My book of the week this week is “Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done” by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan.  As I was reading the book I became inspired.  Over and over I found myself saying “that’s exactly what I’ve been talking about!” and “that’s exactly what my customers need!”  With that in mind, I am going to give you a summary of the book below.  I hope that you get as much out of it as I did.

You've got the bright ideas and the smart people, and the market is just ready for you. But why hasn't your business taken off as you predicted? Maybe the problem is in your execution. What does it really take to get a business going? You need the right people combined with realistic strategies to create effective operating procedures.

A business leader's most important job is the execution of plans, the “detail work,” making sure that the staff is getting results. This is the sort of responsibility that cannot be delegated. It is the leader's primary duty to see that every member of the team is carrying out his part of the big plan to ensure the whole company's success. There are no excuses for failure: the market will always be tough. What spells the difference between successes and failures is the ability to execute plans.

Too often, too much intellectualizing and philosophy occurs at the planning level. The leaders are busy with their dreams and plans for success but there is little focus on implementation, thus the promised result is not delivered. The emphasis on execution as an integral part of the business process has not received enough attention in terms of accumulated knowledge and literature.

Why Execution is Needed?

The Gap Nobody Knows
Sometimes even good companies fail with catastrophic results, despite stellar qualities. The problem is usually not the strategy or the person in charge; it is the gap between strategy and execution.

Execution Comes of Age

1. Execution is a discipline: Execution is fundamental to strategy and must shape it. It is the process of taking into account all factors that can affect your end result. Too often plans are static, made by rote and taken for granted. Plans and processes need to be carefully thought out and performed given current and possible future realities.
2. Execution is the Job of the Business Leader: Execution requires a comprehensive understanding of a business, its people and its environment. Leaders should be intimately and intensely involved with their people and operations; in other words, active involvement is the key here. Dialogue must be at the core: be candid and reality-based, ask questions and find realistic solutions.
3. Execution Has to Be in the Culture: Execution has to be embedded in the rewards system and in the norms of behavior. Look for deviations from desired managerial tolerances. Execution only works as a widespread collective effort, not on an individual basis.

Why People Don't Get It
People assume that the statement of an idea instantly produces results. Or they announce the idea and expect other people to spell it out and do what needs to be done. Results can only be obtained when you specify in detail how to arrive at desired outcomes through persistent probing in the right direction. We are geared to think that leaders are supposed to find new ways of thinking, new strategies, new ideas. But the work of bringing these abstract thoughts to fruition is usually delegated to someone else.

The Building Blocks of Execution

Building Block One: The Leader's Seven Essential Behaviors

1. Know Your People and Your Business. A leader must be in touch with the day-to-day realities of the business. Get to know your organization down to the smallest unit. Get to know the supervisor and her team, how they produce results for the organization and their level of awareness regarding the situation elsewhere in the company.
   Work towards a climate of open, honest dialogue on all levels, up and down the hierarchy and across various departments. The best ideas and the earliest warning bells can reach you if your ears are open to all. Use dialogue as a tool for educating and guiding your subordinates and showing sincere organizational support from the top level of the administration. Use this personal connection to make new ideas work, and explain theories, concepts, purposes and implementation. Help the staff accept the new directions the company wishes to take.
2. Insist on Realism. Identify your weaknesses, and don't mince your words. Be aware of your organization's capabilities and shortcomings. Try to look at the situation from all sides, especially from the points of view of the consumer and of the competitor.
3. Set Clear Goals and Priorities. Focus on very specific, defined priorities to maximize the resources you have at hand. Simplify. Choose which goals are important and manageable for you, and work on those.
4. Follow Through. Make sure the plans you make are carried out and check on all subordinates to whom responsibilities have been delegated. Provide incentives for those who provide exemplary results and deliver ultimatums to those who don't meet their requirements.
5. Reward the Doers. Reward your top performers. They will reward you in the future with more good work.
6. Expand People's Capabilities Through Coaching. Don't just give orders; teach your staff how to get things done. Observe your people in action then provide feedback. Compliment and encourage good behavior, note the bad and makes suggestions for improvement. Help others find a better way of doing their job for your company by asking them questions that lead to the answer. They figure out ways to improve by themselves, and the lesson is more easily absorbed. This applies not only to business practices and decisions but personal attitudes and behavior as well, especially those that affect co-workers and work results.
   Provide opportunities for learning to those who will benefit the most from them, especially those who might be promoted to key positions later on. These opportunities might be different projects that will hone their talents, short courses, or even additional responsibilities.
7. Know Yourself. Do you have the strength and the courage to do what's necessary? If you hesitate to act, you bring risk to the whole organization. If you are determined and resolute, others will follow your example. All of this requires emotional fortitude, which is comprised of authenticity, self-awareness, self-mastery and humility.

Building Block Two: Creating the Framework for Cultural Change
You can’t just institute changes for the sake of shaking things up at your company. Your changes must be geared towards getting results. Be specific: what sort of behavior is acceptable in your company? What’s unacceptable? Change must begin at the top-level, to set an example down the line. Don’t just expect it to happen either. Reward successful implementation of your plans to instigate change.

Operationalizing Culture
The problem is usually not the organization’s values but in its practice on all levels. Identify the beliefs and attitudes that influence behavior, particularly those that are detrimental to the company’s and other employees’ growth.

Linking Rewards to Performance
Make obvious the fact that certain actions will be rewarded and that negative behavior gets you nowhere. Use a rating and rewards system to encourage not only positive behavior, but also to encourage the half-hearted to push harder. Use this system to convince those who are already results-oriented to improve their performance.
To ensure your employees know what you want of them, reiterate what goals you have set for them and make sure that they agree to deliver on mutually agreed-upon terms. Offer different financial and non-financial rewards for different results and provide different motivations. In the end, your employees’ ultimate goal should be quality work that benefits the whole unit and the whole organization, not just the compensation for good work done.

The Social Software of Execution
Sometimes the problem isn’t people heading in the wrong directions. Sometimes, the problem is people aren’t going anywhere: inaction. People are constrained by formality, lack of trust and hesitation. You’re going to need to work on your company’s social software then. Social software refers to the factors outside organized rules, structure and norms, such as values, beliefs and motivation. An organization’s social software is defined in concrete terms by its social operating mechanisms, which refer to any opportunity for dialogue within the organization.

Social operating mechanisms create new relationships and communication lines, creating links where there normally are none, fostering transparency and knowledge-sharing. These provide opportunities for business leaders to put into practice the beliefs and behaviors that should be the norm, thus setting an example for the whole company. Social operating mechanisms can be used to make changes in behaviors. Use these opportunities to observe various units in your company, to follow up on previously agreed-upon plans of action, to update and evaluate, to plan ahead, and to reinforce the good and weed out the bad.

Only through the incorporation of social operating mechanisms into the organization’s routine can desirable behaviors be integrated into the collective consciousness. Ensure that these mechanisms occur at given frequencies, to reiterate the value of each occurrence, to include the repetitions into the work timetable and to constantly remind people of the desired behaviors and beliefs.

The Importance of Robust Dialogue
Robust dialogue is necessary for gathering information, processing it and putting it to good use. Robust dialogue is characterized by candor, informality and closure. Its purpose is to see multiple viewpoints, see the pros and cons of each opinion and to choose the most practical, sensible option. Robust dialogue encourages all people involved to speak their minds and to gear their thinking towards solutions and results.

Leaders Get the Behavior They Exhibit and Tolerate
You get what you give. A leader shows his people what sort of behavior he should get from them by giving them that behavior. Thus, you can change the culture of a company by changing the behavior of its leaders. The business leader must be a constant presence in the lives of those whose behavior he wishes to influence. The more she gets involved, the better the whole team works and produces results. Executing cultural change depends first and foremost on having the right people.

Building Block Three: The Job No Leader Should Delegate—Having the Right People in the Right Jobs
Hiring the right people is as important as planning ahead; you need people who are not only capable, but also full of potential for growth as your business expands. Take time to focus on your staff, because in effect your business is in their hands. Take time to develop your staff’s leadership capabilities so that they can bring results to your plans and visions. Assess individual capabilities and determine if you can further develop your employee through training, coaching and exposure, or if he’s better off elsewhere. If you can properly develop your people, you should be able to fill top administrative posts from within. Hire a talented person and she will hire a talented person.

Why the Right People Aren’t in the Right Jobs

1. Lack of Knowledge. Sometimes, the people in HR don’t really know their people’s specific qualities or a job’s requirements. Job requirements must specify the level of personal experience and professional know-how necessary, and match all these with what a candidate has to offer.
2. Lack of Courage. If someone screws up, fire them if they’re beyond help. You will save your company the trouble and the employee will be relieved of a duty he can’t perform.
3. Psychological Comfort Factor. Some leaders hire or promote people for the wrong reasons like friendship, personal loyalty or personality compatibility. This poses a great threat to the whole company because the decision was not based on acquiring the skills and traits necessary for the job.
4. Lack of Personal Commitment. If you don’t sincerely care about your company and your people, you won’t do much—if at all—to fix a problem that you know is there.

What Kind of People are You Looking For?
While vision, philosophy and intellect are always important, it is still more important to find determination and resolution, someone who’s a doer, a winner with drive and strong decision-making skills. Your people should:

• Energize people
• Be decisive on tough issues
• Get things done through others
• Follow through

How to Get the Right People in the Right Jobs
During an interview, examine not only the list of your candidate’s achievements but also the manner in which those achievements were made. Call references to find out his track record. Probe deeply so that you can get the unadulterated truth. Know how to listen for eagerness and determination to get things done. Most importantly, don’t leave this job to the HR department. These are the people in whose hands the fate of your business lies and this is a critical process which needs your personal attention.

The Unvarnished Truth
When evaluating people, transparency should go both ways. Inasmuch as you should know the truth about a person’s strengths and weaknesses, it is your responsibility to discuss these things with the employee concerned, to find solutions and to help him help himself.

The Three Core Processes of Execution

The People Process: Making the Link with Strategy and Operations

The people process does three things:

1. It evaluates people accurately and in an in-depth manner.
2. It provides a framework for identifying and developing the leadership talent the organizations will need to execute its strategies down the road.
3. It fills the leadership pipeline that is the basis of a strong succession plan.

Your people should be able to grow along with the company and the work. Evaluate people not only for their capability to produce results today, but for their potential to take on other responsibilities tomorrow. Sometimes strategy requires replacing an excellent performer with someone who can foster further growth for the company. Constant and accurate evaluation processes that examine not only a person’s professional capabilities but also his capacity to be a leader and a team player can keep the wrong person from being assigned a key role in the first place.

The people process framework is based on the following business blocks:

1. Linkage to the strategic plan and its near-, medium- and long-term milestones and the operating plan target, including specific financial targets
2. Developing the leadership pipeline through continuous improvement, succession depth, and reducing retention risk
3. Deciding what to do about non-performers
4. Transforming the mission and operations of HR

Building Block One: Linking People to Strategy and Operations
Break your strategy down into manageable near-, medium- and long-term goals. Determine kinds of skills you need for the upcoming goals and start laying the foundations early. Then design an action plan for each step of your big plan.

Building Block Two: Developing the Leadership Pipeline Through Continuous Improvement, Succession Depth and Reducing Retention Risk
Meeting your goals depends on the quality of the people you have. Assess today those who can be leaders in the future with the following aids:

•   The Leadership Assessment Summary: Examine behavior vis-à-vis performance.

•  The Continuous Improvement Summary: It captures key performance highlights and determines what further development the person needs. This helps provide the foundations for succession, creating early on tomorrow’s division presidents and vice-presidents, even CEOs.

•  Succession Depth, and Reducing Retention Risk Analysis: What is a person’s marketability and potential for upward mobility? What risks will the business face if she leaves, fails, is promoted, or retires? Succession depth ensures that you have capable, qualified people who will fill the position as well as the domino effect of related promotions. Retain your valuable staff by offering incentives, opening the possibility of upward mobility, and incorporating them in the company’s future plans.

Talent Review at Honeywell
How does the people process work at Honeywell International? Larry Bossidy’s efforts at getting Honeywell back on track as the company’s CEO are held in high regard and the Management Resource Reviews (MRRs) are no small part of this success. The MRRs evaluate people in their current jobs, their potential for transfer or promotion, the people who can succeed them and what to do about those who fall short. Leaders have to prepare their reports for the MRRs beforehand, to be discussed at the meeting. The review will even discuss all the factors that may be affecting a person’s performance, including his superior’s behavior and efforts at developing him.
The reports are required to be descriptive, detailed, honest and thorough and must have been discussed with the person under review. The report is discussed by a committee, which will determine a person’s potential, behavior, capability, etc. The group dynamic ensures fairness and freedom from bias.

Building Block Three: Dealing with Non-performers
Non-performers are people who aren’t meeting their established goals. This does not mean that they’re unqualified or incapable. It just means they aren’t performing at the level required for your company’s success. Sometimes you just need to coach a person to get them better acquainted with a job. Sometimes they just need to be transferred to another division or responsibility that’s better suited to their capabilities. Other times there’s no choice but to let him go. However, do so in a manner that allows the person to keep his dignity.

Building Block Four: Linking HR to Business Results
The role of the HR department in a company is different now. The HR function must set out to fill the positions that are and will be important as projects and plans progress over the upcoming months—even years. Use the HR division to keep track of your company’s top people across the whole organization, to see who can be groomed, or even promoted already, for key positions. HR should not only be able to assess people in their current jobs but also the people below them—if one person is to be promoted, someone should be adequately qualified to fill the upcoming void.
Examine all your strategies and determine the sorts of skills you need for these plans. If you can’t develop the right people in time, determine if you need to hire from outside. Identify which jobs are critical, and which ones will be critical down the line. Are they filled with the right people? Monitor also the top positions in the company and spell out criteria for filling them. If there is a sudden vacancy, is there someone you haven’t considered who might be more than qualified? If you know your people and their capabilities, filling the vacancy should be a small problem, especially if you’ve done your job in developing them for leadership.

The Strategy Process: Making the Link with People and Operations
Strategy simply means an action plan designed to meet business objectives, but can your organization do what is necessary? And can your leaders determine how to reach those objectives?

The Importance of Hows
Even brilliant strategies are bound to fail if not grounded in realities—regarding the competition, the capabilities of the company’s own people, the market, the product offerings. When creating strategies, consider not only the current realities of all relevant factors, but also unexpected—if unlikely—turns of events. There must always be backup plans, or at least people who can quickly think up alternative plans to make the best of a botched situation. Adaptability to change should always be a consideration: constantly review your plan to see if it is being executed properly, if current and future steps are still feasible, and if the people in charge are still getting results.

The Building Blocks of Strategy
Determine the key concepts actions and base your strategy on these. Keeping these in mind will also make it easy to decide on alternatives if necessary, as well as finding the right people for special parts of your strategy.

The Difference Between Business Unit Strategy and Corporate Level Strategy

• Corporate level strategy determines the business it wants to be in and the general arena of play. It analyzes the various businesses in the company and determines whether the mix is still profitable. It also integrates strategies built at business unit level to work in unison toward a common goal.

•  Business unit strategy lays out in specific terms the direction of the unit, plans around costs, resources, risks and new possibilities, works within the context of the whole organization’s scheme, and studies the competition.

Building the Strategic Plan

• Who Builds the Plan? - The strategic plan should be authored by the people who will execute it, the business leaders who live with the realities of the field and the organization’s capabilities. More often than, not this is a team instead of an individual. But that’s even better: the group dynamic can iron out flaws in a plan and be a sounding board for each idea.

• Questions for the Strategic Plan – Are your expectations realistic? How is your company doing in the market and what will your strategy do to change this? Who are your competitors and what are their strengths and weaknesses? How did the current top companies reach their success? Can your business at its current state and your rate of development execute your strategy? Is your projected growth sustainable? How dose the proposed strategy affect the end user, the consumer?

• What is the Assessment of the External Environment? – Examine all factors that will have bearing on your business in any way. Monitor trends and events in politics, economy, society, etc., and act swiftly but carefully on potential pitfalls.

How to Conduct a Strategy Review
The review should be a creative exercise: discuss how previous strategies were executed, but don’t dwell too long on the past. Use them as a springboard for new strategies. These questions can help determine the feasibility of a strategy:

• How well-versed is each business unit team about the competition?
• How strong is the organizational capability to execute the strategy?
• Is the plan scattered or sharply focused?
• Are the linkages with people and operations clear?

Making the Link with Strategy and People
The operating plan specifies how the various moving parts of the business will be synchronized to achieve the targets. The budget should be based on the operations, not vice-versa. Translate your strategy into manageable steps.

How to Build a Budget in Three Days
Discuss the whole corporate picture. Determine each business unit’s action plans and how this fits into the tentative budget. Bring together all the units’ action plans and proposed budgets to see if they amount to a realistic whole. Fine tune this over and over by reviewing the action plan and the budget until you come up with the most feasible plan.

Sound Assumptions: The Key to Setting Realistic Goals
To make a plan based on your experiences today, you will necessarily make some assumptions about the market, your product’s chances against the competition, etc. Debate with a team about these assumptions. What realities do you face today? How could this change over the course of the next few months or years? Review the assumptions upon which proposals are made and weigh their feasibilities. Examine all possibilities of factors affecting your business.

Building the Operating Plan

1. Set the targets: Keep your targets realistic. Base them on track records and histories.
2. Develop action and contingency plans: Study the possible outcomes that might leave the company most vulnerable and base your contingency plan on that. In other words, plan for the worst.
3. Get agreement and closure from all participants: Communicate agreed-upon goals to the people concerned after the meeting, to reiterate your expectations and what they promised to deliver.

Outcomes of the Operations Process
Think carefully: what does your business want to achieve? Think of this vis-à-vis what your company is likely to achieve. Watch how the operations affect your company, especially for the need to reallocate resources. Conduct quarterly reviews to see if you’re still on track, who’s keeping you there, and if you should even be there in the first place.

Go to RTG Home Page

ted of you.

As I travel and visit dealerships around the world, I find that the average length of experience in sales is less than five years.  I’ve also found that the average length of experience in Management is less than 10 years.  Why do I bring this up?  In the decade of the 90’s, and even the early 2000’s, we’ve had a pretty remarkable run of success in the automobile industry.  Many salespeople and managers have never experienced a down market.  I’m writing this article because I want salespeople to understand that you can become successful in a down market, you can grow your business in a down market, and the market being down definitely doesn’t mean your business should be down.

I’m sure you are thinking, well that sounds good, but let’s get to reality.  How do we do it?  I can guarantee you, without a doubt, that if you are just standing around waiting for something to happen, standing around waiting for the next up in a down market, you will not grow your sales.   O.K. so what do we do?  First, you have to develop the right attitude.  According to Yogi Berra, “Ninety percent of the game is half mental.”  Half of the battle is always in your head, half on the showroom.  It’s true that we follow our thoughts; we become what we think about.  We create self-fulfilling prophecies.  Our beliefs set in motion activities creating results that confirm our expectations. And always remember, negative thoughts actually create negative surroundings and attract negative people.  So to be successful in a down market, you must develop a mindset that you are going to be successful no matter what.  Ever notice people who confront tough times head on and continue to pursue their goals?  They won’t quit.  It’s not an option!  History is full of them.  We see them in all walks of life.  These are tough timers, and they share common denominators that serve as a benchmark for all of us.  They have courage, they know how to limit their focus, they have control or perceived control which works for their advantage, they are creative, they know how to own their problems, they persevere, they are optimists, they are humorous and they get support.

In order to have a positive attitude, a success attitude, you will need to do some positive mental programming.  Mental programming is how you talk to yourself, good or bad. Positive mental programming is how to talk to yourself so that you will listen to positive, reinforcing, and inspiring messages. Most people have heard of the computer principle called GIGO: garbage in, garbage out. Positive Mental Programming is good thoughts in, good results out. Here are some ideas that help in reinforcing Positive Mental Programming in your life:

ü      Focus on your goals.  Not just the numbers, but what you want to get from achieving the goal.  Goals spawn hope, which is an important emotional spark for salespeople.  Sales is an emotional sport. The more time you invest thinking about what you want to accomplish, the less time you have available obsessing on what you want to avoid.  Concentrate on what you want to achieve, not what you want to avoid.

ü      Expect your subconscious to tell you to stop.  Anytime you try to make change in your life, there will be resistance.  For example, physically, you experience this when you haven’t exercised in a long while and start a fitness program.  Your muscles become sore.  They are informing you that you are making a change.  This will happen emotionally too.

ü      Feed Your Mind with Positive Input.  Be very careful of what you choose to hear and believe.  No one can change your opinion without your permission.  Don’t give a cynic the opportunity or power to infect you with negative thinking.

ü      Focus on your “Circle of Influence.”  Focus on the things you can control and don’t worry about the things you have little or no control over.  You will find that about 90% of the things that account for your success are things that you control.  So stop worrying about the weather, the economy, and what Joe Blow is doing, and focus on what you can control.

ü      Celebrate Your Successes.  Feel good about your accomplishments.  Celebrate them.  It’s good for the soul and great for your mind.  Every success carries with it an educational and motivational benefit.  Success inspires as it educates.

ü      Play to Win.  Are you playing to win, or are you just playing hard enough not to lose?  Never is the difference so obvious as in tough times.  Truly successful salespeople play to win all the time.  They waste little time looking over their shoulders.

Now you know the first step in being successful in a down market is attitude; winning the battle in your head.  So how do you win the battle on the showroom?  We are going to review the strategies you can employ for a down market.  First, prepare, prepare, prepare.  In a down market, you can link your attitude to good planning for success.  Prepare to be successful.  Plan for it!  Second, practice good time management.  There is nothing, according to Peter Drucker, that is so useless as doing things efficiently that shouldn’t be done at all.  Here are some other strategies for being successful in a down market:

ü      Sell Value, not price.  The temptation to cut price in a down market is great.  Many salespeople and dealerships get into the “panic selling mode” and only push price, payments, and interest rates.  The value of your dealership, your product, and yourself does not diminish in a down market.  People are still going to make the decision to buy based on perceived value.  Sell the reason why the customer should do business with you over and above the price.

ü      Promise a lot and deliver more.  Focus on delivering more than you promise.  This is essential for customer satisfaction which leads to repeat and referral business.  Really do some of the stuff you’ve heard stories about.  You know, the things guys like Joe Girard did.

ü      Lose no business.  Stay in contact with your existing customer base.  They are your source for repeat and referral sales.  Treat all of them as if they are hot prospects.  On average, it cost ten times more (effort and money) to get a new customer than to keep and existing customer.

ü      Make more calls.  In a down market you have to work harder.  There is no way to sugarcoat it.  If you work harder and smarter, you will win.

ü      Don’t let the customer see you sweat.  Customers will use anything you say against you in the negotiation.  If customers know that the business is soft, that sales are down, they will use this information to gain negotiating momentum.  Make every day a great day.  Always present your business as being great.  Every car you have on the lot is one of your most popular models.  Market the positive.

ü      Maximize every opportunity.  Eliminate any and all shortcuts in the sales process.  Make sure you do whatever it takes to build value in you, your product, and your dealership.  Close, close, close.  Don’t just ask for the business once and give up if the customer says “no.”  Dig in, overcome objections, and keep closing until they buy. 

ü      Influence and lead.  Just remember that customers want to deal with leaders, not followers.  They want to deal with people they perceive to be successful.  Dress and act the part of a top professional salesperson.

ü      Leverage your manager.  In down markets it is imperative that you get your manager involved in the sale.  Your manager can be a source of strength for you.  Use your manager to help you close any deal you can’t close on your own.  Ask your manager to push you towards your sales objectives.  Ask your manager to coach you and help you leverage your strengths and improve your weaknesses.

I’ve watched many dealerships and salespeople thrive in a down market.  My career started in a down market, and for me, every year in sales was better than the previous year, regardless of the market (which by the way was getting worse and worse).  If you commit to being successful and apply some of the things we discussed above, you will win!

Go to RTG Home Page

Telephone skills training is one of the most important factors in the success of your dealership.  Customers form a judgment about your dealership based on contact with a single individual.  If your people don’t demonstrate good telephone etiquette, they leave a negative impression about your dealership that is difficult to overcome and affects your bottom line.

Your staff’s skills, knowledge and abilities always need to be conveyed in a professional manner on the telephone.  Every person at the dealership who comes in contact with the public is a salesperson, and the impression made is an advertisement for your dealership– positive or negative.  Keep in mind that you never know who is on the other end of the line.  Even a call transferred internally could be from an outside caller!  As a result, the telephone skills and professionalism of every employee are critical. 

Your dealership’s image suffers every time a customer is treated rudely or unprofessionally, receives incorrect information or is not called back promptly.  Consistently mishandled calls cost money and seriously undermine your customer service, marketing, and advertising efforts.  Profits and sales increase every time a customer hears a “smile”, “friendly body language”, and a positive business attitude.  The people in your dealership need to sound warm and inviting.  They need to speak clearly and be courteous.  They need to be good listeners.

Everyone should treat the customer with respect, give them more than they expect, and make their experience of dealing with your company as pleasant as possible.  Try these 10 tips for successful telephone communication:

Attitude.  Your attitude impacts the level of customer service you provide.  Put your attitude on straight and keep a smile in your voice.  Work toward demonstrating a “can do” attitude, realizing that nothing is too good for the customer.

Offer Assistance.  Nothing is more frustrating than just being sent straight into voice mail.  When the person being contacted is unavailable, think how you can help the caller.  Voice mail is not the only option.

Transferring Calls.  Provide a “personal escort” for callers by staying with the call until it has been connected.  If you’re unable to do so, give the recipient’s name, number, and department before disconnecting.  Replace the words “I’ll transfer you” with “I’ll connect you” or “I’ll send you”.

Messages.  When taking hand-written messages, fill in all of the blanks, spell names correctly, and write names phonetically if difficult to pronounce.  Repeat the message to the caller.  Two times out of 10, we make a mistake.

Take Notes.  90% of what we hear or learn is lost or forgotten within 48 hours.  Your retention will improve nearly 50 percent if you take notes.  Retention moves to nearly 75 percent when you talk about what you’ve heard or learned.

Greetings.  Design your greeting to include a friendly “good morning”, “good afternoon”, or “thank you for calling”.  State your company or department name and your name.  I prefer for my dealerships to answer the phone in the following manner: “It’s a great day at RTG Motors.  Thanks for calling.  I’m Darren VanCleave.  How may I direct your call?”

Holding.  Personalize the “hold” request by asking if the customer is able to hold for you...wait for their response… and be certain to thank them for holding for you.  Whenever possible, tell them why they’ll need to hold.  Never leave a customer on hold for more than 15 seconds.

Ask Questions.  Strengthen your listening skills by asking relevant questions.  Practice asking questions from a “curiosity” perspective.  This allows you to maintain a conversational tone and helps demonstrate your genuine interest and concern.

Voice Mail.  Call yourself up!  Make certain your message sounds inviting, not monotonous, canned or impersonal.  Practice until your message sounds relaxed and comfortable.

Listen.  Research shows that 98% of all we learn will be absorbed through our eyes or ears, yet we receive little or no formal training for skill development in this area.  Make a conscious effort to demonstrate active listening skills.

Customers do business where they’re treated best.  Last year, according to J.D. Power, 82% of customers said that the #1 reason they bought from the dealership is because they liked and trusted the salesperson and the dealership.  Challenge your people to refine their basic telephone skills by managing incoming and outgoing calls more efficiently.  Inspect what you expect.  We mystery shop our dealerships at least ten times per month; you should do the same.  As a result, you’ll improve your dealership image and enhance customer service.

Go to RTG Home Page

Our July Workshops have completely Sold Out! 

By request, we are doing a Professional Business Development Workshop in September.

Professional Business Development Workshop

• Establish A Communication Hub To Increase Customer Loyalty

• Create Additional Showroom Traffic (More Opportunities)

•  Increase Gross Profit and Customer Satisfaction

Los Angeles, California

September 12-13, 2005

SanAntonio, Texas

September 14-15, 2005

Philadelphia, PA

September 16-17, 2005

Only $1295 per person

$100 discount per person for 5 or more enrollments from the same dealership.

Seating is very limited.  Enroll Now.  Call 281-577-8080.

2 Day- The Selling Zones- Professional Selling Skills Workshop- Live at Your Dealership                    

Only $6995 Click Here to Order Now or call 1-866-RTG-4BDC

2 Day- Telephone Skills Workshop- Live at Your Dealership                    

Only $6995 Click Here to Order Now or call 1-866-RTG-4BDC

2 Day- F&I Menu Selling Workshop- Live at Your Dealership                    

Only $6995 Click Here to Order Now or call 1-866-RTG-4BDC

Website Design- Standard Package                    

Only $399 setup, $199/mo.

Includes:

Your choice of stylish designs.  Editable content, copy, pictures. Site permissions- Add, edit, or delete who can manage the editing of your site.  Form recipients: Your dealership can control who receives the email from your web site. Auto responders- every customer will be sent a follow-up letter automatically.  Email account (you@you.com). And much more...

Click Here for more details or call 1-866-RTG-4BDC

Website Design- Elite Package                    

Only $1198 setup, $599/mo.

Includes:

The Elite Package is the top of the line site. The Elite includes the most retail-focused website on the market today. List your lease and purchase specials, APR and rebate offers, and more to your site's home page with the retail suite.  And much more...

Click Here for more details or call 1-866-RTG-4BDC

Search Engine Keyword Attack- Website Placement and Optimization-

Turbo Package                   

Only $699 setup, $699/mo.

Includes:

This package includes 100 different keywords and phrases. This can include all of your local franchise competition as well as many other geographically relevant keywords. Up 10 different hand-crafted ads will be developed for your dealership in conjunction with your advertising messages and market advantages.

Click Here for more details or call 1-866-RTG-4BDC

Email Marketing and Database Hosting

Free Trial

The most cost-effective way to build and manage customer relationships.  Send email newsletters, announcements, and other vital communications quickly, easily, and securely.     Click Here to Order Now or call 1-866-RTG-4BDC

RTG Daily Planner For Automotive Managers

Only $24.95

90 Day Planner    Click Here to Order Now or call 1-866-RTG-4BDC

Business is great!  Through referrals for a job well done, our company has accelerated growth over the past six months.  We are almost completely booked through mid 2005.  We have availability to add only select new accounts this year.  If a dealership is seriously interested in our services, we offer a FREE IN DEALERSHIP EVALUATION.  Click here for more information...

Go to RTG Home Page

I want to share information about the excellent experience we’ve had with RTG.  When we heard about RTG, we scheduled a meeting. From the very beginning it was clear that RTG is totally different than the other options available to dealerships in the automotive industry today.

In my opinion you can measure the capacity and quality of a person by analyzing the questions they ask.  RTG gave us a simple 20 question survey which amazed me.  I knew from that point that these guys were really different.  The questions get to the core of a dealership.  If you answer them sincerely, you will immediately realize where you stand as a dealership.  RTG listens to your answers and then looks at your people, processes, procedures, and results.  They will advise you on what you need to do, when you need to do it, and how it should be done.  But they don’t stop there.  They make sure you do it the right way, teach you and your staff to track what you do effectively, and they track it themselves, so you can be sure that every dollar you invest in their training is well spent.

We started with RTG’s Business Development Communication Center Training. Our results so far have been great.  Our appointments and shows on incoming calls and unsold follow-up are up over 500%.  Because of the process, the tracking, and the analysis, we realized that we need to work on the skills of our sales staff.  We are creating a huge amount of showroom opportunities with the BDCC and we want to maximize every one of those opportunities.  We are about to begin RTG Selling Zones training with our sales staff.

This is by far the best training I have ever heard of or seen, including the past 6 N.A.D.A. Conventions.  The RTG people have been fabulous and a very essential part of our team.  They have not only trained us, they have become an asset of our company and we are very grateful to them.  For us, RTG is Gold.

  Click here for more information...

Go to RTG Home Page

Its been said that salespeople who avoid making phone calls have skinny children. Prospecting for new business is critically important and for the majority of salespeople, it is by far the most challenging and stressful aspect of their profession. Successful salespeople are proactive and recognize the importance of prospecting for new business daily. They don't have to be reminded to ask for referrals or follow up on a sales lead, they do it automatically. This article is packed full of helpful phone calling tips and techniques which, if put into practice, will fill your appointment calendar with new business opportunities!

Don't shoot from the hip, use a script. If you want to sound confident and competent, I strongly suggest that you write out your opening and closing remarks. If you sound in the least bit nervous or unprepared, people will immediately sense this and rightfully assume that you lack experience. Using a phone script for your opening and closing remarks is a good idea for several reasons. A well-polished phone script gives you a consistent approach that keeps you on message and guarantees you don't leave out important information. Be respectful of your prospect's time by designing your phone script to be short, sweet, and to the point. Once you have prepared your phone script, it's now time to tape record yourself reading it aloud until you sound smooth and polished. While you might be tempted to skip this step, don't do it. Recording your phone script role-play session provides you with a golden opportunity to critique your performance and improve your delivery.

During a face-to-face conversation, first impressions are based primarily on appearance. While on the other hand, first impressions created over the phone are based on brevity, vocal quality, and attitude. An upbeat mental attitude is contagious and, unless taken to an extreme, builds rapport and creates a very positive first impression. Keep in mind that a smile can be heard over the phone. The best way to build trust and rapport during a phone conversation is to match your prospect's energy level. This is accomplished by "subtly" matching their rate of speech and tone of voice. For example, if you have the tendency to speak fast/loud and your prospect begins speaking slow/soft, you will need to lower your voice and slow your rate of speech down to match them. The psychological power behind the principle of matching is based on the premise that people want to do business with salespeople who they feel are similar to them.

There is absolutely no substitute for preparation and practice. Like most successful endeavors, the key to effective phone calling has a lot to do with preparation and practice. Practice builds confidence through repetition. Ask your sales manager or an associate to schedule an hour role-play session with you. This session is important because it gives you a dress rehearsal and the opportunity to work the kinks out of your script. As they say in the military, train like you plan to fight. Create a realistic training environment by role-playing over the phone. Begin the role-play session with minimal prospect resistance and then, as your confidence builds, gradually inject typical prospect objections. While it is impossible to have a script that might address every conceivable objection, you must anticipate key objections and develop scripts to respond to them.

Remember to stay positive, polite, and professional. Be organized, do your homework, and take good notes. If you are prospecting commercial or corporate accounts, before you contact your prospect, take a moment to research their company by visiting their website. By reading your prospect's company newsletter, annual report, and press releases you become familiar with their products and services. Stay organized and save time by using a daily planner to record your notes after each phone call. Relying on your memory alone is a poor business decision and is bound to cost you money.  Of course, having a good CRM Software is a big plus.

It is important to keep in mind that the primary purpose of any prospect phone call is to make an appointment, not a sale. Most salespeople make the fundamental mistake of overeducating their prospect and dominating the phone call in an attempt to showcase their knowledge. Obviously you will need to respond to some questions, however, questions that require a detailed response become an excellent reason to secure an appointment. Use your precious phone time to gather information through the use of open-ended questions. Your objective is to build your prospect's interest and arouse their curiosity through a series of well designed, probing questions about them and their organization. Just before you ask for the appointment, summarize the key points of your conversation for clarity and agreement.

Top producers don't take rejection personally, because they realize that selling is fundamentally a numbers game. It really doesn't matter what product or service you are selling; the key to your long-term success is directly linked to your ability and desire to prospect effectively. Phone calling in today's marketplace is much more challenging than in years past, but fortunately the basics never change. Selling is, after all, a contact sport!