Social Networking for Sales-Interview with a real dealer Part #3

What advice would you give other dealers thinking of starting their own social networking program? I could give a ton of advice on this subject, but first would be--decide if you're going to do it. Many people "decide" they are going to start trying to build relationships online only to quit a month or so later because of a lack of results. This isn't a quick fix like much of automotive advertising can be. This is a slow process that takes time, but Social networking is viral once it starts and once it grows, it grows exponentially and virally, which is the whole power. We started in January and saw very little from it for the first three months. In April we sold a couple off of it and May was huge. The key is just to stay consistent and let things build - eventually it will pay off. The other benefit is, that unlike paid advertising that runs out once the money runs out, social marketing continues to grow and grow with little effort once its done. William Bryant is not only knowledgeable on the use of social networking sites, dealer websites and blogging but also has a great background in the technical side of things. In a very new industry there are few experts that can provide the whole package when it comes to assisting other dealers. If you'd like some help getting started William also offers consulting services. He can be contacted via email or learn a little more on his website. Thank you William for taking the time to share your insights on this exciting new way to build lasting relationships (that lead to sales)!

Social Networking for Sales-Interview with a real dealer Part #2

Tell me about the different online and social networking avenues you used to promote the dealership?

We're on Twitter, Facebook and You Tube. We also have a very interactive website that has a live chat feature and videos of every pre owned vehicle. Our videos are on YouTube and in a link in all of our vehicle descriptions. People can then access them through cars.com or our website as well.We have close to 800 friends on Facebook. A good tip for other dealers is to hire a service to do an email match on your database. They actually go in to your database and find email address (valid ones!) for many of your customers. You can then just drop the emails into your Facebook account and ask them to be your friend.

I'm also on Twitter for the dealership, posting updates and interesting content for our customers and followers. We have a lot of customers scheduling service appointments and asking questions via our Twitter & Facebook accounts. It's easy for them as they are already on those sites daily and we're able to stay top of mind for them because we're just another one of their "friends."

I feel a lot of online interaction is the customer testing the waters to see if they can trust you. A lot of dealers have tools like live chat on their websites but don't use it correctly. Recently I mystery shopped another dealer and the sales person on the other end of the chat asked me several times for my phone number so he could call me. It isn't about that-it's just about providing the information they need and being helpful and considerate.

A lot of people ask me as a blogger to quantify the sales results I've experienced through social networking, I've always struggled with that. Do you have any way of putting into numbers the success you experience through this marketing? Not really. I can tell you that in May we sold a vehicle to a woman in Florida-she saw one of our vehicle videos online and flew up to purchase and drive home her vehicle. When she got her she said she felt like she already knew us through the video. I also sold a vehicle on Twitter last month. It's one of those things that builds and grows and it literally costs nothing but your time. Take a moment to check out William's Social Media use for Steve White Motors: Steve White Motors Website Steve White Motors Twitter Account Steve White Motors Facebook Page Steve White Motors YouTube

Social Networking for Sales-Interview with a real dealer Part #1

William Bryant, Internet Sales Manager, Steve White Motors

On Twitter I follow several dealers that are using Social Networking for business. One of the most active is Steve White Motors in Greenville, SC. Recently I contacted them to find out who the man behind the account was and get his perspective on using Social Networking for Sales. The next three posts will be on my interview with William. William Bryant is the Internet Sales Manager at Steve White. They carry Audi & VW and of course also provide pre-owned vehicles. William got started in the car business a little less than 5 years ago as a college student. Looking for part time work, he found school in the mornings and selling cars in the afternoons to be a great opportunity. This 23 year old has now created & fulfilled an online strategy that is producing 30% of the store's sales every month. We were able to spend a few minutes on the phone together one evening this week and I wanted to share this with you all as soon as possible.

Tell me about your dealership-Steve White Motors? I came on in January of this year, the last dealer I worked for didn't see the benefit in online marketing and it was a struggle to get any budget at all. The owner at Steve White just turned 30 and understands that this is the marketing of the future. He's very willing to give me the time and budget needed to make this department work. As a dealership our sales are up 8% year to year. We mostly use Radio, Email campaigns and our website/social networking work to advertise. I attribute a lot of our success to our products-as Audi & VW are still strong brands. However, a lot of it is how we treat our customers. We're finding 100 miles won't stand between someone and good customer service. After mystery shopping other dealers in the area I find we are one of the few to just talk to people and find out what they need--there are still a lot of "old school techniques" being used that just turn customers off. That and we give people a lot of different ways to contact and interact with us--they choose the way that works best for them.