The Perfect Internet Manager

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Permalink Reply by Ralph Paglia on November 25, 2009 at 3:36pm

A master hypnotist who knows how to plant "Post-Hypnotic Suggestions" in the minds of car buyers whether they are visiting a web page, reading an email, or speaking to him or her on the phone... Hey, you said "If you could create"!

But, if I was relegated to the world of reality and could only choose from what is available, first I would want to know what the job is that you describe as an "Internet Manager". If this person would be someone who is responsible for selling cars to retail customers based on the digital marketing efforts on the part of the dealership, then I would want to find someone who could execute the following roles and responsibilities better than anyone else:

Internet Sales Specialist Job Description:
The Internet Sales Specialist (ISS) is responsible for receiving and responding to web based electronic inquiries (leads) and phone calls that result from prospects and customers visiting various ABC Motors and associated web sites. The ISS will be evaluated based on performance standards that measure how many leads were converted to showroom visits and how many of those showroom visits resulted in a sale. The ISS should be fully capable of both traditional and Internet-specific automotive sales processes. The ISM is required to execute customer communications via email, telephone and face-to-face that conforms to the standards and processes put into effect by the Digital Marketing Director and ABC Motors management. An ISS must show up for work on time, per the Internet Sales Manager’s published schedule and conduct himself/herself in a manner compatible with the existing corporate culture, and general policies and procedures of ABC Motors.

Qualifications and Duties include the following:

Execute Sales Process in Accordance with ABC Motors Sales Strategies, including:
• Be able to sell cars and trucks using email, phone and face-to-face skill sets
• Show up for work on time and as scheduled by manager
• Attend sales meetings for both the dealership and the eSales department
• Use a personal computer for email, Lead Management Tool (LMT), web sites and MS office applications such as Word, Excel and Internet Explorer
• Respond to Internet Leads within 30 minutes of receiving them in LMT
• Call prospects within 45 minutes of receiving a new lead
• Set appointments dealership visit with at least 23% of prospects received
• Achieve Lead-to-Dealership conversion rate of 14%+ on new leads received
• Sell at least 70% of prospects who visit the dealership after submitting a new lead
• Achieve an overall Lead-to-Sales closing ratio of 10% or higher
• Attend training and complete testing requirements to become GM Certified to receive GM BuyPower leads
• Understand the buying profile and patterns of the Internet customer
• Use ABC Motors’s Lead Management systems to ensure response time to all customer inquires – email, fax or telephone – is virtually instantaneous
• Utilize personalized ABC Motors email templates for communications
• Utilize ABC Motors telephone word tracks as guidelines for process and flow of customer phone contacts
• Select multiple vehicles for each Internet lead and respond to that lead with price quotes on those vehicles within the first 30 minutes of receiving a new lead.
• Execute ABC Motors’s pricing strategy when responding to leads in a way that profitably competes for the Internet customer both on-line and off-line
• Execute the ABC Motors sales process in a consistent yet flexible manner that results in a customer experience designed to achieve the highest sales ratios
• Register all sold customers in GM programs designed specifically to tie them to ABC Motors… www.My-Chevrolet.com
• When assigned by manager; register, schedule and attend Internet training and information seminars designed to learn the latest processes and techniques for automotive eBusiness
• Attend weekly General Sale Meeting on Fridays at 8:00AM
• Attend weekly Internet Sales Team meeting on Thursdays at 1:00PM
• Each ISS must have and maintain a text-message capable cell phone that is set up to receive notification of new leads received and assigned to that salesperson
• Each ISS must have and maintain a text-message capable cell phone set up to receive notice of new emails received from existing prospects and sold customers

Measurement and tracking systems:
• Each day, the ISS must complete and submit their paper based appointment tracking log to the Internet Sales Manager
• Enter all prospect communications notes, records and customer appointment data into ABC Motors’s Lead Management Tool
• Track and comply with programs that measure ISS process success:
 Leads Received
 Outbound Telephone Calls
 Appointments Set
 Appointment Shows
 Sales

• Each ISS must ensure that appointment information is provided to the showroom receptionist, as well as the sales desk in ABC Motors showrooms
• Ensure that customer’s name is on welcome boards in the showrooms
• Comply with procedures to ensure all customers are tracked and follow-up is maintained using the dealership’s lead management tools
• Cooperate with procedures to quality control email and telephone contacts
• Maintain tracking boards showing Internet sales updated each day of the month
• Prepare daily, weekly and monthly reports, then turn in to management
• Prepare reports showing appointments scheduled, which customers showed up and which customers were sold from leads received

ABC Motors Web Sites

• Be thoroughly familiar with the characteristics of all ABC Motors affiliated web sites, as well as those of ABC Motors lead providers. These include:
www.HouseOfCourtesy.com
www.CourtesyChev.com
www.CourtesyOnBell.com
www.SuperFeo.com
www.Chevrolet-Car.com
www.Chevrolet-GM.com
www.Chevrolet-New.com
www.Chevrolet-USA.com
www.Chevrolet-Used.com
www.Chevy-Deals.com
www.Chevy-AZ.com
www.ChevyAZ.com
www.Latino-Chevy.com
www.LatinoChevy.com
www.Drive-Chevy.com
www.My-Chevrolet.com
www.GM-Certified-Used.com
www.My-Chevy.com
www.ChevyPriceQuote.com
www.Chevy-Price-Quote.com
www.Cheap-Chevy.com
www.AZcarDeals.com
www.2007Tahoe.com
www.YouGotGas.com
www.AZcarFinance.com
www.GMBuyPower.com

• Know how to use Lead Management Tool utilities to make changes in ISS profile, email templates, reports and customer profile up-dates
• Learn to look up inventory data, track vehicle shipments and locate prospect desired vehicles using GM technologies
• Be able to use photos of vehicles in emails when working with prospects
• Keep current on all incentives & promos to ensure price quotes are current
• Be able to use links to third party web sites in emails sent to customers
• Know how to use Lead Management Tool metrics and reports to improve process performance and sales closing ratios

Information Technology Account Management Requirements

• Establish account at: www.GMDealerWorld.com and become proficient with Ordering, Production Tracking, Inventory and Vehicle Locate applications
• Establish and maintain NetTrack/BuzzTrak account at: www.LeadCRM.com and complete Phone based online training as provided by NetTrack Support
• Establish and maintain GM Certified Internet salesperson account at: www.GMTraining.com and become GM Internet Certified Sales Professional
• Establish a ABC Motors UCS Dealership Management System user account using PowerWorkstation PC based application, complete all Computer Assisted Training (CA) courses to ensure system application competency
• Establish and maintain a user@HouseOfCourtesy.com email account using MS Outlook application and check and respond to ABC Motors email messages on a daily basis
• Establish and use a Yahoo.com email account for use in “Mystery Shopping” competing dealerships in Arizona.
• Install Kelley Blue Book “KarPower” used vehicle valuation software on your assigned ABC Motors PC workstation, learn to use it for Trade-In values
• Each ISS must have and maintain a text-message capable cell phone that is set up to receive notification of new leads received and assigned to that salesperson
• Each ISS must have and maintain a text-message capable cell phone set up to receive notice of new emails received from existing prospects and sold customers

Other Duties & Responsibilities

• Be technically proficient in selling cars using the Internet
• Conduct online visits to other dealers to monitor their strategies and tactics
• Build rapport with senior managers to ensure support for eSales

Performance Requirements and Benchmarks

• Unit Sales: 8 Units/Month Minimum Requirement (3 month rolling average)
• Unit Sales: 12 Units/Month or more is the Benchmark for ISS’s
• Outbound Calls: 40 Calls/Day Minimum Requirement (5 day average)
• Outbound Calls: 200% of Working Leads/Day is Benchmark for ISS’s
• Lead to Showroom Conversion: 15% Minimum Requirement (monthly average)
• Lead to Showroom Conversion: 25% or more is the Benchmark for ISS’s
• Closing Ratio on Shows: 30% is the Minimum Requirement (monthly average)
• Closing Ratio on Shows: 60% or more is the Benchmark for ISS’s

The "Minimum Requirements" listed above must be met in order to stay on the Internet Sales Team… Benchmark levels are what is expected and required for promotions or bonuses.

However, if what you are looking for is someone to do all the things required in order to get to the point where people whose job is somewhat like what i described above, then you are looking for someone to fulfill a role I would normally describe as a Digital Marketing Manager or Internet Marketing Director... Then I would want to find someone that looks, acts, talks, walks like, and has a similar background to any of the people pictured below:

Just make sure you avoid anyone who looks like the guy shown in the poster below:

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Permalink Reply by Mikhail Melomed on November 26, 2009 at 11:40am

even I do not see my picture you are right Ralph
Mikhail

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Permalink Reply by Stan Sher on November 26, 2009 at 9:34pm

Yea where is mine? lol

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Permalink Reply by Susan Burgess on November 25, 2009 at 7:16pm

Ralph- the only qualification I saw missing was "janitor", which after this week, I really feel I can honestly add to my resume.
Lol...
There's really not anything to add to what's been given- that is a perfect layout of how to grow your own ISS/IMD to match your needs- I think it takes a person that is very willing to not ever know everything, remain teachable, maybe a little neurotic and a touch of OCD- oh, wait...lol...
I strive for perfection daily, however I am happy to just get the qualities described in an ISS to grow into my position one day.

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Permalink Reply by Ralph Paglia on November 26, 2009 at 10:02am

@ Susan - Darn it! I neglected to put your photo in my list of Internet Director "Archetypes"... And I was actually looking for more images of women digital marketing professionals. I think we need an ADM group for women in this business. Anyways, I hope you and the rest of our ADM "Family" have a great Thanksgiving Holiday at home or with family somewhere. As for Janitorial skills, you reminded me of all the times our ceiling leaked during the AZ Monsoon season at Courtesy Chevrolet before the new showroom was built... I was running around with two dozen Rubbermaid "totes" I bought at WalMart positioning them to catch the leaking rainwater so that the PC's in the Internet Department did not get ruined... We all knew it would have been a waste to get a new roof before the new showroom was built, but it sure made for some crazy customer phone calls... "Can you hold while I move the rainwater bucket from in front of my PC monitor?". .. The new ADM Family URL shortcut is http://ADM.fm.

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Permalink Reply by Philip Zelinger on November 26, 2009 at 1:39pm

The only picture missing is the one of tomorrow's Internet Manager! The "Internet Manager" of yesterday and today will be the General Manager and even Dealer Principal of tomorrow. He/She won't be defined by a job description or areas of responsibility as listed above but rather by the vision that they contribute to the new customer driven social network that will provide the relationships that will drive the retail auto industry in the future.

The current focus on "technicalities" like S.E.O., S.E.M., Conversion rates and the various attempts to manipulate the WWW as it exists today will shift to the ability to provide complete relevancy and transaparency to consumers who will control the flow of information - and the resulting transactions - through social networking and good old fashioned relationship based selling.

The gates are open and the inmates are in control of the asylum! The processes that "are" will revert to the processes that "were" before the Internet or even the first real world dealership was built. Simply put, the people skills and relationships that are sourced from human nature will once again dominate the retail auto industry and the true Internet Manager of the future will be the leader that recognizes that technology follows human nature - not the other way around!

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Permalink Reply by Ralph Paglia on November 27, 2009 at 11:29am

Stan is right... You will want to find someone who is as doggedly persistent and dedicated to following up with customers as this guy:

Or, for that matter, about 1,000 of the members on the ADM Community!

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Permalink Reply by Stan Sher on November 27, 2009 at 10:21pm

LOL, it's what I do...

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Permalink Reply by Thomas Ieracitano on November 29, 2009 at 4:05pm

The Internet Manager position is another leg that has been added to the Front end tree of automotive management in the few years.

Example Tree:
General Manager
-----^-------------
-------------------------General Sales Manager -----------------------------------------------
----------^----------------------------------^---------------------------------^-------------------^
New Car Manager ---- Internet Sales Manager ---- Used Car Manager ------- F and I Manager

Each considered a separate profit center. I have seen Internet departments at various stores and levels of experience,skill sets and management styles. Also the size and demographics of the store comes into consideration.I have been involved in stores which have expanded this position to act as a marketing person for the dealership as a whole (Sales, Service, Parts,etc). This can evolve or change as each store or the skill set dictates.

Thomas Ieracitano
http://DigitalCarGuy,com

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Permalink Reply by Thomas Ieracitano on December 1, 2009 at 5:01am

You know how important the Internet (and your Internet Department) is to your dealership. If you didn't, you wouldn't be reading this. The biggest step in developing an Internet Department, or turning around an ineffective one, is to acknowledge that you don't know everything. Managing an Internet Department differs greatly from managing traditional dealership departments. There are specific skill sets and tactics required to make an effective Internet Manager and/or Dedicated Internet Salesperson. Identifying and developing those skills, and the best ways to apply them, takes time and effort. I've spent the last 10+ years researching, developing and perfecting methodologies specifically for Internet Departments. I have a proven approach that can help you identify the right personnel (both internally and externally), put them in the right structure for your dealership, and secure the services that give them the tools they need to be successful.
So Click here or Put Down That Mouse and Call 229-251-2462 to get Started Now!

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