Confessions Of An Ex-Cars.com Employee - "Cars.com Takes Dealers' Money & Then Slams Them Behind Their Back"

As a former cars.com employee, here are three of the Santa Monica sites (not sure if they have more now). NOTE: The Santa Monica sites used to power the NewLeadsPlus pay-per-lead program but I'm not sure if they feed the numbers into the Cars.com numbers now when they report leads or VDPs. I was told by a Cars.com employee at one point, that they included the numbers from these sites in their new car lead reporting numbers which brings me to the point I have always said:

Advertisers who say "we aren't about leads" are being condescending to Dealers. EVERY AD is designed for one thing if I am giving you money: To give me more customers to speak to so I can try to sell them. Whether you call those customers "customers" or "opportunities", at the end of the day these are leads. Advertisers stopped focusing on leads and started focusing on VDPs when their lead volumes went in the toilet.

Here are excerpts from the 3 Santa Monica Sites so that Dealers can see for themselves how they are portrayed to the consumer...a.k.a. the potential lead. (Wonder why consumers think ill of Dealers in spite of all the hard work Dealers have done to improve their reputations? Maybe it's because the people you are paying encourage that thought process so that the consumer will trust them before trusting you!) Don't believe it? Read on.

www.whypaysticker.com

(NOTE THE LOOK OF THE EVIL SALESMAN)

Excerpts from the landing page:

The old fashioned way (basically, this is their representation of the Dealer experience)

1. You can't leave. You're pressured to buy the car today, without the chance to comparison shop.

2. Endless negotiation. You're stuck for hours going head-to-head with a salesman.

3. You're overwhelmed by numbers. APRs, fees, payment schedules—you have to sign right away and there's no time to think.

Your inventory is powering this site from the place that supposedly treats you as important. Really? How can anyone do this in good conscience!

www.carpricesecrets.com

Site excerpts

1. "Did you know every New Car has a secret price?"

2. "It's the price you'll never see published in the paper."

3. "Discover the dealer's secret price."

It get's better in the description area when you scroll down:

"Most dealers work hard to offer the public competitive prices. These incentives can grab your attention, but they can also obscure the actual terms you're getting on your purchase."

"Your current car's value can be used to lower the price on your new car. However, most people underestimate their used car's value when going to a dealership. How can you maximize your value?"

They start with many sentences that sound dealer friendly and then WHACH...they remind the customer that even though many dealers are nice, they could get screwed over by some so better just submit a lead because you can't really know which dealers are trustworthy. Read it yourself gang, don't just take my word for it.

Does that sound like the type of actions taken by a site advocating or even supporting dealers? NO - and your inventory is used to power this site too!

www.newcars.com

This is the only site that actually bears the Cars.com branding and doesn't appear to have anti-dealer language. Interesting that they only put their branding on the site that doesn't make the dealer look like a crook. I wonder why?

The real question is how many of these non-dealer friendly sites are they powering with YOUR INVENTORY? And of their 'partners' like Autotegrity.com, how many partners does Autotegrity share your inventory with...and how many do their partners share with...etc?

Source:

http://www.dealerelite.net/profiles/blogs/double-cross-or-not-a-double-cross?commentId=5283893%3AComment%3A368386&xg_source=msg_com_blogpost

Many of you out there are standing around the dealership waiting, hoping and praying for a customer to pull up on the lot. The average closing rate of a first time visitor is 13-15%. OUCH! That is a tough way to make a living. The good news is that in your service department, at this VERY MOMENT, are more customers that you will probably see ALL WEEK. Pick out one with a 06-10 model, tell them you have a buyer interested in it, and then ask them the magic question: "If I could put you in a newer vehicle for about the same price, would you be interested?" If they say they own it outright, then ask them "If I could get you more today than it's worth, would that excite you? Not only that, but any customer who takes you up on the offer will close at 50% and the gross will be HUGE because all they really care about is the payment. I have a full time salesperson in the Service Drive who averages 12-15 cars per month and is killing it in gross. How many of you are doing that?

The great news is that your Service Drive has customers every single day. You just need to reprogram your mind to understand that an "up" is just really anyone you talk to, but especially those who are driving 06-10 models. When you realize this, you will start to see "ups" everywhere you go. The next time you go to the gas station, see how many potential trades there are getting gas, and if you have the guts, you can take as many "ups" as you want. And since sales is and always will be a numbers game, you can be at the top of the leaderboard in no time!

So the next time you hear yourself saying "it's slow", take a walk back to your service drive, or a trip to the gas station, and you will never say it's slow again!

If I can answer any questions about how to maximize the Service Drive, just drop me a note and I'll do my best to help.

Get Connected!

This is a rant so I’m going to keep it short and not so sweet. There’s a trend in the automotive industry towards putting out really, really bad webinars. It hits really close to home because I absolutely love them, have been doing them for three years now, and get really annoyed when other professionals in the industry use them as pitch sessions.

In essence, it’s giving one of the most important components of pushing the automotive industry forward a bad name.

Let’s go back a few years. There was a time when many would consider the automotive industry to be behind the times when it came to internet marketing. Things have changed in the last several years and now there are shining examples at every level, from individual salesperson all the way up to the OEMs, where ours is an industry of trendsetters instead of being behind on the times.

I believe that webinars have played an extremely important role in this change and I’m proud to have been a part of it. However, I’ve been listening to some webinars lately that are really light on the educational components and heavy on the pitch. This needs to stop.

Here’s how a webinar should work. A company should pick out an important topic in which they have an expertise. They craft a webinar and use the opening to tell the audience who they are. This should be short – no need for 3-5 minutes (or more in some cases) of “here’s what I do for dealers” or “here’s what we’re selling today.” Then, the education begins. At the end of the webinar or even some time in the middle, ask if there are those in the audience who would like to learn more about your services. Again, make this quick – 1 minute max.

The concept is this – webinars should be 95% educational. We know why we do them. The intention is to stir up business. However, it’s not designed to be a pitch, at least it shouldn’t be. A peer once told me that he educates because he believes that 50% will do nothing with the information, 25% will do it themselves, and 25% will ask for help. If you go through and show dealers how they can help themselves, they’ll have a choice. Give them an opportunity to make the choice. If they choose to inquire about your services, that’s great! If not and they take the information you give them to make their dealership better on its own, that’s great, too!

Education at every level, whether it’s webinars, speaking at conferences, writing blog posts, putting out white papers, or whatever you do to educate the automotive industry, it should be with the understanding that you’re establishing yourself and your company as willing to help and possessing the skills to make a difference. If they want a pitch, they can ask for one.

Here’s the thing: if you’re doing your educating right, there will be people inquiring about your services. If you force them to waste their time listening to a pitch when they came to be educated, you’re not helping the industry, the dealers, or yourself.

Sorry for the rant. I don’t do it often, but when I do, it’s for good reason.

Does your dealership have a process in place for a quick transition from the sales floor to the finance dept?  Are your customers waiting for a hour or more to get into the finance office?  Does your F&I producer come out to meet the customer before the consumer get's to his/her office?  Ladies and gentleman I could go on and on with questions that I talk about with automotive managers and what we find is very concerning. 

First, the transition from the sales floor to the finance office should be seamless.  I was in a Toyota store a little while back and they had what was called a finance lounge.  Now the goal with their finance lounge was to remove the customer form the sales floor over to a much more comfortable lounge so that while they were waiting to get into the F&I office they could begin the process of getting logged into the Toyota system database.  It is a very upscale lounge with Ipad's at each chair and snacks if someone is hungry.  Now unfortunately most dealerships have a completely different process in place and it's as follows: the customer just agreed to purchase your vehicle and now they have to sit in those hard chairs and round table for the next hour while they wait to get into finance!!  What do you think most of these people are doing while waiting to go to finance; they're talking about how maybe we're moving too fast we didn't plan on buying today, let's get on our smartphone and see how much the car we just bought is down the street or even worse after a hour of waiting you go to get your customer and they're gone!!  For the love of God this is not what people want to deal with after they just made the next biggest purchase next to buying a home. 

Consumers after they give us their business need to be in the F&I office as quickly as possible.  Another brillant strategy is to have the F&I producer get out of his/her office and come out to the sales floor to meet the customer for a interview to build some rapport and gather field intelligence.  What this does is make the process much easier when you present a menu to sell products. 

In this day and age the old school way of doing business has to change.  Their is too much money on the line to take the chance of conducting business as usual. 

Dear Cars.com,

I would like to volunteer to participate in the email program that you recently pulled.  I must say, Cars.com, I am a little disappointed in your missed opportunity to defend yourself.

To begin with, I am a dealer.  I am not an industry expert, nor do I give a Google about MOST of the arguments made on both sides of this discussion.  I am used to dealing with mathematics and that is exactly why this topic interests me.

Let me make sure I understand correctly.

I get a lead on one of the vehicles that I have listed with you.  Check.

I have three full days to work that lead and then you send them an email with my vehicle and possibly some competing vehicles.  Check. (and yet another email a few days later…)

If ANOTHER dealer gets a lead on one of THEIR vehicles, then Cars.com sends THEIR lead emails a few days later with perhaps one of MY vehicles in it.  Check.

So my vehicle was exposed to the customer on the initial lead (exposure #1), then in the first email (#2), then in the second email (#3), and possible in my competitors first (#4) and second (#5) emails on a like vehicle. Check.

If I am following up with my leads better than my competition, then my inventory simply gets exposed to more customers with more frequency, whether it is my store’s initial lead and the subsequent follow-up emails or the result of your follow-up emails to my sleepy competitors.

More vehicle exposures + more customers + good follow-up processes + thoughtful pricing/quality photos/good descriptions = More Sales

If I feared my competition, this program would terrify me.

But, until that day comes……….Sign me up.

Who’s your Danny?

I truly belive in all my heart that CARS.COM is trying to do the right thing!!

THANK YOU to all of the dealers, Trainers/Consultants/Advocates, especially Jim Ziegler and Sean V. Bradley that made noise about this new program that was launched.

As of today here is a message from them :

http://dealeradvantage.cars.com/da/2013/05/moving-forward-testing-new-ways-to-drive-exposure/

He did also refer to a 23 minute video from Brian Pasch FOR the idea, which I have personally NOT watched.  I think overall, this "test" was a good and bad one.

Good - we are engaging customers more and following up, and anything that does slip through the cracks on the dealership level, we can find out if the customer is still on the market with another automated email process. This does increase value to Cars.com to me as a dealership....ONLY if we fix the BAD!

BAD - ...which really should be "horrible"!  Bottom line, a company we are paying for a car buyer...is now turning that buyer into a shopper with other suggestions.  They are also providing financing options and other 3rd party validations, and that part is OUR JOB as the dealership to do! 

**(Please refer to Robert Wiesman article EXACTLY about that written a few days ago!)

We can ALL work together (aka Synergize!!) to make this a HUGE WIN/WIN/WIN situation for us as the dealership, Cars.com as a trusted vendor and advertiser, AND the customer looking for the best deal!

Andy Fedo

Director of Internet Sales, Lithia Nissan Hyundai of Fresno

afedo3@yahoo.com

http://www.internetsales20group.com

Automotive Internet Sales Interviews A General Sales Manager & Former AutoNation Trainer W/ 24 Years Automotive Experience (2) from Dealer Synergy on Vimeo.

http://www.facebook.com/dealersynergy

I was talking with a GSM today and he had no idea how many calls his coordinators were making per day.  Equally relevant, is that I talk with people that have positions of authority in the dealership all the time and it's unfortunate to see the majority have no clue when it comes to their E-Commerce Dept.  The E-Commerce Dept is the heart of your sales dept and the sales staff are the body i.e. without a heart the body will die.  We also talked about a store that they have a few miles away and the GSM mentioned that at that store the leads are given to sales people.  WOW!!!  As we know the sales staff are not going to consistently follow up with the leads and unless the consumer buys within 5-7 days most salespeople are never going to call again. 

Now the purpose of this blog is to spend some time talking about the importance of your coordinators making 120 calls per day.  As you know you have a 11-14% connection ratio when making phone calls.  In other words per day if you make or take 120 calls you will get 13 to 16 people on the phone per day.  The thing that blows my mind is that I know of stores that have coordinators that make 50 calls per day.  When you look at your connection ratio that's only 5-7 people per day!!  I speak from experience in regard to coordinators making every excuse for why they can't make 120 calls per day.  I've been told "I don't have anybody else to call" and when you check their leads in the ILM they have people that haven't been contacted in days.  Even better I've been told that "I don't want want to bug the customer." 

The key to success in your E-Commerce Dept boils down to the coordinator's pounding the phones!!  50 calls per coordinator is not got going to get the results that the owners/GM/GSM are wanting to see.  Demand excellence and put spiffs in place for the coordinator's like you have for the sales staff and watch your E-Commerce dept grow to the point where it's generating a major percentage of total sales.

http://www.automotiveinternetsales.com 267-319-6776

Here is the thread on the Cars.com situation...

http://automotiveinternetsales.com/profiles/blogs/double-cross-or-not-a-double-cross?xg_source=activity

Automotive Internet Sales Reviews Jim Ziegler's Concerns About Cars.com & Brian Pasch's Response...

The subject of http://www.cars.com has been getting pretty heated lately. It has achieved over 6,000 views on the local blogs like:

http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profiles/blogs/double-cross-or-not-a-double-cross?xg_source=activity

http://www.dealerelite.net/profiles/blogs/double-cross-or-not-a-double-cross?xg_source=activity

Brian Pasch, CEO of http://www.pcgdigitalmarketing.com/company/meet-our-team/brian-pasch/ has come out and said that Jim Ziegler is wrong and he thinks that Cars.com is NOT doing anything wrong. As a matter of fact, Brian has created a blog post

http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profiles/blogs/jim-ziegler-has-the-cars-com-marketing-strategy-all-wrong?xg_source=activity

That basically says that Jim has it all wrong...

I shot this video to explain why I support Jim Ziegler's point of view on the Cars.com situation.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me or email me-

RussWilliams.net

1. "I'm Just Looking" / "I am NOT Buying Today" / "This is the FIRST place I Have Looked" / "I've Just Started My Research"

All of these are the same basic objection

Rebuttal #1
Yes Sir/Ma'am, I understand completely! I have discovered that many of my customers would
prefer to do some research, drive a few vehicles of interest, and gain some financial information like price, payments, and the value of their trade before they would even consider purchasing a vehicle. Does that sound like the way you like to do business? Now, I know my inventory better than anyone. Were we looking at cars, Sport Utility Vehicles, vans, or trucks?

Rebuttal #2
Certainly, Mr./Ms. Jones, I wouldn't have it any other way! Every journey begins with the first step. The good news is that you are half way there because you have made it out to the dealership to see what is available. I really appreciate you giving us the opportunity to earn your business. Now, I know my inventory very well. Were we looking at cars, Sport Utility Vehicles, vans, or trucks?

Rebuttal #3
I completely understand! The car buying process can be a daunting endeavor. We have a HUGE
lot. Follow me inside, I will have just a few questions and then I can bring the vehicles that fit your wants, needs and desires to you! (Turn and walk towards the showroom)

Rebuttal #4
Yes Sir/Ma'am, I completely understand! Most of my customers prefer to do some leg work,
compare a variety of vehicles and get some realistic prices so that they actually have some information to ponder. Then, return tomorrow or perhaps next week to really nail down a deal. Would you agree? I know my inventory better than anyone. What is the most important feature you want out of your next vehicle?

Rebuttal #5
Yes Sir/Ma'am, I understand completely! The selection of a vehicle is one of the largest purchases we have to deal with. Many folks take the spending of their hard earned cash way to flipantly. I hope you will allow me to assist you in this process. Perhaps I can even make it a little simpler? Follow me inside, I will have just a few questions and then I can bring the vehicles that fit your wants, needs and desires to you! (Turn and walk towards the showroom)

Rebuttal #6
That is GREAT Mr./Ms. Smith! I have been assisting people in the purchase of vehicle for over 25 years! I will be here tomorrow, next week and next year. Now, I know my inventory very well. Were we considering cars, Sport Utility Vehicles, vans, or trucks?

Rebuttal #7
Yes Sir/Ma'am, I understand completely! The LAST THING I would ask you to do today is buy a car. Perhaps I can even make it a little simpler? Follow me inside, I will have just a few questions and then I can bring the vehicles that fit your wants, needs and desires to you! (Turn and walk towards the showroom)

NOTE: A seed is actually planted here. Later in the process, once you have earned the right to ask for the sale, you can say "Remember when I said:
"The LAST THING I would ask you to do today is buy a car", Well...

2. What is your BEST price?

The rebuttal to this objection depends on where you are in the sales process.

Option #1, BEFORE the customer has landed on a vehicle

Rebuttal #1
I am SO GLAD you asked me that, Mr./Ms. Smith! We do things a little different here at Rolling Hills Auto Plaza. We do our best to make the shopping experience as enjoyable as possible. So, we have marked the prices clearly on ALL of our Pre-Owned vehicles. We believe in giving you a fair price up front so I don't have to go back and forth with my manager, multiple times, to get you the exact same price. Does that make sense?

Customer:"Does that mean the prices are non-negotiable?"

Depending on the vehicle, there may be some wiggle room, but if you are thinking thousands then purhaps we should look at another vehicle. Actually, some of our vehicles have been discounted so drastically they ARE non-negotiable. Our customers have told us that they simply do not like the "games" and haggling that other dealers play, especially when it comes to Used Cars. Did you notice that this car has BlueTooth and a touch screen?

Rebuttal #2
Certainly, Mr./Ms. Jones! Being confident that you have not overpaid for a vehicle is VERY important. I will tell you this, If I couldn't give you the absolute BEST DEAL on the vehicle of your choice I would NEVER expect you to buy it from me. Now, I know my inventory very well. Were we looking at cars, Sport Utility Vehicles, vans, or trucks?

Rebuttal #3
Yes Sir/Ma'am!, You deserve the BEST DEAL! However, I can tell that you have done this before and would like to buy a vehicle with the least amount of stress possible, am I correct? I will let you in on a little "car industry secret", the best way to get the VERY BEST DEAL possible is to first find the vehicle that is right for you. Once we do that, be be prepared to BUY THAT VEHICLE! My Sales Manager is much more apt to give you his very best deal if you are prepared to take advantage of it! Perhaps I can make it even simpler? Follow me inside, I will have just a few questions and then I can bring the vehicles that fit your wants, needs and desires to you! (Turn and walk towards the showroom)

Rebuttal #4
Yes Sir/Ma'am!, I WANT you to get the BEST possible deal! I have been selling vehicles for over 25 years and I depend on return and referred business! When I see you at the Gas Station or the Grocery Store, I want to be able to great you with an outstretched hand and a smile. Not be ducking behind the isle thinking "OH NO! There's that guy/gal that paid for my Hawaii Vacation!" What is the most important feature you want out of your next vehicle?

Option #2, AFTER the customer has landed on a vehicle

Rebuttal #1
I am sorry Mr./Ms. Smith, I really must apologize to you. I must not have been clear when I spoke to you about Market Pricing. We do things a little different here at Rolling Hills
Auto Plaza. We do our best to make the shopping experience as enjoyable as possible. So, we have marked the prices clearly on ALL of our Pre-Owned vehicles. We believe in giving you a fair price up front so I don't have to go back and forth with my manager, multiple times, to get you the exact same price. Does that make sense?

Customer:"Does that mean the prices are non-negotiable?"

Depending on the vehicle, there may be some wiggle room, but if you are thinking thousands then purhaps we should look at another vehicle. Actually, some of our vehicles have been discounted so drastically they ARE non-negotiable. Our customers have told us that they simply do not like the "games" and haggling that other dealers play, especially when it comes to Used Cars.

Customer: How do you decide what is a fair "Market Price"?

That is a great question! It starts online. We have a computer program that shows us what competitive vehicles are selling for based on condition, miles and options in our area. Then we look to see how long a vehicle has been here and once we gather all of that information, the computer tells us what a fair price would be for that vehicle.

Rebuttal #2
Absolutely Mr./Ms. Smith! But please let me ask you this: Other than price, is there anything else preventing you from buying this vehicle today?

The price question is often the STATED OBJECTION, however it quite possibly
may not be the REAL objection. The customer's response to this question will tell you whether you are actually at the PRICE stage or if there is more work to be done.

Rebuttal #3
Certainly, Mr./Ms. Jones! I am on your side, I want you to get the Best Deal Possible! Now, before I go to work on my Sales Manager, if we come to terms on the numbers, are you prepared to drive this vehicle home today?

Again, the price question is often the STATED OBJECTION, however it quite possibly may not be the REAL objection. The customer's response to this question will tell you whether you are actually at the PRICE stage or if there is more work to be done.

Rebuttal #4
Yes Sir/Ma'am! Being confident that you have not overpaid for a vehicle is VERY important. I will tell you this, If I couldn't give you the absolute BEST DEAL on this vehicle I would NEVER expect you to buy it from me. Now, assuming we come to terms, where is the first place you will be driving your new vehicle to show it off?

3. I Need To Speak With My Spouse

Rebuttal #1
Absolutely Mr./Ms. Smith! I know my wife would need to give the okay on such a purchase. Is she available? (if yes)Let's hop in the car and go show it to her RIGHT NOW! (if no) Alright Mr./Ms. Smith, other than him/her seeing the vehicle, is there ANYTHING ELSE that would prevent you from taking this car home today?

If there are other "things" you are not done. If there are no other "things", and you believe the person in front of you whole heartily supports the buying of the vehicle, BCA them in the car.

There are no other rebuttals here. If there is a spouse, they must be involved, one way or another.

4. I Didn't Bring My Trade

Rebuttal #1
Absolutely Mr./Ms. Smith! But please let me ask you this: Other than your trade-in's value, is there anything else preventing you from buying this vehicle today?

The "trade is not here" is often the STATED OBJECTION, however it quite possibly
may not be the REAL objection. The customer's response to this question will tell you whether your customer is actually ready to buy or if there is more work to be done. If the customer states that their "trade not being here" is absolutely the  ONLY thing stopping business at this point, then the response is: "GREAT!  Let's go get it!". If this is impossible (wife-son-daughter have it hours away, it is in the body shop getting painted, or any reason that makes it impossible to go get, then, work the deal

sight-unseen.

"What do you think your vehicle is worth? How did you get to that number? How many miles? Can we run a CarFax? Do you have maintenance records? When was the last time you purchased tires? On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your car mechanically Cosmetically? Based upon the information YOU have provided to me, if we can come to terms on a number for your trade, are you ready to do business TODAY?"

Again, There are no other rebuttals here. Generally, we will HAVE to see the trade to finalize the deal.

5. I Saw It Cheaper Somewhere Else

Rebuttal #1
Normally this customer statement is a lie or defense mechanism. If it is determined to be such go to the "What is your BEST price" rebuttals. However, it is occasionally a legitimate objection, in which case:

WOW Mr./Ms. Smith, I can see that you have REALLY done your homework here. Nobody could accuse you of being impulsive! I cannot speak for the vehicles found on other lots or in other towns, I can only represent a vehicle that I have in inventory here, RIGHT NOW. The car business is very complicated. I think the first thing I would ask myself is, "is that other vehicle EXACTLY THE SAME as this vehicle, the one you have already told me you are ready to drive home if we can agree to terms?" Is it the same year, make and model? Is it the same trim level package Does it have exactly the same options? How many miles were on it? What did the CarFax look like? Who owned it before? How was it cared for? Was it fully serviced before they placed it on the lot? Has it been Certified? Was it the Color you want? (Finally) Why didn't you purchase that CHEAP vehicle there?

The answers to these questions will guide you as to how to proceed. Even in the very rare instance where a customer has found THE EXACT same vehicle that is proveably cheaper, there are plenty of other things to sell. Yourself, the dealership, our financing, the trade value, add-on fees, proximity, reputation, and convenience. These things have value! NEVER DROP YOUR PANTS and don't bad-mouth other retailers.

6. I don't want to test drive.

Often this objection is more a symptom of poor salesmanship. The salesman has not done a proper job of fact-finding and rapport building and has failed to do a  strong walk-around presentation. A demo drive is the natural and logical next step if the sales process has been followed. However, for the sake of this exercise we will assume we have that  rare 1% that has gone through the proces and still refuses to test drive the vehicle.

Rebuttal #1
I understand Mr./Ms. Smith, when you see a car that is NEW (is in this great of condition *used*), it is probably safe to assume that it will be in excellent mechanical condition. However, the automobile industry has advanced by leaps and bounds over the last few years. There are options on cars now that may surprise you and cannot properly be demonstrated on a parked car. Buckle that seat belt, I will get us rolling.

Rebuttal #2
I completely understand Mr./Ms. Smith. I have heard of people who feel the exact same way! They felt like there was nothing to gain by driving a vehicle they have not yet purchased. However, most of my customers have found that by actually driving the vehicle they get a better feel for the road and a greater understanding of new breaking systems, crash avoidance technology, back-up sensors and cameras as well as ergonomic and entertainment features like the telescoping steering column, adjustable pedals, satellite radio, and personal synchronization features that let you use electronics devices like your cell phone and iPod, hands-free, while driving down the road!

Rebuttal #3
I understand exactly how you feel Mr./Ms. Jones! I used to feel the same way. Let's look at it like a pair of shoes. I wear a size 11 shoe. I have worn a size 11 shoe for 30 years. When I go to the shoe store I always go to the size 11 rack because I know, I wear size 11 shoes! Once in a great while, however, I am in a hurry and I just buy a pair of size 11 shoes and run to the check out because I am in a hurry. It NEVER FAILS, if I do not TRY ON the shoes they hurt my feet so bad, I can never wear them! Do you try on your shoes before you purchase them? Alright then! I REFUSE to sell you a car that will hurt your feet! Buckle up that safety belt!

7. I need to check with my bank on rates.

Rebuttal #1
Absolutely Mr./Ms. Smith! In fact we may have YOUR Bank's Rates right here! Our Business Office has done an outstanding job of building relationships with both local and national banks. Sometimes they can actually get a better financial package that YOU CAN at the same bank you have done business with for years! So, WORST CASE SCENARIO, Our Business Office gets you an amazing finacial package and you somehow find a way to do better!

Rebuttal #2 Works for majority of customers with little to no cash down or are upside-down in a trade. I understand completely! Keep in mind however, banks normally require a 20% investment from their customers in order to approve a loan. Obviously Sir/Ma'am with us carrying over $2753.00 from your last automobile and no cash down, you are a long way from 20% down. The great thing about using our Business Office is that we deal in volume. This means that, because of our strong bank relationships, we can often give our customers very competitive financial packages and get the substantial down-payment requirements waved! So, if we can get your financing handled AND not require you to put more of your hard earned cash down, doesn't it make more sense to give us a shot?

Rebuttal #2 Works for the minority of customers with strong financial backgrounds, large down payments or good trade equity. I agree with you 100% Mr./Ms. Smith! You have handled your business dealings impeccably from the very first time I spoke with you. You did your research, did your comparisons and spoke with other dealers to insure you were getting a great deal on your vehicle! I would expect no less on the financial aspect of our dealings. Doesn't it make sense to do the same due diligence and see what our Business Office has to offer vs. your local bank?

Watch this week's Think Tank Tuesday to learn how to tailor your marketing strategy to help turn your customers into clients.

EdgeRank. It’s a mythical beast in many ways, not because it isn’t real but because it is very misunderstood by many. It’s one of those things that makes total sense once you get it but that can be very misleading before the light bulb ignites.

The basic way to understand it in one sentence is this – when your content gets positive engagement, it can be seen by more people, but when it gets negative sentiment, it gets hidden. There is a science behind it but that’s not really necessary for success. When you post good content and the people that do get to see it interact in a positive manner, the chance that others will see it too goes up. The opposite is true as well.

This is where posting the right content and “earning” the right for your business to market on Facebook comes into play. Some will say that Facebook can only be used as a branding tool, that if you focus on putting out high-quality content and never actually talk about the business, that you’ll get the maximum benefit. It’s a fair strategy, a safe on, but not necessarily the best, particularly for local businesses. A good mix of engaging content with marketing material mixed in is the best strategy, but that takes more than a blog post or an infographic to explain fully.

In the meantime, here’s an interesting infographic by PostRocket to get you started.

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“Hidden Under Hat” image courtesy of Shutterstock.

We’ve all heard about how inbound marketers need to get more creative with their content format by incorporating visuals, audio, and images. Heck, we’ve even created a free crash course (with templates) for non-designers tocreate visual content to react to this trend. With all these content types, aren’t we forgetting something?

Oh right. SEO. Even with the new glasses, Google still can’t read and index images, video, and audio content without a little help. Luckily, we have everything you need to know about SEO for non-written content, from images, to video, to audio content. Let's dive in, shall we?

Best Practices for Image SEO

To explain this concept, let's take a step back and imagine we're proprietors of a tasty ice cream shop. You've just created an infographic about the most popular ice cream flavors and toppings, and now you want to ensure it's optimized to show up in Google. Here's what you do.

1) Pick an image that's in a Google-supported format.

Before uploading your beautiful ice cream infographic, make sure it’s in the right format. Google can only index images that are saved as BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, WebP, and SVG. Don’t worry if your image isn’t in that format yet -- most image editors have the capability to save the file as a GIF or JPEG.

2) Name the file using keywords that describe the image.

Raise your hand if you have uploaded an image with a name like "IMG12934.jpg." (Guilty.) Instead of giving search engines a title that has nothing to do with the image, rename the file with a keyword phrase that describes what the image is. Google uses these filenames to index those images and sometimes the file name can even show up as the image title in a SERP. For this infographic, you might try a phrase like, “Popular-Ice-Cream-Flavors-Infographic.jpg”. Isn’t that better? Google thinks so, too. Don't forget to separate words with dashes--Google sees dashes as word separators and underscores as word combiners.

3) Add in helpful alt text.

The alt text of an image not only helps the search engines understand what the content of the image is so they can match it to a relevant search query, but it helps any searchers who can’t view the image understand what they would be looking at. Be as descriptive as possible in your alt text ... without keyword stuffing. Here’s a bad, better, best example for the ice cream example to see what I mean.

• Bad: alt=””
• Better: alt=”Ice cream”
• Best : alt=”Popular ice cream flavors”
• Avoid: alt= “ice cream flavor yummy vanilla chocolate Delicious"

4) Provide context for the image within content.

Remember, your image doesn’t live separately from the rest of your on-page content! Help search engines get a better sense of the story your page tells by referencing the image within your written content. Within your blog post, you might write something like, “On our popular ice cream flavors timeline to the left, you can see that cake batter is one of our newest flavor experiments.” See how I used the same keywords from the file name and alt text, but made it easy for the viewer to read? That’s an SEO win/win/win my friends.

5) Submit an image sitemap.

To make extra-super-sure that your ice cream flavor timeline is indexed by Google, submit an image sitemap to Google Webmaster. Sound scary? Don’t worry. Sitemaps are just an xml file that tells Google about a page on your website it might not discover -- the most simple sitemaps usually list the pages on your website. To create an image sitemap, add image-specific tags to a sitemap or just update one of your existing sitemaps with image tags. We’ll go more into making a sitemap in the video section, but here is exactly how to create and submit an image sitemap to Google.

Best Practices for Video SEO

Now that you’ve got the image basics down, it’s time to tackle video. MarketingSherpapublished a case study that found that videos attract 200-300% more monthly unique visitors who spend twice as long on-site. Sounds good to me! Let’s continue the dessert example, and pretend you want to embed a video on the recipes page with one of your chefs explaining how he makes your famous red velvet cupcakes (am I making you hungry yet?).

1) Save your video in a format that Google can crawl.

Like images, there are only some file formats that Google can read. Make sure your video is saved as a MPG, MPEG, M4V, MOV, WMV, ASF, AVI, RA, RAM, RM, FLV, or SWF. Most video editors will allow you to save your video in different formats.

2) Name your video file strategically.

Just like naming images, save your video file as a name that accurately describes what the file is within the context of the article without keyword stuffing. Luckily, this one is easy. Just save the video with a contextual keyword-appropriate title, like “Red-velvet-cupcake-recipe”.

3) Embrace your keyword strategy in your title, tags, and video meta-description.

You probably guessed it from the images section, but your title, alt text, and meta description should all help search engines understand what the content of your video is. However, keyword strategy from a user perspective is extra important here -- video is very likely to be viewed and searched independent of your website.

Your video title should reflect the keywords that your users are searching for, and that, of course, align with your video's content. Not sure what those are? Use a keyword tool to see what words and phrases people are searching to find your website.

Keywords are especially important to the description you provide for the video. In YouTube, you have up to 5,000 characters to describe your video. Since Google will cut off this description on the SERP to 156 characters, make sure your first sentence includes the keywords you’re optimizing for, but also gives the viewer a reason to click through. Then, continue your description with keywords and context that will help Google understand what your video is about. Finish off the description with alt text, or tags, that help paint a fuller picture for search engines.

4) Try to host only one video per page.

Your website may have a page that acts as a whole archive for its videos. This type of library can be extremely helpful for reference purposes, but from a search engine perspective, it's only a good idea if all the videos are about the same general topic. For instance, you might house all of your recipes videos on one page that's optimized to show up for a query like "dessert recipe videos." But if you want to get more granular, let's say getting found for your series on how to make cupcakes, you might want to create a separate page for videos that would ideally turn up around "cupcake recipe videos."

5) Enable sharing with embedding and specific anchor text.

Social sharing plays a role in SERP rankings for a specific keyword phrase. The Google update story can get complicated with Pandas and Penguins and the like, but one takeaway can be boiled down to four little words: more shares, better rankings. The more people embed your video in their own blog posts or share it on social media, the more the search engines love you (or your content, rather). Help your red velvet cupcake recipe video spread like wildfire by making sure the video is easily embeddable. The option to allow embedding is available on most video hosting services.

6) Create and submit a Video Sitemap to Google Webmaster.

Make sure your video is indexed by Google by submitting a video sitemap to Google webmaster. Like I said in the images section, Sitemaps are XML files with a site’s meta data that inform search engines about pages on their site that are able to be crawled. Bonus points -- submitting a video sitemap to Google Webmaster also encourages Google to include a rich snippet with your video on the SERP.

For the full story on creating and submitting a video sitemap, go straight to the source onGoogle’s Webmaster blog.

7) Include a transcription.

Sometimes, the best way for search engines to index non-written content is to make it written content by adding a transcription. Most video services, including YouTube and Wistia, include transcription services for free or for a small fee. Include a transcription on your page to help search engines and viewers who can’t watch now better consume your content. Even better? Once you have a transcription, you can repurpose that written content into another ebook or blog post. That red velvet cupcake recipe video transcription could easily be added to a recipe ebook with minimal effort or edits.

Best Practices for Audio Content SEO

We’ve talked a lot about optimizing images and videos for search engines, but what about audio content,  like podcasts? Just like Google doesn’t have eyes to view images or video, search engines also don’t have ears to listen in on your audio. But there are still ways to make sure that search engines hear the message. Since all those ice cream flavors and cupcake recipes have got me wanting to cheat on a diet, let’s make this podcast “How to Enjoy Desserts You Love Without the Guilt”.

Many of the SEO standards we discussed for images and video apply here for Google: alt-texts, titles, descriptions, and a unified keyword presence are all relevant for users to find your podcast on Google. However, when people are looking for podcasts, they primarily head to iTunes. To rank high in the iTunes podcast SERP (which often translates to better search engine ranks as well), here are some specific areas to hone in on.

1) Make your podcast easily navigable from the iTunes SERP.

Here’s a quick test to make sure you’re as easily found as you think you are: Work backwards from a viewer who has never heard of your podcast, but is searching for similar content. In this case, try searching “easy exercise tips” or a similar keyword phrase on iTunes. The process of typing in a search into the iTunes store, finding the podcast website, determining the podcast content, and listening and subscribing to your content should be easy as pie for the listener. By testing your own podcast from the beginning, you can identify hiccups from the user experience angle.

2) Optimize your content for strategic keywords.

Like video, keyword strategy is one of the most important parts of optimizing your podcast. Remember your keyword strategy when naming your podcast, episodes and writing descriptions. Research non-competitive keywords that match your content using a keyword tool.

3) Accrue subscribers.

There’s a difference between listeners who play your podcast once, and subscribers who sign up to automatically download a new episode whenever it comes out. When ranking keyword phrases, iTunes favors podcasts with more subscribers -- a higher percentage of subscribers communicates that your podcast is consistently valuable. Accrue subscribers by making it as painless as possible to subscribe (ideally with just a click of a button). Encourage listeners to take the next step to subscribe by clearly outlining the value proposition of your podcast, and include action verbs that encourage people to sign up now.

4) Solicit reviews.

iTunes also tends to favor podcasts with more reviews in their SERP. Podcasts with a higher volume of reviews indicate higher engagement. Ask listeners and subscribers directly for reviews. Include a review CTA at the end of every episode and on your podcast web page. Call out specific reviews in your podcast to show that you're listening to what your listeners and subscribers are saying. Check social media to see if there are listeners who frequently talk about your content and approach them for a product review.

5) Factor in the age of your podcast.

Another factor iTunes takes into account in their rankings is the age of your podcast. Podcasts that have been around longer are more likely to rank higher than newer ones. While there isn’t a lot you can do to manipulate the age of your podcast, the age factor is worth keeping in mind when you're considering starting an additional podcast.

6) Include a transcription.

There are plenty of services, like Casting Words, that will transcribe your podcast for as little as a dollar a minute. Translate your audio content into a written format to better help search engines and listeners digest your content, and to make it easier to repurpose that content for future use.

Best Practices for Non-Written SEO in Social Media

We’ve gone over what the SEO best practices are for individual non-written content assets, but how do those practices change within the context of social media? If you didn't already know, the two are kind of connected. And with social networks becoming more visual, optimizing non-written content is more important than ever.

But let me be clear -- the goal for non-written SEO in social networks isn’t necessarily to be found by search engines, but to make sure you’re using non-written content to its full advantage. Here are some resources for non-written SEO best practices for specific social networks. For a more general overview on optimizing your social media presence, here’s theultimate guide to optimized social media updates.

Pinterest

Since Pinterest is an image-centric network and has just come out with analytics, we thought thatSEO for Pinterest was an article all in itself. Best practices include the following if you're looking for the short synopsis:

• Optimize your account name and description.
• Include links back to your website on every pin.
• Use keywords in the filename and alt text of images you pin.
• Take time with each pin’s description to describe the image and include keywords.
• Incorporate hashtags to amplify the social reach of your pins.

For more details, read this article on everything you need to know about optimizing your Pinterest account.

Facebook

We have original data that indicates photos on Facebook generate 53% more likes than average posts. Images and videos are obviously a huge part of encouraging fans not only to interact with your brand, but also consume content that moves them down the funnel, especially now that Facebook updated its cover photo guidelines to include CTAs. Read this easy-to-follow tip sheet to find the best ways to engage your Facebook fans with images that breaks down thebest practices for Facebook cover images and albums.

Twitter

Twitter is buzzing with new image and multi-media updates. The biggest integration Twitter has with multi-media content is the new Vine video app. With Vine you have the opportunity to:

• Optimize cover photos on brand pages and include CTAs within your profile
  image.
• Showcase multi-media content with featured tweets.
• Identify what keywords your account should focus on.
• Create a Vine account and incorporate it into your video strategy.
• Measure the ROI of Vine and Twitter to optimize conversions and reach.

Google+

The most important thing to think about with Google+ SEO is authorship. Having the author image next to an article’s listing in the SERPs makes it much more clickable than plain text. Here’s a more in-depth article that explains why Google+ authorship is important, and how to apply for it.

What are some of the best practices you use when optimizing non-written content for SEO? Got any great tips to share? Let us know in the comments section!

Image credit: starmist1

Source - http://blog.hubspot.com/search-engine-optimizing-non-written-marketing-content

This blog was inspired to me when I got here in the late morning (I'm usually the closer!), and both of my two Internet Coordinators were running around; one looking for pictures of a particular vehicle, and the other was finding out from our Sales Managers if we can do "better than the internet price" because the customer wants to know before she gets here...

All I could do is shake my head, and try to explain some facts in the automotive world:

- More than 3 out of 4 customers will NOT buy the vehicle they originally inquire on via the internet

- Most customers will ask about price as an inquiry, but most of the time it is NOT an objection

- About 9 out of 10 customers go to the internet before coming into a dealership

- Most customers visit 2 OR LESS dealerships before making a purchase

I'm sure this is happening more often than it should in dealerships everywhere, and it is very ineffective.  To put it blunt...a waste of time! 

Don't lose mind of the fact that we do this every day, and know the quickest and easiest way to get it done.  Most often we help people purchase vehicles more times in a week, than most people experience in a lifetime!  So why are we as professionals running around on wild goose chases looking for information that will end up being irrelevant in the sale? 

Spending more than 80% of your time on less than 20% of your customers is a recipe for disaster!  You will not be happy with your end-of-month results if you tend to try to give the customer too much "TLC" before they get to the dealer.  Imagine all of the customers you can be calling, scheduling for appointments and getting to show up, rather than having a few valuable employees seeking information on one tough prospect.  This is the opportunity cost that you have to sacrifice to do this for one customer, in hopes of that one customer you are spending all that time on is going to convert to a sale.  Does this make sense?  ...I hope you said NO

The customer controlling you, the professional appointment setter, is indeed getting what they want, but not helping you get what you want in return.  We want to create a reason for the customer to come to the dealership, and without avoiding the question, give the best answer to make us both happy.  For example, we tend to get scared when a customer asks the price and treat it as an objection before we have to.  Even worse yet, bring up price before the customer because we THINK that is the most important thing to them.  Having a list of fact finding questions and good answers that make sense to the customer will help you avoid running around, and get the customer to do what we want...and that's to come into the store.  We can find out information about what they want, to better guide them to the best deal possible.

Asking question a question like: "what was it in particular you liked about that vehicle?" is a very simple but powerful statement.  You will find out if your customer likes the budget, brand, style, etc...of that car, and then be able to make suggestions of similar vehicles.  A customer may have been looking at 3-5 vehicles on your site, but only asked about one.  You may make suggestions, and find the vehicle is one of the same ones that they were also looking at!  By making numerous suggestions you are creating an "information overload" situation, while also understanding what the customer’s wants and needs are.  I have even found that sometimes they come to the conclusion themselves that it would be easier for them to come in and take a look, simply because of how informative I am on the phone.

Constantly mixing in phrases like "when you get here..." and "I'm glad we had this chance to talk before we meet..." paired along with being helpful on the phone will help you convert more "lookers" into "buyers" when they do get to your lot as well as get more prospects interested in coming to see you soon!

http://www.internetsales20group.com

Make Money Mondays With Sean V. Bradley "Vendors vs Partners"

I just wrote a powerful article for the May issue of AutoSuccess Magazine and explained my opinion of Vendors vs Partners... People, there is a HUGE difference between the two. Watch this video and find out which ones you are working with at your dealership

The Social Media Statistics for 2013 across Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest provide us with an interesting opportunity to review where we may want to spend our social media dollars and time in the coming year. Quicksprout recently published the below infographic outlining the major differences between the three social networks with some key statistics you should be aware of.

With Facebook a clear leader in terms of user base, dwarfing Pinterest (to be fair Pinterest has not been around as long), and doubling the user base of Twitter, you might assume that the largest social network is the best option for your content. However looking a little deeper, Facebook does have a slightly older user base than Twitter and Pinterest which may be of relevance to you if your target audience is between 35 and 54 years of age, however Twitter and Pinterest may be a better fit if your audience is between 18 and 35 of age.

Of course gender is always a key consideration when weighing up social media statistics, and Pinterest is certainly a good option if you’re target audience is women. Boasting the highest female user base, especially if you’re looking to sell online, Pinterest has a strong higher education and high earnings base which is sure to prove valuable in an e-commerce scenario. On the other hand if you’re marketing to men, you may want to look at Twitter or Facebook as the social network of choice in 2013. Both Facebook and Twitter boast similar user base statistics and present an excellent opportunity if your target audience is middle class male workers with University qualifications, so check your selling point.

With the previous target audiences in mind, when it comes to igniting e-commerce spend online, Facebook is king, however recent statistics have shown there is growing value on Pinterest. A driving factor which defines this is the visual nature of both these social networks, and is something Twitter has not fully embraced thus far.

When it comes to time spent online in 2013 across social networks, it’s quite astounding to note that Pinterest users spend over an hour on average which is almost unheard of. When compared with Twitter’s 36 minutes and Facebook’s 12 minutes, this is unusually high, and presents an unparalleled opportunity for those looking to sell, especially in the home and entertainment industries. Although Pinterest’s time on site is very high, it should be noted that both Twitter and Facebook users’ time on site is excellent and not to be discounted.

In summary 2013 is shaping up to be a changing year in the online social media landscape. The Pinterest user base and relationship with online spend is likely to grow, Facebook is likely to roll out more products changing the landscape time and time again, and the Twitter user base is likely to grow, however Twitter needs to counter the issue of visual content quite quickly to compete in the e-commerce space. When considering where to spend your social dollars, be aware of your target audience, and wherever possible take the time to improve the visual nature of your content and you should begin to see some great results.

Source: http://www.jobstock.com/blog/social-media-statistics-2013/

While I was studying this evening I happen to run across this very valuable information in regard to Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. As we all know Facebook is a clear leader in terms of user base but equally relevant like the article states Facebook does have a slightly older user base however, Twitter and Pinterest may be a better fit if your audience is between 18 and 35 of age.

In the automotive industry we can't unfortunately just spend all of our energy on just one media site it's imperative that we have a strong presence on all the aforementioned sites. In some industries your target market may be a certain age however, in the automotive industry our target market is all age groups.

It's imperative for dealers not only to just place emphasis on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. But it's also important to have exposure with the other sites like YouTube, LinkedIn, Craigslist and online classified ads just to name a few. Dealers are really dropping the ball when it comes to building brand awareness which will give a competitive advantage to the dealers that have a strong exposure on all these sites. It's like what Sean Bradley says when teaches about Googleopoly. Your dealership must dominate the first page of natural Google when consumers begin the research and buying process.

Last but not least some very intriguing information that I wasn't aware of was the amount of time that users spend on Pinterest versus Facebook and Twitter. Very compelling when you look at Pinterest users that spend over an hour online versus Facebook 12 minutes and Twitter users at 36 minutes.

Marketers across the globe are constantly plagued by the question; “should I spend my dollars on social media marketing, or search engine marketing?” To help answer this question, MDGAdvertising has produced a really nice infographic breaking down some of the various campaign components you would generally look at when assessing a marketing campaign. These include:

Lead Generation
Brand Awareness
Local Visibility
Interactivity
MDG’s review of Lead Generation performance included SEO, PPC and Social Media Marketing as the key metrics. The research which included interviews with more than 500 marketing professionals across B2B and B2C companies produced a single clear winner for lead generation; organic SEO. Although difficult to achieve without a lengthy campaign and a number of outside considerations, organic SEO is a clear winner for lead generation. But one must ask the question, at what cost? Because of the time and expenditure involved in achieving quality search rankings, is this a fair assessment when considering the ROI? Maybe long term, but this metric is very interesting none-the-less.

The Brand Awareness component of this infographic produced social media as the winner according to rankings in terms of objectives. Brand Awareness ranked #1 for social media marketing and #3 for search engine marketing. From my experience, this research is pretty undeniable. Search is great for lead generation, but social is excellent for brand awareness, and certainly a great bet for a quick return on your investment.

With this in mind, although there is still great value in using social media for targeting local users, consumers still rely on search for their local information requests. Consumers will almost always use search to locate information on websites as their starting point, and that includes services such as Google Places. Although social media has great potential in this area, search is still the winner at the moment if you’re looking to reach a local consumer base.

However if it’s interactivity and engagement you’re looking for, marketers will choose social media as their preferred platform, but interestingly not by as much as you would think. Although social media was a winner with 65% of marketing professionals stating they would use social media for increased interactivity, SEO scored 54% and Paid Search scored 34% indicating strong value across both of these channels if handled effectively.

Finally, with changes to search engine algorithms constantly in the mix and strong signs that social signals such as likes, tweets and +1′s affect search performance, the good money when comparing social vs search, is actually on a campaign that includes a mix of content marketing for SEO, and some strong social support for that campaign. As marketers survey the social and search landscapes, we are set to see a large shift toward marketing campaigns that comprise both platforms to achieve a well-rounded result for the content owner.

Source-http://www.jobstock.com/blog/social-vs-search-marketing-spend-comparison/

I agree with the conclusion that organic SEO is the clear winner for lead generation. The first thing that came to my mind was the value that video brings to SEO. When your business dominates the first page of natural Google for different searches you don't give the competition an opportunity to market their business. For example, if you have video in place that shows why your brand is better than your competitor when a consumer does do a search for your competitor your video will dominate the search. Equally important, is that like the article states search is great for lead generation but social is great for brand awareness. I've seen way to many owners that are from the "old school" not understand the value of social media for their business. So many still think that if they build these amazing dealerships that buyers will storm through the door however, that strategy may have worked in the 80's but it's a failing strategy today. In today's market we know that we must fish where the fish are.

At the end of the day consumers still rely on search for local information requests. And your mission if you accept it is to utilize SEO/SEM/PPC, social media and VSEO so that you can capture your consumers at the ZMOT or at their point of interest.