Just a quick note before I dive into this week's topic, for clarification.

The intent of this blog is to give you information about how to gain more 'purchase ready' internet traffic. There are a great many items that are included in search engine optimization. Some techniques are on-page adjustments; others are off-page methods. Both have value. From writing your own Wikipedia article and relationship building in social media networks, to pay per click campaigns and how to use Google Base, we will cover a variety of topics that will help you gain more visitors and increase sales. So stay tuned . . .

Last April I went out on a limb. Citing the conversations I'm having with dealers, I said we are headed out of the recession. What I'm now seeing in the paper and elsewhere confirms that. We're facing one of those "Now" moments. We've always been told to plan for the future but live in the present. NOW is that time.

When it comes to RV sales training everyone agrees that high quality phone skills are critical to long term sales success.

The ability to turn an inbound or follow up phone call into an appointment gives any RV sales pro not only the ability to generate additional sales and income apart from the walk in customer, but also a level of confidence few receive. We also know it is an age old challenge to get salespeople to make the necessary calls and make them in a high quality manner.

Good phone skills come natural only to a few however. Most of us are just not good on the phones and need training and instruction on how to handle the different types of calls and knowing what to say and how to say it. Recently I’ve had some interesting points come up regarding leaving phone messages.
 

With apologies to Geoffrey Moore and his best-selling book “Crossing the Chasm; Selling Marketing and High Tech products to Mainstream Customers”, I want to use his title as the foundation for my argument that the chasm between dealers and manufacturers continues to go in the wrong direction. At what point is the damage irreparable?

A discussion this week with a senior executive for an RV manufacturer cast strong doubts about the industry’s ability to bring both sides together and reverse the direction that the chasm (the industry) is heading in right now. Let’s see what you think …..

It's been said that there are two things people want more than sex and money...recognition and praise. Time and time again the one motivating factor that is at the top of most salespeople’s lists is appreciation for a job well done. It is more requested than even money.

Why don’t more Sales Managers give appreciation? Some say they don’t know how to give it. Others don’t know what to give appreciation for in the dealership. Yet others say they are too busy to give appreciation.

Stop and think about this: what real value is there to a printed magazine in today’s fast-paced business environment? Especially in the RV industry. They all look the same, they all print many of the same industry news stories, and they all chase the same people for their advertising dollars.

Now I enjoy the personal profile stories that feature some great people in our industry, but does that justify killing the trees, printing the magazines, and them having them tossed in the trash? If they all disappeared next month would you really miss them?

Banks. Financing. Floorplan. Retail Paper. Topics which are top of mind at most dealerships today. I have a pretty good idea what the dealers are thinking. But where are the banks coming from? RVDA will focus on those topics in some detail this coming October. Be sure to sign up. What can the banks possibly be thinking to rationalize some of the decisions they are making? Are they out of their minds?

I understand dealers are currently negotiating the terms of Monaco Dealer Contracts. I’m hit with déjà vu.

Remember when Monaco was making noises about Franchise of the Future? Remember how it was going to set the standard for customer brand loyalty and for dealer/manufacturer relationships?
 

The most important aspect of a successful salesperson is developing the correct mindset toward your customers. And this is not the over used phrase "The customer is always right". Actually the correct mindset I'm referring to is to always think in terms of benefits for your customers. The highly successful salesperson thinks of ways to show interest in their customers even before they come into their dealership.

Lawmakers decided on January 10, 2007 to increase the minimum wage three times in three years, from $5.15 to $5.55 per hour in 2007, to $6.55 in 2009, to $7.25 in 2009. Arguably, this was a good idea, since the minimum wage had not been increased in 10 years. But somewhere near the middle of all this the economy began its downhill slide. Now business owners are saddled with an increase in the minimum wage that is burdensome at a time when they are burdened enough