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

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on January 27, 2011 at 1:00am

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Great Video on seo meta tags, search engine optimization, seo optimization, seo services, seo tools (Conversational Marketing / Cool Site Of The Day)

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on January 24, 2011 at 10:19am
http://www.dealersynergy.com Great Video on seo meta tags, search engine optimization, seo optimization, seo services, seo tools (Conversational Marketing / Cool Site Of The Day)
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Sean V. Bradley with Gene Hilston, the Business Development Center (BDC) Director of John Hinderer Honda based out of Ohio

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on January 18, 2011 at 10:30pm

http://www.dealersynergy.com

 

I am telling you all that this dealership... John Hinderer Honda is AMAZING. Look at this dealership!! They have a GREAT team. Lets wish them luck and assist them anyway we can in growing their department.

 

SVB-

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I just want to welcome all of our new members to Automotive Internet Sales and ask for a SMALL Favor PLEASE...

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on January 12, 2011 at 12:05pm

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-

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Video of Sean V. Bradley training an Internet Department on Objections, Expectations, Rebuttals and WHY...

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on December 20, 2010 at 4:30pm
http://www.dealersynergy.com Here is an article that I wrote years ago and it was re-published by numerous National Automotive Sales Magazines & Newsletters... Mastering Objections, Expectations and Rebuttals by Sean Bradley, CEO and Founder of Dealer Synergy We all have had customers voice objections such as “No,” “What’s your best price?” “You are too far away,” “Is it on your lot?” and countless other variations. Over the years, we’ll all developed our own ways of handling those objections. Let me share a few of mine. First, let’s take a look at the top five reasons why Internet prospects are utilizing the Internet: Availability Price Convenience It’s a different way to do business, i.e., they don’t like car salesmen Research I have two rebuttals for each of these points, but before I do that I want to drill home the significance of the proactive approach rather than the “reactive” approach. Properly trained, you can overcome objections. However, I’d rather deal with expectations than objections. An expectation is exactly what it sounds like… something that a prospect is expecting. For example, what if you were making a follow-up call with your Internet prospect and after you went through the greeting phase of the call you transitioned with a qualifying question… “Mr. Customer, quick question for you, have you ever purchased a vehicle online before?” … “No?” “OK… What were you looking to accomplish by going online?” Notice that I don’t wait for the prospect to blurt out in the beginning of the call, “What’s your best price” or “Do you have that in stock right now?” Instead, I take the proactive approach and ask him early in the conversation, “What were you looking to accomplish by going online?” Because I already know he is going to respond with one of the five top reasons, I’m already prepared with my response. For example, when I asked my qualifying question, Mr. Customer might respond… “Well, Sean, I was looking for the best price, of course.” My rebuttal could be something like, “Mr. Customer, if I wasn’t able to get you the absolute best deal I would never expect you to buy a car from us…OK?” They usually respond “OK.” With that said, I counter with, “Mr. Customer, what else is important to you in regard to purchasing your next vehicle?” Note that I am in control of this conversation and am leading the prospect down the phone sales path to the goal of the appointment (that is Covey’s second habit…start with the end in mind). In sales we all aspire to the level of exceeding a customer’s expectations. The truth is though that we can never truly exceed a person’s expectation unless we first know what those expectations are. The easiest way to find that out is to simply ask… “What were you looking to accomplish by going online?” The other reason why we don’t just take the first response to that qualifying question is because it might only be a surface response. For example, it might seem like everyone is using the Internet just to shop price. That is so far from the case. Industry stats show that only 18%-20% of Internet shoppers are motivated solely by price. What does that tell you? All of those Internet customers that ask you what the price is… they actually have other wants and desires besides the price. Your job is to discover what those are. So, you should respond with a feel/felt/found rebuttal like: “Mr. Customer, I feel exactly as you do. Price is important to me too. As a matter of fact, most people feel the same way. That is why they are going online… to find the best price… and do you know what they have found? They found that by going to ABC Motors not only are they going to get the best price… they are also going to having an amazing experience in the process.” You might be saying, “Wow, that is way too much for me to remember.” You don’t have to remember all the words, just the concept. From there, it’s simply a matter of putting it in your own words. I am going to now give you two rebuttals for the remaining four top Internet expectations: Availability “Mr. Customer, that vehicle is definitely available. Now that you know you can have it immediately, what other factors are important to you in purchasing your next vehicle?”(If it is in allocation, you can get it through a dealer locate/swap or if you can order it from the manufacturer, it’s available.) **Over 80 percent of Internet prospects wind up purchasing something other than what they requested through an online initiative. Either they are upside down on the trade, can’t afford the vehicle, can’t afford the down payment or monthly payments or simply because the vehicle wasn’t available. So the idea is not to fight them over the phone. Let me be crystal clear, I am not saying to lie and say it is in stock or it’s available when there is no way you can secure the vehicle. I am saying if you can secure the vehicle, then it is available. “We are one of the largest Ford dealerships in the state of Florida; inventory is never an issue here. So what else is important to you in purchasing your next vehicle?” Convenience “Mr. Customer, we make it easier than ever for our clients to purchase a vehicle. We have two options for our online shopper. Option 1: We can offer free delivery to your home or office. Option 2: We can schedule what is called an expedited delivery process that means we handle most of the paperwork over the phone, schedule a time for you to come in for a final inspection, then move you quickly through our finance department. So, besides convenience, what else is important to you in purchasing your next vehicle?” Feel/Felt/Found: “Mr. Customer, I feel the same way you do. My time is important to me. As a matter of fact, most people feel the same way we do, which is why they are using the Internet to make it easier to purchase a vehicle. And they have found that by going onto ABC Motors.com not only are they going to have a no-hassle, easy experience, they are also going to get a great deal too. So, aside from convenience, what else is important to you in purchasing your next vehicle?” Research “Mr. Customer, an educated customer like yourself makes my job a lot easier. What else is important to you in purchasing your next vehicle?” “Congratulations, your research led you to us. Now, what else is important to you in purchasing your next vehicle?” Hate car salesmen/looking for a different way to do business: “Mr. Customer, it sounds like you had a bad experience before.” You want to be empathetic with the prospect. Remember, if you can get the prospect to like you, trust you, and believe you, he will buy from you. Find out what happened that left him with a bad taste in his mouth and then assure him that is not how you conduct business. Make him understand that you and your dealership are an integrity-based operation. “Mr. Customer, I can appreciate what you are saying but let me say this… there are good priests out there, there are bad priests out there. There are good police out there, and there are bad police out there. Unfortunately, there are less than professional car salesman out there, but you are now dealing with an automotive professional and I assure you that we (ABC Motors) run an integrity-based operation here.” Transition both rebuttals with… “With that said, what else is important to you in purchasing your next vehicle?” I would suggest that you call an Internet sales meeting or if you are a small Internet department, get the floor involved and start to brainstorm. Think of the various objections and expectations that come to you on a daily basis. After you have outlined your top five or 10 expectations, go around the room and everyone should contribute one to two rebuttals for each of the expectations/ objections. After you have a list of 30 to 40, vote on the top three to four rebuttals for each of the expectations/rebuttals. That will be your final word track list. So, if you have the top five expectations and I gave you two for each, if you come up with two more on your own then you will have a total of four per expectation. That is 20 word tracks in your arsenal. Now you need to train and drill them over and over until they are reflex and memory. You tell me how much more effective you would be on the phones if you first knew exactly what to say and when to say it. You would be on your way to becoming a phone Ninja. Sean V. Bradley
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Interview with Whitney Willis Snow - Internet Director of Willis GM & Winner of AIS's "Dealership of the Month" Award December 2010

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on December 1, 2010 at 2:29pm

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!

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Congratulations to Willis Automotive, located in Delaware for WINNING the "BEST Dealership Testimonial" Contest!!!

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on November 29, 2010 at 4:00pm

http://www.internetsales20group.com

http://www.willissmyrna.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.dealersyenrgy.com

http://www.facebook.com/seanvbradley

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Basil Resale Centers Utilize the FREE Joomla! Platform For Their MAIN Dealership Website!!! No contracts, No CRAZY Monthly Fees and they OWN Their OWN Website...

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on November 22, 2010 at 12:55pm
http://www.basilresale.com/
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-
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Automotive Internet Sales is GIVING AWAY FREE CASH MONEY... $300 (Out of our own pockets...) I have a CONTEST That I put together for you all!!

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on November 18, 2010 at 4:00pm

http://www.internetsales20group.com

Automotive Internet Sales is GIVING AWAY FREE CASH MONEY... $300 (Out of our own pockets...) I have a CONTEST That I put together for you all!!

Contest Details -

We are looking for the BEST Customer Testimoniasl from your Dealership(s)!

Contest Rules -

You NEED to upload Customer Testimonials to www.automotiveinternetsales.com (This Site :) AIS is looking for The Best Video... that doesn't simply mean the most expensive... It means we are looking for POWERFUL Testimonial videos that will actually influence people into wanting to vist / purchase from your particular dealership versus the competition.

AIS wants to see the diffferent types of Video Testimonials that you get... Are they for New Cars? Used Cars? Finance / Special Finance? Service / Body Shop etc... Female Buyers... etc...

AIS is looking for creativity and CONTENT!!

Contest Reason / Goals -

Here at AIS, we believe that VIDEO is SOOOO Important & We also believe that having AWESOME Prospect / Client testimonials that you can use in your marketing initiatives, your website(s), your email teamplates, your online reputation management strategy as well as SOCIAL MEDIA... Can seriously give you a competitive edge in your market. We decided to offer a $300 CASH contest to whoever uploads the "Best" Dealership Testimonial video to AIS. This is a GREAT way for us to teach & learn from each other in this community.

Contest Time (Start / End) -

Contest has officially started and it will officially END November 23rd 2010

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