Best Auto Dealer Management Software Picks For 2019

If you’re reading this, you’re likely aware of all of the moving parts involved when running an auto dealership. Complications can arise from a poor workflow system, technicians making mistakes, and even simply going through paperwork. There are many things to consider, and inevitably, even the most successful auto dealerships run into productivity shortfalls.

We know that many of the problems tend to involve employee mistakes and miscommunication. If you’re like most auto dealerships, you’ve seen the shortcomings and have already implemented management software, such as ADP or Reynolds & Reynolds. It’s a step in the right direction; however, systems like the two we just named often have gaps in sales efficiency, inventory, and F&I information.

In auto dealerships, employee mistakes happen. Beyond that, you know there is always room for improvement– whether it’s updating your layout, installing a management software system, or simply eliminating inefficient and unnecessary steps. But management software, such as ADP or Reynolds & Reynolds have their limitations as well. Luckily for you, in 2019, there are plenty of software solutions out there that can help you fully digitize your inventory acquisition, marketing, inventory management, and reconditioning statuses. There are software solutions out there that can fill in those missing gaps.

Finding the right management software can be a long, headache-inducing, process. To help you out, we’ve created a list of our top 4 management tool picks that can make your auto dealership more efficient.

 

For Your Sales And Marketing

Hubspot

Each year, more and more auto dealerships (and companies in general) are seeing the benefits of Hubspot for their businesses. Hubspot is a software solution that helps your auto dealership with online marketing, tracking sales, and managing customer relationships. There are plenty of options within the software suite that you can choose from. While they’re all really helpful and beneficial for your auto dealership, they’re even better together.

In 2019, almost every search for a new vehicle begins with an internet search engine, such as Google or Bing. When people start that search, they’re looking for a business near them that provides the right answers to some of the most common questions buyers have. We call this inbound marketing, and it is one of the best ways to garner new customers and sales. You draw in customers through websites, blogging, social media, brand, and optimizing your content to draw in customers and rank high in search engine results.

Hubspot lets you create and publish content that you can track, measure, and target to generate leads.

 

For Your Social Media

Hubspot Marketing

While Sprout Social was our top social media management software pick just a year ago, Hubspot Marketing has begun to dominate even the social media market.

For any auto dealership’s marketing team, the number one goal has always been to advertise their business across the best and most efficient channels possible. In 2019, the internet (especially social media) is one of the best avenues that currently exist. Almost everyone has a smartphone in their pocket. Beyond that, whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, nearly everyone from your grandparents (or parents) to elementary school students use social media platforms.

Hubspot Marketing allows you to to create social media marketing campaigns, has end-to-end marketing automation (publish content in a specific format in timed intervals), let’s you personalize your lead management, has an extremely user-friendly interface, customizable HTML and text messages, and SEO (search engine optimization).

 

For Your Accounting

Intuit Quickbooks

Intuit Quickbooks is probably the most fully fleshed-out accounting software there is. You can purchase Quickbooks for either Windows or Mac. However, as of 2019, Quickbooks is focusing more and more on a cloud-based subscription service where you pay a monthly fee for their software.

While the software is offered for both Mac and Windows, the Mac version doesn’t have nearly as many features as the Windows or cloud-based versions.

Whether your dealership is large or small, Quickbooks is very widely used by almost everyone in the market. It’s very easy to go online and look up information, guides, tutorials, and videos explaining exactly how all of the features work. Quickbooks works well for just about any business and offers quite a few monthly packages that can range from $5 to $25 a month; however, payroll, payment services, and enterprise installations do cost a bit more.

 

For Your Reconditioning Workflow Automation

AutoMobile Technologies ReconMonitor

ReconMonitor is one of the best software solutions out there for auto dealerships. You can monitor and manage any vehicles that are in the reconditioning process. The software allows you to track inventory and auction purchases from the time you acquire the vehicles, all the way to through the process to when they’re front-line ready. It enables tracking of each individual vehicle, the reconditioning stage it is in, the teams responsible, and alerts you to any workflow bottlenecks in real-time.

ReconMonitor is software that allows dealerships to track back-office operations, reconditioning processes, and front-end sales from anywhere on their desktop or mobile device.

Beyond that, it can alert you of potential problems in resource planning or process in order to maintain proper workflow momentum. Unlike common spreadsheets or whiteboards, this software solution is always available, in the office, on the lot, or in the field, at the push of a button.

January 24, 2019 Business, Education, New and Used Car Dealers, Product Related, ReconMonitor No comments yet

How to Adapt to the Changing Recon Industry

  • Discover and remove bottlenecks in your operation
  • Fight the blindness of habit
  • Even small improvements are progress
  • Management Software can solve many problems

 

Regardless of the size of your shop, if you’ve been in the repair industry long enough, you probably enjoy a decent amount of business. However, even with all the jobs coming through and the money being made, you’ve likely run into a few problems here and there. You know how customers can be. They need their cars back by a specific day or simply demand quick action. To keep up with the customers and receive their continued business, you’ll want to reduce your cycle times and increase throughput.

On days that are especially busy for you, bottlenecks will become more apparent. You have time commitments you’ve made to the customers, but if one thing goes wrong, it sets all the other jobs back. It can be stressful and makes some days tougher than they need to be. You know something needs to be done, but you’re not quite sure where to start.

 

Shop Layout, Workflow, And Adaptability

Chances are if there’s a bottleneck at one station, there are bottlenecks in other places as well. Something as simple as the way vehicles move throughout your shop can greatly impact cycle time and throughput.

For example, in an article by Fender Bender’s, Tom Franklin, a small shop owner named Pete had an operation near a police station. Over time, the local police became his biggest customers since their vehicles often required repairs. However, because of the nature of their job, they needed their vehicles repaired as quickly as possible. They couldn’t afford to not have their patrol cars ready.

Pete struggled on some days to keep up with the demand and knew things needed to change. Eventually, he realized a lot of his problems revolved around the workflow in his shop. Originally, the vehicles would move around a central point in the shop in a circular fashion– but it had its issues. Once he removed the central wall that everything revolved around, he created a parallel workflow pattern that eliminated some of the bottlenecks he had been experiencing. It was such a simple fix, but it completely changed the efficiency of his shop.

“Old habits die hard and are often not recognized for what they are. What worked well in bygone days may actually be time-consuming and a bottleneck now” Pete said in a conversation with Franklin. According to Pete, one of the biggest things lowering shop efficiency are habits and a lack of change. In his statement, he suggests that shops tend to get comfortable with doing things a certain way. However, as the recon world evolves, the processes have to as well.

You can apply this logic to just about anything your shop does. Ask yourself a few questions: Do you still record invoices and jobs on paper? How about employee payments? Do you leave notes for important information around the shop that could easily get lost? Do you spend a lot of your day working on back-office operations?

Those are just a few questions you should ask yourself, but if you answer yes to even one of them, you’re likely spending more time than you need to on stuff that doesn’t involve actual repairs coming through.

The repair industry today isn’t the same as your father’s or grandfather’s. It’s constantly changing and there’s new technology released every year to make your life a little easier. There is some excellent workflow software out there that can streamline cycle times and throughput for you. They can track customer accounts and jobs in real-time both on your mobile device and desktop. Over the last few years, management software has become a staple for successful shops, so looking into the options is a good place to start.

In another example, Alex Osborn, from the Creative Education Foundation in Buffalo, New York presented the idea of “habitual blindness” when it comes to adaptation and change. In Franklin’s article, he looked at Osborn’s favorite analogy where a chicken is fed some grain on the ground. Of course, the chicken eats it the first time. However, the grain is then dropped on the ground again with a glass barrier between it and the chicken. The chicken continues to peck at the glass to get the grain in the way it had previously, but ultimately never succeeds.

According to Osborn, this is what he means by habitual blindness. Instead of going over, under, or around to get the seed, the chicken continued the same method that had worked previously. Not all situations can be solved with the same solution, and when things are constantly changing in the recon industry, you have to adapt to it.

In the instance of Pete in Franklin’s Fender Bender article, Osborn would refer to the rearrangement of his shop as “transformation” thinking. However, it’s only one part of a whole when it comes to bottlenecks in your shop’s cycle times. Fixing the individual bottlenecks are necessary, but they’re also only symptoms of a larger issue. To tackle it all as efficiently as possible, you may need to completely rethink all of your processes from the top down. Once you do that, you’ll often find ones that can be eliminated from your cycle.

 

Changes In Back-Office Operations

As we talked about above, the most successful recon businesses out there are constantly adapting to the latest technology. Nathane Vanhoose, Owner of SkratchHouse in Columbus, Ohio, said one the biggest constraints for his business was the back-office operations. He’d spend hours every night after work going through invoices, accounts, estimations, and so on. Eventually, he restructured his entire process with management software. Paperwork, billing, and employee payments that took hours were cut down to minutes once he adapted to the problems his shop faced.

For a lot of shops, estimations have become pivotal for moving things along. Before, you’d have to research all of the potential factors and information that could impact the labor cost of the jobs. Nowadays, management software has advanced to the point where they have databases to pull the most up-to-date information from. Things that used to take a bit of math on your end can now be solved for you at a click of a button. This helps just one bottleneck that can occur in back-office operations, but management software can do much more than that. Using up-to-date technology can help you avoid delays or quickly react to a situation and resolve it instantly with real-time updates.

For a lot of shop owners, a complete reorganization of processes and machinery may seem costly. Fortunately, even if you can’t make the most drastic changes, management software can organize it all for you with little cost or change on your part outside of putting the information into the apps. When looking back at Osborn’s transformational concepts, he also suggests you combine, modify, and divide processes into different parts for efficiency. Of course, management software can help you set that up, too.

Though management software can automate more-or-less all of your processes, it’s still important to have the right employees. Every shop has their own way of ordering parts, but the most successful ones tend to have a specialist who can anticipate issues and find and order the best parts to avoid any delays. When it comes down to it, a lot of delays happen because the right parts aren’t there or they need to be ordered– but don’t get there in time. It’s good to have someone who can decide what is needed quickly and can play a major role in eliminating bottlenecks with jobs.

Beyond that, one of the biggest problems in shops has to do with employee communication. What the front desk says could be completely different than what the estimator tells the customer. To put it simply, mistakes can happen and things can break down pretty easily if there’s a lapse in communication within the shop. With management software, all employees can update, share, and provide all information for everyone to get updated on in real-time. So mistakes that could become costly and time-consuming can be completely eliminated.

Even with management software, mobile devices, and computers, many shops still rely on scraps of paper or sticky note reminders to communicate information. We live in a time where we have the internet and electronic communication at our fingertips. We can send and receive information simply, quickly, and accurately within a few seconds, so why not use it? With management software, you can create email templates, customer forms, and more within minutes and send it instantly.

In Franklin’s conversation with Pete, the removal of the wall was a pretty straightforward and simple fix. However, most shops have much more difficult constraints to remove. Like Pete said,

“Old habits die hard and are often not recognized for what they are. What worked well in bygone days may actually be time-consuming and a bottleneck now.”

The days where you could stop, talk, and relax are slowly disappearing in the recon industry. It’s a business that requires adaptability. You no longer have the time to sort through paperwork like you may have been able to even just 10 – 20 years ago. So you have to break out of your comfort zone and revise your processes with the latest technology.

 

AutoMobile Technologies Can Help

AMT offers affordable software solutions designed to make your reconditioning process better, provide you with better visibility and control, and get your cars completed efficiently. If you are a dealership looking to move vehicles to the frontline faster, or a recon operator wanting better control and time management for your clients, AMT works to provide the right solutions for your business.

November 15, 2018 Business, Education, Product Related, Reconditioning, ReconPro No comments yet

Print From Anywhere with Your Apple or Android Mobile Device

  • Wireless printing is widely available
  • Print directly from a mobile device even without an internet connection
  • Works on most wi-fi enabled printers

Back in 2012, Apple added a software update known as AirPrint for their MacOS and iOS devices. The update made it so Apple products could print wirelessly through Wi-Fi with compatible printers. However, when it was first released, the number of printers were few and far between.

In the six years since its release, AirPrint has come a long way through quality-of-life updates and the addition of compatible printers. While it was originally only capable of working with a few specific HPs, it now operates within a large library of printers from brands such as HP, Canon, Brother, Dell, Samsung and more– resulting in over 1,100 compatible printers as of 2014.

It’s safe to say a great deal has changed in that time. For Apple users, AirPrint has become a staple for everyday life. With AirPrint, you can use your iPhone, iPad, and Macbook to easily print any documents you may need on the fly.

The technology behind AirPrint is reliant on Apple Bonjour. According to Tech Target’s, Margaret Rouse, Apple Bonjour is a group of networking technologies designed to help devices and applications discover each other on the same network. Bonjour is typically found on MacOS and iOS devices such as iPhone and Macbook; however, if a user downloads Apple software, like Safari or iTunes, they can have it on their Windows machines.

Android device users shouldn’t feel left out. Wireless mobile printing apps offered by many printer and mobile device manufacturers will allow most phones and tablets to print via wi-fi. HP’s multifunction printers can even allow documents to be emailed directly to the printer. Google and Samsung both have wireless print solutions for Android phones, so there’s no need to use the Apple solution if you don’t wish to.

Since the introduction of AirPrint, many third-party applications have begun to take advantage of the feature and technology as well. While companies such as HP, have created applications that let users print from their mobile devices, there are also companies in the reconditioning business that let you print wirelessly.

With companies like AMT taking advantage of the technology behind wireless printing, reconditioning businesses’ lives have gotten a lot easier. While AirPrint became the benchmark for wireless printing, AMT’s native applications like ReconPro and Repair360 provide a way for you to print anything from orders to estimates, invoices, and more– in-app, and at the click of a button.

Management software that lets you print wirelessly from your computer or mobile device minimizes the amount of time you spend on the little stuff when running your business. It’s excellent for printing invoices and receipts, managing technicians and vendors, tracking vehicle processes, and alerting you to bottlenecks and problem areas on both your desktop and mobile devices– all while being able to print and manage information in-app, even without an internet connection. That’s right, no need to rely on Internet or mobile data connections. As long as the printer is wi-fi enabled, your device can connect and print whatever you need,

October 24, 2018 Business, Education, Feature, Product Related, ReconPro, Repair360 No comments yet

Advantages of the Trade Tariffs for the Reconditioning Industry

Increased prices on new cars and parts spur greater reconditioning investment

The reconditioning industry has been experiencing a huge boon in 2018. This is partially a result of the 25% tariffs on steel and 10% on aluminum placed by the US on Canada, Mexico, China, and the European Union. And while automobile manufacturers and new car dealerships are scrambling, the reconditioning industry is popping as consumers continue to drive and maintain their vehicles longer.

According to V12Data, the reconditioning industry is forecasted to reach $722.8 billion by 2020. So while there are legitimate concerns surrounding the increased costs for manufacturers driving up the price of new cars, things are looking up for anyone working in reconditioning.

The automobile industry is still profiting despite the impact of the tariffs, but there’s an air of anxiety that increased prices may be discouraging consumer purchases. V12Data reports the average age of vehicles out on the road in 2018 is 11.5 years old. So while decreased new car purchases may be a result, the older age of cars means consumers are spending more to keep their vehicles up and running.

According to the International Trade Administration and Washington Post’s, Heather Long, 79% of all steel and 90% of all aluminum are imported into the U.S. Beyond that, automobile brands such as Honda, Nissan, and Toyota are manufactured in Canada, Mexico, and Europe before being shipped into the U.S. Essentially, this means both vehicles and car parts imported into the U.S. cost more under the current set of tariffs– impacting domestic brands like Jeep, Chevrolet, and Ford, as well.

Despite the worries, many PDR and SMART Repair practitioners are seeing increased growth now more than ever, with 75% of reconditioning in the United States done by independent, and domestic auto repair shops. To put it simply, the tariffs aren’t doing car manufacturers or new car dealerships any favors; but they’re helping the reconditioning business become heavy hitters in the marketplace. As new car prices rise, drivers are inspired to operate and maintain their vehicles for decades at a time.

Even prior to the current administration’s tariffs, the reconditioning industry has been increasingly popular. SMART Repair practitioners receive business for dent removal, windshield chip repair, paint correction, wheel repair, and detailing. In comparison, dealerships, outside of vehicle purchases, mostly receive business for tire rotations, oil changes, air filters, and car washes. So, SMART operations are providing consumers with a lot more options when it comes to vehicle maintenance.

And beyond that, there’s an incentive for consumers to seek out SMART Repair professionals because they are driving and maintaining vehicles for increasingly longer periods of time. So with the tariffs on manufacturing, new cars, and OEM parts, the reconditioning industry has been steadily growing in popularity among owners of used and older cars. So if the trends continue, reconditioning will remain incredibly profitable for years to come.

AMT is committed to helping reconditioning professionals maintain and grow their business for optimal results. With owners willing to invest in keeping their vehicles in good condition, demand for recon and cosmetic services will become more active. Managing your workflow and employees to capitalize on that demand is crucial for your operation. We can help.

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August 20, 2018 Business, Education, Future, Reconditioning No comments yet

Used Car Reconditioning – A Dealership’s Supply Chain – Part II

Part II: Common Dealer Reconditioning Pitfalls

The quality of vehicles coming through the recon process defines the brand of your dealership. If the process is inadequate and quality is an issue, your customers will notice. Overcoming that negative brand perception can be very difficult. The reconditioning process is also what feeds the machine. If the “get ready” process takes weeks or months per car, then your salespeople will not have the vehicles they need to keep selling. If this can be improved to a few days (and it can), then sales will improve as the number of vehicles reliably available to be sold will increase.

Here are 3 of the common causes of dealership reconditioning problems:

  1.  Not prioritizing reconditioning:

Not prioritizing the reconditioning process is something we see in lots of dealerships around the country. Reconditioning of a used vehicle can be an afterthought of lots of dealerships for apparent reasons. Dealerships are often headed by former salespeople and managers. Their goal is to drive sales which increase revenues and puts money in everyone’s pockets. Sometimes, reconditioning of the vehicle becomes an afterthought or is viewed as a necessary evil in the sales process – something that drives up costs which lowers profits. Because of this, we see the reconditioning process not getting the attention and TLC it deserves.

  1. Not having a standardizing reconditioning process:

Not having a standardized reconditioning process is a major issue if you want to have a repeatable process that you can leave to anyone. The more structured and consistent your process is, the better your outcomes.  If there is a lot walk where people just walk around the car looking for damage and then a mechanical inspection that is just the mechanic looking for issues without a checklist, then you risk overlooking different issues. Worse, all of your vehicles will have differing quality when going through the recon process. We highly recommend that both the cosmetic and mechanical inspections be done in a multipoint checklist. This will ensure that all aspects of every vehicle are checked and addressed the same, 100% of the time. This will improve quality and increase trust in the recon team. You may no longer even need to have all managers come to look at cars in a lot walk manner. The same standardized process should apply to the general workflow of the reconditioning process. All vehicles should follow the same general process from A-Z and only deviate as needed (e.g. waiting on parts).

  1.  Vendors rule the henhouse:

There is nothing wrong with having good, trustworthy vendors helping you in the reconditioning process. We are not even suggesting that you bring all vendor work in-house. What we are suggesting is that dealerships take back control of the reconditioning process and own it completely. If vendors are finding and bringing work requests to you for approval, then see number 2, above. Work should be identified during the standardized process of inspecting the vehicle, and then assigned to the vendors. This allows the dealership to control costs, know what work per vehicle needs to be done, and have the flexibility to adjust the vehicle reconditioning workflow to suit its needs. When the vendor shows up to your lot, they should have a list of vehicles already approved for work. This keeps them busy doing what they do best instead of trying to find work and driving your per car to spend up.

If the items above sound revolutionary for your dealership, then you may need a revolution. You’ll be amazed at the improvements your dealership will enjoy focusing on a consistent and repeatable process in your reconditioning operation.

This is the second in a series of articles. Read part 1 here.

 

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August 7, 2018 Business, Education, New and Used Car Dealers, Reconditioning, ReconMonitor No comments yet

Top Auto Dealer Management Software Picks for 2018

Automobile Dealership Management Software

Automobile Dealership Management Software in 2018

Running a successful car dealership involves countless moving parts, and within all these revolving pieces, productivity shortfalls are inevitable. Successful dealerships know it’s due to human error– because constant communication between individuals eventually leads to confusion and potential misinformation. So while most dealerships acknowledge these shortcomings and use management software such as ADP or Reynolds & Reynolds and other DMS software, these systems can leave gaps in efficiency when maintaining sales, inventory, and F&I information.

Despite our limitations as individuals and the shortcomings of the automotive management software above, we’re fortunate enough to live in an era where we have several software solutions to fully digitize inventory acquisition, marketing, and even inventory management– filling the gaps along the way.

To help reduce your time researching possible software solutions, we have compiled a top-5 list of management tools every dealership should consider adding.

Sales & Marketing

Hubspot

HubSpot offers various marketing, sales, and customer relationship management software to fit whatever business needs you may have– and while the individual options are powerful, they’re even better when used together.

Obtaining prospects and making sales on new or used vehicles relies on you meeting a customer’s needs and working with their budget.

In today’s world, almost every single car purchase begins with an “internet search.” These searches could yield potential new customers if your dealership provides the “right answers.” This inbound marketing, where you draw in customers through social media, branding, and search engine optimization, revolves around creating and publishing content which attracts visitors and converts them into leads as they travel the sales funnel from awareness to consideration.

HubSpot assists in creating and publishing lead generation content– allowing you to track, measure and target your leads.

Reconditioning & Supply Chain Management

AutoMobile Technologies – ReconMonitor

ReconMonitor software helps dealerships monitor and manage the process of reconditioning pre-owned inventory and auction purchases from Acquisition to Front Line Ready. It can track each individual vehicle, the progress made during all reconditioning phases, help get vehicles ready in a quick and efficient manner, and save dealerships both time and money.

ReconMonitor is web-based dealership supply chain management software that picks up where your DMS leaves off, and gives any dealership stakeholder access to all in-process vehicles, the current repair stages, and deadlines from any device, at any time.

It establishes an early warning system in order to keep repair momentum from the initial acquisition to frontline readiness– tracking each vendor, employee, and repair phase to manage performance while identifying bottlenecks in the reconditioning process.

Social Media

Sprout Social

For dealership marketing teams, the primary goal is to advertise the business in the best and most efficient channels– and social media is the largest avenue to get the word out. Sprout Social allows you to track likes, shares, conversations, new contacts, and more with an incredibly clean and easy design.

Data is the driving force when it comes to marketing and understanding which posts drive the most engagement, and Sprout Social offers various monthly subscriptions to monitor your social media marketing campaign.

Sprout Social’s management screen has tabs for messages, tasks, feeds, publishing, and reports. Messages allow you to read and respond to comments left on various social media platforms all in one inbox. While publishing and feeds allow you to analyze the most viewed content and make postings on a timed schedule.

Reports are manageable both on a macro and micro scale– meaning you can view the analytics for all social media in one location or view them all individually.

If your dealership has a team using social media for customer communication, Sprout Social allows you to track tasks and measure post-performance.

Sprout Social offers in-depth data analysis for all your social media marketing on a simple and sleek platform ready to improve your business’ content.

Dealership Accounting & Sales

NetSuite ERP

NetSuite ERP sells itself as a tool to assist any size business to expand. Its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software provides planning and management tools to help automate and simplify business processes in real time.

Netsuite lets individuals at the dealership automate various tasks, enabling data collection, viewing, and sharing without interrupting other functions.

Since NetSuite is cloud-based (meaning all information is saved online in a cloud server), updates, maintenance, support, and customization are all available and automatic across all devices using the software. To elaborate on customization, the package offers the ability to fully edit processes to work as efficiently as possible for your dealership.

NetSuite provides financial reporting, financial planning, revenue recognition (for compliance with accounting standards), global accounting and consolidation (for transparency), billing (to improve accuracy and remove errors), and real-time financial monitoring to drive success.

For Smaller Dealerships: Dealer DMS alternative

Everlogic

Everlogic is a Gold Certified Partner for Quickbooks with a complete management system designed with small dealerships and businesses in mind. Everlogic has several integrated modules which show sales, F&I, parts, services, and administration departments all under one roof. It’s known for its excellence in customer service, and much like the other options above, it’s easy to use, understand, and update all current business processes.

Summary

If recent reports are correct, the two or three-year new car sales tidal wave has begun to slow down. Dealerships will scramble in order to find solutions to boost sales and bolster profitability. The competent and savvy dealer will stay one step ahead, see the trends, and use the best and latest software available. These are our top picks for 2018, and we hope they assist your dealership to increase productivity and profitability this year and beyond.

August 7, 2018 Accounting, Business, Education, New and Used Car Dealers, Product Related, ReconMonitor 2 comments

Used Car Reconditioning – A Dealership’s Supply Chain

There is a magical number floating around most dealerships, and that number is 3. Three days to get a car frontline ready. The problem with this arbitrary number is most dealerships either don’t know what their days to the frontline are or how to fix the process to get it where it needs to be. There are consulting companies that promise to help you fix your used car recon process for the lower rate of $150 per hour, and there are software companies promising the moon.  There isn’t anything wrong with buying a software package or paying for a consultant, but don’t be surprised if you still have the same issue as before, but with less money in your pocket. The problem is how the process is viewed and the methods employed to improve it.

Used car reconditioning isn’t a unique process that only happens in the dealer world, where outside examples of process improvement don’t apply. The process of buying a car from an auction, delivering it to your location, assembling a team of people and vendors to prepare the vehicle for sale is a supply chain problem. Cambridge Dictionary defines supply chain as, “the system of people and things that are involved in getting a product from the place where it is made to the person who buys it.” The dealerships and vendors are the systems of people that repair a vehicle and get it ready for the person who buys the vehicle. It is important to view this as a supply chain process so we can start applying supply chain management principles to help address some of the issues. That also includes applying lean supply chain and Six Sigma principles. We no longer have to make things up or try and tweak the process until we get some perfect combination.

I will be writing a series of articles over the following months that discuss this topic. We will dive into some common pitfalls most dealers face with their reconditioning process, and how supply chain management and methodologies can be applied to address them. Many of these topics may not apply if your dealership is only reconditioning 30-40 vehicles per month, but there will still be some good information that can apply to any operation.

July 23, 2018 Business, Education, New and Used Car Dealers, Reconditioning No comments yet

Salesmanship Tips for the Mobile Repair Professional: How to Land More Deals

> Find and Secure New Accounts

> Stand Out From Competitors

> Maintain and Grow Current Customers

 

Continuing our series of articles focusing on the “year of growth”, today we are turning our attention to sales tips. All businesses need sales in order to survive and grow. Many rightly consider sales the foundation of a company. The truth is, some are born salespeople and some are not. Sometimes even the most seasoned sales pro could use some fresh sales tips now and again (we’ve found that the most successful salespeople are also the most active seekers of new ideas and methods).

Our salesmanship tips presented below are geared towards helping you increase customers or land a new shop or two, depending on your specific business needs. These range from basic sales tips to learning how to find and secure new account leads, standing out from competitors, and maintaining existing clients.

Salesmanship Quick-Tips:

1. Knowledge is Power

One of the best tools mobile repair professionals have in their arsenal is an intimate knowledge of the services they are offering to current and prospective clients. They know what sets them apart from others trying to sell in the same industry. Having this subject matter expertise provides a level of credibility dealerships are looking for when being presented with new opportunities. When a customer realizes you know what you are talking about, it builds a level of trust. They can then put faith in the idea that everyone in your company knows what they are talking about. Look for opportunities to demonstrate your expertise. For the dealership or body shop prospects, consider sending  a monthly or quarterly newsletter with information from your industry that could impact their industry. Another effective tactic is to offer a “lunch and learn” where you head out to a prospect’s shop, bring a few pizza’s and do a live demo during lunch. These are minimally invasive to a shop’s day and few people will turn down the opportunity for a free slice of pizza.

2. Know Your Competition And How To Outsell Them

One of the biggest objections salespeople will hear on a call is with a prospect who is happy with a competitor. What can you do in this case? Sometimes, it can be impossible to overcome this. Effective salespeople can still benefit in this situation where lesser folks would just take the “no” and move on. Learn what the prospect likes most about the competitor. What are they providing that makes the prospect loyal? This kind of inquiry can improve the way you sell your own services, and sometimes even expose areas where your prospect might be underserved.  Sometimes perseverance pays off. You never know when you might catch your prospect having an issue with your competitor and you reach them at just the right time. Sometimes it can help to offer a service, or multiple services, for free as a test run. This allows prospective clients to see what they can get that is perhaps different from what they currently have with someone else. In some instances, it might be worthwhile to try to hire the technician away from your competitor onto your team in order to get and keep that new business.

3. The More Services, the Better

Mobile repair pros have an opportunity to be better than competitors at selling services if they can offer a wider range. For example, if the primary service a mobile technician is hired for is paintless dent repair, but you have technicians who can also perform wheel repair or paint touch-ups, consider offering package deals. When you can offer a bundle of services, dealerships will be more inclined to hire your business. They do not want to search for different people who do different things with different companies; one vendor who can do it all is more appealing and cost-effective.

4. Listen, Don’t Assume

One of the best qualities a mobile repair salesman can have is great ears. It can be difficult approaching a dealership not knowing what their exact needs might be, but never assume what they do or do not need. Mobile repair professionals need to make themselves available to dealerships in any way they can. When a dealership calls asking for help, a technician should always be sent as soon as possible. While it may feel good to ignore a call from a dealership that initially turned business away, being there in a time of need will only set your business apart from competitors. If a technician can show up and fix a damaged wheel to help close a sale, your business will be represented as reliable and efficient.

5. Tell a Story

According to HubSpot, 60 percent of people find a generic sales pitch irritating. However, telling a story draws prospects in with memorable accounts of similar clients you’ve helped. Humans have a unique ability to empathize with stories they hear about other people. That is why storytelling is so powerful, especially when it comes to landing a sale. During a pitch, a mobile repairer pushing PDR can throw out a plethora of statistics about their success rate. But at the end of the day, 63 percent of people recall stories because of similarities the characters share with their needs and wants. Craft your pitch to include a mini case study about your prior work. Describe how the services you provided to a client ultimately led to their success – higher sale price, faster turn-around, disaster avoidance, etc.

6. Ask for a Referral

Whether you are new to being a mobile repair tech or have been working at it for years, it can be difficult to find more work once you have established yourself with one primary dealership. But don’t be afraid to take on more responsibility. Chances are, if a mobile repair technician has been asked back to the same dealership multiple times because of their skills, that same dealership won’t mind referring them to the shop down the block. Never be afraid to ask for help; knowing your worth and demonstrating confidence in your trade will only help you outperform other mobile repair technicians fighting for the same opportunities.

7. Help Clients, Don’t Sell

Truly connect with your client. While you ultimately engage with a client to help with repairs, you are also selling a connection. No one should be sitting through a cut-and-dry sales pitch they’ve heard a million times. Not only appearing helpful but actually being helpful is the best way to land a sale and maintain a working relationship with the desired customer. Whether it is the first phone call or email, or you are meeting in person, here are a few guidelines to assist you with helping, not selling:

  • Personalization – Always reference the specific problem plaguing the dealership in need and provide the correct solution.
  • Deliver – If you’re promising the best paintless dent repair in the city, you better deliver the best paintless repair in the city. Stay up-to-date on industry trends and research new ways of upgrading a service.
  • Be timely – Always be on time. First impressions are everything, but lasting impressions are made over time. Always answer repair calls as quickly as possible.
  • Be Human – Go ahead and wish someone a happy holiday or a nice weekend. Also, commend the customer on their current successes; the more you can connect on a deeper level, the better.
  • Customer Service – Start small and work on building great customer service. Call clients once a week to follow up, ask about work, and see how you can improve. Focusing on the quality of your accounts is better than scrambling to service multiple accounts.
  • Stay Casual – At the end of the day, a mobile repair provider is having a conversation with a client, so use natural verbal and body language. Being yourself will allow you to connect with your client as a person.

8. Streamline Your Operations for a Quicker Transaction

Of course, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention how a software such as AMT’s Repair 360 and ReconPro can help you streamline your operations and make the transaction quicker and easier for your customers. This can be used as a sales tool for your business and you can demonstrate how quickly you can go from estimate to approval, then from repair to invoice. If you can make the case that using your services will be easy and streamlined, it can be a major competitive advantage.

 

The sales journey for mobile repair professionals doesn’t have to be rough. The best way for these technicians to help the company sell any type of product is simple – be honest. Stay up-to-date on all updates to reconditioning software and industry news to be able to confidently talk about them with clients. Know what your competitors are doing and work with your audience to find out ways to be better. Form lasting connections with dealerships and auto shops that focus on the needs of the clients, not selling the capabilities of your business. Relationships built through natural connections are a surefire way for mobile repairers to become the salespeople they never knew they could be.

 

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June 14, 2018 Business, Education, Product Related, ReconPro, Repair360 No comments yet

Dealerships: Steal These Emails and Give Your Sales a Boost

Dealerships, swipe these emails with 60% open rates to boost sales today!

Even though email is one of the oldest forms of digital marketing, it is still a very effective method for gaining new sales, or for moving prospects down the sales funnel.  According to a 2017 study from Hubspot, the average email open rate in autos and vehicles is 35%. This lags slightly behind the average open rate across all industries of 37%.

When your salespeople are not directly with a customer, they need to be generating activity to bring in and close more sales. In fact, activity-based sales, as reported by SalesForce, has been proven to:

  1. Produce higher revenue production per sales employee.
  2. Create robust data to make forecasting easier based on activity levels.
  3. Allow for insights on sales capacity so you know when to hire new salespeople to hit future goals.
  4. Create a team of outcome and data-driven sales experts.

When you move to an activity-based sales approach, you can utilize data to drive higher sales. With email marketing, you can enter these activities into your CRM to keep an eye on activity levels. But just kicking out emails isn’t enough. You need to create highly-converting emails in order to see the return on the time investment. Below are eight email templates for a variety of sales scenarios that your dealership sales reps face every day. These are proven to have as much as a 60% open rate when used properly. Fill in the appropriate information to replace the [italics], and you’re on your way,

 

Scenario 1:  They visited your site

Based on the prospect’s browsing behavior, you know which cars they are looking at or even seriously evaluating. Position yourself as a trusted advisor who can walk them through the decision-making process and answer questions as they arise.

Subject:  Resource for [make and model] questions

Hi [prospect name],

I’m sending this note to introduce myself as your resource here at [dealership]. I work with car buyers and have an expertise in [make and model], and I noticed that you had viewed these vehicles on our website in the past.

This inspired me to spend a few minutes to reach out to you and see if you had any specific questions about [make and model] that you were not finding clear, or decisive answers to.

As an employee of [dealership], I am committed to being a knowledgeable resource for car and truck shoppers in [town name] and I have helped [number] of customers find answers to similar questions.

When do you have 15 minutes to connect today?

Please also feel free to book time directly onto my calendar here: [Meetings link].

Thanks,

[Your name]

 

Scenario 2: If you’re a stranger to them but got them as a referral from an existing customer

Subject: 26 seconds (or less)

Hi [prospect name],

I’ll keep this short and sweet to make the 26 seconds it takes to read this worth your time (yes, I timed it.)

As a salesperson at [dealership], I get to speak with people like you about purchasing a new or used vehicle. You made your way to my radar because we just sold a [new or used][make model] to [referral source] and they recommended that I reach out to you because they knew you were in the market for a vehicle.

Could we schedule a 15 to 20-minute call to discuss your vehicle needs, which challenges you are currently experiencing, and how you plan on solving these needs? Even if you decide not to continue the conversation after our call, you’ll leave with some advice for car and truck buying that will make an immediate impact.

Best,

[Your name]

 

Scenario 3:  If you just called them

Use a quick email to reinforce the voicemail you just left.

Subject: [prospect name] — just gave you a ring

[prospect name],

Saw that you were checking out [make and model], and wanted to give you a quick shout after checking out the [dealership] site. The last thing I want to do is waste your time or mine, but I thought it would be helpful to quickly speak and learn a bit more about what your needs are that is driving the need or desire to purchase [make model], and perhaps answer some questions you may have about this vehicle or similar product offerings.

We have found that our happiest customers began their purchase with a quick call like this to get things started in the right direction.

Is there a good time for you today or the next few days? You can book some time directly on my calendar here: [Meetings link].

Best,

[Your name]

P.S. Thought you might like this as well while getting started:

   [Helpful link #1]

   [Helpful link #2]

 

Scenario 4:  If there’s been a trigger event (filled out a form or stopped by the dealership)

The old adage is that when they are ready to buy, sell. A trigger event gives you a compelling reason to reach out, boosts your credibility by proving that you pay attention to what’s happening on the lot, and establishes urgency.

Subject: Congrats on deciding on [make and model]

Hi [prospect name],

Your [interaction (email, dealership stop by)] inspired me to reach out. That tells me that you are narrowing down your options in the purchase of [make and model].

Within the last six months at [dealership], we have sold [number] of [make and model] to happy and excited new [manufacturer] owners. I’d be happy to answer any remaining questions and share a few ideas about how you could accomplish the same.

If you’re open to it, when would be a convenient time to chat? Say, [XYZ time]?

[Your name]

 

Scenario 5:  They requested a test drive

This email helps you establish a relationship with the prospect and set the right expectations for the process. If they’re not prepared for a discussion of their needs and budget before the nuts-and-bolts product talk, they might become impatient.

Subject: Showing you around [make and model]

Hi [prospect name],

I noticed you requested a test drive of [product]. I will be your contact here at [dealership], and my goal is to be helpful during your evaluation process.

Our test drives are two parts. The first is a conversation focused around helping me to understand what you’re hoping [dealership] can help with, as well as your desired options and even desired colors when purchasing [make and model], so then I can customize your test drive accordingly.

To get started, you can book time on my calendar here: [Meetings link].

Looking forward to connecting,

[Your name]

 

Scenario 6:  If they opened your email but never replied

The prospect is interested in learning more — after all, they read your message — but they’re either too busy to respond or not interested enough. Get the conversation going again with an explanation of your dealership or if you know the particular make and model they are looking at, and an offer to give them a test drive.

Subject: Helping you evaluate [make and model]

Alt subject; Helping you evaluate [dealership]

Following up on my last email, I wanted to see if [dealership offering, or make and model] was something you’d be interested in discussing.

[dealership] offers vehicles for [prospect need] that include the following:

   [Feature #1 and why it’s helpful]

   [Feature #2 and why it’s helpful]

   [Feature #3 and why it’s helpful]

I’d be happy to give you a brief walk-through of these vehicles and their features so you can evaluate whether there might be a fit for your specific vehicle purchase needs.

What do you think?

[Your name]

 

Scenario 7: If they still don’t respond

Haven’t heard anything back? Before you give up on this prospect, send a few more resources their way. You’ll add value while simultaneously reminding them your vehicle might be able to solve a pressing pain point — as it has for other buyers.

Subject: Resources used by [make and model] buyers

Hi [prospect name],

Following on my previous email, as they have a tendency to slip through the cracks. At the very least, I wanted to provide you with the top resources that people who are shopping for [make and model] or [vehicle category (SUV, light truck sedan etc)] found helpful:

   [Helpful link]

   [Case study]

Would it be helpful if we scheduled 15-20 minutes to discuss how some of these links may help narrow down your selections and discuss how a particular model may suit your needs? Just book some time on my calendar here: [Meetings link]

[Your name]

 

Scenario 8: If they went dark

This light-hearted email gives the buyer a chance to change their mind. It’s a great way to re-engage them without using a guilt trip.

Subject: Not nearly as bad as a blind date

Hi [prospect name],

But it still stings 🙁 Sounds like we weren’t meant for each other. But I wanted to reach out to you one last time. I have a few suggestions on how you can purchase that [new or used make and model]. If I don’t hear back, I’ll assume that the timing isn’t right.

In the meantime, here are two [links, resources] I thought you might find of value because [reason why they’re relevant]:

   [Link #1]

   [Link #2]

Best,    

[Your name]

 

It is our hope that these proven car and truck sales templates will be just the thing you need to re-energize your sales force. If you found these useful, we encourage you to check out other similarly useful content on our blog, as we are dedicated to helping dealerships just like yours grow sales in 2018. If you are also looking to re-energize your profitability in your dealership, we encourage you to check out our suite of software offerings, ReconMonitor and InspectionNotes, designed to improve frontline readiness of your used car fleet and trim waste from the process.

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March 23, 2018 Business, Education, InspectionNotes, New and Used Car Dealers, ReconMonitor No comments yet

Hubspot Free VS Google Analytics:

What is the Best Free Resource for Your Mobile Repair Business Website?

So you built a great website, and you feel like it is doing its job. You are satisfied with how well it ranks on the search results pages and you are getting some decent leads. That is fantastic, and you are doing better than a lot of businesses with a less effective web presence. But how do you know if your site is really a peak performer?

The simple answer is to measure it because that which can be measured can be improved. You don’t need to be a web developer in order to manage or monitor the traffic on your website thanks to some very robust and free resources available to all website owners and managers. Today we are going to discuss two of them: Google Analytics and Hubspot Free.

 

Google Analytics

If you have ever dabbled with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or sought ways to boost your web traffic, you have probably tried or at least heard of Google Analytics. Whether you sign up for an account or not, Google is tracking all kinds of metrics on your website and they provide this data to you for free in a dashboard called Google Analytics.

Google Analytics Menu Bar

But despite all the collective genius at work at Google, some people find many of their tools very hard to work with, clumsy, and not very intuitive.  There is certainly some valuable information in Google Analytics, but the information can be very difficult to interpret or even put into action. Google Analytics allows you to track visits to your site, how long they stay on your pages, bounce rates, what percentage of your traffic comes from various devices, what times of day are the most popular, and a whole lot more.

If you are very analytical, you might really enjoy clicking through your Google Analytics statistics and clicking all the tabs on the left bar to learn all about the most granular metrics that Google is tracking on your site.

Google Analytics Dashboard Report

For the most part, small business website owners just want to track and see at a glance if the visits are increasing month over month, and if their web leads are increasing month over month. If you have a solid SEO and or blogging strategy in place, you may want to see what blogs are bringing in visitors, and for those who convert from visits to leads, what the typical behavior pattern is for a buyer (the so-called “buyers journey”) through your website.

Well if that describes you, check out an amazing and totally free tool called Hubspot.

 

Hubspot Free

Hubspot is credited with inventing the concept of Inbound marketing which is a system of content designed to attract a visitor to a website and eventually convert that visitor to a lead through a series of steps. The ultimate goal is for that visitor to hit on a particular item on your site where they are willing to leave their contact information to receive an email or a download link. Once you have that information, your anonymous visitor has now become a self-identified viable sales prospect.

Like all software-as-a-service providers, you must pay for Hubspot in order to have access to all of its features, and Hubspot is not cheap. Luckily though, they have released a free version that gives you a pretty darn good set of analytic tools that are easy to implement and easy to understand.

With Hubspot Free, you can track visits month over month (or even week over week) and you can track lead conversions month over month. You can track your top blog posts, landing pages, emails and contacts all in one very easy to read dashboard. If you take the time to set everything up correctly, you can learn a lot about your website and how customers interact with your site without having to spend hours interpreting a bunch of hard to understand charts.

The novice user may need to spend some time watching tutorials to learn how to set up their Hubspot correctly, and set up may take a half a day, however, a more intuitive user could have everything set up in just a couple of hours.

Hubspot Dashboard  Hubspot Lead Source Report

Installing Hubspot is not as easy as Google Analytics, and you will have to install some code. By contrast, for Google Analytics, all you need to do is sign up for an account and prove that you are the site owner. If you have a WordPress site, there are tools available such as plugins to install the code easily to your site. Otherwise, you can reach out to your web development company to add the tracking code.

 

Conclusion

If you want your Mobile repair business to succeed online, you need to deal with SEO at some point. The point of this post is not to teach you about SEO, or even convince you that you need to manage it, but rather to help you find the resources you need to begin to measure and manage your site in order to make the right decisions to optimize.

There is no reason why these tools have to be mutually exclusive, and if you use them both, you have the ability to see what the trends are at a high level with Hubspot and you can dig deeper to see specific performance metrics with Google Analytics.

 

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March 16, 2018 Business, Education No comments yet
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