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http://www.internetsales20group.com
Interview with Whitney Willis Snow - Internet Director of Willis GM & Winner of AIS's "Dealership of the Month" Award December 2010
(READ the FULL Interview UNDER the IMAGE :)
Automotive Internet Sales “Dealership of the Month” goes to…
Willis Automotive of Smyrna Delaware
Willis Automotive of Smyrna Delaware are killing it on the Internet! They literally rose from the ashes and turned their organization around in some dark times. Willis Automotive of Smyrna is part of the Willis Automotive dealer group. They have 3 stores, Willis Automotive of Smyrna, Willis Ford and Willis Automotive of Middletown. They started their Internet initiative about a year and a half ago, right in the middle of the automotive collapse. As a matter of fact, they were one of the GM dealerships to get a letter. They lost their Chevrolet Franchise in Middletown Delaware. But this group did not let the economy beat them. They regrouped and created a NEW strategy and persevered through difficult times and are now set to reap all of the rewards from all of their hard work and tenacity. We are going to interview the Internet Director, Whitney Willis Snow-
AIS- First off, congratulations Whitney to you and your team! You just closed November 2010 with 48 units! That is AMAZING. You went from 5 units on the Internet and losing a franchise to 48 units and almost $100,000 GROSS in 30 days! I am so proud of you and very excited to share in your success.
WWS – Thank you, but it is a huge team effort. I am blessed to work with such an amazing group of people.
AIS – Whitney, your full name is Whitney Willis Snow… So, I am assuming you are an owner…?
WWS – We have a family business for over 60 years now… My mother, father, uncle, brothers etc… This is literally a family business. A small dealer group with 3 stores. I am the Internet Director and the youngest of the family in the business.
AIS – Tell us about the organization…
WWS – Simple, we are a family owned dealership with a ton of integrity. As I mentioned we have been in business for 6 decades and are very active in our community. Our reputation is everything to our family. How we treat our people… not just or prospects or clients, but how we treat our employees and each other. We strive to do the absolute best we can possibly do each and every day.
AIS – How were you engaging the Internet?
WWS – Not very much at all… We didn’t really have a strategy, no real dedication or commitment to the Internet as a “department”. As a matter of fact, when I first started working the Internet at our dealership I would simply email the prospect back once and then “hand over the lead to a salesman”.
AIS – Ok, what changed and why…?
WWS -We decided to actually build a “real” department with a strategy, focus and put resources behind it.We hired Dealer Synergy to assist us in creating the Internet Sales strategy and Standard Operating Procedures. We hired a new web design company to re-design our dealership website. We then focused on driving a lot more traffic to the dealership organically with SEO, VSEO and Social Media as well as buying leads from 3rd party providers.
AIS- What was the most challenging thing for you and the fledgling department?
WWS – That is easy… “Teaching an old dog new tricks” LOL! No, seriously… getting this accepted by the showroom floor and the sales managers. It was VERY difficult in the beginning. We had so many people that were pessimistic, resistant, non-cooperative even to the point where we felt like people were purposely trying to sabotage the department. It was crazy! I felt like, here we were, dumping a ton of resources trying to grow the business and help everyone… from salesmen to managers, but there were people that felt like we were taking away from them, or that they knew how to do things better.
AIS – How is that possible?
WWS – As I mentioned, this is a family owned dealership. Our staff has been here for a very long time. We don’t have a lot of turn over. Everyone just needs to realize to get a bigger “piece of the pie”, the “whole pie” needs to grow! We are all working towards the same goal!
AIS –What happened with the Middletown store?
WWS – Bottom line is during the whole automotive economic collapse GM sent us a letter and we lost one of our Chevrolet points. It was very hard because we have been in business for such a long time. But we decided not to shut down the dealership, we turned it into a Pre-Owned and NAPA Car Care Dealership.
AIS – How has the Internet affected your dealership business?
WWS – Point Blank… the new Internet Department SAVED us from losing our business. NO Exaggeration… The units we have been selling out of the Internet Department kept the doors open.I don’t think we could have survived the automotive economic situation without our Internet Department. We have increased internet volume and gross each month. As a matter of fact we have also increased the dealership’s total volume of sales as well as the dealership’s total gross profit.
AIS- How is everyone at the store now a days with the department…?
WWS- MUCH BETTER… there is a lot of more communication, a lot more appreciation for the department and a lot more respect for not only the department but for all of the team members in our department.
AIS- How many people are in your department?
WWS –There are 4 Internet Sales Coordinators (Phone Ninjas / Appointment Setters), my Assistant Director, and myself for a total of 6 people in the department.
AIS – What are the biggest challenges for your team?
WWS – The same, I’m sure, as all internet departments… handling people J dealing with price, objections in general, attitudes, etc…
AIS – Any advice?
WWS- Absolutely… be prepared. We have a plan of action for EVERYTHING. Phone Process, Email process… objections and rebuttals and of course “What If” process… What if this happens, what if that happens… what if, what if, what if… you have to be prepared for everything and PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. Sharpen the saw. That is why we are part of the Internet Sales 20 Group (www.internetsales20group.com) and very active on www.automotiveinternetsales.com
AIS – Yes, you are! Congrats on winning the Dealership Video Testimonial!! That was AWESOME!!
Anything else you would like to add to the readers?
WWS- Yes… Don’t let ANYONE tell you that you can’t do something! Don’t let ANYONE discourage you from your goal/mission. You can do anything you put your mind too!
** Also, if anyone wants to call me directly for any advice or questions, it would be my pleasure. I believe in Synergy and in the whole Internet Sales 20 group concept. With that being said, if you HAVE any IDEAS or resources that you think are worthwhile that can help me to continue growing my department…PLEASE feel free to contact me and let me know!
http://www.internetsales20group.com
Congratulations to Willis Automotive, located in Delaware for WINNING the "BEST Dealership Testimonial" Contest!!! We received a LOT of Video Testimonials from dealerships from different parts of the country and I have to tell you they were fun to watch!! Thank you for taking your time to make them and upload them.
Willis Automotive won $300!! I will make sure that Whitney Willis Snow send us a video when she gets her $300 :)
Here is the winning video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keJn-2NlIYQ&feature=player_embedded
Ok, Why did I create this contest and give away $300??? For a couple of reasons...
- First, I wanted to do something fun for the website and I know EVERYONE likes FREE Money so... :)
- I wanted to show how REALLY important Video Testimonials are and I know that just asking dealers to create them isn't enough... I / Dealers need to incentivize salesman and the internet team to create as many awesome videos as possible. It is VERY important that dealerships realize that what other people think about them and say about them is VERY important.
I was VERY pleased with the dealers that entered the contest... I was proud to see some of the dealerships go HEAVY into this project and upload a LOT of videos from their prospects / clients.
- I wanted to gauge the creativity of the videos... And I have to admit, there is a LOT of work to be done. I watched ALL the videos uploaded and noticed the same pattern... dealer after dealer. It seemed for a lot of the videos they did NOT have a strategy... a focus. I actually saw some videos where it seemed like the people did NOT want to be on video!! It is very clear that you all need to CREATE a strategy BEFORE you start to shoot the camera. Remember that there is a reason why people go online... every prospect has an expectation... what they are looking to accomplish. It is important that you "lead" the prospect / client if needed before you shoot the video. Take video testimonials on specific things like: Price, Availability, Convenience, Looking for a different way to do business, research etc... from a first time buyer, female perspective, credit challenged etc...
** Let the prospect or client talk. Try to slow down on the narration of ALL the videos...
- Make the videos FUN, interesting, passionate etc... Video is important but now a days video is all over... so you want to make your content interesting NOT just there.
All in all, this was a GREAT FIRST contest for the new AIS site!!
Thank you for all that participated and Congrats to Willis Automotive for winning the $300 prize!
SVB-
http://www.internetsales20group.com
I wanted to wish everyone a VERY Happy Thanksgiving from me, my family and the entire Dealer Synergy Team. I personally have a tremendous amount to be Thankful for. As you might or might not know, I was in a horrific, near fatal Jet Ski accident in Puerto Rico this past summer. It was a sureal experieince to say the least, I was in Puerto Rico for 2 months and out of work for over 3 months due to the accident. I had a lot of time to think, reflect and truly appreciate what I have. Sometimes when you are going at "warp" speed everyday things might get taken for granted. I am Thankful for my life, to be able to breathe. As simple as that may sound I am sincere. I am blessed and Thankful for my family, friends, company, clients and the ability to do what I love each and every day.
Life is WAY Too Short!! BeThankful that you have life and the opportunity to be and do anything you want to do. Reflect... Soak it all in... Enjoy it!
God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving
Sean V. Bradley-
http://www.joomla.org/
http://www.internetsales20group.com
At the recent Internet Sales 20 Group in Philly I had the opportunity to meet with Subi Fernando, the Internet Director for Basil Resale Centers. I have to say that I was VERY impressed with how much on point she was with Automotive Internet Sales and was equally impresses of her use of Joomla! For her organization's MAIN WEBSITE! http://www.basilresale.com/ The site is NOT perfect, there is room for a lot of opportunity, a lot of growth but the site isn't bad at all and the best part is that they own it themselves! They utilize a FREE platform called Joomla! (which is an open source CMS). I have seen a Lot of companies use Joomla! for focus / micro sites but rarely have seen it used as their primary site. The fact that they pay $26 dollars a month for the site is AWESOME!! Plus, they have NO CONTRACTS... They do it all in house. I am Not saying that this is for everybody... For the record, I DO NOT mow my own lawn lol! But, I do want dealers to know that there are OTHER viable options than what they might already know about. I like the idea for a progressive dealership (or dealer group) to take control of their OWN Multi Million Dollar Department and RUN with it... If they have the skills and resources to do so.
So, Kudos to Subi and to Basil Resale Centers!!! For more information on Joomla! or Basil Resale Centers... Contact Subi, she is a member of AIS.
SVB-
http://www.internetsales20group.com
Chrysler Dodge Jeep Dealership comes up with a VERY CREATIVE Social Media Strategy for their FaceBook using "call of Duty, Black Ops" as a Promo for "Likes"... Basically, all a person has to do is "LIKE" Locklear's FaceBook Fan Page and they will be entered into a FREE drawing / Contest for a FREE Call of Duty, Black Ops game-
"Googolopoly" The BEST & Most Powerful Automotive Digital Marketing & Social Media Strategy for your Dealership
This Graphic sums it ALL up... This is Exactly what your dealership should be thinking with the Internet & with Digital Marketing / Social Media... The best analogy I can give you all is that I want you to think of Google as a Monopoly board or bettter yet a "Googolopoly" LOL! Google says that ONLY .5% (LESS than 1%) of people go past the First Page of Google. So, your strategy is SIMPLE... LIKE in Monopoly you try to get as many PROPERTIES as possible... That is what you want to do with the First Page of Google! you want to get as many positions as humanly possible. For example:
· You want to DOMINATE the First page EVERYWHERE... Starting with your MAIN www.abcmotors.com site.
· You want your Focus Sites / Micros Sites to show on the first page in the TOP 10.
· You want your Face Book...
· You want your Twitter...
· You want your NING...
· You want your Flicker...
· You want your You Tube...
· You want your Dealer Rater / Reputation Management etc...
· Videos, videos, Videos... AKA Video Search Engine Optimization!
· You want your Vertical Search... Google Business / google Maps...
· You want your REAL TIME Search (LIVE News Feeds on First Page Google)!
*** Why...? Simple... The MORE you are on the 1st PAGE the LESS EVERYONE else is... 3rd party providers, competition etc... And we all know that you have a FASTER gestation period generating your own leads, you have a higher gross and a higher closing ratio.
THE NEW Phrase to Remember is "Googolopoly"
"Googolopoly" The BEST & Most Powerful Automotive Digital Marketing & Social Media Strategy for your Dealership
This Graphic sums it ALL up... This is Exactly what your dealership should be thinking with the Internet & with Digital Marketing / Social Media... The best analogy I can give you all is that I want you to think of Google as a Monopoly board or better yet a "Googolopoly" LOL! Google says that ONLY .5% (LESS than 1%) of people go past the First Page of Google. So, your strategy is SIMPLE... LIKE in Monopoly you try to get as many PROPERTIES as possible... That is what you want to do with the First Page of Google! you want to get as many positions as humanly possible. For example:
· You want to DOMINATE the First page EVERYWHERE... Starting with your MAIN www.abcmotors.com site.
· You want your Focus Sites / Micros Sites to show on the first page in the TOP 10.
· You want your Face Book...
· You want your Twitter...
· You want your NING...
· You want your Flicker...
· You want your You Tube...
· You want your Dealer Rater / Reputation Management etc...
· Videos, videos, Videos... AKA Video Search Engine Optimization!
· You want your Vertical Search... Google Business / google Maps...
· You want your REAL TIME Search (LIVE News Feeds on First Page Google)!
*** Why...? Simple... The MORE you are on the 1st PAGE the LESS EVERYONE else is... 3rd party providers, competition etc... And we all know that you have a FASTER gestation period generating your own leads, you have a higher gross and a higher closing ratio.
THE NEW Phrase to Remember is "Googolopoly"
http://www.internetsales20group.com
***Re-Published from Dealer.com Site
How to use Facebook to promote your blog & engage your customers - Syndicate your blog through Facebook to gain readership - Pete Jewett, SEO Analyst
You don’t have to be a social media expert to know that posting fresh relevant content on your Facebook Page is a must if you want to keep your customers engaged. One way to consistently post content and engage with your consumer is by syndicating your blog to automatically feed into your Facebook page every time you publish a post. Whenever a post is added to your blog, it will automatically display on your Facebook page's news feed for all your fans to view.
Whether you subscribe to Dealer.com’s blog platform or not, if you have a blog you should be syndicating it to gain readership and offer your customers fresh content on a regular basis.
It is easy to link your blog and Facebook fan page for automatic syndication! It takes less than 5 minutes to configure... here's how you can set it up:
1.Find your RSS feed URL - Visit your blog's home page and click on the orange button labeled "RSS 2.0", click it and copy your RSS feed's URL in the address bar.
2.Edit Your Facebook Page -Go to your Facebook Fan Page and click "Edit Page" beneath the Page profile picture.
3.Find Notes - Find Notes among the list of applications and select "Edit." Click "Edit Import Settings" under the Subscribe Section
4.Paste the URL - Paste your blog feed URL in the Web URL box and start importing.
Be aware that once you set up your blog to be imported into Notes, Facebook will pull previous posts into your feed. Once set up, it will scrape your site daily for new posts.
Now that you have your blog set up to post to Facebook, start writing!
http://www.dealersynergy.com
http://www.automotiveinternetsales.com
Automotive Internet Sales Department goes from delivering 60 Units online to OVER 200 Internet Units ONLINE!! - They CONVERT an ENTIRE Dealership into their INTERNET DEPARTMENT! You Must WATCH THIS VIDEO!
We surely are having fun @ the Internet Sales 20 Group workshop!
http://www.internetsales20group.com
Internet Sales 20 Group, November 8th 2010 - Mid Day Recap - Automotive Internet Sales - Sean V. Bradley
This morning was VERY exciting! We have dealerships from all over the country in attendance as well as a diverse group. Most of the attendees are executive management (Dealer Principals, GMs etc...). We also have a Video Production and Photography team. We are going to create a TON of content that we can post to this site as well as provide to the attendees to reference back. This is going to be a POWER PACKED 3 day workshop with a ton of valuable information...
We first introduced the group to each other... discussed their internet operations as well as identified their individual goals for attending this Internet Sales 20 Group. I also asked what challenges are they experiencing at their dealerships / departments... After we collected all problems, questions and issues. I went one by one and addressed each and every issue. Gave action plans, advice and direction.
We also went over metrics, statistics and benchmarks.
*** We also as a group came up with the 20 Group composite / data metrics we are going to follow and analyze in this group.
It was truly awesome to moderate this group... I am learning as much as I am educating.
After everyone comes back from lunch we are going to do some break out sessions as well as some Mystery Shopping Calls, Some ILM / CRM disecting and investigations...
Then later on tonight we are having a VIP Dinner... all of the 20 Group will get together and network and socialize with each other.
Internet Sales 20 Group-
Here is an email from Whitney, the Internet Director for Willis GM...
The Willis Automotive Internet Department worked very hard all through October, ending up with 46 deliveries!!! Our best month ever so far!!! Mr. Bill Willis made a deal with the Internet Department that if we sold more than 40 in the month of October he, and Mrs. Mary Jane Willis, would fix and serve our department a fresh salad, a big baked potato, and a big filet mignon! Today--- we were served an awesome lunch (salad, baked potato, wonderful filet mignon, rolls, and warm pecan pie) with outstanding table side service!!!Now.... just to keep everyone awake for the rest of the day ;)
Whitney-
