Susan Bromley is the Internet Sales Manager for Lehman Motors, a Volvo dealership in Mechanicsburg, PA. Lehman has about as small of a presence on the Internet as you could imagine, yet they sell up to eight cars per month. And get this...Susan sells and works out of her home, and Lehman's sales force loves it! To see how they do it, read on.
Q: How did you and your dealership get involved in selling cars with the Internet?
Susan: We are a single point Volvo dealer. We just moved to a new location last April. It used to be a Volvo/Saab dealership and they split the two franchises and built a new facility for the Volvo franchise. Last year the Volvo dealership moved to a new area that is a "car row." It has been doing very well. My husband is the General Manager. We started with Internet sales last spring when we brought on an Internet lead generating service and assigned it to a traditional salesman who was also taking leads from the showroom floor. That was not successful. My husband decided to take the new car sales department outside the dealership.
Q: Outside the dealership?
Susan: It was not successful inside the dealership. The leads were not being handled properly and they were not closing. They just were not selling new cars over the Internet. They were selling used cars because, with a Volvo franchise, if someone wants a '95 850, that is the car they want. It is more of a specialized thing. With the new cars the traditional salesperson is going to handle that person face to face. No matter what goes on with the Internet, they are going to try and handle that person face to face. Secondly, you can' t handle an Internet customer the same way you would handle a showroom customer; they are a different breed. You just can't handle them the same way. The salesperson wasn't comfortable with e-mail. So my husband asked me if I would take it over, handle the new car Internet leads. I work from my home doing other Internet things, desktop publishing and things like that. We decided to check it out and make sure it worked instead of going through the expense of hiring another person. He already knew I loved the product and the company. It has been wonderfully successful. When I tell prospects that I am calling them from my home you can just hear the barriers drop. They are very comfortable with that. I am also very up front with them. I tell them that my husband is the General Manager at the dealership. I just give them as much information as they want. I give them comparison information or whatever they ask for.
Q: How do you generate your leads now?
Susan: From an Internet lead generating service. Right now our web site is still under construction. We are not yet on the Internet; we don't have a web site.
Q: How did you work to integrate the sales staff into this Internet endeavor? You are changing the automotive business model to outside the dealership. How did the salespeople react to that?
Susan: Initially they did have a problem with that. At first they may have thought it was taking away from their business. But now they realize that is not the case. First of all, when I get a lead that is from our general area, I go into the system and make sure that customer is not assigned to a salesperson. If they are assigned to a salesperson, then I let the salesperson call them and follow up on it. So I do not steal leads from the salespeople. After we got over that hurdle they became very supportive. There have been occasions where for some reason the customer wasn't logged in and when I talked to them I found out they were already talking to a salesperson. But because I don't get paid commission, it does not make sense for me to split deals. What I do is turn it over to the salesperson. I am in a non-threatening mode, so that helps the acceptance level quite a bit.
Q: How does a customer have delivery of their car and handle their paperwork?
Susan: Most of our cars are delivered. We charge an $80 delivery fee. They are delivered up to two or three hours away. I have a retired gentleman who loves to deliver new cars. If there is a trade-in, we handle all of that over the phone as well. If there is a trade then our retired guy will drive that back. If there is no trade, then we send two drivers. They go over the car with them, give them their gift, and collect the paperwork. What we do is Fed Ex all the paperwork to them in advance so they can review it.
Q: What about test drives?
Susan: I have only had a few people who did not go out and test drive somewhere else. Most of the time the Internet leads have done all their homework; they already know what they want. They have already test driven them and they are ready to buy. A lot of the time they have had bad experiences with dealerships and just don't want to go there. They just don't want a traditional salesperson or they feel that they were not treated respectfully or something, all kinds of reasons. I get horror stories sometimes, but I guess that can be expected in our industry.
Most people just don't want to spend five or six hours at a dealership playing games. They put in a request and I call them. I go over what they are looking for in the vehicle and I give them a price right then and there. It is one-set price; we do not negotiate. That is a win-win situation. The relationship with your customer never gets negative.
Q: How do you sell a car over the phone?
Susan: I am selling the process. "This is not going to take you six hours, you are not going to have to bang heads with a salesperson, you are not going to be turned over to a finance department. I can handle this from beginning to end right over the phone." You really can't develop a rapport with them because these are researchers. Initially, if you give them the information that they are looking for, that gives you some rapport. Typically, when I start out, I tell them a little bit about myself. I tell them I have only been doing this since September and that I may not
Susan Bromley is the Internet Sales Manager for Lehman Motors, a Volvo dealership in Mechanicsburg, PA. Lehman has about as small of a presence on the Internet as you could imagine, yet they sell up to eight cars per month. And get this...Susan sells and works out of her home, and Lehman's sales force loves it! To see how they do it, read on.
Q: How did you and your dealership get involved in selling cars with the Internet?
Susan: We are a single point Volvo dealer. We just moved to a new location last April. It used to be a Volvo/Saab dealership and they split the two franchises and built a new facility for the Volvo franchise. Last year the Volvo dealership moved to a new area that is a "car row." It has been doing very well. My husband is the General Manager. We started with Internet sales last spring when we brought on an Internet lead generating service and assigned it to a traditional salesman who was also taking leads from the showroom floor. That was not successful. My husband decided to take the new car sales department outside the dealership.
Q: Outside the dealership?
Susan: It was not successful inside the dealership. The leads were not being handled properly and they were not closing. They just were not selling new cars over the Internet. They were selling used cars because, with a Volvo franchise, if someone wants a '95 850, that is the car they want. It is more of a specialized thing. With the new cars the traditional salesperson is going to handle that person face to face. No matter what goes on with the Internet, they are going to try and handle that person face to face. Secondly, you can' t handle an Internet customer the same way you would handle a showroom customer; they are a different breed. You just can't handle them the same way. The salesperson wasn't comfortable with e-mail. So my husband asked me if I would take it over, handle the new car Internet leads. I work from my home doing other Internet things, desktop publishing and things like that. We decided to check it out and make sure it worked instead of going through the expense of hiring another person. He already knew I loved the product and the company. It has been wonderfully successful. When I tell prospects that I am calling them from my home you can just hear the barriers drop. They are very comfortable with that. I am also very up front with them. I tell them that my husband is the General Manager at the dealership. I just give them as much information as they want. I give them comparison information or whatever they ask for.
Q: How do you generate your leads now?
Susan: From an Internet lead generating service. Right now our web site is still under construction. We are not yet on the Internet; we don't have a web site.
Q: How did you work to integrate the sales staff into this Internet endeavor? You are changing the automotive business model to outside the dealership. How did the salespeople react to that?
Susan: Initially they did have a problem with that. At first they may have thought it was taking away from their business. But now they realize that is not the case. First of all, when I get a lead that is from our general area, I go into the system and make sure that customer is not assigned to a salesperson. If they are assigned to a salesperson, then I let the salesperson call them and follow up on it. So I do not steal leads from the salespeople. After we got over that hurdle they became very supportive. There have been occasions where for some reason the customer wasn't logged in and when I talked to them I found out they were already talking to a salesperson. But because I don't get paid commission, it does not make sense for me to split deals. What I do is turn it over to the salesperson. I am in a non-threatening mode, so that helps the acceptance level quite a bit.
Q: How does a customer have delivery of their car and handle their paperwork?
Susan: Most of our cars are delivered. We charge an $80 delivery fee. They are delivered up to two or three hours away. I have a retired gentleman who loves to deliver new cars. If there is a trade-in, we handle all of that over the phone as well. If there is a trade then our retired guy will drive that back. If there is no trade, then we send two drivers. They go over the car with them, give them their gift, and collect the paperwork. What we do is Fed Ex all the paperwork to them in advance so they can review it.
Q: What about test drives?
Susan: I have only had a few people who did not go out and test drive somewhere else. Most of the time the Internet leads have done all their homework; they already know what they want. They have already test driven them and they are ready to buy. A lot of the time they have had bad experiences with dealerships and just don't want to go there. They just don't want a traditional salesperson or they feel that they were not treated respectfully or something, all kinds of reasons. I get horror stories sometimes, but I guess that can be expected in our industry.
Most people just don't want to spend five or six hours at a dealership playing games. They put in a request and I call them. I go over what they are looking for in the vehicle and I give them a price right then and there. It is one-set price; we do not negotiate. That is a win-win situation. The relationship with your customer never gets negative.
Q: How do you sell a car over the phone?
Susan: I am selling the process. "This is not going to take you six hours, you are not going to have to bang heads with a salesperson, you are not going to be turned over to a finance department. I can handle this from beginning to end right over the phone." You really can't develop a rapport with them because these are researchers. Initially, if you give them the information that they are looking for, that gives you some rapport. Typically, when I start out, I tell them a little bit about myself. I tell them I have only been doing this since September and that I may not know all the answers but I do know where to get them. I tell them I do this from my home part-time and that I am not a commissioned salesperson. And then right there they are like, "OK, this is a real person that I can communicate with." Then I explain the process. We will go over the vehicle, I'll give them a price, if they want to move ahead with it and they are going to finance with us, I'll fax them a credit app or we can do it over the phone. Once that is approved, then I send out all the paperwork. I send that to them in advance so they can review it. Volvo has won awards for their contracts. They give, give, give information. That makes it very easy for customers to follow. I say to them, "This way you can review it in the comfort of your own home and if you have any questions about it, just call us and we will go over it with you." They are sitting with the paperwork in their own home without a spotlight hanging over them and they can review it on their own time. For some, it's like a dream come true.
Q: What have been some of the largest hurdles for you to overcome?
Susan: Distance. I have spent hours with someone and then they go and buy from their local dealer. So it is not all rosy. I will tell them that their local dealer will say, "If you buy it somewhere else I am not going to service your car for you"-that has happened. And people will believe them. Well, now I set them up for that. I tell them that if they go in and ask the Sales Manager, he is going to say, "No way we will service your car." But if they go in and ask the Service Manager, he will be more than happy to service their car. That is how he makes his money. They are also interviewed by Volvo after they go in for warranty work. I tell them, "You will be treated right, because Volvo is going to call and ask if you were treated right. And there is incentive money on the line for this company if they do treat you right." That makes sense to people. But again, it is not one hundred percent. When people buy from someone else you think gee, I spent four or five hours with you and now, nothing. You need to be polite and wish them well with their new car and just bite the bullet, because they may send someone else to you. I have already gotten referrals from this approach. While they may not always buy from me they may send someone else to buy from me. I even had one lady say, "I have bought all my cars from one dealership and nothing personal, but I really think I need to maintain the loyalty." I thanked her and told her good luck and then she called me back and said, "I can't believe it but this dealership is not treating me with respect and they are jerking me around," and she wondered if my deal was still good. I said of course and we ended up delivering a car to her. And now if I have a customer in her area, she has allowed me to give out her work phone number so that anyone interested can call her and ask about her experience.
Q: That's fantastic. What percentage of your Internet sales are from outside the dealership's traditional territory?
Susan: More are from outside than in. I would say that 65 to 75 percent are from outside our selling area, which is another reason the salespeople are comfortable with this arrangement. It means that I am putting numbers on the board and that makes it well worth what we are paying our Internet lead service.
Q: How many cars are you selling monthly through your Internet effort?
Susan: So far this month I have had fourteen leads and I have sold three. That doesn't mean the rest of them are dead deals; they are still in the process. Last month (March) I had a total of twenty-eight leads and I sold eight.
Q: That is a pretty high closing ratio.
Susan: Eight sold out of twenty-eight last month. Initially my numbers were not so good.
Q: Is that because of your learning curve, practically teaching yourself "on the job"?
Susan: Right. It is a combination of people hearing more about this and getting comfortable with the Internet, that it is not a taboo place. Initially I had people call up and say "Where are the cars going to come from?" They had no idea. They are hearing more about people selling cars over the Internet with articles in the paper. As a matter of fact, there is an article in the Wall Street Journal today, "Web Car Shopping Puts Buyers In The Drivers Seat." There was also one in USA Today about a woman selling cars from her home over the Internet in Chicago. So people are getting more comfortable with it from reading about it, and at the same time I am getting more comfortable with what their objections are going to be. It is a lot different than with showroom objections because most of the time they have already been on the Internet and they already know what the price is going to be before they call you. They are very educated.
Q: Tell me what your future plans are with the Internet for your dealership with reference to your new cars. How do you see this evolving? You said you are putting together your own web site initiative?
Susan: We will be generating leads from our own web site soon. We may even take on another Internet buying service.
Q: How do you see your web site playing a role?
Susan: Well, with the web site, local people will be able to go in and look at our inventory, put together cars, that kind of thing. We haven't laid it out completely as to whether we are going to put car pricing on the Internet, but I am leaning towards putting MSRP and invoice price on the Internet. Not necessarily the price they can buy it for. I have been doing a lot of research into automotive web sites and looking at what is attractive and what isn't. I also have been calling other dealerships and talking to the Web Master to find out what is working for them.
Q: You are doing some on-line research yourself?
Susan: Yes. Volvo obviously is a different line from Chevrolet, but at the same time Chevrolet buyers are on the Internet too. I think all Internet buyers should be treated as educated people. Whatever you do, don't insult their intelligence or they will be gone. I actually spoke at NADA with a dealer in Texas who said that they have a regular salesman who answers their leads and tells them what the invoice price is over the phone, and doesn't tell them they will not sell it to them for that price, and when the people come in they bump them. I feel that's just a new way to be sleazy.
Q: I think that kind of thing is over with. Now it is time to add value to the customer relationship.
Susan: I sure hope so. Our dealership is very much like that. When an Internet-educated buyer comes in with their research they are treated respectfully. And there is no reason we cannot make a reasonable profit on the sale.
Todd L. Smith is the President and C.E.O. of Target Marketing Group, the leading automotive Internet solutions provider. If you have specific questions or require more information about this subject, please check the appropriate box on the reader response form on page 3. tsmith@dealeronline.com