If you thought your communication skills were perfect, think again: This workshop teaches new tricks to help improve how you get in touch with your stores and other key stake holders.

1. Communication Workshop – Breezy & Shawn C.
Identify Team - Shawn
 Gather list of key stakeholders
 Saxton reps (social & local account reps)
 3rd party vendors (specific to the dealership that may need the month's
specific advertising strategy/creative)
 Dealership (GM, marketing director, process director, internet director,
etc..)
 CRM team (account rep for eblasts)
Communication Channels/Building Relationships - Shawn
Once you have your list, find the best communication channels, use them
to build the relationship. Most use email or face to face if possible. Once
established be consistent, make notes on when to reach out to stay connected.
Or reminders. This is important, example: service and parts managers, we need
specials, if you are only contacting them through email once at the end of the
month you are most likely not going to get quick responses. They are busy like
anyone is at the end of the month. Mark on reminders to contact throughout the
month to notify them when tasks are completed that are in their realm of the
website or have them attend your weekly, bi-weekly digital meetings to build
rapport. They might not show and that is fine, the point is to get them comfortable
in communicating with you. Finish tasks quick at the beginning, use good
judgment on this, develop some quick wins, but what you are wanting to
accomplish is credibility. This goes for building relationships in general, not just in
this example.
Streamline Communication – Breezy
 Lists – know which stores have which programs and write down your
point of contact for that third party vendor (check out the doc in the LHM
google drive for that info). Add to that list your DMM, Social Rep, Saxton
AE, store managers and CRM team rep. This is your Digital Team, refer to
this when you send out inventory offers, fixed op specials, sale events,
community service projects, etc. This will make it an easy reference sheet
until you memorize who your points of contacts are for every situation.
 Reminders – Utilize your calendar tool, slack, team up, asana, the
reminders app on your phone, alerts, etc. to keep your meetings, projects,
deadlines, specials and events organized.
 Consolidate – If you can, include your AE and social rep on monthly
meetings with your DMM and GMs. If you are all getting the same
information at the same time it will save each of you having to schedule

2. additional meetings to learn about any changes, mailers, events that were
discussed with the other reps.
 Recaps – After any meeting make sure you send out recaps to the
meeting participants and any team members that could use the
information to streamline their work load.
 Audience Communication – Know the communication styles of the
people you work with most (GMs, DMMs, Managers, CRM team, AE,
Social). When you know the best form of communication for each person,
the likelihood of everyone being on the same page and getting the job
done goes up.
 Details – When sending requests, make sure you are thorough and
include as many details as possible in the first email. If you are requesting
an eBlast, for example, figure out what that will entail and go the extra mile
to provide all the information your CRM rep will need. Specific calls to
action with specific landing pages? Send them the links and buttons you
want. Include themes, imagery, vehicle offers WITH disclaimers, the target
demographic, the message, etc. We know best what the GM is looking for
because we are the ones getting the details from them, so take a few
extra minutes to grab those links and attach those images so you aren’t
sending 20 emails back and forth. This will save you a lot of time.
Transparency - Breezy
 Honesty – we are human, we mess up. We work with digital so
interpersonal communication can get messy and confusing so things get
misunderstood. If you mess up, make sure you own it. Admit it up front,
apologize and learn from it moving forward.
 What you Need – if you need something, discover a new tool, see a
conference that would help you, etc. Make sure you verbalize that to your
DMM and Veronika. If you don’t speak up, there is no way anyone else will
know what you are thinking or needing to become better in your position.
We are here to support you and help you grow. We want to take care of
you so make sure you are asking questions and making requests. The
worst answer you can get is no.
 Staying connected within the team – We have so many personalities,
talents and specific strengths in the Digital Army. Don’t be afraid to reach
out and learn from each other. Use each other as resources when you
need help or an idea or new angle for a project. If you need help with CSS
contact Sean, Photoshop – Shannon, Communication – Shawn or Breezy
. . . and the list goes on.
 Ego aside, it comes to integrity – This is part of the foundation of the
Larry H. Miller Organization. It’s one of the Values we are called to learn
and live as a team and as individuals. In the creative digital world there is
a lot of pride and ego attached to the work we do. Same goes for the

3. people we work with like Saxton, Dealer.com and Gubagoo. It’s easy to
feel personally attacked when someone isn’t a fan of a page, an event
idea or a slider. A lot of times we are communicating through email and if
someone isn’t a fan of something it can come across as an attack when, in
reality, that is probably not the intention of the sender. If you feel tension
or offended by what someone sends you, take a deep breath, calm down
and pick up the phone or schedule a meeting. It is impossible to hear tone
of voice or see facial expressions through a text or email and those two
factors can make a world of difference when it comes to constructive
criticism. We all have the same goal, to help make our stores be
successful through our areas of expertise. So instead of taking things
personal, take the high road, be calm and courteous, and only involve
those that are directly involved in the miscommunication or altercation.
Reply All is your worst enemy if you are only having issues with one
person. Nobody likes public humiliation and 9 times out of 10 it will make
people defensive and end up making the situation worse than it needs to
be. Show integrity in the way you communicate and conduct business.
Team Questions
What are some things you can do if a GM doesn't think a marketing campaign
will work?
Having the knowledge of what is working for other like dealerships (LHM
dealerships & competitors locally). Have your information ready as if you were
the one asking, place yourself in their shoes. This will help when delivering a
proposed marketing campaign; you will be able to make your key points to sway
them into moving in your suggested direction. Talk to them about ROI, do your
homework and ask others/managers for help and direction on situations like this,
it can only help.
How do you organize a good communication flow between everyone?
(dsa/sms/crm/dealership managers/vendors)
Build rapport quick. This is different for everyone, but consistency is key. It
is work at the beginning to get everyone on the same page, but once you do it
will be a breeeeze
Is there a way we can see what the CRM is also sending out to better help us be
transparent in our marketing each month?
I think the hope is the team up calendar will be shared amongst all three
touch points to allow for the communication to be bridged (I hope this is the end
goal)
What has been a good way to share files/documents with everyone?
One way is a drop box; this is an easy way to share files/artwork among
all stakeholders. There are other programs that are used, some use email
(limited to size). The point is, "How do I get everyone to have a consistent
message and be all on the same page?" This can be achieved through file

4. sharing, but you will have to coach your parties involved to use the file sharing
system to be effective. Example, a 3rd party is asking for creative direction to
build their ad, you can share your working files (.psd’s) if they have the capacity,
find out, and that channel is bridged. Or if there are preset sized images that they
need, you can include them in the month's folder and share it. Think simplistic.