DealerRefresh

Obstacles, Observations and Opinions of an Automotive Internet Sales & Marketing Manager

Archives for July 2018

Latest Hot Topic in Forums

What is this Google – Project Beacon

Jeff Kershner Founder

First Name:
Jeff
Company:
DealerRefresh & Mercedes-Benz of Hagerstown
Location:
Maryland

Received this in the mail today…

Google Beacon Project

It’s a beacon, from Google. So I googled it….

About Project Beacon by Google

Google is piloting a program where we send beacons to businesses with physical locations to make their venues more visible to customers with mobile devices. The program is currently free. Here is how it works…

Benefits

Beacons help mobile devices determine a user’s location more accurately. When a user’s smartphone has a better understanding of their location, you can unlock a wide range of new features, and set up your business to use location-related features across Google:

  • Help your business show up on personal maps or saved places, where users have opted in to Location History.
  • Gather photos, reviews, and other user-generated content for your business from people who’ve actually visited.
  • Provide features like Popular times and typical visit duration to help customers plan their visit to your business.
  • Help provide Location Insights about how customers engage with your store. Visit your Google My Business Insights Page to learn more.
  • Access more features as they become available.

Keep in mind

The features available to your business depend on the number of users that visit your venue, visit durations, size of venue, and other factors. We can’t guarantee any particular feature will be available to your store.

Requirements

The Project Beacon pilot is available to selected businesses in the US and UK. In order to take part in the trial, you must receive a beacon from Google. If you’re interested in receiving a beacon, fill out this interest form. If you’ve already received a beacon, you can set it up by following the instructions enclosed in the box it came in, and completing this form.

How it works

The beacon transmits a one-way code that’s unique to your venue. When a user visits your venue with location services on their device turned on, their phone can use the beacon signal in order to understand that it’s visiting your store. The beacon itself does not collect or store any information. It only provides a helpful signal to your customers’ phones.

We may ask users who’ve visited your venue to contribute reviews, such as star ratings, answers to quick questions, photos, and more. Once enough of your visitors’ phones have detected visits to your store, we’re able to turn on aggregated features such as Popular times for your venue’s Place Page.

The data shown in these products is based on anonymous, aggregated visit statistics. It’s not possible to tie a particular visit back to a particular individual. We use industry best practices to ensure the privacy of individual users.

Of course, you can choose not to participate after receiving a beacon. This won’t affect your business or change how it currently shows up on Google. But by setting up your beacon, you’ll be able to take advantage of a wide range of location-enabled features like real-time Popular times and visitor reviews.

Anyone else receive one of these?

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Digital Marketing: It’s Time for OEMs to Rethink Their Co-Op Programs

Digital Marketing: It’s Time for OEMs to Rethink Their Co-Op Programs

This article was not written to be cute or semi-controversial. It was also not written for dealers to read, nod their heads and then do nothing. It was written for dealers and OEM executives to get beyond the bullshit being fed to them by their digital marketing partners (and sometimes even by their own marketing teams) and stop the digital marketing waste and fraud that’s costing the average OEM and their dealers hundreds of millions a year.

Digital marketing is likely the biggest waste and fraud ever perpetrated on OEMs and dealers; and it needs to stop. OEMs are (unwittingly) facilitating so much of this that the initiative to stop it has to come from their ranks. In fact, for many OEMs, it may have to come from the CEO herself/himself.

If you take a deep dive into the average dealer’s digital marketing spend from last month, you’ll likely see their OEM helped them pay for (via digital marketing co-op) some or all of the following: [Read more…]

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3rd Party Classifieds Battle to Win-the-Click

One of the questions I receive most often from dealers is whether or not they are overpaying for their third-party classifieds. The dealers overall agree that third-party classified sites (*TPCs) are a foundational element in a successful digital marketing strategy, however they are concerned as the pricing has continued to climb over the years. It seems to be a love/hate relationship.

The TPC space is currently experiencing a significant disruption, as CarGurus is capturing market share from the other two established players, or at the very least applying significant downward price pressure. Cars.com and Autotrader have responded with innovations and changes designed to combat the new CarGurus pressure, but as I advise dealers, let the numbers and results speak for themselves… [Read more…]

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Does Your Automotive Marketplace Pass the Friction Test?

Let’s talk about friction.

Friction doesn’t just play a critical role in physics. Removing friction from the automotive shopper’s journey is the key to automotive dealerships prospering in an industry fraught with challenge of running a modern dealership.

Twenty years ago, an automotive retailer needed to be proficient with one-to-three traditional media outlets to promote its value while investing the majority of its time on hiring, training, developing people and honing and executing on processes to win with the consumer. Digital introduced some interesting wrinkles – on the one hand delivering more informed and purchase-ready consumers but also complicating the dealership’s life. The challenge of managing myriad digital advertising platforms and software alone actually began to compete with a dealership’s ability to develop its people. As a result, while the consumer is more empowered than ever, the dealership team members have struggled to master the very tools designed to empower dealerships.

It’s time for third-party marketplaces — [Read more…]

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Stop Chasing Shiny Objects

Stop Chasing Shiny Objects – and Start Selling Cars!

At Digital Dealer 13 (held in October 2012 in Las Vegas), I delivered a presentation titled Stop Chasing Shiny Objects (and Start Selling Cars)! It was well-received, and it helped the 100 or so in attendance understand that the loudest voices in automotive digital – those screaming for dealers to dump thousands of dollars and multiple manhours every month into Pinterest, Foursquare and Twitter – had no idea that these activities/sources did relatively little to drive sold units.

Moreover, those overzealous marketers told dealers that if they didn’t focus on these shiny objects, well then, they were just dinosaurs who were about to go extinct. (Some in automotive digital at the time were even screaming for dealers to pay attention to oddities like Klout, Tagged, Tactilize and LoveIt!) Of course, the dealers who did listen wasted a lot of money and a lot of time, only to eventually discover that these channels were relatively worthless.

They would’ve been better served spending that money on bus bench advertising and their time on virtually anything else.

That Was Then, This Is Now

While most every dealer has moved beyond the allure of the next big internet sensation, many are still chasing shiny objects. They’re looking for that magic bean that’s going to grow their sales, their grosses and their CSI with no work on their part. They’re falling for marketers promising to share their “secrets” to dominating the marketplace… for a few thousand (or more) a month, of course.

The claims I’ve seen lately by some of the uber-prolific marketers in automotive are disturbing. Not in their hubris, but because so many dealers are actually falling for these magic bean pitches. [Read more…]

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4-Point Checklist Before You Send Your Next Video

4 Point Checklist Before You Record and Send Your Next Video

WE’VE LAID OUT ALL OF THE ESSENTIALS FOR YOU!

Don’t press record without scanning through these four pillars of making a successful video. The biggest mistake salesmen, (and women), make in sending videos is focusing on just one or two of the categories below. If you’re someone who’s looking to reach full potential in using video to sell cars, you’ll master ALL four areas. Start today, and see what a difference it makes! [Read more…]

Latest Hot Topic in Forums

Calendar Invite and SMS Reminder?

DrewAment Jr. Refresher

First Name:
Drew
Company:
Press1toTalk

Sat in the corner at a CRM training session – where the CRM provider told the group that a “best practice” was to email the customer a calendar invite after setting the appointment and send them a reminder text the day before.

WAIT… WHAT???  Shouldn’t “your” CRM send the calendar invite automatically when I set the appointment using “your” CRM? And do the “best practice” follow-up with texts to get the customer to show up? The trainer didn’t like me much.

My doctors office and I think even my dentist…oh wait, and my windshield repair company, and ohh ya… my appliance repair guy too!! All do a version of the following:

1. Sends me a email/calendar invite/text the day I make the appointment.

2. Sends me a reminder text 3-5 days before appointment

3. Sends me a reminder text the day before the appointment

They are not doing it manually — the CRM for the business is! Why are auto dealers left behind, and none of the CRMs are building into their programs/system the way they tell us to use?

Am I off base? Asking to much? Or shouldn’t this be the norm in a DealershipCRM?

Comment over in the dealer forums

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Assumptive Selling

Assumptive Selling

Certainly, you’ve heard the saying: When you assume, you make an ass out of ‘u’ and ‘me.’

Cute, even funny… but not at all applicable in sales. Not today. The typical car buyer today has already gathered all the information before they ever step foot on your lot or pick up a phone to call you. They know what they want, and they’re ready to buy today. In fact, they want to buy from you… they’re just afraid to tell you that.

Regardless of what you believed in the past about making assumptions, today it’s important to change your mindset. Today, top sellers use Assumptive Selling thinking to simply sell more vehicles for more money. Understanding this, it’s time to start using a new saying: When you fail to always assume the sale, you should always assume you’ll fail.

(This saying must be true, right? I mean, it takes the words from the first part of the sentence and rearranges them in the second part.)

Selling Cars is Not Hard

To be clear, selling cars is not hard… it just takes work. To the uninitiated, success in car sales appears to be like playing a slot machine. That is, sitting on your butt until you get lucky.

The truth is, success in automotive retail is more like using a vending machine. It’s predictable. It’s about completing the right steps in the right order to generate your reward. Grab your coins; insert them in the slot; press the right buttons; receive your snack. Rinse, lather, repeat. Assumptive Selling is not about luck, tricks or a magic potion; it’s about completing the right steps in the right order to generate your reward. It is not for the lazy.

Assumptive Selling is not new. Assumptive Selling has been around as long as there’ve been salespeople; and, despite what you’ve heard about people who assume, assumptive sellers have always been more successful than their peers. In automotive retail, Assumptive Selling is about knowing what does not exist. With Assumptive Selling, there are no tire-kickers; no unqualified buyers. Everyone is a buyer, and everyone is buying today.

Assumptive Selling is not about closing; it’s about leading. It’s about leading the customer down your path (whether on the lot or on the phone). It’s about taking charge, being direct and providing guidance; all while understanding that every Up wants to buy and they want to buy today.

Assumptive Selling is about believing everyone is a buyer… and knowing that the first time you believe someone is not, you’ll be right.

Connected Customers

Today’s connected customers want to buy; they’re just afraid of being sold. They show up on the lot with all the information and they don’t like being interrogated.  Salespeople who win today are the ones who recognize this, speak to their customers like human beings, and then pull them through a buying process in an efficient manner that makes sense to the customer.

When you do this with enthusiasm, energy and passion, people want to share in your enthusiasm, energy and passion. They will come along for the ride just because it seems like what the cool kids are doing. Assumptive Selling without this enthusiasm, energy and passion is not Assumptive Selling.

The basic principle for Assumptive Selling is simple: You should always assume the sale. Always. Assume. The. Sale.

Assumptive Selling

Assumptive Selling is available now on Amazon.com

A prospect who pulls onto your lot or walks into your showroom is a buyer who is here to buy; and… she’s here to buy today. The ringing phone represents a buyer who wants to buy today. The sales lead that’s just dropped into your CRM was sent by a buyer who wants to buy today. Everyone is a buyer… and, they all want to buy today.

Assumptive sellers always assume the sale. Assuming the sale gives you confidence that your buyer can sense. Assuming the sale gives you energy that your buyer feeds off. Assuming the sale keeps your thoughts positive in the face of objections. Assuming the sale makes you a more likeable person.

The Green Pea

Always assuming the sale helps you sell more cars for more money than you ever dreamed possible… except, of course, during your first full month as a salesperson. It seems every new seller – every Green Pea – starts off strong in the car business. I’ve seen Green Peas sell 25 vehicles in their first month – all while the average salesperson in their dealership sold 10.

How did they do this? Simple: They assumed everyone was a buyer who arrived to buy that day.

The negative forces in their dealership – the guys sitting around in the smoking circle – laughed at the Green Peas because these newbies were “too dumb to know any better.”

Green Peas, because they don’t “know any better,” assume the sale. They follow the steps you’ve taught them as closely as possible, and they sell a bunch of cars. They’ll do this for as many months as it takes to get pulled into the smoking circle and realize that every Up is an unqualified tire-kicker who couldn’t buy a car today if you were giving them away.

If only we could all think like Green Peas forever; if only we could remain “too dumb to know any better” for our entire career in the car business.

Buying a Car is Exciting!

Whether the customer is here to look at a brand-new car or a ten-year-old vehicle you took in trade isn’t relevant – buying anything new is exciting and your used car is going to be new to them. Of course, while buying a car is exciting, no one wants to be sold; that’s why Assumptive Selling works so well: you’re not selling, you’re guiding and assisting.

When the customer feels like they’re being sold, they can become defensive. They begin to create objections they never had; they become more aloof; and they disbelieve anything you tell them. All this because they’re starting feel sales pressure.

Assumptive Selling, meanwhile, is nearly devoid of pressure, because you’re simply agreeing with their desire to own your car today. In their mind, you understand them – and, you might be the first car salesman to ever understand them! This allows you to guide them down your road-to-the-sale – and they’ll gladly come along.

Buyers Love Assumptive Selling!

In possibly the best sales movie ever, Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), Alec Baldwin’s character Blake famously teaches, “A guy don’t walk on the lot lest he wants to buy.”

Since we know buying a car is exciting for the customer – and that every Up is here to buy today – Assumptive Selling is not just a way for you to close more deals, it’s also a better customer experience. Assumptive Selling can make buying a fun event for your customers; especially when compared to the ordeal of the old-school, five-hour road-to-the-sale.

Assumptive Selling results in more closed deals that close quicker and with less friction than any of the alternatives. That’s why buyers love it. It’s time for you to start assuming the sale…

Good (Assumptive) Selling!

Assumptive Selling: The Complete Guide to Selling More Vehicles for More Money to Today’s Connected Customers is a book for vehicle Salespeople, Managers and even Dealer Principals! It’s available now on Amazon.com.

Latest Hot Topic in Forums

What would it take to make a BETTER LEAD?

joe.pistell Uncle Joe

First Name:
Joe
Company:
Dealer.com
Location:
New York

What if there was a way to auto-magically improve LEADS?

For a moment, forget about HOW to do this and think of attributes that could be added to make the lead better for buyer and seller.

What additional data 

Attributes like:

  • Prior Customer?
  • Been on your site before?
  • Car shopping sites visited (all)
  • Models viewed
  • Total Time Spent Car Shopping
  • Soft credit pull
  • Household income
  • current vehicle payment
  • number of payments left on current vehicle
  • Social media profiles (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter)

Take the technical limitations off…  forget about HOW to do this. What info would you like to see added onto your leads?

Thoughts?

Join the discussion in the dealer forums!