Digital Dealer
Commitment
By Todd Smith
When I think of commitment, I remember an Olympic story that exemplified for me the meaning of staying the course in life no matter how difficult or painful the experience became. I have applied this lesson to business and you can too.
In the summer games of 1968 in Mexico City, on a very hot and humid day, the men's marathon was run. It was expected that the famed Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila would win his third Olympic gold medal; but about a third of the way through the race, he lost all chance and had to withdraw. His teammate Mamo Wolde ended up taking his place and finished first, winning the Olympic gold. But this marathon didn't end after the top places where filled with Olympic medals. This race came to a conclusion over one hour after Wolde crossed the finish line. Out of the cold and the dark into the far end of the stadium came John Akhwari, from the African nation of Tanzania, bloody and bandaged, pain and desperation filled every step as he pressed on around the track toward the finish line. The remaining crowd began a slow steady clapping as John made his way around, which erupted into a roar as if this was the winning moment of the men's marathon. After this finish, a reporter ran up to Akwari and asked why he endured all the pain and why, since there was no chance to win or even receive a medal, he even bothered to finish the race. Akhwari appeared perplexed at the question. Then in a simple response he said, "I don't think you understand. My country did not send me to Mexico City to start the race. They sent me to finish the race."
I like to use this powerful example of commitment and staying the course in our business since it applies so easily. So many of us start Internet initiatives with great enthusiasm, yet they fail because we abandon them half-way through the race. Immediate success in anything is very difficult to achieve. It takes time, practice and completed dedication to build a successful Internet business in this highly competitive and ever changing marketplace. I have created a list of five items that can help keep you on the path of building a successful business.
1) Set goals for the Internet department on a daily, weekly and monthly bases. It is impossible to know if you are failing or succeeding unless you have a clear, definitive goal which you are trying to achieve. Make sure you place these goals where all will see them every day, so they remained focused. It is critical to have reports that allow you to monitor and improve your on-line business to ensure ultimate success.
2) Remember, behind every unanswered customer email is an opportunity for you to learn why this person hasn't bought from you. Each month you should sample your prospect base of those who didn't purchase from you. What I mean by that is to place phone calls to about 100 of the leads you didn't sell and ask them why. This will allow you to get the perspective you need on how well your dealership is really serving your customers.
3) Never be content with the results you are obtaining. I have been inside many dealerships that say, "We are already doing 70 cars a month. What more do we need"? You should constantly tweak your systems and processes. McDonald's didn't become so efficient within the first year or two. They have consistently improved their processes to this day. Resting will result in certain death in this ever-changing business.
4) Hire carefully and trust your Internet team. I have been in some dealerships that think they should run the Internet department with the same mentality as that in the traditional environment. That equates to firings immediately after one bad month. This business demands that you stand behind employees and nurture and grow them. The cost of constantly retraining new staff in the Internet space is even more costly to your dealership than on the traditional sales floor. They need to be able to sell vehicles, but also have great phone skills, have some writing skills plus computer knowledge. Stand behind your staff, it will pay off in the end.
5) Finally, I suggest that you take the time and talk with other non-competitive dealers that are also growing their Internet business. Why you may ask would you want to do that? Well, for starters, it will keep you motivated to keep going ahead. Second, maybe you can pick up some new ideas that you can apply at your dealership.
If the top of your organization isn't truly committed to the web, it will trickle down throughout your dealership almost immediately resulting in poor communication and lost sales. The commitment level of upper management should remain strong even when you have a bad month. Otherwise, your Internet business will be built on sand.
Todd Smith is C.E.O. of Lear Media Inc., a company focused on implementing real solutions for dealerships that want to embrace the web. Todd has been a top consultant to many of the OEM's, large dealership groups as well as individual dealership nationwide. tsmith@dealeronline.com.
