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First Class Educators has announced that Cars.com, the premier online resource for buying and selling new and used vehicles, has signed on to be a sponsor of the 2012 Automotive Boot Camp taking place May 15th-17th at the Monte Carlo Hotel, Las Vegas. This is the first time select Boot Camp sponsors such as Cars.com will have increased audience exposure by way of exhibit hall space.

Cars.com is a top sponsor of this year’s Boot Camp event and will be exhibiting in a 10×10 booth at the Boot Camp vendor exhibit hall. The exhibit hall gives Cars.com unprecedented exposure to hundreds of the top dealers in the country that are focused on growing their digital marketing strategies. Jack Simmons, Dealer Training Manager for Cars.com, will also be a featured presenter during the conference.

Jack Simmons to Present Mobile Marketing Strategies Workshop

Boot Camp attendees can join Jack Simmons for his workshop entitled “So|Lo|Mo: Winning With Today’s Car Shopper,” to gain insight into how social, local and mobile have converged to redefine the purchase process.

A recent Nielsen mobile study commissioned by Cars.com found that mobile car shoppers are using their devices throughout the purchase process, including researching pricing information, searching inventory, reading consumer reviews and accessing multimedia content, such as photos and video. What many dealers might not realize is that more than half of mobile car shoppers are participating in these activities right on the dealership lot.

Simmons will demonstrate proven strategies for using mobile and customer reviews to drive traffic to their dealerships, engage them once they’re on the lot and foster higher loyalty and better long-term relationships after purchase. The session will feature interactive, hands-on exercises that reinforce the concepts learned and equip audience members to develop their playbook for success.

Early bird registration for the Boot Camp is available until March 1^st at a rate of $995 per person. After March 1^st, the regular rate of $1,195 will go into effect.

For more information or to register for the Boot Camp, please visit http://www.automotivebootcamp.com/

About Cars.com

Cars.com was recently named the “Best Overall Customer Experience” by Keynote Systems, the leader in internet and mobile cloud marketing. Cars.com is an online destination for car shoppers that offers information from consumers and experts to help buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where to buy and how much to pay for a car. With price listings, side-by-side comparison tools, photo galleries, videos, unbiased editorial content and a large selection of new- and used-car inventory, Cars.com puts millions of car buyers in control of their shopping process with the information they need to make confident buying decisions.

Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures LLC, which is owned by leading media companies, including Belo (NYSE: BLC), Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI), Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).

I’m so pleased to have Marc McGurren on the PCG Consulting team.  Marc is a great teacher and leader and I’m learning more each week about the opportunities and profit leaks in dealership Internet departments.

Over the past few months I have been asking dealer principals and GM’s to rate their Internet/BDC Departments and the majority rated their team’s performance as “C+” or “B-”.  A few gave their teams a failing score.

The executives I spoke with realize that their Internet sales team was working hard,  However, they recognized that their staff still had much more room to grow.  Many were frustrated in selecting the best coaching/process partner.  They thought that the challenges in their store were unique.

The more stores I see in action, the uniqueness argument holds little weight.

Approximately 80% of what Internet/BDC employees should be doing could be defined by industry best practice.  The basic processes and what I would call “blocking and tackling” skills are just not being executed each day.

As you know, the basic are vitally important to a store’s success.

How Do You Score A Dealership’s Internet Team?

Dealers I spoke with did not know how to rate their team vs. other dealers.  Dealers were not sure what they could realistically expect post intervention from a third party trainer, like Marc McGurren, Joe Webb, Cory Mosley, Joni Stuker, or other top consultants.

From my perspective, the biggest profit leak at most dealerships is how they handle phone ups and how leads are handled via their CRM processes.

That should make this area of operations the #1 priority to inpsect, measure, and benchmark.  Investing in BDC training should also be a priority but many budgets don’t reflect that reality.

To complicate matters, for the 18,000 franchise dealers, there are only a handful of BDC trainers that are actively promoting themselves online or in the automotive forums.

Improving BDC Performance

One of the reasons why PCG Consulting was created was to help dealers deal with their #1 profit leak in a platform  neutral format.  The PCG Consulting team will come into the dealership and optimize the dealer’s current technology (website, CRM, etc.) to increase their success.

That include working with competent vendor partners who bring to the table unique products and solutions that can enhance success.

One such example is Jerry Thibeau from www.PhoneNinjas.com who has helped countless dealers inspect and improve agent phone skills.  We are finding that the PhoneNinjas.com Phone Skills Index (PSI) scoring system is directly related to appointment rates.  Dealers now have a clear path to show how investments in training result in greater profitability.

Marc’s field experience is creating measurable improvements in BDC process in conjunction with PSI scoring.  Dealers need a coach who has been a proven leader and that can give BDC agents confidence and a path for success.

Marc walks into a dealership with a proven system for success and if you have ever met Marc, his passion for the car business is contagious.   This goes the same for professionals like Joe Webb, Cory Mosley, Jerry Thibeau who are passionate people who know how to make changes stick.

Is It Time For An Intervention?

I hope that dealers who are reading this post take a moment to reflect on the impact of increasing lead closing rate 25%, 50%, or even 100%.  The calls and leads are already coming in, so is it time to see how your team stacks up?

I have listed four companies, in addition to PCG Consulting, that provide BDC assessment and training to help your team succeed.  Don’t delay getting help for your BDC.
Marc McGurren, Joe Webb, Joni Stuker, and Jerry Thibeau will all be at the 2012 Automotive Boot Camp helping car dealers with their Internet and BDC Processes.

Brian

Brian Pasch, CEO

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Marc McGurren, Partner

PCG Consulting

732.450.8200 ext 44

http://www.pcgconsultingservices.com

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Joe Webb, CEO

DealerKnows Consulting

http://www.dealerknows.com/

847.456.5130

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Cory Mosley, CEO

Mosley Training

http://www.mosleytraining.com/

877.667.5398

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Joni Stuker, CEO

Owner Connect

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/joni-stuker/16/8a8/b14

847-612-2128

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Jerry Thibeau, CEO

Phone Ninjas

http://www.phoneninjas.com/

877.475.1830

Early bird registration for the popular Automotive Boot Camp conference in Las Vegas ends March 1^st.  Those who take advantage of the early bird savings can register for the conference at the rate of $995.  After March 1^st, the regular registration fee is $1,195.

For registration information, please visit: http://www.automotivebootcamp.com/paypal/

The third annual Automotive Boot Camp will be held May 15-17th at the Monte Carlo Hotel in Las Vegas. Registration is always limited to ensure that classroom sizes are small and effective for learning.

This year the 2012 Automotive Boot Camp has been expanded with eight “core” curriculum tracks as well as 16 elective courses. This gives attendees a total of 48 workshops to choose from plus the additional keynote speakers, special events and networking sessions.

Automotive Marketing Workshops

Some of this year’s workshop topics include:

• BDC/ISM
• Search Marketing
• Sales/F&I
• Social Media
• Fixed Operations
• Website Management and Merchandising
• Organization Development/HR
• GM/Dealership Management

Recognized industry leaders such as Ralph Paglia, James Zigeler, JD Rucker, Jerry Thibeau, Brian Pasch, David Page, Glen Garvin, Tracy Myers, Joe Webb, Marc McGurren, Tim Martell, Jim Flint, Ben Anderson, Joni Stuker, Egon Smola, Jeff Tirey, Christine Rochelle, Peter Leto (from Google), AJ LeBlanc and Brittany Richter will be leading workshops and sharing their expertise in a wide variety of important topics at Boot Camp.

Full Vendor Exhibit Hall Added to 2012 Automotive Boot Camp

The 2012 Automotive Boot Camp will be the first time that a full vendor exhibit hall has been added to the popular conference format.  The vendor exhibitor space is limited and primarily sold by invitation only to ensure that the vendors match the educational goals of the conference.

The 2012 Automotive Boot Camp is organized by First Class Educators, the same company responsible for other high ranking automotive marketing conferences like the Digital Marketing Strategies Conference, which took place this past February in Las Vegas, and the Pit Stop marketing tour.

To secure a seat at the conference or view the conference agenda, visit http://www.automotivebootcamp.com