Top of Mind Awareness is one of those terms you hear thrown around a lot by marketing reps. Wikipedia defines it as "Owning the space that your product or service occupies between your prospects' ears. That way, when they're ready to buy they think of you first." One of their definitions anyway, and the one I liked the most!

When a brand, service, or product is able to achieve top of the mind awareness they ensure that when a consumer comes into the market for their particular product or service, they are able to mentally push aside all of the current advertising they are seeing and think of them. Traditionally, this was done by being memorable, consistent and by repeatedly marketing their unique selling position or USP. Given that traditional advertising breeds mistrust (Neilson did a study and found that we trust only 14% of the ads we see) can you imagine how expensive a traditional top of the mind awareness campaign can be? That's where social media comes and why it's the new top of mind.

SEO Is Super Important, But...

Let's face it. When people go to Google or other search engines it's because they are searching for an answer. It could be the answer to the question, "Where can I find the best deal on a 2010 Ford Fusion," or "Where can I find financing, my bank turned me down?" Whatever it happens to be they are searching because they DON'T know the answer.

What would happen if they did know the answers to those questions and instead of typing in a search query in some search engine somewhere they typed your URL into the address bar? Not only would there be a bigger chance that they would submit a lead but they would close at a higher rate as well, that's because you have already built trust with them by creating top of the mind awareness.

Of course you should ALWAYS optimize your website for search but you should also include social media induced top of the mind awareness strategies into your online marketing mix. Here are 5 tips to get you started in the right direction.

1. Start A Blog

There is no better way to create authority, top of the mind and influence than through the creation and authoring of your own blog. As I stated in the previous paragraphs the only reason somebody goes to a search engine is because they want an answer to a specific question but if they already know the answer before the need for an answer surfaces then you have done your job in creating top of mind awareness.

2. Create A Facebook Fan Page

Okay, I know, you've heard this before and you have a fan page but it's not all that you thought it would be, or what you were lead to think it would be. Most people will tell you that you should pitch on your fan page, and odds are you're probably not. In fact you're probably using it to showcase your customers, the exciting stuff that's going on in your world but still you're not seeing any return on time investment, its worthless right?

Of course it is, if you're NOT doing it the right way that is. What's the right way you ask? Engagement. Spend your time asking though provoking questions, running contests and giving stuff away. You want your fans (or likers?) to "like" your posts or better yet comment on them. Talk about local news, showcase that you're part of the community, in fact you can even allow other local business to start discussions on your fan page, this shows you are one of "us" instead of one of "them."

3. Don't Pitch, Let Others Do It For You

Strange isn't it? Strange that the less you pitch the more you sell from your social media efforts, but it's true! Look at what Ford has done with the Fiesta Movement, what can you do to get your fans, followers, customers, or other types of connections to create content for you? What if you did an ongoing, monthly contest where customers created videos about their experience with their sales person.

The rules could be that the sales person with the most videos got a bonus at the end of the month and each customer that created a video could win dinner for two. Of course they would have to label the video with the businesses name and upload it to YouTube to enter the contest but just think about how many videos you could have in just a few short months, these videos would most definitely build top of mind by influencing everybody that watches them.

4. Know Today's Customers

Customers today are too busy, skeptical, cautious, tired of all the sales pressure, and confused about all the choices available to them, you should adjust your marketing accordingly. What I mean by that is everything you do should address one or all of those. Social media is a great tool to do just that!

Battle Skepticism With: As I mentioned in the second paragraph, consumers only trust 14% of the ads they see but 78% of what a peer recommends. That's why it's essential that you get your customers to talk about you on their own social graphs, not only will that defeat skepticism it will build top of mind.

Addressing Cautious Customers: Answer every question, don't hide behind half answers because you just want to get them in the store. Know that today's customer wants to know ALL the facts before they comment. You could address this through blogs and FAQ's.

Forgo The Sales Pressure: You could have the least amount of sales pressure of all your competitors but if you talk about yourself too much on your social networks people will equate that to sales pressure and will cost you business and top of mind.

Helping Busy Customers: We're too busy these days to spend time haggling price, searching for the right deal or shopping around. Showcase the fact that you willing go the extra mile by getting your past customers to comment about or create videos on, how much time you saved them.

End The Confusion: Choices are everywhere and its easier than ever to shop around with the click of a mouse. But, with that, comes confusion. While we all like choices, the more there is the more confused people become. Most people don't have the time to research all their choices but there are a lot of things you can do to help them with that. For instance you could do a video showcasing your product, taking the time to explain exactly what it is, what it does and the many features it has. Don't use these videos to pitch but to showcase your products.

5. Top of Mind By Association

Being part of the clubs, groups, or associations your customers are part of is a great way to build top of mind. I don't what you to think of social media as just ONLINE, take away the technology aspect of it and you are left with people, people talking to people. Of course there are many different online groups you can be part of as well but think about where you can go in your local market and network. If you really want to create top of mind get out there and talk to people. When somebody has the need for your product they will think of you because you are already being accepted by their peers. That's influence by association.

Social Media Is Top Of Mind

Use it wisely, create a strategy and stick to it. Social marketing won't happen overnight but one day you will wake up see a ton of leads in your inbox, a ton more traffic to your website and dozens more calls and think that it did happen overnight. Embrace the new media but embrace it smartly, take advantage of it and give, give, give. Top of mind will be yours!

David Johnson is the Digital Marketing Strategist for PersuasiveConcepts.com and Next Generation Dealer Services.

Top of Mind Awareness is one of those terms you hear thrown around a lot by marketing reps. Wikipedia defines it as "Owning the space that your product or service occupies between your prospects' ears. That way, when they're ready to buy they think of you first." One of their definitions anyway, and the one I liked the most!

When a brand, service, or product is able to achieve top of the mind awareness they ensure that when a consumer comes into the market for their particular product or service, they are able to mentally push aside all of the current advertising they are seeing and think of them. Traditionally, this was done by being memorable, consistent and by repeatedly marketing their unique selling position or USP. Given that traditional advertising breeds mistrust (Neilson did a study and found that we trust only 14% of the ads we see) can you imagine how expensive a traditional top of the mind awareness campaign can be? That's where social media comes and why it's the new top of mind.

SEO Is Super Important, But...

Let's face it. When people go to Google or other search engines it's because they are searching for an answer. It could be the answer to the question, "Where can I find the best deal on a 2010 Ford Fusion," or "Where can I find financing, my bank turned me down?" Whatever it happens to be they are searching because they DON'T know the answer.

What would happen if they did know the answers to those questions and instead of typing in a search query in some search engine somewhere they typed your URL into the address bar? Not only would there be a bigger chance that they would submit a lead but they would close at a higher rate as well, that's because you have already built trust with them by creating top of the mind awareness.

Of course you should ALWAYS optimize your website for search but you should also include social media induced top of the mind awareness strategies into your online marketing mix. Here are 5 tips to get you started in the right direction.

1. Start A Blog

There is no better way to create authority, top of the mind and influence than through the creation and authoring of your own blog. As I stated in the previous paragraphs the only reason somebody goes to a search engine is because they want an answer to a specific question but if they already know the answer before the need for an answer surfaces then you have done your job in creating top of mind awareness.

2. Create A Facebook Fan Page

Okay, I know, you've heard this before and you have a fan page but it's not all that you thought it would be, or what you were lead to think it would be. Most people will tell you that you should pitch on your fan page, and odds are you're probably not. In fact you're probably using it to showcase your customers, the exciting stuff that's going on in your world but still you're not seeing any return on time investment, its worthless right?

Of course it is, if you're NOT doing it the right way that is. What's the right way you ask? Engagement. Spend your time asking though provoking questions, running contests and giving stuff away. You want your fans (or likers?) to "like" your posts or better yet comment on them. Talk about local news, showcase that you're part of the community, in fact you can even allow other local business to start discussions on your fan page, this shows you are one of "us" instead of one of "them."

3. Don't Pitch, Let Others Do It For You

Strange isn't it? Strange that the less you pitch the more you sell from your social media efforts, but it's true! Look at what Ford has done with the Fiesta Movement, what can you do to get your fans, followers, customers, or other types of connections to create content for you? What if you did an ongoing, monthly contest where customers created videos about their experience with their sales person.

The rules could be that the sales person with the most videos got a bonus at the end of the month and each customer that created a video could win dinner for two. Of course they would have to label the video with the businesses name and upload it to YouTube to enter the contest but just think about how many videos you could have in just a few short months, these videos would most definitely build top of mind by influencing everybody that watches them.

4. Know Today's Customers

Customers today are too busy, skeptical, cautious, tired of all the sales pressure, and confused about all the choices available to them, you should adjust your marketing accordingly. What I mean by that is everything you do should address one or all of those. Social media is a great tool to do just that!

Battle Skepticism With: As I mentioned in the second paragraph, consumers only trust 14% of the ads they see but 78% of what a peer recommends. That's why it's essential that you get your customers to talk about you on their own social graphs, not only will that defeat skepticism it will build top of mind.

Addressing Cautious Customers: Answer every question, don't hide behind half answers because you just want to get them in the store. Know that today's customer wants to know ALL the facts before they comment. You could address this through blogs and FAQ's.

Forgo The Sales Pressure: You could have the least amount of sales pressure of all your competitors but if you talk about yourself too much on your social networks people will equate that to sales pressure and will cost you business and top of mind.

Helping Busy Customers: We're too busy these days to spend time haggling price, searching for the right deal or shopping around. Showcase the fact that you willing go the extra mile by getting your past customers to comment about or create videos on, how much time you saved them.

End The Confusion: Choices are everywhere and its easier than ever to shop around with the click of a mouse. But, with that, comes confusion. While we all like choices, the more there is the more confused people become. Most people don't have the time to research all their choices but there are a lot of things you can do to help them with that. For instance you could do a video showcasing your product, taking the time to explain exactly what it is, what it does and the many features it has. Don't use these videos to pitch but to showcase your products.

5. Top of Mind By Association

Being part of the clubs, groups, or associations your customers are part of is a great way to build top of mind. I don't what you to think of social media as just ONLINE, take away the technology aspect of it and you are left with people, people talking to people. Of course there are many different online groups you can be part of as well but think about where you can go in your local market and network. If you really want to create top of mind get out there and talk to people. When somebody has the need for your product they will think of you because you are already being accepted by their peers. That's influence by association.

Social Media Is Top Of Mind

Use it wisely, create a strategy and stick to it. Social marketing won't happen overnight but one day you will wake up see a ton of leads in your inbox, a ton more traffic to your website and dozens more calls and think that it did happen overnight. Embrace the new media but embrace it smartly, take advantage of it and give, give, give. Top of mind will be yours!

David Johnson is the Digital Marketing Strategist for PersuasiveConcepts.com and Next Generation Dealer Services.

Are they? I think, in a way, they are. You hear about it all the time, in every forum, every dealer twenty group and in all the industry magazines. Best practice this, best practice that, this is what you should be doing if you want to sell more cars!

I say, take it with a grain of salt. Look at where the auto industry is today, we're behind the times, it's always been that way, many times it has been said, "The auto industry is a late adopter of any new technology." I think the reason why this is, is because there are too many auto dealers out there that are always looking for industry best practices without thinking about their own dealerships best practices.

Wikipedia defines best practices as a technique, method, process, activity, incentive, or reward that is believed to be more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method, process, etc. when applied to a particular condition or circumstance.

Wow, that doesn't sound bad, now does it? No, it doesn't. In fact, it's not the actual best practice idea that I want you to think about, it's about the idea of blindly following what another dealership has done with the assumption that it will produce the same results for you. Now, I'm not saying that you shouldn't look into these so called "best practices," because you should. But instead of looking at them as the holy grail, use them to create practices that are best for your particular dealership. In other words, test, measure, test some more, measure again then rinse and repeat. This testing process should never end, in fact, you should make it a habit to continually improve upon your own numbers by measuring and testing on an ongoing basis.

The 5 Fundamentals Of Developing DEALERSHIP Best Practices

Embrace The Chaos and be proactive. Times change, people change, and culture is always shifting. The most important aspect of any marketing strategy is to make it flexible enough so that it won't break when things don't go according to plan. Adhering to industry best practices and not developing your own dealerships best practices is the quickest, surest way to failure.

Be a student, but surpass the teacher. Be proactive in your pursuit of knowledge but a master of adaptability.

Don't Let Fear Stop You from taking on new challenges and trying new things. I see a lot of dealers that won't try anything new because they fear they will lose market share, they are content with doing what has always worked, then lose their minds when it doesn't. In order to grow your business and take over market share, don't be afraid to adjust industry best practice by testing and measuring what works best for your particular dealership.

Use industry best practice, but mold it to fit your needs. Being fearful prevents growth, proceed with caution but don't let fear overtake you.

Put Your Ear To The Wind and pay attention to what it says. Predicting what's going to happen, in most instances, is near impossible. But if you listen to the constant change that is going around you and adjust business practices accordingly your dealership will always stay relevant. People are buying differently, mediums have changed and they put more emphasis in what their peers think than ever before, are you listening to them? If you are, then creating dealership best practices will be a much easier task!

Listening is one of the greatest business practices not being utilized today, what are you listening to?

Communicate Up and Down and Inside and Out. Open communication has been preached on forever but it's something that rarely occurs, good communication anyway. Instead of this being about internal dialogue I want you to think about external dialogue and listening to what your customers have to say. I encourage you to open up dialogue with them, get their opinions on what you can do better, believe me, if you ask they will tell! The best way to turn an industry best practice into a dealership best practice is by asking your customers how THEY would like to purchase a car, get service, or buy parts, then adjust accordingly.

Effective communication is more than a fundamental, it's the bedrock upon which ALL successful businesses are built.

Add Value. Everything you do, every email you send, phone call you make, ad you place and every time you talk to a customer should add value to their lives. If you care passionately about your customers it will become much easier to add value. Take a look at what you're doing now, which processes can be adapted so that they add value?

Adding value builds a stronger win-win relationship with your customers. Stronger relationships equal more sales, more referrals and more repeat customers.

Conclusion

While these fundamentals will get you started never forget that you must always test, measure, then test again. Never be comfortable with where you're at, always push the envelope, be creative and grow. Keep in mind that just because a specific email is working now doesn't mean it will ALWAYS work, the same can be said for a phone script, a liner ad, or a radio spot. Adapt and grow.

David Johnson is the Social Marketing strategist of PersuasiveConcepts.com and Next Generation Dealer Services.

Are they? I think, in a way, they are. You hear about it all the time, in every forum, every dealer twenty group and in all the industry magazines. Best practice this, best practice that, this is what you should be doing if you want to sell more cars!

I say, take it with a grain of salt. Look at where the auto industry is today, we're behind the times, it's always been that way, many times it has been said, "The auto industry is a late adopter of any new technology." I think the reason why this is, is because there are too many auto dealers out there that are always looking for industry best practices without thinking about their own dealerships best practices.

Wikipedia defines best practices as a technique, method, process, activity, incentive, or reward that is believed to be more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method, process, etc. when applied to a particular condition or circumstance.

Wow, that doesn't sound bad, now does it? No, it doesn't. In fact, it's not the actual best practice idea that I want you to think about, it's about the idea of blindly following what another dealership has done with the assumption that it will produce the same results for you. Now, I'm not saying that you shouldn't look into these so called "best practices," because you should. But instead of looking at them as the holy grail, use them to create practices that are best for your particular dealership. In other words, test, measure, test some more, measure again then rinse and repeat. This testing process should never end, in fact, you should make it a habit to continually improve upon your own numbers by measuring and testing on an ongoing basis.

The 5 Fundamentals Of Developing DEALERSHIP Best Practices

Embrace The Chaos and be proactive. Times change, people change, and culture is always shifting. The most important aspect of any marketing strategy is to make it flexible enough so that it won't break when things don't go according to plan. Adhering to industry best practices and not developing your own dealerships best practices is the quickest, surest way to failure.

Be a student, but surpass the teacher. Be proactive in your pursuit of knowledge but a master of adaptability.

Don't Let Fear Stop You from taking on new challenges and trying new things. I see a lot of dealers that won't try anything new because they fear they will lose market share, they are content with doing what has always worked, then lose their minds when it doesn't. In order to grow your business and take over market share, don't be afraid to adjust industry best practice by testing and measuring what works best for your particular dealership.

Use industry best practice, but mold it to fit your needs. Being fearful prevents growth, proceed with caution but don't let fear overtake you.

Put Your Ear To The Wind and pay attention to what it says. Predicting what's going to happen, in most instances, is near impossible. But if you listen to the constant change that is going around you and adjust business practices accordingly your dealership will always stay relevant. People are buying differently, mediums have changed and they put more emphasis in what their peers think than ever before, are you listening to them? If you are, then creating dealership best practices will be a much easier task!

Listening is one of the greatest business practices not being utilized today, what are you listening to?

Communicate Up and Down and Inside and Out. Open communication has been preached on forever but it's something that rarely occurs, good communication anyway. Instead of this being about internal dialogue I want you to think about external dialogue and listening to what your customers have to say. I encourage you to open up dialogue with them, get their opinions on what you can do better, believe me, if you ask they will tell! The best way to turn an industry best practice into a dealership best practice is by asking your customers how THEY would like to purchase a car, get service, or buy parts, then adjust accordingly.

Effective communication is more than a fundamental, it's the bedrock upon which ALL successful businesses are built.

Add Value. Everything you do, every email you send, phone call you make, ad you place and every time you talk to a customer should add value to their lives. If you care passionately about your customers it will become much easier to add value. Take a look at what you're doing now, which processes can be adapted so that they add value?

Adding value builds a stronger win-win relationship with your customers. Stronger relationships equal more sales, more referrals and more repeat customers.

Conclusion

While these fundamentals will get you started never forget that you must always test, measure, then test again. Never be comfortable with where you're at, always push the envelope, be creative and grow. Keep in mind that just because a specific email is working now doesn't mean it will ALWAYS work, the same can be said for a phone script, a liner ad, or a radio spot. Adapt and grow.

David Johnson is the Social Marketing strategist of PersuasiveConcepts.com and Next Generation Dealer Services.

Under Frederick the Great, the Prussian army was considered by many to be the finest fighting force in Europe. To behold their perfectly honed war strategies and flawless battle march was to strike both fear and awe in their enemies. In fact, many would consider the Prussian army to be one of history’s most prolific fighting machines.

Under Frederick the Great, the Prussian army was considered by many to be the finest fighting force in Europe. To behold their perfectly honed war strategies and flawless battle march was to strike both fear and awe in their enemies. In fact, many would consider the Prussian army to be one of history’s most prolific fighting machines.

The last year that I sold cars, before starting a BDC, was 2003. While 7 years doesn't seem like that long it was a lifetime in technology, and if I had to do it all over again I'd do it the same way. What? That's right, I'd do it the same but I would go about it very, very differently. You see, even back when I first started selling cars I understood the value of creating positive, win-win relationships with my customers, in fact, a lot of the things I train on today, in regards to social media, I learned while working lot traffic and building my own book of business.

One of the first things I did when starting my very first job selling cars is have two sets of post cards made, one for sold traffic the other for unsold traffic. The first thing I would do when a customer drove off the lot is send them a post card, maybe it was a post card thanking for them for their business or one thanking them for their time, but every person I spoke to got one in the mail.

Once a month I put a newsletter together with Microsoft Publisher and walked down the street to a printer and had it printed up. I would then address them by hand, stamp them and put them in the mail, one to everybody in my database, whether they bought a car from me or not. I would even clip out magazine or newspaper articles if I found one that would interest one of my customers and mail that to them as well.

I would devote part of my day calling my customers, keeping track of them and building relationships each and every chance I got. I understood that the value was in the relationship, and that relationships were worth more than the commission check I earned from selling them a car, you see I wanted them to come back and buy another car from me and another, I even wanted them to send me referrals, and you know what? They did, and they were happy to do it.

So earlier when I said I would do it the same way I meant it, and by the same way I meant that I would still build relationships, because that's where the real value comes from. Of course, I would go about it differently because I have so many tools at my disposal today that I would have a much easier time going about it. Back then I would talk to service customers and talk to the HR department of X-plan companies (I worked at a Ford Store) to get more business, all of this took time and I had to do a lot of this stuff on my own time, at home or on my rare days off, but as I look back it was well worth the experience I gained.

But I ask myself now, how would I go about this differently if I sold cars today?

I'd have a blog. On that blog I would write about the same things that I wrote about in my newsletter. I would write funny stories, stories about my family and my experiences as a car salesman. I would still interview the detail manager about how to best take care of leather or how to get those pesky stains out of the upholstery. I would upload my customer testimonials along with pictures of them enjoying their new vehicles. I would even go so far as to interview them, just like I did for my newsletter, but this time I would blog about how their experience was working with me versus the other guy down the street. I'd blog about the makes and models at my dealership, really show my passion for the products I sold. I'd use my blog to build relationships, not sell cars. I would let people know, through my actions, not my words, that I wanted to get to know them, that I'm in the car business to take care of them, not to rip their heads off.

I'd have a Facebook profile that I'd use to keep up with my customers. I would upload pictures of them, that I took, just before they left the lot and tag them in it. Then I would go to their Facebook wall and say something nice about them on their wall, on the picture that I tagged them on. I would do that because I know that they would feel compelled to say something nice about me and then all of their friends would see it. A kind of impromptu testimonial. Then I would listen. I'd watch to see what my customers were talking about so that I could get to know them. I would then find articles online that interest them and post it on their wall with a little note saying that I came across it and thought about them. I would also partner with local businesses and get coupons from them so that I could give them to my customers. I'd give as much as I could, I'd give advice when I could and offer my service whenever I had a chance, even if I had to mow the grass of one of my elderly customers who's grandson was out of town for two weeks and couldn't get to it (Yes I did do that).

I'd create videos. Lots and lots of videos. I would create walkarounds that I would post on Youtube, my blog and on Facebook. These wouldn't be ordinary walkarounds but the fun kind where I see how many people I can fit in the trunk. I would post videos teaching my customers how to operate the navigation, the memory seating, and any other number of things. I'd get a service tech to show my customers how to check their fluids and the importance of proper maintenance. Whenever one of my customers, or a potential customer wanted to know more info about a particular vehicle I would take a video of the car and show it to them, making sure to use their name in the video. I would then upload their video, with the proper meta tags to Youtube so that they rank in the search engines.

I would have a LinkedIn account where I would connect with as many of the influencers in my market as possible. I would find as many opportunities as I could to refer the people in my network to them. I would do this because I know that the people on LinkedIn carry a lot of authority, and if I could get an endorsement from a few of them, it would bring me more business. I would go to great lengths to be a connector of people, build as much social capitol as possible so that they would in turn connect people to me.

I would organize as much face to face as possible. I would organize meetups at the dealership where the finance manager could talk about budgeting, credit repair, or the value of gap insurance. I would even have the service manager conduct new car care clinics. I'd invite customers in to test drive new models so that they could give me their opinions on them, of course I would record the whole thing and upload the videos to Youtube, Facebook and to my blog. I'd organize networking functions so that I could bring my customers even closer together so that they could network and get to know one another. I would organize giveaways every month, dinners for two, or tickets to the theatre. I would use these to create excitement around me and my dealership.

The Good News

If you're selling cars you don't have to wait for customers to walk on the lot, you can build relationships with your past customers at the same time you build relationships with new ones. The hard cost is next to nothing, you could partner with a local restaurant for the free dinners or at least get a discount. Of course, this all takes time, but if you devote just a fraction of your time each day to building relationships, before you know it, you will be working by appointment only.

This is the 21st century and as salespeople we need to use the tools that are available to us to build a community of raving fans around our personal brand. It doesn't take much work to put a strategy in place but I assure you, once you start building relationships with your customers and take care of them in any way that you can, they will, in return, take care of you. What are you waiting for, get started now!

David Johnson is the digital marketing strategist for PersuasiveConcepts.com and Next Generation Dealer Services

The last year that I sold cars, before starting a BDC, was 2003. While 7 years doesn't seem like that long it was a lifetime in technology, and if I had to do it all over again I'd do it the same way. What? That's right, I'd do it the same but I would go about it very, very differently. You see, even back when I first started selling cars I understood the value of creating positive, win-win relationships with my customers, in fact, a lot of the things I train on today, in regards to social media, I learned while working lot traffic and building my own book of business.

One of the first things I did when starting my very first job selling cars is have two sets of post cards made, one for sold traffic the other for unsold traffic. The first thing I would do when a customer drove off the lot is send them a post card, maybe it was a post card thanking for them for their business or one thanking them for their time, but every person I spoke to got one in the mail.

Once a month I put a newsletter together with Microsoft Publisher and walked down the street to a printer and had it printed up. I would then address them by hand, stamp them and put them in the mail, one to everybody in my database, whether they bought a car from me or not. I would even clip out magazine or newspaper articles if I found one that would interest one of my customers and mail that to them as well.

I would devote part of my day calling my customers, keeping track of them and building relationships each and every chance I got. I understood that the value was in the relationship, and that relationships were worth more than the commission check I earned from selling them a car, you see I wanted them to come back and buy another car from me and another, I even wanted them to send me referrals, and you know what? They did, and they were happy to do it.

So earlier when I said I would do it the same way I meant it, and by the same way I meant that I would still build relationships, because that's where the real value comes from. Of course, I would go about it differently because I have so many tools at my disposal today that I would have a much easier time going about it. Back then I would talk to service customers and talk to the HR department of X-plan companies (I worked at a Ford Store) to get more business, all of this took time and I had to do a lot of this stuff on my own time, at home or on my rare days off, but as I look back it was well worth the experience I gained.

But I ask myself now, how would I go about this differently if I sold cars today?

I'd have a blog. On that blog I would write about the same things that I wrote about in my newsletter. I would write funny stories, stories about my family and my experiences as a car salesman. I would still interview the detail manager about how to best take care of leather or how to get those pesky stains out of the upholstery. I would upload my customer testimonials along with pictures of them enjoying their new vehicles. I would even go so far as to interview them, just like I did for my newsletter, but this time I would blog about how their experience was working with me versus the other guy down the street. I'd blog about the makes and models at my dealership, really show my passion for the products I sold. I'd use my blog to build relationships, not sell cars. I would let people know, through my actions, not my words, that I wanted to get to know them, that I'm in the car business to take care of them, not to rip their heads off.

I'd have a Facebook profile that I'd use to keep up with my customers. I would upload pictures of them, that I took, just before they left the lot and tag them in it. Then I would go to their Facebook wall and say something nice about them on their wall, on the picture that I tagged them on. I would do that because I know that they would feel compelled to say something nice about me and then all of their friends would see it. A kind of impromptu testimonial. Then I would listen. I'd watch to see what my customers were talking about so that I could get to know them. I would then find articles online that interest them and post it on their wall with a little note saying that I came across it and thought about them. I would also partner with local businesses and get coupons from them so that I could give them to my customers. I'd give as much as I could, I'd give advice when I could and offer my service whenever I had a chance, even if I had to mow the grass of one of my elderly customers who's grandson was out of town for two weeks and couldn't get to it (Yes I did do that).

I'd create videos. Lots and lots of videos. I would create walkarounds that I would post on Youtube, my blog and on Facebook. These wouldn't be ordinary walkarounds but the fun kind where I see how many people I can fit in the trunk. I would post videos teaching my customers how to operate the navigation, the memory seating, and any other number of things. I'd get a service tech to show my customers how to check their fluids and the importance of proper maintenance. Whenever one of my customers, or a potential customer wanted to know more info about a particular vehicle I would take a video of the car and show it to them, making sure to use their name in the video. I would then upload their video, with the proper meta tags to Youtube so that they rank in the search engines.

I would have a LinkedIn account where I would connect with as many of the influencers in my market as possible. I would find as many opportunities as I could to refer the people in my network to them. I would do this because I know that the people on LinkedIn carry a lot of authority, and if I could get an endorsement from a few of them, it would bring me more business. I would go to great lengths to be a connector of people, build as much social capitol as possible so that they would in turn connect people to me.

I would organize as much face to face as possible. I would organize meetups at the dealership where the finance manager could talk about budgeting, credit repair, or the value of gap insurance. I would even have the service manager conduct new car care clinics. I'd invite customers in to test drive new models so that they could give me their opinions on them, of course I would record the whole thing and upload the videos to Youtube, Facebook and to my blog. I'd organize networking functions so that I could bring my customers even closer together so that they could network and get to know one another. I would organize giveaways every month, dinners for two, or tickets to the theatre. I would use these to create excitement around me and my dealership.

The Good News

If you're selling cars you don't have to wait for customers to walk on the lot, you can build relationships with your past customers at the same time you build relationships with new ones. The hard cost is next to nothing, you could partner with a local restaurant for the free dinners or at least get a discount. Of course, this all takes time, but if you devote just a fraction of your time each day to building relationships, before you know it, you will be working by appointment only.

This is the 21st century and as salespeople we need to use the tools that are available to us to build a community of raving fans around our personal brand. It doesn't take much work to put a strategy in place but I assure you, once you start building relationships with your customers and take care of them in any way that you can, they will, in return, take care of you. What are you waiting for, get started now!

David Johnson is the digital marketing strategist for PersuasiveConcepts.com and Next Generation Dealer Services