Have y'all seen this article in Automotive News?

The $1.5 BILLION valuation just astounds me. Would TrueCar going public bring more transparency to their business model and/or validate their "change of heart"?

"TrueCar said to consider IPO for next year"

"NEW YORK (Bloomberg) -- TrueCar Inc. is considering selling shares in an initial public offering in the first half of 2014, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

The online auto-shopping service is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. on the IPO, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the process is private. TrueCar, based in Santa Monica, Calif., may seek a market value of as much as $1.5 billion in the share sale, one person said.

Auto sales are on pace for their best year since 2007, and shares of some auto dealership groups have reached record highs this year. AutoNation Inc. is up 24 percent in 2013, after touching a record in September, while Penske Automotive Group Inc. is up nearly 42 percent through Friday.

TrueCar helps consumers buy cars with pricing information from more than 6,000 dealerships. It was started in 2005 by Scott Painter, who also founded CarsDirect.com Inc. and was an early adviser to electric-car maker Tesla Motors Inc. The company turned down an offer to be acquired for more than $1 billion, Painter, who is also CEO of the company, said in a Nov. 19 interview in Los Angeles.

The company currently has 325 employees and is profitable, Painter said. He declined to name the potential buyer or provide the company's expected revenue this year.

He also declined to comment on the possibility of an IPO, as did spokesmen for TrueCar, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan.

TrueCar raised $200 million in September 2011 to fund acquisitions, Painter said at the time. TrueCar's shareholders include Andell Holdings LLC, GSV Capital Corp., GRP Partners and USAA Capital Corp, according to the company's Web site."

I know. It’s a little corny. Nobody can really “become a superhero”, right? In thinking about the annual migration to Vegas that dealers with a desire to learn inevitably make, I remembered an image of Jared Hamilton that just kind of stuck in my head. If you’ve been a member of this community or friends with him on social networks, this image was his avatar for so long it’s instantly recognizable. So, just for a little fun, I thought I’d see if I could replicate it… well, just because.

Having attended 2 of the 4 DrivingSales Executive Summits, I’m excited to get the opportunity to attend again this year. I was present for both the first and second events and I can tell you that they were both phenomenal. I was actually employed by DrivingSales during the second one so I was able to get an intimate and unique perspective into the organization of the event.

Jared’s ability to identify and secure non-industry experts of the quality that he has in the past is unique and, unless I’m mistaken, an industry first. The fact that attendees have the opportunity to learn from some of the best and brightest in their respective fields was both refreshing and well received by everyone.

While the event was packed with education, the sessions were so great that time just flew by. I can’t remember one time in which I looked at my watch to see how much time I had left before a break. Being a social media “guy”, I was very involved in live tweeting content from the sessions and I never had to wait long for that next 140-character sound bite. In fact, at times it seemed as if I was more of a court reporter creating session transcripts. Yes, the content was that good.

The inaugural DrivingSales Executive Summit (2009) featured keynote speakers that included social media expert and best-selling author Chris Brogan, social media and online marketing expert Aaron Strout and Will Travis who designed legendary ad campaigns for Scion. This was both an entertaining and powerful educational opportunity to learn from non-industry experts.

The second DrivingSales Executive Summit (2010) brought the vast knowledge base of Scott Monty, the social media visionary at Ford Motor Company, along with Dan Zarella, an author and award-winning social search and viral scientist in addition to renowned social media strategist and blogger, Jeremiah Owyang.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the third DrivingSales Executive Summit (2011) and I was disappointed to miss outstanding keynote speakers including the explosive Gary Vaynerchuk, as well as two more exciting people in author, consultant and social media strategist Jason Falls, and the return of one of the most popular speakers from the first DSES, Aaron Strout.

I was also a no-show at the 4^th DrivingSales Executive Summit (2012) where I missed the brilliance of Oakland A’s General Manager, Billy Beane, wow the crowd. They weren’t allowed to live stream it contractually but just watching the Twitter feed (#DSES) was enough to know that his keynote was powerful. If that weren’t enough, he was joined by SEO superstar Rand Fishkin in addition to two more keynotes by both best-selling author and speaker Scott Stratten and Department head of MINI marketing, Tom Salkowsky. As icing on the cake, the conference saw sessions by both Facebook and Google who were represented by Facebook’s Head of Automotive, Doug Frisbie, and Dealer Strategist for Google’s Auto Industry Development Team, Kate Balingit.

This year’s event is sure to be bigger and better than ever. I couldn’t do it justice without doubling the length of this article so keep an eye out for my next article about the 2013 DrivingSales Executive Summit.

…to be continued

I know. It’s a little corny. Nobody can really “become a superhero”, right? In thinking about the annual migration to Vegas that dealers with a desire to learn inevitably make, I remembered an image of Jared Hamilton that just kind of stuck in my head. If you’ve been a member of this community or friends with him on social networks, this image was his avatar for so long it’s instantly recognizable. So, just for a little fun, I thought I’d see if I could replicate it… well, just because.

Having attended 2 of the 4 DrivingSales Executive Summits, I’m excited to get the opportunity to attend again this year. I was present for both the first and second events and I can tell you that they were both phenomenal. I was actually employed by DrivingSales during the second one so I was able to get an intimate and unique perspective into the organization of the event.

Jared’s ability to identify and secure non-industry experts of the quality that he has in the past is unique and, unless I’m mistaken, an industry first. The fact that attendees have the opportunity to learn from some of the best and brightest in their respective fields was both refreshing and well received by everyone.

While the event was packed with education, the sessions were so great that time just flew by. I can’t remember one time in which I looked at my watch to see how much time I had left before a break. Being a social media “guy”, I was very involved in live tweeting content from the sessions and I never had to wait long for that next 140-character sound bite. In fact, at times it seemed as if I was more of a court reporter creating session transcripts. Yes, the content was that good.

The inaugural DrivingSales Executive Summit (2009) featured keynote speakers that included social media expert and best-selling author Chris Brogan, social media and online marketing expert Aaron Strout and Will Travis who designed legendary ad campaigns for Scion. This was both an entertaining and powerful educational opportunity to learn from non-industry experts.

The second DrivingSales Executive Summit (2010) brought the vast knowledge base of Scott Monty, the social media visionary at Ford Motor Company, along with Dan Zarella, an author and award-winning social search and viral scientist in addition to renowned social media strategist and blogger, Jeremiah Owyang.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the third DrivingSales Executive Summit (2011) and I was disappointed to miss outstanding keynote speakers including the explosive Gary Vaynerchuk, as well as two more exciting people in author, consultant and social media strategist Jason Falls, and the return of one of the most popular speakers from the first DSES, Aaron Strout.

I was also a no-show at the 4^th DrivingSales Executive Summit (2012) where I missed the brilliance of Oakland A’s General Manager, Billy Beane, wow the crowd. They weren’t allowed to live stream it contractually but just watching the Twitter feed (#DSES) was enough to know that his keynote was powerful. If that weren’t enough, he was joined by SEO superstar Rand Fishkin in addition to two more keynotes by both best-selling author and speaker Scott Stratten and Department head of MINI marketing, Tom Salkowsky. As icing on the cake, the conference saw sessions by both Facebook and Google who were represented by Facebook’s Head of Automotive, Doug Frisbie, and Dealer Strategist for Google’s Auto Industry Development Team, Kate Balingit.

This year’s event is sure to be bigger and better than ever. I couldn’t do it justice without doubling the length of this article so keep an eye out for my next article about the 2013 DrivingSales Executive Summit.

…to be continued

In the car business, just about every dealership has "that" employee. You know, the one that complains about everything. The one that's never happy. The one most sales trainers, consultants and managers would call "cancer". The advice that 99% would give in regards to "that guy" who, no matter what you tried, just isn't positive and seems to hate everything would be to fire him. The last thing you need is some jaded veteran salesman spreading dissension and negativity around your dealership.

The guy who says things like these:

"Any sales managers know if the car dealer or general manager are screwing the salespeople by using hidden packs or inflating reconditioning costs of used vehicles, but they do not have the balls to say anything. Their balls have been cut off by the dealer or his puppet general manager before they get their titles."

"25% commission after the $500 pack means, your dealer is taking away $125 of your hard earned money on every vehicle that you sell. If you are selling 12 units, you get screwed $1500 a month which translates to $18,000 a year, just like that!"

"Car dealers do not allow salesmen in the business office not because they are afraid that the salesmen may screw the girls that are working there, they are not allowed because dealers are afraid the salesmen may look at the files and figure out how they are getting screwed on their commissions."

Do you know this guy? Do you have one at your dealership? Have you heard of this Great White Shark who lives in car dealerships?

Well, Jaws wrote a book. No kidding.

The book, titled "Kar Guys" and written by Medhi Roufougar is scheduled for release (according to his Facebook page and Twitter account) .. "soon".

[Note: There are more choice quotes that I didn't mention as well as a glowing recommendation of the book from somebody.. probably his neighbor.. on his website if you feel the need to spit your coffee at your computer monitor.]

It's target audience isn't consumers. It's not meant to "educate" people how to buy cars or anything like that. This book's sole purpose is to "enlighten" commissioned employees of car dealerships in the many ways they are, have been, and will continue to get screwed by their employer.

I was going to contact the author to talk to him regarding his book but his website advised that:

"Any dishonest car dealer,corrupted general manager,crooked sales manager or kinky closer who got offended from the kar guys book or this website feel free to call 1-800-kiss my ass.If the phone is busy,hang up and try again may be away from my desk or on the other line talking to another asshole."

...so I changed my mind.

Someone this jaded, bitter and hostile would never believe that I really just wanted to talk to him about his book, motivations to write it, and what he hopes to accomplish.

My guess is that it was cheaper to write a book than to continue therapy.

:: face palm ::

In the car business, just about every dealership has "that" employee. You know, the one that complains about everything. The one that's never happy. The one most sales trainers, consultants and managers would call "cancer". The advice that 99% would give in regards to "that guy" who, no matter what you tried, just isn't positive and seems to hate everything would be to fire him. The last thing you need is some jaded veteran salesman spreading dissension and negativity around your dealership.

The guy who says things like these:

"Any sales managers know if the car dealer or general manager are screwing the salespeople by using hidden packs or inflating reconditioning costs of used vehicles, but they do not have the balls to say anything. Their balls have been cut off by the dealer or his puppet general manager before they get their titles."

"25% commission after the $500 pack means, your dealer is taking away $125 of your hard earned money on every vehicle that you sell. If you are selling 12 units, you get screwed $1500 a month which translates to $18,000 a year, just like that!"

"Car dealers do not allow salesmen in the business office not because they are afraid that the salesmen may screw the girls that are working there, they are not allowed because dealers are afraid the salesmen may look at the files and figure out how they are getting screwed on their commissions."

Do you know this guy? Do you have one at your dealership? Have you heard of this Great White Shark who lives in car dealerships?

Well, Jaws wrote a book. No kidding.

The book, titled "Kar Guys" and written by Medhi Roufougar is scheduled for release (according to his Facebook page and Twitter account) .. "soon".

[Note: There are more choice quotes that I didn't mention as well as a glowing recommendation of the book from somebody.. probably his neighbor.. on his website if you feel the need to spit your coffee at your computer monitor.]

It's target audience isn't consumers. It's not meant to "educate" people how to buy cars or anything like that. This book's sole purpose is to "enlighten" commissioned employees of car dealerships in the many ways they are, have been, and will continue to get screwed by their employer.

I was going to contact the author to talk to him regarding his book but his website advised that:

"Any dishonest car dealer,corrupted general manager,crooked sales manager or kinky closer who got offended from the kar guys book or this website feel free to call 1-800-kiss my ass.If the phone is busy,hang up and try again may be away from my desk or on the other line talking to another asshole."

...so I changed my mind.

Someone this jaded, bitter and hostile would never believe that I really just wanted to talk to him about his book, motivations to write it, and what he hopes to accomplish.

My guess is that it was cheaper to write a book than to continue therapy.

:: face palm ::

(originally published on b/c)

ACQUISITION STRENGTHENS DEALERTRACK’S DIGITAL INTERACTIVE MARKETING OFFERINGS FOR AUTOMOTIVE RETAILERS

(originally published on b/c)

ACQUISITION STRENGTHENS DEALERTRACK’S DIGITAL INTERACTIVE MARKETING OFFERINGS FOR AUTOMOTIVE RETAILERS

I recently read an article published by Forbes titled “The Death of SEO: The Rise of Social, PR and Real Content.” Of course, being a “social media guy”—one who is also very interested in SEO—I was curious to read author Ken Krogue’s hypothesis. The headline is provocative, to be sure, but Krogue wasn’t trying to say that SEO—or, more accurately, rankings on search engine results pages—are any less important than we already know them to be. Rather, he was saying that external SEO strategies as we know them (backlinking, etc.) are becoming less and less relevant as Google places more value on social media, online relationships, and quality content.

You might be wondering how all this relates to online reputation management, which is after all the theme of this month’s newsletter. The answer is simple, and it has everything to do with integration. Search engines are integrating social media, review sites, and location-based services; social media companies are integrating search engine-like services, location-based functionality, and online review features; and reputation sites are continuously adding social media, location-based, and review features.

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of reputation management? My guess is online review sites and the reviews they host. No doubt, they are the bread and butter of online reputation. But do you consider Facebook when you’re looking at online reputation? What about Twitter? Foursquare?

Consider these facts:

•    The search engine Bing! is integrating tips left on foursquare into its online maps. If you’re unfamiliar with foursquare, it is a location-based application with some game mechanics in which people “check-in” at locations. They are also able to leave “tips” for other foursquare users who go on to check-in at the same locations. These tips can be anything from “Try the meatloaf. It’s great!” to “This dealership is horrible!” Sounds like a review to me. Do you know what ‘tips’ people have left for your dealership on foursquare? You better find out, because they’re being integrated by a search engine.

•    Apple has ditched Google’s maps in favor of an Apple-developed map product powered by the well-known GPS company, TomTom.  In doing so, Apple has teamed with Yelp and will be integrating Yelp reviews and check-ins into its maps. Of course, both Apple and Yelp already have deep social media integration in their own rights.

•    Google Now (which will be part of the Android 4.1 Jellybean OS) is so spooky in the features it brags about that people are calling it “creepy” – and these are tech guys. Based on your search behavior, Google Now will try to figure out your schedule and interests and use it feed you information it deems relevant or useful, from the scores of your favorite sports teams to the estimated time it will take you to reach your driving destination—all based on its own inferences. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if you pulled up to a car dealership and your phone informed you of the star rating for the dealer as well as provided a couple of recent reviews.

•    Every major upcoming mobile OS release – Android 4.1, iOS6, Windows 8 Mobile, etc—are all focusing heavily on social media and location-based service integration.

I’m sure you’re getting the point. Up until recently, we’ve been looking at three different industries handling three different services that encompassed different sites and functionalities—search engine optimization (SEO), online reputation management, and social media. Now of course, the lines between these industries have blurred. The integration isn’t just as superficial as making features available to its users. We’re talking deep integration into the operating systems themselves, which makes these features available for use by any program or app that supports them.

As all the key sites and companies increase the integration of services across the board, it’s time to change our perspective. At the same time, the pursuit of SEO, social media, and online reputation management must be viewed as interrelated pieces of a synthetic whole; you can’t touch one piece without affecting the others.

Online reputation management isn’t just about what’s being said about you on review sites. It’s what’s being said about you EVERYWHERE, and as the integration between disciplines and platforms deepens, it won’t matter if the review was left on your Google Places site, as a tip on your foursquare place, as a tweet about your business, or as a post on Facebook.

My prediction is that soon, no matter where consumers go to access information about your dealership (via the computer or via their mobile phones), everything written about your business will be aggregated together, coexisting for the consumer’s reading convenience.

Which begs the question: are you ready for everything being said about you online—everywhere—to be consolidated?

Originally posted in the August 2012 edition of the 3 Birds Marketing newsletter.