How to Pay Your Internet Sales Manager

The ISM has a role that is different from your other sales people and from your other department managers; their pay should be structured differently too. It is not best practice to pay the ISM like someone they are not. The best practice is to start with a blank slate, clearly define their responsibilities, the metrics they will be graded on and then to construct a pay plan that meets the dealerships needs while paying a fair wage for your market. Don’t be afraid to break the mold and have active communication with your ISM, in the end everyone will benefit.

1. The pay plan should focus the ISM on their responsibilities:
Align your employees’ job with dealership objectives, so the employee is compensated for achieving what the store needs in way that generates fair pay in your market. The very first step to creating your pay plan is to review your written job description. If you, like most people, do not have a written job description then first create one.

2. Use Pay Structures that Align with Your ISMs Role:
Not all methods of compensation were created equal. Every employee deserves to know how their success will be measured and the range of unacceptable, acceptable and outstanding metrics they will be judged by.  This improves the leaders ability to manage and provides your employee with a roadmap to success.  Different compensation methods will better align with the most important metrics that you will use to measure success.

3. Putting it All Together and Finding Balance in “Role” and “Pay.”
Using your job description, realistically decide how much time and focus should be given towards each objective, and back this into the value your market places on this role. For example, if your role is 100% to sell cars to Internet leads, than a 100% commission structure should be fine. 
 
4. Keep it simple.
The work should be in creating the pay plan, not in calculating it each month.  If your employee needs an oracle database and a super computer to calculate their pay, i guarantee you have an ineffective pay plan when it comes to employee motivation.  Simple and trackable is best.
 
Jared Hamilton, CEO and Founder, DrivingSales.com. For more questions or discussion on ISM Pay plans and best practices visit www.DrivingSales.com.

CNW: Floor Traffic Dearth Quite Concerning
CNW Research President Art Spinella sees lack of new-vehicle floor traffic at dealerships as a concern for sales figures for October-November as shoppers usually browse several times before buying, with pent-up demand rising as shoppers decide not to buy at the last minute.
AutoRemarketing, July 27, 2010

kbb.com Names 10 Most Comfortable New Cars Under $30,000; Domestics Dominate
Recent KBB study indicates comfort is most important factor, after reliability, and shoppers picked Buick LaCrosse, Chevy Impala, Chrysler 300, Ford Taurus and Hyundai Azera as most quiet, comfy seats, ease of handling in the under $30,000 category.
PRnewswire.com, July 27, 2010

With Explorer, Ford Hopes to Redefine SUV
Ford CEO Alan Mulally has taken risks to move company forward all along. With redesigned Explorer, now built on a car platform, Ford hopes to market a change in buyer thinking from hulking power to fuel efficiency with its 2.0-L, four-cylinder EcoBoost engine.
MSNBC.msn.com, July 27, 2010

GM, AmeriCredit Execs Discuss Acquisition
GM has seen its lease penetration drastically cut, and sub-prime buyers have had a difficult time obtaining an auto loan to purchase a GM vehicle. GM hopes the acquisition of AmeriCredit for $3.5 billion in cash will help solve these problems.

Fewer Than One in Ten Sub-Prime Auto Loans Approved
Historically, about 60% of subprime auto loans were approved. Today during the credit crunch that number has dropped to 9%. That opens up a growth market for GM and Chrysler who are targeting subprime buyers with new initiatives.

AutoNation's Jackson Says U.S. Market Will Gain Strength This Year
The market should be selling at a rate of 11.5 million vehicles in the third quarter of 2010, a rate that is above the rate for the third quarter of 2009. These gains could be lost without improvement in employment and housing.

OPENLANE iDEAL Open Seller Program Boosts Dealer to Dealer Sales

OPENLANE, Inc, leading North America online auction company, continues its record-breaking sales year, with best ever U.S. open auction and Canadians sales. Recent expansion of OPENLANE’s "iDEAL Open Seller program" throughout Canada, providing dealers with the freshest online inventory available in a more efficient and timely manner, creating a significant boost in dealer-to-dealer sales. For more information visit OPENLANE or call 866.969.0321 or email dealer_info@openlane.com.

Autobytel is Exclusive Partner with NAMAD

Autobytel joins with NAMAD to help minority dealerships sell more cars, more cost-efficiently as exclusive third-party lead provider, "to help member dealers thrive in the digital economy,” said Autobytel President and CEO Jeff Coats. Programs include iControl; Autobytel’s pay-for-performance Used Car Program; lead treatments such as Rapid Response, Email Manager, and Custom Messaging, as well as Autobytel’s in-dealership Internet Process training. Visit NAMAD or Autobytel for more information.

Keeping Customers Cool Pays Off!
OneCommand will help you host a service clinic to fuel significant increases in satisfaction, traffic and revenue! Hosting an A/C Clinic in your Service Department is just one example and a perfect way to help your customers stay cool while your sales and service business heats up! Last year, a PA dealer hosted an AC Clinic and generated 349 ROs for $64,000 in service revenue and 6 vehicle sales! Get your AC Clinic started today! Request more info or call 800.211.7614.

Online Video Ads Should Be in Your Media Plan
By Hollis Thomases

Much has changed in online video advertising, particularly with respect to the availability of broadband and video ad inventory. Related industry stats continue to excite: comScore reports that in May 2010, 183 million U.S. Internet users watched nearly 34 billion videos (averaging 100 YouTube videos per month per user...so guess where you're going to get the most eyeballs).

And eMarketer forecasts that spending for online video advertising will make the format the second biggest recipient of new ad dollars from 2010 to 2014: of the more than $13.6 billion incremental dollars that will flow into online advertising during that five-year period, 33 percent will come from video ads, representing a 30 to 40 percent increase in the sector. EMarketer predicts that most of this growth will come from "brand marketers looking for greater targeting shifting a portion of their TV budgets onto the Web."

Online video advertising also outperforms when it comes to engagement and conversion, particularly when compared to other rich media ad formats. DoubleClick found 13 to 20 percent increases in ad interaction rates of video ads compared to non-video rich media ads. Video ad network BrightRoll conducted a study that found a five-month-long online video campaign for a major CPG company raised in-store sales over 6 percent. It's time to take online video advertising seriously. How comfortable are you with the medium?

Hollis Thomases is president and founder of Maryland-based WebAdvantage.net, an online marketing company. Click here to read this article in its entirety.

There was a time when dealerships either felt the need, or were required by automakers, to revamp their showrooms and make them more presentable to potential customers. Well, now the same level of thinking has invaded the Service Department of dealerships as more and more of them begin to accept the fact that service department profits are no longer at the 'bottom' of the bottom line. Working on the design of your service department could be the most important thing you do this year! So click here or click on the image for a great article "Maximizing Technician Productivity and Service Department Profitability" (enter title in search line) by John Rylee to give your dealership a lift.

Telematics and Advanced Driver Assistance Programs
Technology is ready to prevent accidents and save lives

Drivers don't necessarily know how to drive, is the conclusion of one writer, reporting that there are 1.2 million annual traffic accident deaths each year globally. And the time may be ripe for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), which can help prevent injury, death, and property damage. Yet the implementation of such devices is surprisingly limited in both the EU and the U.S. Why?

The immediate opportunity for telematics providers is in convenience, not safety, says Bernhard Mueller-Bessler of the Electronics Research Lab for Volkswagen Group of America.

The other side of the coin is that consumers aren't yet ready to pay big bucks for added safety technology, so automakers and OEM suppliers don't market it as much as they do the navigational convenience gadgets people want to have in their cars. "There's a disconnect between what the vehicles are capable of, what the OEM is doing on research and development, and what gets pushed out to consumers," says Jeremy Carlson, ADAS technology tech for iSuppli, who thinks mandated pressure from regulators may help push ADAS into the market. READ MORE...

Carbon Fibre -- Electric Cars Will be Made Stronger and Lighter

Carbon fibre tends to be more costly than steel, or even aluminum, for now, but this material will prove to be a safer more durable material for electric cars of tomorrow. Carbon fibre is actually 30% lighter than aluminum and 50% lighter than steel, and it has proven to be extremely tear-resistant. So BMW will begin using it with its new plug-in electric car to be launched in 2013. The process is fascinating -- with the use of molds, heated and pressured to produce the contours. Even more fascinating, the whole process is completed in minutes -- all done by robots! Click here to learn more. Then click on the image for a first-hand look at the 2013 BMW carbon fibre EV.