Finding success on Planet Subaru

Low-key, eco-friendly approach sets Mass. 'undealership' apart

But that's part of life at Morrill's Planet Subaru, which is next to almost five acres of nature preserve in Hanover, Mass.

It's also part of Morrill's "undealership" philosophy, which he uses to set his dealership apart from other suburban-Boston stores.

Morrill promises shoppers a friendly, low-key buying experience that's different from the hard-sell, buy-it-now approach of many other dealerships.

Morrill, 39, co-owns Planet Subaru with his brother John, 44. They have pursued an earth-friendly strategy that includes installing 374 solar panels on the roof, recycling car wash water and using black raspberry and other thorny bushes instead of sterile chain-link fencing. The brothers also chose a staff that supports their approach.

Wanted: No experience

The Morrills won't hire people who have sold cars before. They choose people with whom they think their customers would like to do business, and then teach them sales techniques.

"We really aren't expecting them to sell any significant number of cars for three, six, nine months," Jeff Morrill says on his Web site. "But once they've seen our way of doing it and have become proficient at it, then we can keep them for a long time, they satisfy customers for a long time, and that's how we've built our business."

The key is finding people who fit with the dealership's team approach, Morrill says.

"It's nearly impossible to take someone who has already done it a certain way and show them the wisdom of doing it our way," Morrill says. "If they're using the same phrases, the same techniques, the same approach that they were using at the last dealership, then that's the bad apple contaminating my whole barrel."

Consider Deb Brewster. In 2003, she came to Planet Subaru to buy a new vehicle. She left with a Forester and a job offer.

For 18 years she was a doula, assisting mothers in childbirth. She was ready for a change -- and a respite from 3 a.m. emergencies.

"I'm still amazed at how much I like it here," says Brewster, the store's online sales manager. "I know how hard it is to start a business. They really stuck with it, and it really works."

The other 10 sales staffers are an eclectic crew: a former stuntman, filmmaker, art gallery owner, aeronautical engineer, manager of the Boston Garden sports arena and political staffer for Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. One staffer was hired out of engineering school, and three had sales experience -- one selling medical supplies, one electronics equipment and another managing a cell phone store.

'Undealership 101'

Turnover is low, which lets Morrill spend a week training each new staffer himself, using a manual he developed called "Undealership 101."

Morrill preaches openness to his staffers, and the dealership's layout reflects this with glass cubicles, and a customer lounge with a fireplace in the sales area. All employees are on one level, within view.

"As a customer, you can see everything that is going on in the dealership," Morrill says. "If someone is sleeping or yelling at an associate, you are going to know."

The Morrills do some traditional print advertising, but rely extensively on Internet ads to drive traffic to their chatty Web site, which details the background of the staff.

Rather than a frenetic buy-it-now sales pitch, the store takes the long view. Using a computer sales tracking program, staffers are encouraged to stay in touch with people who didn't buy cars from them. It's OK to be patient and win customers over time, Jeff Morrill says.

"If they leased a car from a competitor for three years, we call them up at 2 1/2 and ask how the experience was. If they buy with another dealer, we call them when the loan matures," he says. "The benefits of that? Well, many times dealerships are not even following up with their own customers, so that helps us win over customers."

Once they gain a new customer, Morrill's staff goes to great lengths to keep them coming back. Extra warranties included in the purchase price are a key part of the strategy.

Beyond the showroom

New-car buyers are automatically in the "Passport Program," Planet Subaru's extension of the brand's general warranty. In addition to loaner cars and a free car wash and vacuuming during servicing, the dealership offers free parts and labor for batteries and tires during the lifetime of the vehicle.

Planet Subaru also includes a 10-year/150,000-mile powertrain warranty.

"A free vacuum and loaner cars are pretty standard at luxury dealerships like Mercedes, Lexus and such," Morrill says. "We've done it here intentionally to offer a luxury experience without the luxury prices for a more traditionally mainstream brand."

The customer-friendly attitude isn't limited to the showroom.

Mike Connolly was formerly an assistant Internet sales manager at Planet Subaru and is now a sales manager with John Morrill's Planet Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge dealership.

That store is still being remodeled, but also follows the undealership philosophy.

One day when Connolly was driving to school in Rhode Island, he saw a Subaru Tribeca with a flat tire along the side of the road. When he saw the Planet Subaru badge on it, he didn't hesitate to stop and change the flat tire for the driver.

"That to me goes beyond professional. That's good character, and that goes back to recruiting the right people," Jeff Morrill says.

His methods seem to be working. Planet Subaru's new-vehicle sales rose 45 percent in 2009 and 14 percent in 2010. The Subaru brand's U.S. sales also rose during the past two years: 15 percent in 2009 and 22 percent in 2010.

At home in Hanover

Before opening Planet Subaru, John spent seven years at Ford Motor Co.'s East Coast regional office. Jeff sold Volvos. Then Jeff proposed buying their own dealership.

In October 1998, they leased a bankrupt Subaru dealership in Norwell, Mass.,

When their lease expired in 2002, the Morrills moved to the Hanover location, about five miles south. In 2004 they bought and reopened a bankrupt Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge dealership in Franklin, Mass., about 45 minutes away. There are 70 employees at the two stores.

Business life for the brothers is divided between the two dealerships they co-own. Jeff runs Planet Subaru, while John is in charge of Planet Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge.

When the workday ends, they're still close. Jeff and his wife live next door to John, his husband and their two sons.

When people ask Jeff if he worries about business coming between the two of them, he tells them family comes first: "There's no amount of money, no amount of car dealerships that I'd be willing to lose a brother for."

(To read the article in its original format, click here.)