On Saturday I started to use the new FB feature that allows you to basically switch modes and log in as the dealer. Taking it one step further, I then began to copy and paste the email address of customer that just bought cars. I mean they literally had left within the hour.  When I did this it pulled up their profile and I was able to write on their wall as the dealer thanking them for visiting us and that we hope they enjoy their new car. I also liked that on our wall it shows the post and the FB profile pic of that user. I actually pondered posting my discovery on DrivingSales, but figured it had been out for awhile. I then noticed a tweet this morning from @marshacollier with a description of the process/feature so perhaps this is newer than I originally thought. The link gives a pretty good how-to as well.  http://marshacollier.posterous.com/new-facebook-fan-page-design-how-to-upgrade-u So far, I've noticed some decent impressions and there haven't...

  Many of you are aware of the Automotive SEO Study conducted by PCG Digital Marketing. If not, it's a place where SEO Animals are being born. I'm one of the hopeful animals. Like many others in the study, I'm still responsible for my day-to-day work, including selling cars. Often on test drives, I'm thinking about the study. I'm anxious to wrap up the deal so I can get a few more PR pieces in, because I want my keyword tracking spreadsheet to progress in big ways. I find myself thinking, "Hey, what about my parts keywords? That's low-hanging fruit and I better get after it." Those are the types of things an animal will do. That's animal stuff. Animals will sooner or later figure out that they didn't update their meta tags and their work is suffering as a result. Trying to be a good dealer contact, I didn't want to burden my website rep with a question that I can research online – so I went through their training v...

Pretty much every other sales book out there mentions "Quid pro quo" (from the Latin meaning "something fo something").

I've recently put on my price quote emails a little extra line that says-

When you arrive check in on Facebook Places and Foursquare for an additional $50 off your quote!!

I've told the sales managers and service director when they are doing a write up they should include something similiar.

If you're going to give a discount why not get a little something for it? 

 

 

Our finance guy pours out of his sales office, hands down by his sides as if defeated in horrific ways we'd never want to know about. He looks like he's about to walk out the door and down the street, occasionally stopping to heave his chest up and down and hoping some little old New Jersey lady might see him from her window and offer to make him a "sangwitch." 

"What do you expect? I don't have any leg. What can I do?"

There's no little old lady there to tell him it's going to be okay – no sangwitch, no glass of milk, no cookie – just the disappointed look of his GSM. A look that might say something about finding his replacement. 

For the next deal, the finance guy tries to sell an alarm, but the customer tells him the car already has one – the salesperson said so.

For the next deal, he "gives away" a warranty and the desk manager yells at him because they're backed up five people deep and what

I've been using Facebook places for about 11 hours now. This morning I woke up and several of my friends are also using the app. I can see where they are checked in right now, some even including comments on the walls of the places they're checked into. I was then thinking back to a conversation I had with a friend yesterday in the ad business.  She said, “rep is the new god." So, as more of my FB friends check into various locations, it seems the importance of rep grows even stronger. A dealer's treatment of its customers, even those whoe've never before posted a review, can come back to haunt or reward them. There is no expiration date on this rep and on these reviews. I myself have been mistreated by dealers, and if a friend were to “check in” to one of those dealerships I would do my best to suggest they leave and see someone else. I think a lot of people have had similar experiences and ...

    I recently went on a series of job interviews for the position of Internet Manager,  and I'd like to address the number-one concern that I’ve heard in these interviews with GSM’s and GM’s. This concern was gross profit - specifically, the impact (perceived and real) the Internet Department has on a dealer’s gross profit margins. After listening to me speak they would simply lean in, squint an eye at me and ask if I give cars away....

  I'll take the Reputation!  Why? The more negative reviews a dealer has the worse their closing and conversion ratios resulting in an even higher the cost per sale which even further drives up the need for more profit than their competitors. Some dealers will attempt to fix their sales issues by tossing more salespersons into the mix adding even more fuel to the fire. A highly charged and ‘get the sale at any cost’ mentality for survival will result in an increased amount of negative customer reviews as well as an increased lack of positive reviews. Lastly, this sales solution also creates a higher rate of turn over resulting in more “innocent” mistakes which result in yet even more negative reviews. This cycle drives up positive reviews of competing dealers resulting in lower cost per sales for them, which results in more competitive pricing for them, which results in more sales for them, and addi...

  I'm late to work already. I'd rather sit here and drink coffee and perhaps go to the beach today and I can't imagine anyone else waking up differently. So I'm at the end of my desk right now and am going to go one shot. One draft and hope it gets out what I want.  I met someone the other day who said their internet department had a 12-step process. I couldn't help but wonder about this process and what happens on step 5 or 8 and especially 10 or 12 and why not shorten the steps to get right to those magical things on step 3 or 4?  And I started thinking about it this morning and I thought if you're going to go for a 12 stepper wuss out at 12. Why not for 32 or really man up and go for a whole 102 step sales process. Then I thought about my measly little 5 step process and started to think about them and wonder if I shouldn't have a 12 stepper or 39 stepper.  But then I thought this process works for me and I've proven myse...

I'm going to try to write this in 10 minutes as I still have to shower and get to work as I have a customer who will be waiting for me when the doors open. The deal is set, car is cleaned, etc.. so I'll be all wrapped up by 11 and by then maybe I'll be playing some basketball in the service drive. There are a lot of things I do each month and one of them is collect pricing from all my competitors. What I do here in Los Angeles might be overkill if you're in Elmira and also what I do is probably more geared for a person in a similar position as me where I have no resources, no help, no assistant, and to be honest no one to even talk to except for customers. I'm a firm believer that the entire store should be internet but have yet to convince any GSM to make the move yet which makes me question my own sales skills but that's another topic on another day. I have 8 minutes left right now. To me Different Lead Sources equal different competitors, prices, an...

  The other morning I was walking my dogs. I live on the main street right below the Hollywood sign. If you’re a tourist and you’re looking for a picture of the Hollywood sign you always end up on my street because it looks like it drives right into it. Okay, enough details. Back to my walk. A car slowly slides up next to me. It’s a very thick June gloom morning. The fellow rolls down his window and like most tourists they always ask me how can they actually get to the sign for which there is no easy answer as it’s a twisty maze of narrow streets with signs that seem purposely hidden so I usually tell them there is no way but this fellow wasn’t asking how to get to the sign. He was asking me if he was even close to the sign. I asked him to repeat himself and he asked me if the sign was even close to where he was. In my mind I’m thinking that’s an insane question because it’s in massive letters right before him about 500 yards str...

“Hey, did you see that review?” The question moved about he showroom and through offices and even leaped over different departments and surely must have slipped and slithered itself through the rafters and cooling ducts to the owners office. It wasn’t finished until every last person heard it and read the review. Once the review was read it seemed to make everyone feel compelled to provide their idea of what should be done about it. Managers, Finance Guys, Salesman, and a guy who supposed to be a Porter came up to me with deep concern and heavy tones as if speaking softer about the event would somehow make it go away. The questions and statements revolved around asking me to have the review removed. Asking me to respond to the reviewer. Asking me to petition Yelp for removal. And to somehow inform the internet of all the things we did right on this deal. As if the internet were waiting with the great anticipation for the truth to finally come out on this deal. I don...