Dealers struggle to cope with waves of incoming sales pitches

Steve Cook was respected for being "savvy but cynical" when making purchase decisions. Now his views are seen as "dated and obsolete," he says.

When it comes to buying from vendors, especially digital marketing companies, sometimes Cook, the dealer at Cook Chevrolet-Buick in Vassar, Mich., doesn't see the value.

"We're being told that we're backward if we're not doing them," he said. "We're still being told that it's the way of the future, but we're being talked into things that I don't think work."

As the vendor-to-dealer world becomes more cluttered, many dealers have become overwhelmed -- and even turned off -- by vendors. Evaluating digital products is especially troublesome, in terms of both understanding the product itself and knowing how it will fit in with the rest of a store's software.

Dealers often rely on one another's experiences, automakers and state dealer associations to decide which products or companies are valuable. Others research vendors in dealer publications. Some don't accept unsolicited sales pitches; others listen to each vendor's proposal.

Vendors approach dealers in person and by phone, but mostly via email, selling everything from staff uniforms to social media services.

Cook has received about 30 emails from vendors in one day. Some say they are confirming a meeting -- a meeting that Cook never set up -- to grab his attention. And that's email alone. Cook also receives phone calls throughout the day.

One morning, a vendor called about direct marketing. He said the company spent its own money and would bill the dealership based on results.

"Which scared me right away," Cook said. "It can be two minutes before you even know what they're selling."

The person on the phone implied that he would use various types of media to advertise the dealership, Cook said.

"But I didn't believe him, so I hung up," he said. "I think we get conned every day."

Many other dealers face similar issues. They are bombarded by vendors via phone and email on a daily basis.

"Nobody could respond to all the vendors that want their attention," said Joe Kirby, the dealer at Edd Kirby's Adventure Chevrolet-Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in Dalton, Ga.

Kirby pays attention only to vendors that fit his business plan, which is driven by volume and financial health. Most vendors that approach him don't. He will seek out what he needs.

"What's the one thing I can do that will make everything easier?" he asks himself. Then he tries to accomplish that one goal.

Jim Appleton, president of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers, said dealers "like being wooed, but they find it ... time-consuming and sometimes mind-numbing to sort through the haze."

They "like being in the driver's seat, but they really don't want to spend their days sorting through proposals from vendors," he said.

And often vendors' digital offerings can be confusing for dealers who don't have technical knowledge. Most dealers understand traditional or basic vendor products, Cook said.

"But when dealing with something at the next level up, most dealers are not going to understand it," he said.

Marketing consultant Ian Woods doesn't feel overwhelmed by vendor options. Dealers and marketing managers just have to be realistic about how much time they need to put aside to evaluate vendors, he said.

Woods, the president of icwoods inc. in Orchard Park, N.Y., is a digital marketing consultant for a number of dealerships in the Northeast.

He says that if he refuses to talk to vendors, he and dealers may miss an opportunity. He gives each vendor a five-minute interview.

"If they can get to the value proposition without the paintbrush terminology," Woods may consider working with them. It's about building a network of relationships, he said.

One solution to dealing with the influx of vendor programs may be as simple as speaking with other dealers.

When dealers call Mark Rikess, a Los Angeles sales and process consultant to dealerships, for vendor-selection advice, he refers them to at least three other dealers who are using the service.

"Dealers tend to be honest with their fellow dealers," Rikess said.

The New Jersey dealer group, like many other dealer associations, has marketing relationships with selected vendors.

"Vendors view dealer associations as a distribution channel to tap into," Appleton said. They want to earn the "seal of approval" that dealers look for.

The coalition focuses on vendors' reputations in the marketplace -- what participating dealers think of them -- and bringing the dealer the best-in-class choice, he said.

Major automakers and dealership groups often require that their dealers work with particular vendors for services. Typically, they suggest three or four companies.

Penske Automotive Group surveys the market regularly, said Terri Mulcahey, senior vice president of marketing and business development. Typically the company receives requests to review vendors from an automaker or a dealer. Leaders from various departments complete an "exhaustive view" of the vendor, which includes product capability, references and potential return on investment.

After Penske narrows down the vendor choices, it has a bidding process. Then Penske launches a pilot at several stores before making a decision.

Some dealers learn about vendors from dealer publications.

Cook calls vendors he has read about and asks for a list of local dealers that use the service.

He wants references he knows from his area to ensure that he can trust the vendor.

Dealers also meet vendors at functions such as National Automobile Dealers Association convention.

"You talk to somebody, and they follow you forever," said David Tefft, director of sales for Mitchell Auto Group in Connecticut. But "when push comes to shove, you have price, service and relationships."

Even with so many vendor choices, some dealers battle with vendors that don't understand the automotive industry. Sometimes, when a major automaker partners with a relatively small vendor, dealers end up training the vendors' new hires, Cook said.

"Some little company gets the bid and hires 3,000 people because Chevy wants it done yesterday," he said.

Many vendors understand the product, but they don't understand the automotive business.

Alexi Venneri, CEO of reputation management company Digital Air Strike, said vendors must understand dealerships if they want dealers to listen.

Some vendors "just don't take the time to learn dealerships," she said.

Digital Air Strike gives dealers a custom plan when pitching its service. The company does a Web search on the dealership as a consumer would.

"Too many vendors have cookie-cutter solutions, and each dealer is different," Venneri added. "Dealers respond well when you show them you've done your homework."