Auto Dealer Monthly Magazine is the daily operations publication serving the retail automotive industry. This automotive publication serves dealer principals, officers and general managers with the latest best practices.
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S A LE S PRO By Stephanie Forshee Sales Professional of the Month APRIL 2013 Dekendri Dekendric Dekendrick Woodard wasn���t e n actly n c y exactly a natural, his manager says, when he joined Holt Auto s, when roup o p Group in May 2008. But now, nearly v r nearly fve years later, he���s an Internet s r sale ternet sales manager who���s rolli b 2 ing about 28 vehicles per month, and he���s the No. 1 sales producer at Holt Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Arlington, Texas. But the road to success had its bumps along the way. Woodard started at one of Holt���s nowdefunct Saturn stores, and he was only a year into his sales career when the marque fled for bankruptcy in 2009. Te group then purchased a Dodge dealership, which meant Woodard wasn���t out of a job. But for a newbie still learning the ropes, the transition meant he���d have to start from scratch and rebuild his sales strategies. ���It was a pretty tough transition, because there are so many diferent trim levels. And I never dealt with a truck or minivan [with Saturn],��� Woodard explains. ���But as a salesperson, you���ve got to continue to change with the times and fgure things out.��� Tat meant he also had to change his approach to mesh with the expectations of his new clientele. ���Saturn had a no-hassle, no-haggle philosophy; everyone knew that coming on the lot,��� Woodard recalls. ���Te price was the price.��� With the help of his general sales manager and longtime friend Shawn Andrus, Woodard began crafing some new strategies of his own. One of those tactics includes a simple ���Tank you��� text he sends to customers. ���I���m just sending them a friendly thank you for stopping by,��� he says. ���It gives them a way to get in contact with you and lets them know you appreciate them coming out.��� Tat kind of connection with customers is how Woodard draws in his repeat customers. ���As long as you treat them right the frst time, they remember you,��� he says. ���[I have customers who] still call me on my cell phone and say, ���Hi, I���m coming up there for an oil change.��� And that���s because they still have my number.��� Woodard has even lured some of his frst Saturn customers in to buy a Dodge. His secret: good old-fashioned customer service. ���It���s no big secret,��� he says. ���Treat them right, and they���ll come back.��� Holt averages about 100 new vehicles per month and about 90 used, so Woodard clearly makes up a big chunk of the store���s sales. Last year, Andrus notes, he sold more than 30 vehicles in four separate months. ���He���s pretty much been the top producer probably nine of 12 months for the last two to three years,��� Andrus says. ���So it goes to show that work ethic and being here on time and being accountable go a long way.��� It was about a year afer he hopped on the foor at Saturn when Woodard got the swing of things in sales, and his managers asked him to switch to Internet sales. It���s a role he maintains at Holt Chrysler Jeep Dodge, where the Internet sales team is asked to guide Internet leads through the entire transaction. ���A lot of things in the automobile business have transitioned to the Internet, so you get more opportunity coming through the Internet than you do on the showroom foor these days,��� Andrus says. ���So we fgured it would be best suited for him to talk to as many people as DEKENDRICK WOODARD HOLT CHRYSLER JEEP DODGE he possibly could.��� But as Woodard discovered, the transition meant learning a new set of rules. ���When someone sends an Internet inquiry, they send it to you and fve other Dodge dealerships in a 30-mile radius. So it���s a lot more difcult than being on the foor,��� he says. ���Most foor people don���t believe that. Tey think that just because you get leads that it equals sales.��� Te reality is most Internet leads come with questions he must feld. And Woodard knows he must answer all of them upfront or he risks losing the customer to a competitor. And that means sometimes providing a price quote if the customer asks. ���Most people are going to come see you afer you answer their questions, so you might as well answer them upfront,��� he says, adding that most customers are just looking for the lowest price. ���You just do your best to build value: build value in the dealership, build value in the product.��� NOMINATE A SALES PROFESSIONAL OF THE MONTH Each year, Auto Dealer Monthly recognizes 12 sales professionals for their achievements. Each monthly winner is automatically considered for the Sales Professional of the Year. Dealers, general managers, and general sales managers are encouraged to reward a top achiever in their organization by submitting their name for nomination. To nominate your sales professional, send his or her name, dealership information and a testimonial on why you think they should be considered. You must include your name, position and contact information as supervisors will be interviewed and sales information verifed. Nominations can be e-mailed to Editor@AutoDealerMonthly.com 52 AUTO DE ALE R MONTHLY ��� APRIL 2013