Internet a valuable sales tool for Honda dealer

The Honda Fit If minutes are dollars, then Sanjay Prakash is saving customers money by encouraging them to buy on the Web, rather than drive to the dealership.

"Time is valuable," Prakash said. "So we've realized that and catered to that market need."

The general sales manager at Honda of Fort Myers on Colonial Boulevard is offering some discount coupons and other incentives on the Web. He's also asking the sales team to quote prices and interest rates over the phone.

That's part of what has made 2008 the best year for overall sales since 2001, Prakash said.

Since he moved to the Fort Myers store last year, it set four records for the most vehicles sold in one year.

"That's a reflection of the entire team," Prakash said. "It's really a reflection of people and process."

Prior to moving to Lee County, Prakash sold Hondas in Orlando, then worked for three years

at a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Gainesville. Florida has been his home since the late 1980s, when he graduated from Northwood University in West Palm Beach. After that he worked in the hotel business for five years.

EVAN WILLIAMS/FLORIDA WEEKLY Sanjay Prakash encourages customers to save money and buy on the web. Prakash is originally from Canada.

"It was really exciting to come down to the warmth," he said. "And being a hospitality major, Florida is the place to be."

He has returned each year to British Columbia to visit his parents.

"Canada is a mosaic, where you're able to keep your culture a little bit more and they all fit together," he said. "The U.S. is more of a melting pot…

"I find this more exciting and fast paced. There are great opportunities in the U.S."

But the recent economic tailspin hit the automotive industry hard, Prakash said.

Big-cylinder SUVs have gone down in resale value, and become less fashionable, while gas prices rose and going green became

hip. Cars, in general, have become less popular.

"It is very rough out there," Prakash said. "For my friends and associates in the car business, everybody is crying the blues right now.

"Since cars are a necessary evil, we've been able to weather the storm well. It's a combination of things — fuel and resale value."

And customers aren't falling madly in love with cars anymore. They are refusing to be wooed simply by muscle, speed or a favorite color.

"I've never seen so much emotion being removed from the car sale," Prakash said. "Now it's all about dollars and cents, fuel economy and the bottom line."

As a result, the company's four most fuel-efficient vehicles have charged ahead in sales.

The Honda Civic, for example, is the No. 1 seller at 36 miles per gallon; followed by the Accord (31 mpg); the CR-V (27 mpg); and the newer Honda Fit (31 mpg).

When he's not working on marketing the new Fit ("It's about to be the no. 1 bestseller," he said) or a car deal's bottom line, Prakash likes to travel. He takes a wife of 10 years, a 6-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son. They don't have one favorite place.

"We like going to different spots," he said. "We find the adventure aspect to be the most interesting. It's not the destination as much as being able to try something new, or eat a different food. Our rule is we want to go to places and hate to leave. You should itch to wanna go back."

His other rule, about buying cars or anything else: "I won't buy from anybody I don't like and neither should you.

"Ultimately, they have to earn my business as I have to earn yours," he said.

And he feels that car dealers, in general, are more honest than you think.

"The media has done a pretty good job of painting a picture based on how our predecessors handled it," he said. "There are so many car salesmen that the bad ones have given us a pretty bad name…

"But I beg to differ. It's up to the client to find the good ones."