Catering to the Internet Used Car Shopper

Transcription

1 Catering to the Internet Used Car Shopper New realities of marketing and selling to the Internet Used Car Shopper With Steve Nickelsen CEO of Nickelsen Partners LLC And Chris Patton President, Mike Patton Auto Family Moderated by Mike Bowers Executive Editor, DealersEdge Presented by DealersEdge

2 Steve Nickelsen, CEO - Nickelsen Partners, LLC Steve Nickelsen, CEO of Nickelsen Partners LLC, has focused on improving dealership net profit for the past 25 years. In his personal consulting to dealers and as leader of other consultants, he has worked with more than 8,000 dealers, general managers, and sales managers to improve their businesses, and he has trained more than 20,000 automotive salespeople. His clients include some of the most profitable automotive organizations in North America, as well as some with among the highest customer satisfaction and retention. He is a frequent speaker for companies and conventions related to the automotive industry, and he has been the highest-rated speaker at NADA. In addition to working directly with car dealers, he has worked with OEMs and importers to help them improve the sales, profitability, effectiveness, and satisfaction of their dealer bodies. Examples of his work include: * For a group of domestic-brand dealerships, helping them rise from average to outstanding sales performance (including making their largest store the #12 Chevrolet store in the U.S. in sales) by coaching the dealer and his management team * For a dealer with both import and domestic stores, enabling the dealer to achieve greater profitability and happiness by helping him define and implement consistent, effective processes for major dealership activities, particularly the vehicle selling process, thereby creating an earned confidence that the operations were stable and under control. * For a Canadian importer, helping them achieve month-over-month sales growth in an otherwise declining market, by creating and conducting a series of targeted performance workshops. * For a distributor of Toyota vehicles, helping them grow their market share by more than 15% over two years, through work with the distributor and directly with their dealers. Chris Patton - President, Mike Patton Auto Family Chris Patton is President of the Mike Patton Auto Family in LaGrange, Georgia, operators of Honda, Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep franchises. Along with his brother (and partner) Brian, Chris is a third-generation owner and grew up working in every department in the business, beginning at the age of 10. After college, he went to work full-time with his father, Mike. He became General Manager of C.J. Patton Mazda-Hyundai in Rock Hill, South Carolina from 1994 to He moved back to LaGrange in 1997 to assume his current position. The Mike Patton Auto Family has approximately 95 employees and retailed over 1,800 new and used vehicles in 2009.

3 The Overview 1. Strategy overview - What s possible? 2. The inventory - What vehicles do we want? - Creating buy lists 3. Finding the vehicles 4. Buying them for the right price - Transporting them 5. Vehicle tracking 6. Service and Reconditioning 7. Pricing - Initial and during ownership 8. Merchandising - Internet merchandising - On-lot display and merchandising 9. Selling used vehicles 10. Wholesale disposal Page 4

4 Strategy Inventory Finding Cars Buying Tracking Service Pricing Marketing Selling Disposal The 10 building blocks in this series Page 5

5 Strategy Inventory Finding Cars Buying Tracking Service Pricing Marketing Selling Disposal In December s Webinar The Strategy, the Inventory, and Finding Cars Selling more than you d think possible: a variety of strategies What should my inventory look like? Where do I find those vehicles? Page 6

6 Strategy Inventory Finding Cars Buying Tracking Service Pricing Marketing Selling Disposal In Last Month s Webinar Buying, Tracking, getting the vehicles through Service, and initial Pricing Now that you found the vehicles, what are some of the best strategies for buying? Sounds simple, but you might hear a new strategy New ideas on tracking the vehicles from purchase to your front line all designed to reduce cycle time Getting Service and Sales on the same page How do you determine the best initial price for each vehicle? Page 7

7 Strategy Inventory Finding Cars Buying Tracking Service Pricing Marketing Selling Disposal Today We re Going to Discuss Marketing, Selling, and the Disposal of used vehicles Now that you have found the right vehicles, you ve gotten them through service and recon, how do we find prospects? The selling of used cars in this new efficient market has changed. We ll cover those changes today. The best disposal processes will be discussed. Page 8

8 An Offer Before We Get Started Lots of questions since we started these webinars: How do I know how well I m doing? How do I decide what to change? How do I determine my market days supply or my price to market? We can help you answer those questions. Go to Click on the free used-car mini-assessment button. Fill out the short questionnaire about your business. A consultant from Nickelsen Partners will call you to share the results and explain how you compare with other dealers. No cost, no obligation. Page 9

9 Another Offer Before We Get Started This is NADA convention week. If you re coming to Orlando, I d love to meet you. Call my cell at Page 10

10 Our Guest Dealer, Mr. Chris Patton Located in LaGrange, Georgia Sells Ford, Honda, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep and Preowned vehicles from three rooftops Net profit up a lot in 2009 compared to the prior year My pilgrimage Today, we are in fast learning mode. Our vision is moving people. Page 11

11 Mike Patton Auto Family Prices Their Vehicles Competitively, Which Helps Them Turn Fast Page 12

12 Mike Patton Auto Family Prices Their Vehicles Competitively, Which Helps Them Turn Fast Almost all retail inventory is no more than 21 days old Page 13

13 Mike Patton Auto Family Prices Their Vehicles Competitively, Which Helps Them Turn Fast Almost all retail inventory is no more than 21 days old Most retail inventory is priced competitively Page 14

14 Strategy Inventory Finding Cars Buying Tracking Service Pricing Marketing Selling Disposal Marketing Key metrics for Internet shoppers AutoTrader.com listings Cars.com listings Why prospects click through Website comparisons Self-assessment quiz for on-line marketing Patton s on-line merchandising reports On-lot display and merchandising Page 15

15 Key Metrics for Internet Shoppers Physical Walk or drive around the lot Get out and study the vehicle Drive, negotiate, buy Page 16

16 Key Metrics for Internet Shoppers Physical Walk or drive around the lot Get out and study the vehicle Internet Scan with search engines and thirdparty sites Click through and study the vehicle Drive, negotiate, buy Page 17

17 Key Metrics for Internet Shoppers Physical Walk or drive around the lot Get out and study the vehicle Internet Scan with search engines and thirdparty sites Click through and study the vehicle page views Drive, negotiate, buy Page 18

18 Key Metrics for Internet Shoppers Physical Walk or drive around the lot Get out and study the vehicle Internet Scan with search engines and thirdparty sites Click through and study the vehicle page views detailed page views Drive, negotiate, buy Page 19

19 AutoTrader.com Page 20

20 AutoTrader.com Geographic search by make, model, and year Page 21

21 AutoTrader.com Geographic search by make, model, and year Paid advertisements Page 22

22 AutoTrader.com Geographic search by make, model, and year Paid advertisements Default sort puts high prices on top Page 23

23 AutoTrader.com Geographic search by make, model, and year Paid advertisements If you don t pay for premium position, you won t be on page 1! Default sort puts high prices on top Paid real estate: premium listings on top Page 24

24 Two Ads for Similar Vehicles on AutoTrader.com: Where Would You Click? Lots of pictures, or just one stock photo? Vehiclespecific description? Page 25

25 Cars.com Page 26

26 Cars.com Geographic search by make, model, year and trim level Options to narrow search by certification, price band, mileage band, year, listing date, number of pictures, and keywords Page 27

27 Cars.com Geographic search by make, model, year and trim level Same default sort on price (high-to-low) but not premium listings Options to narrow search by certification, price band, mileage band, year, listing date, number of pictures, and keywords Page 28

28 Cars.com Geographic search by make, model, year and trim level Much less text on main page than on AutoTrader.com Same default sort on price (high-to-low) but not premium listings Options to narrow search by certification, price band, mileage band, year, listing date, number of pictures, and keywords Page 29

29 Website Comparisons 91% of Internet shoppers for used cars use third-party sites. AutoTrader.com and Cars.com are the biggest. AutoTrader makes/lets dealers pay for premium positioning in a search. Cars.com does not. AutoTrader shows more descriptive text about each vehicle on the main page than Cars.com. So more people click through on Cars.Com, simply because they can t get enough description otherwise. Since Cars.com shows so little text, it is essential to make that one line of description count. Page 30

30 Website Comparisons Three out of four Internet shoppers for used vehicles visit a dealer site. But it is not clear how much of that is only after they have visited third-party sites or the physical dealership. Page 31

31 If Internet Shoppers Don t See Your Cars on the Web, They Can t Shop Seriously for Them Is the vehicle posted very quickly after you own it? Is it on the major car-shopping websites? Is it priced accurately and competitivelyenough on the Internet? Is it prominent enough on AutoTrader, or do you need to buy better real estate? Page 32

32 If Internet Shoppers Don t See Your Cars on the Web, They Can t Shop Seriously for Them Is the vehicle posted very quickly after you own it? Is it on the major car-shopping websites? Is it priced accurately and competitivelyenough on the Internet? Is it prominent enough on AutoTrader, or do you need to buy better real estate? Are you measuring how many views each vehicle is getting? Vehicles report from AutoTrader.com Merchandising module from vauto Page 33

33 If Internet Shoppers Don t Like What They See, They Aren t Going to Buy Your Vehicles Is the price competitive with the other vehicles that show up in the same searches? Are there enough pictures showing different aspects of each vehicle? High-quality photos Interior and exterior, highlighting specific vehicle features Is the description an effective sales pitch or just a laundry list? Page 34

34 A Quick Internet Merchandising Quiz When was the last time you acted like a consumer and searched for vehicles like yours on the web? How did your vehicle postings compare? Did they show up early enough in your search, or were they buried behind pages of competing vehicles? If you were a consumer, would you have clicked through for more information, or did competing vehicles look more appealing? Are you consistently measuring how many click-throughs each vehicle is getting? Rule of thumb: On average, 3% - 4% of prospects click through Page 35

35 Here Is the Vehicles Report from AutoTrader This report shows every used vehicle listed on AutoTrader.com and the associated activity. Page 36

36 Here Is the Vehicles Report from AutoTrader This vehicle appeared in 700 searches and had 8 detailed views. 8 / 700 = 1.1% click-through rate. Page 37

37 This Is Patton s Top-Level Merchandising Screen from vauto Page 38

38 This Is Patton s Top-Level Merchandising Screen from vauto List of websites the dealer advertises on Page 39

39 This Is Patton s Top-Level Merchandising Screen from vauto List of websites the dealer advertises on Status of vehicles, photos, price, and odometer readings Page 40

40 This Is Patton s Top-Level Merchandising Screen from vauto List of websites the dealer advertises on Status of vehicles, photos, price, and odometer readings Full-month forecast for search results page views and click-throughs to vehicle detail pages Page 41

41 This Is Patton s Top-Level Merchandising Screen from vauto AutoTrader click-through rates tend to be lower than for Cars.com because Cars.com shows less information on the search screen Page 42

42 This Is the Internet Status for Each Patton Car Page 43

43 Each vehicle This Is the Internet Status for Each Patton Car Page 44

44 Each vehicle Each website This Is the Internet Status for Each Patton Car Page 45

45 This Is the Internet Status for Each Patton Car The symbols for each vehicle show for each website whether the vehicle is listed, and whether the price, photos, and odometer reading are valid. Page 46

46 This Is the Internet Status for Each Patton Car This vehicle s price changed today, so most websites do not yet show the updated price Page 47

47 Here Is the Internet History for that Just- Repriced Vehicle Vehicle that was just repriced Page 48

48 Here Is the Internet History for that Just- Repriced Vehicle Advertised price trend before today s price change Page 49

49 Here Is the Internet History for that Just- Repriced Vehicle Advertised price trend before today s price change Search page views and trend line Page 50

50 Here Is the Internet History for that Just- Repriced Vehicle Advertised price trend before today s price change Day-by-day page views and click-throughs Search page views and trend line Page 51

51 New Topic: On-Lot Display and Merchandising Groupings Price display Hang tags What s wrong with this vehicle? Loaning used vehicles As-is vehicles Page 52

52 Chris Patton s Views on Marketing We ve had good success with: Letting all dealerships sell all used Segmenting our vehicles With AutoTrader and Cars.com Other wins We monitor detailed page views. Page 53

53 Strategy Inventory Finding Cars Buying Tracking Service Pricing Marketing Selling Disposal Selling Vehicles The basics Sales process Morning variable manager meetings Sales one-on-ones Building value: the folder Why buy here? CarFax and AutoCheck Sales pay plans Page 54

54 Have Everyone Comply with a Strong Sales Process Page 55

55 The Morning Variable Manager Meeting 8:30 a.m. is a great start time. Review yesterdays prospects Rank 1-5, or hot/warm/cold Decide specific follow-up for each salesperson Review all hots Brainstorm how we are going to sell units Review yesterday s incoming phone calls Review Internet leads Review deals in Finance that are not delivered Review today s appointments Page 56

56 One-on-Ones with Salespeople 10:00 a.m. Schedule 10 minutes apart Personal update Yesterday s prospects Review all prospects Today s appointments Review individual data goals vs. actual Sales month to date Discovery Manager Hi s Final manager T.O. Page 57

57 The Folder Helps Build Value in the Vehicle CarFax/AutoCheck report Market price comparison Why buy here Internet pricing policy Service record MSRP Page 58

58 Build Value: Why Buy from You? Patton uses a set of easel charts to build value. There are 16 easel slides in this presentation. Page 59

59 Patton s Strategy to Build Value Includes Specific Benefits Page 60

60 Patton Builds Trust by Demystifying the Buying Process as it Builds Value Page 61

61 Patton Also Asks for Referrals During This Process Page 62

62 Another New Tool for Building Value in the Asking Price: RealDeal Page 63

63 A Sample RealDeal Report Page 64

64 Use CarFax to Show the Strengths of Your Vehicles Keep with every vehicle Run on lower priced vehicles you find in competitive sets Page 65

65 or Use AutoCheck How good are your vehicles? How bad are lower-priced alternatives? Patton uses AutoCheck. Page 66

66 Rethinking Sales Compensation Get selling costs under control Realign incentives to hold gross on competitive Internet prices and reward process compliance Page 67

67 Chris Patton s views on Selling We re one-price, so We have a specific selling process Which includes explaining one-price We have a morning variable manager meeting every day. We track all of the metrics. Showroom We have greeters. Phone We use an off-site service to log the calls. Internet Page 68

68 Strategy Inventory Finding Cars Buying Tracking Service Pricing Marketing Selling Disposal Disposing of Vehicles Our goal is to retail EVERY vehicle, at some price, to a customer. That builds market share, plus we have the potential of finance and insurance income, future service business, and a better chance of other purchases that they influence. - Rich Ackman Director of Variable Operations Germain Auto Group - Ohio Page 69

69 Wholesale Disposal If price is managed during ownership, fewer vehicles need to be wholesaled. Internal auctions. Other stores you own Wholesalers Who reps the vehicle? Page 70

70 Chris Patton s views on Disposal We try to retail every vehicle Get F&I Get future service business Gain market share Page 71

71 Chris Patton s Business Model Processes Tools Core Values and Strategy Page 72

72 Chris Patton s Business Model Processes Tools Core Values and Strategy Need to treat customers well Need to make money One-price Velocity Page 73

73 Chris Patton s Business Model Processes vauto Customized N-DOTS (Nickelsen Dealership Operations Toolkit) Tools Core Values and Strategy Need to treat customers well Need to make money One-price Velocity Page 74

74 Chris Patton s Business Model Processes One-price selling Strong process compliance MVMMs and one-on-ones Monitoring input and outcome metrics vauto Customized N-DOTS (Nickelsen Dealership Operations Toolkit) Tools Core Values and Strategy Need to treat customers well Need to make money One-price Velocity Page 75

75 Chris Patton s Results Sales are up. We have fewer old vehicles. We are more profitable. I m more pro-active with my time % is scheduled with important stuff I m doing less urgent but unimportant today. Page 76

76 Some Key Points The used-vehicle market has changed and is changing, so dealers must change also. Changing technology is necessary, but it is NOT sufficient. Software Processes Compensation Organization structure and staffing The opportunity is big. The right strategy, executed well, has doubled used-vehicle sales at a variety of dealerships. Page 77

77 A special Thanks to Chris Patton today for sharing his knowledge and experiences with us. For any additional questions, please me at: or my cell is Steve Nickelsen, CEO Page 78

78 Thanks to all of you for participating and listening today, and congratulations on your desire to learn! For any additional questions, please me at: or my cell is Steve Nickelsen, CEO Page 79