Pretend I just walked into your office.  We had an appointment to sit down and discuss your training needs, and the possibility of you hiring me to teach your sales staff how to close more sales and make more money.  If we had a conversation like the one that follows would you hire me? (I’ll skip the beginning and cut right to the fun part)

You: There are lots of trainers out there, what makes you the right choice?  What’s different about your system?

Me: Great question, I’m glad you asked.  There are 3 keys to my sales system that make it super powerful…

(silence)

You: Um, what are they?

Me: Whoa, slow down.  First you have to pay me.  Let’s say $20,000/month to start.

You: That seems a little steep, what am I getting for that?

Me: Alright, the first key to my system is to have your salespeople open the conversation the correct way.  If the first words out of their mouth when they greet a customer are anything but a price, they should be fired on the spot.

You: What?  You’re kidding right?  Obviously we want them to start with a warm and friendly greeting that makes the customer feel comfortable and makes a good first impression.

Me: NO!  It’s all about the price.  That’s the only thing that people care about.  We will just give them a number and tell them it’s the lowest the price has ever been.

You: But won’t people catch on to that?  It seems pretty silly to keep telling people we have the lowest prices ever…

Me: Trust me.

You: Well I guess if it doesn’t work we can quit paying you, it is guaranteed right?

Me: You know, it’s probably better if you don’t even really pay attention to the results.  Just keep paying…

You: That makes absolutely no sense, I think you should leave…

Me: Tell you what I’ll do, I will wear clothing with your logo on it every day.  That will get your name out there.  That way when someone is looking for a vehicle they will think of you because they saw your logo.  I’ll be building your brand.

You: So let me get this straight…  I’m going to pay you $20,000 a month to teach my salespeople to yell prices at customers and get our name out there by showing our logo to everyone who will pay attention to you?

Me: Yes

You: And you don’t want me to measure the results and hold you accountable?

Me: It would be better if you didn’t.  You can’t really measure the value of a good brand.

You:_________________

*End Scene*

Well, go ahead and fill in the blank in the comments section below.  What would you say?

Obviously I’m goofing around a bit, but isn’t this how lots of dealers look at their advertising?  I know that most of the active participants here on Drivingsales are far beyond this stuff.  Most of you track your results and are focusing on pulling rather than pushing your customers, but most car ads you see and hear are still the loud yelling, price focused crap that our industry is known for.  It baffles me that people who can be so good at showing value and selling vehicles can turn completely retarded when it comes to advertising.  These dealers would cut a salespersons head off for ignoring a customers’ wants and jumping straight to the price conversation all of the time, why would they advertise that way?

Wait, what?

Goat testicles?

Yes you read that correctly, and no, it’s not just a lame attempt to grab your attention and then pull the old bait and switch on you…  So what am I talking about?  Well first let me give you the short version of the John Brinkley story and then I will explain how it applies to the car business.

In 1918 “Dr.” John Brinkley (after years of selling patent medications and various other quackery) opened a clinic in Milford, Kansas where he began performing a procedure promising to restore virility and cure the “sexually weak”.  As you no doubt have guessed based on the title of this post, the procedure involved transplanting the goat glands into the patient. 

Now you may not be shocked to learn that there were often complications with the procedure.  He had next to no actual credentials as a doctor, often performed the operations while intoxicated and paid less attention to contamination and germs than the doctor from Dirty Dancing.

What may surprise you though is that rather than being chased out of town with pitchforks, Brinkley was absolutely ADORED by the general public.  He built his business with direct mail and eventually radio, becoming incredibly famous and bringing tons of money into the town and the state. After the American Medical Association finally caught up with him and revoked his license he ran for Governor as a write in candidate and would’ve won if not for a large portion of his votes not getting counted on a technicality. 

After his campaign he took to the airwaves dispensing medical advice and shilling products for advertisers.   When his radio license was taken away he set up the first ultra powerful “border blaster” radio station just inside the Mexico border, and kept right at it…

Eventually he was shut down, sued, and died crippled and penniless.

So.  How does this apply in any way to the car business?

Well by no means am I suggesting that anyone do anything dishonest to make a buck.  But we can still learn a thing or two from Brinkley such as:

No matter what method of advertising he was using he focused on offering the prospect what THEY were looking for.  The focus of his advertising was the result he was promising (turning a hapless man into “the ram that am with every lamb”) he didn’t spend much time focusing on the goat…

He embraced different methods.  He made a fortune with direct mail before he was introduced to radio and became a pioneer in that industry.  Does that mean that he gave up on the mail?  No, he used the techniques he’d been successful with in the mail as a foundation to make a fortune on the radio.

And before you say it was just because people were stupid back then, keep in mind they would probably feel the same way about financing a vehicle over 96 months…

Instead of thinking the old methods of advertising don’t work anymore now that the internet exists, why don’t you join me in taking the lessons of the old school and apply them to the modern technology? 

I mean really, if a guy can sell goat testicle surgery through the mail, we should be able to get someone to give us their email address and phone number shouldn’t we?

Before we start let me ask you a question.  When was the last time you purchased (or wanted to purchase) a decently expensive product that you didn't know a ton about?

What was the research process you went through?

How was your experience?  How much good information did you find and how much crap was out there?  How did you know the difference?

I went through this last year when I was looking for a new computer, and I'm just starting the process again looking for a surround sound system. 

When you start looking online for information on electronics you sure get a lot of keyword stuffed robo-spun content, fake review sites, and other spammy looking crap don't you...  Then you get a bunch of stuff that might look professional but it's only talking about prices, so you know they're just trying to sell their product and you still need information so you ignore those.  But when you find a source of free, high quality information doesn't it cut through that clutter like a laser?  Don't you bookmark the page?  Don't you click the “email to friend” link and send it to yourself just in case the bookmark gets lost?  Don't you immediately bestow expert status on the author?

Ok, so it's no secret or surprise that I'm going to make the “big reveal” here.  Obviously this ties in to how most people will start looking for a car.  Yes it is counter-intuitive to put information out there without plastering your face or your logo or whatever all over it but try to look at everything you do through the eyes of the shopper.  (Yes it's tricky to forget everything you know about how it's “supposed” to be done in the industry, but don't think like an expert.)

“Marketing Buddha” Dean Jackson has come up with a way of describing this that I've been wanting to share for a really long time.  (And you have to listen to him, he pioneered the opt in page so you know he's a genius)

Dean Jackson's Cheese vs. Whiskers Theory

In many situations people react like mice.  (This is why scientists use them for behavioural experiments...) 

So how do mice react?  Well basically mice are programmed with 2 “prime directives” (2 Less than Robocop) which are:

1: Get Cheese

2: Avoid Cats

These 2 directives are the motivating factor behind every conscious and unconscious reaction they have.

So how can we use this to instantly boost the R.O.I. of our online marketing?

Well let’s translate these prime directives back into (car buying) human terms and take a look at our marketing...  In most cases salespeople are the “cats” that our prospects are trying to avoid.  If our ads are all overtly trying to sell sell sell, our “whiskers” are showing and we are going to be ignored or avoided.  So what do we do? (Well if you’ve paid any attention to anything I’ve ever said here, you know I don’t think brand building ads are the answer) 

So...

Let’s go back and look at it through the “mouse’s” eyes...  What “cheese” is our prospect looking for?  Information?  Sure.  What type of information could we offer in our ads that they would consider to be valuable? 

What questions does a car shopper have that we could answer before they ask them in a (non-threatening or sales-y) book, report, or a video?

How about something like “Leasing vs. Financing: The Truth Revealed...” or “How to Get Top Dollar For Your Trade...”

If you are giving them helpful tips and answers to questions that they had in their minds already, without blasting them with information about you or your company, that’s cheese baby.

Hold on, this part is important...

Don’t worry, I’m not going soft on you...  We’re still trying to make money, just not right away.

So how do we turn our “cheese” into a paying customer?

By giving them even more free helpful information, (but information that they have to get a little closer to you to get).  To stick with our “How to Get Top Dollar For Your Trade” example, you would end the report by saying something like “But even more important than your trade in value is making sure you’ve selected the right new vehicle for you...  For a free no obligation video walkaround on the new (manufacturer) vehicle of your choice go to (our website).”  Then the video at the next step would encourage them to contact you for a test drive.  Once they book the appointment you’ve got them in, they trust you because you’re the expert not a cat, and you’re set.

You do want more customers don’t you?

Well typically when we think of getting more customers we think of advertising.  So what is advertising?

Before you read on, take a minute to come up with an answer.  What is your definition of advertising? 

Does it involve branding, or getting your name out there?

Really take the time to come up with something, it’s important.  But don’t beat yourself up over it if you struggle.  It took years of searching for a man who is now known as the father of modern advertising Albert Lasker to finally find a suitable definition for advertising.

In 1904 Lasker met with a former Canadian Mounted Police officer named John E. Kennedy who was finally able to give him the definition he had been searching for, which was surprisingly only 3 words…

“Salesmanship in print”

Now over time with the changing technology the definition has been modified to the more appropriate “Salesmanship Multiplied”, but the idea is the same.

What does this history lesson have to do with getting more customers to set foot in your showroom?

Well if you really understand the definition “Salesmanship Multiplied” and take it to heart, we in the auto industry have the immediate edge over almost anyone else in the world when it comes to marketing because we understand and appreciate (and survive through) the art of selling.  Major portions of society think selling is dirty, pushy, or beneath them and would choose almost any title short of pedophile over that of a salesperson.  That means that their advertising will be easily ignored in favor of that written by someone who understands it.

What is Salesmanship Multiplied?

This means each ad you create (whether online or physical) is like thousands of little clones of your best salesperson sent out to get the attention of the prospect and entice them to take action.  How does this knowledge affect the way you advertise?  Well, like salespeople, your ads can be finicky and require some polishing before they get the right message out there. 

This means that they also have to be tracked for effectiveness.  Can you imagine not keeping track of which of your salespeople were selling the most?  Would you ever just take the total pay and divide it evenly among all the salespeople?  Of course not, just like with your staff, you want to keep what works and get rid of what doesn’t.

So how are you going to get these customers that I promised you?  Keep this definition in mind, put on your salesperson hat and write some ads that sound the way you’d want your salespeople to sound.  (Ask some questions, don’t overwhelm them with information, and for the love of god talk about something other than price!)

Authors Note: Attention DrivingSales members, you are about to benefit from a presentation I recently saw that suggests the key to success is to create as much value as possible without expectation of anything in return. I take that to mean I should give away my best ideas for free, so here you go. The post that follows is going to lay out some key points for using direct mail that (if you put them into use) will put money in your account almost immediately. (And keep putting money in your account as long as you’d like…)

“I’d like to get a vending machine that sells vending machines… It’d have to be real f***in’ big.”  --Mitch Hedberg

So what do I mean when I say we’re going to build a floor traffic vending machine?

Well it’s simple really, when you go to get a bag of chips from a vending machine you put your money in, push the button and the chips come out. It’s predictable and reliable and pretty straight forward. Is your marketing as predictable and reliable as a vending machine? I would guess that in most cases our marketing is more like a slot machine… You put your money in, push the button and hold your breath, hoping some money comes out.

Wouldn’t you like to know that when you put let’s say $20 into an envelope a qualified customer shows up in your showroom?

(No, I’m not saying we are going to mail out money, and I don’t know what your actual cost will be, but when you get it dialed in you will be able to spend a set amount of money and have a predictable number of customers show up.)

Welcome to The World of Direct Mail

I understand that you have done mailouts in the past that haven’t worked. I also understand that “snail mail” is totally outdated and boring and lame compared to all of the cool online stuff that’s available. But if you just keep reading I will tell you why your previous mailouts haven’t worked, and while I might not be able to make the idea of “mail” seem as cool as video chat, SEO, SEM, and STD’s, I will show you how the advantages of getting a physical product into a prospect’s hands can more than make up for the lack of technology involved. (and even compliment your online strategy)

7 Steps to Making Money With Direct Mail

1. Target the right list.

2. Get your letter opened.

3. Get your letter read.

4. Present a COMPELLING offer.

5. Present a clear call to action.

6. Have a solid deadline.

7. Have multiple steps in the campaign.

How to target the right list:

The narrower and more focused you can make your list the easier you will find it to “speak” directly to the prospect and the better the response you will get. Plus, you will be mailing each piece to less people, which will cost less to actually mail, and that is more money you can spend on getting their attention or making the offer. When large mail order companies rent a mailing list, they will segment by all sorts of criteria such as people of a certain income level, who have a credit card, subscribe to a certain magazine and have previously bought something through direct mail… In our industry we don’t need to get too carried away segmenting, and we probably don’t need to rent a list because most of us have large numbers of previously sold customers and other leads that we haven’t done much with. We still need to narrow it down a bit to tailor the message to the prospect, but we don’t need to go crazy. For example, a list of recently sold customers would be a good choice for a referral generating or service campaign, but you would offend the majority of them if you sent them something that said “you should buy something, the prices are the lowest they’ve ever been…”

How to get your letter opened:

The best way to think about this is to imagine yourself opening your own mail. What do you take your time to open and look at, what gets a glance, and what do you toss immediately in the garbage? Chances are you open envelopes that are hand addressed to you personally and look like personal correspondence, so that would be something worth trying. It gets a little murky when it comes to things like teaser copy on the outside of the envelope. Yes it identifies the letter as a sales message, but if huge direct mail operations like Publishers Clearinghouse keep doing it you know it is working for them. My absolute favorite way to get a letter opened is to include something in the envelope to make it “lumpy”. It gets the letter noticed, you can’t easily pile other mail on top of it without having it slide off, and it arouses our curiosity. We can’t help but open it. So what kinds of things can you include? How about a pen to sign your new deal with, since our deals are so good you might have to bring your own pen… Anything that you can explain in the copy can be used. You can Google “3D mail “ for more information. (But do it later, right now you should stay here and keep reading...)

How to get your letter read

Once your letter gets opened, they have to actually read it to get your message. It starts with a good headline, but you can’t just have a headline and then a solid blob of lame copy. Make the copy engaging and interesting to the person reading it, write the way you talk, tell a story, make it funny, whatever you can think of. Contrary to popular belief, your letter doesn’t have to be really short to get read. There is no such thing as too long, there is only too boring. If you break up the copy with interesting sub-headlines and bullets so that the prospect can just skim the letter and get the gist of it you have created what is called a dual readership path. (That is a good thing.) Write a P.S. or three that restates the offer being made and the deadline and you have got a pretty good chance of getting your point across.

How to present a compelling offer:

First of all, keep in mind that your offer has to be compelling to the prospect, not to you. In order to do this you have to be able to think like your prospect. (This needs to be done with all of your marketing.) It can help to imagine you are creating the offer for a person in your life who doesn't understand the car business. What are they afraid of? What are they frustrated with? What are they looking for? What would get them excited to take the action you are asking them to? Since you want them to believe you, it's a good idea to have a reason to be making the offer. I've seen “Save my Marriage” sales, I've seen “Unexpected Bill Showed up, Need Quick Cash” sales... It doesn't really matter what it is, it's just really important to have a story to go along with the offer. (Even the old “help make room for new inventory” can work even though it's boring.) Also, keep in mind the goal of the mailing. For example, if you are doing a lead generation campaign, your goal is to generate leads. You will not sell a vehicle through the mail, so don’t try to sell them one, just sell them on the next step (pick up the phone etc...).

How to present a clear call to action:

A great letter without a clear call to action is like finding the perfect vehicle for a customer that loves you, doing an amazing presentation/demonstration, and then not asking for the sale or attempting to close in any way. Will you still get a few deals? Yes, but you wont get anywhere near as many. Don't leave room for the awkward pause and “Thanks, I'll go think about it and get back to you...” If you want your prospect to do something, tell them, you can even tell them in excruciating detail. “Now, before it's too late go and grab a pair of scissors, and cut out this coupon along the dotted line. Once you've done that you need to grab your keys, get in your car and drive to this address immediately. Don't forget your coupon...” It doesn't really matter what it is. Go to this website, call this number, get in the trunk... The key is to know what you want them to do and then tell them to do it. If they are excited by your offer they'll be excited to follow your instructions.

How to have a solid deadline:

This one probably doesn't need much explanation to people in the car business. How often do you get crazy busy on the last day of the month when the programs are ending? Even if they've had 3 months to come in, people will wait until the last minute. Why not set your own deadlines and have “last minutes” more often? When setting your deadline, make it close enough that people don't forget about it, but far enough out that you'll have time to mail all of your planned pieces. But remember that once you give a deadline you need to stick to it or you will lose credibility and no one will pay attention to you anymore. (Just like with kids...)

How to run a multi-step direct mail sequence:

Plan, plan, plan. It's not too much more complicated than that. If you have a good story for why you are making the offer (or even a bad story) plan out 3 or more letters that follow that theme, and then follow that plan. Don't forget the offer, the call to action, and the deadline, but make sure you leave time for printing and delivery and response.

Steal This Example And Make Money…

Now, in the spirit of sharing my best ideas I am going to give you what I consider to be the ABSOLUTE BEST idea for a direct mail campaign that I have ever thought of. Originally I was going to write the letters and the whole package for you and make it available for download, but that's a hell of a lot of work. Plus, I didn't want to do all of that work and then have everyone treating it with the same regard you would give free relationship advice from your thrice divorced cousin just because it's free... What I will do is give you the idea, and if anyone would like to, we can use the comments section as a “mini-workshop” and create the package together.

Does this mean that I'm going back on my word to give stuff away?

No. In fact it's probably more valuable to work on this together because you'll be learning how to do it. I don't know if any of you have experience paying professional copywriters but I can assure you that a half decent professional direct response copywriter would charge in the neighborhood of $2500-$5000 plus a royalty on every piece mailed for a completed package like this.

Anyways here you go…

Order a bunch of promotional lip balms and containers of breath mints with your logo on them. (For testing purposes you can just go to the store and buy normal ones...) These will be our “lumpy” attention grabbers that will get the envelope opened.

Decide what you want to promote. (I've always pictured an invitation only private sale.)

Write a letter with a headline such as “The Prices at Our Invitation Only VIP Sale Will be so Good You'll Want to Kiss us...” and a lead in along the lines of “When I told the first few people about my plan to reward our very favourite customers with a special invitation only sale/party I was showered with spontaneous kisses. While that sounds like a great thing, I was concerned by how dry many of the lips were. That is why I've included a lip balm with this letter today...”

Go on to give details about the sale, call to action, deadline.

Use the mints in a similar fashion with the second letter (sent only to the people who didn't respond to the first letter) and dial up the urgency a bit. Something like “I noticed you haven't yet R.S.V.P.'d to our invitation sale. I can only assume that means you were concerned about the kissing part... Since your lips are now soft thanks to the lip balm we included with the last invitation, I'm guessing that it must be something else. That's why we have included these breath mints. Now you'll have no reason not to enjoy all of these wonderful deals...”

Well, there you have it. The very best idea I have never shared with anyone before. Enjoy and make money.

If you aren’t familiar with the T.V. show Kitchen Nightmares I’ll give you a brief rundown…

Basically, owners of soon to be failed restaurants call in Super-chef Gordon Ramsey to spend a week helping turn things around and restore the business to profitability.  Week in and week out the show follows the same format…  First the owner tells their story, and provides the details of how bad things have gotten.  Then Chef Ramsey shows up, looks around, orders a few items off of the menu, meets the owners/staff and inspects the kitchen.  By the end of the show (and lots of fireworks) Ramsey has given the restaurant a “makeover”, a new menu and a dining room full of satisfied customers before he rides off into the sunset.

So what does this have to do with the car business?

Well, the most frustrating thing about the show (which I am admittedly addicted to) is that within seconds of showing the owner complaining about how horrible the business has become, and how much money they owe, and how they are weeks away from losing everything, they cut to Chef Ramsey telling them how bad the food is, followed by several minutes of the owner ARGUING with (and complaining about) Ramsey, saying he’s an idiot and he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about.   Half the show is Ramsey fighting to make the owner understand why it needs to change.

This resistance to change is what reminded me of the car business…

For example, do you know any salespeople who complain about a lack of floor traffic but disappear when you suggest they pick up a phone and call some orphan or previously sold customers?

How about a manager that paces around the showroom during slow times and barks at everyone to “sell something” but won’t change the advertising one bit from “what we’ve always done”?

Obviously resistance to change isn’t limited to restaurants and dealerships, and being DrivingSales members you are on the lookout for the best practices our industry has to offer, but it might not hurt to remind your people that when you have control over the input, you can’t complain about the output.  If they keep getting bad results you may want to be open to change.

(I apologize in advance for the rant that is about to take place…)

All of the discussion around the commercials that air during the biggest football game of the year is enough to make me wish I could turn into the Hulk and start smashing everything in sight.  Which one was the best?  Who missed the mark?  Are they just playing it safe?  Are they as creative as they used to be?  Is the insane cost of them worth it?  Grrr…

I HATE YOU SUPER BOWL ADS, I HATE YOU SO MUCH!

Now don’t get me wrong, I like to laugh and be entertained as much as the next guy.  (Probably more) So I am certainly not suggesting that if you are entertained by these commercials that you are an idiot.  I appreciate the creativity and the humor too.   My hatred stems from the idea that the buzz they generate is good marketing. 

As Kevin O’Leary is fond of saying on the Shark Tank (and the Dragons Den) “I mourn the good money that is being killed by this nonsense.”

“But everyone is talking about them…”

On the surface yes, it seems like a good thing to have tens of millions of people watching and discussing your commercial.  I get the thinking behind it.  The problem is they are discussing your commercial, not the benefits of your business, not your products, not your services. 

Legend has it that marketing super-genius Gary Halbert used to take the ads he was working on down to a local bar and read them to the patrons.  If they said “Hey, that’s a great ad…” he would throw it in the garbage.  If the response was “Where can I get that product?” he knew he had a winner.  What Gary knew, that these other people don’t get is that the ad is supposed to highlight the offer being made, not attract attention to itself.  It’s like the window of a store; the idea is to see the display inside, not the window itself.  If you are noticing the window it’s probably dirty. 

If everyone is talking about your commercial, guess what?

YOU JUST SPENT MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO ENTER YOUR AD AGENCY IN A “CREATIVE AD CONTEST”

If there is an award to be won, it’s the agency that gets it.  We aren't trying to win advertising industry awards, we are trying to make money.

Then there is the cost of these things… $3,500,000 just for the air time?  Plus the cost of actually creating the ads?  Yes there is a huge audience seeing them, but how many of them are currently looking for your product or service?

Do you honestly think that Doritos is going to generate an extra 10 million in profits as a direct result of their advertising on Sunday?  Do you know how many chips that is?

Now that I’ve gotten this out and I’m starting to calm down, yes I understand that some of the discussion will help sell some products, (though I can almost guarantee that the ads aren’t profitable) and these big dumb companies can afford to throw the money away anyways… 

However it scares me to think that the rest of us with small and medium sized companies are going to see this hype and think blowing the marketing budget on big goofy ads that don’t sell anything is the way to go.

Please don’t be an idiot, stay away from the dark side.  Hold your advertising accountable and don’t spend money on things that don’t generate the desired result.  (More customers/money…)

Does this sound familiar?

Boss: “Okay, so we have to generate some floor traffic, let’s advertise a big sale…”

Lackey: “Good idea boss, but how are we going to make it work?  When we did that last week we didn’t get much traffic.”

 Boss: “That’s because the guys down the street had a big sale last week.”

Lackey: “I think they have one this week too…”

Boss: “But this week we’ll use louder voices in our radio spots, and bigger starbursts in the newspaper…”

Lackey: “What if they put balloons on the cars?”

Boss: “We’ll use MORE balloons, BIGGER balloons!  Nothing says “good place to buy a car” like grown men putting bunches of balloons everywhere…”

Okay, so I may have let my personal hatred of balloons get the better of me there at the end, but you get the idea.  Now I’m guessing that these “Boss” and “Lackey” types aren’t too common in most of your stores.  If you are a member of DrivingSales you are closer to the cutting edge and probably beyond this type of nonsense.  (Although substitute Facebook page for newspaper in the above example and think about it again just to be sure…)

So what can we do to make our big sale a success without yelling louder or dropping the price more?

Have a REASON to have the sale.

Your customers (or potential customers) aren’t stupid.  (Well most of them…)  They know you can’t possibly have the lowest prices in history, every week, on everything, all of the time.  Eventually your vehicles would all have to be free.  They also know that most of the time when they PAY less, you make less, and you aren’t super motivated to make less money.  Because the customer knows this, they will usually just tune out your attempts at advertising, putting up imaginary “air quotes” every time you use the word SALE. 

However, if you can come up with a reason to be having a sale (a real reason, not something made up) or a story behind why you are having a sale, you automatically improve the customer’s ability to believe you are actually having a sale.  And just like when you are face to face with them on the lot, they have to BELIEVE you before they will buy.

For example, have you ever sold out of a few colors of vehicles and ended up with a checkerboard looking lot of black and white?  Instead of getting grumpy about it and trying to make it look like you’ve got some color out there, why not advertise it?  Have a make some room for color sale, special deals on black or white vehicles.  Customers can drive by and see the mess on your lot, so they are more likely to believe it.

Now before you ask, yes the above example may be excluding people looking for a vehicle that isn’t black or white.  But when you try to advertise to everybody, you end up getting nobody.  Wouldn’t it be better to have 10 prospects that want one of those vehicles show up on your lot, rather than have 100 people see or hear your ad and ignore it?

Plus, it gives you the opportunity to tell a story, people like stories so they will pay attention.  What are some other reasons you can think of to have a sale?

“Hey listen, my business is built on referrals so if you ever know anyone who might ever drive a car…”

-Weak-assed salesperson

Is this little “script” a part of your sales or delivery process?  C’mon, be honest… 

To be fair, “weak-assed” might be a little harsh, but saying something like that is the referral getting equivalent of “if you ever need anything feel free to call me…”  It’s putting the ball in the other person’s court so you feel like you’ve done something and haven’t risked rejection.

Why do we do this?

It’s because we are looking at referrals the wrong way.

Think about it, do you see someone sending you a referral as them doing a favor for you? 

If so, it would explain why someone would be a little weak or embarrassed about asking for a referral wouldn’t it?

But let me ask you this, have you ever recommended a book or a movie to a friend? 

Why? 

Because the author or director begged you to?

Of course not, it’s because you had an enjoyable experience, and you wanted to share it with a friend.  Also, it makes you feel great when they enjoy it too right?  (As silly as it sounds it kinda makes you feel important or like they owe you…)

The same principle applies to referring someone to you or your dealership.  Johnny Customer hears someone complaining about their vehicle, or their crappy experience trying to look at a vehicle, and mentions they should go see you.  Did Johnny do that because you begged him to or to gain the boost in social standing that comes from being an influencer?

I’ll bet the social standing is even more important than the money or gift cards or whatever you use to reward referrals.  Everyone would like to be “that” friend who can get you into the best restaurant or sold out concert or whatever right?

So how can we take advantage of this?

Well obviously you should do everything you can to make yourself (and your dealership) more referable.  Look at the customer experience and do everything you can to exceed their expectations.  That could be a whole book in itself so we’ll just leave it at that.

Just as importantly, you should change your attitude about the referral from that of panhandler to professional. 

How would you feel if your doctor came to you and meekly said “My business is built on referrals so if you could give me the names and contact information for 5 people you know who could use any kind of surgery it would really mean a lot to me…”  How would that make you feel?  What if the same doctor came up to you and said “Thank you for being such a great patient.  Normally I’m too busy to take new patients, but if you have a friend or family member that you think should see me, just have them mention your name when they call and I will make sure they get looked after.

Now I am not suggesting you should pretend that you only take referrals if you are out on the lot pouncing on every up that walks by, but do you see the difference in the two scenarios?  On one hand you are doing the doctor a favor, on the other, the doctor is allowing you to look like a big shot.  Can you think of any ways someone in our industry could position themselves in a way to do this as well?

Not a day goes by where I don't see (or hear) a lot of discussion about the effectiveness of different advertising methods.

Which websites are the best for delivering traffic?

Do I need to be on Auto Trader, Craigslist or Kijiji?

Does radio still work?

Am I optimized for mobile searches?

Am I using QR codes effectively?

Does anyone read the newspaper anymore?

What the hell is a QR code again?

And so on...

While this debate carries on, many dealers jump from bandwagon to bandwagon, trying to be on the “cutting edge”, afraid to miss out on the next big thing... After all, you don't want to be left in the dark ages while your competition gobbles up your market share do you? Of course not, that's a scary thought. (Which is why the nice person selling the advertising to you doesn't forget to ask the question...)

So, we are going to answer a question right here and now which will free you from getting sucked into this debate in the future.

Where do I need to be advertising?

The quick answer is it really doesn't matter WHERE you advertise as much as it matters WHAT you advertise. The method is a distant second to the message. (Although anything you're doing in the area of braille advertising is probably a waste of money...)

Now before you discredit everything I'm saying, yes of course a site where people are actively searching for a new vehicle has a more targeted audience so it's a better place to advertise (if you're doing it properly). But, if your ad on those sites is simply your logo with no attention grabbing headline, call to action, or any of the other requirements of an effective ad, you are losing money. Even if you currently have a positive ROI, the missed opportunity should keep you awake at night.

Think about it. Whether you produce a multimillion dollar Superbowl ad, or scribble graffiti on a mens room wall, it's going to be seen by someone who owns a vehicle, and will get another one some day. Actually I can guarantee that I would sell more vehicles with the mens room graffiti than the Superbowl ad. (And with an infinitely better ROI)

So the next time someone is selling you on the next big thing in advertising, don't make your decision based on fear of being left behind. Think about who will be seeing this ad and if you can get a message in front of them that will get their attention and engage them enough to contact you. If it fits, use it. If it doesn't fit, don't worry... Your competition probably won't use it effectively either, you aren't missing anything.