STOP THE JEDI MIND TRICKS

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2 FEATURE STOP THE JEDI MIND TRICKS DEVELOPING A MORE FOCUSED MARKETING PROGRAM BY JONATHAN (JB) BENJAMIN With the recent release of Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens, as well as Rogue One, I'm reminded of the many similarities that take place on the big screen as well as in the business world. Including the battles between light & dark, good & evil. Every business decision, especially marketing, certainly needs to be weighed carefully. However, I've never seen that decision-making process or the lack thereof paralyze so many businesses as it has in the automotive industry. It seems that the excitement of a new and great marketing product or campaign / strategy can be easily derailed by the Jedi Mind Tricks that auto dealers tend to pull on themselves. Here are a few you may have encountered and what to do about them: Indecision. The bottom line is, no matter what the reason, indecision is the worst decision. In Rogue One, the Rebels didn t know if they would be able to find the blueprints that contained the way to destroy the Death Star, but they knew they couldn't just sit around and wait for imminent-death. They went on the offensive and attacked. EVERY BUSINESS DECISION, ESPECIALLY MARKETING, CERTAINLY NEEDS TO BE WEIGHED CAREFULLY. HOWEVER, I'VE NEVER SEEN THAT DECISION-MAKING PROCESS OR THE LACK THEREOF PARALYZE SO MANY BUSINESSES AS IT HAS IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY. 58

3 You have to be moving forward, making moves / decisions. And that may include making changes. Specifically, in what, how and when you market to customers. For years I ve been very close with two Chevy dealers that are about 60 miles apart from each other. Dealer A is in a smaller market, but makes moves all the time. Constantly trying new and different things, carefully measuring the success and getting rid of what s not producing the desired results. He s running his market and literally can t be touched. Dealer B is constantly thinking about it. He makes one decision to every six or seven that Dealer A makes. They take so long to make a marketing decision that they need each decision to be a grand slam to make up for the entire market share they lost while sitting around thinking about making that decision. They re in a larger market and struggle to hit their goals and gain customers. Constantly. This is a vicious cycle. I promise you, making moves is one of the main differences between dealerships that are crushing it and ones that aren't. Successful people make their decisions quickly and change their minds slowly. Failures make their decisions slowly and change their minds quickly. - Andy Andrews I Love it! But I m Also Worried That It Won t Work. Luke Skywalker saw Jedi s use the Force. He saw amazing things from Obi- Wan, Yoda and others but still didn't believe it was real or for him. We see this all the time. Recently, we had a long-time client refer us to someone in his dealer 20 group. This new dealer loved the program and the results that his colleague was getting with us, but just wouldn't pull the trigger because he was simultaneously worried that it may NOT work as well for him as it had for others. Our client then made him this offer: I am so confident that it will work for you, that I will pay for your campaign. You just have to cut me in on X percentage of the profit generated from it. His buddy still said no. Why? Because now he was concerned that the campaign would do so well that he would have to cut a huge check to the other dealer! You can t simultaneously believe it won't work and also believe that it will work too well. No wonder so many dealers are in over-analysis paralysis! This stops the decision-making process and growth dead in its tracks. THE BOTTOM LINE IS, NO MATTER WHAT THE REASON, INDECISION IS THE WORST DECISION. MAKING MOVES IS ONE OF THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DEALERSHIPS THAT ARE CRUSHING IT AND THOSE THAT AREN T. 60

4 Is This Salesperson or Company Full of B.S.? Great question. The automotive industry can be a fast-paced, high-energy, go-go-go, never-done, always-behindthe-eight-ball kind of world. It has a lot of moving parts and many decisions to be made daily to keep numbers up, retention increasing and profitability high. It's this environment, often coupled with much larger marketing budgets than other industries, that s drawn a lot of "Sith Lords" out from hiding to prey upon it and by extension, prey upon you. Marketing companies that have given themselves over to the dark side still use the power of the Force. They know the lingo and how the industry works. They know just what to say to get your attention and your business. They also make empty promises. They know you will most likely be far too busy with customers and planning next month to see if they actually delivered. But sometimes you need the dark to recognize the light. But are they selling or consulting? A salesperson wants you to buy their product. A consultant actually wants to listen to what you have to say, has interest in the specific challenges you face and the goals you re trying to accomplish. You want to know why? They actually care about solving your problem. What's your greatest need? Does their product meet up with that? We get everyone on the same page with a set goal and put an action plan in place. This creates a successful campaign and customer loyalty. A dealer I was speaking with recently told me that "Direct mail companies are a dime a dozen " I agree. But so are Stormtroopers. And, like Stormtroopers, most of them aren't very adept at what they do, don't think out-of-the-box and have terrible aim. Not a great combo when you re talking about someone you are going to use a portion of your budget on to market for you. SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE MAKE THEIR DECISIONS QUICKLY AND CHANGE THEIR MINDS SLOWLY. FAILURES MAKE THEIR DECISIONS SLOWLY AND CHANGE THEIR MINDS QUICKLY. - ANDY ANDREWS 62

5 So how do you know who to form an alliance with? How do you know if the company you are about to partner with has left a wake of destruction behind them? Or worse, what if they destroy you? Which brings me to the next Jedi Mind Trick: Being Too Busy to Call References. You need to slow down and focus. When you slow down for a moment and become calm, you will realize that you do actually have time and it s greatly beneficial to take just a few minutes to research who you are partnering with. Here are some things to look for and, when you find them, they should carry a lot of weight with you. Length in industry. If a good company has been around for a while, they should have testimonials. It s You should now be looking for video testimonials to make it easy for you especially if you wear so many hats that you really are too busy to call another dealership to try to have someone tracked down like you re a bounty-hunter or something. When the ambassador from a neighboring Star System sends you video testimonials embedded in a droid, you know you are working with a marketing Jedi. YOU CAN T SIMULTANEOUSLY BELIEVE IT WON T WORK AND ALSO BELIEVE THAT IT WILL WORK TOO WELL. NO WONDER SO MANY DEALERS ARE IN OVER-ANALYSIS PARALYSIS! As far as testimonials go, we re not just talking about someone saying: "yes I like them" or "they're great or they have the fastest Starship in the galaxy. I m talking about a legit video testimonial with real results and honest opinions of why they like the company and what exactly it was they liked. No one wants to be on video, so if someone is willing to do it AND goes into detail of why...this is a great sign. Think about it. What would it take for you to jump in front of a video camera and record yourself saying great things about a direct mail company for the entire galaxy to see? How many times in your career have you done it? Exactly. You wouldn t do it unless you had some pretty strong and consistent results. Video testimonials are legit. Hands down. Search your feelings; you know them to be true. Stop the Jedi mind tricks you play on yourself and form an alliance with proven Jedi masters. And, as always, may the Force be with you. Jonathan (JB) Benjamin has worked in automotive marketing and customer retention for the past 12 years and is currently the CEO & Co-Founder of Brandon, Florida-based Pulse Automotive Marketing, a national automotive marketing company. Their unique programs, which help dealers gain market share, build revenue, increase Service retention and stand out from their competitors, has earned them an impressive 90+% retention rate with their dealer clients. 64