We’re very excited about this next interview with Rhett Blanchard, the President of Blanchard Hyundai in Asheville, North Carolina.  Rhett provides some great insights into the auto sales business, as well as specific advice on running a successful car dealership.

If you’d like to be interviewed for our Car Dealer Interview Series tweet us @EasyAutoSales or shoot me an email at will(at)easyautosales.com.

1. Rhett, can you tell us a little bit about Blanchard Hyundai?

We opened the doors about 3 months ago, as North Carolina’s newest
Hyundai dealer.  Prior to this, we were Asheville Dodge, a Dodge dealership that we have owned and operated for the last 12 years. We are a member of Keffer Automotive Group out of Charlotte, NC who owns or operates over 25 stores in the Southeast.  We have since sold the Dodge point to the local Chrysler-Jeep dealer and are exclusively a Hyundai Dealership.  The transaction was virtually seamless.  The day that Chrysler announced bankruptcy plans was the very day that we received our first Hyundai vehicles.

2. Can you give us some background on your own automotive career?  Why did you get into the business and what do you like about selling cars?

I started selling cars during college at a Nissan dealership in the Charlotte Area and was immediately hooked. The daily interaction with people and trying to both meet the customer’s needs and still sell something was a huge draw.  If you don’t love people, you will fail in sales, period. After college I was recruited by Keith Hawthorne who at the time was the General Manager at Keffer Dodge to do finance there.  That was an amazing experience with a lot of high energy exceptional people who really have molded my career and helped me grow.  I was later promoted to Sales Manager and then General Manager at out new location in Asheville.  The thing that I enjoy most out of the automotive business is the daily interaction with the customer and our employees.

3. What has been the biggest challenge your dealership has faced in 2009?  How has your dealership adapted to meet this challenge?

The biggest challenge we have had to face in 2009 is the fact that we are switching from a domestic product that doesn’t have a high customer perception, to an import brand that is very highly thought of. We are still struggling with inventory stocking levels, what to stock and the most effective marketing strategies.  The staff was very lean as a Dodge Dealer, it seems that we went into this recession first.  We have actually had to hire additional staff and get them up to speed on the new product.  Of course with Hyundai, we are anticipating a huge sales lift with the government CARS program.

4. Do you do anything special to ensure your shopper’s dealership experience is a good one?

Our people are paid on customer satisfaction.  I believe that your pay plan IS your job description.  I think that is best reflected in our repeat and referral percentage of business every month.  I also try to make sure that we are priced competitively in the market, so they don’t have to pay extra to do business here.  We have several managers and sales people who have been here for a couple of years.  I also believe that customer satisfaction begins with employee retention.  When the customer comes back into the store for a second vehicle and sees a number of familiar faces, that is reassures them of their experience being a good one.

5. What are some unique marketing tactics Blanchard Hyundai is doing to get more people in the door?

We are not doing any print at all.  All of our marketing is electronic. We have several annual radio contracts, as well as local personalities driving our vehicles and doing our commercials.  Internet is becoming a bigger part of our budget now with the new product.  We are sticking our feet in the water in buying some leads as well as some Google Ad words. Because we are “new” we had another Grand Opening and did a weekend with remotes and a cash tube.  Hectic, but worth it.

6. What are your most effective online marketing channels and how do you measure their success?

Our most effective online channels are third party sites like Autotrader.com and Cars.com.  We update them daily and re-price new and used inventory weekly.  They both have very effective integrated reporting tools that we monitor. These sites are spending extraordinary amounts of money to bring visitors to them, so if your aren’t there, you really aren’t reaching the market.  Our organic leads have a much higher closing percentage, and a much smaller funnel.  Our own website continues to be our number 1 online medium as well as the Manufacturers’ site and leads.

7. How involved is your dealership with social media? What kind of success, if any, have you seen from this medium? Are there any obstacles preventing you from getting more out of online tools like Twitter and Facebook?

We have both a twitter account and a facebook fan page.  I think that the biggest misconception about both sites is the corporate media strategy employed by other dealers and vendors.  It seems that a high number of companies on twitter employ strategies to get the highest number of followers regardless of interest.  If these are people who are not in your market, or will not ever transact with you then what is the point?  Our goal is to cultivate a group of followers with common interests and a regional location, so that when we have a marketing message or service special, I can get some traction.  I end up blocking most companies feeds from my twitter account that continually spam, or try to get me to sign up for more followers.  Our strategy is quality over quantity.  Very much like our customer service strategy, we want loyalty throughout a buying cycle, not a good survey score 1 time.

Thanks for your time Rhett!  If you have any further questions for Rhett please leave them in the comments.  Hopefully we can keep the interview going.  You can also find Rhett on Twitter @Bhyundai.

Find us on twitter @EasyAutoSales if you’d be interested in doing our next interview.

We’ve been a bit busy getting ready for our site’s relaunch, but we’re back with a solid dealership interview from Donna Beasley, Business Development Center Specialist at the Courtesy Automotive Group in Conyers, Georgia.  Donna was kind enough to answer a few questions about how Courtesy’s dealerships are adapting to the challenges of the automotive marketplace

1. Donna, Tell us a little bit about Courtesy Hyundai and your own career in the auto industry?

Our company is the Courtesy Automotive Group. We have three dealerships, Ford, Lincoln/Mercury and Hyundai located on a large campus in Conyers, Ga. My response to the following questions are reflection of the company-wide response and not just Courtesy Hyundai answers. I’m actually a new comer to the auto business (1 year), but have an extensive (over 10 years) background in marketing. I started in Sales and was promoted to run the Business Development Center 8 months ago.

2. As a result of the recession, what expenses have you cut from your daily operation? What new programs have you added to your daily operation?

Like all dealerships we have had to do some belt-tightening including laying off some employees. Operationally, we are pretty much the same. In fact our owners have invested in remodeling some aspects of the dealership. We have a new and improved quick lane, accessories store and refreshed the look of one of our main showrooms.

3. Has your attitude towards the marketing budget changed? Has it shifted more and more online?

Our marketing efforts have definitely included a stronger online presence, including improved websites, entry into social media, advertising on online car sites, like autotrader.com. In fact, the web is driving 60% of our leads right now. We still do traditional media, TV and Newspaper but its not driving business like it use to. One thing that is driving leads our way are the car specific magazines like, Car Smarts Magazine and Just Cars Magazine. We have had good success with those.

4. What are some of the biggest concerns you have when buying leads?

Whether there is going to be a return on the investment. So often, several dealerships in the same area are getting the same leads.

6. What are your thoughts on online reputation management?

Its important. We monitor what consumers are saying about us with Twitter and Google alerts. I find some company’s like Ford, are doing a great job of building both their Brand online and managing their online reputation. Some others are moving at a slow and easy pace. As far as our dealerships go, with all the bad news in the car business, its important to promote and build both our offline and online reputation. We must instill confidence in our customers and prospects that they can count on us to be here to service their automobile needs.

7. What can dealers do to adapt as many people start shifting their shopping patterns towards online research and browse?

Our experience is that the shift has already happened. Almost all of our customers, even those that walk-in to our showroom have researched their vehicle options online before they step thorough the door. This includes seniors. Sometimes a customer knows more about the vehicle than the salesman, because they have been researching their dream car for weeks and know every single detail about the vehicle. We have adapted by improving our website: www.courtesyatlanta.com to make the customer’s online shopping experience better, including providing better photos, and navigational ease, we have a dedicated internet staff, and we communicate with our customer base via email marketing on a more consistent basis.

Thanks for your time Donna!  If you have further questions for Donna please ask them in the comments.  Hopefully we can keep the interview going.  You can also find her behind the Courtesy Hyundai Twitter handle @HyundaiAtlanta.  If you’d like to be interviewed for our dealership interview series find us on Twitter @EasyAutoSales or shoot me an email at will(at)easyautosales.com.

Here at EasyAutoSales we are always brainstorming ways to improve our services to help car dealers more effectively sell cars.  While we will never stop coming up with ideas on our own, whatever we come up with pales in comparison to YOUR collective feedback.  Because of this undeniable truth we have created a Car Dealer Online Marketing survey using Survey Monkey.  It will take you 5 minutes or less to cruise through, and will really help us learn how we can help you sell cars better online.  Once we get enough responses we will compile the data and post our findings on this blog.

Please click the following link to take our Car Dealer Online Marketing Survey http://bit.ly/sidY5

We really appreciate your time!

Brad and David Hensley Jr of Cars Etc.

For our next car dealer interview David Hensley Jr of Cars Etc. Inc. in Knoxville, TN shares some great information on his dealership’s marketing budget, online dealer reviews, and more.

If you would like to take part in our dealer interview series please email me at will(at)easyautosales.com or twitter us at @easyautosales.com.

1. David, tell us a little bit about Cars Etc. , and your own career in the auto industry?

Cars Etc…Inc. was started in May of 1983, by James Hensley, Jr. since then, we have grown from a front row consisting of 4 vehicles and 2 employees; James and his brother, David,Sr. to over 200 units currently in stock and 10 full time employees, majority of which are family.  Two of whom are Brad and David, Jr. who aspire to make this a 2nd generation business and we both have for the most part spent our entire lives learning this business, be it washing cars or developing advertising campaigns. This dealership is all we have ever know and all we ever want to do.

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Ed O'Grady Car Dealer of Classic Chevrolet

To continue our dealer interview series we’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Ed O’Grady of  the Classic Chevrolet dealership in Amherst, MA.  Ed shares with us his experiences selling cars in the current economy.

If you would like to be included in our Car Dealer Interview series, please drop me an email at will(at)easyautosales.com or twitter us @easyautosales.

1. Ed, tell us a little bit about Classic Chevrolet?

Classic Chevrolet was formerly Paige’s Chevrolet. It was purchased from the Paige family in 2002. This dealership has been in Amherst, Ma since  1883 (horse and buggy) a small, customer friendly place with very long-term employees and a consistently high customer satisfaction index (CSI).

2. As a result of the recession, what expenses have you cut from your daily operation?  What new programs have you added to your daily operation?

The largest cuts we have made is in our New car floor plan. We have drastically reduced our New vehicle inventory. Some new programs we have added to our store revolves around the Internet. Blog pages, twitter, and other social media. We also use lots of on line free advertising such as Craigslist. We have been doing lots of FREE advertising to complement advertising we pay for.

3. In addition to cutting down on new car inventory, have you also made changes to your used car inventory such as offering cars under a certain price or age?

Yes we definitely have started to offer cars below $9,995. We have typically only offered very low mileage vehicles that are Certifiable.

4. How would you rate the performances of your twitter and blogging efforts? What are dealers missing if they don’t do these things?

Twitter has been a great way to announce certain specials and offer certain vehicles to a more targeted audience. We get greater views of our inventory through this media.If dealers don’t get involved now I think they are missing out on some additional opportunities!

5. Has your attitude towards the marketing budget changed?  Has it shifted more and more online?

Yes our marketing budget has shifted almost completely to online.We do have a car magazine that works well here that we also use. People have shifted to on line only to find a car and research the dealer, before they commit. People still purchase at the dealership, as opposed to online.

6. What are some of the biggest concerns you have when buying leads?

We don’t purchase leads at this store, however when I used to purchase them duplicates and phony info were always the concern. Actually how did the lead get generated? Was it some contest on line to win something? Or Did the customer request to be contacted!

7. Do dealers still pay flat fees for marketing their online presence?

We still pay some flat fees for online presence , however we utilize everything we pay for to the max!

8. What are your thoughts on online reputation management? Are online reviews of dealers the next IT thing?

An online reputation is crucial to your success. Reviews and comments online are very valuable.

9. What can dealers do to adapt as many people start shifting their shopping patterns towards online research and browse?

Media on your website.  Videos show the likeness of the dealership.  I think people are all ready doing this!

Thanks for your time Ed! Readers, if you have any more questions for Ed feel free to add it in the comments.  Hopefully we can keep the interview going.   You can also find Ed on Twitter @carsalepro

Classic Chevrolet Dealership in Amerherst, MA