David Bishop, Owner of Bishop Automotive Group in Northern Michigan understands the importance of a good operation and a solid staff.
Back in 2022 and 2023 things were good for Bishop Automotive Group. That being said, David felt his stores could be doing MORE.
The stores stores weren’t getting enough lead volume, but closing percentages remained strong to makeup for it, largely due to the leadership in place.
Bishop Automotive Group decided to partner with two strategic partners to dominate the digital landscape and maximize the opportunities that were coming in.
After implementing Fountain Forward’s Automotive Accelerator and Alan Ram’s Proactive Training Solutions, one store in particular has seen over 90% growth in leads, closing rates that have tripled, and a sales increase of nearly 40%.
What Happened:
David owns 3 stores in northern Michigan and reached out to Fountain Forward in 2023.
Before going “all-in” on Fountain Forward, David inquired about one store in particular that was struggling with sales volume, Bishop Chevrolet of Rogers City.
Fountain Forward analyzed the store’s competitive landscape and performance, and realized that Bishop of Rogers City’s digital strategy was virtually non-existent, and the store was a great candidate for their proprietary Marketing Mix Modeling technology.
Immediately upon launching the Automotive Accelerator, Fountain Forward was able to exploit channels that the dealership and its nearest competitors weren’t even touching.
Instead of putting Bishop’s advertising dollars in saturated and competitive channels, Fountain Forward went “ALL IN” on digital – and bet on digital being the best catalyst for growth.
1 year into working with Fountain Forward, Bishop of Rogers City increased sales by 26.81% YOY in our first 12 months by dominating the digital landscape with the store’s new Marketing Mix Model.
About a year after starting the Automotive Accelerator at the Rogers City location, David wanted more opportunity and that same success at his other GMC stores.
David understands the importance of a good operation and a solid staff, and boy has he created that in northern Michigan.
Still, David wanted his team to be ready to handle the expected increase in opportunities and was looking for sales training, and signed up with Alan Ram’s Proactive Training Solutions.
For over 30 years, Alan Ram has been the trusted training program that dealers across the country have relied on to drive higher lead-to-showroom conversions, and that takes sales and management teams from good to great.
The Alan Ram team educated the sales teams at the Bishop group and provided them with the tools and strategies they needed in order to convert inbound opportunities into sales.
In February of 2024, David implemented the same powerful combination, The Automotive Accelerator AND Alan Ram’s Proactive Training Solutions, at his other stores.
With the help of Fountain Forward’s Automotive Accelerator, The Bishop Auto Group saw an immediate boost in opportunities, as Website Leads increased by 39.89%.
Then, those teams maximized their opportunities with Alan Ram’s hands-on sales training, seeing closing rates that nearly TRIPLED 193.23% increase.
In the 4 months since partnering with Fountain Forward and Alan Ram’s Proactive Training Solutions, GMC of Cheboygan has increased sales by 38.51%.
To summarize, Bishop Automotive Group has been able to put the pedal down in an uncertain market for many dealerships, especially rural dealerships.
David Bishop found strategic partnerships with Fountain Forward and Alan Ram’s Proactive Training Solutions to help accelerate his stores, processes, and operations.
The group has a great culture filled with fantastic individuals who are now turbo-charged with Fountain Forward’s Automotive Accelerator and Alan Ram’s Proactive Training Solutions Sales Training; this group is going to keep crushing it.
