DeliveryMaxx Produces New Customer Video for Southwest Kia Mesquite

As part of our Images of Success Program we include a short video for our clients that can but played in the dealership. People always feel good when they see themselves on the WideScreen.

The typical dealership spends millions in advertisement for that “one-time sale.” Why not make an investment in the customer, so the customer will invest in the dealership?

DeliveryMaxx utilizes modern innovations, cross-talking technology, and traditional techniques to allow the customer to show off their new purchase while providing a positive published review of their experience to the world.

Imagine - the power of your customers sharing positive reviews through the world-wide web with their friends and family about the great sales and service your dealership provided to them before leaving the dealership.

Envision - the positive impact to your customer retention, increased sales, and higher CSI by simply providing high quality sales and service and allowing your customers to do what they do best- that is, telling others how much they appreciated the way they were treated and how they got the best price on a great product or service at your establishment

Realize - the scope of this technology along a vast horizon of possibilities for a fraction of the cost of what traditional forms of media and advertising saturation used to cost your store but with limited success.

This is how the Deliverymaxx Images of Success program helps our customers see certain and immediate measurable results. There is no better way to increase referrals and repeat business than this because your customers are doing the advertising for you through their own positive expressions! The internet, social media, blogs, and web-based communities have given ”word of mouth” a whole new meaning; Deliverymaxx will help you harness that momentum.

 

Automotive Service to Sales...Seamlessness...Really

From time to time, we will have members of the DeliveryMaxx family share their experiences from the automotive industry with you.  We hope you enjoyed this read from Craig Rodenmayer, DeliveryMaxx’s Customer Service Professional.

 In the 16 years I worked in the automotive industry as a service writer, consultant, and assistant service manager on the dealership level, I faced many opportunities and challenges. However, the greatest of those challenges and opportunities continually focused on how to retain my client base and represent the dealership well to my customers in order to achieve and maintain a high level of CSI and repeat business. That was the crux of what I learned in those 16 years. 

 During my tenure, car dealerships began to develop a focus on “seamlessness” between the front end of the store and the back end, or fixed operations of the service and parts departments. There were, in essence, two franchises under one roof operating out of step, often in competition with one another. The disjointed nature of these two competing entities worked to the detriment of the dealerships client base because the customers of that dealership were becoming lost to the schizophrenic nature of the messages they received either at the point of purchase or at the point of service. There was a lack of dialogue or familiarity between the sales staff and service staff which created a lack of trust or loyalty with the customers on both ends resulting in a loss of repeat sales and returning service customers. Worst of all, this lack of trust was being expressed through the customer’s word of mouth and CSI reviews to the dealership. Disaster! 

 What I learned in my time writing service, and what I began to understand of human nature, is that people want a friend they can trust when it comes to their automobile purchase or service. They want experts who will lead them down the path with integrity and sincerity. They don’t want to be “sold” on something they don’t want, don’t need, nor can they afford. So, my approach to the concept of seamlessness became communication and knowledge of what the other half of the dealership was doing. Likewise, I developed relationships within the sales staff so that I could better serve my customers and the dealership as a whole. The better I understood the sales end of the car business, then the better I could assist my service customers in making wise decisions about a car they own that may be, for a lack of a better term, a “money pit” if they continue to dump money into it to fix it. I and my customers needed friends in the sales department.

 I never cared much for the notion of a “bird dog” fee for flipping a service customer to a specific sales person; to me that seemed more like a scheme. Of course I wanted to be well compensated for my efforts, but more than that I wanted to make sure my customer was being treated with the same level of integrity and honesty that I provided in my relationship with them. After all, a car purchase usually takes place within the confines of a day; a service customer however, is won over months and years! Therefore, it was imperative that any customer of mine was treated with the highest level of care by the sales staff. What is more, I didn’t want to develop a “racket” with just one sales person who would pay me to flip my customer. No, keep your bird dog fees and spread the love. My desire was to work as a team, seamlessly taking care of our most valuable asset, the customer. If we won the trust of our customer, we earned a customer for life. 

 And so now, with the ubiquitous internet and social media, it is even more imperative to take the concept of seamlessness to task within the automotive dealership. There should be absolutely no gap or perception of a void to the customer between the point of sale and the point of service. Furthermore, the client base of the dealership, both young and old, have become more sophisticated and educated in the process of car buying and automotive service. Dealerships owe it to themselves to cross train and educate both the sales staff and service staff in an effort to better enhance the dealership’s customer retention, online reputation, brand reputation, and CSI reviews. It is in our nature to want to trust and that is the key to winning customers for life; loyalty is the point of becoming truly seamless. Really. 

DeliveryMaxx was founded on the principles of creating a more efficient method for successfully completing the sale at the point of delivery.  We have developed a system that effectively increases the positive experience of buying a new vehicle, accurately tracks the process, and generates increased customer retention.  The net result to our dealer network is increased sales, residual profits, web domination through social media marketing, strong SEO value and Locals, Published Positive Reviews and a Customer Loyalty Program that assures “Keeping the Customer for Life.

Our founders have over 60 years of experience in Automotive Sales, Management, Fixed Operations, Corporate, Marketing, and Customer Support ensuring a complete understanding of the sales process and the knowledge to help you grow your customer base.  We understand how hard it is to win a customer, and DeliveryMaxx arms you with the tools necessary to build continuous, strong relationships with your customers and retain them for generations to come.

Automotive Leadership at its Finest

Leadership- Are You a Leader

Now that the Grand Old Party is officially nominating their choice, Governor Mitt Romney, for President of the United States and current President Barak Obama is defending his record of leading the United States the last three years; we are faced with a decision to choose who best fit to lead our country. America has a vast history of leaders who have embarked on the challenge which affects many lives from small businesses with less than five employees, large corporations with tens of thousands of employees, to Presidents who are challenged with decisions influence the lives of 313 Million people.

Leadership is "organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal". According to this definition, a leader may or may not have a formal title. That means a leader can be any of your colleagues including yourself. It makes no difference as to what your title is. A leader can be anyone from a parent, student, receptionist, General Manager, technician, sales person, to the owner or founder of a company. The same theory applies that a boss may not be a leader. In addition, a company can be a leader of their industry.

There are no Failed Leaders, only those who Fail to Lead.

Are you a leader? Is your company a leader? This article will discuss traits of a leader, and allow you to take a deeper look into your qualities, skillset, and drive to lead. We will explore leadership traits, styles, and recommendations helping you to accomplish your goals. The assumption is that you are reading this because you want to lead; however, not all leaders seek out this responsibility. Some leaders have to lead out of necessity because there is no better option or their company, country, or family needs them to lead. We will also discuss leadership myths. Some heads of organizations believe they are leaders when in fact they adversely affect the goal they are trying to reach. If we agree with the definition of leadership which is “organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal” then this figure head is not a true leader.

Leadership Myths

Myth #1- All leaders have the same personality

When most people think of a leader they will imagine the most vocal member or dominating personality in the room. Many failures believe that they are a leader because they think they always have something to say, and the louder they talk the more they believe they are leading.

Once, I had a CEO that used to come into the board room and beat his chest and just start yelling. Mark Twain once wrote, “It is better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you are a fool then open it, and remove all doubt.” This was so true in this particular case.

The more this CEO yelled and screamed the worse the executives performed and their staff performed. The company ended up failing. What is worse is that he took these same traits into two other companies, and both of those companies failed as well. In reality, the louder the person is the less likely followers hear. Now, do not mistake loudness for passion. A passionate leader may be very vocal to get there point across at a crucial time when trying to achieve a goal. Passion can emphasize the severity of the consequences of actions or lack thereof. Those of you who played sports or were in the military understand that there are times that a vocal leader is needed at times. This is passion, and not yelling just to yell.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski has coached at Duke University since 1980 winning four NCAA Championships, 11 Final Fours, 12 ACC regular season titles, 13 ACC Tournament Championships, and 2 gold medals for the United States Olympic Team. He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame becoming the winningest coach in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history.

Some feel that all leaders have a charismatic personality. The term charisma has two senses. The first meaning is having a compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others, and the second meaning, a divinely conferred power or talent. Truth is that most of the famous leaders had some sort of shortcoming or personality issue. Your cause, your purpose, and your mission in life will make you seem charismatic, not the other way around.

President Ronald Reagan is one of our most beloved presidents in American History. He was perceived as charismatic because of his success. He was not successful because he was charismatic. He had a cause, purpose, and mission in life and he inspired others to help America reach those goals.

Others feel all leaders have an extroverted personality. Leaders aren’t all extroverts. There are actually highly successful leaders who are introverts. From Microsoft's founding in 1975 until 2006, Gates had primary responsibility for the company's product strategy. He aggressively broadened the company's range of products, and wherever Microsoft achieved a dominant position he vigorously defended it. He gained a reputation for being distant to others; as early as 1981 an industry executive complained in public that "Gates is notorious for not being reachable by phone and for not returning phone calls."

Bill Gates is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people and was the wealthiest overall from 1995 to 2009, excluding 2008, when he was ranked third; in 2011 he was the wealthiest American and the second wealthiest person. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of CEO and chief software architect, and remains the largest individual shareholder, with 6.4 percent of the common stock.

The personality of leaders can vary from demanding, friendly, stoic, calm, methodical, and even lucky; however, these personalities did not make the leaders. The leaders led using their personalities to the best of their abilities and achieved success by reaching a common goal.

Myth #2- Titles Define the Leader

Leadership is not based on position or rank. It is based on action, performance, ability, and effectiveness. We all relate to working for those people who were placed in leadership roles who did more to demoralize and destroy the business than anything else. The best companies strive to develop and create as many leaders as possible. Real leaders are acknowledged by their peers, supervisors and subordinates. It’s not a matter of position within an organization. It’s a matter of who has the best skills, knowledge and resources to enable the team to achieve a common, shared goal.

When I was younger, working for my first “real job” after college, my supervisor nominated me to be a Change Leader in our organization. Our corporate team had set out a goal to create a “Best Place to Work” and devised a vision to be everyone’s choice in the automotive educational industry. We developed a plan to empower employees to help our company reach these lofty goals. Although the company is considered a success eventually going public in 1996 putting a lot of us in a different tax bracket, management deviated from this path and failed to realize the company’s full potential. However, a great example of a company that practices Leadership by Empowerment is Harley-Davidson.

Harley-Davidson Inc. is an American motorcycle manufacturer which was founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin during the first decade of the 20 th century. It was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression. It also survived a period of poor quality control and competition from Japanese manufacturers.

In 1983, new management adopted best practices by allowing employees at any level to share new and innovative ideas to improve the quality of business for the organization. Many components and technical improvements were made saving the company from shutting its doors for good. Furthermore, the leadership team, identified with their consumers building trust and allegiance to develop Harley-Davidson into a Worldwide Brand that is so popular people is willing to permanently tattoo the company logo on parts of their body.

Myth #3- Leaders are Born Not Made

Many people still think leaders are born and not made. Just research Qualities of a Great Leader, and you will find millions of articles and books trying to find the gene that makes up such a person. What you will find is that everyone has an opinion on the matter. Many people who are trying to sell books say that anyone can become an effective leader. Obviously, the books have the “secret sauce”, so you have to pay $19.95 to find the answers which will lead you to wealth. The truth is that if you are reading this article, you have a desire to improve yourself or your company. The second truth is that you must have a goal that you are trying to accomplish. So, in reality, you will be defined as a leader by the circumstances that have been created and how you are able to accomplish these goals inspiring others to help you accomplish these goals.

Mother Teresa spent her entire adult life working for the indigent, sick, and uneducated. She had a goal to help these people, and believed in the cause. By her actions and convictions, she was able to inspire royalty, wealthy, and countries to take up her cause.

Myth #4- Leaders are More Formally Educated than Others

When today’s leader steps in front of a microphone to give a speech on the economy or a presentation to their staff, we often mistakenly perceive they have been educated by some of the finest schools that gave them that “secret sauce” in school. The truth is that education does not make anyone a good leader. Learning, understanding, ambitious, visionaries, experience and communicators become leaders. Leaders identify situations and then apply their experience and knowledge to reach their stated goals.

For example, Henry Ford identified that the middle class American needed a vehicle they could afford. His introduction of the Model T automobile completely revolutionized the transportation and automotive industry. He is credited with “Fordism” which is the mass production of inexpensive goods coupled with high wages for workers. Ford had a global vision, with consumerism as the key to success. His commitment to systematically lowering costs resulted in many technical and business innovations.

Ford grew up on a farm near Detroit, Michigan. He left his farm to work as an apprentice machinist later coming back to farming. After becoming adept at operating the Westinghouse portable steam engine on the farm he was hired by the Westinghouse Company to service their steam engines. He became an engineer with Edison Illuminating Company gaining enough time and money to devote attention to his personal experiments on gasoline engines. This led to the completion of a self-propelled vehicle named the Ford Quadricycle.

	After an opportune meeting with Thomas Edison as well as much encouragement from Edison himself, Ford built his second vehicle. Ultimately, Ford Motor Company was incorporated on June 16, 1903 with the Model T being introduced in 1908.
Henry Ford on his Quadricycle

Henry Ford was Time’s Man of the Year in 1935, and in 1999 was among 18 included in Gallup’s List of Widely Admired People of the 20th Century, from a poll conducted of the American people.

Myth #5- Leaders have all of the Answers

Leaders are fallible. As a matter of fact, they appear to make more mistakes or wrong decisions then the average person because they may make more visible decisions at stages than others. However, leaders know that they have to have a vision and sense of direction while learning from others. Ultimately they will be judged by their success and failures, but they have to collaborate with their team. A leader has to be able to admit mistakes while learning from them. A leader will not be so egotistical that they think they have all of the answers, and they will surround themselves with knowledge or knowledgeable people to help their team achieve its goals.

President Abraham Lincoln led our country through its greatest crisis, the Civil War, while preserving the United States of America. Many people know about President Lincoln presiding over the Union during the War of the States, but his legacy of collaboration between the defeated South and victorious North to repair the harms of the war should not be overlooked.

Take a look at the civil wars in Africa and Middle East. Those countries, after hundreds of years of battling, continue to have unrest in their country.

In addition to scholars ranking Lincoln as one of the top three presidents; he paved the way through collaboration and compromise that the United States of America still flies Old Glory.

Not all leaders are moral leaders

Once again, a leader organizes a group of people to achieve a common goal. I say this again because not all leaders are ethical, but they have a lot of the same traits of the leaders above. For example, Adolf Hitler was able to coerce, manipulate, and control his country into hating and ultimately killing 6 million Jews as well as 5000 children by lethal injection because they were mentally and physically disabled.

Leadership is about the future, not the past. Joel Barker's has the best quote about leadership, "A leader is someone you would follow to a place you would not go to by yourself." Leaders gain followers out of respect and their ability to cause people to work toward a particular goal or achieve a destination. People follow because they can relate to the vision or goal personalized by the leader. Ultimately, Hitler’s leadership failed because a leader helps people become better than they are. A leader creates a work environment that attracts, keeps and motivates its workforce. Thankfully, his plan failed.

Leadership Traits

According to the American Library Association leadership traits that are characteristics of good leaders can be divided into seven categories. These characteristics are: physical, emotional, social, intellectual or intelligence, communication, experience, and trustworthy. When we practice being good leaders, leading and motivating others to reach a common goal, we are able to take our companies, communities, families to new heights.

Physical

Many leaders spend time exercising trying to stay in top physical condition. When the body is strong, we are able to perform at a high level. Our energy needs to remain strong, so we can prepare for the challenges ahead. Great leaders don’t break a sweat in stressful situations. As a matter of fact, they thrive on it. Many leaders are not concerned about being overworked and while having solid vitality.

Emotional

Leaders have self-confidence and are more likely to attempt to influence and look for challenging tasks. They have a desire to improve while understanding their own strengths and weaknesses. The best leaders have self-objectivity. Their emotional intelligence is the extent to which a person is attuned to their own feelings and the feelings of others. They are self-aware have empathy, and self-regulation. Many do not dwell on mistakes and view mistakes as opportunities to learn and move forward.

Ambitious

President George W. Bush speaks to employees of DeliveryMaxx about success.

Leaders have courage and are not paralyzed by fear of failure. They have a deep understanding of one’s emotions, strengths, weaknesses, needs, and drives. They love what they do. They are risk takers, and confident in their ability to take these risks. Leaders are able to handle negative reactions to the outcome. They are not intimidated by superiors and believe they have control over their own destinies. They are optimistic, even when times are tough. A good leader will accept responsibility and remain persistent.

They do not let potential objections or criticisms stop them despite resistance or setbacks. They keep going and stay the course. A good leader exhibits concern for others showing genuine interest. They give a humanistic touch always recognizing others success. A leader is perceived by others as constant and reliable picking positions or ideas and sticking to them. Self-discipline is important to them. They are determined and good at managing their emotions. Leaders have a desire to achieve.

Social

Socially leaders are well-adjusted and oriented toward improving ones self while not denying weaknesses. They treat followers in a fair objective fashion and are honest, ethical, trustworthy. Their promises are kept and they fulfill their responsibility. A good leader is able to convert purpose and vision into action producing desired results. They are able to adjust their behavior to fit the situation. A great leader makes people feel valued from their contributions to the goal. The leader understands others and knows how to influence them. They show empathy, social insight, charm, tact, diplomacy, and persuasiveness. Their decisions are based on reality and needs of others. They listen, empower, generate trust, negotiate collaboratively, and resolve conflicts.

The leader understands others and knows how to influence them. They show empathy, social insight, charm, tact, diplomacy, and persuasiveness. Their decisions are based on reality and needs of others. They listen, empower, generate trust, negotiate collaboratively, and resolve conflicts.

One of the most respected congressmen, Honorable Ralph Hall meets with DeliveryMaxx’s CEO helping improve small businesses and the US economy.

. Leaders are well-adjusted, a superior listener, understands small group dynamics, and emphasizes partnerships. They persuade others to follow, and do not rely solely on authority to get things done. A great leader will find common ground with all types of people and builds rapport with them. They take the initiative in social situations. A competent leader appraises readiness or resistance of followers to move in a particular directions, and senses when there is dissent or confusion.

Intellectual/Intelligence

A powerful leader learns from experience and adapts to change. They possess extensive knowledge used by subordinates to perform the work. They develop inspirational image of new products, services, or ideas and exercise good judgment, foresight, intuition, and creativity. These leaders have the ability to find meaning and order in ambiguous, uncertain events.

Self-knowledge

An effective leader plans, organizes, and solves problems. They coordinate separate specialized parts of the organization, and understand how external events will affect the organization itself. They have an honest attitude toward facts and objective to find the truth. They are decisive in their decisions because they get the facts; assess information, and act, even if all of the information is not available, or if their decision does not make others happy. A leader will look and ask for more responsibility, and knows how to delegate. They are willing to ask tough questions and search openly without bias for practical answers to the most vexing problems. The leader has learned to experiment and withhold judgment until they have completely assessed a situation and identified a well-reasoned course of action.

They have a plan to deal with criticism by listing the benefits of the project in advance and prepare to articulate them to others. The leader who has self-knowledge anticipates how others will react to situations and prepares to minimize the impact. They are able to combine both hard and questionable data and intuitive guesses to arrive at a conclusion.

Senator George Mitchell and COO of DeliveryMaxx, James Schaefer participates at a Leadership Summit. Senator Mitchell was author of the Mitchell Report which is trying to rid Major League Baseball of steroids. He is also a minority shareholder of the Boston Red Sox.

Communication

Communication from leaders is essential to being successful. They have to articulate a vision outlining purpose, direction, and meaning. It is a must to have clear goals and the determination to achieving them. Their passion is essential for followers to align behind the overarching goals of the organization. They are able to use metaphors that others can relate to in order to symbolize their vision and inspire others. A good leader is an expert at one-to-one communication. A major advantage for strong leaders is great orator and writing skills; however not all leaders possess one or the other. They create and maintain a communication network and informs all on problem situations. They are able to network with people inside the organization and profession that may have certain knowledge and different viewpoints from those within.

Former Secretary of State, Condoleezz Rice

They do not depend on only once source of information, and are able to communicate with key individuals in areas of specialization that may each have a different dialect. Leaders with good communication explore new approaches to their work, and are not fuzzy about results. They communicate persuasively because they have the facts and believe in the goal taking advantage of opportunities to speak to large groups.

Experience

Successful leaders usually had experience in a variety of different types of situations where they acquired broader perspective and expertise in dealing with different types of problems. They may give followers freedom to take responsibility for their own ideas, decisions, and actions. They are committed to collaboration and require everyone to participate in leadership. They have the competency which is skilled in performing required tasks and the ability to mentor those that follow them.

Trustworthy

Leaders have to be trustworthy to lead others to accomplish goals. They genuinely are concerned with followers’ lives and well-being. They empathize and care about the implications of their actions and their staff has to believe the leader will support, defend, and come through for them.

Leadership Styles

No one leadership style is the best or worst. Leadership styles should be used like a marketing strategy. A leader must be able to adapt to all situations when helping their followers’ reach their goals. In addition, leaders must use their traits to maximize their effectiveness when utilizing a leadership style. That means they will have to take a cognizant approach when administrating a certain leadership style. For example, when someone goes to church, they dress differently than when they spend a day at the beach. The same theory applies to a leadership style. In addition, all leaders have a default style that they are more comfortable with. However, the most productive leaders who reach their goals adapt, and are able to motivate their followers into performing necessary task to accomplish the overall objective.

There are several definitions available and descriptions of leadership styles. I will combine them into two major categories. One definition that is available is called the Situational Leader which adapts to the situation. However, all great leaders have to adapt to situations or they will ultimately fail to reach the desired goal. Another described leadership style is called Cross-Cultural Leadership. Again, we live in a society that requires leaders to, once again, adapt to various cultures. So, if you accept the myths, and leadership traits described earlier then you will be able to identify with the four major categories. If you accept the premise that leaders can utilize the four different leadership styles, then we can simplify the description of a leader.

Authoritarian

The authoritarian leadership style or autocratic leader keeps strict, close control over followers by keeping close regulation of policies and procedures given to followers. To keep main emphasis on the distinction of the authoritarian leader and their followers, these types of leaders make sure to only create a distinct professional relationship. Direct supervision is what they believe to be the key in maintaining a successful environment and followers’. In fear of followers being unproductive, authoritarian leaders keep close supervision and feel this is necessary in order for anything to be done.

Do not mistake this person as obtuse to your needs or less compassionate. This person simply sees successful processes, and requires followers to adhere to them. An authoritarian leader usually manages in one-way, downward communication, and controls the discussion with followers. They cannot be persuaded easily without detailed facts to justify a change in policy. This leader is very aware of the “how’s and why’s” of their business, and expects others to know too.

Democratic

The democratic leadership style consists of the leader sharing the decision-making abilities with group members by promoting the interests of the group members and by practicing social equality.

This style of leadership encompasses discussion, debate and sharing of ideas and encouragement of people to feel good about their involvement. The boundaries of democratic participation tend to be circumscribed by the organization or the group needs and the instrumental value of people's attributes (skills, attitudes, etc.). The democratic style encompasses the notion that everyone, by virtue of their human status, should play a part in the group's decisions. However, the democratic style of leadership still requires guidance and control by a specific leader. The democratic style demands the leader to make decisions on who should be called upon within the group and who is given the right to participate in, make and vote on decisions. Ultimately followers feel more value in the organization and perceive more control in their destiny. However, with this trust comes responsibility and accountability from the followers’ outcome in reaching the ultimate goal.

Motivation for Success

Many authors have identified other leadership styles such as Laissez-faire which adheres to a “hands-off” approach because the leader delegates the tasks to their followers while providing little or no direction to the followers. I’m in disagreement that this is a style, but more of a motivation that is part of the Democratic approach. In addition, Max Weber described in 1947 a transactional style of leadership where leaders focus their leadership on motivating followers through a system of rewards and punishments. Again, I feel this is a motivation because all leadership sub-styles fall into Authoritarian or Democratic Leadership Styles. My favorite sub-leadership style is described as the Servant Leader. This leader puts the needs of their followers first. They lead by example, and feel that if they take care of their employees the employees will be motivated to accomplish the goal.

A Successful Leader

First, and foremost a leader is successful. The reason they are called a leader is because they have led a group to accomplish a goal. A successful manager, president, owner, parent, or preacher is a Leader. Leadership is not a title. It is an outcome. It can be measured. Leaders have experienced the reward of accomplishment. Great Leaders continue to accomplish goals.

How to become a Leader

1. Have a vision.

2. Set a clear goal.

3. Communicate your goal.

4. Understand and acknowledge your limitations and strengths.

5. Understand how and when to use Leadership Traits to motivate others.

6. Know when to adapt, and change your Leadership Style to motivate others.

7. Stay the course, and continue to believe in your goal.

8. Reach your goal, and identify another one.

For more information on leadership, and social media marketing visit www.DeliveryMaxx.com  DeliveryMaxx specializes in helping Automotive Dealerships win Customers for life.  However, before you can do that- you must be able to develop a team that will share your vision, and follow you towards the goals you have for your dealership.

Opinion about Google+, Reviews, and Online Reputation Management

Everyone has an opinion about how to use Google+ and posting reviews.  We see the extreme from hoping your customers post a good review to allowing the “real experts to post your reviews”.

Those of you, who finish reading this blog, will receive information many companies don’t want to tell you or just don’t know how to do.  Furthermore, your sales both repeat and referrals will increase, your branding will dominate across the web through all of the social media sites, you will have published positive reviews that stick, and your search engine optimization (SEO) value will be stronger than ever.

As I travel across the country helping automotive dealerships improve sales and retaining their customers I am exposed to many theories about how to win the battle for market share.  The battle is usually lost by many because there is no strategy involved.  I will talk about this later in the article.

The facts are:

•66% of consumers use the internet to research an item online before their purchase
•89% of consumers research vehicle reviews online before they make their purchase
•62% of all consumers read consumer-written product reviews online (with the highest percentage coming from 22-35 year olds (82%) while 36+ at 45%)
•69% of consumers who read reviews share them with friend, family, or colleagues, thus amplifying their impact in consumer behavior
•82% of consumers say their purchase decisions have been directly influence by the user reviews, either influencing them to buy a different product other than the one they had originally been thinking about

Therefore it is necessary to pay attention to how you are managing your Online Reputation.  Before we discuss how to help your online reputation, we need to identify what Online Reputation is. 

Online Reputation is the individual, consumer, business or products perceived reputation identified on the World Wide Web recorded by reviews, blogs, websites, social media platforms, and the media.  Individuals over the age of 37 will understand this simply as reputation.  However, with the invention of the web, we have become more sophisticated and added online because all of the information is available at our fingertips.

Once businesses figured out their reputation can be researched by anyone online they either turn to a so called “online reputation expert or manager” or try themselves to assist with cleaning or keeping clean their reputation.  The problem is that because the knowledge is foreign to many dealership principles or general managers, the dealership is susceptible to malpractice.  A bad online reputation will cost you money!

Online Reputation Management (ORM) is the practice of understanding or influencing an individual or business brand. It was originally coined as a public relations term, but advancement in computing, the internet and social media made it primarily an issue of search results. Although it is often associated with ethical grey areas such as astro-turfing review sites, trying to censor negative complaints or using gamey SEO tactics to influence results, there are also ethical forms of reputation management, such as responding to customer complaints, asking sites to take down incorrect information and using online feedback to influence product development and other insights.

Let’s be very clear before you read on.  If you are looking for a company that is offering you a quick fix, if you refuse to offer great service and a good product, or want to deceive consumers than you WILL NOT want to read further.  I am not in the business to mislead our consumers.  I am in the business to help businesses share with the world how great their company and product is.  If that is you, then you will want to continue to read.

Online Reputation is NOT just about reviews although it is a major factor for businesses that rely on consumer opinion.  Online Reputation is built by having a presence throughout the World Wide Web.

The following is a list of web locations and Best Practices you must have in order to maximize your Online Reputation (I am assuming you care about your customers, want to be successful, and have a great product or service you believe in):

•Strong Locals such as Google and Yahoo (there are over 150 you should be aware of) that are accurate and completed in their entirety to maximize local searches.  These local sites will also help consumers identify correct reviews.
•Blog Pages (There are many, and they all index differently) This is the same as a newsletter that you share with your customers, but now you are able to share with the world about your company and information about your product or service.
•Social Media Sites that focus on images.  Pinterest has become the 3rd most popular URL site in the world; however, nobody heard of this site 6 months ago.  (Again, there are hundreds of these types of sites)
•Social Media Sites that focus on videos.  Almost everyone has heard about YouTube, but what about other sites such as MetaCafe and others?  Videos index greater on places like Google and are an inexpensive way to share your message 24/7.
•Social Media Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Plus and more (new popular sites are developed every day) which thrive on content.
•PR Blog that you can share with the world extraordinary events that you would love for mainstream media to pick up and share with the world.
•A well-built website that has basic stuff like a really good Title, Meta, Alt, and Text optimized for any of the search engines. There are more requirements in building a great website such as where to place the phone number, and others, but these are some of the basics.
•XML site map and HTML site map.  Google and Bing (Yahoo) only except XML.  You will want to have all of your sites easily found by all of the search engines.
•A Strategy, and the ability to have all of these tools working together to promote your business.  (I have heard of companies that say they can do this for $695 a month, and I can assure you that a company like this will not be able to provide you what you are looking for at this cost.  I am not saying you have to pay $10,000 a month for this type of service, but there is a lot involved when managing your e-commerce if you want it executed correctly.)

Strategy is often overlooked when building your Online Reputation.  There are several steps you will want to take to make it easy for you to manage your reputation.  A house will not stand if you do not have a strong foundation.  The same goes for your Online Reputation.

 
 •Make sure your dealership message is consistent across the interest. We have found in some markets Yahoo is more effect than Google. And don’t ever count Bill Gates out. Bing powers a lot of the Social Media Searches along with the Automotive Mobile Navigation Systems.
•Focus on a sound sales process. A positive customer experience not only helps with positive reviews, but it will increase your gross.
•Do not just focus on Google+. Google produced over 80 million yes million errors when they converted over. They are in a world of hurt over it and have heard that dealers are talking about a class action lawsuit. You must focus your efforts across the board. Ever heard of “don’t put all of your chickens in one basket?” 
•Keep everything the dealership does transparent. If you hide something that means you are up to no good and in this day and age you will get caught. And getting caught will do more damage than a bad review.  Do you remember the Dealers that made 20/20 in the early 2000s?  That was just ugly!
•DO NOT – again – DO NOT forget about Yelp. Yelp has had a few problems and there have been some allegations of extortion by both the company and yelpers themselves. But Yelp is a player and isn’t going away. It’s almost like a cult.  If it hasn’t hit your market yet it will.
•Provide an avenue for your customers to review your business the right way.  Read below for information on how to get reviews the right way.
•Develop strong Customer Loyalty.  I will talk more about this later in the article.
•Utilize Web 2.0 to allow all of your sites to communicate your story to the world. 

Acquiring Google+ Reviews and Having them Stick!

If you have knowledge of how Google works then that makes you the Billion Dollar Man or Women. The Google Secrets are guarded better than Fort Knox.  If you are not able to crack the Google Code then how could anyone offer advice to car dealers or any business on how to get all of the reviews to stick? The fact of the matter is only the chosen few know exactly how any of it works and I would bet not one person knows it all.

Let’s address the IP Myth. Think about this; take any given company for example Texas Instruments. Do you really thing Google will block or identify Texas Instrument’s internet gateway (the point where TI accesses the internet), please… that would impede 25000 plus users from using their products and services.

I believe that it is based on usage of the account. If the account is active and a Google+ has been created then the reviews will stick no matter the content. Why you might ask? Because it’s a real person, it doesn’t matter where the review is generated in my opinion; it matters on how Google+ is used.

There is nothing wrong with offering the client a choice to give an honest review while in the dealership. Again the keyword here is “OFFERING”.  However, don’t stop with just Google. Offer a whole host of sites for the client to post a review or even better allow the client an area to write the management/owner a personal note about their experience. A personal note a lot of the time has a bigger impact on store processes.  For example, we have a program that allows consumers to post good and bad reviews before they leave the dealership.  This allows dealers to address issues and identify the good and bad before the customer takes their business elsewhere.

Are Reviews about playing “Gotcha” or are they designed to INCREASE CONSUMER SATISFACTION?  I believe Google, Yahoo, Yelp, and other sites were created to ultimately provide the latter.  As with everything, there are businesses that practice unethical behavior which affect us all.  In most cases, if you are using a good vendor or doing all of these things yourself correctly, then your business will not be punished.  If you are not doing it right then you deserve what you get.

Avoid using services that offer to create Google+ Local reviews based on customer survey data, online forms, or personal customer correspondence.  With all of the legislation that has been implemented opens the dealer up to a huge liability factor.  Check out the FTP site to see possible fines that can occur if caught. Many of the reviews will not stick especially in Google+, but there are a lot of vendors that still practice this. Many of these companies claim to have IP jumpers, MAC Address changers or even proxy server access. Believe me that’s 100% wrong.   It doesn’t work for long.  How do I know?   Because I had the opportunity to partner with several companies that would collect and post reviews this way.  It did not look, feel or smell right so my business partner and I developed a program to help dealerships and other companies to build their Online Reputation the Right Way.  “If it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck…it must be a duck.” in the … (BTW: a lot of posting are made at coffee houses by these types of companies).

Do not assist or encourage customers in creating a Google account to post a favorable review on your Google+ Local business page.  If you encourage or assist a client on any matter which can be considered an endorsement and not disclaim it is highly illegal and the fine can be in upwards of $250,000 for a first time offense.

There is nothing wrong with ask them to jot down a few words on how there car buying or service experience was. A lot can be learned from this action which can hugely benefit the dealership, client experience, and ultimately Consumer Satisfaction.

Carl Sewell once told me, “If you take what your clients have to say to heart guess what Profits will increase!”  Carl Sewell obviously wrote the best seller, Customers for Life.

Inspect your Google+ Local business page to monitor the reviews that are being posted.  Make sure that all of your business information is correct on a weekly basis.  Many dealerships either do not have time, or become very depressed when they do look at their pages.  Don’t be an ostrich and stick your head in the ground!  Your issues will not go away without doing something about them.  

 If you are Marketer provide this service for your clients coach them on how to address the client in a public forum.  Every business make mistakes, but taking the easy way out and ignoring the post is ludicrous. We are a forgiving society, and consumers are human.  We want to do business with “real companies that care”.

If you do not maintain your local pages (notice pages) you are loosing out on market share. There 100’s of local networks and you never know which one people will use. You must make sure your message is consistent on each site.

Marketers this is a new opportunity to provide a much needed service the automotive dealer. 

The only thing you can or should do is ask the client for a review good or bad with no strings attached.  You just might find a hole in the sales process that can be fix which will provide the client with a better experience. When you make small adjustments to the sales process improving the client experience profits increase!

Bottom line, Google+ is the new thing on the block and everyone is worried about how to use it.  Remember Google created millions of errors during the transformation and minimal Google users (people that use Google for Gmail only) will not convert over to Google+ to write a review. Most users have spent years developing their Facebook network and don’t really want to move over and start anew.

True, Google is the 800 pound gorilla, but don’t get caught up in all the hype.  Apply sound digital marketing practices and you’ll be fine, or as my grandmother told me “Watch your Ps and Qs”.  Google has huge issues right now and it is going to take them a very long time to sort them out.  If you were one of the Dealerships that feel Google removed legitimate reviews with out your consent email us and we can send you information on how to start legal actions in addressing this issue.  Email us at sales@DeliveryMaxx.com and put Need Help with Legitimate Reviews in the subject line.  We will have one of our technology specialists help navigate the proceedings.  If your Online Reputation Management needs help and this is a service that you would like us to give you a comprehensive overview then put Automotive Digital Marketing Done Right in the subject line.

Creating Customer Loyalty is the easiest way to get positive reviews and build your Online Reputation!

If you have read this far, then you are serious about your business.  I commend you, and you are probably a partner in the dealership or one day you will be.

Business really is simple.  A good product, fair price, and outstanding customer service separate your company from the competition.  The customer wants to spend their money where they feel valued.

If you are putting the customer in the vehicle that is right for them at the price that is right then you will have a satisfied customer.  However, if you thank them for their business, and welcome them into your family they will become your customer for life.

So how do you do this 100% of the time?  It starts with you.  Set an example throughout the dealership and identify your expectations.

•You have to have a Customer Friendly Culture. 
•Develop processes to communicate with your customers where they are.  We know that 80% of your customers are on the web, but what about the other 20%?  Combined an electronic follow-up as well as traditional follow-up system.
•Consistently follow-up with your customers during happy times such as birthdays, holidays, and annually after the delivery of the vehicle.  Let the customer know you still care about them long after they have left the dealership.
•If you have a Service Department, create ways of getting your customer back into your dealership to experience your customer service.
•Inspect what you expect.
•When you make a mistake (and you will), do your best to make it right.

Doing all of these things is not as easy as turning on a light switch.  If it were, then we would not have competition.  Since it takes a strong strategy, hard work, and great ethics you have the opportunity to stand tall above the rest of the world.  By doing all of these things our network of dealerships have experienced key results:

•Published Online Reviews
•Web Domination through all of the Social Media Sites
•Increase in Sales both Repeat and Referral Business
•Additional Revenue in Fixed Operations
•Strong CSI Scores
•Greater Employee Retention
•Customer Loyalty and Retention

Good luck selling and we look forward to seeing you at the top! 

Social Media - what and how to use it

Social media marketing is the process of promoting your site or business through social media channels and it is a powerful strategy that will get you links, attention and massive amounts of traffic.

There is no other low-cost promotional method out there that will easily give you large numbers of visitors, some of whom may come back to your website again and again.

If you are selling products/services or just publishing content for ad revenue, social media marketing is a potent method that will make your site profitable over time.

Those who ignore the efficacy of social media usually fall into three categories;

• those who don’t know much or anything about social media

• those who are interested, but don’t know how to use it

• those who don’t believe in the value that a social media strategy can bring to any site or business.

The Value of Marketing through Social News Websites:

For those who don’t understand or see the value of social media websites, let’s take a look at the benefits of creating viral content and effectively promoting them through social media channels.

Developing link baits and successfully getting it popular on various social media websites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Digg and YouTube will lead to multiple benefits for any website:

•  

  Primary and Secondary Traffic. Primary traffic is the large amount of visitors who come directly from social media websites. Secondary traffic is referral traffic from websites which link to and send you visitors, after they come across your content through the social sites.

• High Quality Links. Becoming popular on social news websites like Digg or Reddit will get you a large number of links, some of which may be topically relevant, some not. A good story can realistically acquire a large number of high quality editorial links, most of which cannot be easily bought.

Now let’s translate this into tangible benefits for your website: 

Links = Better Search Engine Rankings.

 

When a website receives a large number of natural, permanent links from trusted domains, it develops authority. Search engines trust it. If you optimize your linkbait and website structure properly, you can easily start ranking for competitive keywords, which will in turn bring in search engine visitors.

Do this often enough and your search traffic will undoubtedly increase. In a sense, you are obtaining these quality links through borrowed trust. Many bloggers and webmaster still think that if an article is on the WordPress or Blogger homepage, then it’s probably worth checking out and referencing through a citation link.

A new website may find it difficult to gain links from a critical mass that is not familiar with it but a trusted social news resource makes it easier for links to come in, because the community and buzz has somewhat ‘certified‘ the value of the site. Note that the actual strength of the article is still of utmost importance for all.

Primary + Secondary Traffic = Community/Supporters.

Some people claim that social news websites only send useless traffic, visitors that will often just view a specific webpage and click away. Yes, that’s usually the case. Sites like Digg are notorious for their poor bounce rates: many visitors drop in for the article and then leave after reading it. StumbleUpon is much better in this aspect.

But don’t mistake this with a lack of interest. Your subscriber figures will often take big jump up and then stabilize after a few days. If your entire site is relevant to the general interests of the social media website, there will always be a handful of social users who will start to track your site in order to submit future content.

Detractors also ignore the power of ultra targetedsecondary traffic. General sites or blogs in the same niche will link to a story that’s popular on social sites, because it adds value for their readers or users. This is done naturally on a daily basis for many.
While primary traffic usually comes in a larger volume, one could argue that secondary traffic is more valuable. Why? Because links from other websites bring visitors who are very likely to be interested in your content. These citation links demonstrate recognition of your site in the eyes of others. It builds your brand.
 
Think of the social news site as a platform or a soapbox. As something that gives you a chance to be heard or read, even for a brief moment of a few hours. The people who are drawn to your message will visit your site and recommend it to others.

Four Reasons to Practice Social Media Marketing

Why bother exploring social media as a marketing channel for your website or business? After all, you could stick to link exchanges, search advertising or the purchase of banner and editorial ads on relevant sites.

Here are some reasons why you should consider using social media:

1. It’s natural. Not only do you get natural links without any discernible pattern, your website is exposed to large groups of people in a spontaneous fashion. This differs from paid advertising which has overt commercial overtones.

2. It’s defensible. Once successfully mastered, social communities can be a great source of web traffic on top of any traffic you are already receiving from search engines. While you can’t easily increase your search engine traffic, social media traffic can be very easily controlled through strategic marketing.

3. It’s low-cost/high returns. If done by yourself, costs are limited to only time and perhaps the expenses involved in hiring a freelance programmer/designer. The benefits will often exceed the cost. It would take you thousands of dollars to buy many links; social media has the ability to give you that for free.

4. It complements other efforts. Social media optimization and marketing is usually community-specific. It doesn’t interfere with any other methods of getting traffic to your website. It can and will fit perfectly with an advertising campaign targeting other websites or search engines.

So How Does Social Media Help Me to Make Money?

It doesn’t, at least not directly. Every site or business that wants to expand and become profitable, needs a core group of supporters who will be willing to make purchases or recommend the site to others. Your site needs to perpetuate itself.

The more supporters you have, the faster word spreads about your site. Social media marketing is an excellent way to get people to come into your site to take a look at what you have to offer. You will grow when there are a group of loyal visitors ready to always act upon what you have to offer.

Because social media websites can be leveraged for links and better search rankings, they can greatly increase your site’s income potential. For example, you will be able to price ads higher or generate revenue from any paid business models.

Why Bloggers Should Learn How to Use Social Media

There are many ways to build a popular blog and many methods to promote your website. For example, you can start leaving comments regularly on many high traffic blogs in your niche or perhaps, consider guest posting on other bigger blogs.

My marketing strategy for blogs is very simple. I don’t comment actively, hold contests or write guest posts. I’ve never done any of that for any blog I’ve ever set up. Some people might enjoy doing it but it’s just a little too tedious for me.

What I do instead is strategic. I focus on creating just oneexcellent blog post, which I will then push through social media sites and email pitches to other bloggers. This is straightforward and I don’t have to run around many blogs putting up my URL and thinking of something insightful to say.

Think about it. Why write 50 guest posts for 50 different blogs when you can easily just write one article and get an equal amount of links and greater traffic through the use of social media? Guest posting builds relationships but I reckon there are many more powerful ways to network with others.

It isn’t just about creating articles and then promoting them on social sites as an afterthought. It’s about putting social media in the center of your marketing strategy, optimizing your site or content and making it an attention magnet.

• LinkedIn might serve your needs more effectively. There are also smaller social networks targeted to very specific niches (webmasters, photographers, etc.). There’s no reason to try to “do it all.”

• Understand the numbers. Don’t join a social network simply because they say they have X number of members. Those numbers mean absolutely nothing. What you should care about is not the total membership, but instead the “active” membership (and those specifically within your target audience - it goes back to targeting).

• Get to know a network’s policies on promotion, as it applies to your plans. The last thing you want is to be labeled a spammer. Understand that these tools are more about networking, building relationships, and communicating than blatant promotion, as in marketingand sales.

• No matter how deep you decide to delve into social networking and / or microblogging, always make sure you’re making the best use of your time, and reaching your intended targets.

The Bureau

Can Facebook & Social Media Help GM Sell More Vehicles

On May 22, 2012 I wrote a blog asking the public if GM made a wise choice dropping its 10 million dollar advertising spend from Facebook.  (For the entire blog visit: http://deliverymaxx.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/did-gm-make-a-wise-decision-dropping-facebook-as-an-advertising-medium/ )  My position then as it is now is that GM and many automotive dealerships are not utilizing Social Media Marketing correctly in particular Facebook.

In my youth, I lived in a small country town in Texas for a few years.  Often, I would hear the expression, “you can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig…”Decisions regarding advertising by GM look like they are changing, but marketing strategy looks to be the same when you wipe away the “lipstick”.

Often, I quote Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity which is “doing the same action continuously and expecting different results.”

Companies have two schools of thought as to whether it’s worth the investment for paid advertising on Facebook or bypass it and continue using their business fan page which doesn’t cost anything to use instead.  This blog is not entertaining this debate; it is stating that to take part in this particular debate would be the wrong battle to fight altogether.

Advertising 101 says that the more eyes that view your product will give you the exposure to help you sell your product.  It is a law of numbers.  Marketing 101 tells us that the best message that resonates with your audience will help you sell more of your product.  When GM spends hundreds of thousands of dollars in their next advertising & marketing retreat developing the direction of their message, I can’t help to think about how the answer is right in front of their nose.

Advertising 101

Let’s discuss Advertising 101 first.  The more eyes that view your product will give you the exposure to help you sell your product.  Taking this principle to the core- Facebook has over 900 million active users.  Facebook is the world’s largest URL.  Facebook has captured over 75% of Social Media Users.  Your read this correctly.  FACEBOOK is NOT the ONLY GAME in TOWN!  Business must utilize Social Networking sites to market to their potential consumers.  GM needs to develop a strategy that encompasses all of the market.  Most companies try a shot gun approach without truly diving into the analytics of consumer behavior within the confines of Social Networking Sites.  Web 2.0 will allow companies to create a strategy that will weave throughout the web to reach your desired audience.  The key is to create a net large enough that will reach all of your potential consumers.

Marketing 101

Now for the Marketing 101 discussion, I am not going to pretend to have all of the answers for every company’s needed message that they should deliver to the audience.  However, I will stick to the basics.  If a company has a good product or service, a fair price, and exceptional customer care then their brand and reputation will fly through the air like a Michigan cold front in October. The consumer will be the companies best (or worst if one of the three business principles are not met) marketer.

Business 101

Assuming a company has a good product or service, fair price, and exceptional customer care it is necessary to combined Advertising and Marketing like peanut butter and jelly into a strategy that will create the unique taste the consumer is looking for.  Companies need to look at creating a forum (see advertising 101) for their consumer (see marketing 101) to share the benefits and advantages of their product or service.

Results

Key results for automotive dealerships (but you can replace automotive dealerships with any type of company) include strong CSI scores, increased sales, repeat business, more referrals, additional fixed operation revenue, domination of the web or Search Engine Optimization (SEO) value, published positive online reviews or strong Online Reputation Management (ORM), and overall exceptional Customer Loyalty and Retention.  It is about the emotion of the sale isn’t it?  Why not take advantage of what you do the best, and have your customers work to help you sell more vehicles (or product).

About DeliveryMaxx

DeliveryMaxx understands the needs of Automotive Dealerships.  They create real customized solutions that utilize both traditional media and innovative technology that helps dealerships realize tremendous results in turning “one-time customers” into “LIFE-TIME CUSTOMERS”.

For more information, visit http://deliverymaxx.com

DeliveryMaxx Helps U.S. Companies & the Economy

DeliveryMaxx prides itself on being a small business giving new opportunities to individuals who would like to make a difference in the way consumers feel about their percieved value of their purchases.

We live in a society that places value on the size of our homes, type of vehicle we use for transportation, time pieces we wear on our wrist, and the brands of suits that makes up our attire.  Americans spend more time working for these worldly possessions on average than we do with our families at home.

Thus, DeliveryMaxx was formed to help businesses, particularly the automotive industry, an opportunity to show appreciation to their consumers for making these purchases.  DeliveryMaxx creates a Social Media Marketing program (SMM) to publically thank their customers on a daily basis.  Included in this marketing program, DeliveryMaxx is able to increase Search Engine Optimization(SEO) value, Online Reputation Management (ORM), and help businesses acquire positive reviews and branding.  The end result utilizing DeliveryMaxx's Images of Success program is an increase in customer loyalty and satisfaction.  This program is truly a complete comprehensive automotive dealership consumer care program.

Founded by Josh Deaton, and James Schaefer, DeliveryMaxx has quickly become a tremendous value to the Automotive Industry utilizing a proprietary system called Images of Success that is able to advertise to the world on how dealerships treat and value their customers.  The results speak for themselves.

Dealerships reported an increase in sales, positive online reviews, higher CSI scores, additional fixed operation revenue, stronger store branding, and a dramatic increase in referrals and repeat business.

Both Mr. Deaton and Mr. Schaefer have served successfully in corporate management in years passed, but each saw a deficiency in the way consumers were acknowledged, or lack thereof, for their business.  In addition to these organizations not providing the level of customer service one should expect, employees did not feel valued throughout the organization.  Before DeliveryMaxx's first client was acquired, the founders decided on creating a best place to work.  That meant allowing employees to have flexible work schedules, and encouragement to put family and public service first.  Furthermore, DeliveryMaxx created a fair wage schedule that allows every employee to be financially rewarded as the company grows.  Each account that is added and all revenue that is earned is shared amongst all active employees.  As the company earns more, so does every employee within the DeliveryMaxx organization.  This concept has empowered every employee at DeliveryMaxx to help make decision that will better serve their clients.

For more information on DeliveryMaxx, visit: www.deliverymaxx.com

Both Mr. Deaton, and Mr. Schaefer remain steadfast in helping the economy.  They strongly believe that small businesses have a direct effect on employment rate and consumer confidence. Consumer confidence is an economic indicator which measures the degree of optimism that consumers feel about the overall state of the economy and their personal financial situation. How confident people feel about stability of their incomes determines their spending activity and therefore serves as one of the key indicators for the overall shape of the economy. In essence, if the economy expands causing consumer confidence to be higher, consumers will be making more purchases. On the other hand, if the economy contracts or is in bad shape, confidence is lower, and consumers tend to save more and spend less. A month-to-month diminishing trend in consumer confidence suggests that in the current state of the economy most consumers have a negative outlook on their ability to find and retain good jobs.

James Schaefer & Josh Deaton have dinner with Congressman Ralph Hall to discuss the local economy and small business advantages.

Investors, manufacturers, retailers, banks and government agencies use various assessments of consumer confidence in planning their actions. The ability to predict major changes in consumer confidence allows businesses to gauge the willingness of consumers to make new purchases. As a result, businesses can adjust their operations and the government can prepare for changing tax revenue. If confidence is dropping and consumers are expected to reduce their spending, most producers will tend to reduce their production volumes accordingly. For example, if manufacturers anticipate consumers will reduce retail purchases, especially for expensive and durable goods, they will cut down their inventories in advance and may delay investing in new projects and facilities. Similarly, if banks expect consumers to decrease their spending, they will prepare for the reduction in lending activities, such as mortgage applications and credit card use. Builders will plan for the decline in home construction volumes. The government will get ready for the reduction in future tax revenues. On the other hand, if consumer confidence is improving, people are expected to increase their purchases of goods and services. In anticipation of that change, manufacturers can boost production and inventories. Employers can increase hiring rates. Builders can prepare for higher housing construction rates. Banks can plan for a rise in demand for credit products.

Government can expect improved tax revenues based on the increase in consumer spending.

How important are small businesses to the U.S. economy?

Small firms:

• Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms.
• Employ about half of all private sector employees.
• Pay more than 45 percent of total U.S. private payroll.
• Have generated 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs annually over the last decade.
• Create more than half of nonfarm private gross domestic product (GDP).
• Supplied 22.8 percent of the total value of federal prime contracts in FY 2006.
• Hire 40 percent of high tech workers (such as scientists, engineers, and computer workers).
• Are 52 percent home-based and 2 percent franchises.
• Made up 97 percent of all identified exporters and pro­duced 28.6 percent of the known export value in FY 2004.
• Small innovative firms produce 13 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms, and their patents are twice as likely as large firm patents to be among the one percent most cited.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census; Advocacy-funded research by Kathryn Kobe, Economic Consulting Services, LLC, 2007, Federal

Procurement Data System ; Advocacy-funded research by CHI Research, 2003, U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population

Survey; U.S. Dept. of Commerce, International Trade Administration.

How many new jobs do small firms create?

Over the past decade, small businesses created 60 to 80 percent of the net new jobs. In the most recent year with data (2004), small firms accounted or all of the net new jobs. Firms with fewer than 500 employees had a net gain of 1.86 million new jobs. Large firms with 500 or more employees lost more jobs than they created, for a net loss of 181,122 jobs.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census information on employment dynamics by firm size from 1989 to 2004 .

DeliveryMaxx pledges to conduct business ethically, provide opportunities for motivated individuals who desire to make a difference in the world, and create a great place to work.  DeliveryMaxx will continue to provide a great service to companies that wish to grow their business and increase customer satisfaction.  DeliveryMaxx desires to help improve the economy administering these sound principles.