In this issue: 1 Death of a Salesman 2 .1 Tips and Tricks: CSI 2 .2 Employee Spotlight: Alistair Jeff 3 .1 Secrets of Success: Stourbridge VW 3 .2 CitNOW of the Month: Mike Gill, BMW 4 .1 Please Welcome to CitNOW 4 .2 Your Coffee Cartoon Death of a Salesman October 2014 Did you read the recent stories in AM about showrooms being launched without sales staff! Hyundai is opening a shopping centre store in Bluewater, and Colin Appleyard said it was opening an unmanned store (read no sales execs) in Yorkshire, comparing the process to Argos and appealing to clued up motorists. What I found interesting was the largely negative comments that followed underneath the Appleyard article. An impractical solution; reinforces the bad reputation that dealers have for employing ‘dodgy salesmen’; customers always want to negotiate - when does that ever happen at Argos? Older news, but still on the same page; BMW have now rolled out their Product Geniuses - a non-commissioned expert, there to spend as long as it takes to help educate a car shopper. Interestingly, their best candidates have come from outside the industry with the ratio of geniuses to sales execs set to grow. What does the customer think? Auto Trader found that the average car shopper spends more than 11 hours online researching their new vehicle and only 3.5 hours at the dealership. Inbound enquiries … continued on page 2
Transcript
In this issue:
1 Death of a Salesman
2.1 Tips and Tricks: CSI
2.2 Employee Spotlight: Alistair Jeff
3.1 Secrets of Success: Stourbridge VW
3.2 CitNOW of the Month: Mike Gill, BMW
4.1 Please Welcome to CitNOW
4.2 Your Coffee Cartoon
Death of a Salesman
October 2014
Did you read the recent stories in AM about showrooms being launched without sales staff!
Hyundai is opening a shopping centre store in Bluewater, and Colin Appleyard said it was opening an unmanned store (read no sales execs) in Yorkshire, comparing the process to Argos and appealing to clued up motorists.
What I found interesting was the largely negative comments that followed underneath the Appleyard article. An impractical solution; reinforces the bad reputation that dealers have for employing ‘dodgy salesmen’; customers always want to negotiate - when does that ever happen at Argos?
Older news, but still on the same page; BMW have now rolled out their Product Geniuses - a non-commissioned expert, there to spend as long as it takes to help educate a car shopper. Interestingly, their best candidates have come from outside the industry with the ratio of geniuses to sales execs set to grow.
What does the customer think? Auto Trader found that the average car shopper spends more than 11 hours online researching their new vehicle and only 3.5 hours at the dealership. Inbound enquiries
… continued on page 2
2 Dealer Principles | October 2014
Employee Spotlight
Tips and Tricks Workshop: Improving CSIWhen was the last time you sent an ‘All Green’ CitNOW to your customer? Even when there is no additional work needed, there is still a great opportunity for you to improve your customer relationship and your business. A Green CitNOW is simple to do and creates a big impact in return for a little time investment.
Green is GoodWith their vehicle in the workshop, the customer typically isn’t looking forward to a phone call from you. Make their day. Send a green CitNOW with nothing to report. This can help secure your relationship with the customer and provide a lasting experience for your service team to pick up on when they next contact the customer.
Take your TimeTake more time. Don’t send a 20 second CitNOW to the customer. It gives the wrong impression and leaves the customer feeling that the whole process is a bit of a chore. One minute is all it takes, your CitNOW won’t take much time, but it speaks volumes to your customer.
The Devil is in the DetailFollow these steps: Introduce yourself and the good news. Build rapport and go on a quick tour of the vehicle, show tyre depths, undercarriage and comment on the discs, pads and suspension. Remember the technician is the trusted authority, so share his authority with the customer.
To view our Top Tips Cartoon go to: http://www.citnow.com/workshop-top10
Alistair Jeff Commercial Director
Alistair, a recently new addition to the CitNOW team is responsible for 3rd party integrations, contracts and our global partnerships. He comes from AutoTrader where he was responsible for trade-to-trade products including Autotrade-mail & 2ndByte. He has 20+ years automotive experience including time with Manheim Group, GM UK and general dealership management.
video.citnow.com/vpourteam10
from phone, email and ‘live chat’ have been keeping most sales execs busier than walk-ins for some time now.
Given how integrated ‘search’ has become to the customer buying process, it’s not surprising that manufacturers such as BMW, Volkswagen and Audi are reacting to this by making the sales process more transparent and ‘joined up’ between the online and offline experience. Have a look at this short video that Matt, one of Account Director’s took at a visit to a new concept store, video.citnow.com/vvshowroom1
Is this the death knell for the traditional salesman?Behaviour and data shows that more and more customers are educating themselves before engaging with a dealership. Online marketing tools, resources and reviews empower the customer to make more informed decisions than ever before. Put simply they come well armed, capitalising on the vast amounts of information available at their fingertips.
Why would they ever need you?Because people still buy from people of course! The rules of engagement might have changed but sales execs still have a bright future if they adapt to the digital tools available at their disposal. This is about timing, content and discipline to affect the right outcome.
At CitNOW, we’ve seen more than 30 uses for CitNOW from enquiry to post-purchase follow-up. It’s amazing how creative some sales execs have become - long may it reign. This is a voyage of discovery with massive potential for the effective use of personal video presentation, and interacting with every step of your customer’s life cycle.
Interested in seeing more uses for CitNOW? Check our top 10 lists for Sales and Aftersales: www.CitNOW.com/top10videos
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3
Hero Report
Secrets of SuccessSimon Volans, Brand Manager: Stourbridge Volkswagen
In September Stourbridge Volkswagen produced 414 videos, making it one of CitNOW’s most productive sales sites in the UK and in just their first full month with the technology.
How did the Stourbridge team hit the ground running? What do they use CitNOW for? What benefits have they seen from their extensive usage? CitNOW caught up with Brand Manager, Simon Volans to explore Stourbridge’s impressive start.
How have the team become so engaged with Volkswagen Video?We prepared the team prior to us getting the technology. We briefed them, let them know what was coming, and got them enthusiastic about the potential of CitNOW. When it arrived they leapt on it. For some of our more experienced staff, this came as a bigger change. However, once they witnessed the effect it had on customers they were won over.
What do you use Volkswagen Video for? Everything, it is a great way to engage the customer and the more you use it the easier it becomes. We use it from the very beginning for appointment confirmation. We’ve found that sending a CitNOW prior to an appointment actually increases the percentage turning up at the dealership. We also use it for car enquiries, thank you
The Oscar: CitNOW of the Month
Mike Gill Dick Lovett BMW Bristol
Why it works:
Suit the car to the setting By using a stylish and impressive environment Mike has optimised the customer’s perception of the car and associated characteristics. Much more impressive than the average forecourt!
Mike ensures his CitNOW matches that car to that customerTailor the script to your customer’s personal concerns. Mike shows how this car covers the needs of his customer, from boot space, through financing and finishing on easy parking. Mike could not do more to ensure that his CitNOW
Make it flawlessMike demonstrates that he knows the product inside out, both the 7 series and what makes a good CitNOW. He begins and finishes recording himself, is informative, knows which features intrigue customers and covers them as part of a seamless tour in just over 2 minutes.
Take a look yourself at: video.citnow.com/vvoscar0010
The top 5 users for CitNOW Sales and CitNOW Workshop
Sales Amount Workshop AmountRobert Foster, Hailsham MINI 94 Daron Bland, Bournemouth BMW 174Ian Kramer, Stockport Volkwagen 89 Adam Hooper, Salisbury BMW 142Eddie Allan, Menzies BMW 87 Terry Murray, Wessex Cardiff 128Keith Montgomery, Belfast Volkswagen 81 Jake Hartley, Wessex Cardiff 128Alan Whitehead, Premium Trade Cars 80 Graeme Kelly, Basildon Nissan 116
CitNOWs (thanking the customer for coming into the dealership), when the car is delivered to us on the transporter and also for handovers, when the car is valeted and ready to go to its new home. The reaction from our customers has been great. They love their videos and several of them, once they’ve bought a car from us, have even asked if they could record their own!
Has CitNOW impacted your business?The biggest positive has been the reaction of our customers and the improvement in their experience. It’s enabled our team to improve communication and more enthusiastic and thoughtful about the customer experience. Our rolling 6 month CEM score has improved substantially and moved us into the top quartile. Additionally to that, we’re pulling in business from further afield. Some customers have said that they bought the car because of the better view they got in their video. Without that detail, we might not have seen those customers in our dealership.
What advice would you have for others looking at introducing CitNOW.I would tell them not to! Joking aside I don’t want anyone else using it; it’s giving me the edge against my competition. In all seriousness, it’s a no brainer. The return on our investment has been great and more than paid for itself (within the first month), the cost is really a drop in the ocean compared to business costs today.
To watch the whole interview go to: video.citnow.com/vvfeedback2
