Communication is Key Right Now w/ Derek Sanders of DS1 - Episode 57

Derek joined me this afternoon to discuss why communication is one of the most important things you need to put laser focus on, right now in the midst of this COVID-19 coronavirus thing we dealership people are trying to wrap our heads around. For starters, the consumer expectation has long since diverged from what dealerships (in general) are actually doing to communicate with the consumer, on the consumers' preferred terms. Consumers right now are scared and uncertain. If they reach out to a dealership, we need to be the rock for them to count on. Communication is key to be that rock! If you have a vendor that provides any communication service - which ones are they? Are you paying for it? Are you using it? Are you using it effectively? This relates to all communication streams. I know at Trader, we provide phone call tracking but maybe more importantly right now, we provide texting, chat and even managed chat in dealer packages. I have dealers who have them and chose not to activate them because they didn't have the time to learn them or weren't interested in holding their staff accountable up to now. I think the events we are experiencing are the perfect time to hit the reset button on that mentality. Call your product/service reps, ask if you have any services like that that you aren't using. Have them get you and your staff trained on them. Have a plan with expectations so everyone in the store knows what the plan and goals are in all communications. As Derek said, if your team is saying they need to get a customer into the store to move past a call or message communication - you may be dead in the water in this, the new world that we were just thrust into. A lot more in the chat today with Derek.  He is always a great guest. I appreciate him coming on to share his experiences. Please reach out to Derek if you are looking for training or just some perspective. Website: http://www.ds1consulting.com/ Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/ds1consulting email: [email protected]