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.

Social Networking for Sales Day #6

No, I haven't forgotten about this blog series, I was just taking a break...please click on the "social networking" tag below to pull up all the blogs on this series. If you've been following along, hopefully you've signed on to a couple of the major social networking sites and have begun getting your own content out on the web. Today we'll be discussing leading people to your content & other sites you participate in. Letting Others Know Where You Are

• Why not start with those that already know you? If your dealership or company doesn't already subscribe to a company like Exact Target to help you legally & easily manage your database marketing--talk to someone who can make that decision. Begin by getting the word out to your customer base-especially those that like to communicate via email-odds are they may be on some of the same sites you are! Send out an email letting them know where to find you and how to connect.
• Include links to your podcast, blog, Facebook Fan Page or other social networking "homes" in your email signature. It's a subtle reminder to anyone you communicate with to check out your content & profile.
• Link with your address book. Most of these sites (if not all) allow you to sign in to your Hotmail, Yahoo, Outlook, or whatever email account you have and let you know who is already on the site. It will also give you the ability to invite new users from your address book.
• Once you have committed to a site or two put your profile or websites on your business cards.
• As you are inputting a new prospect or customer into your CRM or DMS tool-why not search for them on any of the sites you have a presence in? It's likely many of them will be there too and you'll have an open forum to congratulate them on a new purchase or just keep in touch.
• Get involved with the groups that interest you on the different sites. Making a personal connection with someone is the best kind of bonding and rapport. Now that you shared a sports tip with someone-they're very likely to agree to be your friend, fan or follower on the site.
• Stay involved & keep at it! This type of marketing slowly builds over time - you are building an entirely new database of people who will know you (and hopefully like you). Over time they are all going to be in the market for a vehicle--and why wouldn't the shop from a friend first?

Social Networking for Sales Day #5

What's all the Twitter about? Early this year I joined Twitter. It was right before all the buzz started about the little website with the bird. Over the past few months the media hype over this new social networking concept has gotten completely out of control...so what's it all about? If you are on Facebook you are familiar with your "live feed" or "status." Twitter is in essence, a live feed site. You can post updates as often as you like as long as they are 140 characters or less. Why would you Twitter? Twitter is more content based than sites like Facebook or MySpace. There are no fancy profiles with pictures of your dog or kids. It's very much about sharing information and networking. You may find a group of wine enthusiasts that Tweet about vino and get together for a "TwitUp" (in normal language-they meet up somewhere) once a month at the local wine shop. Professionally-you can use Twitter to talk about popular models--congratulate another "Tweeter" on their recent purchase or post stats about your sales for the month. Let your followers know you are pushing to get 2 more units out on the last day of the month and are ready to deal--or host a special event for Twitter users. Twitter is also another great way to gain friends on your other Social Networking sites or to get traffic on your blog or podcast. The best way to get started is to do just that-start. Set up a profile and find some people to follow, make sure I'm on the list! If you join let me know you joined off the blog and I'll suggest some dealers that do a great job using Twitter for business. You can follow them and learn from those that are already doing!

Social Networking for Sales Day #4

Become an Expert by Adding Content 1. Determine if you know or can learn enough to become an expert in your field. 2. Share your knowledge!

• Start a blog
• Become a guest columnist on an industry website or blog
• Start a podcast
• Create a webinar educating on your services and the industry
• Post White Papers on relevant topics
• Volunteer to add articles, posts or other content to your company website

3. Social Networking and sharing content go hand in hand. Once you have content to share and promote your Social Network should grow.

I blog and we have a resident Podcaster here. If you'd like help with either just give me a call or shoot me an email.

Social Networking for Sales Day #3

Be Present

1. Log on at least 3-4 times per week.

2. Get involved in the conversation! Add interesting links or articles that you think others would find interesting.

3. Comment on what others are doing.

4. Be a positive force in your network! Sure, misery loves company, but no one wants to buy from misery either. Keep your messages upbeat.

5. Add friends! Continue to add friends as you meet them, and remember once you meet someone on one site, search for them on your other Social Networking sites as well.

Social Networking for Sales Day #2

Engage with Others

1. Look for groups that interest you, personally & professionally. Social Networking has to be fun for you or it will become a chore. Begin by interacting with those you have something in common with.

• Automotive Sales Related
• Hobbies and interest-fishing, dogs, racing, bikes, car fan clubs
• Alumni or Professional groups-Colleges, Sales Associations, Dealer Groups
• Geographical-Local Networking, Business Associations

2. Follow the groups and add content when ideas or questions are posted, or post some of your own. Interacting within the groups will encourage getting to know new users.

3. Add people to your network. If you're interacting with someone on message boards or via the group chat board add them to your friend list or network.

The "technical stuff"

• On LinkedIn access the groups link in your left sidebar on your home page. It's the second option down below "home." Search group by keyword, or start your own.
• On Facebook access the group info on your home page. It's at the very bottom on the "applications" tool bar three icons over is a little people picture. Clicking here will take you to the "groups" page.

Social Networking for Sales Day #1

The next couple weeks I'll be writing on utilizing Social Networking to gain sales. This could be for individual sales reps or the Dealership marketing as a whole. We'll start simple and build up to the more detailed stuff. This is the future of marketing and those that get on board now will be far ahead of the rest when everything becomes more mainstream.

Getting started-

1. Set up an email devoted to all your social networking. Google, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc. all offer free email accounts with a lot of memory. You'll use this email as a user name for all your social networking sites so you are easily search able for people, and you can keep everything in one place.

2. Have someone take a good digital head shot photo of you. Save the photo as your "bio photo" to your desktop so it's always handy.

3. Sign up! Start here: Facebook & LinkedIn. Others would add MySpace to the list too but it seems to be less effective than the other two. We'll cover others later but these need to be a priority.

4. Fill out your profiles. Create and fill out the info on both sites, don't forget to add a picture! Remember to be careful about how personal you get on your info, things like religion, politics & weekend drinking parties are things to consider before posting.

5. Add friends! Search your email contacts for others you know that are already members. Connect with those you know!

Feel free to contact me if you have questions over any of these steps, I'm happy to walk you through them!

PS: If you are already a member of both of these sites, take a minute today or tomorrow to "clean house." Remove any pictures or content you believe could be counter productive to gaining business, or any that present an image of you that isn't what you want presented.