Do What You Say!
Sounds simple enough right? You’d think so, but unfortunately a lot people lack the ability to follow through on their promises. Car sales are just that – a sale. How are you going to make that sale if you don’t keep good on your word? Who will trust you? Who is going to make the conscious decision to purchase a car from someone who isn’t honest with them? If you aren’t keeping your word, then the potential customer is going to automatically wonder, “If they lie about that, what else are they lying about?”
The important thing to remember is “don’t make promises you can’t keep.” This means you shouldn’t say your going to do something if you can’t actually do it. We all know how busy a dealership can be, but make the time, because in the long run it will help you establish yourself with a customer, and that’s what’s important.
Make Sure You Follow Through
Make the phone call you said you would make. Locate the specific vehicle the customer is interested in and provide incentives and current offerings so they are well informed. Keep in mind that this is a serious investment for most customers. If you value their time and investment as much as they do, they will be much more inclined to sign the papers for the sale.
Do you know how to make your sales staff stand out and go beyond what is expected? We can help get you there. Call us now to find out how.
By: Kimberly Roselle
The human body is capable of so many incredible things. Recently I watched a TV show called Lie to Me. It reminded me of how I used to try and watch actors on stage to see if their “true selves” could be seen or if they could fully embody the character. Most people are capable of lying with their words, but not with their body language. So, what does this have to do with sales?
Without realizing, your body language might be sending the wrong signals. You might be communicating mistrust or offending your potential customers without meaning to. If you know how to use body language, you will be able to avoid sales pitfalls and convey body signals that make your customers say “yes!”
I recently found this fascinating infographic: http://dailyinfographic.com/improve-attractiveness-with-body-language-infographic
Some important take aways from this infographic are:
- Words account for only 7% of our overall effective communication
- Body language accounts for 55%
How can you apply this information to your sales technique? When a customer comes onto the lot, don’t rush out to them. First, read their body language and take your cues from them. Do they have a closed posture or are they open? Are they keeping their head down and moving quickly or are they looking about and lingering over vehicles? Understanding your customers’ unspoken signs can go a long way to helping you build trust and a positive relationship with them.
In the first four seconds, people will make judgments about you and will subconsciously decide:
- I will (or will not) buy from this person.
- I will (or will not) like this person.
- I find this person kind (or not).
- I find this person intelligent (or not).
As you approach your customer they are also unconsciously reading your body language. Are you standing tall? Do you look them in the eye? Is your smile genuine? Be aware of yourself. While you can’t lie with your body, you can project the confidence and friendliness the majority of customers are looking for while shopping.
By: Lauryn Kowalski
“Hands-Free” Technology System Becomes “Eyes-Free” Technology System
This week at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Senior Vice President of iPhone software made an announcement that Apple plans on taking our driving experience to a whole new level by incorporating Siri and the new iOS 6 operating system into several brands of vehicles within the next 12 months.
Apple has partnered with Mercedes, BMW, GM, Land Rover, Jaguar, Audi, Toyota, Chrysler and Honda with a plan to integrate mobile phones and automobiles with features that will upgrade us from a “Hands-Free” technology system to an “Eyes-Free” technology system, with this new enhancement drivers will be able to control the music, send text messages, create reminders, set alarms and create events, all using the virtual assistant Siri. Siri can talk back to drivers so there is essentially no reason that they would need to take their eyes off the road or hands off the wheel thus increasing safety and the increasing the ability to stay connected while on the road.
Another feature that Apple will be offering is a new Maps program that will be part of the new iOS 6 operating system that is set to launch this fall. The new program will not only have turn-by-turn navigation but it will also be using anonymous data sourced from other motorists running iOS 6 to determine traffic patterns and they will use incident reports to tell users what the holdup is on a given route so they can reroute drivers around gridlock.
By Dan Vincent
Giving Back to the Community
As a local car dealer one of your main priorities should be to establish a strong community presence. Doing so is a great way to ensure that members of the community know of your dealership for the right reasons. Why not take a different approach than all of your competitors? When you give back to the community people will remember your dealership for being unique.
Giving back is simple and will cost your dealership little to nothing. Try some of these ideas in your area:
Everyone feels better when they are riding around in a freshly washed vehicle. The problem is not everyone has the time to do it themselves, or they do not feel like paying to have something done that they know they can do on their own. Giving out free car washes once a month is a great a way to help out people around the community.
Placing donation containers for food and other products in the waiting areas of your facility (especially service departments) is a simple way to help out in your community. People will see the containers and know that they can donate on their return visit to pick up their vehicle. You can take a proactive approach by using social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter to promote the drive. You will be giving back to the community, but at the same time you will be creating a positive image for your dealership.
There is always a need for school supplies. Supporting children and their education is one of the best reasons and ways to become known in your area. Although donating school supplies will be an expense, it is well worth it. Parents throughout the community will see that your dealership supports their youth. As a result, you will be the first on their list when it comes to buying a car.
As you establish your positive community presence, free publicity will come along with it. People in and around your area will see that your dealership is more than just a selling mechanism. This involvement will lead to a growing support for you and your cars. As a result, you will be making the sales that you desire without leaving the impression that all you are interested in is money. People will now know your dealership for reasons other than just trying to make a sale.
There are talks of a new highway getting the fastest posted speed limit in the United States at 85mph. What do you think, is this a good idea? Should all highways have a faster speed limit?
By: Jenn Mayer
We’ve Heard It All Before.
The Internet is changing the way we live, work, entertain, and market to our customers.
We’ve seen how our changed habits have impacted the newspaper industry, and now experts are beginning to predict the same fate for the television industry. Before you overhaul your ad campaigns, read on to find out exactly how the future of television should impact your marketing strategy.
In the case of newspapers, users began to change their reading habits long before we saw the collapse of the industry begin. Now, some are beginning to predict the same fate for the television industry. While there’s no way to know how the TV business will change in the next five years, we can look at our television consumption habits and think about how they’ve changed in the last five or so years.
In my household and many others, the DVR rules. We almost never watch TV when it’s actually broadcast, with the exception of live sports events. Another way to watch TV is through on demand. Most cable providers offer this free component that lets consumers watch primetime and entertainment TV at will. Additionally, many people are watching their favorite television programs on their computers, iPads, and smart phones.
With all these new technologies driving people away from live TV, how do you continue to reach your target audience? Well, there’s no reason yet to stop investing in traditional commercials yet. Most on demand and online programs still include limited commercial breaks. Additionally, I can’t count how many times I’ve been watching my DVR and simply forgot I had the option to fast forward through commercials.
However, now is the perfect time to begin taking advantage of the new advertising methods that are being developed to adapt to consumer’s new habits, if you haven’t already. Some advertisers are starting to target viewers while their program is running, through pop up type ads that appear on screen during the program, rather than the commercial break. Digital advertising is also growing exponentially, through video pre-roll, and graphic overlays, which target the consumer while they are watching their favorite programs on their computers and smartphones.
Utilizing a mix of advertising is essential in today’s world, when there are so many entertainment platforms available to the consumer. Don’t abandon tried and true forms of advertising, but don’t be afraid to try the new digital possibilities either. Need help developing the advertising cocktail that’s right for you? Give us a call.
By: Felicia Mahabeer
What Approach Do You Use?
Have you ever been out shopping and had the salesperson ask you, “Are you going to buy this or what?” This once happened to me while I was shoe shopping. At first, I was put off by the frank question, but the urgency in his voice prompted me to act, so I bought the shoes.
Was he being rude, or was it a sales tactic? I don’t know, but it worked. I started to think about the different approaches used in dealerships around the world. Could a sales associate get away with saying something similar to a potential consumer? I can imagine some of people being turned off, while I can picture others saying “yes.” This is why a good salesperson is aware of all the tactics used to make a sale.
Hard Selling
Hard sell strategies are aggressive and usually put a high amount of pressure on the customer, like my shoes for instance. Other tactics include cold calls, forceful sales letters, and unsolicited pitches.
The main advantage of hard selling is that it gets you straight to the point. This is especially important for consumers who are ready to buy and aren’t looking to still shop around. The decision should be made now, and you want to step up and offer yourself as a part of their team.
The problem with the hard sell is that when it’s done too aggressively, your attempt to help will be seen as an annoyance. This is especially important in the case of well-researched consumers who are savvy to such sales techniques. No matter how genuine your offer, it might come off sounding like a scam. The bottom line is that your job as sales representative is to sell. Your customer should already be aware of this, so don’t be afraid to get straight to the point.
Soft Selling
Soft selling focuses on the relationship-building aspect of sales. You don’t put psychological pressure on potential buyers. Instead, you find passive ways to show them that you have the solutions they need. There is, however, such a thing as taking an approach that’s “too soft.” Being too gentle with your sales approach might also give clients the impression that you’re not too confident about your services, or that you’re just not interested in working with them.
Soft selling may work in some cases, but it doesn’t make sense to apply those tactics to all of your clients. It’s really dependent on where they are in their buying cycle and what services you’re trying to sell. Experiment to see how your target consumers responds to a soft sell, but don’t spend all your effort using these techniques exclusively.
Action
Whatever approach you use, there’s one thing you should always do at the end of the sales conversation: ask for the order. From a simple, “Will we be working together on this project?” to the more overt, “Buy Now!” there should always be a call to action to indicate the start of a working relationship.
What tactic do you use in your dealerships? What approach works better for you?
By: Yasmine Syed
Approximately sixty-seven percent of American adults use some kind of mobile device, whether it be a smartphone or a tablet. But who are they exactly? It’s important to know, especially if you are serving up mobile ads.
In a nutshell, they’re the ideal target consumer. Mobile device users are more educated and earn higher incomes than their non-smartphone using counterparts. This revelation may prompt you to wonder if traditional print media advertising should be relegated to the ash heap, but a study conducted by the University of Missouri’s Reynolds Journalism Institute proves otherwise. The same consumers who use mobile devices also continue to utilize traditional print mediums like newspapers and magazines. Rather than replacing traditional media with digital, these consumers consume both.
Mobile devices are as diverse as their owners. For example, smartphone and iPad owners are predominately male, while e-readers and small tablet owners skew female. IPhone and Blackberry users tend to be more educated and earn higher incomes than Android users and earn, on average, $75,000 or more annually. In fact, a whopping 81.3% of mobile device users earn more than $75,000 per year while 55.5% of mobile device users have a 4-year or advanced degree. What’s even more interesting is that nearly the same percentage of mobile device users and non-mobile device users read print publications. This data suggests that digital media is not replacing traditional media; it is simply an extension of it.
So just how do individuals us their mobile devices? Most people take their smartphones everywhere and use them for task-related activities like sending text messages and reading and responding to email, while tablets are used for longer-term media consumption.
The following chart depicts tablet use:
Because tablets are largely used for viewing richer content and enhancing leisure time, display ads do not perform as well on tablets as they do on smartphones. Because smartphones are task related they are predominately used while traveling, in a store while shopping, in the car, and in a restaurant.
The following chart depicts smartphone use:
When it comes to automotive advertising, the evidence supports the need for ads to be optimized for smartphone users. Given the fact that they have disposable income, they are ripe potential car-buying consumers.
Facebook is starting June out with a bang!
The social media platform has rolled out some great new features that are sure to help dealerships improve their social media marketing strategy.
Facebook Admin Roles
When Facebook Pages first began, each page had administrators and fans. This meant that users of a certain page either had all the control or none of the control. Well, the all or none option just wasn’t cutting it and Facebook has thankfully introduced the addition of ‘admin roles’. Now, there are essentially five different classifications available to Facebook admins – Manager, Content Creator, Moderator, Advertiser and Insights Analyst. This means you can add people to your page to help with content, moderation, advertising and insights but they won’t be able to fundamentally change the page. For example a content creator can do anything except change admins, which is particularly helpful so that a Page owner can not be accidentally kicked off as admin .
All admins start out as Managers by default, and you can change them by heading to ‘edit page’, then ‘admin roles’ and setting the different roles there.
Scheduling Facebook Posts Without Third Party Platforms
Previously, dealerships (and any person marketing a Facebook page) had to rely on third-party platforms to schedule out future Facebook posts. Now admins not only have the ability to construct a post for a page, but also to schedule it to be posted some time within the next six months, without the use of a third party platform. Being able to schedule future posts without a third party platform also means that pesky little “via company xyz” is no longer sitting below your scheduled posts.
Scheduling posts can be helpful, but you do have to use caution. Since social media reflects real time, you want to make sure you are reflecting what is current. For example, you wouldn’t want to schedule a post for two weeks in the future, and by the time it’s sent out, it’s not only old news, but maybe isn’t even correct anymore! Hmm…can you say awkward?
Promoted Posts
This feature lets you promote a specific Facebook post on your Page to more people so that your reach is extended. Previously, this option was limited to advertising a specific post on the left or right of a page. Now, this option will actually extend the reach of your post to your own fan community and their friends if they interact with it, meaning that it will last longer in the Facebook newsfeed. When you input your budget, Facebook will tell you the estimated number of users this post will potentially reach.
With all of these great changes in place, now is a great time to use Facebook to interact with your customers. If you and your dealership aren’t already taking advantage of these tools, now is the time bring your Social Media Marketing Strategy into the 21st Century!
By Dan Vincent
Giving Back to the Community
As a local car dealer one of your main priorities should be to establish a strong community presence. Doing so is a great way to ensure that members of the community know of your dealership for the right reasons. Why not take a different approach than all of your competitors? When you give back to the community people will remember your dealership for being unique.
Giving back is simple and will cost your dealership little to nothing. Try some of these ideas in your area:
Everyone feels better when they are riding around in a freshly washed vehicle. The problem is not everyone has the time to do it themselves, or they do not feel like paying to have something done that they know they can do on their own. Giving out free car washes once a month is a great a way to help out people around the community.
Placing donation containers for food and other products in the waiting areas of your facility (especially service departments) is a simple way to help out in your community. People will see the containers and know that they can donate on their return visit to pick up their vehicle. You can take a proactive approach by using social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter to promote the drive. You will be giving back to the community, but at the same time you will be creating a positive image for your dealership.
There is always a need for school supplies. Supporting children and their education is one of the best reasons and ways to become known in your area. Although donating school supplies will be an expense, it is well worth it. Parents throughout the community will see that your dealership supports their youth. As a result, you will be the first on their list when it comes to buying a car.
As you establish your positive community presence, free publicity will come along with it. People in and around your area will see that your dealership is more than just a selling mechanism. This involvement will lead to a growing support for you and your cars. As a result, you will be making the sales that you desire without leaving the impression that all you are interested in is money. People will now know your dealership for reasons other than just trying to make a sale.
There are talks of a new highway getting the fastest posted speed limit in the United States at 85mph. What do you think, is this a good idea? Should all highways have a faster speed limit?
By: Lauryn Kowalski
“Hands-Free” Technology System Becomes “Eyes-Free” Technology System
This week at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Senior Vice President of iPhone software made an announcement that Apple plans on taking our driving experience to a whole new level by incorporating Siri and the new iOS 6 operating system into several brands of vehicles within the next 12 months.
Apple has partnered with Mercedes, BMW, GM, Land Rover, Jaguar, Audi, Toyota, Chrysler and Honda with a plan to integrate mobile phones and automobiles with features that will upgrade us from a “Hands-Free” technology system to an “Eyes-Free” technology system, with this new enhancement drivers will be able to control the music, send text messages, create reminders, set alarms and create events, all using the virtual assistant Siri. Siri can talk back to drivers so there is essentially no reason that they would need to take their eyes off the road or hands off the wheel thus increasing safety and the increasing the ability to stay connected while on the road.
Another feature that Apple will be offering is a new Maps program that will be part of the new iOS 6 operating system that is set to launch this fall. The new program will not only have turn-by-turn navigation but it will also be using anonymous data sourced from other motorists running iOS 6 to determine traffic patterns and they will use incident reports to tell users what the holdup is on a given route so they can reroute drivers around gridlock.
