You are a dealership.  Most people don’t like the thought of visiting you.  Through the years, a good majority of everyone who drives cars has had a frustrating experience at a dealership.  Maybe not yours, but they’ve had a bad taste put in their mouths by others.  They don’t want to be your friend, they just want to be serviced by you.

I don’t believe that in all of my (coughing) years I ever heard a normal person stand up for a car dealership’s reputation as another besmirches it in conversation.  I’ve never heard “Hey!  You leave XYZ Motors out of this.  They are great people – the lot of them!”  No.  Doesn’t happen.  When a dealers’ name is raked over the coals by an unhappy party, it is commonly accepted as unfortunate and realistic.  So when you ask someone to “Like” you on FB, is it for reasons personally worthy to a customer? 

My guess is, short of thinking they are going to win an iPad/TV or receive coupons for service, many could honestly go without seeing your customer reviews, pictures of happy customers, videos of salespeople, and alerts of the “big sale”.  These things don’t carry much weight with most.

Try to tap into what people REALLY care about.  Get your dealership involved in the community.  Sponsor Little League teams, attend the Chamber of Commerce meetings to network, give to charities and participate in their local events, get involved in the local schools and help run food drives, car washes, etc.  Give, give, and give to the philanthropies in your area.

Then… simply document (film, photograph, and blog) all of your involvements.  Be a spectator to the events and video your participation.  Those are the elements worthy of being shared socially.  People don’t want to “Like” your dealership, but I guarantee you that someone in your community feels pretty strongly tied to things such as Breast Cancer Awareness events or the local Special Olympics.  THOSE are organizations close to their heart.  Your dealership likely will never be.  However, if you can just tap into (and honestly serve) those entities that are meaningful to some, you will at least be in the right company.  You will start feeling more goodwill toward you because you yourself have given something back.

I’ve accomplished a lot in automotive retail, but I am more proud of the hands I’ve shook and the smiles I’ve made happen when participating in local community events than any metric I’ve reached.  If you want to make a difference and be “Like”able, then start by serving the community’s efforts before your own.

You are a dealership.  Most people don’t like the thought of visiting you.  Through the years, a good majority of everyone who drives cars has had a frustrating experience at a dealership.  Maybe not yours, but they’ve had a bad taste put in their mouths by others.  They don’t want to be your friend, they just want to be serviced by you.

I don’t believe that in all of my (coughing) years I ever heard a normal person stand up for a car dealership’s reputation as another besmirches it in conversation.  I’ve never heard “Hey!  You leave XYZ Motors out of this.  They are great people – the lot of them!”  No.  Doesn’t happen.  When a dealers’ name is raked over the coals by an unhappy party, it is commonly accepted as unfortunate and realistic.  So when you ask someone to “Like” you on FB, is it for reasons personally worthy to a customer? 

My guess is, short of thinking they are going to win an iPad/TV or receive coupons for service, many could honestly go without seeing your customer reviews, pictures of happy customers, videos of salespeople, and alerts of the “big sale”.  These things don’t carry much weight with most.

Try to tap into what people REALLY care about.  Get your dealership involved in the community.  Sponsor Little League teams, attend the Chamber of Commerce meetings to network, give to charities and participate in their local events, get involved in the local schools and help run food drives, car washes, etc.  Give, give, and give to the philanthropies in your area.

Then… simply document (film, photograph, and blog) all of your involvements.  Be a spectator to the events and video your participation.  Those are the elements worthy of being shared socially.  People don’t want to “Like” your dealership, but I guarantee you that someone in your community feels pretty strongly tied to things such as Breast Cancer Awareness events or the local Special Olympics.  THOSE are organizations close to their heart.  Your dealership likely will never be.  However, if you can just tap into (and honestly serve) those entities that are meaningful to some, you will at least be in the right company.  You will start feeling more goodwill toward you because you yourself have given something back.

I’ve accomplished a lot in automotive retail, but I am more proud of the hands I’ve shook and the smiles I’ve made happen when participating in local community events than any metric I’ve reached.  If you want to make a difference and be “Like”able, then start by serving the community’s efforts before your own.

Superman is my all-time favorite superhero.  There isn’t another that comes close.  Needless to say, I’m a big fan.  But as much as I like wearing the iconic S-emblazoned shirts, I’m no Superman.  I’d like to think I live by some of the same moral code attempting to help others through my training, but that comparison and analogy is a stretch (as it would be for anyone.)

There are very few superheroes in our business, but there are many people trying to help you succeed and thrive.   They share a willingness to assist, educate, and train the same way that Superman is driven with the need to help people.  The problem?  There are a lot more Lex Luthors out there looking to take advantage of you than there are automotive online crime-fighters.

In the original Superman (and I say “original” because to me and my generation, there is only one Superman and that is Christopher Reeves’ Superman), Lois Lane falls off of a helicopter dangling from a large tower.  She simply doesn’t have the ability to fly or the know-how to stop from smacking the ground (much the same way a dealership doesn’t understand how to stop their online sales from dipping or their closing ratios from waning).  Thankfully for her, Superman swoops in and saves her.  He grabs her and flies her upward.

There are many people in the automotive industry attempting to be the superhero that carries you to the promise land.  I would like to think my team and I at 

 are some of those trainers and consultants.  However, even when Superman reassures her that he’s got her, Lois Lane asks the obvious question...  “You - You’ve got me… who’s got you?”

In other words, how does their involvement in your situation guarantee you will be saved?  How this relates to our industry is this:  You have to ask what qualifies someone else to control the path your dealership is on.  There are no superheroes so what makes them the entity powerful enough to swoop in and control the destiny of your dealership?

Are you outsourcing your social media?  What makes that company qualified to do so?  Have they had success with social media before this or do they just know how to “sell” social media?

Are you outsourcing your BDC?  What makes them stronger at phone handling than your own staff?

Are you outsourcing your blog writing? Your chat?  Your search engine marketing?  Are you sure you can’t do this yourself?  Do you really need someone else to whisk you away from these responsibilities or can they be done in store by your own team with just a little training?

Is there a trainer leading the digital initiatives at your store that doesn’t have the experience or expertise themselves?  If so, maybe you shouldn’t be handing them the keys to your online kingdom so quickly.  Your online presence is one of your most valuable commodities – you can’t just trust it to someone who knows how to speak the hot-topic lingo.  They must know how to execute.  You need an expert.  Otherwise, there is a good chance you can hire (or promote internally) someone that would be just as effective as they are if given the proper tools and training.

The DrivingSales Vendor Rating system was created to allow dealership staff at the Daily Planet to show who can really fly and who just makes whooshing sounds with their arms pointed outward toward the sky.  It asks dealers to rate who they feel the real deal is.   It comes down to trust.  As a dealer, you want to trust your Superman, but it is imperative you make sure they have a history of being super before you asked to be saved.  And whoever has served you with trustworthy information over the years, those are the people you seek out for advice, training, and assistance.

Too many vendors out there are all cape, no substance.  They claim to be superheroes, but they are evil, smiling Lex Luthors, twisting buzzwords into sales pitches and walking away with your money.  Make sure to ask Lois Lane questions.  If they’re holding you, who is holding them?  What other experiences and successes can they pull from that proves they are the superheroes to your Lois Lane.  Be an investigative reporter before outsourcing your departments and make sure that you are teaming up with a real Superman.  

Superman is my all-time favorite superhero.  There isn’t another that comes close.  Needless to say, I’m a big fan.  But as much as I like wearing the iconic S-emblazoned shirts, I’m no Superman.  I’d like to think I live by some of the same moral code attempting to help others through my training, but that comparison and analogy is a stretch (as it would be for anyone.)

There are very few superheroes in our business, but there are many people trying to help you succeed and thrive.   They share a willingness to assist, educate, and train the same way that Superman is driven with the need to help people.  The problem?  There are a lot more Lex Luthors out there looking to take advantage of you than there are automotive online crime-fighters.

In the original Superman (and I say “original” because to me and my generation, there is only one Superman and that is Christopher Reeves’ Superman), Lois Lane falls off of a helicopter dangling from a large tower.  She simply doesn’t have the ability to fly or the know-how to stop from smacking the ground (much the same way a dealership doesn’t understand how to stop their online sales from dipping or their closing ratios from waning).  Thankfully for her, Superman swoops in and saves her.  He grabs her and flies her upward.

There are many people in the automotive industry attempting to be the superhero that carries you to the promise land.  I would like to think my team and I at 

 are some of those trainers and consultants.  However, even when Superman reassures her that he’s got her, Lois Lane asks the obvious question...  “You - You’ve got me… who’s got you?”

In other words, how does their involvement in your situation guarantee you will be saved?  How this relates to our industry is this:  You have to ask what qualifies someone else to control the path your dealership is on.  There are no superheroes so what makes them the entity powerful enough to swoop in and control the destiny of your dealership?

Are you outsourcing your social media?  What makes that company qualified to do so?  Have they had success with social media before this or do they just know how to “sell” social media?

Are you outsourcing your BDC?  What makes them stronger at phone handling than your own staff?

Are you outsourcing your blog writing? Your chat?  Your search engine marketing?  Are you sure you can’t do this yourself?  Do you really need someone else to whisk you away from these responsibilities or can they be done in store by your own team with just a little training?

Is there a trainer leading the digital initiatives at your store that doesn’t have the experience or expertise themselves?  If so, maybe you shouldn’t be handing them the keys to your online kingdom so quickly.  Your online presence is one of your most valuable commodities – you can’t just trust it to someone who knows how to speak the hot-topic lingo.  They must know how to execute.  You need an expert.  Otherwise, there is a good chance you can hire (or promote internally) someone that would be just as effective as they are if given the proper tools and training.

The DrivingSales Vendor Rating system was created to allow dealership staff at the Daily Planet to show who can really fly and who just makes whooshing sounds with their arms pointed outward toward the sky.  It asks dealers to rate who they feel the real deal is.   It comes down to trust.  As a dealer, you want to trust your Superman, but it is imperative you make sure they have a history of being super before you asked to be saved.  And whoever has served you with trustworthy information over the years, those are the people you seek out for advice, training, and assistance.

Too many vendors out there are all cape, no substance.  They claim to be superheroes, but they are evil, smiling Lex Luthors, twisting buzzwords into sales pitches and walking away with your money.  Make sure to ask Lois Lane questions.  If they’re holding you, who is holding them?  What other experiences and successes can they pull from that proves they are the superheroes to your Lois Lane.  Be an investigative reporter before outsourcing your departments and make sure that you are teaming up with a real Superman.  

Buford Beauregard is a former car-selling superstar turned acclaimed stand-up comedian from the south. Buford sells out trailer parks nationwide with his comedic act about automotive internet sales and is known for his catchphrases "Ain't she a beaut!" and "...you might not be an e-Dealer."

*It is well known that he is not related to Joe Webb, but does often use Joe as his opening act. Likely, based on the accent and hairstyle, Buford originates from either Alabama, Arkansas, or Mississippi. He cannot recall. But what he does know is automotive sales and digital marketing tactics.

Buford Beauregard is a former car-selling superstar turned acclaimed stand-up comedian from the south. Buford sells out trailer parks nationwide with his comedic act about automotive internet sales and is known for his catchphrases "Ain't she a beaut!" and "...you might not be an e-Dealer."

*It is well known that he is not related to Joe Webb, but does often use Joe as his opening act. Likely, based on the accent and hairstyle, Buford originates from either Alabama, Arkansas, or Mississippi. He cannot recall. But what he does know is automotive sales and digital marketing tactics.