Let’s face it…You do not have time to do everything the dealership needs to succeed. That is why America and the Free Enterprise system are so great. Automotive dealerships provide jobs for many people, and help jump start the economy by providing transportation allowing individuals to get to their jobs. Thus, increasing spending which helps all businesses. Just ask my daughter who has convinced her mother she needs a whole new wardrobe for back to school. (She is going into 4th grade, and acts like she is starting a new job.)
Dealership managers do not have time to create nor truly manage necessary applications that will provide strong online reputation management, high value search engine optimization, accurate locals’ optimization, complete and total web domination, strategic social media marketing, and a customer loyalty program that will increase fixed operation revenue, sales, repeat, and referral business. Sure, dealerships can do all of these things, but they cannot do them completely and correctly without overspending on the necessary personnel or flawless processes that will automate the program without compromising the personal attention that is needed to turn “one-time customers” into “Life-time Customers”.
Before you say to yourself, this is another self-promoting advertising piece for a company that wants my business I implore you to continue reading the blog. (Don’t get me wrong, I write these pieces to help you, but also to show you that my company will help you make more money. I do want your business, and relish the opportunity to build your dealership into a powerhouse that you desire.)
As a business owner, I like to have complete control over everything I provide for my customers. However, at times it makes sense for me to turn to a vendor to provide excellent services for my clients. For example, our company provides follow up cards such as birthday, holiday, thank you, and anniversary cards for dealership clients as a part of our customer loyalty program. We do not print these cards because the cost would be enormous, and quite frankly, I do not want to be in the business of printing cards. I leave that to an expert printing company that will pass the savings of their bulk printing business to me, so I can pass those same savings to my dealership clients.
We solely focus on what we are experts at.
DeliveryMaxx has developed a program from a dealerships perspective. We have done this because over 95% of our employees have spent some part of their careers in the automotive industry, and mostly at the dealership level. That’s right, our employees have sold cars, worked the desk, penciled deals, closed the gates, ported cars, bought and sold at the auction, and gone bell to bell weeks at a time. Our employees have been General Managers, Internet Directors, Sales Managers, Managing Partners, Marketing Directors, Business Development Managers, Human Resource Directors, Service Advisors & Managers, Trainers, and Sales People participating in the automotive industry.
DeliveryMaxx was founded by “Car Guys”, 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. We do this utilizing modern innovations and traditional techniques. The net result to our dealership family is Increased Sales both repeat, referrals, & new business, Higher CSI Scores, Complete and Total Web Domination of Branding, Real Published Positive Reviews, Additional Revenue for Fixed Operations, and a follow-up data base that assures “Keeping the Customer for Life.”
So how do you find the right vendor partner for your dealership? We know! We have been there! You do not want to have to interview another vendor or listen to another vendor tell you how great their product or service is. You do not want to listen to a vendor tell you how they will revolutionize the automotive industry. You have heard it all before, and need to focus on your sales staff and advertising budget. You need to make sure you have enough inventory, and a plan to move it quickly so you can do the same process all over again in four more days. Your time is better spent looking at reports, and trying to identify the reason your CSI score dropped two tenths of a percentage point. You are too busy to see a new vendor! However, be careful. Being too busy today, may free you up in the future because you were told in the form of a box sitting on your desk with your awards, family pictures, and a plaque with a quote defining success by Vince Lombardi that your services are no longer valued at this dealership. Are you missing good partners that can make your life easier and less stressful? The answer is simple, and can be explained like a potential vehicle sale. Everyone who walks on the lot is a potential sale. Not only are they a potential sale, they have a friend who has the same credit as them, and will be looking to purchase a vehicle soon. The same goes for the vendor. The vendor would not be on your lot if they did not have something that your dealership has or needs to increase business. You just have to have a process that will help you identify quickly if you need to enter into serious discussions with this vendor.
Let’s look at why you would not look at a vendor. You may know some of these guys I am talking about.
1. Your dealership cannot improve anymore and know everything there is to know about the automotive world. This type of manager, I cannot help. They wake up in the morning, and thinks that they could leave the bathroom door open because the whole house will smell like roses when they leave. It’s OK if you work for this manager. He is in his late 50’s, and will have a heart attack pretty soon. Unfortunately, the turnover rate at this dealership is high because his employees are being stifled and cannot grow to their full potential. Just hope he drops before you get canned for his ego.
2. You are satisfied with your vendor because you have used them at another dealership and they were easy to work with there. This makes complete sense, right? If you were making great bonuses at your past dealership, why would you leave? If that vendor is not constantly improving the way they do business then they have fallen behind the times. If you do not like change, then you should not be in the automotive industry.
3. You do not have time to listen to another sales pitch because you are too busy. Come on now. You have to eat sometime. Have the vendor take you to breakfast, lunch, or dinner and listen to their idea. You might even be able to require your current vendor to adopt best practices that you liked from the vendor that bought you a meal.
Now that we have established that you should listen to new ideas, this is What you should look for in a Vendor.
1. Will the vendor provide a service that will improve your business? In short, will your dealership be able to provide better service, achieve its marketing goals, or sell more cars because of the vendor?
2. Does the vendor make you sign a long term contract? Anything other than a 30 day contract is long term. At DeliveryMaxx, we believe our services should speak for themselves. If we are not accomplishing point number one then we should be fired. A long term contract only means security and complacent service for the vendor.
3. Are you getting a fair price for the services provided? Price is not the end all, but it is very important. There are some vendors that have a low price, but that usually means they are doing things that you can do yourself with the personnel or programs you already have. Take the time to do the math. Look in detail at the program and see what it would cost to develop the applications or programs and hire personnel to implement the program. If you cannot do the service at a high quality and less expensive then you should look at using a vendor. Will the price fluctuate with your business? Why should you have to pay for a service if your business is not improving? If your dealership is hurting, so should your vendors.
4. Can the vendor provide multiple services that will help you manage more effectively? This point you have to be very careful when evaluating a vendor’s service. A common practice is to “take a hit or bath on certain aspects of the program, and then overcharge on other parts of the program. Evaluate every part of the program, and see if the value is there. If not, negotiate.
5. Does the vendor practice what they preach? If a vendor is trying to sell you on Search Engine Optimization or Branding, then shouldn’t they be strong in those areas as well?
6. Who are the vendor’s employees? Do they truly understand what your business does, and what it needs? You can spot these vendors when you talk about your business. A good vendor has a passion about the automotive industry, and truly cares about how your dealership is doing. I feel this makes a great partner.
7. Is your vendor easily accessible? If you needed to contact your vendor after 9 PM can you? Customer service is lacking in every business. You should never settle for this in life, much less your own business.
8. Do you understand how your vendor makes money? They are taking your money. Shouldn’t you know if they are running their business properly, so you are not adversely affected by their decisions?
9. Have they provided you with referrals? Many vendors do not want you to contact their clients because their clients may not have something great to say about them. Take the time to research the vendor, so you do not spend good money after bad. The market will dictate strong companies that can stand the test of times.
10. Biggest is not always the best. Don’t get caught up into the hype of the bigger the vendor is the better they are. It is simple. If a vendor is huge and does not have the employees to support your dealership then they cannot give you the service they desire. Ask them what their role-out plan is. You want to make sure you continue to get personalized service. You should always feel like you are their only client.
DeliveryMaxx practices each of these points when we hire a vendor for our company, or when we provide our services to our dealership network. It would be crazy for me to write this article if we didn’t. When our CEO, Josh Deaton & myself, James Schaefer started this company, we started it out of necessity. We identified that the automotive dealerships lacked our type of services both in programs and value. We were serious about helping dealerships turn “one-time customers” into “Life-Time Customers”. After strong research, strategic planning, software developing, and putting together the right team, DeliveryMaxx was created. Our results speak for themselves, and dealerships are happy to speak for us.
DeliveryMaxx is one of the fastest growing companies in the automotive industry, and has a plan to continue to make each of our clients feel like they are our only client. For more information, visit us at www.deliverymaxx.com
We look forward to speaking to you in the near future, and want to see you at the top!
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