Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 25

Every team member
makes you feel important,
like you were the reason
they got up that morning.
Reflect for a moment
on your own personal experiences. The stores and
services that earn your
loyalty and repeat business. It's probably not the
toothpaste or hamburger
or the wrapper on a clean
shirt. It's more than likely
the people, the attitude,
appreciation and respect
for your patronage that
binds the bands of loyalty
to that business. That is
the top-of-mind reaction
that keeps that brand
polished in your mind.
Your best marketing/
advertising investment for
brand recognition is your
team.

START BY HIRING/
RECRUITING THE
BEST. Why not let some

of your best employees,
your brand ambassadors,
make an ad for the open
position. Let them talk
about how long they've
been a part of your team,
how happy they are and
what a great place it is to
work. Include a picture
with the number of years
the team member has
worked.
MAKE SURE SOMEONE SAYS 'HELLO' TO
ALL JOB APPLICANTS,

even if the first step is
a computer screening
process. One of my
dealer friends makes it a
point to say hi to everyone applying for a job,
even if initial screening

suggests a misfit. "One
of the best service writers
in our company filled out
an application for a sales
opening," says the dealer,
"I knew from our initial
meeting she wasn't right
for sales...but would be
a great employee. It was
her attitude. She has been
here seven years and
she loves us...and our
customers love her."

TRAIN, TRAIN,
TRAIN. Continuously.

About 10 years ago, I had
a meeting with a dealer
who wanted to hire our
ad agency. I spent two
days at the dealership and
then sat with the owner. I
told him the worst money

MILLENNIAL MAGIC.

I've read scores of
articles on how disloyal
the millennial generation
is and the high rate of
turnover. But last week I
read an article that nailed
an important point on
millennial loyalty. It was
in the last paragraph of
the article but should
have been the opening
headline. Turnover rate
drops in direct proportion
to the amount of training
given. Yes, money is
important, but training is
just as important. You can
offer bonuses, trips, pats
on the back and everything else, but you make
the most points when you

I TOLD HIM THE
WORST MONEY HE
COULD EVER SPEND
AT THAT TIME WAS
ADVERTISING AND THE
BEST MONEY HE COULD
SPEND WAS TRAINING."
he could ever spend at
that time was advertising
and the best money he
could spend was training.
He subsequently hired a
training firm that not only
helped him improve his
CSI, turnover rate and
gross, but engaged that
training firm for monthly training sessions 10
months a year. This dealer
and I are now personal
friends and he tells me
my suggestion of training changed his life and
fortunes forever.

make the millennial team
member feel like they are
learning and advancing in
their field.

LET YOUR TEAM
TELL YOUR STORY.

Dealer principals and
managers do a great
job on radio and television ads, but other team
members can make a
powerful brand statement.
A local Subaru dealership
produced a series of television ads using various
team members such as
the service manager,

sales team members and
office staff to do commercials. The ads are great.
They are believable and
sincere. And the fact that
they are running consistently over a period of time
tells the viewer that there
is stability, a powerful
branding element.
Last year, I visited
a dealership that has
'walk-around' contests
between sales people that
are videotaped and then
posted on the dealership
website and social media.
The public can weigh in
on who they think does
the best job of describing
the vehicle. It's fun, great
training, and a commercial
that viewers actually enjoy
watching.
Here's a simple little
test to measure how
your dealership brand is
ingrained in your team
members. For the next
week ask everyone you
meet in the dealership
what they think your brand
is. Ask them how they
think the dealership can
better convey that brand
to the general public.
I'd like to wish you a
happy holiday season.
Look forward to a healthy,
prosperous and exciting
new year. It's going to be
great!
JIM BOLDEBOOK is Founder
of CBC Automotive Marketing,
an advertising/marketing agency
working with some of America's
most successful dealerships. He
has been in the broadcasting, advertising and marketing fields for
almost 50 years. EMAIL: jim@
cbcads.com

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

DECEMBER 2017

25
http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - December 2017
