Digital dealer april 2010

Just as you are trying to keep your store(s) on the cutting edge, we
are doing the very same thing as we venture into a new frontier in
the publishing biz.
We can get this digital version in your hands quickly, giving you
the freshest information possible. You can click on links at the end
of each article to email the author of such. And you can click on
the ads to link to that advertiser’s website (and you’d REALLY be
helping us out by doing just that).
It’s quite intuitive…I don’t think that someone who uses the Internet
to make a living will have any trouble easily figuring it out.
Please let me know what you think about it…
mroscoe@Dealer-Communications.com
Welcome to the digital edition
of Digital Dealer magazine!
Michael Roscoe
Editor-in-Chief

JOSHUA
FICHTER
Director of Operations
Sam Pack’s Five Star Ford
page 18
April 2010
AAISP Notes:
Automotive Retail and
Technology – Recipe for
Riches
page 8
Internet Sales:
Selling Cars in the Post-
Control World
page 10
It’s a Performance –
Make Sure Everyone
Knows Their Roles
page 14
Technology Trends:
Five Tips for Prepping
Staff for System Change
page 25

DD 2 April 2010 DigitalDealer-magazine.com
ABLE OF CONTENTST
APRIL 2010
PRESIDENT AND CEO
MICHAEL ROSCOE
VICE PRESIDENT AND
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
CLIFF BANKS
cbanks@Dealer-communications.com
248-351-2620
PUBLISHER
GREG NOONAN
607-264-3359
gnoonan@Dealer-magazine.com
CONTENT COORDINATOR
MARIA BURKEL
mburkel@Dealer-communications.com
ART DIRECTOR
JOE BIRCH
PRODUCTION MANAGER
ELIZABETH BIRCH
PRINT PRODUCTION
NICK THOMAS
COVER DESIGN
JOE BIRCH
COVER PHOTOS
RANDY ANDERSON
CIRCULATION SUBSCRIPTION
RICH JARRETT
314-432-7511
rjarrett@Dealer-magazine.com
www.Dealer-magazine.com
NATIONAL ADVERTISING SALES
adsales@Dealer-magazine.com
607-264-3359
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accuracy of all published works. However it cannot be
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A PUBLICATION OF
C O M M U N I C A T I O N S
FEATURES
Digital Dealer Cover Story
18 Joshua Fichter
Digital Dealer Vendor Profile
22 Dominion Dealer Solutions
COLUMNS
AAISP Notes
8 Automotive Retail and Technology –
Recipe for Riches
Cliff Banks
Internet Sales
10 Selling Cars in the Post-Control World
Tom Mohr
12 Take Video Off the ‘To Do’ List
Rob Lange
14 It’s a Performance – Make Sure Everyone Knows
Their Roles
Joe Webb

16 Driving Better Closing Results
Phil Sura
Technology Trends
25 Five Tips for Prepping Staff for System Change
Sandi Jerome
DEPARTMENTS
4 Digital Dealer E-mail
6 News

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IGITAL DEALER MAILD
Hi Chuck Barker,
When I saw the heading of your article in
the December issue of Digital Dealer maga-
zine, “What Type of Manager are You?”, I
hadtowriteyou.Iaminapeculiarsituation,
and I wanted to ask your advice as it relates
to your article.
Your article was right on point! It’s been
better lately, but my GSM often cuts the
salespeople down, often tells them that we
don’t need them, that we could replace them
right away. I have tried several times to tell
him that if he treats them that way, it will
transfer to the customer.
Recentlythemanagementstaffhadameet-
ingwiththedealer,andhefeelsthesameway
ironicallyasyourarticleillustrates.Weshould
pumpthem(salespeople)up,makethemfeel
we are here to catch them if they fall. I also
want to be able to explain why our new car
dealsaredown.Theyaredownpartlybecause
timesaretoughandthesalespeopledon’twant
toworkfor100.00minideals.But,mostlyit’s
because when you tear down the salespeople
daily, you can’t expect them to be motivated
and pumped up to take the next customer.
I would like to ask you: Do you know of
a way that I can get my GSM to understand
what I am saying to him? How do I go about
thiswithouthimthinkingIambeingconde-
scending? Any input you have is welcomed.
Name withheld by request
Dear Reader,
Sometimes these toughspots wefind ourselves
in find a way to work themselves out; so be as
tolerantasyoucangiventhesituation.Youbethe
leaderthatshowshowtodoitrightbyrespecting
your team, supporting them and continuing to
encourage them. Act with positive ‘role model’
likebehaviorwitheveryoneyoucomeincontact
with. Manage the way you would a. want to
be managed and b. the way other managers
should manage.
The actions of your GSM can catch on with
other managers who then find themselves treat-
ing their people the same way. So stay resilient
to your professional cause.
Let’s have a look at your question for me:
“Do you know of a way that I can get my
GSM to understand what I am saying to him,
is exactly what you talk about in your article?
How do I go about it, without him thinking I
am being condescending?”
In view of the fact that your dealer has
shown positive inclination toward his people,
he would be your best ally in your quest to get
things improved. I would begin by printing
my article and any others supporting this solid
leadership behavior and give him a copy and
suggest that this should and could be our store’s
culture.Requesthereaditatasalesmanagement
meetingtosettheleadershipexpectationsbarfor
all his stores.This way everyone is in the loop. I
would gently explain to him that (without any
names) you have witnessed salespeople being
treated disrespectfully and you know the store
can only grow its people when they are respected
andprofessionallytreated.Next,yourfriendthe
GSM should be spoken to as a friend would,
referring to the articles and suggesting together
you guys vow to make a positive change. Then,
announce it at a sales meeting to the team. I
have found that salespeople typically forgive the
peoplewhohaveoffendedthemwhenanapology
issubmittedfortheirpastbehaviorandpromise
tobecomemoreprofessionalintheirinteractions
with them going forward.
Warmest regards,
Chuck Barker
Dealer welcomes your letters and after
verification will run them signed or unsigned.
Letters may be edited for space and clarity.
Send letters to: 2000 Town Center • Suite 1900 • Southfield, MI 48075
FAX: (248) 351-2699 • e-mail: cbanks@dealer-communications.com
The Technology Magazine for Dealers Managers
December 2009
Association of Automotive
Internet Sales Professionals
www.AAISPonline.org
O
FFICIAL
O
FFICIAL
www.AAISPonline.org
www.AAISPonline.org
P
UBLICATI
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N
P
UBLICATI
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N
JOSEALONSOInternete-CommerceDirectorJenkins Auto Group
page 18
JOSEALONSOInternete-CommerceDirectorJenkins Auto Group
page 18
Internet Sales:Are You a Creator,or Just a Bad Prophet?
page 10
Online Buyers Have
Wants Alsopage 18
How to Respond toLeads the Right Way
page 20
Technology Trends:
How to Find andUse Customer Data
page 25
Internet Sales:Are You a Creator,or Just a Bad Prophet?
page 10
Online Buyers Have
Wants Alsopage 18
How to Respond toLeads the Right Way
page 20
Technology Trends:
How to Find andUse Customer Data
page 25

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IGITAL DEALER TECH NEWSD
Black Book introduces
addition to Activator’s
Advanced Conversion
Toolkit
Black Book’s Online Division announced
the introduction of a new product enhance-
ment that boosts leads already coming from
its Activator sales conversion tool by up to
30%. Activator’s Advanced Conversion
Toolkithasbeenenhancedwiththeaddition
ofActivatorusingnewtechnologytogenerate
high-impact pop-ups that give website shop-
pers incentives to get a value for their trades
and make dealership appointments.
Conversion results to date show that,
because these shoppers are seeking trade-in
values, they are close to making a buying
decision. Activator uncovers them, identifies
them, allows the dealer to contact them and
close the sale.
Black Book’s online products currently
appear on over 7,000 dealership and
manufacturer web sites around the coun-
try. Activator has proven to increase leads
coming from dealership web sites by up to
50% with average closing rates of 15%.The
30% increase delivered with this “Advanced
ConversionToolkit”enhancementisinaddi-
tion to Activator’s traditional results.
“Over a periodof several months, ourcus-
tomerstakingpartinourinitialpilotprogram
experienced a significant lift in the number
of web site leads generated from their web
sites,”saidMikeMcFall,BlackBookDivision
president. “Whenourcustomersaresuccess-
ful, we’re successful,” he concluded.
www.BlackBookUSA.com
Experian Automotive
expands vehicle data
service offerings with
Manheim
Experian Automotive has enhanced its
vehicledataserviceofferingswith Manheim,
aleadingproviderofvehicleremarketingser-
vices.Inadditiontoprovidingauctiondatato
Experian’sAutoCheckreportingservice,afree
vehicle history snapshot will now be offered,
giving dealers immediate access to potential
vehicle condition issues on www.manheim.
com, including OVE.com and Manheim
Simulcast.
The AutoCheck snapshot features a quick
andeasyviewofthepotentialissuesinavehi-
cle’s history, directly from online presale list-
ings,andgivesdealerstheoptiontopurchase
fullAutoCheckreports.Havingaccesstothis
important vehicle history information helps
dealers make better decisions in buying the
rightvehiclesattherightvalueandgivestheir
customers confidence that their inventories
are safe and reliable.
“The combination of Manheim’s data and
AutoCheck’s industry-recognized vehicle his-
tory reports will give dealers a new level of
buying intelligence with quick, easy access to
theinformationtheyneed,”saidScottWaldron,
president, Experian Automotive. “Working
with Manheim allows us to bring a consistent
repositoryofreliable,auction-announcedinfor-
mation to used-vehicle dealers.”
As part of its renewed relationship with
Manheim, Experian’s AutoCheck will con-
tinue to incorporate Manheim’s auction-
announced information, such as frame or
unibody damage, into its vehicle history
reports. This information has been found
to be among the most important aspects of
a vehicle’s history that used-car buyers want
to know before making a purchase.
“Manheim is dedicated to providing its
customers with the information they need
to make smart vehicle purchases,” said Nick
Peluso,seniorvicepresidentofcustomerman-
agement, Manheim. “Building on our exist-
ing relationship with Experian Automotive
helps ensure that dealers have access to the
best information to determine the right
vehicles for their inventories.”
www.experianautomotive.com
www.manheim.com
Polk launches automotive
lists online
R.L.PolkCo.haslaunchedAutomotive
Lists Online, a new web-based system that
enablesdealersanddirectmarketingagencies
to quickly order highly-effective automotive
marketing lists for use in vehicle sales and
servicemarketingcampaigns.Thenewonline
listorderingsystemidentifiesconsumersthat
are most likely to own a particular brand of
vehicle, who are in the market to purchase a
specific vehicle and who are likely to spend
within a particular budget amount, among
other criteria.
“Wecreatedthissystemtomakelistorder-
ing faster and more efficient for our custom-
ers,” said Laura Murray, product strategist at
Polk. “Three product packages are currently
available, based on our most popular and
requestedTotal Market Predictor list combi-
nations—vehicleownershipbymake;vehicle
ownership by make, plus in-market timing;
and vehicle ownership by make, plus year
model.”
Fiveadditionalpackagesareunderdevelop-
mentthatwilltargetlikelymotorcycleowners
andindividualsbyautomotiveserviceprefer-
ence – those who prefer to do the servicing
themselvesandotherswhowouldrathertake
their vehicle in for service.
AutomotiveListsOnlinealsoenablesusers
to enrich their lists with an array of data ele-
ments such as Target Score Predictor, eth-
nicity/language preference, household age,
income and marital status.The system offers
freecustomerfileuploads(e.g.dealerfilesup-
pression) which enables users to de-dupe a
prospecting file in order to obtain pure pros-
pects or target only their current customers
according to certain attributes, such as likeli-
hood to be in-market.
Automotive Lists Online can be accessed
directly at http://automotivelists.polk.com.

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Automotive Retail and Technology –
Recipe for Riches
T
heremightnotbeamorefunindustry
than automotive retail technology.
If you have a good idea and a little
bit of luck you might hit it big sooner than
you think.
A lot of it has to do with technology. Prior
to the Internet, innovation in the automo-
tive space was slow and steady. But once the
web hit the mainstream in the mid-to late
‘90s, young people -- restless, dreaming of
building the next big thing -- jumped into
the automotive retail space.
Andhititbig,theydid.Remembersomeof
these names? Mark Campbell sold StonAge.
comtoAutobytel,tookhismillionsandbuilt
a mansion somewhere on the west coast.We
haven’t heard from him since.
JonChristiansenandGregBaszukibasically
createdInvoiceDealer.comwhileeatingpizza
inthelivingroomwith$150,000fromfamily
andfriendsin1999.In2004,theysoldDealix
(renamedfromInvoiceDealers)toCobaltfor
more than $60 million.
Sean Wolfington is another name that
belongs in the pantheon of people who have
eithercreatedorjumpedonboardearlywith
a company only to sell it for millions later.
HisfamilywasinfluentialincreatingCyber
CarandAutoMarkwhichitsoldtoReynolds
and Reynolds in 2001 for a rumored price
thatexceeded$100million.Wolfingtonthen
joinedwithBZResultsandsoldittoADPin
2006 for a reported $125 million.
Wolfington is back, this time as chairman
of the board for VinSolutions. There’s no
secret the gameplan is to build it up, get as
many customers as possible and then sell.
These are just a few examples. The last
decade was a golden age for firms supply-
ing services and solutions to franchised car
dealers. It was either get acquired or get big.
CompaniessuchasAutoTrader.comandCars.
com went big and now have revenues in the
hundreds of millions of dollars.
Othercompanies,suchasADP,Dominion
andDealerTrackhavebeenbuyers,addingto
their portfolio of services.
I’lloftenasknewplayersinthespaceabout
their plans for getting acquired. Typically,
they’ll recoil and insist their goal is to build
a great product. No doubt, that’s true. But
getting into this space to build a company
only to turn around and sell it is not a bad
thing. It’s called capitalism.
Ioftenhearhowtheautomotiveretailspace
isbehindotherindustrieswithitsadoptionof
technology.Whiledealerstendtobecautious
– and rightfully so -- our industry has been
a great laboratory of ideas and is far ahead of
mostindustriescomprisedofsmallbusinesses.
Being an industry that entrepreneurs
and investors find attractive only serves to
bring better products and solutions to the
dealership.
The unbelievable success the last several
yearsthattechnologycompaniesexperienced
in the automotive retail space continues to
attract both big name investors and the
smaller angel investors.
It’s likely we’ll see more blockbuster deals
this year. Investors again are looking hard at
the automotive retail space and some of the
larger firms have money to spend.
It’sanindicationofthegrowingconfidence
that automotive is a fundamentally strong
sector that will continue to grow in the next
couple of years.
The collapse of the auto industry the last
20monthskeptmanydealsfromhappening.
In fact, a couple of big deals close to being
donefellapartatthefinishlineinfallof2008.
Rightnow,it’sabunchofrumors.Asarule,
I do not report on rumors involving specific
firms. However, there is a growing trend the
lastfewmonthsoftechnology-typecompanies
that are either on the market or are looking
to add to their portfolios.
Investors are getting itchy trigger fingers
and the pressure is building too for firms to
get something done. These companies are
sittingonalotofmoneyandwouldliketofill
holes in their product solutions.That means
overthecourseofthisyeartheindustrylikely
willseesomeinteresting,andpotentialblock-
buster deals occur.
Thelandscapeonthetechnologysidelikely
willlookmuchattheendof2010thanitdid
at the end of 2009. Stay tuned, this could be
a fun year.
IGITAL Dealer AAISP NOTESD
Cliff Banks
Cliff Banks
Vice President and
Editorial Director
“Once the web hit the
mainstream in the mid-to
late ‘90s, young people
– restless, dreaming of
building the next big
thing – jumped into the
automotive retail space.”
—Cliff Banks

Know It All. Consumers Do.
With 88% of consumers starting their shopping process online, “Instant Experts” are everywhere. Today’s pre-owned
buyers often know more than the “pros” selling the car. Now, you can level the playing field. INSTANTLY.
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I know exactly what the Internet
says I should pay for your car.

Selling Cars in the Post-Control World
T
he battle is over. The customer now
controls the car-buying process, and
itisuptothedealertosupport,advise
andencouragethecustomeralongthewayto
the sale. Dealer actions that seek to control
theprocess—suchashidinginformation—
simply don’t work anymore.
Dealersmustcometotermswiththreekey
realities of today’s digital ecosystem:
• Consumers have instant access to the
world’s information.
• Speed is key.
•Thewisdomofcrowdsisaccessiblebyall.
The first principle of today’s digital eco-
system is the accessibility of information.
Google-empowered consumers have access
to all the data they need to make a purchase
decision. Often, consumers are better armed
thandealers.Thissimplefactcutsthelegsout
from under the traditional view of how cars
shouldbesold.Underthetraditionalview,the
keyistohideinformationuntilthecustomer
is in the dealer’s clutches. In the worst forms
of this approach, the up is bagged, tagged
and dragged through a Fargo-style sales pro-
cess, “controlled” by the dealer at every step.
Most dealers have progressed beyond these
extremes, but remnants of the traditional
approach linger. For instance, only 38% of
dealers share the price when first requested,
according to JD Power. Twenty-five percent
of dealers will never share the price until the
customer is on the lot.
The problem is that such an approach no
longerworks.TheInternetcustomerwillkeep
the dealer at arm’s length until the dealer has
won her trust. To win that trust, she expects
transparency.Ifacustomerrequeststheprice,
the successful dealer understands that the
customer has shared her request with mul-
tiple dealers — he’s now on trial — and to
do anything other than send a price quote
response will imperil the deal and frustrate
the customer.
Further, the successful dealer understands
that it’s not enough to just respond with a
price quote. The second principle of today’s
digitalecosystemisthepowerofspeed.When
a customer requests information from a
dealer, she wants it quickly. Speed of price
quote response has been shown to correlate
highly to increased sales, especially when
achieved within 10 minutes.
Yet 25% of all leads don’t get answered
at all, according to Cobalt, and the average
response time on those that do is over five
hours.Followingupwithaphonecallwithin
an hour is also key, but only 25% of all leads
receive any call at all.
Lack of transparency and poor, slow
response to Internet requests comprise twin
threats to a dealer. It’s not just the lost deal:
such practices can cost the dealer his reputa-
tion. Which brings us to the third key prin-
cipleoftoday’sdigitalecosystem:dealersmust
respectthepoweroftheWisdomofCrowds.
Consider the danger of the frustrated
customer. She has powerful tools at her dis-
posal to publicly vent that frustration, to the
dealer’s great harm. In the Internet’s public
square, ratings and reviews travel to every
corner of the dealer’s market, propelled by
Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo and thousands of
othersites.ThroughtheWisdomofCrowdsa
disaffectedcustomer(andespeciallymanydis-
affected customers) can profoundly impact a
dealer’sbusinessbyessentiallycounter-adver-
tising:alertingotherprospectivecustomersto
the dealer’s poor business practices.
This new digital reality has fundamentally
changed the game. In this brave new world,
dealer business success rides on a well-built
reputation, which in turn rides on the favor-
ableimpressionofpastandcurrentcustomers,
which in turn rides on the dealer’s ability
to support and facilitate the customer’s car-
buying process with transparency, prompt-
ness, fair pricing and good service. In a very
real sense, each deal is much more than just
a deal.Yes, a car was either purchased or not.
But under either scenario, a second dynamic
is in play. Was the customer satisfied with
the experience or not? On that, the dealer’s
reputation—and his business future—hang.
Tom Mohr is CEO of ResponseLogix, and has
worked closely with auto dealers for 25 years.
Prior to ResponseLogix, Mohr was president of
Knight Ridder Digital, where he was on the
board of Cars.com.
If you wish to discuss this article with
other dealers, or with the author, please
go to the “Discussion Forums” at www.
Dealer-communications.com and enter
the “Internet Sales” forum or e-mail
himattmohr@Dealer-communications.
com.
IGITAL Dealer INTERNET SALESD
Tom Mohr
“In the Internet’s public
square, ratings and
reviews travel to every
corner of the dealer’s
market, propelled by
Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo
and thousands
of other sites.”
—Tom Mohr

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Take Video Off the ‘To Do’ List
F
or many dealers the message is becom-
ing clear that it’s time to get video off
the “to do” list and onto the Internet
to capitalize on what customers have dem-
onstrated is their preferred method of receiv-
ing information.
A recent panel of automotive marketing
experts unanimously agreed the biggest chal-
lenge facing dealers this year will be finding
ways to sell more cars while spending less.
By being aware and taking advantage of
this consumer buying trend, you’ll have a
chance to do both.
What we have here is a natural progres-
sion similar to 12 years ago, when it was first
suggested that dealers include a photo of the
advertised vehicle in their online classified
advertisement.
Many at the time questioned the value,
although it was what the customers told
us they wanted. From there, to stay visibly
relevant, it evolved and became necessary
to include multiple photos to meet the
demands of online shoppers. Today, many
dealers include 30 to 40 photos, providing
a graphic walk-around of the car.We’ve now
become so conditioned as customers that
many of us will not even consider viewing
an ad unless it has photos. It’s that instinc-
tive disregard that tells you that you need
to take the extra step by providing video,
or again risk being viewed as irrelevant.
The customer once again has demonstrated
their desire for a medium that has become
mainstream.
While TV has provided the consumer
with information in the past, online videos
have become more impactful. The big dif-
ference between TV and online video is
that information viewed via TV is more
likely to cause the customer to make a
mental note and continue watching their
program, while after viewing an online video
they are already in front of their computer,
have searched for specific information and
are poised to take action. It’s the dynamic
content in videos that cause customers to
stay on sites longer, view more inventory
than originally intended, and in many
cases, contact the dealership to gain more
information, visit the dealership or make
an immediate purchase.
If you’re still hesitant, take a look at this
information. In November 2009, 170.6
million U.S. visitors viewed 31 billion
videos in just one month according to
comScore; this is up from 146 million visi-
tors and 12.7 billion videos from the same
timeframe in 2008.
According to Ad Age, for dealerships
looking to build their brands online, video
represents a low-cost, low-risk way to con-
nect with in-market consumers in the chan-
nel where they will do the majority of their
product research. Recognizing this, six-in-10
car dealers say they will incorporate videos
on their web sites and in marketing efforts
because the effect of the dynamic content
of video has proven to engage customers
longer, more often and effectively.
The fact is that there is a monster oppor-
tunity out there and you need to be part of
it. The customer has spoken.
What if the additional exposure increases
the time customers spend on your website
viewing inventory, ultimately motivating
them to buy from your dealership? You
could spend more time selling to proven
in-market car shoppers, instead of trying
to find them.
Do nothing, and you’ll lose sales to the
60% of dealers who are posting videos. It’s
time to get video off your “to do” list and
onto the Internet so they can help you sell
more cars.
Rob Lange is the national sales training direc-
tor for Kelley Blue Book.
other dealers, or with the author,
please go to the “Discussion Forums”
at www.Dealer-communications.com
and enter the “Internet Sales” forum
or e-mail him at rlange@Dealer-
communications.com.
Rob Lange

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It’s a Performance – Make Sure Everyone
Knows Their Roles
F
or dealers, your
store often
tells the story
of your life. This is especially true for those
second- and third-generation dealers. Every
day, your dealership puts on a show for the
consumer. The customers are your audience
and you are the director. When you open the
doors, you are pulling back the curtain for all
tosee.You’vebroughtinthecastandpaidtheir
wages.Now,areyousureeveryoneknowswhat
they are supposed to do?While we hire talent
to run our dealerships, we don’t always guide
themwithwrittenjobdescriptions.Wemust.
“Places, everyone, places,” the director
shouts. You have put everyone in position,
butcanyouensureyourcastunderstandswhat
needs to be done?
Many of your sales managers and service
writers have been given the title and respon-
sibility because they’ve succeeded on the sales
floor or as a service tech. They’ve filled in
during the absences of other managers and
excelled. When promoted, though, few are
given quality-written job descriptions detail-
ing what their position entails because we feel
they already know what is asked of them. Or
perhapsajobdescriptionwasn’tprovidedsolely
because many don’t know what to include.
A job description simply states the roles
and responsibilities required of the position,
along with a reporting structure and details
involving hours and expectations. It should
addressfuturequestions,employees’potential
forgrowth/earnings,functionsofthejob,skills
needed, and how actions will be conducted.
Job title
Confirm the title of their position.
Representative, associate, consultant, special-
ist,coordinator,manager,anddirectorallmean
differentthingstodifferentpeople.Havingthe
jobtitlespelledoutwilldeterthemfromasking
foraspecialdesignatingwordontheirbusiness
cards (i.e. the ever-popular “sales specialist”
being chosen over “sales representative.”)
Salary range
This serves as a reference guide to compa-
rable salaries within the industry. Make sure
thestartingsalaryisnoted,aswellasmid-range
(and high) expectations for the position. If
applicable,specifycommissions,performance
bonuses,percentageofprofit,andanypotential
raises for long-term employment.
Purpose of the position
Specify the objectives of the position. This
section allows you to place a little weight on
their shoulders and makes them understand
howimportantofaroletheyplayintheoverall
success of the dealership and the team.
Job description/list of duties
Beginning with the most important tasks
first, list every duty required of them to per-
formtheirposition.Asthelistcontinues,detail
what their role is in the completion of each
task.Aretheysimplydelegatingtheworkand
ensuringitisdoneorisittheirpersonalrespon-
sibility to complete it?
Hierarchy and team
Define who they will be reporting to and
what individuals will be reporting directly
to them. Many new employees come in
with the expectation that due to their title
of manager, everyone without the title of
manager reports to them.This can be a sen-
sitive situation in those dealerships where
the Internet department team reports
solely to their director and that director
reports to the general manager only. It is
best to clarify this “structure” of the depart-
ments upfront so there is no confusion
and specify who is on their “team.” New
employees understanding their supervisory
role is imperative to their success and the
streamlined processes you’ve created within
your dealership.
Ideal candidate/skills needed
The new employees must be told the skills
they are going to need to be successful in the
position.Iftherearecertainsolutions,software,
or programs that are imperative they know
goingin,itisbesttodetailithere.Iftheyareto
havecompletedcertaintasksduringtheirpast
experiences, describe how the ideal candidate
for the position will utilize those abilities.
Hours
We’re in the auto industry and it is well
known that we often work insane hours.
That being said, it is necessary to assign
specific work hours expected for the posi-
tion and include the dealership’s operating
hours as well.
‘And other duties assigned’
The beauty of the car business is that no
two days are the same. Every customer is dif-
ferentandeachdaythereisanewcircumstance
to handle or concern to assuage. Including
“andotherdutiesassigned”tellstheemployees
they are responsible for those random chores
that essentially help “take care of business.”
Hopefully, we are all hiring those candidates
that are looking to take on more responsibil-
ity and willing to fill up that rare free time
during the day with goal-oriented objectives
on their own.
This statement of duties should be pro-
vided to every new employee on day one
to overcome any unforeseen conflicts in the
future. After all, it is usually the bad perfor-
mancefromanemployeethatcausesthestore
to lose a sale or valuable customer, but in the
end, it will be you who shoulders the blame.
Preparing written, detailed job descriptions
foreverypositioninthedealership(nomatter
howbigorhowsmall)providestotalaccount-
ability because they now “know their role.”
With their roles clearly defined, you are
setting them up on a path for success. As the
director, you’ve given them their lines, their
blocking, and all of the notes necessary for
them to perform for the public day in and
day out. The rest is up to them to put on a
good show.
JoeWebbisthepresidentofDealerKnowsLLC,an
automotive digital marketing consultation firm.
the“InternetSales”forumore-mailhim
atjwebb@Dealer-communications.com.
Joe Webb

Driving Better Closing Results
Experts share their closing secrets
T
he close is the ultimate measure-
ment of the effectiveness of a sales
process. Retailers around the world
go through countless steps to drive interest
in their product but it is wasted energy if it
doesn’t translate into sales. Really nice and
talentedInternetdirectorslosetheirjobsevery
month when they forget that their responsi-
bility is to push unit sales.
Thereisnotonestandardwithintheindus-
try for metrics beyond the basics; close by
lead source and a monthly budget.What is a
goodclosingratiotoday?Shouldadealership
determine a cost per close per lead provider
and cut off providers that do not meet a cer-
tainminimumstandard?IfIhavethebudget,
shouldIsimplycontinuetobuyleadstodrive
sales?Aretheretoolstohelp?Thesequestions
were given to a group of directors.
DianeAndersonise-commercedirectorat
Hubler Automotive Group in Indianapolis.
Diane was hired as the BDC manager for
Hubler Chevrolet in February 2009 and
was then promoted to take over the group
in June and create a centralized BDC. The
Chevrolet closing ratio moved from 5% to
15% (recent months) while the group (10
stores) is now averaging 11%. Diane actually
accomplishedthiswhilecuttingbothstaffand
ineffective lead providers. Her staff includes
twofull-timebusinessdevelopmentrepresen-
tatives (BDR) and one part-time employee.
Thirdpartyproviderswerecancelledforpoor
performance and to streamline the current
initiatives. “It made more sense to get the
department up to par before wasting money
on leads that were not being managed cor-
rectly,” stated Diane.
Diane initially focused on producing a
quality process in the following areas:
• Management of the leads as they came
into the CRM tool (Auto Jockey)
•Phone skills withinboundopportunities
• Phone skills for outbound follow-up
Rather than forcing X number of calls, the
focus and pay was directed to shows and
closes. Both measurements jumped. Show
ratiojumpedfrom42%to63%andtheclos-
ing ratio moved from 33% to 52% (close/
show). Follow up on every lead (presently
at five attempts in 21 days…with a goal of
nine attempts).
•Long-termfollow-upoftheunsoldleads.
Thisincludedaseriesofe-mailsbasedonthe
current status of the client and scheduled
reminders for outbound call follow-up (180
days).
Bottom line: the Chevrolet dealership in
2008 delivered 454 units from 9,141 leads
withfiveBDRs.In2009,thesamedealership
delivered460unitsfrom4,165leadswithtwo
BDRs. The additional nine dealerships for
the Hubler group consolidated leads to the
twoBDRsattheChevroletdealershipinJuly.
Forthesecondhalfof2009,thoseadditional
2,851 leads accounted for an additional 294
deliveries (10%).
Wayne Ussery is the e-commerce director
for the Jim Ellis Group in Atlanta.
Wayne considers a cumulative close rate
of 10 % to be the floor.The Jim Ellis Group
strivesforhigherpercentages,butmoststores
average 9-12% for a close rate against total
leads. All leads must be tracked to accurately
get a true ratio. Wayne does not believe that
a true closing ratio is a diluted top number.
Somedealershipsforexamplehaveapractice
of deleting out of market customers. Wayne
also includes phone leads, tracked by sales
people gathering data and inputting into the
CRM system, as well as chat sessions.
The Ellis Group does break out closing
ratios by lead source. They monitor the cost
persale,aswellasthe“trendingclosingratio”.
“We make the choice to cut off a lead source
when the trending reaches a low, sometimes
based on just closing ratio, but other factors
are also considered,” according to Wayne. If
the lead provider generates traffic to the Jim
Ellis sites, those leads hold more value which
is factored into the analysis.Those providers,
responsiblefordrivingwebtraffic,willreceive
some additional grace. Wayne also considers
thetruevalueoftheleadprovidersbeforecut-
tingthemoff.Iftheclosingratioislow,AND
they are not sending traffic, those providers
are fired quickly. Quality leads are critical to
the Jim Ellis team.
The Mile One team consists of 65 dealer-
ships in the northeast. The better Mile One
dealerships exceed 20% with their closing
ratios.Thegrouptracksinexcessof15%.The
goalofthegroup,accordingtoDavidMetter,
is to drive organic and VIN specific leads for
each dealership. David and his team devel-
opedstrategiestocutoutthefatbydeveloping
metrics that allow them to score leads with
50 data points. One company supporting
the Mile One team is RL Polk, which devel-
oped a lead scoring tool. Metter compares it
to buying individual stocks. You would not
invest money in a company without some
type of analysis. Metter wants to have the
ability to focus on the people most likely to
buy and he wants to know what the best
possible match is for a prospect (type of unit,
price…).Thisapproachhasalsocutturnover
with Internet salespeople to 3%-4%. “If you
have a stable sales team, you can always get
better closing ratios,” according to Metter. If
you can provide the salespeople quality leads
with a good pay plan, people stay. The Mile
Oneteamhasperformedwellatbeingprocess
oriented and tactical with their approach to
e-commerce.
Apple Auto Group is based in the
Minneapolis area and it includes two Ford
dealerships and a third location for pre-
owned. Michael Groves is the e-commerce
director. The group has a minimal accept-
able performance goal of 10.5% for their
closing rate. The expectation is 12.5% with
Phil Sura

DigitalDealer-magazine.com April 2010 DD 17
15% being a stretch goal. This includes all
Internet, phone, and live chat leads com-
bined. Michael also grades his staff on how
many leads to appointments are set as well as
appointments set to show.The BDC’s job is
to get the maximum amount of customers
through the door as possible. When a guest
getstothedealershipthehandoffprocesshas
to be streamlined and consistent to ensure
a maximum level of customer service. All
set appointments are confirmed by a sales
manager. The customer is then greeted by
thatsalesmanagerandintroducedtothesales
consultant.Thesalesconsultantisresponsible
forstartingandwarminguptheVINspecific
unit that the guest is interested in looking at.
This also includes confirming that the car
has fuel and that it is ready for a test drive,
to ensure a good guest experience.
All Internet leads are tracked into their
Autobase CRM. The dealership also tracks
sales calls which are routed into a global
BDC. All calls are uploaded to the BRM
tool for notes and they are followed up for
180 days. Michael believes that you need to
have a source of truth for all data to ensure the
leastamountofdataerror.Accuratedatawith
notes, e-mail history and the source allows
you to make smart decisions on where to
invest your marketing dollars. Michael also
believesthatitisimperativetobreakoutdata
includingclosingratiosbyleadprovider.Any
lead provider over a cost of $200 per sale is
in the red and they may be cancelled. Some
providers may be higher than $200 but are
a necessity to hit certain volume levels. One
provider for example was slightly more than
$200persoldunitbutthatproviderwasspe-
cificallytiedtothesaleof27units.TheApple
team will still bend on this formula for good
business.TheendresultisthatMichael’steam
delivered 166 units (only e-commerce deals)
during the month of December from 988
leads for a 16.67% closing ratio.This placed
Apple Ford 50th in ranking for ecommerce
sales for all Ford dealerships.
Here are some suggestions:
1. Develop a process that tracks all leads.
Don’t eliminate leads to make your numbers
look artificially high. You will never know if
you are doing a good job.
2. Track the performance of each lead
provider and set store standards with closing
ratios and cost per sold unit.
3. Develop a process which treats guests
coming in on an appointment special.
4. The goal should not just be grabbing
any lead provider that you can find. Higher
volumedoesn’talwaysleadtoabetterdepart-
ment.Youmayfrustrateyourteambyprovid-
ing leads that add little value.
5. Develop a means to score the leads.
6. Focus on quality. As in the case of
Hubler, you may need to take a step back-
wardstogetthebasicsinplacebeforemoving
forward.
7. Seek knowledge. It is only hard if you
refuse to improve. Attend the next Digital
Dealer Conference, read the magazine,
and subscribe to a blog (Digital Dealer
will be starting a blog and you can join
Dealer Refresh).
Phil Sura is a VP of the Automotive Division
of UnityWorks Media.
other dealers, or with the author,
please go to the “Discussion Forums”
at www.Dealer-communications.com
and enter the “Internet Sales” forum
or e-mail him at psura@Dealer-
communications.com.
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CAR-ResearchXRM_halfpage2.pdf 1 3/16/2010 11:13:51 AM

Joshua Fichter
COVER STORY

Number one for two years among Ford dealerships in Internet sales,
Sam Pack’s Five Star Ford in North Richland Hills, TX, and the group’s
other two stores in Carrollton and Lewisville, are some of the most
respected dealerships in the country.
Joshua Fichter, director of operations for the North Richland Hills
dealership credits support from the senior management and an attitude
of constant learning as the reasons the three stores are so successful.
Tell us how you got into this business.
Well, I got into the car business on a bet
with my parents back in 1996.They wanted
metogetoutofwhattheycalleda‘dead-end’
job and try car selling. I said okay as long as
long as they would pay my bills if I failed at
it. Low and behold, 15 years later and I am
still waiting to cash in on paying my bills.
I started with Allan Vigil Ford in Atlanta
and sold there for 18 months.Then I moved
to Texas where my family was at the time
to work for Sam Pack’s Five Star Ford in
Februaryof1998asaretailfloorsalesperson.
InAugustof1998,theyaskedmeifIwanted
to try Internet sales. I said sure, what was it?
They said well, there’s the computer and you
go figure it out, so that’s what I did.
Why do you think they asked you to do
that?
I was the type of salesperson who was
always looking for a prospect to hand out
postcards to people whose cars would be
coming up. And I was always the type of
personwhowouldgrabthoseandworkthem.
Ithinkalotofithadtodowithhowtheysaw
me from a follow-up standpoint. I’m not a
techieperson,butIhavesometechnicalskills.
Also,itisjustmynaturetotakesomethingon
that is a little different. I worked the process
to get the customer to visit the store.
That was the early the days of the Web.
Yes, that was back in the day when every
Internet customer had a 700 beacon score
and cash to plop down, and was willing to
pay for the convenience of buying online. It
was a different time.
But, like a lot of dealers, the management
at Five Star wanted the proof ahead of time.
So, I was a one-man show for a year and a
half.Hindsightbeing20/20,there’snotelling
how many sales we lost, because I had too
many leads, I couldn’t follow-up properly.
I was handling 200-250 leads a month by
myself and selling the car cradle to grave.
So, it wasn’t real good, a lot of it was if the
customerneverresponded,Ineverresponded
and that was just reality.
When did you start adding staff?
Over the course of time, it appeared we
needed additional people. Also, my wife was
goingtohaveourfirstchild.So,Iaskedthem
who was going to replace me for that time.
They asked who I wanted. I told them,
Kelly Blackwell, and they agreed.
Kelly sat down in front of the computer
and said, ‘Okay, tell me about the Internet,
I’ve never been on it before.’ He proceeded
to sell 29 and a half cars that month. We still
joke about that today, because the Internet is
not about technical, it is still sales.
It was off to the races then.
Ournumbersmorethandoubledimmedi-
ately in March of 2000. If you have the right
number of people working, with the right
number of leads and follow up, in general
you are going to sell more cars.
We added our third person in January
2001. I left internet as my focus to start a
businessdevelopmentcenterhereatthedeal-
ership in the start of 2002. Since then, our
Internetdepartmenthasgrownto11internet
salesmanagerswithafull-timedirector.And,
I’m still not certain we have enough people,
especially with some conversations we have
had in the past couple of days.
How do you handle the Internet leads?
A lot of dealerships went with Ford on the
business development center idea and rolled
their Internet departments into the BDC –
which we never did.
There are different ways to handle leads.
We have always been a cradle to the grave
storewithourInternetdepartment.Ourguys
—withtheexceptionofsigningthecustomer
upinfinance—doeverything,fromthefirst
contact, to the demos, to the negotiation to
everything else. So, you can’t handle as many
leads as a business development center. We
didn’t feel like moving it to a stand alone
business development center where you had
thecallerswastherightwaytogo.ButIknow
a lot of dealerships who do it successfully.
We use Dealer Socket as our lead manage-
ment tool, and all of the leads come in to an
e-mail address. We can manage all of our
leads and follow up by source, so based on
the source it is coming into we can manage
and see how easily different sources perform.
Wehaveacompletefollow-upprocessfor180
days from when a lead comes in.
What do you see as being a big challenge
still for dealers?
HavingbeeninvolvedwithInternetsalesnow
for 12 years, I see dealers still having problems
puttingtherightnumberofpeopletotheright
number of leads that they are getting. What
that number is, opinions vary. There is cer-
tainlysomethingtobesaidifyouhavesomeone
handling 80 leads a month, and you’re doing
a front-to-back process, then they’ve got too
many leads. If they are just the person on the
phone,theycanhandleawholelotmoreleads.
You’ve expanded beyond just being an
Internet sales guy.
Imovedintobusinessdevelopmentforfive
years, trying several scenarios. We’ve had big
staffs,smallerstaffs,amixofsalespeople,then
just salespeople.

Then in February of 2008, we started on a
newpath,whichistheDirectorofOperations
title. It involves the sales side right now and
working through on processes and how we
canleveragetechnologytohelpusmore,that
kind of stuff.
What are you looking to do this year?
We are looking at the buzz words right
now — social networking, and online repu-
tation management. I have a person whose
onlyfocusismanagingthesocialnetworking,
ensuring that we have constant contact and
content going out. But it’s not sales content
— its content to stay in front of customers.
We‘re quickly building that up and for
the potential to reach people we have never
reached before. If you look at the statistics, if
you have 2,000 fans, and all of them have an
averageof180friends,withtherightmessage
and the right people getting involved, you
could reach nearly 360,000 people with a
message for free. So, I think, there is a lot of
potential in that, and we are wrapping our
heads around that.
You’re also focusing on reputation
management.
We have been working with DealerRater.
com for about two weeks. We are just right
now getting our hands wrapped around
online reputation management. I think a lot
of dealers are getting into that, and what is
the right way to do it? I don’t know if anyone
knows the right way right now.
We’re also launching a new website for all
of our stores, and a new group site that will
hopefullybeupbeforethisarticlecomesout.
I’m also trying to get away from using lots
of vendors as plug-ins, and move to a digital
services provider so to speak. So I can get
better reporting and analytics. Then we can
gotothenextphase,whichisbetteradvertis-
ing, remarketing and behavioral targeting.
Funneling everything through one vendor
that can manage all the analytics will give us
a better idea of what is happening.There are
a lot of irons in the fire right now.
So, a lot of changes?
We are reviewing everything right now.
I think it is good to do that. My Internet
manager will shop other dealers, but it goes
beyond that. It stems from support from our
uppermanagementthatencouragesustocon-
stantly look for ways to improve.We’ve been
to four different Digital Dealer Conferences,
and April will be our fifth. We just returned
from another training. We are constantly
listening and talking and seeing what other
people are doing, because we aren’t going to
think of everything ourselves. Even though
our numbers are good, we aren’t as good as
we think we are. That is just human nature.
It is always good to step back and evaluate.
Are you using the web to market your fixed
operations department?
We haven’t done much of that in the past.
We do run multipoint inspections service
ads on the local newspaper site just to build
awareness. We also e-mail consumers who
haven’t been in for service in the last 6-12
months,12-18monthsandover18months.
Sam Pack’s stores have been strong nation-
ally among Ford stores with Internet sales.
As far as Ford source leads are concerned,
in 2007 and 2008 the North Richland Hills
store was number one for Ford-sourced lead
sales volume. And in 2009 we got edged out
in the last month by one sale by my good
friends at Galpin Ford.
Our Carrollton store ranked 12th while
the Lewisville store finished 16th.
So these were leads that Ford was provid-
ing you?
Yes, this particular award or ranking is for
leads provided by Ford, which matches leads
intheirsalestrackingsystemtosalesreported
by dealers.
As you look back on the last several years,
what is the one or two things that you
look back on and shake your head and
ask, ‘What was I thinking?’
Well, I have one.We saw the trend of sales
goingdownandmadethemistakeofcutting
the number of people we had in the Internet
department.
Itwasn’tdrastic–weweredownoneperson.
Nothavingthatonepersoncausedourclosing
ratiostogodownontopoflosingsales.So,we
got caught up with this negative syndrome.
Althoughsalesdidgodownoverallnation-
ally,thepercentofretailsalesthattheInternet
makes up in relation the dealer sales didn’t
go down. In fact it grew. The power of the
Internet continues to show us that more and
morepeoplearelookingforinformationand
coming through that Web portal.
On the flip side, what was the one thing
you look back on and say, ‘Yea, I know
what I’m doing.’
I don’t know if I have ever said that.
Well there has to be one thing, from the
dealership perspective, you can say, ‘We
tookthisdirection,sawitandjumpedonit.’
Well I think that is really 12 years of
embracing the Internet as a place to do busi-
ness rather than fighting it. Tony Pack, our
dealer principal, back in 1995 was one of the
firstdealershipstosignupwithAutobytel.He
had a vision of the power of the Internet and
we have made that come to life.
Joshua Fichter credits support from the senior management and an attitude
of constant learning as the reasons the three stores are so successful.

It has taken several people — me, our
Internet director, Kelly Blackwell and man-
agement, to say we need to keep moving
forward. There was a time when Kelly said
he needed more people and I pushed back
sayingyouarejustcuttingyourotherpeople’s
throats. But, with more people, he got more
leads and we sold more cars and grew.
SoIguessthebiggestpartofthisisforTony
Pack and our general manager Terry Rich,
and all the way down the team, Internet is
not only a niche market, but it is becoming
more of a mainstream area to participate in
and we better be doing it and doing it right.
Managementhasbeengreatprovidingthe
rightsupport.Ifyouembraceityouaregoing
tobesuccessfulatit.Ifyouignoreit,thenyou
will get exactly what you put into it
When you look short at the term future,
let’s say the next year or two, are you seeing
any trends?
I think one of our focuses has been to look
at the lead providers that have been providing
quality, not quantity. There is a lot of overlap
frommajorplayersbuyingleadsfromsecondary
sources. We have done away with those.
KellyBlackwellcameupwiththis.Hewould
rather have less leads so he can focus time on
the quality leads. I think from a buying leads
standpoint,therewillprobablybeashiftdown
to leads coming to dealerships via the social
networkingsites.Notthatyouaregoingtosell
onthere,butcustomersarefindingyouthere.
And then, from a standpoint of the search
engine optimization and marketing, we’ll use
our own site to generate leads.
What’s your perspective on the type of
information you provide to someone who
sendsaleadorcalls?Doyouprovideaprice
and range of vehicles?
Weprovideprice100%ofthetime,andwe
try our best to offer multiple vehicle options.
We are not afraid to give it to the customer. I
still contend that a customer on the Internet
wants to do business with the local dealer, as
long as the local dealer provides them with
the service and information in the form that
they want to receive it.
What’s your mix, do you get a lot of e-mail
leads, or is it mostly phone?
We get a lot of e-mail leads more than
the phone. The phone rings too, but in
the scheme of things, used car providers,
Autotrader.com, you’re going to get more
phonecallsthane-mailleads,butfromanew
leadstandpoint,andyou’regoingtogetmore
e-mail leads than phone calls. I think that is
a big difference with used cars.
Are you guys looking at mobile initiatives?
We are. Our new site will be optimized
for mobile. I just haven’t gotten my head
wrapped around how it is going to work. It
is coming, but how it plays out at the dealer
level, I am not quite certain yet. I know we
need a website that will show up on a phone
the way a customer is going to want to see it.
That is step one.
Steptwo,weneedtobeabletoadapttothe
way the customer wants to communicate, so
ifitistext,makeittext.Therearegoingtolots
of changes as we’ve already seen. Accepting
that change is inevitable, and stay with it and
stay a step ahead of it is the goal.
jfichter@dealer-communications.com
but thanks to ResponseLogix, he sent out
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So, what is Dominion Dealer Solutions? Turns out, it is more than
meets the eye. Dominion Dealer Solutions provides technology
expertise for most departments in a dealership. From inventory
management to showroom customer management to service
retention marketing, Dominion Dealer Solutions presents some
of the industry’s leading software providers. The list of businesses
in the Dominion group is impressive: lead generation through
carloan.com; customer relationship management tools through
AVV, Autobase, and @utoRevenue; web sites through Dealerskins,
XIGroup and Dealer Specialties; inventory management through
Dealer Specialties; and industry research through Cross-Sell.
Together, these businesses serve more than 60 percent of auto
dealers nationwide.
Dominion Enterprises collected these well-known brands in
order to offer car dealers unmatched marketing technology
tools. “The only thing we don’t offer is a DMS” says Robert
Berndt, president of Dominion Dealer Solutions, a division of
Dominion Enterprises, “and that piece doesn’t really fit our core
strength. We’re a marketing technology firm, helping dealers
with all of their customer-facing needs.” Truth is, Dominion
Dealer Solutions is more than just the sum of its parts. Here’s a
rundown of its businesses:
Autobase offers an entire suite of cutting-edge marketing
solutions and time-tested sales processes that drive and close
significantly more business in the showroom and service lane.
@utoRevenue produces quantifiable results by sending the
right message at the right time through the right channel.
Through skilled consultants, innovative systems, networked
communications and tools, @utoRevenue drives customer
retention and loyalty with relevant, consistent, and bi-directional
messages.
AVV Web Control provides dealers with secure web-based tools
to convert prospects into repeat customers through a proprietary
lead and customer management program.
Carloan.com specializes in delivering high-quality, high-intent
special finance car buyers by utilizing cutting edge lead
generation and scoring technology.
Cross-Sell helps dealerships make better inventory decisions,
develop effective selling strategies, and find additional finance
sources by delivering over 5,000 fully customized vehicle market
intelligence reports each month.
IGITAL Dealer VENDOR PROFILED
Robert Berndt, president of Dominion Dealer Solutions is often asked, “What does
your company do?” “Almost everything,” is his regular response. “We feature many
of the industry’s leading technology brands, names you know by heart – it’s not sur-
prising you don’t know Dominion, but you do know our brands.”

DataOne Software offers comprehensive and robust automotive
dataset support products and services that span all aspects of
the automotive and associated industries.
Working in tandem, The DataCube and SelectQu service over
12,000 dealerships nationwide. The DataCube Software Solution
is specially created to help dealerships sell cars and book service
appointments online. SelectQu is a bi-directional data transfer
program managing in excess of 100,000 daily data transfers at
over 12,000 dealerships.
Dealer Specialties provides a comprehensive suite of inventory
management solutions, websites, Internet marketing tools and
enhanced vehicle listings distributed online. Dealers can choose
from full-service data collection to industry leading in-house
products to manage their inventory, giving them the best value
for their changing needs.
Dealerskins delivers visually-engaging and search engine
optimized automotive websites that convert car shoppers into
car buyers through the use of consumer-centric products, easy-
to-use-tools and superior customer support.
XIGroup provides cost-effective websites and superior customer
service to franchise and independent car dealers. XIGroup offers
a unique blend of customizable designs, easy to use tools, and
search engine expertise.

In the fall of 2008, Robert Berndt, who
had recently assumed leadership of this
newly formed division, faced a challenge.
For the previous three years, Dominion
Enterprises had engaged in a buying
spree, plucking some of the best providers
in automotive marketing technology.
“The goal was to allow these businesses
to thrive as individual, standalone
businesses, providing them with RD
resources and some basic administrative
oversight,” says Berndt. But, the industry
was nose-diving, and the buying habits
of clients were changing. Dealers were
increasingly opting to work with as few
vendors as possible. The existing line-up
of businesses forced customers to work
with each, individual business – not an
ideal customer service arrangement.
Berndt began to make changes.
Working closely with the businesses’
management teams, he began to
reorganize for optimal customer service,
invested in technology and marketing
infrastructure, and changed the name of
the division. The decentralized Dominion
automotive group became Dominion
Dealer Solutions. This name more closely
reflected the essence of the division
– providing integrated marketing
technology and expertise to car dealers.
But, the individual brands would remain
independent. “Our primary strength is
our expertise within these businesses.
We do not want to compromise their
entrepreneurial talent or diminish their
brands in any way,” says Berndt. He
continues, “Our goal, to help car dealers
attract, retain, and service customers for
life, cannot be met if we don’t build on
those strengths.”
This building process has relied heavily
on feedback from customers. Dealers
such as Rodger Lau, executive vice
president at Jeffrey Tamaroff Automotive
Family, provide regular feedback to
their counterparts at Autobase and
Dealerskins. “Bryan Anderson, the
founder and general manager of
Autobase, is a true business partner. We
talk all of the time about improvements
in the software to benefit my people.
Bryan not only listens – he acts on those
suggestions,” says Lau.
As the businesses build technology
bridges, they bring exponential value
to their own customers. For example,
Autobase CRM customers can now take
advantage of the web-based service-
scheduler, @utoScheduler, provided by @
utoRevenue. This integration augments
the existing contact history found in an
Autobase customer record with a full
account of all related @utoRevenue
marketing efforts. When used in
tandem with Market Center, the all-
new campaign tool from Autobase, this
integration aggregates all campaigns
into a single list, whether their origin
was Market Center or @utoRevenue. This
seamless integration offers customers
two major benefits: a single access point
for critical customer information, and
a continuum of consistent branding
throughout the lifetime of the customer
/ dealer relationship.
XIGroup customers have also benefited
from an inventory integration project
with Dealer Specialties. In response to
requests from customers that needed
more frequent updates on their websites
to reflect pricing and availability changes,
XIGroup worked with Dealer Specialties
to develop real-time inventory updates
for all joint customers. Dealers now
do not have to worry about manually
updating their website with mid-day
price and inventory changes. Those
changes on a dealer’s XIGroup website
are seamlessly done through the Dealer
Specialties IVM tool in real time, making
this combined offering between our
two companies the most unique in the
marketplace today.
These types of software advancements
and integrations allow dealers to simplify
their workload. Dealers can concentrate
on crafting the marketing message and
then rely on the Autobase-@utoRevenue
system to implement it. Likewise, the
XIGroup-Dealer Specialties inventory
tool allows dealers to concentrate on
retailing their cars effectively instead of
spending time completing price fields
on multiple websites. Damon Cartelli,
general manager of the Fathers Sons
Dealer Group, admits that “the more
automation I can bring to my dealerships,
the better the financial results. I prefer
to work with vendors that can supply
multiple tools with a simple customer
service interface.”
Berndt reports that these examples
are the beginnings of the intended
cross-business partnerships within
Dominion Dealer Solutions. “Most of
our customers use multiple products
from our businesses,” says Berndt. “We
will continue to learn how to make
their jobs more productive with our
technology.” In a recent conversation,
Cartelli confided, “My dealerships work
with @utoRevenue, AVV, SelectQu,
Autobase, Dealerskins, and Dealer
Specialties. It looks like I’m a ‘Dominion’
customer now.” That was music to
Robert Berndt’s ears.
Advertiser..............................pg #
ActivEngage...............................15
AutoSoft.....................................26
AutoRevo.....................................4
AutoUSA....................................28
BZ Results.....................................3
Car Research..............................17
Dealer.com...................................5
DealerPeak (Widestorm)..........12
Dealerskins...................................7
FirstLook.......................................9
Homenet....................................11
IMN Loyalty Driver....................13
NADA Used Car Guide..............25
ResponseLogix...........................21

Five Tips for Prepping Staff for
System Change
P
robablythebestthingthathappenedto
measacontrollerwaschange.Iworked
for one dealer that liked to buy dealer-
ships, so I learned about buy/sells. I worked
for a dealership group that liked to move
general managers around (and sometimes
out), so I learned how that position either
succeedsorfails.Iworkedforafewthatliked
tosavemoneybychangingcomputersystems
– and that change was the best learning pro-
cess for me. By changing computer systems
youlearnalotmorethanyouprobablywant,
like how to handle emergencies, where data
is stored, and how your computer system
processes data.
ThebestcomputerconversionsthatIhave
seenhavebeenwherethecontrollerandother
managers are completely prepared. Having a
great install team from the DMS provider or
easytousesoftwarehelps,butIfindthatsuc-
cessisinthehandsofyourkeymanagement.
How? One of my favorite stories is about
a wise man who is famous for being able to
tell what others are thinking. Someone who
wants to prove him wrong carries a live bird
hidden in his hands behind his back. The
persongoestothewisemanandasks,“Ihave
a bird in my hand, is the bird alive or dead?”
If wise man says “dead”, the person can
openhandstoletitflyaway.Ifhesays“alive,”
the person squeezes the bird dead behind his
back.Thewisemananswers,“Theanswerto
that question lies in your hands.”
Makingachangegoeasilyisinyourhands.
There are five keys to handling change:
1. Get the other humans involved.Ifyour
keymanagementwasinvolvedinthedecision,
then they have a vested interest in making
sure the change goes well. If you’re changing
computer systems or buying new software –
make sure they are involved in the selection.
As a computer consultant, I always recom-
mendedassemblingatechnologycommittee
of a parts manager, controller, service advisor
or warranty clerk, Internet manager, and the
dealer/GM.Theyshouldseethenewoptions
and vote on the one they like the best.
2. Schedule the change for the best time
IGITAL Dealer TECHNOLOGY TRENDSD
Sandi Jerome
In a marketplace full of numbers, how do you know which ones to trust when valuing a vehicle? Look to NADA. Our analysts
take the industry’s most comprehensive data and turn it into reliable values that are relevant to your business. Auction. Trade-in.
Retail. Loan. Whether you need them for wholesale or resale. Retail or repo. Leasing or lending. Insurance or assurance that
you’re making the right decision about any used car. It’s all the information you need. All the time. All from one source. NADA.
Experience the full power of NADA’s vehicle information. Visit www.nada.com/power to learn more.
Every value. Everywhere you need them.
auction trade-in loan retail

of the year or month. If you’re converting
computer systems, the best time of the year
isafteraquarterendsandthebesttimeofthe
month is between the 10th and 20th.
3. Make a plan for everything that can go
wrong. Let’s say that you’re changing com-
puter systems. What if you can’t open up a
repair order on the morning of “go live?” Do
you have a plan to still get the work com-
pleted? Remember that we used to fix cars
all the time without a computer. How can
youcalculatepayments?Canyouhand-write
contracts?
4. Have a backup plan for #3 items.Your
backupplanfornotbeingabletowriteservice
ontheneworoldcomputerwouldbetohave
a download of your parts inventory – so you
canchargeoutpartsandyourcustomer’shis-
tory and vehicle file downloaded so you can
figureoutwhattheyhavehaddone(ifyou’ve
gone away from hard copies.) Do you have
some blank repair orders? Great. Otherwise,
what can you use to create a repair order?
Excel? Quickbooks?
5.Clearyourscheduleandeveryoneelse’s.
Duringchange it is important that youfocus
on this one change and not have meetings
planned, vacations schedules and even ask
employees to delay doctor’s appointments.
Have each key manager prepare a staffing
planofhowtheyaregoingtogetthroughthis
changewiththecurrentstaffandifyoumight
need some temporary help while your staff
goes through training. During a computer
conversion,employeesareonly25%produc-
tive.Areyouokaywithonly25%ofthebank
deposit getting to the bank? How about only
25% of your sales?
If you use these five steps for every change
– especially a computer conversion or new
softwareinstallation–youmightendupwith
a live bird when it is all over, but the answer
is in your hands!
SandiJeromeisaformercontroller,CFO,system
administrator, FI, assistant GM, and fixed
operations manager with over 20 years experi-
enceintheautomotiveindustry.Sheistheowner
of Sandi Jerome Computer Consulting.
the“Technology”forumore-mailherat
sjerome@Dealer-communications.com.
Our Users Ranked US #1-
• Speed in Getting Changes and Modifications Made
• Maintenance of Your Daily Business with Minimal Interruptions
• Problem and Concerns being Fixed Correctly the First Time You Call
• Prompt Follow-up to Handle the Needs of You and Your Staff
An endorsed provider
877-427-4367 • sales@autosoft-asi.com • www.autosoft-asi.com
an Affordable, Simpler, Innovative DMS
The Most Likely
Recommended DMS Delivers –
NotSimplySoftwareasaService,ButSoftwareWithTheService!
When asked in the recent NADA 2009 Bi-Annual Survey of Dealership Satisfaction with Dealer System Providers’ Products and Services
“Having a great install
team from the DMS
provider or easy to use
software helps, but I
find that success is in
the hands of your key
management.”
—Sandi Jerome

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Digital dealer april 2010

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