Tag: Free advice

The Basics

Posted on | by Tom Hampton Agency | 1 Comment on The Basics

There will always be plenty of companies contacting you professing solutions AND profits…and all you need to do, is use THEIR program/process/formula/app, for a nominal fee…. of course!  

My emails (multiple accts), Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts are flooded daily!  

“Do this and you’ll be rich in hours!”   

“Use our system and NEVER fail again”   

…yeah, yeah, yeah! Same rhetoric, different set of words from all the so-called experts.  

Please understand, that I am the first to say money spent to improve yourself and your business are solid investments in your journey to financial success and business stability; I have spent thousands educating myself! Be cautious, however. Financial investments will never return unrealistic and/or extraordinary results with little to no effort. If something promises it will, it is a scam. Change and improvement comes from continuously working at it and staying committed to achieving daily goals.  

Let’s start at the beginning and brush up on the basics! I have found these 4 fundamentals to be the cornerstone to every successful business or venture.  

  1.  Communication  

Communication is one of those things that can make or break your business. I have experienced all types of people and businesses that are not aware that real communication skills are centered around the way the other person learns; Visually, Auditorily, Kinesthetically, or by Reading/Writing. Through my investment in Neuro-Linguistic Programming training, I have learned to how to spot different cues that tell me which learning style a person most likely uses to communicate. For example, if a person’s eyes move up when you ask them a thinking question, they are visual learners and need to see the information I am presenting.  

  1. Listening  

If your customer does not feel like you are hearing them, you might miss out. What I often see happening is people listening only long enough to respond. I like to call it talking at one another. They spot (and often assume) the problem, then immediately supply a solution. After all, providing our customers with solutions IS what we are here for! By not having great listening skills, you could be missing important information that will help you completely understand what your customer wants.   

  1. Customer Service 

With great listening skills, comes GREAT customer service! Providing your customer with a top-notch experience cultivates loyal (and referring) customers. Going back to my Neuro-Linguistic Programming training, by also learning to switch communication style to match the person being engaged, conversation flows naturally, the customers’ needs are all being met, and rapport follows!  

  1. Providing Quality Products 

Being the best you is only the foundation to a great business. At the end of the day, all of that is only as good as the product/service you are providing to your customer. I also suggest investing the time to ensuring your team is well trained and knowledgeable of the products you are selling.  

These four basics of business are paramount for growth to occur. My best advice is to invest in yourself first. The rest will follow. When the time is right, reach out to us and we can get you started on your road to success. For a limited time, I am offering a FREE 30-Minute Kickstart Guidance session! Let’s brainstorm!  

Create a Great Day! 
Tom Hampton 

Re-Birth of an Industry.

Posted on | by Tom Hampton Agency

Honestly, my friends, I did not think that I would live to see the rebirth/reinvention of the used car industry. 

My grandfather was around for its birth, my father for its heyday, and I for the rapid evolution of vehicles. The here and now, we are seeing changes we never could have anticipated, and they won’t stop there.   

In my father’s day, the salesman did it all; Desk the deal, underwrite the paper, go back and get the car made ready, then deliver it. 

Well, it kind of looks like it is 1965 again as our salespeople are granted more independence   from the desk. Our salespeople are taking more initiative to generate their own book of business as they learn to become professionals in all that they do. 

That fact in mind, what are you, the owner, doing to educate/train/inform/practice with your crew? Have you sat down with each one and done a little dream building? 

Do YOU know what your salespeople’s individual strengths are? Do YOU know what motivates them (besides $$$$)? Have you asked them for their ideas on how to improve any or all areas of the business? The way things (business) were run 6 months ago is just that…the past. A way of business we WILL NOT going back to doing. 

Getting that fact into your business model and adjusting actions accordingly is the key to PROSPERING instead of surviving the exponential changes we are all experiencing. Customers LIKE the personal service this crisis has forced dealers into. Customers like the fact of no F&I Dept process to suffer through. Customers like the test drive coming to them and the virtual test drive videos dealers are doing for every unit in stock. Customers like having the perception of having the upper–hand throughout the entire sales/delivery process. 

Customers LOVE the fact that salespeople are having conversations with them and ***MAGIC WORD*** LISTENING to them! Customers are getting what they always have wanted and feared the most…control. 

IF IT SELLS CARS – THE CUSTOMERS MAY HAVE AS MUCH CONTROL AS THEY FEEL THEY NEED. So, WHAT are you doing about that? 

How are you fostering/nurturing those relationships to ease control into the customers hand? How are you making your customer feel more a part of the process and not feel as if they are BEING processed? These are some very serious things to think upon my friends. 

Being in communication with friends/clients in the industry in all corners of this great country has painted a very clear picture of what the smart dealer is doing. They are buckling down and getting it done. In this unprecedented season of reinvention and rebirth, LET your customers, salespeople, bankers, friends, associates, and all others help you, reshape your future. 

If you do not know what your customer wants (expects) then how can you meet those wants/needs/desires? My advice, grab a notebook and pen, have a Zoom meeting with your team, and brainstorm your tails off!  

Now, more than ever, the game of “what if” can be your best tool to grow with the curve of change and not get crushed under it. 

Create A Great Day, 

Tom Hampton