is required
What doesn’t make any sense is demanding ‘cookie cutter’ dealership buildings and interiors! There is no statistics, validated by actual studies that state emphatically that vehicle sales improve, profits improve or market share improves with lookalike dealerships.

There is no proof, by the manufacturer or the sales experience of their retail dealers, that very similar building plans, outdoor colour schemes and interior floor tiles, similar showroom colours and furniture actually produce vehicle sales and profits. There is no such proof. I believe it is a myth propagated by the manufacturer. Where is it? The last 20 years of recent history may support the reality that there are negative effects and consequences for this lookalike strategy.

Should dealers have more flexibility in building and interior design?
Absolutely!!!

Let them innovate. It will be good for business for both dealers and manufacturers. Of course, guidelines from the factory about corporate branding is essential and wise but flexibility to encourage each dealership to distinguish themselves in their marketplace is required for sales success in this fast changing Internet world. Each dealership needs to be more personal and original, more authentic to the individual dealer to attract business.

Each dealer in their local market place is themselves a brand whether the manufacturer acknowledges it or not. It needs to be enhanced not diminished to increase sales per dealership.

There is no compelling reason to deny the franchised dealer the opportunity to put the power of unique branding to work immediately. Each dealer is independently owned and managed. They put their money, lots of money, on the line in the land and building. Branding is all about separating one dealer from another—within their own franchise as well as their competitor franchises.

On the other hand, the reality, of course, is that consistent vehicle quality and value is the manufacturer’s brand differentiator in the mind of the buying public. It is a key decision maker. This is the domain of the manufacturer and ‘cookie cutter’ buildings won’t make up for this lack. But provided with a level playing field then a dealer’s unique brand in each community makes a difference in people’s decision process.

Look at the NHL. They don’t practice cookie cutter marketing. The NHL is the franchiser (aka the manufacturer) and the NHL is marketing their logo and product throughout North America and the world. But each team is individually owned and managed and marketed as a unique brand. Each team has different facilities, unique team logos, unique uniforms colours that separate them from all the other 30 NHL franchises. The same reality exists for CFL, NFL, and Soccer. People don’t confuse the blue and white of the Maple Leafs with the red, black and white of Senators or the blue and red of the Habs. The same product, hockey, only it is creatively sold through different team brands, images and appearances under each franchisee. The rules are the same for each team to prevent cannibalizing the product or the corporate brand. We just experienced the successful defence of the franchise system by the NHL against Balsillie’s efforts.
It has worked to establish team (brand) loyalty and healthy competition in each marketplace.

McDonald’s is another successful franchise that doesn’t practice look alike buildings. It has discovered the power of branding logos successfully in the mind of the consumers with their famous ‘M’ Arches in yellow and red background. These familiar M arches are dominate in corporate advertising and on the franchisee’s signage but each location is differentiated by building design, interior layouts and colour schemes. No, contrary to popular manufacturer misconception, MacDonald’s does not practice cookie cutter building, facilities or colour schemes. Check it out folks. My wife has. She raised two children and now our two grandkids have made her an expert on McDonald’s. This strategy has worked to establish highly profitable, long-term customer loyalty and competitive advantage over the numerous corporations in the fast food business.

Bottom-line
The dealer is the entrepreneur and the corporate executives are not. Both bring value to the partnership and both bring unique strengths—if allowed to use them. Common sense and good business practice should dictate that auto manufacturer executives should stop the cookie-cutter mentality. They should encourage their individual dealers to practice establishing their personal brand in their local marketplace.

Print for your files. Forward to key people.

Dave Kemp is president of Automotivator Professional Development and Trackstar International Follow-up Systems. He is a car industry expert with decades of success training the nation's most achieving and profitable automobile dealerships. He has been a successful dealer, general manager, sales manager, and sales consultant. He shares his sales strategies with thousands of sales team members across North America. www.Automotivator.com
Trackstar—Turning Your Walk-outs into Customers and Keeping Your Customers for Life!
Get the Facts - Check the Trackstar system out— www.Trackstar.ca Click and Check out this short video. Trackstar - Turning Your Walk-outs into Customers and Keeping Your Customers for

BACK ON THE ROAD....to SUCCESS

DEALER and MANAGEMENT REPORT
Dave Kemp, the Automotivator

Hey, despite the media clanging alarm bells regarding the challenges of our auto manufacturers, retail vehicle sales continue to surprise everyone—except the car dealers. The Canadian car retail business is pretty darn good—all makes, import and domestic. Why?
Because automobile dealers take action when threatened and overcome the threat. They have made positive decisions in these negative times to increase sales staff effectiveness, decrease overhead and improve the buying experience. That is what my clients have done, with great results. Most General Motors and Chrysler, Saturn dealers have retailed vehicles very well despite the best efforts of Presidents and Media moguls pitching bad news. The customers have responded voted with their bucks too.

With inventories falling as sales people work their repeat client sales, and showroom walk-ins come in ready to deal, production should be kicked into gear real soon. A report released late April says, "The sharp cutbacks in industry output and the recent sales improvement will likely reduce U.S. dealer stocks to a more manageable 80 day supply by the end of April, down from a peak of 125 days' in January," said Carlos Gomes, Scotiabank auto industry specialist.

Interesting to quote a bank representative, isn’t it? I know he isn’t personally responsible for this gigantic mess-this automobile manufacturing bailout. But it is clear, bankers, particularly in the US but certainly all over the planet, helped create the biggest bubble in credit, the world has ever seen. False profits in the financial sector rocketed up and gigantic bonuses were paid out on paper profits. And naïve, trusting, ordinary people all over this continent and the world have paid the price—pensions destroyed and retirement plans shelved. Greed overtook business sense. But the bubble bus and became a big black hole. The house of cards in the financial and real estate sectors had to fall and the consequences of terribly greedy bankers and equally inept or corrupt government overseers have created one of the worst financial disasters ever.

Resilience and compassion
But nobody should count out the creativity, guts and resilience of the car dealer entrepreneurs. They have weathered economic disasters before and came out strong. Yes there will be dealership causalities, in all makes unfortunately, totally beyond their control. They didn’t create the problem but they are paying the price.
Without a doubt we all feel pain for the quality dealers who invested and worked their butts off to create viable, profitable business and substantial employment in their communities. Car dealers not only are major employers in every city, town and village, but they are also the major community supporters for hospital, sports teams, charity drives. Car dealers make a significant difference in their communities. It is a shame to see the rug pulled out from under them by the banks and corporate bunglers.

Thousands of dealership retail staff will be looking for work. Some 310 dealers now selling GM cars will be asked to shut their doors permanently in community’s coast to coast—over 12,000 jobs will be lost. GM Canada spokesman Stew Low declined to provide specifics on how the cuts will be made. There will be similar dealer losses in Chrysler.

I am not sure how the politicians on either side of the border can square this result with their stated goal of increasing employment to return the country to prosperity. These good paying, middle class jobs in the retail auto sector are going to be hard to replace.

Things will get better…sooner.
It is not all doom and gloom for vehicle production employees, considering Canada will remain a critical source of vehicles for North America, said Ray Young, GM's chief financial officer. He noted that of six new vehicles being launched this year on the continent, three are built in its Ontario plants including the new Chevrolet Camaro. Ford is building world class vehicles people want to buy and they are rebounding big-time in the retail business. The so called imports, although that is not a valid definition anymore, are committed to building quality vehicles in Canada and United States. They are having a positive impact on both economies.

Like it or not General Motors has to achieve this brutal downsizing. It has to get lean and mean enough to make a profit in a marketplace in which all automakers combined are only selling 10 million vehicles annually, the current trending for 2009. Imagine, in 2008 North America produced and sold 16 million vehicles. But bigger sales volumes will come back within two years.

There is a deep disappointment regarding the demise of Pontiac. This Pontiac franchise has been successful in Canada for a long time. The dealers are clearly competitive in most model sectors and well complimented with Buick and GMC. This is another example when wrong headed thinking at the corporation level did not encourage this wining combination in the United States.

But don’t count the GM and Chrysler dealers down for the count in this next round. I believe the import dealers are doing terrific and will continue to do so. But they had to learn to compete against the big three and compete they did. The domestic dealers are ready for the race too.

Bottom-line
I believe there will be a vibrant, exciting and highly profitable retail car business for all dealers, all makes. It will only get better. The vehicle quality is great, the designs are dynamite and the consumers will be the winners along with their retailers.
As a Ford dealer before I founded Automotivator Professional Development I am proud to be a member of this group of motivated and enterprising people. It will be the dealers who take the manufacturers out of this recession, that you can count on. Yes this too shall pass.

“Sources are Nicolas Van Praet, Financial Post , Jeff Kowalsky Bloomberg News, Paul Waldie and Greg Keenan, The Globe and Mail”

Dave Kemp, the Automotivator, is President of Automotivator Professional Development and Trackstar International Follow-up Systems. Dave, a car industry expert who focuses on improving the sales process for dealers and manufacturers with great results. Contact info. http://www.automotivator.com/ Email Dave@Automotivator.com 1-800-668-0362

Trackstar—Turning Your Walk-outs into Customers and Keeping Your Customers for Life!
Get the Facts - Check the Trackstar system out-- view this short video.
Trackstar is easy to install, uncomplicated to use, and the best follow-up system available in the car business. Many others out there make clerks out of your salespeople …and still don’t work. Trackstar is designed by successful car people, for successful car people. 1-800-668-0362 Dave@Trackstar.ca http://www.trackstar.ca/
Definitely the best Hot Prospect and Client Retention system in North America.

Call to Action

DEALERS AND MANAGEMENT REPORT
A challenging perspective

Dave Kemp, the Automotivator

Provide the taxpayer's money to the taxpayer to buy vehicles to kick start the factories.

The world wide automobile industry needs immediate stimulus but not the factory bail out type of stimulus. There is a very quick and positive solution to our economic problem that will impact on every part of the economy, not just the retail car industry.
We need to provide the taxpayer's money to the taxpayer to buy vehicles to kick start the factories. There is no value to providing taxpayers money to idle, unproducing manufacturing plants. It is a fact that the automobile industry drives the economy in most countries of the world. The employment and resulting payroll is more valuable to the economy than any single sector of our financial system.
We need to create demand now and the supply problem will vanish. The retail dealers need to create real pressure on the USA and Canadian governments and across the world in G20 countries to make major cash incentives available directly to the buyer not the manufacturer.
The financial sector caused this downfall. It was caused by greed, and unethical mortgage practices made worse by complicated, mismanaged credit and inept corporate financial leadership.
For sure it is necessary for auto manufacturers to right their ships and improve profitability by decisive and essential actions but they won’t cause buyers to go into the marketplace.
Don’t be mislead by left leaning media. This is not a ‘made in North America’ problem. All manufacturers, from Asia to Europe have been impacted by this melt down.
President Obama says the nation “cannot make the survival of our auto industry dependent on an unending flow of tax dollars.” I agree. But we sure as heck can’t have him, a guy who has never really worked for a living in a business environment acting as defacto CEO of our automobile business.
Make no mistake about this—if Obama gets traction in this auto business it will be incredibly disastrous for the entire population. Can you even imagine the possibly—Government mandated vehicle design and distribution channels?
This can’t be just a token amount of cash incentive. It has to be a major impact incentive to the retail buyer. It has to explode the lethargy and fear factors of millions of buyers needing vehicles. The goal is to jolt the potential buyers to buy now. Money talks.
We have virtually millions of owners driving vehicles four to 10 years old that need to be replaced. Vehicles that desperately need to be replaced in the best interests of the owners. These vehicles are inefficient, lack safety advantages and most definitely not meeting the current needs of their families.
The Facts
 In Canada alone over 6,000,000 people bought vehicles 4, 5, 6 and 7 years ago.
 These old cars and trucks don’t meet the owner’s needs anymore.
 People are postponing buying to their detriment in your town and this country every day, week and month.
 Most potential buyers have good jobs, steady employment and available credit.
 Thousands of people in your community need to get out of vehicles that are paid off or nearly paid off. Why?
 The average repair bill to keep their vehicles safe and running is too costly—over $2000.
 The fact is, these vehicles need and are ready to be traded.

We need to create significant motivation to overcome fear, lethargy and indifference in an uncertain public now! We need to create credit availability and financial incentives that drive the buyers into the showrooms now.
The resulting demand for vehicles will have a huge impact on the parts manufacturers and vehicle makers. It will immediately stimulate employment. Income earning workers will drive the economy out of this mess.
But it will be the entrepreneurial car dealers, motivated and effective sales leaders and quality sales professionals who will ultimately deliver the country out of this mess.
Don't leave this to someone else. Take the personal responsibility today, right now, to connect strongly with your elected officials to get this done. Especially don't leave this to the government bureaucracy! They are going to screw this up. Giving money to the non-producing companies is insane. Create vehicle demand and you solve the manufacturer’s problem and the world wide problems. It will also cost far less than a bailout. I am calling and contacting my Member of Parliament and provincial representatives today. Let’s all act together. Today!

Dave Kemp, the Automotivator, is President of Automotivator Professional Development and Trackstar International Follow-up Systems. Dave, a car industry expert who focuses on improving the sales process for dealers and manufacturers with great results. Contact info. www.Automotivator.com Email Dave@Automotivator.com 1-800-668-0362

Trackstar—Turning Your Walk-outs into Customers and Keeping Your Customers for Life!
Get the Facts - Check the Trackstar system out-- view this short video.
Trackstar is easy to install, uncomplicated to use, and the best follow-up system available in the car business. Many others out there make clerks out of your salespeople …and still don’t work. Trackstar is designed by successful car people, for successful car people. 1-800-668-0362 Dave@Trackstar.ca WWW.Trackstar.ca
Definitely the best Hot Prospect and Client Retention system in North America.

Make More Money Action Plan for 2009

The Automotivator Sales Training Bulletin for Sales Consultants, Car Dealers, Managers, Team Leaders.

ACTION TIME

Action #1. I can and will sell vehicles successfully in this economy but…I can’t continue to sell the same way I did in the past.

Right now you have time to make ‘09 successful—prepare to execute new, sales focused ideas that payoff! One of the most important things I have ever learned, no matter what the challenge; you have to come to work to work. But also have FUN! Play when you should... work when you should. Water cooler parties and listening to another guy’s negative reasons for not achieving sales only drain your brain. (Check out my exceptional suggestion for serious sales professionals at the bottom of the page.)

#2. Give yourself a goal. What are you targeting to make this year? Put in writing your 09 annual income—then break it out into months. Take your monthly income goals and break it out into weekly chunks—then daily chunks. Determine how much a day you need to make to achieve your required income.
Nobody has ever arrived at their destination without a goal.
#3. Manage Your Personal Performance. Your daily earnings is what drives your sales building activities. Your sales performance is based on your appointments! On shift and off shift you really need to manage your own schedule for sales performance. You are in business for self and so act like the CEO of your company because you are. Your motivation to manage your business building activities determines your success.
#4. Set effective business building actions. Your income and sales success will come from these activities.
Walk-in traffic sales - be-back sales - repeat sales - referral sales - orphan customer sales – phone up sales – service and personal prospecting sales - internet sales
Determine where most of your sales are coming from and target improvement in each area. Success comes when you target high closing ratio activities. You can achieve 35 – 50% closing ratios in these specific areas - be-back sales - repeat sales - referral sales - orphan customer sales.
#5. Your sales stats count. How many sales are you going to make from first time walk-ins? How many sales from be-backs are you going to make? How many repeat sales to past owners are you targeting? How many referral sales are you going to make this year? Commit to follow-up of walk-outs and your sales will increase dramatically. Commit to client retention and you will become much wealthier this year. Follow-up and client retention is where the money is in the car business.
#6. Hold your self accountable. Review your sales activity stats each week . It is all about appointments you are setting up from all sources. You will know immediately if you are on pace to reach your goals and decide what to do about them if you are not. Meet with your sales team leader every two days to get encouragement and ideas that will keep you on track.
#7. Take Action.
Despite this economy you have people who are going to be entering the buying cycle each month. There are people in your community who can’t afford to wait! They are driving vehicles 4, 5, 6 and 7 years old. These vehicles need to be replaced. They are giving huge aggravation, need costly repairs and don’t meet their family’s needs any more—heck the vehicle stayed the same and their children are much bigger now. Give them a reason to buy from you and you have them.
#8. Focus.
You can’t sit back and let the customers roll in. Come to work everyday with the intention of getting at least one appointment. Focus on what it takes to get an appointment each day and you will make serious money. Your service department is a good source of buyers. Your sales calls are from people at the end of their buyer’s cycle. Take them seriously and you will have arrived at some good sales. Track and target people who walk-in to the dealership once and follow-up like crazy this current ‘hot prospect’ list. Put every prospect that walks-out into your follow-up system. You will have a steady source of ready buyers to prime the sales pump, everyday.
#9. Take Risks.
Don’t stay in the same old rut. You have the ability to achieve more sales than you are. But you have to be willing to make a commitment to some daily sales activities that pay off. Make just a few more calls to hot prospects that you are following up. Get the work and cell phone numbers so that you can contact these motivated buyers. You are not bugging them. You are showing genuine interest and that is how they feel about it too. (You should check out Trackstar if you are not getting sales results. Here are the features, click) http://www.trackstar.ca/trackstar/features.html
#10. Don’t give up too soon.
One more call to a prospect, one more letter, one more contact and you will see tremendous sales results. Everyone who succeeds in sports knows the second effort is what puts the puck in the net or the ball over the line.

Automotivator Action Plan
What is your goal for sales and earnings for this 2009 year?
 Is it in writing? Better be or it is no value to you.
 Look at it often.
 Take Professional Development! If you are a better sales Professional this year, you will make more money, but if you aren’t…… you won’t. (You should attend the Automotivator Professional Development workshops).
 Break down your sales targets by the month, week and day.
 Make follow-up a profit-centre for you.
 Give yourself a daily appointment objective and you WILL hit your sales and earnings goal.
Remember, the trip of a 1000 miles starts with the first step.

Join my exclusive KICK IN THE BUTT CLUB! If you are serious about achieving your sale goals and income targets this year, take action! Join my new “Kick in the Butt Club”. Get motivated and receive proven sales initiatives that will help you achieve your goals when you need a kick in the butt! I need your name, phone number, dealership and vehicles you sell. Put in the subject line “Kick in the Butt Club My email is Dave@Automotivator.com I only want to spend my time with sales professionals who really want to succeed. Don’t join if you are not serious!

It's time to THINK BIG, PLAN BIG and then WORK YOUR PLAN!

Great Success,
Dave.
Dave Kemp, the AUTOMOTIVATOR. www.Automotivator.com www.Trackstar.ca
Dedicated to improving the buying experience in the nation’s showrooms