Selling Cars Not Rocket Science, Is It?
Michael Baker believes understanding the “science” of the auto-retailing industry propels success.
June 21, 2011
By the time most second-generation car dealers take the helm, they have had years of on-the-job training and spent time under somebody’s wing (usually a parent or grandparent dealer principal).
To the well-trained successors, the idea of selling cars isn’t rocket science.
Michael Baker might beg to differ.
While he doesn’t say much about rockets – other than he’s an avid racing fan – Baker, the son of Bob Baker of the Bob Baker Automotive Group based in San Diego, firmly believes understanding the “science” of the auto-retailing industry propels success. Mike Baker, formerly associated with the dealership group, no longer is part of the organization.
Whether it’s the chemistry behind creating a cohesive management team or the application of new technologies to drive Internet sales and customer-relationship management, getting the most of the tools at hand is critical, he says.
The Bob Baker Automotive Group operates six stores with total vehicle sales of 8,351 units and total revenues of $197.7 million in 2010.
The group is No.97 on this year’s Ward’s Megadealer 100. Two stores, Bob Baker Toyota-Scion and Bob Baker Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Mazda – are on the Ward’s Dealer 500 ranking of individual stores.
The group – with a slogan of “Where it’s nice to be nice” – has become a strong regional brand created from diligent practice.
Michael Baker enjoys helping others improve themselves.
In 1992, when Mike Baker was with the company, a decision was made to brand all locations with the Bob Baker name.
“From the inception, we formulated a budget via the monthly contributions of the dealerships as a fixed percentage of their advertising and marketing expenditures,” he says.
The contributions came from both the front and back ends of the dealer; a combination Mike Baker says is sorely missing in today’s auto sales process.
That sales process includes working even harder to keep in line with the consumer purchasing trends, he says.
“San Diego demographics and psychographics seem to be very commensurate to California and in many respects, to the nation,” he says.
Auto consumers, relying on the Internet to research and shop for vehicles, develop a “purchase strategy,” often several months out, Mike Baker says.
Today, the science of the automobile industry goes so far as to include Web-based applications that can help a dealer determine how used vehicles are priced compared with the competition, in addition to how much stock is on hand for a particular vehicle.
When it comes to Internet marketing, arguably there’s nothing more “scientific” than search-engine optimization, the process of getting ranked high by Internet search engines and becoming a bigger online presence.
Michael Baker calls SEO the most important of Internet initiatives. He also takes a studied approach to using social networking to help sell cars.
“The key ingredient is having the general manager be the exclusive liaison for whomever is posting the messages in the social-media arena,” he says.
“Not only do most general managers and dealers know the philosophy of the store for branding purposes, they can protect the store” from potential liabilities, he says.
“Stay current in all social media,” Mike Baker says, recommending “a multitude of positive conveyances with appealing deliveries that can be shared for a maximum number of members.”
Some still debate the value and return on investment social media can offer. But Mike Baker says it’s all a part of the process, and he is very big on process.