There is an old saying about marketing that goes, “Reducing your marketing to save money is like trying to stop a clock to save time.”
Multiple times this week I have had people tell me they would employ our services if they could “afford it” or “had the time” to invest. Some of my initial responses were:
- What makes you think you can’t afford it?
- When do you expect to have time?
- Time must be created.
Time is real, to you and me. But you must be cautious about confusing it with money or leaning on it like a crutch.
Believe me, I get it. There is not enough time in the day to accomplish everything you need. I experience this most of the time. But then there is the saying to God about granting you the serenity to accept the things you can not change, to change the things you can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Now, it is because you can not escape time you must use it to your advantage. This, I would argue, is where you must learn to create time.
If you have a reason or excuse or a really good justification for not communicating your message then you are attempting to stop the clock and that is not realistic. You must reach your audience. Some suggestions I would throw out there include to…
- Be attentive not to quantify your effectiveness by one measure only.
- Be sure to communicate your message in multiple formats and circumstances.
- Invest time and money, but only when it meets your goals and objectives
- Have goals and objectives
- Define your goals and objectives
Ok enough of the hints. This week I have had people express an interest in spending money to market their cause, and people finding reasons not to.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Monday, June 8, 2009
The most forgotten tool!
I spend every day on the phone calling dealers across the nation. I can't tell you how many times the secretary answering the phone act like it's an inconvenience rather than a privilege to answer the phone. They forget that the person on the other end of the phone (the customer) is paying their wage and all the other staff at the dealership. Why is it so hard to perform their duty and answer the phone with a courteous and helpful tone. Instead what I hear most of the time is someone not having a good day and unhappy with their position. The secretary is usually rushing me off the phone or quickly stating "Please Hold", I can't get a word in edge wise to even state who I am calling for; then when they return to the phone I have been on hold for two to five minutes waiting for my person of contact. Then I ask for my person of contact and the tone of disgust while they transfers me to the Special Finance Manger or the GSM. We wonder why we are losing business? Hello? Your business is literally on the phone right in front of you and being shoved off to the side by one the most important positions in your dealership; your secretary! Let's think about this, all the money you spend in advertising your dealership in many different avenues is being poured down the drain. We know whether it's the Internet, direct mail promotions, radio, print media, digital media or any other form of advertising created organically or via any other avenue is to get the potential customer to call the dealership. The call to action is always to call or visit the dealership in person. As studies show, over 90% of consumers CALL the dealership first before they personally visit the dealership. The phone is the single most important TOOL we have in the dealership.
I have a suggestion, ask your neighbor or friend to call into the store and see how they are treated. The trick is to have someone call that your secretary does not recognize their voice and/or phone number they are calling from. Have your "secret shopper" ask for the Internet Manager or the Sales Manager. Have more than one "secret shopper" call into the store over a three day period, sporadic times, and asking for several different members of your sales and management staff. Ask their opinion of how they were treated and what transpired during their phone calls; I know you will be pleasantly surprised when you receive their honest opinion of their phone experience.
I had a mentor/ GSM when I was selling in 1992 that use to tell me " Growth happens when you do things you don't want to do, so you can become better" Try it sometime, see if you like it!
Think outside the box, revisit your pay plan with your secretary. Spiff her or him like you spiff your sales staff. Pay attention to them and recognize when they do a great job. Ask for ways to improve the phone system and what could be done so they can perform their position to its full potential. Listen to them and take action on what he/she says. Truly listen and learn from one of the most important members of your staff. Remember most people will respond better to recognition than they will pay increases! We all want to be praised and appreciated. If you are one of the lucky dealers who has an incredible secretary, pay them well! Praise them and treat them well. Treat them to lunch once a week or at least buy and LISTEN to them! They know the pulse of the store and what is truly going on in your dealership. They know and appreciate the TOOL they are working with, you can tell each and every time they answer the phone!
I have a suggestion, ask your neighbor or friend to call into the store and see how they are treated. The trick is to have someone call that your secretary does not recognize their voice and/or phone number they are calling from. Have your "secret shopper" ask for the Internet Manager or the Sales Manager. Have more than one "secret shopper" call into the store over a three day period, sporadic times, and asking for several different members of your sales and management staff. Ask their opinion of how they were treated and what transpired during their phone calls; I know you will be pleasantly surprised when you receive their honest opinion of their phone experience.
I had a mentor/ GSM when I was selling in 1992 that use to tell me " Growth happens when you do things you don't want to do, so you can become better" Try it sometime, see if you like it!
Think outside the box, revisit your pay plan with your secretary. Spiff her or him like you spiff your sales staff. Pay attention to them and recognize when they do a great job. Ask for ways to improve the phone system and what could be done so they can perform their position to its full potential. Listen to them and take action on what he/she says. Truly listen and learn from one of the most important members of your staff. Remember most people will respond better to recognition than they will pay increases! We all want to be praised and appreciated. If you are one of the lucky dealers who has an incredible secretary, pay them well! Praise them and treat them well. Treat them to lunch once a week or at least buy and LISTEN to them! They know the pulse of the store and what is truly going on in your dealership. They know and appreciate the TOOL they are working with, you can tell each and every time they answer the phone!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Kia and Credit Unions Team up for Discounts
ONTARIO, Calif. — CUDL and Kia Motors America announced they have entered a new partnership to provide credit union members discounts on new 2008 and 2009 vehicle purchases.
The new partnership between the Credit Union Service Organization and KMA provides members at CUDL's partnering credit unions access to special manufacturer discounts on the purchase of new Kia vehicles.
The program will be rolled out in the states of Washington and Oregon, providing CUDL credit union members in those two states the opportunity to take advantage of discounts being offered on all 2008 and 2009 new Kia vehicles.
Credit union members purchasing a new Kia vehicle will receive either a $500 or $1,000 discount, depending on the vehicle model purchased. The discounts will be offered to CUDL's 71 credit unions and 22 partnering Kia dealerships in Washington and Oregon.
Executives from CUDL and KMA confirmed that the partnership includes expanding the discount program into other markets across the country, although a time table has not yet been finalized for additional roll-out.
The CUSO's auto lending network currently includes 700 credit unions and their 20 million members nationwide, and includes more than 260 partnering Kia stores throughout the U.S.
"This is a great opportunity for us to continue to build the Kia brand and provide additional financing options to new and existing customers as well as to our dealers," said Tom Loveless, vice president sales, KMA. "It also serves to help us strengthen our network of partnerships with various financial institutions and relationships with their members."
Through the program, CUDL credit union members will save $500 on any new Kia Spectra, Rio, Sportage, Optima or Rondo models and $1,000 on any new Kia Sedona, Sorento, Amanti or Borrego.
The credit union member discount can be used in combination with any other incentives being offered by Kia dealerships, providing members with a deeper discounted price on their new vehicle.
"We are very excited about our partnership with Kia Motors America and the new opportunities it will offer our credit unions, their members and our Kia dealers," stated Jerry Neemann, CUDL's executive vice president and CSO.
"Our goal through this new partnership is to help our credit unions capture loans, offer members discount value on their next Kia purchase, and to provide our Kia dealerships with new customer opportunities to help grow their bottom lines," he added.
The new partnership between the Credit Union Service Organization and KMA provides members at CUDL's partnering credit unions access to special manufacturer discounts on the purchase of new Kia vehicles.
The program will be rolled out in the states of Washington and Oregon, providing CUDL credit union members in those two states the opportunity to take advantage of discounts being offered on all 2008 and 2009 new Kia vehicles.
Credit union members purchasing a new Kia vehicle will receive either a $500 or $1,000 discount, depending on the vehicle model purchased. The discounts will be offered to CUDL's 71 credit unions and 22 partnering Kia dealerships in Washington and Oregon.
Executives from CUDL and KMA confirmed that the partnership includes expanding the discount program into other markets across the country, although a time table has not yet been finalized for additional roll-out.
The CUSO's auto lending network currently includes 700 credit unions and their 20 million members nationwide, and includes more than 260 partnering Kia stores throughout the U.S.
"This is a great opportunity for us to continue to build the Kia brand and provide additional financing options to new and existing customers as well as to our dealers," said Tom Loveless, vice president sales, KMA. "It also serves to help us strengthen our network of partnerships with various financial institutions and relationships with their members."
Through the program, CUDL credit union members will save $500 on any new Kia Spectra, Rio, Sportage, Optima or Rondo models and $1,000 on any new Kia Sedona, Sorento, Amanti or Borrego.
The credit union member discount can be used in combination with any other incentives being offered by Kia dealerships, providing members with a deeper discounted price on their new vehicle.
"We are very excited about our partnership with Kia Motors America and the new opportunities it will offer our credit unions, their members and our Kia dealers," stated Jerry Neemann, CUDL's executive vice president and CSO.
"Our goal through this new partnership is to help our credit unions capture loans, offer members discount value on their next Kia purchase, and to provide our Kia dealerships with new customer opportunities to help grow their bottom lines," he added.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Embrace Modern Technology
Why are we so resistant to embrace modern technology? Old habits die hard,but in today's ever changing market we need to embrace modern technology and produce as much opportunity organically as we humanly possibly can. There are so many FREE, that's right FREE ways to represent the market, you are your own entity; you and the profession you proudly represent. Be creative, aggressive and think outside the box. Utilize each and every tool that is available. Be true to yourself and the customers you want to attract to become part of your clientele. Have fun, learn as much as you can and embrace modern technology at your pace. Remember the steps you take now will only ensure your success, which equals sales in the future. Enjoy and take one step a time- How do you eat an elephant, one bite at a time!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Credit unions are gaining on banks
As the overextended edifices of big-time banking crack and crumble during this long-rattling economic temblor, some simpler financial structures are holding up well.
Washington's credit unions added about 140,000 members in 2008, while their deposits grew 8.8 percent to more than $27 billion.
They loaned 9.6 percent more money last year than in 2007, figures just released by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) show.
Meanwhile, lending at Washington's banks and thrifts grew about 5.8 percent, according to a Seattle Times analysis of 31 representative institutions that filed year-end data. And credit unions have required no federal takeovers, no taxpayer-funded bailouts.
"I feel a little bit bad about crowing about having a good year, with the national financial crisis," says John Annaloro, CEO of the Washington Credit Union League. But he can't help it: "Many consumers are rethinking their banking relationships right now, especially in the aftermath of the WaMu failure and the media coverage of the financial crisis."
He adds, "We were built during the worst of economic times, and it may be why we weather these economic storms so well."
There is no escaping the current economic meltdown completely, though. Losses on loans have increased at Washington's credit unions, and nearly a quarter of them — mostly smaller ones — had negative returns for 2008, according to CUNA data.
The state's biggest, Tukwila-based BECU, saw its charge-offs on bad loans nearly triple to $79 million, though that was just 1.1 percent of its total lending.
"We didn't participate in some of the ill-advised loans, but we certainly felt an impact," says Gary Oakland, president and CEO of the 589,000-member credit union, the nation's fourth largest.
For instance, if a borrower also had an adjustable-rate bank mortgage with interest payments that suddenly ballooned, "that would impact their ability to pay on their (BECU) car loan, on their credit card," says Oakland. Likewise, the credit union's home-equity loans can take a hit when homeowners default on their primary mortgage.
He says BECU, which started 75 years ago as Boeing Employees Credit Union, last year had "a small handful" of mortgage foreclosures, and "somewhere north of 50 reworks" — modifying mortgages to help homeowners avoid defaulting. Oakland is "modestly hopeful that we've reached the plateau" and loan losses will begin declining this year.
BECU saw "a couple weeks in September when there was quite a bit of activity," with former WaMu account holders moving money to the credit union, but otherwise the credit union's 11 percent increase in depositors was a steady yearlong phenomenon, he says.
Meanwhile, BECU is seeing a boom in home-loan applications. "We originated a billion (dollars) in mortgage loans through November last year" for only the second time, Oakland says. But in December alone, new-mortgage applications to BECU totaled more than $900 million, and "we are in a position to fund every one of them if they came to closure."
Credit unions mostly have kept to the straight and narrow since movement gained federal approval in the midst of the Great Depression. Savings and loans also were depositor-owned institutions originally, but those largely morphed into investor-owned money machines prone to overheating and flaming out (see WaMu).
"Very few if any credit unions have got caught up in all this subprime-mortgage business — it just isn't their thing," says Lewis Mandell, a visiting professor at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business whose research focuses on financial literacy and consumer behavior. "They are old-fashioned entities ... They really don't aspire to be more than they are."
He says credit unions tend to pay "significantly higher" interest rates on deposits, and to offer members better rates on loans.
Credit unions have also expanded their appeal with online banking and ATM networks that make up for a limited number of branches, and their traditional limitations on membership have been discarded. Their deposits, like those at banks, are federally insured up to $250,000.
There's no danger of banks disappearing — they held 83 percent of deposits in the state at year-end 2007, according to the credit union's national trade association. But the member-owned institutions are looking for more.
Seizing this moment of economic uncertainty, the state's credit unions this month are rolling out a new advertising campaign that takes a soft-sell approach. Created by Seattle's Big Bang Electrical ad shop, the TV campaign's short versions simply show a happy moment — kids horsing around with Dad, for instance — and deliver the tagline, "This financial-chaos-free moment is brought to you by the credit unions of Washington."
These days, that may be a compelling message.
Washington's credit unions added about 140,000 members in 2008, while their deposits grew 8.8 percent to more than $27 billion.
They loaned 9.6 percent more money last year than in 2007, figures just released by the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) show.
Meanwhile, lending at Washington's banks and thrifts grew about 5.8 percent, according to a Seattle Times analysis of 31 representative institutions that filed year-end data. And credit unions have required no federal takeovers, no taxpayer-funded bailouts.
"I feel a little bit bad about crowing about having a good year, with the national financial crisis," says John Annaloro, CEO of the Washington Credit Union League. But he can't help it: "Many consumers are rethinking their banking relationships right now, especially in the aftermath of the WaMu failure and the media coverage of the financial crisis."
He adds, "We were built during the worst of economic times, and it may be why we weather these economic storms so well."
There is no escaping the current economic meltdown completely, though. Losses on loans have increased at Washington's credit unions, and nearly a quarter of them — mostly smaller ones — had negative returns for 2008, according to CUNA data.
The state's biggest, Tukwila-based BECU, saw its charge-offs on bad loans nearly triple to $79 million, though that was just 1.1 percent of its total lending.
"We didn't participate in some of the ill-advised loans, but we certainly felt an impact," says Gary Oakland, president and CEO of the 589,000-member credit union, the nation's fourth largest.
For instance, if a borrower also had an adjustable-rate bank mortgage with interest payments that suddenly ballooned, "that would impact their ability to pay on their (BECU) car loan, on their credit card," says Oakland. Likewise, the credit union's home-equity loans can take a hit when homeowners default on their primary mortgage.
He says BECU, which started 75 years ago as Boeing Employees Credit Union, last year had "a small handful" of mortgage foreclosures, and "somewhere north of 50 reworks" — modifying mortgages to help homeowners avoid defaulting. Oakland is "modestly hopeful that we've reached the plateau" and loan losses will begin declining this year.
BECU saw "a couple weeks in September when there was quite a bit of activity," with former WaMu account holders moving money to the credit union, but otherwise the credit union's 11 percent increase in depositors was a steady yearlong phenomenon, he says.
Meanwhile, BECU is seeing a boom in home-loan applications. "We originated a billion (dollars) in mortgage loans through November last year" for only the second time, Oakland says. But in December alone, new-mortgage applications to BECU totaled more than $900 million, and "we are in a position to fund every one of them if they came to closure."
Credit unions mostly have kept to the straight and narrow since movement gained federal approval in the midst of the Great Depression. Savings and loans also were depositor-owned institutions originally, but those largely morphed into investor-owned money machines prone to overheating and flaming out (see WaMu).
"Very few if any credit unions have got caught up in all this subprime-mortgage business — it just isn't their thing," says Lewis Mandell, a visiting professor at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business whose research focuses on financial literacy and consumer behavior. "They are old-fashioned entities ... They really don't aspire to be more than they are."
He says credit unions tend to pay "significantly higher" interest rates on deposits, and to offer members better rates on loans.
Credit unions have also expanded their appeal with online banking and ATM networks that make up for a limited number of branches, and their traditional limitations on membership have been discarded. Their deposits, like those at banks, are federally insured up to $250,000.
There's no danger of banks disappearing — they held 83 percent of deposits in the state at year-end 2007, according to the credit union's national trade association. But the member-owned institutions are looking for more.
Seizing this moment of economic uncertainty, the state's credit unions this month are rolling out a new advertising campaign that takes a soft-sell approach. Created by Seattle's Big Bang Electrical ad shop, the TV campaign's short versions simply show a happy moment — kids horsing around with Dad, for instance — and deliver the tagline, "This financial-chaos-free moment is brought to you by the credit unions of Washington."
These days, that may be a compelling message.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Business Has Changed, Have You?
I believe in the Basics; open the dealership, get the cars open, put some balloons out and sell some cars, right? Yes, but that's not all. Here is the CORE of what it takes in addition to the BASICS.
You have to have a department committed to full spectrum sub-prime financing. You have to be marketing your dealership and the full spectrum of services offered by your dealership via the Internet. It is very important that all sales staff members as well as fixed operations are participating in the promotion of the dealership. Internet, E-mail, Texting, Blogging, MySpace, Facebook and Craigslist are just a few ways of digitally promoting the dealership. The phone is one of the most important tools that the dealer ignores. I don't mean the sales staff; I'm talking about the person who answers the phone. That's your stores first impression for the consumer. Here we are spending endless amounts of money and man hours promoting the dealership and we have people who have no business answering the phone greeting that money well spent only to have it go to the next dealership when they get on perma-hold or are greeted improperly to say the least.
You have to have a department committed to full spectrum sub-prime financing. You have to be marketing your dealership and the full spectrum of services offered by your dealership via the Internet. It is very important that all sales staff members as well as fixed operations are participating in the promotion of the dealership. Internet, E-mail, Texting, Blogging, MySpace, Facebook and Craigslist are just a few ways of digitally promoting the dealership. The phone is one of the most important tools that the dealer ignores. I don't mean the sales staff; I'm talking about the person who answers the phone. That's your stores first impression for the consumer. Here we are spending endless amounts of money and man hours promoting the dealership and we have people who have no business answering the phone greeting that money well spent only to have it go to the next dealership when they get on perma-hold or are greeted improperly to say the least.
1 Internet manager for your dealership? 20 group?
Every dealership needs to find new ways to promote their products. It amazes me why some dealerships today still only have one guy running their entire internet. Sure some programs you buy and services the dealership subscribes to are fully automated and require nothing more than just routine updates etc. But these days with todays customer they are actively participating in information gathering through the internet . While half of your crew is sitting around waiting for an "up" to walk up to the dealership and buy a car they could be sending free posts on Craigslist for instance or posting a blog, investigating the classifieds online, in the blog area there are consumers out there with massive amounts of questions . Especially in this climate of worry that grips the average american. Remember buying a car is still one of the most important decisions in peoples lives, scoff at the notion or not. Get your salesman actively participating in posts,classifieds,blogs,emails,etc. I promise you will get more car deals by incorporating this routine into your staff.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
