“Tracy Myers is a visionary…
a Walt Disney for a new generation.”

– Brian Tracy, New York Times Best-Selling Author

Tracy Myers Featured On FREE Webinar Based On His Book “You Are The Brand, Stupid!”

“NEW: Learn How To Get Noticed, Gain Instant Credibility, Dominate and Gain An Unfair Advantage Over Your Competition By Building Your Expert Brand!”

You are officially invited to a live webinar with the Nation’s Premier Automotive Solutions Provider, Tracy Myers on Thursday, September 5th where you will learn the behind the scenes magic that Tracy has used to create an automotive empire and how you can to.

Marketing & Branding Solutions Specialist

 

From the minute the event begins until the time it ends, you will be exposed to Tracy’s top secret insider’s playbook for gaining priceless publicity and increased sales…all by leveraging your greatest resource: YOU!

No matter if you’re the Dealer or a dealership employee, you can establish yourself as a respected industry expert in your market which will take your career and business to the next level – the same way that it did for me.

This Exclusive Webinar Is Extremely Limited And Will Be Held On Thursday September 5 at 12:00pm EST. Sign Up HERE!

Sign up and discover from Tracy how to:

– Gain prestige and exposure for free

– Effectively harness social-media tools to boost your bottom line

– Get more sales leads by producing compelling marketing material

– Avoid the top mistakes dealerships make when trying to market their business

– Use 10 brand-building strategies to turn your ordinary business into an extraordinarily forceful brand experience…and much, much more!

This call is extremely limited and only for those ready to stop wasting time and start making serious money. If you are the Dealer, Gm, GSM, ISM, Salesperson or BDC Manager then you are encouraged to sign up now and join me on Thursday, September 5 at 12pm EST for my FREE webinar “How To Build Your Brand, Dominate Your Competition & Make Millions”.

BONUS: The first 50 people who register will receive a FREE, Red Carpet Edition DVD of the Emmy nominated documentary about Tracy Myers and the Myers family, “Car Men”. A $19.99 Value!

Everyone who attends the webinar will also receive the following FREE bonuses worth up to $42.95

– A hard cover edition of the book “Invasion of the Profit Snatchers” by Travis Miller and Jimmy Vee. A $23.95 value.

– Special Report from Legendary Speaker & Best Selling Author Brian Tracy: “Discovering Your Talents!”. A $19.00 value.

– Exclusive Access to a video recording of a presentation by Lindsay Dicks – “The 15 Things Your Website MUST Have To Make Money In The World of Social Media”

– Sneak Peek of Best Selling Author Troy Spring’s soon-to-be-released book “Turbo Charge your Life”

Go on, grab these goodies while you can.

You’ve got until midnight on Wednesday, September 4, 2013. If you don’t register before then, you will NOT be eligible for the great bonuses.

Click HERE to sign up NOW!

For more information about Tracy Myers, visit his website at http://www.tracymyers.com

This webinar is being brought to you by DealerOn. For more information about DealerOn, visit: http://www.dealeron.com/ 

By |2013-08-28T16:51:28-04:00August 28, 2013|Blog, Events|

Tracy Myers To MC Industry Summit In Vegas

Tracy Myers MC Used Car UniversityBest-selling author, marketing and branding specialist, business coach, entrepreneur, movie producer and car dealership owner, Tracy Myers, will be acting as Master of Ceremonies for the Used Vehicle Retailing education at the 2013 Industry Summit and Used Car University Convention, which will be held September 16-18, 2013 at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, NV.

Myers has been featured in Forbes Magazine, USA Today & Success Magazine and has been profiled on The Biography Channel and History Channel. He has written for Fast Company, been a guest business correspondent for the FOX News Network and has appeared on NBC, ABC and CBS affiliates across the country. He is also a Certified Master Dealer and was the youngest ever recipient of the National Quality Dealer of the Year award by the NIADA, which is the highest obtainable honor in the used car industry.

“Every dealer has a used car operation and it has become much more sophisticated over the last few years, so it was important to bring this education to the convention,” said show chairman and Used Car University President Greg Goebel. “With the expansion of the show we were looking for someone knowledgeable, experienced and a true automotive professional to help us as a Master of Ceremonies. Tracy was the perfect choice.”

Myers car dealership, Frank Myers Auto Maxx, was recognized as the #1 Small Business in NC, one of the Top 3 dealerships to work for in the country, one of the Top 15 Independent Automotive Retailers in the United States and one of the fastest growing privately owned small businesses in America by Inc. magazine.

The Used Vehicle Retailing Convention is one of three different education tracks that Used Car University is offering at the Industry Summit, the other two being the Subprime Conference and CRM Convention. Used Car University’s Subprime Conference is the largest gathering of Special Finance Professionals in any one location all year, with a purpose of helping dealers in special finance increase profits or improve operations through market penetration.

The Used Vehicle Retailing education is suitable for franchise and independent dealer principals, general managers, general sales managers and used car managers.

About Used Car University

Founded in 1998, Used Car University (formerly Auto Dealer Monthly, LLC) is an education and training company and the respected resource of retail automotive dealer education. Used Car University also owns the automotive social media site AutoDealerPeople.com. For more information about Used Car University go to www.usedcaruniversity.com or for the convention go to http://www.ucuconvention.com.

About the Industry Summit

The Industry Summit is co-sponsored by Used Car University and Bobit Business Media. This Annual event now includes four shows of education – Subprime, CRM, Used Vehicle Retailing and F&I. Attendees must register for their primary education interest but may attend education across all educational shows.

 

By |2013-08-24T19:10:12-04:00August 24, 2013|Blog, Events|

21 Secrets Of Creating A Money-Making Customer Experience/Part 4

Tracy Myers SecretsGREG: Welcome back to Part Four in Uncle Frank’s 21 Secrets Of Creating A Money-Making Customer Experience. Today we’re speaking with Tracy Myers, founder of the Unfair Advantage Automotive Mastermind Group and owner of Frank Myers Auto Maxx. Over the first three sections we’ve been revealing some of Tracy’s biggest secrets to really deliver a customer experience that has helped him grow his business.

In the first module we talked about why your customer experience is so important. In modules two and three we unveiled the first ten secrets and really showed you some great ways to implement these secrets into your business.

Tracy, right now we’re in the middle of these 21 secrets and number eleven is key to growing your business and that is to have a clear vision. What did you do to create a strong vision in your business and how can others take your vision and apply it into their own business?

TRACY: You know, Greg, I don’t think I can say it any better than Jack Welch said it, so I’m not going to try. I’m just going to share with you what Jack Welch said, and he said, “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.”

Those are the four same steps that I follow in my business, and my father followed those steps, and my great-grandfather followed those steps before him, long before Jack Welch even said them.

GREG: That’s a great quote and it’s one I’ve heard before and it’s very, very powerful if you actually go through it. What I want to do is I want to help some of the business owners reading this to think about their own vision. What are some key questions that you want your vision to answer about your business?

TRACY: I’ve got this Post-It note on my mirror in my bathroom that reminds me to ask myself one simple question: If my company were still going strong in one hundred years, what would it look like?

Once again, the question is: If my company were still going strong in one hundred years, what would it look like? The answer to that question helps me to create my vision for my businesses.

GREG: That’s a really powerful question and I encourage everyone listening even to hit pause right now, hit stop, think about that question and think about how important of an impact it can have on your business.

As we move on to number twelve, I love this one, and I think it’s very, very important, especially in your line of business, and that’s to cater to the kids. What I want to talk about is: How can we make some changes in our business to focus some attention on children and what impact does that make to the overall customer experience?

TRACY: Many years ago there was a guy by the name of Ray Kroc, of McDonald’s fame, and he recognized the possibilities of catering to families because of something called “pester power”. If you’ve got children, you absolutely know what “pester power” is, and that’s when kids keep whining about something until parents give it to them.

So he decided to promote McDonald’s to kids and families. Ray Kroc thought, “If I get all those children in here, they’ll eat a lot of hamburgers.” And of course, we all know the end result of that story;just look at the impact that Ronald McDonald in catering to children had on McDonald’s. What business owner wouldn’t want to take the example set by Ray Kroc and mold it to fit their industry?

GREG: You’ve actually done some of that molding into your own business, and you have some great examples of how you’ve made your business into a family business.

I’d love if you can share some of those examples as to how you’ve taken some of those same techniques from Ray Kroc and McDonald’s and Ronald McDonald and really implemented them and catered to the kids in your own business?

TRACY: Well, I’m just a big kid at heart, so it’s real easy for me. There’s several things that we do, but the biggest impact on kids is our Kid Zone. It includes a video game center with old school arcade games and all the latest family-friendly Xbox video games that can be played for free. In addition, they can chow down on our all-you-can-eat popcorn.

We’ve got big-screen plasma TVs that show family-friendly movies, and not the old outdated VHS tapes; we’re talking Blu-Ray and the latest releases. The kids love it and they rarely want to leave with their parents.

In fact, we have parents that get ready to leave with their new car and their kids cry because they want to stay. So that tells me we’re doing something right. Our Kid Zone is a fun and a safe place that allows the kids to be who they are, and maybe-maybe- even more importantly, it allows the parents to shop in peace.

GREG: I think that last point is the point that really is going to really paint a good picture into the entrepreneurs and small business owners reading this is keeping those kids occupied really allows the parent to shop in peace and really have a great conversation with your sales reps. Would you say that’s kind of an accurate statement?

TRACY: Absolutely. You know, we can give you all the tips and all the secrets you can stomach in a day, but at the end of this, business owners still have to ask themselves: What’s in it for me and how will it affect my bottom line? That alone, by catering to kids and making it easy for the parents to shop, that could possibly increase your business’ bottom line by millions.

GREG: I love it, that’s a really great secret.

As we close out this Fourth section, again I encourage everyone to be taking notes and seeing how you can relate these new principles and secrets into your own business.

In the next section we’re going to continue showing you how you can deliver an amazing customer experience at your business. Thanks again for reading module four, and we will see you again in module five.

– To Be Continued. Stay Tuned For Part 5 Coming Soon.

– To Read Part 1 Of This Series, Click HERE.

– To Read Part 2 Of This Series, Click HERE.

– To Read Part 3 Of This Series, Click HERE.

 

By |2013-08-12T14:13:25-04:00August 12, 2013|Blog, Winston Salem Business News|

Strong Customer Relationships: The Six Pillars/Part One

6 pillars of successWhen you want something to last a long time, you need to build it on a strong base.

Uncle Frank always said that’s why the trees in his yard had to put down firm roots before they started to grow.

When I built a new showroom for my car dealership, Frank Myers Auto Maxx, I dug deep foundations so that it would last for many years and allow the dealership to continue growing.

The same principles apply to one of the most important elements in the success of your business – your customer relationships.

You want them to be enduring and continually growing. So they must be built on strong foundations – not simply one-off contacts or slick marketing campaigns.

Over the years, I’ve discovered that there are six vital pillars that support strong customer relationships. When you put these in place, you will be well placed to have long-lasting, growing relationships with your customers.

The six pillars are as follows.

1) Making the Right First Impression

2) Being Easy to Do Business With

3) Remembering Your Customer Has a Choice

4) Making Life Better for Your Customers

5) Exceeding Expectations

6) Treating Your Customers as Individuals

Each of these pillars has an important role to play and the stronger each of them is the better your overall relationships will be. Today, let’s talk about Pillar #1.

Pillar #1: Making the Right First Impression

Strong relationships begin with the right first impression. You might think it’s not so important over a long period but the truth is those first impressions are hard to change.

The first impression will determine what people expect from you in future and may even determine whether they stay and do business with you. That’s why we need to make sure we get it right.

That first impression can come in many different ways and we have to work on succeeding with each of these elements.

As Uncle Frank often said, you have to “Inspect what you expect.” So you need to work through all the potential contact points customers might have with your business and make the impression as positive as possible.

In some cases, you can do this yourself. You can try to put yourself in your customer’s shoes and go through the process they would follow.

On the other hand, you can have someone else go through the process and report back on their experience. This is known as “mystery shopping” or “secret shopping”. You might well be shocked at what this could teach you about your business.

Just think about the different ways a customer can contact you and consider the impression they might get from each.

Often these days, the first step is visiting your web site. So have you done what’s necessary to make that experience as positive as possible?

Is your web address (URL) simple and easy to remember?

Do your web pages load quickly or do you expect people to sit around waiting for them to load? (Remember not everyone has fast internet access and the latest computer.)

Is the site focused on the customer or is it simply boasting about you and your business?

Does it have a look and style that is in tune with your customer base?

Is it easy to read and navigate or will people get frustrated trying to find the information they need?

Does your site make it easy for people to contact you some other way such as by telephone or personal visit?

People searching online tend to be scanning things quickly and jumping to quick conclusions so their experience with your website will have a big impact on the relationship they might have with your business.

What about when someone calls your store or office on the telephone?

Do people answering the phone have a standard greeting that is friendly and upbeat?

Is the person answering the phone helpful and pleasant to speak with?

Can potential customers speak to someone who is able to answer their questions?

If you have an automated system, is it easy for people to find their way around? Can they easily speak to a real person if they want?

If you have a recorded message is it up-to-date and friendly? Or is it talking about a promotion from last month?

When you have to call someone back, is it always done promptly?

You may believe that all of these elements are working well but you don’t know what is happening when you are not around. That’s why it’s a good idea to check it out, whether you do it yourself or have a mystery shopper do it for you.

Many business owners have been shocked to find what it’s like to be one of their prospective customers.

This step is not only crucial in creating the right impression with new customers, it is also key to building lasting positive relationships.

If you have a brick and mortar shop or office, it plays a key role in the first impression and the relationship that is established.

What’s the first thing customers notice when they walk through your door?

What do people notice before they reach your door? What is the building or neighborhood like? Does it all make a positive impression?

 Do people know where to go when they come in – for example, are they greeted by someone or given clear directions?

Does the overall impression suggest a successful business that people would want to deal with?

Is everything clean and fresh so that people enjoy the experience of being there?

If people have to wait, is there an area for them that is comfortable and makes them feel welcome?

Do you make it easy for people to find you through clear signposts from the road and good directions or a map on your website?

If you have a parking lot, is it clean, convenient and well-organized? Or is it badly-marked and full of potholes?

Does the layout of your office or store make it easy for people to find their way around and do you have maps and signposts to help them?

Is it easy for customers to approach and talk to your staff?

While doing some consulting work for a new car dealership, I found the customer waiting area was sticky, the coffee pot was filthy and the restrooms were disgusting.

The owner complained they couldn’t afford a cleaning service. However I explained to him that customers coming in didn’t know about that and didn’t care. They simply got the impression that this business didn’t care about the customer experience.

The sad truth is that there are too many businesses like this making the wrong first impressions on potential customers.

– They subject their potential customers to voice-mail hell rather than being easy to deal with.

– They have complicated websites that make it difficult for customers to find what they want.

– Customers visiting in person have to talk to somebody with no training who can’t or won’t answer their questions.

This puts many people off becoming customers and means others won’t stay long.

You can look at your own business and check out many of these factors yourself or you can use mystery shoppers to help you learn more.

However, here is one simple test.

Are customers leaving your store with a smile on their face or are do they look frustrated and unhappy?

If they are not leaving thinking that visiting your store is a positive experience, they will not be coming back and will not be passing the message you want on to others.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that people generally have low expectations of customer service nowadays and it’s remarkably really easy to stand out and be recognized as a great place to do business.

You can quickly become talked about in a positive way because of the top quality service you deliver to customers.

If you create a strong, positive impression right from the start, people will keep returning and you will have a firm basis for long-lasting customer relationships.

– Stay Tuned For Strong Customer Relationships: The Six Pillars/Part Two. Coming Soon.

By |2013-07-20T13:23:23-04:00July 20, 2013|Blog|

Happy Father’s Day, Uncle Frank

Author’s Note: I originally wrote and published the following post as a tribute to my father in June of 2010. It was so well received that I have reposted it every Father’s Day weekend since then. Enjoy and “Happy Father’s Day!” – Tracy Myers

Tracy Myers & Frank MyersAt least once a day, someone comes up to me and asks, “So…how’s your Uncle?” Of course, they’re not asking about my REAL Uncle. They’re asking about the man that I’ve been referring to as “Uncle Frank” on televison commercials over the past 15 years. That man is my father, Frank Myers.

For the record, my father is alive and well. He’s doing what he loves doing most; being an entrpreneur. I’ve truly never met anyone that liked the “thrill of conquering” a business model quite like my father does. He’ll come up with a concept for a new business, brings it to life and makes it successful more times than not. Then he gets bored and moves on to the next challenge.

For those of you that don’t know my “story”, I’d like to share it with you. Not because it’s that special but rather the misconceptions that revolve around it. Lots of folks assume that since my unofficial title is PHD (Pappa Had a Dealership), that I would have had an easy time getting into the used car business. Indeed, my father had big plans in store for me, only they meant working 60 hour weeks in the detail shop!

I was 15 years old when I first started working in my father’s detail shop. I went away to college and spent my free time as a salesperson at a local Toyota dealership. If my father had known I was working for another car dealership other than his own, he wouldn’t have been very happy to say the least. When I returned home years later, my father didn’t do me any favors and offered me a position in the detail shop.

I worked my way up the ladder through every aspect of the used motor vehicle industry. 5 years ago, at the age of 34, I bought the family car dealership and sold almost 1,400 vehicles in my first year.

Fast forward to 2011 and I still love this business as much as I did the day I sold my first car. Of course, it’s easy to be happy when the dealership has posted a 144% increase since 2008. It saddens me that lots of quality dealers that I consider friends and mentors were forced out of business due to the struggling economy. My dad is still my biggest supporter as well as my biggest critic. I find a lot of humor in the fact that he says he hates the internet, even though he uses it daily in all of his own businesses.

Regardless of our differences, there is one thing we can both agree on that took us way too long to realize. If we put God and family before the dealership, then the dealership will always prosper with a lot of hard work and prayer.

Happy Fathers Day to the best dad in the world and the best “car guy” that I’ve ever met…Uncle Frank!

PS: The photo above is of me (on the left) and my dad (on the right) in 1994 the day after I had sold my first car at the dealership. This is one of my favorite pictures of me and my dad.

By |2013-06-14T18:30:38-04:00June 14, 2013|Blog|

Easy Prospecting Tip

My good friend Robert Wiesman, aka Your Hyundai Guy from Massey Hyundai, has found a simple and cost effective way to make his son’s 1st grade teacher aware that he is an automotive sales professional. How? He puts his business card in his son’s homework folders from school. One thing is for certain: it is guaranteed that his card will have a captive audience and will always be seen. What if he took this awesome concept a step further and put his business card and a small note inside of every bill that he pays? The note could say something like this:

“The way I am able to pay my utility bill on time is by selling nicer, newer vehicles to hard working people just like YOU. So I can continue to pay this bill on time, please keep me in mind when you are shopping for your next vehicle. I’ve enclosed my card so you can contact me direct with any questions.”

Remember if people don’t know WHO you are and WHAT you do, then you’re letting luck dictate your income. I don’t know about you but I’ll take skill, hard work and perseverance over luck any day.

prospecting tips

UPDATE 

Shortly after reading this post, Robert sent me a message: “Tracy Myers, if I ever actually sent in bills through the mail I would do that! Thanks for the kind words brother. Nothing is more motivating then someone you look up to and emulate praising you! Awesome!”

Since I have successfully been using this technique for many years, I suggested to Robert that he start paying his bills using traditional mail. Inconvenient? Perhaps. However, it’s pain VS gain. Is the potential gain of additional clients and income worth the pain of writing checks and using snail mail? From my experience, the answer is a resounding YES!

 

 

 

By |2013-06-01T18:08:01-04:00June 1, 2013|Blog, Winston Salem Business News|

How To Stand Out In A Crowded Marketplace

How To Stand Out In A Crowded MarketplaceHow does a business successfully stand out in a crowded marketplace? Dames Almost Word Famous Chicken & Waffles with locations in Greensboro and Durham, NC knows how. Here’s what they did:

1) They took the unsexy combo of chicken & waffles and gave them quirky names like Dueling Roosters and The Frizzled Fowl. (They made it memorable)

2) They replaced plain butter with their own Heaven-sent creation named “Shmears”. What are these mouth watering concoctions? Sweet crème butters that are delicately whipped with fresh, natural ingredients. (They made it unique & exclusive to their business)

3) They made their restaurants small which forces customers to wait. Our wait was over an hour…for chicken & waffles?! Did I wait? Yes. Did I mind? Not once I tried the food! (They made it seem exclusive & in demand).

There are MANY other lessons that business owners and entrepreneurs could learn from the genius known as Dames. Even small details like their tag line, “Almost World Famous”, make this place a case study in marketing and branding. It’s also a case study in expanding waist lines but that’s another story for another day.

About The Author

Tracy Myers is an award-winning small business marketing & branding solutions specialist, car dealership owner, best-selling author, speaker, business coach and entrepreneur. He is commonly referred to as The Nation’s Premier Automotive Solutions Provider while Best-Selling author and legendary speaker Brian Tracy called him “a visionary… a Walt Disney for a new generation.”

Read more about Tracy by visiting his website at http://www.tracymyers.com
By |2013-05-22T04:50:56-04:00May 22, 2013|Blog|

Film By Tracy Myers, Nick Nanton Makes NC Premiere

esperanzaCelebrity Films is proud to announce the VIP Red Carpet Premiere of the short film “Esperanza”. Winston Salem entrepreneur and owner of Frank Myers Auto Maxx, Tracy Myers, served as Executive Producer and Emmy Award winner Nick Nanton directed the film.

This touching and inspiring short film showcases Esperanza International – an organization that dedicates itself to free children and their families from poverty through initiatives that generate income, education and health, restoring self-worth and dignity to those who have lost hope.

The VIP Red Carpet Premiere for ‘Esperanza’ will be held at the a’perture cinema in Winston-Salem, NC on Thursday, May 2, 2013. Doors open at 7:30pm. The movie premieres at 8pm. The event is by invitation only and has been sold out for several weeks.

“I am extremely honored to have been Executive Producer of this film and to be personally involved with Esperanza International. I’m also proud that the VIP Red Carpet Premiere is being held in the great city of Winston-Salem,” said Tracy Myers.

About The Film ‘Esperanza’

When Seattle Mariners catcher Dave Valle came to the Dominican Republic to play winter ball in 1985, he was only expecting to improve his baseball.

Instead, he found a lifetime commitment.

Motivated by the poverty he and his wife witnessed during his visits to the region, Dave and his wife founded Esperanza in 1995, an organization dedicated to giving those who needed it “a hand up, not a hand out.”

Now, this absorbing film chronicles Esperanza’s inspirational and moving story – through the eyes of those whose lives have been changed in incredible ways. Discover how local families have been empowered to become entrepreneurs – with businesses that have lifted both their incomes and their spirits. And see the renewed hope for a brighter future in the eyes of their children.

Valle describes Esperanza as the “gift that keeps on giving.” In this film, you’ll see just how valuable that gift can be.

Will You Help ‘Esperanza International’?

To make a donation to Esperanza International, go HERE.

To help spread the news through press inquiries about the film Esperanza or Esperanza International, go HERE.

By |2013-04-30T08:30:04-04:00April 30, 2013|Blog, Events, Winston Salem Business News|

21 Secrets Of Creating A Money-Making Customer Experience/Part 3

Module 3: Secrets 6-10

Marketing Tips From Tracy MyersGREG: Welcome back to Part Three in Uncle Frank’s 21 Secrets of Creating a Money-Making Customer Experience. Today we’re speaking with Tracy Myers. He’s a a 7 time best selling author, an award-winning small business marketing and branding solutions specialist and also the owner of Frank Myers Auto Maxx.

In the first part of this course we talked about why it is so important to be different and deliver a winning customer experience. In the second module we talked about the first five secrets, and here in module three we’re going to go through secrets six through ten.

Now, Tracy, the sixth secret is vitally important and it is to call customers by their names. First, what is the psychological impact of using customer’s names?

TRACY: Greg, this is an idea that I actually borrowed from the restaurant industry and I’ve used it in my dealership with great success. I made a reservation at a five-star restaurant with my wife and I and as I walked in they welcomed us by our name. I remember feeling like the king of the world.

Another time I remember is when my wife and I went to Nevis. They dropped us off at the bottom of the hill and they picked us up in a real nice, fancy golf cart. When we arrived at the front of the Four Seasons hotel, they welcomed us by our names and gave us cold mint towels.

Well, I didn’t implement the cold mint towels, but I thought to myself, man, that is the way to go. I implemented the importance of calling customers by their names in my dealership in more ways than one, and it made a major impact in the impression we create with all of our customers.

GREG: I think we can all see the importance of that and I love how you said you felt like you were the king of the world, but I think one of the biggest hurdles for that is getting your team members to remember the names of your customers and then implement them. What are some tips or strategies that you use to help your employees to utilize this very important strategy?

TRACY: The most visible way is when our guests call the store and make a VIP reservation with a member of our Extreme Satisfaction Team, and their name is posted on the VIP Reservation Board, and that just happens to be hanging right in the entrance. In fact, it’s the first thing they see when they walk through the front door.

We also announce the customer’s name over the PA system when they buy a car. We call it welcoming them to the Frank Myers family of customers.

Then last but not least we have a red carpet celebration when a new customer and their noncommissioned sales professional step on the red carpet, the hit the celebratory gong, and they have their picture made. We’ll video this and post it all over the Internet and of course their name is everywhere, and it works like a charm.

GREG: Those are some great strategies. I hope everyone that was listening was really paying attention because you ingrain this secret, really, into your culture, which I think is vitally important.

The seventh secret, now, is to welcome feedback. How do you deal with customer feedback in real-time and how do you know when to take action based on that feedback and to really make a change in your business?

TRACY: Since the Internet has made it possible for customers to post immediate feedback, both good and bad, a business owner must have the steps in place to manage their reputation, especially online. It’s important for me to personally deal with all customer feedback.

In all my businesses, I’m the one who monitors social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter for immediate feedback. I’ve also got alerts set up with Google and Yahoo to monitor things that are being said on review sites and blog posts.

As soon as I see feedback regarding our company, good or bad, I’ll respond. That’s going to be me personally; I’m going to do that. Regardless of the concern, I’ll address it with our team leaders, and if it was negative feedback, we’ll discuss how it could have been prevented.

Or, if it was positive, we’ll discuss how we can duplicate that experience for others. I know that lots of businesses shy away from negative feedback, but I welcome it. My dad always said, “To grow your business, don’t ask what’s right; ask what’s not.”

That’s what I want my customers and team members to do: Give me the facts. Don’t sugarcoat anything. I want to know the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s the only way that I can be proactive the next time there’s an opportunity for improvement in my business.

GREG: That’s great, I think that’s really, really important. I love the proactive approach that you take there and I think a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs can really learn from that.

The eighth secret is one that I’m a big fan of and I know that you’re a big fan of too in your business: It’s to make it fun. What are some ways that you keep your business fun, while still putting that customers experience first?

TRACY: Greg, I feel that by promoting a fun work environment, it makes our team members happier people, and the end result of a happy team member is usually a happy customer. There are several ways that we involve our customer and our team members together in the fun, including the red carpet celebration we talked about a little earlier.

We also have the huge events such as our community appreciation picnic, and that’s where anyone and everyone’s invited, whether they bought a car here or not, whether they work here or not, including the families of our team members. This year we fed close to one thousand people at our community appreciation picnic and we had tons of fun and it was just an awesome day of celebration.

GREG: That’s great, I love that. Another great example of having fun, and you shared this in the book Pushing to the Front, is Apple and the Apple store experience. I know we talked a little bit about this in the intro, but can you share why what they do in their stores is so vital to their core business and how fun plays a role in that?

TRACY: Sure. Well, you know, one of the many things the Apple store does right is creating an electronic playground for their customers. You can walk by any Apple store of any time of the day and chances are that it’s going to be the most crowded store at the mall, and you know why? Because people are allowed to go in and have fun.

Life’s too short not to let your customers and let your employees have some fun. Most businesses are far too serious, in my opinion. From my experience, creating a fun environment for customers and employees actually increases productivity and decreases turnover, which in turn increases profitability.

GREG: That’s great, and you know, again, if you haven’t been to an Apple store and experienced that you really need to because you can really learn a lot of things just by walking into one of their retail stores.

Now, moving on to number nine, I think this is a big part of number seven, which is welcoming feedback and it kind of stacks on top of that, is to pay attention to detail.

In business we all know that things can get busy; as entrepreneurs, small business owners, our schedules are hectic, there’s a lot going on, and sometimes we only look at the big picture and the big numbers and we forget about these details.

How can we remember to stop, slow down, and pay attention, and what do think you need to put an emphasis on paying attention to and how do you make the effort to pay attention to these small details?

TRACY: I’m not so sure that you can remember to pay attention; it’s just something that you do. It’s part of our culture here at the dealership and all of our businesses.

I remember when I worked directly for my dad, he always told me that it was the small things that would bite me. He was hyperfocused on things like clean restrooms, cut grass, nice landscaping, and pressed clothes on the team members.

Of course, I was young and I didn’t have a clue why he was so focused on those things, but I understand now and agree with one of the guiding principles of Starbucks, which is everything matters. All of the little details in your business, from the environment to the background music they’re all crucial to the overall customer experience.

GREG: So crucial and so vital, and these are some just great tips to really help everyone listening. As we close out this third section, we’re going to go into secret number ten. I think this is one that gets people excited when they hear that this is one of the secrets to your success, and that’s to actually charge premium prices. What are you trying to get across with this tenth secret?

TRACY: If you look back to the three companies we’ve been discussing- Disney, Apple, and Starbucks- you’ll notice that none of them try to compete on best price. Instead, they’ve made it a point to be more expensive than their competition.

Once again, I’ll refer to some of my dad’s wisdom: he said, “Your customer will pay almost anything if you give them an experience to remember.” Now, keep in mind that your customer will pay more if the experience is awesome, but you also have to deliver a good product to go along with the awesome experience. But when the two join forces and become one, that’s when the magic happens, and you and your business can start commanding premium pricing.

GREG: I think that’s a really important thing that you just mentioned, and what I want to do is I want to help some business owners think about how they can change the way that they price and how they can roll this experience into their price. So, how do you go about changing the way that you price your products and services to move into that premium pricing model?

TRACY: Well, I recommend one of two things. Number one is to test a higher pricing. Now, this is what we do; we test everything from marketing to the products we sell to the prices that we charge.

Just for a week, switch pricing and see if the responses are more or less in comparison to what you normally get. If the responses are more, guess what you do? Raise the price again for one more week, and keep raising the price until you hit the ceiling and the responses drop.

Then you’ve actually, like I said, hit the ceiling and probably can’t charge any more. Number two, if number one won’t work for you, is to give options to your customer. We actually do this in our service department.

If you’re just not sure whether higher prices will be acceptable to your customers, just create two to three variants of your product and give them different options. A great example is my service department has four variations of an oil change that ranges from $9.97 for our budget oil change, up to $32.93. So, once you convert a customer, remember that you can always, always offer them an upgrade if they want to pay more and get more.

GREG: Those are some really great strategies and tips. I think they are some applicable strategies that businesses can start implementing into their business right away.

As we close out this third section, again I encourage everyone to be taking notes and seeing how you can relate these new principles and secrets into your own business.

In the next section we’re going to be going through secrets eleven through fifteen and further showing you how you can deliver an amazing customer experience. Thanks again for reading module three, and we will see you again in module four.

– To Be Continued. Stay Tuned For Part 4 Coming Soon.

– To Read Part 1 Of This Series, Click HERE.

– To Read Part 2 Of This Series, Click HERE.

By |2013-04-29T16:05:53-04:00April 29, 2013|Blog|
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