Wednesday night, I had the honor of taking a red eye from Silicon Valley to the east coast.  I got to talking to a couple that was sitting next to me while we were ready to back away from the gate. She just happen to work for Google in the G+ Local project.  My eyes kind of lit up.  I was sitting next to someone that is one of the leads at Google for 5 hours on G+ Local.  With all of the changes over the last few months, I knew I had my chance to really try to get some behind the scenes thinking on the change.

I expressed my concerns that we all as dealers have with G+ Local, missing reviews, the requiring of having a G+ account to write a review, and the whole Zaget platform.  As I mentioned all of the above items, she shook her head in agreement and just said we know and there are some changes coming.

Google wants this to really succeed across the board. They are taking the feedback and trying to make the issues that we are all having she had to be very vague with me, but it gave me hope that there is an end in sight and a plan in place.  I asked her as far as timing, and just just said very soon.

Missing reviews: They know the issue and are working on getting that data back. There is hope for those that lost a ton of reviews. I asked why it happened, but unfortunately she couldn't give an answer on that.

Requiring of G+ to write a review:  Things are in process to make it available to post a review without a G+ account. It will show as anonymous, but they will be able to do it.  This was a large win for me.  Since the change over, I think that we have had less than 10 reviews come in. 

I know that this is shorter than my normal posts, but thought I would like to pass along my hope to you.

Wednesday night, I had the honor of taking a red eye from Silicon Valley to the east coast.  I got to talking to a couple that was sitting next to me while we were ready to back away from the gate. She just happen to work for Google in the G+ Local project.  My eyes kind of lit up.  I was sitting next to someone that is one of the leads at Google for 5 hours on G+ Local.  With all of the changes over the last few months, I knew I had my chance to really try to get some behind the scenes thinking on the change.

I expressed my concerns that we all as dealers have with G+ Local, missing reviews, the requiring of having a G+ account to write a review, and the whole Zaget platform.  As I mentioned all of the above items, she shook her head in agreement and just said we know and there are some changes coming.

Google wants this to really succeed across the board. They are taking the feedback and trying to make the issues that we are all having she had to be very vague with me, but it gave me hope that there is an end in sight and a plan in place.  I asked her as far as timing, and just just said very soon.

Missing reviews: They know the issue and are working on getting that data back. There is hope for those that lost a ton of reviews. I asked why it happened, but unfortunately she couldn't give an answer on that.

Requiring of G+ to write a review:  Things are in process to make it available to post a review without a G+ account. It will show as anonymous, but they will be able to do it.  This was a large win for me.  Since the change over, I think that we have had less than 10 reviews come in. 

I know that this is shorter than my normal posts, but thought I would like to pass along my hope to you.

I love Social Media!  There are times when you throw a tweet or review out there and you wonder if anyone is listening.  Here's my story.  Last month, I was in Indianapolis for a swim meet for my daughter.  I use Priceline a lot when we go out of town for our swim meets just due to the savings that I can get through them.  I have never really had a 'bad' experience until then.  I had booked a room at the Hilton downtown Indy at a heavily discounted rate.  I ended up paying $79/night on one of the busiest weekends of the year in Indy with the Brickyard 400 going on.  I was a little surprised I got a room downtown at that price.  Whenever I book my rooms, I will call the hotel after I get my confirmation to request 2 beds since I am traveling with my family and have never had any problem.  They made a note in the computer system for my request.  

We had gotten done with my daughter's morning session at the Natatorium at 10:30.  I had a feeling I knew what the answer would be if we went to the hotel to attempt to check in since it was early.  I tried anyway just for grins.  With no disappointment, I wasn't able to check in since I was about 4 hours early for check in.  We ended up going to a friends hotel to hang out.  When I attempted to check-in, I had asked about having 2 beds and they said that they were booked and couldn't help out.  I threw a tweet out there with some disappointment and got a response from @HiltonHelp and they held to the story that I had gotten at the hotel.  Below is the DM's that I had with them.  (Read from the bottom up.)

We went to a friend's hotel to hang out until we could check-in, and I had gotten online to see if their story was true.  To my surprise, I was able to get a room with 2 beds for that night for $329/night.  

I had called the hotel and stated what I found online and they responded, "Oh, we do have one room left."  Surprise surprise.  I ended up getting my room that I wanted without backing down.

The story doesn't end there.  Yelp isn't used very much in our area, but I am making an effort to get more involved in reviewing on there since I do go to them when looking at restaurant reviews when we are out of town for swim meets or other occasions.  My wife has gotten in her vocabulary, "What is their rating?"  I wrote a not so great review on the hotel, and to my surprise, an email showed up in my in-box this morning that someone had responded from Hilton on my review.  (Below is my review and their response.)

I was utterly shocked to see a corporation of this size respond to my review.  Yes, it took a little time for it to hit my email, but I will give them the utmost respect for responding the way that they did.  They reached out through the social media avenues, they actually listened and responded.  

We are all small dealerships and companies in relation to Hilton and they were proactive and responded to a complaint online.  They are doing social media right.  The question is, are you?  Are you responding to the good and the bad reviews?  Yes, we want to know the bad because we can learn from it and it shows that we can't satisfy everyone, but you have to respond and not just ignore it.  Respond to the good, bad and the ugly and do it right.

I love Social Media!  There are times when you throw a tweet or review out there and you wonder if anyone is listening.  Here's my story.  Last month, I was in Indianapolis for a swim meet for my daughter.  I use Priceline a lot when we go out of town for our swim meets just due to the savings that I can get through them.  I have never really had a 'bad' experience until then.  I had booked a room at the Hilton downtown Indy at a heavily discounted rate.  I ended up paying $79/night on one of the busiest weekends of the year in Indy with the Brickyard 400 going on.  I was a little surprised I got a room downtown at that price.  Whenever I book my rooms, I will call the hotel after I get my confirmation to request 2 beds since I am traveling with my family and have never had any problem.  They made a note in the computer system for my request.  

We had gotten done with my daughter's morning session at the Natatorium at 10:30.  I had a feeling I knew what the answer would be if we went to the hotel to attempt to check in since it was early.  I tried anyway just for grins.  With no disappointment, I wasn't able to check in since I was about 4 hours early for check in.  We ended up going to a friends hotel to hang out.  When I attempted to check-in, I had asked about having 2 beds and they said that they were booked and couldn't help out.  I threw a tweet out there with some disappointment and got a response from @HiltonHelp and they held to the story that I had gotten at the hotel.  Below is the DM's that I had with them.  (Read from the bottom up.)

We went to a friend's hotel to hang out until we could check-in, and I had gotten online to see if their story was true.  To my surprise, I was able to get a room with 2 beds for that night for $329/night.  

I had called the hotel and stated what I found online and they responded, "Oh, we do have one room left."  Surprise surprise.  I ended up getting my room that I wanted without backing down.

The story doesn't end there.  Yelp isn't used very much in our area, but I am making an effort to get more involved in reviewing on there since I do go to them when looking at restaurant reviews when we are out of town for swim meets or other occasions.  My wife has gotten in her vocabulary, "What is their rating?"  I wrote a not so great review on the hotel, and to my surprise, an email showed up in my in-box this morning that someone had responded from Hilton on my review.  (Below is my review and their response.)

I was utterly shocked to see a corporation of this size respond to my review.  Yes, it took a little time for it to hit my email, but I will give them the utmost respect for responding the way that they did.  They reached out through the social media avenues, they actually listened and responded.  

We are all small dealerships and companies in relation to Hilton and they were proactive and responded to a complaint online.  They are doing social media right.  The question is, are you?  Are you responding to the good and the bad reviews?  Yes, we want to know the bad because we can learn from it and it shows that we can't satisfy everyone, but you have to respond and not just ignore it.  Respond to the good, bad and the ugly and do it right.

I had the opportunity to take part in a Focus Group for Autotrader that was facilitated by Morepace.  It consisted of 7 dealers from across the country and the topic was some new products that Autotrader is considering bringing to the marketplace.  The session lasted about an hour and a half and was interesting at best.

The first of the products introduced to us was called Deal Builder.  Deal Builder was a two part product that Autotrader is considering.  The first part consists of payments within the SRP and the VDP.  With their partnership with DealerTrack, they are able to pull rates and residuals through the banks that you as the dealer use.  There were a lot of mixed emotions with this product within the group.  With the product, you can select what vehicles you want to have payments and you set the backend reserve for the Finance office.  One of the big concerns was that we are so focused on inventory turn and pricing vehicles within the market and margins have come down over the years as so many dealers have taken the vAuto philosophy to heart and working their departments with that philosophy.  With adding financing payments and quoting rates within the VDP, it may cause a race to the bottom for financing rates.  This product is being looked at for both new and used vehicles.

I am thinking that they want to create more leads with this product with the DealerTrack credit application.  I brought up the concern of having the payments there and also the advertising that is on everyone’s VDP for a consumer to set up financing within Autotrader.   

On the plus side, for those dealers that use DealerTrack, it will tie right into your current backend for DealerTrack and will eliminate multiple inputting of information for a customer.  It will also generate a lead within the CRM that you are using. 

The second and third parts of the new products on the table are a part within Trade-In Marketplace.  This was a touchy subject with all of the dealers in the “room” as a most of them saw TIM as a product that is “oversold” within the market place.  The first part of the product was some new reporting that can be shared with a customer.  It is basically taking what we have with vAuto, PureCars, and other like products and putting all of the information out there for the consumer.  No one was too thrilled with this at all since a lot of us had some bad tastes in our mouths from the current product.

The second part of the product is a big improvement in my eyes.  They are considering taking away the ‘firm’ figure that the customer is getting and giving a range.  I consider it to be a lot like BlackBook Online and just take basic information from the customer on the vehicle and gives a range like BlackBook.  I think this is a huge enhancement as a lot of customers would get that ‘firm’ figure from TIM, and not be happy with it and contact with the customer from the dealership was low.  With having a range, it will only encourage a customer to come to the dealership and get a firm trade-in figure.  This is something that will be on the dealers’ website.  The one thing that I think that Autotrader will have a hard time with is staying competitive with the pricing to BlackBook, PureCars, etc. 

This is just a quick overview of everything that was discussed.  I will try to answer any questions that you all may have.

I had the opportunity to take part in a Focus Group for Autotrader that was facilitated by Morepace.  It consisted of 7 dealers from across the country and the topic was some new products that Autotrader is considering bringing to the marketplace.  The session lasted about an hour and a half and was interesting at best.

The first of the products introduced to us was called Deal Builder.  Deal Builder was a two part product that Autotrader is considering.  The first part consists of payments within the SRP and the VDP.  With their partnership with DealerTrack, they are able to pull rates and residuals through the banks that you as the dealer use.  There were a lot of mixed emotions with this product within the group.  With the product, you can select what vehicles you want to have payments and you set the backend reserve for the Finance office.  One of the big concerns was that we are so focused on inventory turn and pricing vehicles within the market and margins have come down over the years as so many dealers have taken the vAuto philosophy to heart and working their departments with that philosophy.  With adding financing payments and quoting rates within the VDP, it may cause a race to the bottom for financing rates.  This product is being looked at for both new and used vehicles.

I am thinking that they want to create more leads with this product with the DealerTrack credit application.  I brought up the concern of having the payments there and also the advertising that is on everyone’s VDP for a consumer to set up financing within Autotrader.   

On the plus side, for those dealers that use DealerTrack, it will tie right into your current backend for DealerTrack and will eliminate multiple inputting of information for a customer.  It will also generate a lead within the CRM that you are using. 

The second and third parts of the new products on the table are a part within Trade-In Marketplace.  This was a touchy subject with all of the dealers in the “room” as a most of them saw TIM as a product that is “oversold” within the market place.  The first part of the product was some new reporting that can be shared with a customer.  It is basically taking what we have with vAuto, PureCars, and other like products and putting all of the information out there for the consumer.  No one was too thrilled with this at all since a lot of us had some bad tastes in our mouths from the current product.

The second part of the product is a big improvement in my eyes.  They are considering taking away the ‘firm’ figure that the customer is getting and giving a range.  I consider it to be a lot like BlackBook Online and just take basic information from the customer on the vehicle and gives a range like BlackBook.  I think this is a huge enhancement as a lot of customers would get that ‘firm’ figure from TIM, and not be happy with it and contact with the customer from the dealership was low.  With having a range, it will only encourage a customer to come to the dealership and get a firm trade-in figure.  This is something that will be on the dealers’ website.  The one thing that I think that Autotrader will have a hard time with is staying competitive with the pricing to BlackBook, PureCars, etc. 

This is just a quick overview of everything that was discussed.  I will try to answer any questions that you all may have.

There are three things that will make assure success not only in the automotive business, but in everything that you do in life. They are the three C's; character, commitment, and capacity.  

Character: the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.

The automotive business has been brutal on reputations just due to several experiences over the years that has left a bad taste in people's mouths and makes them hate dealing with us as automotive professionals. We can be seen as untrusted, deceitful, pushy, shifty, etc.; but how do we overcome that?  We have to be strong in our beliefs and what we stand for in the business.  We never try to be untrustworthy or deceitful, but we have that preconceived stereotype that hangs over our heads.  We have to be able to build trust with that prospect that we are dealing with and tear down those walls and perception of that used car salesperson.  

Commitment:  the act of committing.

This is the only C that you have control over 100%. I have seen people come and go in the automotive business. It comes down to learning some of the skills that you need to be successful. I have seen people in the business not be the best salesman per se, but they have success just do to their commitment of their everyday activities.  You have to be committed to what you do every day, and not just half the time.  When you are at work, you have to be there to work and not just hang out and wait for that customer to walk in the door.  Yes, we do spend a lot of money to get customers in the door, but that doesn't give anyone the right to just sit there looking out the window.  We have to work the phones with all of our current prospects and past customers.

Capacity: actual or potential ability to perform, yield, or withstand

Capacity goes right along with commitment.  You can have the commitment to try to do something, but you just may not have the capacity to do it.  This is where your skill set comes into play.  You have to have some basic skills to make it in the business.  I have seen people with lower sales talent, but have people skills to offset the lack of selling skills.  You just have to have the basic knowledge and know what to play off of when you do have a weakness.

There are three things that will make assure success not only in the automotive business, but in everything that you do in life. They are the three C's; character, commitment, and capacity.  

Character: the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.

The automotive business has been brutal on reputations just due to several experiences over the years that has left a bad taste in people's mouths and makes them hate dealing with us as automotive professionals. We can be seen as untrusted, deceitful, pushy, shifty, etc.; but how do we overcome that?  We have to be strong in our beliefs and what we stand for in the business.  We never try to be untrustworthy or deceitful, but we have that preconceived stereotype that hangs over our heads.  We have to be able to build trust with that prospect that we are dealing with and tear down those walls and perception of that used car salesperson.  

Commitment:  the act of committing.

This is the only C that you have control over 100%. I have seen people come and go in the automotive business. It comes down to learning some of the skills that you need to be successful. I have seen people in the business not be the best salesman per se, but they have success just do to their commitment of their everyday activities.  You have to be committed to what you do every day, and not just half the time.  When you are at work, you have to be there to work and not just hang out and wait for that customer to walk in the door.  Yes, we do spend a lot of money to get customers in the door, but that doesn't give anyone the right to just sit there looking out the window.  We have to work the phones with all of our current prospects and past customers.

Capacity: actual or potential ability to perform, yield, or withstand

Capacity goes right along with commitment.  You can have the commitment to try to do something, but you just may not have the capacity to do it.  This is where your skill set comes into play.  You have to have some basic skills to make it in the business.  I have seen people with lower sales talent, but have people skills to offset the lack of selling skills.  You just have to have the basic knowledge and know what to play off of when you do have a weakness.

So what is your brand?  I'm not talking about what brand you sell, but how are you branding yourself?  We all know Jared as "Superman."  Ricky Walters as UCR a.k.a., Used Car Ricky. Kathi Kruse as Kathi Kruse sitting in the convertible.  Tracy Myers is always in the Uncle Sam hat.  Jeff Kershner has the same picture on every site as his profile picture.  When we see "Think Tank Tuesday", we think of Paul Protratz.  The 'Everyday I'm Hustlin'" of course is Craig Belowski.  When we see that crazy girl behind the wheel, we think of Renee Stuart.  You see the PCG in red and you think of Brian Pasche and his crew.  So what is your brand?

A report was just released recently that an average Facebook user has over 600 social connections.  That is HUGE!  I also heard that 1 in 8 people on Facebook are looking for or are in the market for a new or used car.  That would mean that 75 of your "friends" are actually in the market for a new or used car.  Do they actually KNOW that you are in the car business?  

All of our employees for the most part have Facebook, but are they leveraging it like they could?  Here are a few things that they can do.

•   Set up a "like" page and create their own brand.
•   Post a picture of a used car that was just taken in on trade.
•   Post something that is out of the norm that the manufacturer is doing.

I know that for me personally have been afraid in the past to post car stuff on my personal page.  I would come across a personal article and would be hesitant to share it just due to the fact that so many of my "friends" on Facebook are non-auto industry people.  I know that they have Facebook set up to put people in different groups, but to be honest, I am not going to go through all 900+ of my friends and put them in different groups.  Facebook was just a little too late to that party.

An easy way to get around it is just to set up an automotive page.  If your "friends" are real friends, they will probably like your page.  I did this just under a month ago just to push automotive related topics to that page and keep my personal page just to personal everyday life.  

What have you done to capitalize on social media? 

So what is your brand?  I'm not talking about what brand you sell, but how are you branding yourself?  We all know Jared as "Superman."  Ricky Walters as UCR a.k.a., Used Car Ricky. Kathi Kruse as Kathi Kruse sitting in the convertible.  Tracy Myers is always in the Uncle Sam hat.  Jeff Kershner has the same picture on every site as his profile picture.  When we see "Think Tank Tuesday", we think of Paul Protratz.  The 'Everyday I'm Hustlin'" of course is Craig Belowski.  When we see that crazy girl behind the wheel, we think of Renee Stuart.  You see the PCG in red and you think of Brian Pasche and his crew.  So what is your brand?

A report was just released recently that an average Facebook user has over 600 social connections.  That is HUGE!  I also heard that 1 in 8 people on Facebook are looking for or are in the market for a new or used car.  That would mean that 75 of your "friends" are actually in the market for a new or used car.  Do they actually KNOW that you are in the car business?  

All of our employees for the most part have Facebook, but are they leveraging it like they could?  Here are a few things that they can do.

•   Set up a "like" page and create their own brand.
•   Post a picture of a used car that was just taken in on trade.
•   Post something that is out of the norm that the manufacturer is doing.

I know that for me personally have been afraid in the past to post car stuff on my personal page.  I would come across a personal article and would be hesitant to share it just due to the fact that so many of my "friends" on Facebook are non-auto industry people.  I know that they have Facebook set up to put people in different groups, but to be honest, I am not going to go through all 900+ of my friends and put them in different groups.  Facebook was just a little too late to that party.

An easy way to get around it is just to set up an automotive page.  If your "friends" are real friends, they will probably like your page.  I did this just under a month ago just to push automotive related topics to that page and keep my personal page just to personal everyday life.  

What have you done to capitalize on social media?