Overworked Sales Managers

The role of managing the Internet has outgrown most Sales Departments as Dealerships find Web-based sales becoming more prevalent. Internet sales have evolved and with online sales of new and used vehicles, parts and service increasing every year it has caused a lot of stress and strain on the conventional Dealership model.

Initially the role of the Sales Manager was to sell cars, manage stock and motivate the team. Today more of their time today is spent solving IT issues, supervising, working with lead management and CRM tools, updating web sites, developing and managing online marketing actions, running reports and meeting with representatives of various Internet product and service providers.

"Nothing Fails Like Success"

Even with the growth and new markets the web has given this has resulted in Sales Managers across the UK viewing the Internet inversely as a time consuming necessary evil, or at best have lost their initial enthusiasm for what web enquiries can bring them. This is evident not only by the feedback that we have received, but also by the countless websites you see with offers that expired months ago or used cars that are long since sold.

Some forward thinking dealerships and dealer groups have employed Marketing Managers or even Internet Managers to take on this strain. This has helped, but once again the research shows that these people do not necessarily have the specialist motor industry experience and in today’s marketplace they are a large cost that the business can do without. So now that this no longer fits the ‘lean’ business model they have either been made redundant or in a majority of cases they have had had other roles/functions added to their job description which further dilutes their impact on the dealers web activity and assistance that they can give to the Sales Manager.

Our studies have found that responsibility for updating websites has been given to showroom reception staff or even the sales team – who just see it as another burden and interruption. We have even discovered used car listings and photographs being ‘managed’ by part-time weekend staff. Where Marketing/Internet Managers have been retained we find that their roles have often been combined with such responsibilities as P.A. to the General Manager, Showroom Host or Service Advisor.

Whoever takes ultimate responsibility, it usually results in a haphazard approach to promoting the business. It is increasingly the case that consumers will base their decision on whether they actually visit or call the dealership based on the information they can get from the dealers website. This is very frightening because before you could at least look at your enquiry levels, footfall and phone activity and based on your order rate construct a reasonable idea of your success ratio. Now you have to consider all the customers who have passed you by and whom you have never met just because your website did not give them what they were looking for. It is a fact of life that when customers’ notice that the information has not been updated for months or the offers they are looking at are out of date, they will make a sweeping judgement about the way that your company operates.

To maintain a competitive position in the crowded Internet market, a dealer must participate in a variety of online marketing actions:

• Dealership web sites (both their own and manufacturer-sourced sites)
• Stock/Inventory management (pictures, descriptions and pricing)
• LiveChat
• eNegotiating
• eNewsletters
• Search engine optimization
• Search engine marketing
• Manufacturer-sourced leads
• Third- party sourced-New and-used leads
• Online classified
• Stock/Inventory management (pictures, descriptions and pricing)
• Online auctions
• Community bulletin boards.
  

Not many dealers have the time or the experience to effectively study each of these marketing actions and understand how they can help them grow their business. As a result, they have to depend on department managers to keep them competitive by studying these products and services and offering recommendations on what the dealership truly needs in play to stay at the front of the pack. This puts a great deal of pressure on the manager and is not really his/her area of expertise.

Distributing the Internet load is going to be a key challenge for dealers and general managers over the next few years. motortradesolutions.net have solved this issue by creating the role of an outsourced Internet sales and marketing manager who works with the dealer management team. This is a complimentary role and which brings cutting-edge expertise to the business and is affordable. By shifting and distributing the workload through our team of specialists this takes pressure of the existing management team and allows them to get on with what they are best at – running your business. Best of all it does not add to the headcount and you only pay for what you need.

The Outsourced Internet Sales and Marketing manager is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. All dealers and dealer groups have different needs and problems. More often than not we discover new ones with each new client. What is consistent is that the landscape has changed for any normal business operation and the better you plan for these changes today the more likely your dealership will keep pace with the sales and profit growth opportunities that effective marketing strategies can provide.

To give examples we can do everything from completely administering and formulating your company’s marketing strategy and brand identity to just being advisors to your management on web and email marketing. Whatever you choose to do with us we tailor our approach to best suit your needs and budget.

• No addition to headcount.
• Fixed low monthly cost. You only pay for what you need.
• No company car, pension, national insurance or employee benefits packages to pay for.
• More time for your management team to get on with their jobs.
• Cutting-Edge Marketing Knowledge and ideas.
• Easy to set-up
• Tailored to your needs
  

By investing in any outsourced marketing from motortradesolutions.net we work with you in partnership and endeavour to take away the day-to-day time consuming problems that dealership management face.

To learn more and for an initial discussion please call us on 0845 658 6880 or email us direct info@motortradesolutions.net

As experienced motor trade people we at motortradesolutions.net understand that the UK Dealer Network is under increasing pressure,

1. To keep costs low
2. To generate more profit and a greater return on investment

More often than not this is a very difficult balancing act. Motor Trade Solutions is dedicated to helping you achieve this with innovative answers to your problems and challenges.