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November/December
Volume 1, Number 4
Brought to you by The Cobalt Group, Inc.
More eDealer
News
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Purpose...Process...Payoff.
Those three P's define the parameters of Paul Rogers' "Top Gun"
approach to Internet sales training. Cobalt's Senior Training Manager uses
the aircraft metaphor to emphasize that Cobalt's eDealer Academy is not
basic training. Instead, the self-described "flight instructor and
coach" brings structure to the chaos of Internet sales with rapid-fire
instruction in concepts, tools and strategies—all the while answering
the key question dealers across the country are asking: "What's in
it for me?".
Real world tactics that work.
Paul has his sights set squarely on practical and proven tactics for Internet
sales—not as an afterthought, but as an integral course objective.
Kevin Root, Cobalt's Director of Training, points out that the two-day class
was developed in conjunction with J.D. Power and Associates by professional
curriculum designers who have a solid grounding in both dealership and buying
service operations.
Attendees don't drift into the rarified air of theorizing, nor do they learn
an entirely new business approach. Kevin points out that the eDealer Academy
adapts principles of traditional vehicle sales to show sales professionals
how to migrate their thinking to the Web: "Many of the strategies and
tools dealers have used all along can be adapted to the new medium."
A bigger business beyond vehicle sales.
Robin Eichleay, Director of Design and Development at J.D. Power and Associates,
points out another important benefit of the training: "It opens the eyes
of Internet sales managers to the potential of the Internet to drive business
for other departments." In addition, Robin says, the course is "a self-diagnostic
program" that shows attendees how to identify, select and prioritize individual
goals.
Solid tools build solid strategy.
Using tools ranging from a number-crunching what-if planner to a detailed
understanding of customer personality types, Paul leads attendees to the
end-of-course payoff: The development of an actual business plan that lays
out the steps for achieving their sales goals and for developing an integrated,
dealership-wide Internet strategy.
Everybody learns. No exceptions.
Cobalt's eDealer Academy isn't basic training, but attendees are a mixed
bag of recruits, ranging from new Internet sales managers to multi-year
veterans. No matter what their level, Paul's graduates are quick to discuss
the relevant knowledge they gained at Cobalt's eDealer Academy and their
implementation strategies.
Working smarter.
Ron Young, who became the Internet sales manager at City Motors in Great
Falls, MT, five months ago, says that one of his biggest problems was finding
the time to properly respond to all leads. But Cobalt's eDealer Academy
taught him how to use customizable email templates to eliminate redundancy
and work smarter: "Efficiency would be the word to describe what I'm talking
about."
Putting his training into practice, Ron is now using templates and planning
to purchase a handheld device to decrease his response time.
More than email smarts.
Judy Whidden has been working Internet sales for three years at Desert European
Motorcars in Rancho Mirage, CA, and didn't need help with email. Judy had
already developed an extensive set of templates, but says that the "training
goes to the next level, offering information that I have not seen anywhere
else on a more sophisticated use of computers and how to maximize the website."
Judy has a number of enhancements planned for her dealership's site.
And it's not just for Internet folks.
Scott Cayan, Internet sales manager for two years at Jay Marks Mazda Hyundai
in Houston, TX, says that the training emphasized what he wanted: "It looked
at building the Internet business from the ground up."
Scott is working on improving the flow of communication, showing how the
Internet department can affect the other profit centers and demonstrating
how other managers can "create an Internet on-ramp without having to change
how they do everything."
What's everyone else up to?
Mike Duncan, a 22-year dealership veteran at Jaremko Nissan Saab in Spokane,
WA, was afraid Cobalt's eDealer Academy would be over his head. "It wasn't,"
Mike sighs in relief, and adds that "talking to other dealers and finding
out what they're doing brings home the reality that you're not doing all
you need to be doing."
Mike's dealership completely changed its strategy after the training, establishing
a dedicated Internet department with Mike handling all leads instead of
passing them out to the floor sales personnel.
Approval
rating: a whopping 100%.
Paul's recruits give him an enthusiastic thumbs-up. Course evaluations are
extremely positive: 87 percent of attendees rate it as excellent; 13 percent
rate it as very good; and 100 percent would definitely recommend it. According
to Ron Young, "Success at any business class/meeting is learning at least
one new idea to take home. At Cobalt's eDealer Academy, I learned a new
idea every 15 minutes."
Kathleen McFadden is a contributing journalist specializing in automotive
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