Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 13

and hiring process than
we do in our search for
the latest and greatest
piece of technology
"guaranteed" to sell
1,000% more cars than
we ever previously sold!
Think about it. No
one does business with
a dealership because
of their DMS or CRM
system, right? I have
never heard a customer
say, "Boy, that customer
follow-up tool really made
a difference in buying a
car today." They say, "I
love doing business with
ABC Motors because
John really takes care of
me every time I come to
the store, no matter what
I need."
See, the relationship
is what's important to the
customer, not the underlying technology. "John"
can be made better with
the use of technology, but
that's not why he's successful. He's successful
because he has the right
mindset (customer-focused), proper training
and positive culture in
which he can not only
survive but thrive. After
all, without the right people, the dealership is really just a big building with
a bunch of stuff in it. And
that big building does not
sell cars, the people do.
So, what is the reality?
Too often we see dealerships falter because they
bought some new tool
that they thought would
lead to more sales and
increased profits. Let's
say a store buys all-new,
top-of-the-line tablets
for the salespeople and
boost the Wi-Fi system to
unheard of level speed-

iness yet sales don't
go up (or worse yet, go
down). Dealership management is flummoxed,
saying "Jeez, we spent all
of this money (and time)
to get the salespeople the
latest and greatest stuff,
but we aren't seeing a
sales lift." Well, it's quite
easy to see that if the
wrong people are holding
those tablets, you can
spend unlimited amounts
of money and never see
a difference. However, if
you have the right people
and give them the right
training, they'll take the

can solve problems for
customers or people dependent upon the latest
piece of technology to sell
a car? I know which one
I'd choose.
- Dan Kommeth,
General Manager,
Performance Lexus
As you can see, Dan
has a solid perspective
on what we should be
looking to do in every
store if we want to grow
and be successful. It really doesn't take an MBA to
implement and carry out
with a valiant discipline.
What it does require is

HE'S SUCCESSFUL
BECAUSE HE HAS
THE RIGHT MINDSET
(CUSTOMER-FOCUSED),
PROPER TRAINING AND
POSITIVE CULTURE IN
WHICH HE CAN NOT
ONLY SURVIVE BUT
THRIVE."
organization to the top of
the charts!
Of course, this is not to
say we should go back to
paper-and-pencil systems, but the point is that
unless a dealership has
an underlying foundation of strong people, no
amount of vendors' "magic pixie dust" is going to
lead to higher levels of
success. Don't be fooled
by those promising a
quick, easy fix to what
ails you.
Plus, when the
business cycle trends
downward (and it will,
probably sooner than we
all think), what would you
rather have - a motivated, well-trained staff that

the recognition that we
could have a better dealership that people would
want to come to work for
and customers would recognize the inert synergy
radiating from our people.
This, in turn, creates
somewhat of an image in
the minds of customers
whereby they have zero
interest in going to another dealership's service
and/or sales departments
to conduct their business.
Why? Because we have
created a trust-based
relationship through our
human interactions with
them. The BDC didn't do
it, the CRM tool didn't do
it, the DMS didn't do it,
the shiny website didn't

do it, the giant blow-up
gorilla didn't do it, the
color-matched balloons
didn't do it, giving the
farm away didn't do it and
your good looks didn't
either.
Despite what you've
read or been taught to
this point in your career, it
takes more than fortitude
and flattery to become
great in the relationship
business. That's because
establishing high trust
with employees and
customers is about your
ability to develop and
maintain loyal relationships, not your propensity for persuasion. And
another thing: Trustbased relationships are
not about you; it's about
them - the employees,
prospects, and clients
whom you serve. The
fact is that you'll never be
genuinely successful in
most professions if you're
self-centered. You can go
to the bank on that.
But there's another
thing you can go to
the bank on: If you are
a trustworthy person
running a respectable,
reliable sales business,
you will succeed in just
about any profession... in
less time than you think
and with much less stress
than you're accustomed
to. More than that, with a
trust-based relationship
on your side you will
climb to the top of your industry and remain there.
CHUCK BARKER is
President & Founder of Impact
Marketing & Consulting Group
in Virginia. EMAIL: Chuck@
impactgroupcrm.com

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

M AY 2 0 1 8

13


http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - May 2018

Digital Dealer - May 2018
Contents
Letter from the Show Director
Stop Waiting, Start Changing
Technology Does Not Replace Your People!
Key Buy/Sell Trends for 2018
What’s Tomorrow?
Save Today…Gone Tomorrow
Three Pointers to Maximize Purchased Unit Profitability
Your Best Advertising Target!
NADA Recap BY ARNOLD TIJERIN
Digital Dealer 24 Conference & Expo Recap
Put a Ring on It
“Voicemail:” Untapped Opportunity
10 Questions to Ask When Hiring a Social Media Manager
Omni-what? Your Dealership and the Emergence of the Omnichannel Approach
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - CT1
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - CT2
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - Digital Dealer - May 2018
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - Cover2
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 1
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - Contents
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 3
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - Letter from the Show Director
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 5
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 6
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 7
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - Stop Waiting, Start Changing
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 9
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - Technology Does Not Replace Your People!
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 11
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 12
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 13
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - Key Buy/Sell Trends for 2018
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 15
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 16
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 17
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 18
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 19
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - What’s Tomorrow?
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 21
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - Save Today…Gone Tomorrow
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 23
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - Three Pointers to Maximize Purchased Unit Profitability
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 25
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - Your Best Advertising Target!
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 27
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 28
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 29
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 30
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 31
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 32
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 33
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - NADA Recap BY ARNOLD TIJERIN
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 35
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - Digital Dealer 24 Conference & Expo Recap
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 37
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 38
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 39
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - Put a Ring on It
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 41
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - “Voicemail:” Untapped Opportunity
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 43
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 10 Questions to Ask When Hiring a Social Media Manager
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 45
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - Omni-what? Your Dealership and the Emergence of the Omnichannel Approach
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 47
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - 48
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - Cover3
Digital Dealer - May 2018 - Cover4
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