Dynamic entrepreneur Mike Trotman shares recipe for success
When we last caught up with B.C. auto dealer Mike Trotman, he had just been named to the prestigious Top Forty under 40 list by Business in Vancouver magazine.
In the course of an interview with Canadian auto dealer about the recognition, the President and CEO of the Trotman Automotive Group talked about a lot of topics that caught our attention. We now publish more of that conversation.
Apart from his obvious business savvy that helped him grow his operation to $110 million in sales in 2010, it’s Trotman’s enthusiasm and pride in his industry that really shines through. “It’s a fun business and I see tremendous oppor- tunity in it,” says Trotman. “It’s never been more exciting to be an entrepreneur in this industry.”
He says the industry saw the perfect storm emerge in 2008, but has rebounded nicely. “The test of your mettle is during tough times.”
It’s a wonder we caught up with him at all, as Trotman is a man on the move. He led the Chrysler Pacific Dealer Advertising Association as President of the Board of Directors over the past three years. He is also one of nine national board members to sit on Chrysler’s Dealer Council and has been elected to represent B.C. for three separate terms. He sits on the board of the New Car Dealers Association of B.C. and has an active role as director with the Vancouver International Autoshow and the Association’s Foundation in support of the Special Olympics.
It’s all about the people
In our conversation, Trotman discussed topics from online marketing, to industry skills shortages, the lack of recognition of the industry as a great career option, and also the secrets to success. “We are in the people busi- ness. We happen to sell cars,” says Trotman.
He says having great people working for your dealership is more important than ever because the retail side of operations is becom- ing a commodity-based business where buyers can get the same or similar products at the same price — sometimes at 10 different stores within 30 minutes of one another in large urban centres. The same is also true of service departments, where dealerships pay their tech- nicians and mechanics roughly the same labour costs. So if you aren’t adding value for your customers, don’t expect to excel. “That’s what this business is about,” he says.
Key goal for 2011: leads
Trotman says his group’s number one strate- gic initiative in 2011 is developing a robust online strategy to interact with customers and better manage electronic leads. But the strategy has to be all-encompassing and that means a lot more than just hiring a converted Internet sales manager and putting up an e-brochure. “That won’t work,” he says.
One of the biggest lessons Trotman says he’s learned is that the customers who walk in the store are often at a very different stage in the buying cycle than those who are shop- ping online. “At the store, we typically see a client when they are at the very bottom of the funnel. They’ve done their research, they are about to go for their test drives and are very close to making a buying decision.”
Typically, salespeople are conditioned that the customer’s vehicle purchase will happen within 48 hours of the client walking onto the lot. This, he says, helps fuel the industry’s perception of:, “Are you buying today?”
But today’s analytics tools and customer profiling data presents a much different picture when dealing with online leads.
“When we see Google Analytics reports and are reviewing our e-leads, from the first time we see a client on our website, or respond to an e-lead, to the delivery of a vehicle is between 14 and 17 days,” says Trotman. “It presents a whole other equation for us where we are dealing with the client earlier in the process.”
Be fast and be memorable
He says many dealers can take a day or two to respond to an e-lead, and that’s far too long. So what’s the best way to respond to an e-lead? Pick up the phone!
“We’ve found you have to get back to the client within one to four minutes. You need to contact them right away and make an appointment at the store,” he says. “That’s where dealers get lost in electronic land. And that’s what we are learning.”
Diversification also a key
Trotman says the turbulence in the industry also taught him not to put all his eggs in one basket. When he purchased a Toyota franchise in 2008, he could not have foreseen the rapid drop that would result from the company’s recall woes. Similarly, he says it was tough times with his Chrysler franchise until the company rapidly turned things around. “There’s never a dull moment,” says Trotman. “I am now 16 years into this industry and I have never seen it change so quickly as it has in the past 18 months.”
