On The Road With Ralph Paglia; Part 2

1. Introducing Ralph Paglia Part 2 on the Dot Com Insider.
Editor's Corner Ralph Paglia currently serves as a CRM Program Consultant assigned to work with major Car
Forum Companies in North America. In this capacity, Ralph draws upon over 20 years of experience working
Industry Insider in Automotive Retail and then working with hundreds of dealers during consulting engagements where
his mission is to find ways to use the Internet and Information Technology to sell more cars and make On The Road
Events Calendar
more money. With Ralph
Resources
Head to Head
"Buy In" in Action
Now that we have a common frame of reference for discussions about Web Brand Management Strategy, let's close this article with a case
study that may illustrate the Reynolds Transformation Solutions' Catalyst process of continuous improvement…
In the Spring of 2002 we were facilitating a series of Internet Workshops that began in Houston, TX. During the Houston workshop we met the
General Manager and General Sales Manager of a high volume import franchise dealership who asked us to visit their location. After 3 days of
attending the our workshops, and several meetings at their dealership, the GM decided to hire my company to work with the dealership's
management team and develop a Web Brand Management Strategy designed to generate more sales.
In the months prior to our involvement with this dealership, the Internet Department had produced some pretty strong results, typically selling
between 50 and 75 cars per month with 8 Internet Sales Managers handling about a 1,000 leads per month… The dealership was spending over
$10,000 per month on Internet Advertising and 3rd Party Lead Providers. That may seem like a lot of money, but the advertising cost per
vehicle sold was about HALF of what the showroom sales were costing in advertising per vehicle sold, so the GM and GSM were pretty happy
with what was going on. But, after attending our workshop, they were thinking they could do a lot better. They were right.
On our first visit, we worked from "bell to bell" with the dealership's management team for 5 days straight… After documenting and recording
everything that was going on, we helped them see the need for the changes that would get the results the management team was looking for.
Within 90 days we were able to achieve increased sales of over 50%… And, we were able to create a new position for one of the ISM's as the
dealership's Internet Marketing Director. We needed to get fast results because we had a vision of what this store's Internet Department could
become.
The Internet Department had outgrown the office space they were using, and as a result we now had 10 ISM's with 5 of them scattered
throughout the dealership's facilities… We were able to convince the GM and the store's corporate ownership of both the need and the ROI on
investing in a new suite of Internet Offices with the whole staff in one physical location. We wanted our new IMD to be able to help the entire
team make deals on an equal basis, rather than having those that were able to be lucky enough to be in the old small offices getting more help
and more deals than the newer ISM's scattered in offices in other areas of the dealership. We found the space and the GM brought in the
construction team that the store uses.
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2. Introducing Ralph Paglia Part 2 on the Dot Com Insider.
We worked with the Construction Team to layout a floor plan on the second floor of the main showroom that would provide us with 12
Offices, each at least 8' x 10' so we could have enough space to work with customers… We also designed a customer lounge area, space for
office equipment, a large customer group (family) workspace for the whole team to use and a centrally located IMD office with three huge
glass windows allowing the IMD to see into all the ISM office and workspaces that were located around the perimeter of the suite. The whole
project was pretty exciting we even created three smaller workstations just outside the entrance to the IMD's office for use by new ISM
trainees. This would allow the IMD to keep a close eye on them and provide fast assistance. The most expensive part of the project was all the
LAN cabling and electrical service. We needed new circuits put in for all the computers, printers and office equipment being located in such a
concentrated area. As we go to the dealership each month, we have been taking photos of the progress… The entire Internet Team will be
moved into their new office complex before the end of March 2003.
The photo below shows the initial construction of the Internet Marketing Director's (IMD) office, which is located in the middle of the suite
with 3 sides of glass looking out into the ISM offices.
The photo below shows the same IMD office shown in the first picture, viewed from the same side of the Internet Office Suite, a month of
construction later… You can see the doorway into the IMD office; on the other side of that doorway are 3 Internet Sales Specialist (ISS)
workstations for our ISM Apprentice program that allows us to have 3 people in training, closely supervised by the IMD. These will be the 3
people eligible for promotion to ISM when they are ready, or the need arises:
The photo below shows some of the ISM offices as viewed from the front of the IMD's office… That's a happy Internet Marketing Director in
the picture!
When we designed the Internet Office Suite, we realized that if we moved a wall by 6' we would get 4 more ISM offices that would be big
enough. In this photo, taken after we first started construction, you can see where the carpet ended, and the old wall was located, along with the
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3. Introducing Ralph Paglia Part 2 on the Dot Com Insider.
new wall's location… That's Carl Bennett, next to the ladder checking out construction progress.
In the photo below, the IMD walks past a row of ISM offices towards the front entry to the suite… Notice the Cat 5 cables hanging from the
ceiling? Broadband Internet for each ISM, along with their own dedicated workstation, allows them to sell more cars at higher gross profits.
The reason why we wanted to share the story of this Houston dealership with our readers is because we know that many of you face challenges
every day related to facilities, equipment, office space and the overall level of "Buy In" from the dealership's management team. We wanted
you to know that there are many dealers out there who have seen the greater Return On Investment (ROI) that is available from an effective
Web Brand Management Strategy, relative to conventional advertising. Keep showing your dealer the results that your efforts generate. Even if
you do not get the commissions, track the deals from customers who come to the dealership and buy cars after you have worked the lead…
Feature specials and promotions on your web sites… Build pop-up window coupons that your web site visitors can print and bring to the
dealership for additional discounts or freebies… Put together reports tha show, in writing, the impact your efforts are having on the total results
in the dealership. Then give copies of those reports to the owner, the GM, the GSM, the New Car Manager and the Used Car Manager…
Become a MAJOR PAIN IN THE BUTT because you are making too many things happen!
And, most of all… Get outside expert help. Whether it is printing articles, bringing your management team to factory-sponsored workshops, or
getting a consultant into your dealership, sometimes dealers listen a lot more to outside sources of information, than to their own employees.
Hang in there, and keep up the great job that you are doing. Dennis Rushing and myself are here to help you and your dealership get the results
that put money into your pockets… And get offices built.
Happy selling, and when thinking about how you respond to leads, remember this:
"What you send the potential buyer is as important as when you send it"
Ralph Paglia
CRM Process Consultant
mail@ralphpaglia.com
Cell: 505-301-6369
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4. Introducing Ralph Paglia Part 2 on the Dot Com Insider.
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