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"Feel, Felt, Found" Automotive Internet Sales Objections, Expectations & Rebuttals - Sean V. Bradley, CEO of  Dealer Synergy and creator of AIS

I met Randy McPherson in early 2003. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

My good friend Chad Dufault and I were having a conversation at Davanni’s, sharing a pizza. I think it was January 2003, but something tells me it may have been late 2002. I was working for Northwest Airlines in WorldPerks partner marketing, and he was VP of a mortgage company that Randy owned alongside Paul Walser of the Walser Automotive Group. We were talking about how to build his business, and how to retain customers. Since Loyalty was my focus at NWA, Chad was picking my brain. And we were just enjoying a pizza.

“You should talk to Randy McPherson,” Chad said out of the blue. “Walser is building a loyalty program, and they could use your help.”

I had never heard of this Randy McPherson before. “Who is this man,” I asked myself.

Location:Davanni’s, Edina, MN

http://www.dealersynergy.com 

Do You have a Social Media Employee Policy At Your Dealership...?  You Better Create one ASAP!!

I think that got your attention...

*** This is VERY important ***

Every dealership should have a "Social Media" EMPLOYEE USE Policy. What I mean by that is that EVERY Employee at the dealership (Front and Back) needs to know about Social Media and its effect it can have for the dealership during work hours and OFF work hours. 

"Off Work Hours" ????? Confused...?

Let me give you an example... a REAL example, not just a cool story to throw in for training and impact reasons...

I had a dealer client call me a while ago and tell me he had a "unique" problem. I was intrigued and asked him what happened. The dealer goes on to tell me that he had a voice mail from a very upset woman. And then he went on to detail the voice mail. It turns out the woman came into the dealership to purchase a vehicle and was working with a sales person. She did not buy the vehicle there, but was very interested in purchasing from them. So, she went home to "think about it" she went online and "Googled" her sales person's name... You won't believe what showed up on the FIRST page of Google... The sales person's MySpace Page. The woman "Clicked" the link and right there on the sales person's TOP of his MySpace page was the Sales Person smoking a "Marijuana Bong" (TRUE STORY) and the CAPTION on the Photo Read "Party Animal" - WOW!!! The woman was very disturbed that this person worked at the dealership and she did NOT want to do business with him or ANYONE that employed a "Drug Addict". It did not matter that the dealership had no idea what the employee did on his own time. It did not matter the sales person was one of the top earners in the dealership, it did not matter that the dealer was a great guy and helped a lot of people in the community. It ONLY mattered what her perception of the dealership was at this point. And what she told the dealer in that message stung him... She said she was a 50 year old woman and if she can "Google" her sales person in 5 minutes then SHAME on the dealership for not doing a better job hiring people that represent their establishment... Ouch, what can you say to that?   

The sales person had NO idea that their "Off Work" antics, habits, exploits would EVERY hurt the dealership that he worked at or was trying to build a career at. Some might say it is NONE of ANYONE'S business what they do AFTER work... or while they are NOT working. 

*** The problem with that is that if a person, a sales person, service, office person posts their life, posts their beliefs, posts their antics for the public. Then is NOT "Their Private Life" anymore... especially if they work at a MULTI-Million Dollar establishment. There is WAY too much at stake here so I iMPLORE you to pay attention to your dealership and your employees.

Here is what I suggest:

Immediately create a Dealership "Social Media Employee Use Policy" something that states that if you are employed at ABC Motors, you AGREE NOT to post ANYTHING compromising online, specifically Social Media sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Tumblr, Flickr, YouTube etc... If employees choose to have accounts like these they MUST EITHER Post PG - PG13 Content OR KEEP Your Account on "PRIVATE". This also goes about personal beliefs about sensitive subjects. 

Then after you create the policy, have the dealership's attorney create a formal agreement and put it into the employee handbook and make sure they all sign off on it.

* This might seem extreme BUT please think of YOUR Dealership RIGHT NOW and YOUR Employees... ALL of THEM. Can you imagine if you left your dealership's reputation uncensored online, allowed employees post anything and everything without educating them of the harm to themselves and the dealership's reputation unintentionally. PLEASE believe that Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, PhotoBucket, Ning, YouTube, Twitter, Tumblr... ALL of these site INDEX WELL!!! Meaning, that they show up on GOOGLE, MSN, AOL, BING etc... VERY VERY Well.

Protect your reputation-

*** Here is a COOL idea:

When you are about to hire someone... BEFORE you do, "Google" Them, "Facebook" them, "Twitter" them etc... Use the Internet as your own personal FBI Background Check :) 

If you have any questions or if you would like some more information on how to secure your dealership's Online Reputation or if you need help educating your employees of Social Media / Online Reputation please email me at seanb@dealersynergy.com It would be my pleasure to help you.

Thank you for joining Automotive Internet Sales; we are becoming the fastest growing Social Community site in the Automotive industry!

 I would like to make a small request... Can you please upload a profile picture of yourself :) I have received several requests from members asking me to ask the rest of the community to post a picture, its more personal than the AIS logo. This site is designed to be a "Social Community" for Automotive Internet Sales... actually TOTAL Automotive Internet OPERATIONS... Sales, Fixed, F&I, Digital Marketing etc... I want people to feel comfortable here, interact with each other, learn, educate, motivate, inspire, excite :)

THANK YOU AGAIN!!

*** Now, to let everyone know, this site has been live for a little over 2 months and we are working hard daily to build the site up... But this is a community and we are going to need your help to make this site truly amazing. So, please feel free to upload your own content... articles, blogs, pictures, videos etc... If you NEED help or are not sure what type of content to post. PLEASE JUST ASK ME and it would be my pleasure to assist you in doing so... * By you uploading content, you can properly do SEO to it and back link to your dealership or company and increase your overall SEO visibility! (I can show / tell you how to do this as well).

I am in the process of speaking to and recruiting some AMAZING writers, experts, moderators etc... to be a part of this community and lead / moderate discussions, groups and provide subject matter expertise. For example, I am NOT a fixed ops director but I have several that are AMAZING at fixed ops and are part of the community and have already been posting a lot of GREAT content for you all.

I would also like your advice and opinions as to the direction you would like this community to go in... The more feedback we get from the community, the better we can customize this for US!

You will notice that there are about 25 "Groups" that have been created, basically these are areas where you can find specific information in regards to your particular interests / needs... please let me know if you have any ideas on creating additional groups that are not currently there...? Also, I encourage EVERYONE to join and or create a group!

And Finally, I would also request that if you like what you see... if you see value in what are community is doing PLEASE tell everyone :) Invite everyone you can to join AIS! 

Have a wonderful day!

SVB-

http://www.dealersynergy.com

Does your ONLINE Reputation Suck...? Are you sure... You better check and if Does, You better know what to do!

OK... I know you all have heard about online reputation mangement...but it is VERY IMPORTANT!! I have clients and soon to be clients calling Dealer Synergy asking for HELP!!!! They say they are being attacked by "Internet Terrorists" I am dead serious, thats what a dealership told me the other day... You have to protect your online reputation. It is SOOOO Important, that I dedicated (FOR FREE) a portion of my site to show the community several of the major online reputation resources out there. But, I came across this resource recelty and I now have sevreal Dealer Synergy clients that are using this company. I have NO AFFILIATION with them at all. I am ONLy going by what I see personally and what my clients have told me their experieinces are and they are ALL positive... If you are getting CRUSHED by BAD reviews then you NEED to look into these people. They can FIX it... but its NOT enough to "wash away" the bad reviews... you need to have a strategy going forward to create a positive online reputation management protocol and integrity... This on the other hand is to help you out of a BAD situation. Here is a Quick Video from a client of mine, the President of Peruzzi  Toyota talking about "Review Boost", Bill Finocchiaro

http://www.facebook.com/seanvbradley

Toyota Sale Search

Jacksonville Hyundai Searches

OEM Compliance With Sub-Domains

Automotive SEO Conference

Do you want to learn more about digital marketing?   Come out a few days early before NADA and attend the 2011 Digital Marketing Strategies Conference February 1-3, 2011 which is right before the NADA Convention in San Francisco.

Register online at: http://www.digitalmarketingstrategies.org.

The conference has attracted some of the top speakers and educators in the automotive industry and if you are looking to lock in a successful digital marketing attack in your PMA in 2011, you need to be in attendance.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dealersynergy/3420894237/ I wanted to congratulate Rob Fontano on his recent cover story. I have had the opportunity to watch Rob evolve over the years and am excited for all of his success. Rob has been through several Dealer Synergy training workshops over the years. I have attached a Flickr link in the post of Rob Fontano and Football great Keith Byars (Formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins). I had Keith Byars as a guest speaker at one of my "Internet Director Immersion Programs" and as a guest speaker at NADA in 2009.

I think Rob came to my "Director Immersion Program" JUST FOR KEITH BYARS LOL! (It was his second Sean V. Bradley / Dealer Synergy workshop!

For all "Automtoive Internet Sales" members... you should really read his article and maybe even reach out to Rob on AIS... He is an awesome person and a great Internet Sales Professional!

Good memories my friend!! And I see that VSEO is working well for you too :)

http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/e8e0b8bc#/e8e0b8bc/1 

Location-based check in service Foursquare has just announced the addition of photos and commenting features, due to arrive within hours to users of its iPhone application. The features have already gone live on the Foursquare.com website.

According to Foursquare, these two features were among the most requested from its users for months, a signal that, perhaps, folks are beginning to demand more social elements from check-in apps: rewards, either virtual or tangible, are just not enough.

http://www.dealersynergy.com

http://www.facebook.com/seanvbradley

http://www.dealersyenrgy.com

http://www.internetsales20group.com

Automotive Social Media Marketing Statistics, Facts and Figures / Re-Post from Ralph Paglia of Automotive Digital Marketing...

Automotive Social Media Marketing Statistics, Facts and Figures published by reliable resources for December 2010

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• Social network usage by Americans aged 65 and up grew 100% in 2010 from 13% to 26%, and is expected to continue to increase (Pew Research Center)

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• Facebook passed Yahoo in August 2010 to become #2 video site in America (58,600,00 users) behind #1 YouTube (146,300,000 users) (comScore)

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• Twitter now gets more visitors than MySpace, becoming 3rd most trafficked Social Network. Twitter.com had 96 million unique visitors in November 2010 up 76% from November 2009. #1 visited social network is Facebook with 598 million unique visitors. (comScore)

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• 29% of Twitter users 18-24 years old use Twitter to follow their favorite companies and brands

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• 60% of web users visit social networks (PC Advisor)

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• Two thirds of comScore’s U.S. Top 100 websites and half of comScore’s Global Top 100 websites have integrated content sharing with Facebook.

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• The average Facebook user is connected to 60 pages, groups and events (Facebook press office)

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• Twitter adds more than 300,000 new "Tweeps" (users) every day (Twitter)

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• There are more than 600 million searches on Twitter every day (Twitter)

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• YouTube receives more than 2 billion video views per day (YouTube press center)

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• 77% of Automotive Internet Users (AIU) read blogs (Technorati)

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• 60% of bloggers are aged 18-44 (Technorati)

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• Male/Female distribution ratio of Twitter users is 47/53%

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• 51% of active Twitter users follow companies, brands or products on social networks

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• Women aged 55 and up are the fastest growing Facebook demographic in America

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• Two-thirds of bloggers are male:
• 65% are age 18-44.
• Bloggers are more affluent and educated than the general population:
• 79% have college degrees / 43% have graduate degrees
• 1/3 have a household income of $75K+
• 1/4 have a household income of $100K+
• 81% have been blogging more than 2 years.
• Professionals have an average of 3.5 blogs.
• Professionals blog 10+ hours/week.
• 11% say blogging is their primary income source.

http://www.dealersynergy.com

http://www.internetsales20group.com  

Facebook appears to be on the verge of launching a new design of its Fan Pages. This change seems to include the site’s location-based Places checkin functionality, enabling “likers” of the page to check in to it. Although

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is said to be giving a sneak peak at the new Profile Pages design on 60 Minutes tonight, it seems that more change is in store; you can already see the new Pages design in action on select pages, such as Ellen DeGeneres’s Fan Page. On Ellen’s page, you will notice a count for the number of checkins the Page has. According to Facebook spokesperson Meredith Chin, the Ellen Page is a merged page that includes the functionality for checkins available shortly after the feature launched a few months ago. Basically, your brand page will then take on the Places page designs, which appears to be the inspiration for the new profile pages that are to be released as well.

“As long as the address of the official page and the place page match, it should show you a prompt and ask you if you want to merge them,” Chin said.

You can see screenshots of the new design below.

Current Pages Design -----------------

The current Pages design, similar to Profile Pages, has the Page navigation tabs (Wall, Questions, Photos) at the top.

New Pages With Checkins

The new Pages design includes checkins, profile information (which includes some basic information about the page and the Wall postings below it), a narrower left column and more.

New Tabs

The new Pages also feature the navigation tabs on the left-hand side.

First, let’s look at the media advertising landscape for 2011; then determine how your strategy fits into that and more importantly, how you are going to maximize your advertising ROI within these parameters.

According to Carat, a leading independent media communications agency, total ad spend in the US is expected to increase by 1.7% in 2011. “All media are expected to return to growth, except for the newspaper sector, which, along with magazines, is expected to be the weakest performer. The two biggest areas of growth are internet and television, followed by radio, outdoor and cinema… Online continues to capture a bigger percentage of the media spend in 2010 at 11.3%, increasing to 12.1% in 2011”.

The trend towards mobile smart phone devices to reach people on the move cannot be over-emphasized.

Now, given this landscape let me ask you the following questions:

• What is your advertising strategy for 2011?
• Do you have a plan to minimize advertising leakage or waste?
• Do you have an integrated multi-media advertising strategy across ALL your media channels to maximize advertising message, leads and conversion?
• Do you have a rigorous tracking mechanism in place know which channel provided the best ROI, and more importantly, to quickly adapt to changing response, leads and conversion patterns?

Despite the changing demographic and ad spend landscape many automobile dealers continue to devote the majority of their ad budgets to TV, newspapers and radio. It is true that the internet is getting a larger share of today’s ad budget, however, there is NO INTREGRATED strategy yet in place to minimize advertising leakage or waste.

Every month, the average automobile dealership spends about $50,000 in advertising and the average dealership will use a combination of  TV, newspaper and magazines, radio, direct mail and the internet to advertise.  The critical question is WHETHER all of these channels are integrated in a way where EACH channel provides input into the other that validates the dealer’s brand message.

In my opinion, the most ROI effective, integrated advertising strategy MUST encompass the following and include an appropriate, affordable, easy to implement online platform to enable seamless execution:

• TV: You are already spending money here so make sure you include your toll free #, website info and provide an incentive for your watchers to respond to your shortcode keyword.
• Newspapers & Magazines, Radio & Direct Mail: A contact phone #, website and shortcode keyword are critical here. Note that a response to your shortcode keyword will allow you to direct your customers by smart phone to your mobile website, YouTube and  Social Media sites.
• Your Online Website: Must be well planned, easy to navigate and SEO optimized. Do not forget a call to action to your shortcode keyword.
• SMS Text Marketing Platform (Opt-in): If you do not have this, you are missing a HUGE part of your potential audience. For people on the go, you can push through instant coupons, discounts, contests and gratification.
• Automated Submission Of Ads On YouTube & Social Media: Your presence in this space without a lot of effort and resources is key. Tie in with the other strategies produces maximum results.
• Automated Mobile Website Capacity: This is critical in today’s smart phone environment and to reach the Y generation.
• Tracking & Measurement: Having a separate shortcode keyword for each advertising channel will allow you to track responses, leads, conversions and ongoing customer lifetime value. This will also show you over time which channel represent you most effective ROI and potentially reduce your ad spend.

 Once you have your prospects and customers’ keycode contact #, you can now send your prospects periodic new sales specials and coupons, and for existing customers, reminders and/or coupons for maintenance and other services.

Now, you are wondering HOW you could do all that without substantial incremental expense. First, doing this for 6 - 9months should show you which channels have the smallest or even negative ROI for possible elimination. Second, the potential incremental sales from this strategy should more than make up for any additional expense with this strategy.

You can position your company today to capitalize on the new advertising landscape by incorporating these multi-media advertising strategies to improve your ROI. Many of your competition are already doing it.

If you want to find our how other automobile dealerships are using this strategy, please contact me.

http://www.dealersynergy.com

http://www.internetsales20group.com

Former General Manager of the World's Largest Dealership "AutoLand" in NJ Mike Cola is interviewed by Automotive Internet Sales

FacebookAutomotive.com - Facebook Fans Name Their Own Price On Over 4,000 Vehicles

Jeff Gordon Chevy & DealADaySuperstore.com unveil the first Dealer facebook page that allows fans to name their own price through a revolutionary Price Reduction Feature.

500 million people all around the world are actively using facebook to stay connected with their friends and the people around them. Until recently, it's been a challenge for consumers to shop for and purchase goods and services through facebook.

When Jeff Gordon Chevrolet launched FacebookAutomotive.com, they quickly realized it was exactly what consumers had been waiting for.

"With our new interactive facebook page, our customers are able to browse thousands of vehicles and make an offer on the exact vehicle they've been looking for." said Jeff Gordon Chevrolet's Marketing Manager Mark Santilli. " We've also added a Price Reduction feature that allows shoppers to save thousands of dollars off their purchase price. We are dedicated to making the Internet Buying Experience fast, easy and hassle free. Listening and then responding to the needs of our customers is why we're the GM Certified Used Sales Leader for 8 consecutive years and a GM Dealer Of The Year Award Winner".

Don't live near Jeff Gordon Chevrolet? No problem, we can arrange hassle free delivery right to your front door with our Exclusive Door To Door Delivery Program

Jeff Gordon Chevrolet is a proud member of the Hendrick Automotive Group. Shop 500 GM Certified Used Vehicles and over 3,500 Hendrick Certified Used Vehicles at JeffGordonChevy.com