Automotive News - October 17, 2016 - Supplement - S21

OCTOBER 17, 2016 ❙ 21 H O E H N M O T O R S , C A R L S B A D , C A L I F. How 'data guru' refined sales events Hoehn's approach: 3 meticulously planned, themed events a year During a Hoehn Motors summer sales event, product specialists and Internet product specialists at Hoehn Porsche show off the surfthemed decor in the showroom. Printed in Automotive News April 4, 2016 Jacquie Goetz Bluethmann autonews@crain.com L ots of dealerships hold sales events when they feel the need: Inventory may be building up, or sales in general are in the doldrums. Josh Sherman, though, favors a more strategic approach. And it has paid off. Ⅲ Sales planned Sherman is a self-proto maximize claimed "data guru." He conmarketing tinually pores over the sales dollars data from Hoehn Motors, his family's Carlsbad, Calif., dealership group. The numbers confirm that the dealership group's approach to sales events is right on target. For the last three years, Hoehn Motors has held only three sales events a year, spaced evenly apart. Each is themed and finely tuned to communicate the unique offerings customers will find across the group's 12 brands. "We think about the unique value proposition to the shopper in taking advantage of one of our sales events," says Sherman, Hoehn's marketing director and son-in-law of co-owner Bill Hoehn. Partners' perks, too For Hoehn Motors, that means communicating its 1,600 vehicles across a dozen stores all within walking distance of each other in a single auto park. It also means promoting special financing rates and other perks from Hoehn partners. This latter point is crucial in Hoehn's sales event planning. The group regularly reaches out to a handful of partners with whom it has developed relationships over the years, including a local lender and a nearby detailing shop, to be part of their sales events. These partners benefit from the sale as well, and Hoehn is able to reach a larger audience by tapping into their customer bases. Early in the planning for each sales event, Sherman and his brother-in-law, Ted Hoehn, assemble the group's general managers and sales managers for a roundtable-style brainstorming session. They review results from previous sales events and establish goals for the upcoming one. During this meeting of minds, novel ideas often emerge. One such idea came from Kris Truman, the general manager of Hoehn's Mercedes-Benz store, who during a previous sales event had observed an abundance of event promotion outside the dealerships but little to none inside. He suggested attaching a promotional flier to repair orders at checkout the week leading up to the sales event to inform service customers of what was coming. The flier invited the visiting service customers to take advantage of an exclusive pre-sale event that ran just prior to the main sale. "By including as many people as possible in the planning, you get great feedback," Sherman says. "It also encourages the team to take ownership of the event. You want people excited." And do they get excited. During the dealership group's 2015 summer sales event, one general manager streamed Beach Boys tunes and other 1960s surfer music through the store's sound system. It was part of a larger beach-themed event that included the display of approximately 40 Hansen surfboards across all Hoehn stores. Eye on results Well in advance of the sales events, the Hoehn leadership team sets sales goals, which it communicates to the entire sales team. Shortly after the event, Sherman shares the results. "I recommend sharing results of a sale event as soon as possible," he says. "While the event is still fresh on everyone's mind, find out what can be improved upon for next time. Get unique feedback you can use in future planning. This also helps ensure longterm buy-in of your team." Generally, Hoehn Motors, which sells about 9,000 new and used vehicles combined a year, will see about an 8 to 9 percent sales increase in the third week of a given month vs. the second week of that month. During sales events, which typically are held on the third weekend of the month, Sherman expects to see at least a 30 percent increase in sales from the prior weekend. "If we don't see at least that much, I'd say it was not a successful event," Sherman says. "Thankfully, we typically see a 45 to 70 percent sales increase." Sherman notes that this is achieved with a relatively modest advertising expenditure. The group relies on targeted Facebook campaigns, outreach by partners to their customers and the repurposing of creative content into YouTube videos backed by ads. "You don't have to spend loads of money on TV and radio," he says. "We've found that the more tactical and targeted we are, the more our message gets in front of the right folks." c

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