Time and time again businesses struggle to figure out why their Social Media platforms are not performing as well as anticipated. More often than not it's because businesses go through their marketing efforts on social media with no strategy. In this week's podcast Brittany and Chris cover the basic strategies of Social Media PLUS an INSIDER TIP!  Take a look at this weeks Podcast for more information on how to “Kick start your social media campaign”

Podcast - Kickstarting Your Social Media

You can read the original article here - http://ow.ly/ydvvN

It's come to our attention that a member of the automotive industry needs our help.  Dealer Synergy donated yesterday, now it's your turn to help Joshua Campbell and his family! Read more here - Give Forward

http://www.dealersynergy.com 856-546-2440 

Sean V. Bradley, CSP Gets Signed To Wiley Publishing House For His First Book Deal! 

http://www.dealersynergy.com/ 856-546-2440

CEO of Dealer Synergy Sean Bradley hosts "Make Money Mondays" on Average Compensation Per Copy (ACPC) in car sales.

CEO of Dealer Synergy Sean Bradley does a Make Money Mondays segment every Monday providing excellent tips for people in the automotive industry to make money. Each week is a different topic. This week he discusses average compensation per copy (ACPC), or the amount of money a car salesperson makes on average on each car they sell. Sean offers a strategy for calculating ACPC, comparing your ACPC to the ACPC of the best and worst salespeople at your dealership, and how to prioritize your car sales strategy to maximize ACPC. He also advises that managers calculate ACPC for their dealership and establish minimum standards for ACPC performance.

Get more motivation and personal improvement tips on the Make Money Mondays site: http://www.makemoneymondays.net/

Attend the automotive industry's most popular workshop in Boston September 22nd-24th for more information on these topics. Sign up today: http://internetsales20group.com/

Are you interested in automotive services from Dealer Synergy? It is located in Audobon, New Jersey but serves clients all over the U.S: http://ow.ly/xrSUg

4 out of 10 of this type of lead might be going to waste. There is a specific reason for this, and it can be corrected by re-evaluating some of the current processes that you have in place.

Thanks to the dealers and dealership staff that have voted for us, we won a Dealer Choice Award for Internet Training Provider!  Look for us in the August 2014 edition of Auto Dealer Monthly magazine!

(by Kevin Bradberry (President/CEO) TK Worldwide)

Two of the hottest topics in the auto industry this year are online reputation and recruiting. Hiring the wrong recruiting company can ruin your dealership’s reputation and cost you BIG!

There are several different ways to go about recruiting talent for your dealership, but the most effective way, aside from strong grass- roots efforts, is to outsource it to an expert recruiting company. That being said — buyer beware.

When dealers start shopping around, they quickly learn they have options, but just like a customer looking to buy a car but unfamiliar with the ways of our industry, if you don’t do your research you could end up in a bad situation. Just as there are good dealers and bad dealers, there are good recruiting companies and bad recruiting companies. Most play by the rules, but others play Russian Roulette with your dealership’s dollars and reputation. Here is a short video showing what happened to this dealership when....

THE FACTS
Let’s start with companies who charge applicants. If you tell applicants in the advertisement that you are going to charge them an exorbitant fee that has no guarantee of a refund, or even a job for that matter, the applicants won’t show up for the interview. If you DON'T disclose the fee in the ad, you’re committing deceptive advertising practices which may ultimately be proven fraudulent with punitive
repercussions aimed directly at the dealership.

Because most recruiting companies who charge applicants use the dealer’s logo, this gives them freedom to make mistakes on your dime. Ask any sales manager who has used this type of company and they’ll have a horror story or two.

Also, the recruiter only gets paid if applicants attend the training, so they will put anyone in the class who shows up for an interview if they have the money. The trainer discourages high- quality applicants, just in case the applicant interferes with the class on the third day when the fee is brought up again; It’s possible they could create a “walk out” by exposing the lack of guarantees and orchestrated trickery.
The dealer’s real troubles, however, begin after they make their hiring decision. The dealer may let the recruiting company know that they only want to hire four, but the trainer/recruiter may have 15 or 20 in the class all week long right through until Friday. After the dealership hires the applicants they want, the others are left with a sense of rejection and told they won’t get their money back, but can call an 800 number for “job placement.” Most of the “job placement” people are simply minimum-wage workers who have no job placement experience. They are simply told to call the dealerships in the area and see if they can get the applicants some interviews.
In many cases, the trainer/recruiters are not properly trained themselves and don’t understand legal interview questions. There are many new interview do’s and don’ts. Improperly trained recruiters can create additional risks for you because, in this day and age, the applicants know more about what someone can and cannot ask you than they ever have before. Rejected applicants will often point their wrath directly at the dealership in the form of BBB complaints, “Rip Off ” reports, attorney general investigations, EEOC complaints and any other form of reputation bashing the justifiably angry job seeker can get their hands on.

a better way
There is a better way to recruit the best talent in the industry: through companies who don’t hide in the shadows looking to make a quick buck off a desperate job seeker. Before you hire a recruiting company, there are 13 things you should know. Answers to these simple questions should protect your dealership from harm.

1. Is the recruiting company willing to sign a supplemental agreement releasing the dealership from all potential liabilities in the event of an unforeseen issue?
2. Does the company have any programs where they charge applicants? If so, walk away
3. When they advertise, are they telling the applicants there are no hiring or training fees?
4. Are they properly licensed and insured? If not, walk away.
5. Do they have a state and or national reference list?
6. Do they offer any replacement guarantees on the candidates you hire from them?
7. Do they offer objective guarantees that the service you pay for will be delivered fully?
8. In their ads, do they mention they are a third-party company retained by the dealership, with proper links to their Website and a phone number to their office?
9. Do they allow the dealership management to interview the candidates before the candidates are trained by the recruiter? If no, walk away.
10. Do they staff for all positions in your dealership?
11. Are there any factory programs available, or are they highlighted by any OEM which may include special pricing for your dealership franchise?
12. Have they ever gotten a dealership sued, or been sued themselves for advertising practices, or preying on jobless candidates?
13. Is there any bad press on the company online that has not been properly addressed by the recruiting company’s executive management?

For a free supplemental agreement releasing the dealership from any and all liability issues when using a recruiting company, which you can use with any recruiting company you choose to use, you can e-mail me at the address below with “Free Supplemental Agreement Request” in the subject line. In addition, you will be provided with a list of free “Interview Do’s and Don’ts” to keep your managers from getting you sued. Good selling!

Copyright 2014 All Right Reserved Authored by Kevin Bradberry

Kevin Bradberry is president and CEO of TK Worldwide, Inc. He can be contacted at 888-350-3310 or emailed at kbradberry@tkworldwide.com

These simple questions and answers will help you see the light!

Q: How much traffic does craigslist get?
A: More than 50 billion page views per month

Q: How many people use craigslist?
A: More than 60 million each month in the US alone

Q: What languages does craigslist support?
A: Catalan, Danish, Dutch, English, Filipino, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portugese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish

Q: How many classified ads does craigslist receive?
A: craigslist users post well over 80 million classified ads each month (including re-posts and renewals)

Q: How many job listings does craigslist receive?
A: More than 1 million new job listings each month

Q: What about craigslist discussion forums?
A: More than 200 million user postings in 100 topical forums

This is what I'm hearing from my dealer clients..."I have no desire to get buried in the CL abyss. In fact I've tried it already and was inundated with unqualified applicants! By the time I sorted them, the only ones worth pursuing were gone!" and to top it all off, 200 applicants later, I ended up hiring only one and he stayed for less than 30 days so NO THANKS!"

Well, if this happened to you HERE'S YOUR FIX!

It's quite simple. You've already gotten it half right. The other half will weed out hundreds of unqualified applicants and provide you with a nice clean group of much better quality candidates for any position in your dealership. 

Here are the steps you need to take to get the most out of CL:

Get your craig's list posting up and running, but add a very simple step the application process.

Buy ONE job posting from a major job board like Monster, or you can sign up withwww.dealershipexperts.com and post as many free postings you want. We will even sell you a high end job posting for under 400 bucks and write all your content and set everything up for you. This posting can now be used as a LANDING PAGE. Call me and I'll explain it in more detail if you like. 

Once you have a landing page, or a place for candidates to LAND you post your CL posting and place inside the posting a link that will drive them to the landing page with instructions if they want to officially apply for the job they MUST follow the link. 

Once they get to the link , simply add  some KNOCK OUT QUESTIONS (call me and I'll explain these more if you like and even give you some sample KO questions we use) This will FORCE the lower quality applicants out of the system because they will either have to lie, or stop answering the questions. If they don't complete the knock out questions you never have to look at their resume. This also eliminates those pesky blind applies!

We can create your landing pages for you free of charge and set everything up so you don't have to. You can simply sit back and enjoy the high quality applicants flowing into your dealership.

If you have any questions about this article, please feel free to call my office at 888-350-3310, or email me at kbradberry@tkworldwide.com. You can also visit us at http://tkworldwide.com

Copyright 2014 All rights reserved. Authored by Kevin Bradberry  (President/CEO) of TK Worldwide, Inc. any reproduction of this material must be requested in writing and approved in writing by an authorized representative of TK Worldwide, Inc.

The Perfect Job Search Solution For You and The Perfect Recruiting Tool For Dealers Has Just Arrived

With confident humility I proclaim that there is no one better when it comes to helping dealers find the best talent to work for their dealerships. BUT, what about when the talent contacts me and asks if I can find a great dealership for them to work for? Deer in the headlights? "Sure, I'll keep an eye out for you?" After over 14 years assisting our over 4,000 dealership clients with hiring the brightest and the best in the industry the feeling that I was leaving some of my fellow automotive retail warriors behind enemy lines in the job search war was becoming more and more prevalent each day.  It has been especially difficult because I've come to know and respect thousands of good men and women across the country who share my passion for the automotive industry.

In that time many of you have asked me if I could help you find a great job when you were in transition. In the future many more of you will be calling me for that same thing. It's just the way it's been and the way it will be. When I was able to help you, some opportunities were homeruns and some, not so much, but I always had the best of intentions. My dealer clients know that if I serve up a candidate they would be wise to jump on them asap. For if I recommend them as a personal referral my reputation is on the line and I will always make sure my referrals are good to go! I learned that lesson long ago the hard way. And when my clients go from customers to 'fuss'tomers it's time for me to rethink the way I do business.

As the president of TK Worldwide I spend countless hours problem solving for my customers and taking my solutions to market, but until now I had no REAL solution to help ALL of you. I was mainly only helping the dealer, and not the lone man or woman either stuck in the wrong job, or injured and jobless on the battlefield. We needed a solution, and when we couldn't find one we MADE one. We took the perfect technology and married it to the highest horsepower recruiting company in the nation. Here is what has been broken in the recruiting world for both the job seeker and the hiring manager and here, after all these years is how we've fixed it. 

One thing that was truly lacking was a place for YOU to have access to all the really good dealership job listings before they flew around the country and every tom, dick, and harry threw their name in the hat and watered down the opportunity. There's nothing more frustrating than getting buried under hundreds of desperate job seekers, most of whom are blind applies and don't even know what job they've applied for. Now it's up to the dealership to sort through all these unqualified resumes. This basically reduces the hiring manager down to a cold caller: Calling disengaged half hearted job seekers who end up screening YOU when you call because they applied for 100 other jobs that day. What good does it do you to have your resume floating somewhere out there in the internet abyss with millions just like it? You can't find them, and they can't find you.

So, the first question is, "how do we make YOUR RESUME JUMP OFF THE PAGE?" Enter "Smart Resume®!" Smart Resume® is an automated career updater that tracks your tenure throughout your career including your current position held so you NEVER have to build a resume again. "Smart Resume®" does two things: It puts your resume at the top of the list and right in front of the dealership AS SOON AS THEY POST THE JOB and it send you reminders to update your status so dealers know you're seriously looking. So, in effect the hiring manager knows right away that you're available for an interview and that you are a viable, real candidate and are actively seeking gainful employment. It keeps your resume at the top of the list much like SEM (Search Engine Marketing) does.

In addition, it allows you to apply for multiple automotive specific jobs simultaneously. For example, let's say you were in F&I for 10 years, but are now a GM. You can apply for GM, GSM, and F&I Director positions simultaneously and everything else that matches your skill set. You can even list all the makes of vehicles you're are most familiar with. Plus, your resume will be displayed to the perspective employer according to your skill set. Dealers can seek out applicants by specific job skills, multiple job skills, or combination of any desired skills the dealer may be in need of. So on this platform, you can now customize your application based specifically on YOUR skill set. From a cost stand point, you can't beat FREE. You can post your resume on the sight for no charge and will never be charged. PERIOD.

EMPLOYER?

If you're on the other side of the desk and are seeking high quality applicants this process makes it easy and fast for you to find the candidates you're looking for and with all the right qualifications as well. Plus, you can FINALLY post as many job postings as you want ANYWHERE in the country as many times as you want and for no cost to your dealership for those postings! This makes our platform HIGHLY ATTRACTIVE to large, medium, small, or single point stores because the job boards can be managed by either a central HR person, regional HR person, or local dealership managers.

Tracking the applicants is very simple and easy to do and learn, and you can have as many users as your dealership needs. So, in essence, every department head can be a user and can post as many jobs as he or she wants, and can do so ANYWHERE in the country. It is the ultimate ATS (applicant tracking system) and Job Requisition launch pad.

We've committed the past 14 plus years to solving our dealer's recruiting challenges. In that time we've learned lessons the hard way through trial and error and we've worked on problems until we owned the solution with perfection and originality. We are committed to go the distance with you and provide you another unique and highly effective recruiting, job search, and applicant tracking system. We've finally got a total package to assist both sides, the job seeker, and the employer. Today, we've blazed a trail across a new frontier paving the way for our clients and job seekers to enjoy the solutions and the fruits of our labor. These frustrations job seekers and business owners have had can now be a thing of the past if you join me here today. http://www.dealershipexperts.com Owned by TK Worldwide, Inc.

We are in the ramp up process with over 30,000 applicants and 900 dealers already on the site so get in quick and get noticed right away. There are extremely valuable perks to getting signed up within six months of our press release.  I will be contacting my 4,000 dealers and doing a press release in the next 30 days. There are some logo changes going on, but the system works perfectly and is currently being used both dealers, dealer groups, and applicants. The press release will explain more, but I just wanted to get you in the know a soon as possible. Thank you

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at 888-350-3310 or you can email me at kbradberry@tkworldwide.com

©TK Worldwide, Inc. Authored by Kevin Bradberry (President/CEO) All Rights Reserved.

People think social media is super easy, and it is when you are using it for fun.  It's a totally different game when you're using it for business, things get more complex and the outcome is far more important. The object of social media will always be to drive traffic, not to drive sales (although it should be noted that traffic turns into sales!) To drive traffic you need to get engagement, and the easiest way to get engagement is to use buzz words! Buzz words help force engagement, and like you probably guessed, every social media platform has it's own set of buzz words! Take a listen to our Podcast to get some insight into which words you should be using in your posts!  We cover a lot, and if you are curious for more information definitely click the link to check out the original article! As always, feel free to comment things you would like to hear about next and of course enjoy!

PODCAST - Using Buzz Words

You can read the original article here - Words That Get Shared

The good ol’ conversion on dealer websites has gotten complicated over the years. Traffic is up. Leads are down. What’s happening? Should we believe the gurus who say that today’s consumers are simply less likely to contact dealers before coming in? Perhaps, but there has to be more to it than that.

One possible explanation is that dealer websites aren’t giving visitors a reason to fill out forms. Buying is, of course, a cycle, and there’s a good chance that some time in the past your website visitors today had visited websites the last couple of times they were buying vehicles. Many of them learned the hard way that a “Quick Quote” form didn’t deliver a quick quote, that a “30-Second Credit Application” didn’t yield a result in less than 30 seconds, and that filling out one form on a third party site got them put onto some list that get them calls from several different dealerships and other companies hounding them over everything but the car they wanted to buy.

In many ways, our industry lost the trust of the consumer over the last decade. Today, they’re less likely to fill out forms without a reason.

Automark Solutions and their products give consumers reasons to fill out forms and contact the dealership before coming in. They do this through a focus on customer interaction and data integration that the majority of website providers miss. For example, the data is available for dealers and their website vendors to encourage people interested in leasing to be able to get information quickly, but Automark’s “Instant Lease Quote” feature is the only one we know of that takes advantage of this information and puts it front and center for website visitors to consider.

They also get innovative. That’s one of the keys to being a Top Tier Automotive Partner, and Automark delivers. With interesting and unique concepts such as an ever-updating “Daily Deals” feature to contests that can encourage people to fill out forms such as “Drive Payment Free for a Year”, they deliver more than fancy buttons or data integration. They give people the reason to fill out forms that most dealer websites are missing.

Fewer people are filling out lead forms. The reason isn’t important. What’s important is that collecting contact information empowers aggressive dealers to be able to get a leg-up on their competitors. A customer might find five vehicles from four different dealers that they intend to visit but they might not fill out a form on any of them. Through Automark, your dealership can be the only one they actually contact because you give them a reason to contact you. Then, given first shot, you have an opportunity that you probably wouldn’t have had before.

As a company, Automark is continuously working for more. Some of the things they have currently in development or on their product roadmap were intriguing to the point that I really wish we could post about it here. The technology behind their widgets is a strong base through which they’ll be able to continuously add more innovations.

Dealer Authority likes Automark Solutions.

http://dealerauthority.com/top-tier-automotive-partners/dealer-website-enhancements/automark-solutions/

* Disclaimer – These findings are based upon two criteria: research into the product sets during and after a presentation by the company and interviews with dealers using the service. We do not “pitch” these products or go into specifics because we encourage our clients to do as much of their own research as possible. It also allows us to make choices based upon current product sets without the need to be informed of changes. As of the date of this post, the product is something that we recommend without compensation or referral incentives, but as with everything on the internet, products change. Please be sure to contact the company and inquire about current services as the information in this post may be out of date.

SHOULD I BE USING MULTIPLE YOUTUBE CHANNELS? HOW TO DOMINATE VIDEO SEO FOR YOUR DEALERSHIP

Sean V. Bradley, CEO of Dealer Synergy, hosted a great workshop about using online videos to improve your marketing campaigns. In this video, he answers the question of whether or not you should use multiple YouTube channels. 

Sean Bradley on Having Multiple YouTube Channels from PERQ on Vimeo.

Use Different Video Engines for Your Dealership

The first thing Sean recommends is not using multiple YouTube channels. Instead, he recommends using multiple video engines, like Metacafe, Vimeo, or any other video website to diversify your video platforms. He emphasizes the point that if you’re going to utilize YouTube for your videos, you should only have one channel. By having only one YouTube channel, and consistently uploading relevant videos, you will label yourself as a valuable contributor to the video platform.

Only One YouTube Channel

The old adage, “More is better,” certainly does not apply to online video marketing. It would be easy to think that by having multiple channels you will reach more consumers and make more money, but that simply isn’t true. Instead, focus on developing a single channel that’s valuable and appealing to consumers. The more videos you upload to that one channel and the more views those videos receive, the more the overall value of your channel will increase.

Be Relevant

The best way to be impactful with your YouTube channel is to be relevant. Don’t spam the Internet with useless videos—make videos that appeal to your consumers. As with a blog, if you intend to use YouTube for your marketing campaign, you need to be consistent. Upload videos that interest consumers on a regular basis. Also, try to get as many views and as many subscribers as possible. If your videos are relevant to your consumers, you won’t need to spend outrageous amounts of money making or advertising the video.

Check out this blog about how top 100 brands use YouTube for marketing.

To learn more about Sean and Dealer Synergy, check out his website or his YouTube channel. For more tips and tricks from the best and brightest in the auto industry, download our ultimate recap of NADA 2014 here.

Find Out About The Strategies That Led To It's Success

In Part 1 of a two-part series: Learn about the processes implemented to increase profits in service, parts, and sales.

Find out how your dealership can increase its profits using the same strategies that made this dealership the most profitable in its market.

People are spending more and more time on the internet, most people are "connected" over 65% of their day, almost 100% of their day if you count having a cellphone in your pocket as being connected.  However, what you might not be aware of is just how much of the internet's focus is shifting towards digital video content. If someone were to produce digital video content, wouldn't they want it to be accessible 100% of the time? This is why the latest trend in digital video content is the optimization for mobile devices. The average person consumes just under an hour of video daily and over 50% (33 minutes) of this video is spent on Mobile. While 33 minutes may not seem like a lot of time in someones day, you have to take into consideration the number of people that are in the U.S. To give you a little perspective on how much video is consumed daily we need to multiply the US Population (2.1 million) by the average number of minute watched per person (33) and we know that daily in just the US 69,300,000 minutes of video are consumed. 

Before you make the jump to invest in video production, it's important to keep in mind that most of the mobile consumption is done by the millennials!  So make sure you're targeting your efforts to their demographic needs and wants. Are you watching digital content or using it for your business? Let us know your thoughts.

For the entire report check out the source of this article here -  Video Content Roundup

http://www.internetsales20group.com 856-546-2440

SIGN UP NOW - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/internet-sales-20-group-is20g-boston-ma-tickets-11285560415

Special Toyota OEM Deal For Toyota Dealers In The Boston Region for Internet Sales 20 Group 6

The Internet Sales 20 Group 6 in Boston is going to be the biggest and most powerful, both the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association as well as Toyota OEM are partners in this event. Toyota OEM sees tremendous value in the curriculum to the point they just got approval from corporate to make the 3 day workshop accredited and eligible for Toyota Certification!

If you have any questions, please call Sean V. Bradley at 267-319-6776

If you are in the Greater New York Region, you do NOT want to miss this workshop from the GNYADA, taught by Sean V. Bradley "How To Sell 30+ Units & Make Over $125,000 Per Year".