PDS On The Rocks

VIP treatment has become expected in every interaction with customers today, and it's no different when they enter your showroom floor! There can be massive benefits to perfecting the VIP experience when your customers walk through the front door. Join this quick episode today for some expert tips that will put your dealership ahead of the rest to drive retention, satisfaction, and profitability.

Why should sales get all the attention!? It's time fixed ops got some attention from marketing! If you agree, join us for today's PDS on the Rocks as we dive into building a fresh marketing roadmap specifically for your fixed operations department. 

Video-based messaging is the latest trend in the automotive industry to help you communicate better with your customers. Listen for some impressive stats on how it increases email click-to-open rates, triples the response rates, and really helps to better connect with your customers. But like any new trend, there are a few “do's” and “don'ts” that you should be aware of before implementing. So sit back, relax, and grab a drink as Tiffany and Matt share these best practices on video-based communications and building trust and transparency with your sales leads on today's PDS On The Rocks.

Could your service department benefit from a tune-up training program focused on improving the owner experience and ultimately drive profitability for the fixed ops department.  Join us this week as Tiffany and Matt provide part one of a free diagnostic check of your service department that may help shine some light on key deficiencies, and more importantly how to address them. So grab a drink and sit back and we'll provide you with a checklist to help set your department up for success. 

It's a little surprising that even after all this time people still believe that Business Development only involves a BDC, phone agents, and phone scripts…that's not all there is to it. And we're here to set the record straight. Join the conversation about putting the DEVELOPMENT back into Business Development. We want to hear from you! 

Did we get your attention…? Well Good! Because in today's episode of On The Rocks, we want to get back to basics and have a meaningful conversation about what is Modern Retail really?  So sit back, grab a drink, and listen in to Tiffany Peeler and Matt Lowery as they have a candid conversation about what Modern Retailing is and how adopting the term can genuinely help your dealership. 

No one has a magic ball, but we all can agree that the current market conditions won't last forever. Supply and demand will find balance again. Now is the best time to do an employee development healthcheck. Will your salespeople and mid-level managers be prepared with the skills to actually sell again, not just take orders?  Tune in to today's episode for help determining not just what training your staff might need, but WHO? (Hint: why are mid-level managers so often left out of the equation?)

The wave of the future is here! If you aren't already implementing artificial intelligence or some sort of intelligent call routing into your service drive, you might be wasting a ton of time and money. We understand your hesitation and the feeling that a DVA won't be able to provide the same level of service as a BDC agent would. But tune in and let us help guide you through these new and exciting changes in the automotive industry. On today's episode of PDS On the Rocks, Tiffany and Matt share tips on how to successfully integrate and use intelligent call routing in your service drive while also providing the same level of customer experience your customers expect from a real person. So grab a beverage and join us.

On today's episode of PDS On The Rocks, we are announcing June as National Service Recall Repair Month! Yes, we know recalls aren't always huge money makers for the service department, but hear us out before you switch the channel. Tiffany and Matt give tips on recall campaign management and how to reduce headaches. You can even bring past customers back to your store by taking advantage of these opportunities. So grab a beverage and join us.

We think you'd agree that technician retention is critical and so is optimizing your capacity in the service lane for maximum profitability. On today's episode, we're uncovering some ways your service capacities might be more restricted than you realize and we're giving away the tool you need to measure those deficiencies quickly.

On today's PDS On The Rocks we are pioneering a new term… BDC-Flation!  You might ask what does this term mean? And how does it apply to the rising cost and unexpected expenses that affect your Business Development's revenue? Grab a beverage and join Tiffany Peeler and Matt Gray on today's episode and find out how proper planning can make an internal BDC a profit center in today's unpredictable marketplace.

Electronic Vehicles are quickly starting to make a comeback now that the pandemic is in our hindsight (knock on wood). But is it worth it today to get your Dealership and Service Drive ready to be able to handle these new vehicles? Weighing the benefits of cornering the market against tech training investments and the cost of new equipment that will evolve quickly is no small task. Grab a beverage and listen in to Matt Lowery and Matt Gray as they discuss the Pros and Cons of getting your dealership EV-ready!

Spring Cleaning time is upon us! No this doesn't mean you need to go scrub down your dealership. But it is time to clean up your inbound sales and service calls. With an increase of calls coming into dealerships, it's critical to evaluate if they are being answered, handled appropriately, and if they are generating appointments.  Listen in to Tiffany Peeler and Matt Lowery as they share our Fix the Phones Checklist and compare for yourself how your dealership stacks up! So grab a beverage and join us!

The importance of employee satisfaction and retention is crucial to your business's success. Could you be losing real talent because of a gap in performance feedback? Listen in to today's PDS On The Rocks as Tiffany and Matt provide stats and shocking takeaways from recent studies on how improving employee performance feedback benefits you and your staff. So grab a beverage and join us!

Why should sales get all the attention? Wouldn't we all like to lower customer churn, increase customer loyalty, and deliver on brand promise? Well, we all can by engaging in a simple but effective activity called Journey Mapping in which you continuously move the customer through the process, keep them engaged, and make them feel like a VIP. Listen in to today's PDS On The Rocks as Matt Lowery and Matt Gray (aka Matt Squared) provide pointers and tips on this proactive activity. So grab a beverage and join us!

Your traditional “car driving through the mountains” TV spot isn't cutting it anymore. Customers are putting less and less trust into conventional marketing messages, more than ever before. Even though you can't change this trend on your own, you can develop a better game plan for engaging with customers.   On today's episode, Matt and Tiffany have some low-risk  tips to share to increase your customer engagement. So grab a beverage and join us for today's PDS On The Rocks!

Even a simple tool can have a huge impact on your Service Drive!! It's time again to start spring cleaning. And no, we don't mean under your bed and closets. It's time to step back and examine your current management software and service scheduling tools to find out if you are getting the most out of them. Are they are keeping your service drives full while also ultimately providing a great customer experience?   On today's episode, Matt and Tiffany have a checklist to share that will help you streamline the process. So grab a beverage and join us for today's PDS On The Rocks!

In today's PDS On The Rocks Tiffany and Matt introduce ADKAR. A training technique you can introduce to your dealership and help shake up your training programs and keep it modern without reverting to your old comfortable ways. 

It's no joke that having last-minute cancellations and rescheduled appointments can affect your service department revenue, especially for our stores that are booked out several days to weeks. So today we're going to share tweaks and tricks for preventing no-shows, and handling canceled and rescheduled appointments.

In today''s episode of PDS on the Rocks, Tiffany and special guest Matt Gray discuss the 5 ways your can evolve your service BDC in 2022 to meet the demands of today's consumers and truly optimize your service departments. Tune in, take notes, and share your feedback!

We know that we can no longer just be the dial, dial, dial people to get everyone to come to the dealership...after all, what are they coming for? Tune in today to hear Matt and Tiffany detail some new tactics to leveraging modern retail tools, and providing customers with options and benefits for doing business differently than they have in the past. Join in the discussion about these techniques and how you can apply them without risking CSI, customer trust, and future business all while keeping the customers happy.

You'll want to grab a pen and paper for this episode. Matt and Tiffany share some eye-opening stats from more than 18 THOUSAND mystery shops surrounding how lead handling has been drastically affected by the inventory crisis. How can your dealership address these topics? Tune in as we provide some solutions and word tracks on how to counter customer issues. Get ready to hit the pause button because you're going to want to write these down.

In today's episode, Tiffany Peeler and Jacob Cates discuss the age-old question… "Does Your Dealership Need a Receptionist"? Well ok… maybe not age-old but an ongoing topic of discussion. Does a receptionist improve the customer's caller experience or is a digital voice assistant providing a better more efficient call? Tune in and decide for yourself.

Shop loading, capacity management, campaign management...let's talk about the incredible value of making sure you are managing your service customers as they are facing major market adjustments and keeping their cars longer. 

With so much change and disruption in the industry, many traditional best practices have taken a back seat to the "new way of selling cars". One of those critical best practices that can prove to save dealers thousands is reviewing your vendors - what are paying for and what are you getting in return? Like Hulu, HBO+, (anyone out there still paying Napster on accident?)...it's easy to forget everything on autopilot. Listen in for some tips and tricks to make sure your audits are getting done regularly. 

Matt Lowery and Tiffany Peeler are back at it in 2022! Join this episode to hear some real-life tactics for dealing with market adjustments, planning for the future negative-equity issues, and still giving your customers an excellent buying experience. And don't forget to subscribe and give us your feedback. We'd love to hear some of your ideas!

Happy New Year!! On today's last episode of 2021, Matt and Tiffany stop to reflect on the year and make some pretty bold predictions for automotive in 2022. Take a listen, drop us a note, and share your predictions of 2022 in automotive! See you next year! 

On today's special Christmas episode, we're gifting Matt Lowery with a pop quiz on some of the most recent - and surprising - stats of 2021 auto consumers. Drop us a note if there are topics you'd like us to cover when we return in 2022!

There's no shortage of new technology for dealers to streamline processes, optimize staff performance, increase customer satisfaction, and whatever elevator pitch you want to add to the list. In fact, it can be easy to experience "tech fatigue" when trying to integrate new technology with staff and even customers. Listen in today's episode of PDS on the Rocks for an honest conversation about the struggles you may be facing today and how to overcome them. 

Welcome to PDS On The Rocks! On today's episode, we're reviewing some of the ways to evolve your job descriptions in order to attract the kind of front-line employees who are ready and capable of serving today's customers. 

Buckle up because today's On the Rocks is about to hit hard! With more than 20k shuttered service bays post-COVID, you have a critical opportunity to make changes today that will escalate your service business in 2022. How can you create more service capacity? How do you streamline processes to become more efficient? And could be happening inside of your service scheduling tool?! Listen in! 

Has the "new normal" taken your team's focus off some of the best practices that have proven to be successful? Have you been focused almost entirely on digital retailing? You're not alone. Join Tiffany Peeler and Matt Lowery for a journey back to the old school practices of Customer Retention Management! 

The challenge of setting goals and objectives for employees is certainly not new, but it's something we need to review considering the speed and scale of disruption faced by our industry today. Listen in for our two-question magic formula that will align managers and employees and increase performance today. 

Digital retailing technology isn't necessarily what's disrupting today's market...we just need to remember to keep our eyes on the ball with customer-centric lead management. Listen in for some best practices to audit your experiences from online to the showroom and everything in between.

Disney's core values all relate back to being customer-centric and elevating the customer experience. We also know that every dealer today is focused on elevating their own customer experience to corner your own share of the marketplace. In today's episode, listen in for some tips on how to audit your main CX channels at this very pivotal juncture in our industry. 

Digital Voice Assistants are all the talk these days. But there are some rumors surrounding them that simply aren't true. On today's episode, Tiffany Peeler and Jason Beckett bust some of the biggest myths surrounding Digital Voice Assistants and explain how they can actually benefit your dealership. Not only will a DVA boost your customer experience but also help you save money. 

How many emails have you sent and received today? How many have you deleted without even opening them? With so much digital pollution, it's important to modernize email "templates" so they don't fall on deaf ears. Listen in for some great tips! Don't forget to subscribe, like, and comment.

Raise your hand if you wake up the morning just looking for someone to annoy? On this episode, Tiffany and special guest Josh Palmieri share some insights into using DiSC profiles internally in your organization to improve employee interactions. We each see the world through our own unique lenses and DISC helps you understand your lens and the lens of others.

Dealerships are used to process mapping but we typically do it with ourselves in mind. What if we began to process map from the customer's perspective? Would it change anything?

Market Update: Dealers today are still in the thick of staffing shortages with inventory shortages showing no signs of a rebound. But are these the only issues dealers are facing today and, more importantly, how can they make the changes necessary to overcome these difficulties? Join us for today's episode of PDS On the Rocks!

There's a side of Digital Retailing that nobody wants to talk about and that's the difficulties that it can bring to dealerships and their staff. On today's episode, Matt Lowery and Tiffany Peeler dive into those challenges and how to help your staff adjust to new ways of communicating with customers and selling cars. 

Many dealerships are facing heavy scheduling challenges due to staffing shortages and are especially short on technicians. If you're experiencing this it might be time to assess your scheduling practices from the eyes of the customer and follow these tips to deliver an excellent service experience. Don't let your teams get so wrapped up in the scheduling of a service that they lose sight of the experience they can provide.

MasterClass attendees absolutely LOVE receiving their own copy of the DiSC Assessment and learning how to use it. So this week on PDS On the Rocks, Matt leads the discussion to introduce the DiSC assessment and how to use it to identify the type of buyer you are working with. Enjoy!  DiSC is a non-judgemental, self-interpreted instrument for understanding behavioral styles and types. We use these assessments to train our staff and clients to develop interpersonal skills in areas like communication, leadership, customer service, and conflict resolution. 

Matt Lowery thinks talking about phone analytics is BORING. But Tiffany Peeler is here to change his mind. Matt, like many, just wants to know how many calls he got and what were the final results. Tiffany knows there's so much more data and information to use to not just know the results, but know how to get better results.  Who's the phone analytics champion at your dealership?

Dealers everywhere are still battling a very fractured workforce and struggling to just find enough employees to handle customer needs, much less finding the right candidates. On today's episode of PDS on the Rocks, we're sharing our top strategies for finding, hiring, and retaining the staff you want, not just the staff you need.

It's time to prepare your service department for the arrival of Digital Voice Assistants. Turning over mundane tasks and FAQs to a Digital Voice Assistant means shorter hold times and fewer missed opportunities.  There are 4 key components to keep in mind when preparing for the next wave of AI technology and we're diving deep into them on today's episode of PDS On the Rocks! Join us now and don't forget to laugh (and subscribe!). 

The road to the sale is DEAD.  Everyone is talking about the digital shift and the need for role re-alignment to support the online shopper. But what about the showroom shift? How should the behaviors and communication skills evolve once a customer moves from online to in-person? Join us on today's episode of PDS on the Rocks to learn more! 

Today's PDS on the Rocks episode is geared towards helping managers leverage the digital retailing tools to stop doing low-value work and start making time for what matters.  There's a lot of focus on the operational shift in the way that dealerships run their showrooms to reflect the online shopping experience of their customers, and rightfully so. However, if you aren't making the same shift in the roles and responsibilities of your management team, you could have the best processes out there but still fail at digital retailing. 

Everyone has one but not everyone knows how to use it.  Following a DIY strategy to digital retailing is a recipe for mediocrity. Dealers of course want to leverage their Digital Retailing tools and see ROI from their investment. And employees want to serve customers and close as many deals as possible. So why is there still such a gap between having the tools and using the tools? Join us on today's episode of PDS on the Rocks as we dive into this HOT topic. 

The most important part of the digital shift is often thought about last or forgotten altogether...change management.  On today's 50th episode of PDS on the Rocks, Matt and Holly talk about the most important elements of the internal change that needs to happen at your dealership to ensure absolute success with your modern retailing strategy. 

Introducing Brooke.ai, Your Best Service Scheduling Coordinator. Brooke is Automotive's first digital voice assistant to answer, handle, and appoint inbound service calls for dealers. Benefits with Brooke include improving customer experience, decreasing operational costs, freeing up your services advisors, and reducing agent drama, call-ins, and turnover.