I’m from Kentucky, the southeast region characterized by dialect that sometimes presents confusion. Case in point: A friend of mine, after moving to town from Trenton, N.J., asked someone for a quick favor. The reply? “I don’t care to do that.” My friend thought her request had been denied. But actually, in my neck of the woods, those six little words mean “I’m happy to help.”

This introduction serves a purpose. I’ll get back to it shortly. But first, let’s switch gears.

I read an article recently published online by Wired called People Who Are Good at Cocktail Parties Are Also Better at the Internet. It summarizes research by Carnegie Mellon’s Anita Woolley, who reported that people who effectively gauge emotions in a face-to-face environment are generally able to do the same thing online by observing subtle emotional cues in text. I’d like to call these folks state-of-mind readers, but scientists have already coined it. They call this ability “theory of mind.” There’s actually a test to measure it called “Reading the Mind in the Eyes.” Incidentally, women typically score higher than men.

What does this mean for automotive sales? It seems this research could be used to inform personnel decisions and/or training initiatives, especially if we fully understand the complexities of communicating without the benefit of seeing someone’s face. 

I won’t pretend to understand all the BDC models, but it’s safe to say that a healthy number of them exist. Some of you might rotate your sales staff from the floor to the phones to online chat. Some probably have staff dedicated to specific communication channels. What this research tells me is that some people are better suited than others to speak with people without the benefit of seeing facial expressions or hearing tone of voice. There are subtleties in language that some folks are adept at picking up on, even in text-based conversations. 

This is critical in today’s digital marketplace that often extends beyond any typical market radius. Consider the scenario I described in the opening paragraph. This was a face-to-face conversation where parties had the benefit of observing tone and facial expressions. Yet misunderstanding still prevailed. If it’s that easy to misinterpret language in a face-to-face environment among people of different cultures, imagine how easily we can lose customers in a communication gap online. 

Think about how this research can benefit your team. Those with “theory of mind” abilities might help fill the gap.

I’m from Kentucky, the southeast region characterized by dialect that sometimes presents confusion. Case in point: A friend of mine, after moving to town from Trenton, N.J., asked someone for a quick favor. The reply? “I don’t care to do that.” My friend thought her request had been denied. But actually, in my neck of the woods, those six little words mean “I’m happy to help.”

This introduction serves a purpose. I’ll get back to it shortly. But first, let’s switch gears.

I read an article recently published online by Wired called People Who Are Good at Cocktail Parties Are Also Better at the Internet. It summarizes research by Carnegie Mellon’s Anita Woolley, who reported that people who effectively gauge emotions in a face-to-face environment are generally able to do the same thing online by observing subtle emotional cues in text. I’d like to call these folks state-of-mind readers, but scientists have already coined it. They call this ability “theory of mind.” There’s actually a test to measure it called “Reading the Mind in the Eyes.” Incidentally, women typically score higher than men.

What does this mean for automotive sales? It seems this research could be used to inform personnel decisions and/or training initiatives, especially if we fully understand the complexities of communicating without the benefit of seeing someone’s face. 

I won’t pretend to understand all the BDC models, but it’s safe to say that a healthy number of them exist. Some of you might rotate your sales staff from the floor to the phones to online chat. Some probably have staff dedicated to specific communication channels. What this research tells me is that some people are better suited than others to speak with people without the benefit of seeing facial expressions or hearing tone of voice. There are subtleties in language that some folks are adept at picking up on, even in text-based conversations. 

This is critical in today’s digital marketplace that often extends beyond any typical market radius. Consider the scenario I described in the opening paragraph. This was a face-to-face conversation where parties had the benefit of observing tone and facial expressions. Yet misunderstanding still prevailed. If it’s that easy to misinterpret language in a face-to-face environment among people of different cultures, imagine how easily we can lose customers in a communication gap online. 

Think about how this research can benefit your team. Those with “theory of mind” abilities might help fill the gap.

Common today: A customer cannot buy a vehicle without an acceptable credit score.

Common tomorrow: A dealer cannot sell a vehicle without an acceptable reputation score. 

It’s quite a switch-a-roo, right?

If we are to believe Michael Fertik, author of The Reputation Economy, our online reputations are powerful and "becoming more valuable than money or power." He says that before long, a reputation score could determine whether or not potential customers visit our sites–online or off.

Don’t believe it? Here’s a case in point: San Francisco-based Airbnb was contacted in November by a traveller who wanted accommodations in Germany. Turns out, according to The Guardian, her existence couldn’t be verified because she didn’t have enough Facebook friends. The consequence? She was denied a room.

It seems that having no online presence might eventually become as damaging—if not more—as having a negative online presence. And this makes sense, right? Would you feel more comfortable selling a car to someone with zero credit or bad credit? A no-credit person can get a co-signer, but unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a co-signer for social presence. 

Here’s a non-secret: People are social creatures, and the digital environment is social. Therefore, there’s no sense in working to avoid or manipulate online reviews. Our best bet is to always respond to what makes our stakeholders happy, unhappy or indifferent, and accommodate them when we should. Good reviews will follow. And then, if a reputation score is devised and used as readily as a credit score, we’ll be prepared.

That’s about it for now, except for a few parting words: Establish a Net Promoter Score if you’ve been moved by this post, and measure it regularly. It’s enlightening and can help with your relationship-building ROI. Do you currently have a vendor for this? If so, I’d love to hear your opinions.

Common today: A customer cannot buy a vehicle without an acceptable credit score.

Common tomorrow: A dealer cannot sell a vehicle without an acceptable reputation score. 

It’s quite a switch-a-roo, right?

If we are to believe Michael Fertik, author of The Reputation Economy, our online reputations are powerful and "becoming more valuable than money or power." He says that before long, a reputation score could determine whether or not potential customers visit our sites–online or off.

Don’t believe it? Here’s a case in point: San Francisco-based Airbnb was contacted in November by a traveller who wanted accommodations in Germany. Turns out, according to The Guardian, her existence couldn’t be verified because she didn’t have enough Facebook friends. The consequence? She was denied a room.

It seems that having no online presence might eventually become as damaging—if not more—as having a negative online presence. And this makes sense, right? Would you feel more comfortable selling a car to someone with zero credit or bad credit? A no-credit person can get a co-signer, but unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a co-signer for social presence. 

Here’s a non-secret: People are social creatures, and the digital environment is social. Therefore, there’s no sense in working to avoid or manipulate online reviews. Our best bet is to always respond to what makes our stakeholders happy, unhappy or indifferent, and accommodate them when we should. Good reviews will follow. And then, if a reputation score is devised and used as readily as a credit score, we’ll be prepared.

That’s about it for now, except for a few parting words: Establish a Net Promoter Score if you’ve been moved by this post, and measure it regularly. It’s enlightening and can help with your relationship-building ROI. Do you currently have a vendor for this? If so, I’d love to hear your opinions.

Who do Americans trust more than car salespeople? Basically, everybody. Car salespeople are trusted slightly more than members of Congress, according to the latest Gallop poll ranking honesty and integrity among professionals. In contrast, the Edelman Trust Barometer shows that globally, the automotive industry falls just behind technology, which is the most trusted industry in the world. 

People trust auto man​​ufacturers but not those who sell their products. This is nothing new. If you compare both the Gallop and Edelman reports for the past several years, you’ll find similar results. 

What are we doing about this discrepancy? Not much from what I can see. 

If global campaigns controlled by manufacturers are not helping build trust at the dealer level (and apparently they’re not), it makes no sense for dealers to ignore relationship building to focus instead on gimmicky marketing tools and superficial messages. Yet what I observe on social media—the great cocktail party of the Web, where two-way symmetrical conversations are expected—looks like this:

• Steady streams of “grip-and-grin” photos of customers and salespeople standing in front of newly purchased vehicles.
• Status updates that brag about monthly sales volume and goals met.
• Posts that thank fans and followers merely for “liking” a page upon reaching a milestone.
• Product and service advertisements.

These types of posts (particularly if they’re overused) are pretty much another way of saying, “Look how great we are!” To be blunt, vanity marketing is a turn-off, and therefore does nothing to build relationships in a venue full of people who are there because they expect conversations and entertainment. And when vanity marketing is presented in the same social space as ignored bad reviews and negative comments, the problem is compounded. 

It’s time dealers become smart about relationship building through social business. It’s strategic with measurable and time-sensitive objectives that are based on business goals. And the technology you choose should be the last thing you consider. “Because all the cool kids are doing it” is not a good reason to use Facebook. 

To get started strategically building relationships on the social Web, I recommend the POST method. It's not new, but it’s widely unknown to those outside the public relations profession. Here's the breakdown, but Google it to learn more. Forrester Research offers a decent explanation that goes into more detail than what I'm offering here.

P is for People

Know your key audiences. What are their behaviors and expectations on the social Web?

O is for Objectives

Do you hope to build relationships through customer support? By energizing them? Through collaboration? 

S is for Strategy

This is where you determine specifically what you’d like to accomplish so you can measure results. 

T is for Technology

Choose technology that’s best suited for your people, objectives and strategy. If you hope to energize your audience, for example, a traditional blog might not be the best choice. A more conversational tool would probably work better. 

We can’t expect to say, “I’m trustworthy because I’m successful,” and build meaningful relationships to that end. We must plan, build engagement and measure results that matter. Let’s help customers get to know more about us than just the manufacturers we represent. I think the POST method can help. 

Who do Americans trust more than car salespeople? Basically, everybody. Car salespeople are trusted slightly more than members of Congress, according to the latest Gallop poll ranking honesty and integrity among professionals. In contrast, the Edelman Trust Barometer shows that globally, the automotive industry falls just behind technology, which is the most trusted industry in the world. 

People trust auto man​​ufacturers but not those who sell their products. This is nothing new. If you compare both the Gallop and Edelman reports for the past several years, you’ll find similar results. 

What are we doing about this discrepancy? Not much from what I can see. 

If global campaigns controlled by manufacturers are not helping build trust at the dealer level (and apparently they’re not), it makes no sense for dealers to ignore relationship building to focus instead on gimmicky marketing tools and superficial messages. Yet what I observe on social media—the great cocktail party of the Web, where two-way symmetrical conversations are expected—looks like this:

• Steady streams of “grip-and-grin” photos of customers and salespeople standing in front of newly purchased vehicles.
• Status updates that brag about monthly sales volume and goals met.
• Posts that thank fans and followers merely for “liking” a page upon reaching a milestone.
• Product and service advertisements.

These types of posts (particularly if they’re overused) are pretty much another way of saying, “Look how great we are!” To be blunt, vanity marketing is a turn-off, and therefore does nothing to build relationships in a venue full of people who are there because they expect conversations and entertainment. And when vanity marketing is presented in the same social space as ignored bad reviews and negative comments, the problem is compounded. 

It’s time dealers become smart about relationship building through social business. It’s strategic with measurable and time-sensitive objectives that are based on business goals. And the technology you choose should be the last thing you consider. “Because all the cool kids are doing it” is not a good reason to use Facebook. 

To get started strategically building relationships on the social Web, I recommend the POST method. It's not new, but it’s widely unknown to those outside the public relations profession. Here's the breakdown, but Google it to learn more. Forrester Research offers a decent explanation that goes into more detail than what I'm offering here.

P is for People

Know your key audiences. What are their behaviors and expectations on the social Web?

O is for Objectives

Do you hope to build relationships through customer support? By energizing them? Through collaboration? 

S is for Strategy

This is where you determine specifically what you’d like to accomplish so you can measure results. 

T is for Technology

Choose technology that’s best suited for your people, objectives and strategy. If you hope to energize your audience, for example, a traditional blog might not be the best choice. A more conversational tool would probably work better. 

We can’t expect to say, “I’m trustworthy because I’m successful,” and build meaningful relationships to that end. We must plan, build engagement and measure results that matter. Let’s help customers get to know more about us than just the manufacturers we represent. I think the POST method can help.