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Social Media Is Just Like Sales: It’s What They Say And Think That Matters, Not You

It's been said that in business, it's not what you know but rather who you know. In social media it's not much different! It's not what you say, it's what everyone else thinks about what you say (and who repeats it that has a significant following). In today's auto industry social landscape, we're ruled by "buy here", "special of the day", "unbelievably cheap oil change", "home of the bla-dee-blah-blah-lease!" and more ranting and ravings about "me me me" than I'd care to acknowledge.

It seems that the opportunity for a bunch of folks to so-called "save" their dealership from "paid advertising" and more importantly "relevant advertising" by getting "free advertising" has horribly skewed the mindset of otherwise savvy people. I can see it now…just imagine with me….(fake clouds of dry ice are filling the stage in your mind)…

"Hey boss, you're not going to believe this! Me, your amazing but otherwise unknown Internet salesperson, just came up with the way to save $20,000 a month or more from your advertising budget! Guess who ran smack dab into Twitter and Facebook!? ME!! If you can manage, I'll take over our social stuff and you can get someone else to close all of the leads that I'll generate FOR FREE!! Ok, ok, ok, get this: I'll put all of our inventory on Facebook, post all of our specials on Twitter, upload videos to YouTube for vee-ess-ee-ohh or something like that, put photos of happy customers on Plaxo and get EVERYONE to do write ups on Yelp, Google and all the industry reputation sites! And guess what else?! I'll respond to every comment, squelch every heater and unwind and steal our competition's customers…all online!! Whatdayathink boss???!!"

Simply put, social media is not for advertisements. Ads do have their place in social media and some sites, but that's not the driver. Create conversations, share unique and exclusive information (being first still 'sells'), point to great videos, old commercials, one-of-a-kind events, validate both satisfied and unsatisfied customers, promote events that you donate or are somehow involved with and THEN take time to put up a special (and make it really special)…I hope this is getting through…

If all you post is "buy here, buy here, buy here", nobody will listen, care or interact. Imagine going to a number of parties over the summer, getting to know the regulars, and one person is promoting their business and trying to get you to buy incessantly. You'd avoid them, almost at any cost for sure.

Now think to yourself: "why would I want to be that person online"?

Kick the "sell, sell, sell" binge and start some great conversations that turn to great relationships that turn into a larger book of business than you'd otherwise have. Go be great in social media and leave the selling to the tweeps that don't get it.

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

August 2, 2009 by Gary May 0
AutoTrader.com Wants You To Know: Chip Perry and Alan Smith Video

Picture 31 AT_Perry_SmithAlan Smith, Sr. Vice President of Dealer Sales, and Chip Perry, CEO, have created a video to share their take on the current issues shaping AutoTrader.com and dealership business today and what they're doing to deliver more value to the market. This is definitely not something you see often in any industry, let alone automotive, so chances are watching the whole video would be beneficial especially if you're an AT.com client.

With the uncertainty in our business and the necessity for more companies to be proactive and 'open book', it will be interesting to see if more providers attempt messages like this one.

Click on the video caption or here to launch the video page on AutoTrader.com's media website

June 30, 2009 by Gary May 2
What Innovation Matters Most Right Now?

Are you excited by the latest technology in the newest model arriving at your showroom? Were you going crazy waiting for FedEx/UPS/USPS last week for your latest iPhone? Can't believe that your newest CRM ties your site, third party leads, phone calls, mail automation, showroom visits and more together? Didn't have to break traffic laws a week ago since you Tivo'd the first 10 minutes of the NBA finals knowing that you'd work late? All that is absolutely fantastic, but it's not the innovation that matters most.

Nothing that technology delivers, nothing that (supposedly) makes our lives better, nothing that is guaranteed to make our businesses run like clockwork matters until someone understands it, knows what to do with it and ultimately figures out how in hell to apply it, will mean anything…until there is a reason to use it in the first place.

In other words, why use Tivo (as good as it and DVRs are!) if you don't watch, let alone care about, anything on television?

What you care about getting done, so that you move closer to your dreams, goals and ambitions, should be the driver in using technology. The greatest innovations we can use best centers around communication. SImple. Period. Communication!

If you don't have anyone to communicate with and nothing to communicate about, technology means nearly nothing. As passionate as you can be about the latest $400-$4,000,000 items that center around innovation and technology aren't worth the patents they're built from until there is a real reason behind them.

If you're in business and plan to stay in business, use the latest and greatest but please have a purpose first. And make sure the purpose dovetails with process. Are you one of the stores that works on one CRM for 'the floor' and one for 'the Internet'? Why, why, why, why, why? Oh, I see…you like keeping other companies in business more than you want to save your own…ok. Got it!

One race matters and it's not to the sales title. It's the human one. Nobody will care about you until you show that you care about them first. Then you build a relationship (read: listen). Then use technology until the cows come home to communicate, track, follow up, excite, invite, connect, compel, validate, reward, incent, share, promote and so on and so on. And never make the technology more important than the relationship or the message. People ignore MASSIVE amounts of otherwise compelling content. We call it advertising (and most of it sucks people…especially in the auto industry).

For now, stick with the best innovation you have no matter what: your brain. Use it wisely, use it well, use it regularly…

And see you at the finish line!

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

June 20, 2009 by Gary May 0
The Letters Of Success…Acronym Style (Sort Of)

It's important that, from time to time, we stop to focus on the principles behind the goals we're aiming for in business and delivering the best customer experience. No matter what you're selling, you have to believe in what you do 110% and your business needs effective management, tools and support. Success comes from doing things over and over again, learning perpetually, listening intently and doing those things always.

Too often in 'our' industry there is a reluctance to look forward since the 'past' worked so well (sounds like a cop out to me!). In an attempt to bring us back to reality, here are some ways to think about the fundamentals in a way that hopefully works for you…

Practice
Responsible
Overall
Customer
Engagement through
Sales and
Service

Being
Responsible
Advocates of
Name and
Dedication

Keep
Nearby:
Opportunity
Willingness
Listening
Education
Dedication
Guidance and
Experience

Total
Employment of
Comprehensive tools
Handling
Needs:
Ongoing
Loyalty
Outreach and customer
Generation for
You

It's a must for suppliers, not just retailers:

Validate
Every
Need and
Direction
Of your
Retailers

This one is a little blatant (and selfish) but you'll surely get the point:

Considered
Other
Non-performing,
Senseless ways and
Ultimately
Learned
That I
Absolutely
Need
To hire one

All humor aside, it is critical to aim for success, build environments for success and be part of success. Remember that you don't find success (and it doesn't find you), you create it. One of the most niche products I've come across in the past 20 years is Camelback's hydration pack. They carved out quite a following. Their slogan? "Hydrate of Die". True: if you don't hydrate, you will die! And if you don't find a way to learn, do things differently (not just for the sake of it) and plot your course for success, you will die. Failure is part of success. Resistance, running, avoiding and simply burying your head in the sand, however, are futile.

Lead, be great, plan and succeed!

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

June 15, 2009 by Gary May 0
If We Only Had A Lightbulb To Screw In…And Other Mistakes We Make

How many times have you heard the proverbial saying…"How many (fill in the blank) does it take to screw in a light bulb?", even lately jokingly about the group of 'car czars' circling around Detroit. While we might focus on the joke or moral of the question, how many of us have the light bulb to start with?

If we always focus on the activities and not the goal, it is easy to understand why all the hubbub is around who gets to 'do' things. Considering how things are now, I'd be more concerned with making sure we have the right bulb, that it fits, that it will provide the right illumination and that we know where it came from in case we need more. Then I'd focus on who gets to have the joy of screwing it in!

And this is not endemic to just finding the right action person, it's perpetuated in so many other areas. Larry Pinci (of Sell The Feeling) put it well in a meeting we had not too long ago: "are you on the cause side of the equation or the effect side?". If you're in wait mode, or even better in 'head in the sand' mode, right now you're not on the right side of the equation.

Today I had a great conversation with a dealer in the Ventura area of Southern California in which we discussed branding, something he's been trying to get the owner to act on for quite some time. Part of the build up was him answering pointed questions about experience on their website, consumer engagement and reach. As we talked, he came up with some great answers as to what the site lacked. Until we know what the solution or goal is, the bulb turning (activities) doesn't matter!!!!!

VENDORS: Same thought process when considering how many vendors are pitching dealership GMs and principals today. Want to create a business partner or a sale? (hopefully you answer that one correctly). Want to have an opportunity or 5 minutes and get tossed? (and that one). So why are you trying to get something "sold" before you even know that there is a need identified. Hint: not a need, every business has needs. Rather a need that has been identified!!!!

With so much of what happens today being knee-jerk, defensive actions, it is that much more important to have your goals identified and clearly understand your starting point. Don't' make the same mistakes as the pack! Remember that the last action needed to complete a task is not the one to concentrate on. You must focus on the first one and realize that you'll separate yourself from the rest by the time your goal is reached.

And when you finally flip the switch, it'll be that much more illuminating!

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

June 5, 2009 by Gary May 0
Don’t Look Down…I Said Don’t Look Down!

It's absolutely amazing…we humans. Creatures of habit, intrigue and fear-based reactivity. Right now is no exception, obviously! However, it is also possibly one of the most defining times as well. True leaders will come out of these challenges and leave those that just waited behind.

Survival of the fittest? Nope. Natural selection? Not in the least. Those that listen, learn and lead will become the only true survivors in the new environment, whatever that is. A constant vegetative state leaves you…in a vegetative state. A mind set for challenges, diversity and no's, armed with direction and goals is in a complete different state. One of success!

When you were a kid, you had a challenge: brick wall, log over a wash or stream, even a tightrope (you must have interesting family stories to tell!) and someone yelled "don't look down!". Did you? Of course. It's not if you look, but what you do afterward that matters most. If you persevered, you were rewarded with confidence, self-worth, maybe even status… If you succumbed to the "look" and ran back, hobbled off or fell, you likely received a completely different result.

Fast forward 20-40 years. There are challenges up the wazoo right now. Whatever you do: Don't Look Down! OK, what to do now? The sand already is full of heads, the job boards are stuffed with resumes, your industry friends and associates are doing a little CYA (fine, a lot) while they forgot about you and the water cooler has been repossessed. What now?

How ever imposing the view into the chasm, do what you know how to do best. That is if what you do best is do. Don't take my advice, you already know what you need to do. Quit blaming the person that yelled and warned you, they're the messenger. What is the message that you will hear?

This can't be said enough: get your plan down on paper, figure out what you are committed to doing, figure out how to get there (yes, with outside help period!), measure, qualify, watch, gage and review but absolutely positively do it! The difference most times between failing and failing forward to success is simply a matter of inches: the six between your ears!

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

May 6, 2009 by Gary May 0
How Best To Help During The ‘Auto Crisis’: IM@CS Breaks Silence

With the exception to recent Twits (@imacsweb on Twitter) on the state of the auto industry in the form of short blurbs and links, I've steered clear of commenting deeper. This blog's focus (and definitely going forward) is to educate, motivate, inform, guide and challenge…let alone be a positive light rather than a black hole. Maybe it's time to change that for one day since, chances are, it's not going to get prettier anytime soon. So without further ado, here we go:

1. The OEMs are broken (read: all), and retail is more so

With all the focus on manufacturers, loans/bailouts, government intervention, production cuts, layoffs, and the potential disintegration of the economy, no significant focus has been put on the prominent issue (in my mind): where cars are sold. We're still a reactive industry and that's no way to get ahead folks.

2. Brands for most part aren't connecting with consumers, salespeople do even less

Advertising can't happen the way it has: push, force feed, capture, bombard. Marketing has changed: one-to-one, relevant, contextual, timely, engaging, valuable. Get rid of the "when can you come down?!" mentality. You don't want that as a consumer so stop doing it. Why are you doing the same thing and expecting a different result?
Dealers: Oh, here's a new one. It doesn't matter what logo you sell on the piece of rusting metal: start selling your brand and if you don't know what your brand is, create one.

3. Budgets: Want to 'cut and wait'?…ok, in English that roughly translates to 'suicide'

If you want out, an exit strategy is recommended. If you're planning on staying in business, DO business.
OEMs: Why in the world would you cut Interactive for TV today? Don't worry, that's a rhetorical question. Shame on you. Want to stay with a current vendor instead of the newer, agile, lower cost one? Won't take meetings or talk to new suppliers: big mistake.
Dealers: You can have a viable to completely comprehensive marketing program for less than $10,000 per month (larger; less than $15,000, small, less than $7,000). Don't stop spending because it's the flavor of the week. Spend smarter, educate and support your staff (replace those you need to), understand what you're doing, get accountability and do more.

4. While 'news' media is garbage (but sells), the industry does little to battle conventional sentiment

Anyone that watches network/local news could have a better experience banging their head against a brick wall. People (smart and not-so-much) are still watching it. So what are you doing to educate your prospects, clients and others that you have a great brand (NOT the franchise!), have great products and services, have great ways to provide them with your products and services, will exceed their expectations and that you're there for them?

5. Consumers control consumption and engagement…and were still printing and running car ads?

Quit trying to fight a battle we'll lose every time. People consume content they want, when they want, how they want and where they want. Ads don't work: TV, radio or other methods are not effective. Shred newspaper, drop cable, hang direct mail out to dry and cut radio (dealers only: take your conventional ad agency out for their last expensive lunch). Communicate with people on their terms and be goshdarnwhoopdydoopty good at it.

6. Technology is the way, coupled with education and topped with strategy

Yes, new stuff can be vewy, vewy scawey (sorry, that's my best Elmer Fudd). The industry tries something new, early adopters scowl, doubting Thomas-es shake their heads and executives shrug shoulders, everyone quits. The providers get frustrated because nobody gave it a chance and consumers don't get what they want. Other major industries seem to be able to roll just a little easier. No excuses work here, just get over it and do what needs to get done.

We can run and hide, point fingers and continue to run business the way we have. Or we can pick up ourselves by the bootstraps, collaborate (boy would the earth move if that one happened), check egos at the door, innovate and get damn proud about the largest industry in the US that provides 20 out of every 100 tax dollars nationally.

OEMs: Expect more from your marketing dollars: effectiveness, return, creativity and impact. Talk to and truly consider every company that walks in your door. Try it. It might be better than what you think you have now. If you're not sure, ask a bunch of consumers and (yes) listen.
Dealers: Bank tanked? Call your local credit union! Salespeople can't cut it? Don't let your desk manager go, let him/her sell again (chances are they have the chops). Marketing: online, email, mobile (yes, mobile), CRM, one-to-one, social media and more.

This may not have the answers you are looking for. Hopefully, however, it has made you think again about at least one aspect of your current condition and started your shift from 'effect' mentality to the 'cause' side.

If we don't do it, there won't be a 'we'

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Power Results

March 25, 2009 by Gary May 0
Week At IM@CS: Chats With The Industry

With the year coming to a close, it was time for a bigger perspective break from our traditional focus on smaller companies. This is a look back a the bigger conduits that may not always have had the spotlight, considering the focus on the OEMs, economy and other reasons. IM@CS would like to give credit to the following:

HomeNet: If Jesse Biter and the team at HomeNet don't continue to impress, you're not looking. With everything else they're doing to make inventory 'that much better', they added their IOL community to the list of accomplishments. Then they polished off the year by getting Neal Gann on board…great work Jesse and the folks at HomeNet! http://www.homenetinc.com

DealerSocket: We continue to be impressed by their product, innovation and support. The industry is focussed on CRM now, but there has to be more than strong intent to help dealers succeed or put out a great campaign to solicit signups. Some of the smallest and largest dealers in the country rely on Jonathan Ord's company daily and they seem to be sold on the whole package and not an image, great stuff! http://www.dealersocket.com

Automotive Digest: Outside of the fact that their content has been finding its way into the inbox here for a long time, their content is relevant, compelling, easy to read and timely. Chuck Parker and the team of contributors and editors seem to focus on what dealers need most, especially in the online world. There a number of titles to satisfy nearly everyone on your holiday list!! Dealer Digest Daily is the IM@CS favorite. http://www.automotivedigest.com

We'll try to keep these updates weekly and ultimately have an area where you can get in touch with the vendors.

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

December 22, 2008 by Gary May 0