Welcome to the Shifting Gears, Third Issue of 2021.
Hello! It’s that time – your Shifting Gears Newsletter is here. Our goal is to keep our Spectrum family of sales professionals connected, and in this issue, you can find out more about Chris Hochstein, Dave Paz, and Tanya Angeloni in the Headlights column. Learn more about Bridge and those opportunities. Get some insights about Mental Agility and Sales Performance in our HR Corner. Check out some examples of really good social posts, see if you can answer fun trivia questions, and more.
This newsletter is dedicated to you, so if you have any suggestions, please feel free to pass them on to anyone on the Marketing Team or email [email protected]
Enjoy!
HEADLIGHTS
Chris Hochstein
Chris Hochstein, Partner, Cyclone Agency, started out in the automotive industry selling cars as a summer job while attending the University of Nebraska. After working for 12 years on the retail side, he had an opportunity to join a life insurance company that worked with automotive dealerships. From there he went on to start the Cyclone Agency with Rob Miller.
Chris’ best advice to new sales team members is to set your goals high and don’t get caught up in the moment. Too many people look at their current position as permanent, get frustrated and sometimes give up. View them as necessary steps for you to achieve your goals.
For fun, Chris enjoys golfing, fishing, hunting, and spending time with family and friends. His all-time favorite car is a 1971 Chevelle SS. His go-to favorite food is any seafood. If he won the lottery, he would buy his favorite car! His favorite place to visit is anywhere in the Caribbean with his family.
Chris Hochstein
Partner
Cyclone – A Vanguard Dealer Services Company
(c) 515-217-0898
[email protected]
Dave Paz
Dave Paz, Partner, Synchronize, was introduced to the automotive industry by a college friend who asked if he wanted to be trained as a finance manager. When Dave explained that he didn’t know anything about cars and even less about finance, his friend said “then you’re the perfect candidate!”
He joined forces with Synchronize in an effort to support Brandon Bell and his agency idea. Five years later he couldn’t be happier than to be part of the Spectrum organization. As to advice he would like to pass on to new sales team members, Dave feels you should rely on your colleagues and the vast network of auto business professionals we have throughout Spectrum. Learn as much as you can from them.
Dave says that his adopted home of Chicago has so much to offer to occupy any free time he has. Whether it’s enjoying the lakefront, museums, great restaurants and sidewalk cafes, or the occasional Happy Hour! One thing he always tells friends who visit from out of town is they have to explore the many different neighborhoods of the city, since they all have something unique to offer and discover.
He is a big James Bond fan, so his favorite car, you guessed it, the Aston Martin DB5. It’s old school that can’t be beat! When asked about his favorite food, Dave said “There’s a Greek restaurant I live near that has the best chicken and rice dish on the planet. Seriously, if you’re ever in Chicago, it’s a must visit.”
If he won the lottery, he might buy a small ranch to get away and be off the grid a bit. One of his favorite places to visit is South Lake Tahoe, where he has enjoyed the stunning vistas and great skiing.
Dave Paz
Partner
Synchronize – A Vanguard Dealer Services
Cell: 773-431-9204
[email protected]
Tanya Angeloni
Tanya Angeloni, Senior Director of National Sales, Caltex got her start in the automotive world in junior high school where she failed miserably at Home Economics and opted for a Small Engines class instead. From there she was hooked on the way engines worked, which lead to her love of cars. She never imagined that burning some corn bread would lead her to her chosen career path!
After working as a Parts and Service Director for 13 years, and then working for Ferrari, she decided to start her own agency, which ultimately led her to CalTex. She sold CalTex products through her agency, and then took the opportunity to work directly for CalTex.
Tanya has two pieces of advice she always gives to new sales team members. Listen and never walk away with a firm ‘no’. Listen to the needs of customers and find a way to give them what they want, and even if you don’t have what they need at that moment, leave the door open for when you do.
When she isn’t working, her free time is spent appreciating her family. Her younger daughters are involved in ice hockey and performance dance. Her son is getting married soon to his college sweetheart. Doesn’t leave much time for any hobbies right now. However, the family does enjoy biking, kayaking, being out on the water on their boat.
Tanya’s favorite car is the 1963 Corvair in white and teal, and a few years back her husband surprised her with just that! Now she cares for it lovingly with ResistAll, of course. She enjoys all types of food and doesn’t have a particular favorite. If she won a million dollars, she would make sure her children were taken care of. Her favorite place to visit is Italy.
Tanya Angeloni
Senior Director of National Sales
CalTex
Cell: (857) 210-6775
[email protected]
DRIVE TRAIN
2021 Dealers’ Choice Awards Winners!
Dealers’ Choice Awards – We Did It!
Congratulations to All! This was a great effort with amazing results!
APC
Direct Marketing – Diamond
Customer Retention – Diamond
F&I Product Marketing – Gold
Vanguard
Sales Training – Platinum
F&I Product Training – Gold
CalTex
Appearance Protection (Chemical) – Gold
Great job everyone!
More Training, Coming Right Up!
We are focused on bringing more and better training to all of our Spectrum employees! We launched our new Learning Management System Platform, Bridge, for our Spectrum and Vanguard teams in April of this year, and plan to bring Bridge to APC team members in early Q4.
Driving our efforts behind the scenes is Spectrums’ newest team member, Carleigh Courteau-Bush. Carleigh has experience working with multiple Spectrum companies, has an outside sales background, and has a strong passion for training.
In addition to ensuring we have available courses on Employee Programs and Annual Compliance topics, we are beginning to focus heavily on developing sales training courses that can be applied to all of our sales representatives across our companies. You will soon be able to access training on topics including:
- Building & Managing Your Sales Pipeline
- Effective Follow Up
- Various Spiro How-to Walkthroughs
- Cold Calling vs. Referral Selling
- And much more!
If you have ideas for specific training topics or courses that you think would be beneficial, email them to Carleigh at [email protected].
Industry Updates
Inventory Slowly Bouncing Back as Demand Slows
Inventory levels as the month began stood at 1.08 million vehicles, down 57% from a year ago, as consumer demand slowed and allowed production to catch up and add about 12,000 vehicles
F&I Product Trends and Outlook
Protective Asset Protection, a leading provider of F&I programs, services and dealer owned warranty company programs, announced today the release of its second F&I Trends Report, an in-depth look at the trends and insights shaping F&I products; how auto dealerships are using F&I products in 2021
Black Book: Market Update
With new inventory not expected to improve until later into 2022, wholesale prices are anticipated to remain at elevated levels for the foreseeable future.
Wall Street monitors used car wholesale auction index to predict inflation
Wall Street investors are keeping an eye on used car prices, something they rarely monitored before. It’s not that they’re all suddenly in the market for a well-maintained Ford Edge; it’s because used car prices are currently one of the best indicators of whether the economy is headed towards inflation or not.
Auto Blog Article
Tesla pushes U.S. to boost fuel economy penalties on other automakers
Tesla is pressing President Joe Biden’s administration and a U.S. appeals court to move quickly to hike civil penalties for automakers failing to meet fuel economy requirements.
GPS
Here are some ideas for new content to post!
- Look for relevant Automotive articles that you think your audience might be able to gain value from. (Automotive News, F&I Magazine, etc.)
- Visiting a client? Take photos of the front and showroom floor while you’re there. Highlight the name of the client within your posts and tag the company. This is a win-win for Vanguard and our clients!
- Live events – anytime you’re out at (for example) a tradeshow, golf outing, or other business event, take photos. Let your audience know you’re excited and planning to be there. Before, during, and after-event posts can all be used.
- At the office, behind-the-scenes photos can be used. Whether it’s an employee training, team-building exercise, preparing materials for a presentation, or just a great day, share a photo!
- Keep an eye out for motivational quotes or inspirational stories that can apply to life and business. It’s always nice to share something positive that others can relate to.
Social Media Posts that work
SPIRO Tips
More Control Over Incoming Calls
In the past, if there were multiple contacts or companies with the same phone number, Spiro would arbitrarily select one when receiving an incoming call. Now in the mobile app, users have the ability to change which record the incoming call is associated with to allow for greater control over where calls get logged. Note: right now these changes only apply to the mobile app, and will go live on the web soon.
Fun Facts – So you know automotive?
What car sold more than one million units in 1965, setting a record that still stands today? - Click for the Answer
Originally introduced in 1958, the Impala was the best-selling automobile in the US during the 1960s. The Impala was named after an African antelope.
What was the first car to break the sound barrier? - Click for the Answer
Driving the ThrustSSC at Nevada’s Black Rock Desert in 1997, Andy Green became the first person on land to go faster than the speed of sound.
What was the first car to be mass-produced? - Click for the Answer
Henry Ford introduced the assembly line in 1908 and was able to mass-produce the Model T.
What animal is on the Porsche logo? - Click for the Answer
The horse on the logo, which was taken from Stuttgart’s Coat of Arms, represents the stud farm on which the city was built.
The inventor of modern-day cruise control was ______________. - Click for the Answer
Ralph Teetor who was blind created cruise control out of the frustration of being driven in cars where speed was increased and decreased as people talked.
How much did the first Ford Mustang cost? - Click for the Answer
Okay this was a tough one, but the first Mustang rolled off the assembly line March 9, 1964 with a list price of $2,368.
What year was the Corvette first introduced? - Click for the Answer
On June 30th, 1952, at the GM plant in Flint, Michigan, the first Chevrolet Corvette rolled off the production line. Only 300 Corvettes were built that year – each of them by hand, making this the rarest Corvette.
TURBO CHARGED
Gina Dewar, M.S. SHRM-CP
Spectrum Human Resources
862.400.0757
[email protected]
HR Topics – Sales News
Mental Agility and Sales Performance
Performance in a Pressure Cooker
Let’s face it, our bodies and minds were built for simpler times when choices were fewer and clearer. Today, we consistently deal with rapidly changing circumstances whether it’s the Pandemic, an unhappy GM, loss of a deal, family dynamics, political unrest, social unrest, and the list continues. It can be hard for our bodies and minds to adjust to change and oftentimes it feels threatening. You imagine scenarios about your safety or potential impact on your life. As a result, your body snaps into fight or flight mode and you become tense. While it’s great as a survival mechanism, it’s not great as a reaction to common occurrences, for example management’s decision to upping the sales quota or the wrong call by the referee at your son or daughter’s soccer game. When we have any impactful changes occurring, it can be physically exhausting, and it unleashes a natural fight or flight physiological reaction.
The extremes caused by fight or flight.
When you are in a constant state of high stress due to circumstances in or out of your control, your fight or flight response narrows your focus so much you lose your ability to be creative or to think beyond the immediate situation. Your focus can become so extreme that you will lose sight of other things and details that abound. As an example, you needed and intended to send an invoice out to a customer, but you were so focused on a stressful situation that you only remember to do it long after your day is over and it’s 2 am., or you may not recall it at all. It’s called mental paralyses and it hurts your sales performance.
You must take action and get out of that state of mind! You need to use your mind for critical thinking, to make good judgements, react fast, be responsive, and creative.
How you bounce back matters.
Remind yourself of a time in past when you were resilient and how you handled it. Who do you turn to when you are down? Build your resilience by tapping into your resources. You may need to take a break, analyze the situation, speak with your support person/group, or perhaps even let it go (if it doesn’t affect your career). Then reconnect with a fresher prospective and renewed energy.
Remember that there is a world outside the problem you are facing that consists of family, friends, faith, hope, and good will. The more you can cultivate your own response and resiliency the better mentally prepared you will be. It’s critical to cope with stress so that your mind can help your body stay strong and your behavior calm. Mental agility isn’t something you learn, but something you develop. Where there is no struggle, there is no strength, so build your strength from your struggles. Go be the best salesperson you can be and remember your mind is the most powerful sales tool you have!
Top Podcasts
The Shifting Gears Podcast has Launched!
Spectrum Automotive has officially launched its very own podcast series called the Shifting Gears Podcast. We talk about anything, and everything, related to the automotive industry. In each episode we bring on an industry expert to discuss specific topics and discussions. All episodes can be found on the Spectrum website and social media pages. Be sure to follow our pages and subscribe to our YouTube channel so you don’t miss any episodes. Would you enjoy being a podcast guest? Please reach out to Justin LaRocque, our podcast host, who will happily get you scheduled. In the meantime, check us out here:
http://spectrumautoholdings.com/podcasts/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLYooB566buNF-vKXNLxeHQ
https://www.linkedin.com/company/spectrum-automotive-holdings-corp/
https://www.facebook.com/Spectrum-Automotive-Holdings-Corp-109362237270955/
Candid conversations with 750+ of the world’s most exciting sales leaders.
Episodes run ~50 minutes
Website for All Episodes
Hear the secrets of world class sales professionals.
Episodes run 10 – 40 minutes
Website for All Episodes
Attention Sales Team
Please share your favorite podcasts with us to include in the next newsletter. Send a quick email to [email protected].
Need a Good Book to Read?
Author: Lloyd W Trushel II
Includes simple suggestions to become the best F&I sales person for your customer. Quick and entertaining stories told by an F&I guy.
A Movie to Watch
Cadillac Man (1990)
Joey O’Brien loves to sell cars. He’s in serious financial trouble and has two days to sell a dozen cars in order to pay off his debts. Mix that all up with complications at the dealership and in his personal life and you will find a zany Robin Williams comedy.
Joy (2015)
This film is about legendary entrepreneur Joy Mangano who worked her way to fame on QVC. Joy is proof that hard work, sacrifice, and an understanding of your target audience are all part of selling your way to the top.
Building a Strong Network on LinkedIn