Who Would You Nominate for a "Green Jacket?"

As the best golfers in the world compete for the Green Jacket at Augusta, I can't help but think of the largest similarity that Major tournament golf champions have with the champions of the Automotive Internet Sales world - Consistent Excellence.

Great golfers lead The Masters for a day or two and often fade. Only the best of the best are still in contention late on Sunday. These are the professionals that have paid their dues - made mistakes and learned from them, pushed themselves, sacrificed, maintained focus in the face of adversity and persevered.

The most successful BDC Directors and Automotive Internet Salespeople did not get that way overnight. They fight for respect, advertising budget and credit for sales in an industry that's looked down upon the BDC or Internet Sales Department as "those guys in the back that play on computers", compared the salespeople who work the floor exclusively. They share best practices on websites like AutomotiveDigitalMarketing.com, DrivingSales.com, DealerRefresh.com, dealerElite.net and others. They attend conferences like Digital Dealer, Internet Battle Plan, NADA, JD Power Roundtable, and DrivingSales Executive Summit - sometimes at their own expense and at their management's protest, but they press on. Most don't last very long and are soon seeking greener pastures, as the dealership maybe didn't live up to their commitment of ad budget - or personnel - or focus of the dealership toward technology - or pay plan originally agreed upon.

The leaders who can achieve longevity through turnover, tumultuous times, new technologies, and old-school mentality resistance, while producing consistent and steady, measurable growth for themselves and their department are truly the Champions of the Automotive Internet Sales world. Here's wishing there were a Green Jacket for them - and, not to get political, but women would be included in this club... Who would you nominate for the Green Jacket?

Adam Ross is the Managing Director of Infinite Prospects, Inc. Adam is a seasoned veteran of the car sales industry who has over 11 years of Automotive Internet Sales experience on both the dealer and vendor side, and continues to learn all he can about maximizing sales through technology for car dealerships. With hands on experience from the sales desk to management and high-level executive communication, Adam has thousands of connections in the automotive industry. From solutions providers, to lead generation websites, to implementing best practices for following up with prospects and closing appointments that lead to sales, Adam is the person you want to lead you through the technology landscape. He'll help you select the best sales technology for your car dealership, get your team running at top efficiency using the tools necessary for success, and maximize the capabilities of the solutions you already have in place.

If the answer is yes, claim them and merge them with your current Fan page!

Many dealerships have multiple Facebook pages representing them out there. Which page are your customers checking into? You can merge these other pages with your fan page, but you must claim each of these non-fan-page  pages before you do so.

Here's how to claim and administer the pages that are not your fan page, but represent your business:

First, you should be an administrator of your dealership's Facebook fan page - you will need to be in order to merge the two (or more) pages.

Next, search Facebook for your dealership name (in the white search box at the top blue bar). Are there multiple entries coming up?

Click on the first dealership page that is not your fan page. Click on the box in the top right corner that says: Know the Owner? 

In the box that pops up, enter your email address. It must be the same address as the one that administers your fan page. 

You will receive an email inviting you to Claim the Page by clicking on the link.

After clicking "Claim Page", you are directed to a page asking you to certify that you are authorized to claim the page.

It's that easy! Once you are the admin for both the fan page and recognized as the owner of an unclaimed page, as long as the address for both pages match identically (you can change the newly claimed page to match your Fan page), you can merge the two pages into your fan page - here's how:

This comes right from Facebook's help section, found here:

http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=249601088403018#I-have-two-Facebook-Pages-for-the-same-thing.-Can-I-merge-them?

"You can merge duplicate Pages and Places. Please note you can only merge the Page or Place with fewer likes into the one with more likes. To do so:

1. Go to the Page or Place with the most likes. This will be the one you'll keep.
2. Click the Edit Page button in the top right corner.
3. From the left sidebar, select Resources.
4. Click the Merge Duplicate Pages link. This link will only appear if you admin two Pages with similar names.
    
5. A dialog box will show Pages and Places you admin that qualify to be merged. Select the checkbox for Page(s) you wish to merge. If you're merging a Place and a Page, they must have the same address information.

For Pages with the new timeline design, replace step 2 with the following instructions, then continue with steps 3-5 above:

1. Open your Page's admin panel
2. Click Manage 
3. Select Edit Page
    

Please note: The Page or Place with fewer likes will be removed from Facebook and you will not be able to unmerge them."

Here's another great article from InstdeFacebook.com detailing screen by screen how to merge: http://www.insidefacebook.com/2011/08/03/how-to-use-merge-duplicate-pages/

This whole process should not take you much time at all and will streamline and consolidate your listings on Facebook, ensuring that every shopper will see YOUR messaging, all FB check-ins will be combined in one place, and all fans of the other pages will be merged, so you lose nothing at all.

Adam Ross
Managing Director
Infinite Prospects, Inc. - Online Solutions for Car Dealerships
(201) 448-7253 phone
http://www.infiniteprospects.com
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Skype: infinite.prospects

I originally wrote this blog post (CLICK THIS LINK) almost 2 years ago, titled, "We need to Re-Position and Re-Name The Internet Department," on AutomotiveDigitalMarketing.com, but the subject matter is more relevant than ever. An "Internet Sales department" will, sadly, no longer be sufficient for car dealerships going forward. That day is coming sooner rather than later.

As online consumer use has grown, the size of the staff working to capitalize on that 

increased usage has remained relatively stagnant. There will continue to be the need for appointment setters responding to leads via email and phone, business development coordinators to make lease retention, unsold showroom and service follow-up calls.

However, there is also enough work in marketing a dealership online to occupy one person (or an entire staff) on a full-time basis, in a DIGITAL MARKETING DEPARTMENT without that person having the burden or responsibility of setting appointments or selling cars. Most dealerships assign this role to the Internet Sales department, who are then forced to split their time performing both their original role (calling leads and selling cars) and this new added role of online marketing and keeping up with the latest trends. As a result, most of the time you will both see a drop-off in sales productivity and see a valiant but usually inconsistent attempt at marketing the dealership - limiting yourself in both areas. Just to name a few of the responsibilities this department could cover better, simply because they can dedicate a full-time effort, rather than a part-time one:

• Monitoring and reacting faster to ongoing changes to Google algorithms effecting search presence,
• Overseeing the online Review Site (Reputation) Management for the dealership
• New Social Networks popping up just in the last year that can't be ignored (Google+ and Pinterest), added to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Tumblr, FourSquare,  and many others
• Publishing more often to your Company Blog
• Reaching out and sharing best practices across the online Digital Automotive community on sites like dealerElite.net, DrivingSales.com, DealerRefresh.com, AutomotiveDigitalMarketing.com, AutomotiveReputation.com to name a few.

My favorite analogy to describe this is: think of your hand. You have 5 fingers - each of them represents a profit center of the dealership (New, Used, F&I, Service, Parts). All 5 are connected to a palm, which ties everything together and makes each finger that much more powerful. The palm is the DIGITAL MARKETING DEPARTMENT. Fingers + Palm = Hand, which can accomplish much more than any one finger or two fingers can.

Compensation would be largely salary-based, with specific goal bonuses for # of check-ins in a certain time period, minimum number of outbound posts, volume of inbound engagements, and other measuring tools currently available that would show increase in reach, popularity and brand awareness. 

What are your thoughts about this idea? Please comment below or visit my website to connect with me, Adam Ross, Managing Director at Infinite Prospects, and schedule a no-obligation FREE one-hour consult on your dealership's online marketing strategy.

I was inspired by a discussion on this site,

 where an Internet Marketing Manager at a VW dealership was soliciting help on improving his closing percentage above its current consistent 10%. This manager has a basic set of steps he follows, which are widely accepted as the best practice to achieve the best results in the automotive industry:

• AutoResponse
• Send Qualifying Questions (Fact Finding) email
• Send Price Quote email
• Call Customer
• Follow Up

I had a few suggestions for him, which you can apply to your dealership's process to improve your closing percentage:

1. How many days out are you following up with each prospect right now? And how often do you email/call them? Converting more 30-90 day old prospects through diligent follow up is a key factor in increasing closing ratio.
2. Do you send TARGETED broadcast (bulk) emails? Targeting by model would make the offers more relevant to your existing prospect base.
3. Do you have a sold follow up EMAIL process that incorporates asking recently sold customers for referrals from their family and friends?
4. Have you heard of InstaQuote? It's an automated email quoting system that works with your CRM tool to stop-the-clock and send a custom multi-choice email quote to each prospect. This would eliminate having to spend as much as 10 minutes per lead building a multi-price menu to email the client. The quote can also include useful links to pages on the dealership's website, plus to the dealer's social media outlets and 3rd party rating sites. Infinite Prospects is a distributor and can show you how it works. Pricing starts at just $399 per month, month-to-month contract with a 30-day money-back guarantee...

Each of these tips could help you save time or engage more prospects, which will add an extra few deals each month. With those additional sales, you're talking about significant positive impact to your dealership's closing percentage. Infinite Prospects can help your dealership implement all of these ideas and much more. Please call Adam Ross at (201) 481-1424 or visit our website for more information.

Is your dealership's Internet sales process focused largely on converting consumers within the first 72 hours of receiving their lead? If so, you're leaving a large chunk of sales on the table...

How much time do you spend working your 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90-day old prospects? Probably not enough...

While this published data may be a few years old, the statistics have not changed much since that time. Put together a strategy with a combination of phone calls, personal emails, email newsletters and direct mail (where possible) to stay in touch with the consumer for 90+ days and keep your dealership in their thoughts.

Excerpt from: 2008 AUTOMOTIVE ESHOPPER EXPERIENCE STUDY, conducted by The Cobalt Group and J.D. Power & Associates. 

"The 2008 J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com Study found that on average AUIs (Automotive Internet Users) report that they first decide to buy a new vehicle 15.4 weeks before they actually purchase one. Three weeks later they begin using the Internet to find information, which is approximately 12. 4 weeks prior to purchase. By the time they have narrowed their vehicle selection down to one vehicle they are typically 5 weeks away from purchase. This information is key to both understanding the best time to target and market to Internet shoppers and to understanding that shoppers may be in-market for different periods of time...

The longer a lead remains unsold, the more likely it is to convert to a used vehicle. 

Dealers should respond promptly to leads and have systems in place to market to car shoppers in a way that addresses what the consumer is likely to purchase based on the age of the lead. Suggesting a used vehicle alternative to a new vehicle lead as the lead ages could help convert the lead to a sale. Additionally, with a third of leads converting after 90 days, dealers who continue to market to consumers will benefit by selling to those with purchase timeframes beyond a three month period."

What strategies does your dealership employ to stay in touch with consumers?

As an Automotive Internet Sales Expert, I am often asked:

How should I price my cars online for my dealership?

Dealerships need to have a strategy for setting markup on new vehicle pricing online. Of course, consumers want to see the lowest price for the car they want. So... give them what they want!

Remember that front-end gross is only one of the many ways to profit from a sale: you also have the Accessories/Warranty avenue, plus the potential of profiting from a trade-in. That doesn't even count the future service revenue or ancillary profit received from any referrals the consumer may send you.

The best practice I've seen, after years of experience, research and thought, is:

Mirror-image the markup and pricing offered in your traditional offline advertising, most often your newspaper ad.

Mirror-imaging your traditional advertising pricing gives the consumer a consistent, trustworthy experience. It's also legally and ethically the right way to treat a customer.

Many consumers shop using a combination of tools: reading offline ads, communicating directly via email, visiting the showroom, calling the sales department, visiting your dealership's website, etc. Shouldn't consumers receive the same price on a vehicle regardless of which channel they use to communicate with your dealership? (That's a rhetorical question).

A good friend and I were discussing the matter and he brilliantly observed, "When a dealership purchases a newspaper ad, they place an offer out there having little to no idea exactly who is going to read the ad, and whether it's resonating. But with a price email you know exactly who is receiving it, and depending on which CRM tool you use, whether they saw that price. Why wouldn't you hit them with the ad pricing?"

What are your thoughts about pricing strategies for car dealerships?