SOME PROSPECTS AND CUSTOMERS JUST DON’T TRUST YOU. THAT’S NO PROBLEM. USE THE POWER OF TRANSPARENCY AND THE INTERNET TO BUILD TRUST AND ATTACK STEREOTYPES, DEALERS LEARNED AT THE THIRD ANNUAL KIJIJI DEALERTALK EVENT
“Honest and transparent content is the greatest sales tool in the world. Period.”
Marcus Sheridan, founder of the sales,
marketing, and personal development blog, The Sales Lion
A steady stream of passion-fueled energy rocked Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel as speaker after speaker provided spirited performances at the third annual Kijiji DealerTalk event.
The keynotes, some from within the automotive industry, and some from outside of it, shared their perspectives about how the consumer experience is changing, and what dealers need to do about it.
The event’s host, Ryan Thompson from Kijiji Autos, kicked things off by playing a humorous video featuring Joe Webb, a popular automotive consultant and sales trainer, pretending to be a “web guy” within a dealership responding to a call from an anxious salesperson who had just sold a car.
The trouble was that the fictitious salesperson had just sold the car for more than the online listed price and demanded the listing be taken down immediately before the customer found out about it.
As funny as the video was, Thompson said it’s not uncommon for his organization to get “frantic” calls from dealers who are asking to have their listings taken down immediately for similar reasons.
The video’s message about the need for greater trust and transparency echoed throughout the presentations for the rest of the day.
THE POWER OF CONTENT
The emcee for the event was Niel Hiscox, Publisher of Canadian auto dealer magazine. He introduced the first keynote speaker, Marcus Sheridan, as someone he’s been eager to meet to hear his thoughts about the power of content marketing.
Sheridan is the founder of the sales, marketing, and personal development blog, The Sales Lion. The New York Times referred to him as a “web marketing guru.”
Sheridan energized the crowd with his upbeat presentation, delivered as he wandered among the delegates. “The game has changed forever,” he said, adding that dealers have no choice but to adapt.
If they don’t adapt, they face extinction. Today, the average Fortune 500 company only lasts 15 years, said Sheridan. “The consumer is dictating everything.”
Sheridan asked dealers to consider the figure 70 per cent. He said that percentage represents how far along a prospect has come in the sales cycle — before they ever contact you online or in your store. The moment they first contact is you considered the “zero moment of truth.”
So if 70 per cent of the buying decision is already made before that zero moment of truth: “Here’s the question for the day. What’s that percentage going to be tomorrow?” Sheridan asked.
For many, that percentage is going to be much higher, and for most it will eventually approach 100 per cent. But the point is, he said, that percentage is never going down. It’s rising steadily across all industries.
Jeff Kershner, the founder
of DealerRefresh and VP of Sales for HookLogic Inc.
Grant Gooley, Founder and President of Remarkable Marketing & Consulting
RAGS TO RICHES
Sheridan’s Warsaw, Virginia-based pool and spa company was facing bankruptcy after a major economic downturn. He turned to the power of the Internet and web-based content creation to turn around his fortunes and became hugely successful.
His secret? Understanding that when people visit a website, they want it written in the language of the customer, and they want to find answers to their questions — and find them quickly.
“How many people have grown more impatient over the years when searching for stuff on the web?” asked Sheridan. Most of the crowd raised their hands. “Our expectations have changed.”
Sheridan made his website the “go to resource” for anyone in the world searching for credible information about fiberglass and concrete pools, and any related questions. He uses advanced analytics to track sales back directly to specific articles. He attributes more than $2.5 million in sales to just one article alone.
He doesn’t only write about the good news, either. One of his most popular articles is about problems with fiberglass pools — the very product he’s trying to sell. But that one article has earned him $500,000 in sales. “Honest and transparent content is the greatest sales tool in the world. Period,” he said, and added that his customers read on average 100 pages of his website content before buying a pool from him.
For auto dealers, the elephant in the room that no one seems to want to address is that people don’t like the car buying experience and they have a high degree of anxiety when buying a car, said Sheridan.
They don’t want to get ripped off, they don’t want to buy a lemon, they want to know the vehicle history and they want a good price, he said.
These are the basic — and powerful — fears that are going through your customers’ minds when they are in your dealership. “Consumer ignorance is no longer a viable sales and marketing strategy,” said Sheridan.
You have to assume that they know everything about your product, they know their other options and models and they know all the prices. “Be different than everybody else,” he said.
Sheridan went one step further. “Women make more of the decisions,” he said. “What percentage of women in the world like to haggle?” Maybe one per cent, he said, and the rest of them are called ‘normal’.”
He cited the example of the giant U.S.-based used car retailer CarMax. The company recognized the used car industry was “messed up,” and they studied all the biggest fears and anxieties people have buying cars. They built their business model around trust and transparency and no haggle pricing and doing everything possible to alleviate fears of buyers.
“How is it possible?” he asked. “Trust.
We think the business we are in is cars. But the business we are in is trust, relationships, and people.”
The company even offers a five-day money back guarantee. “What fear does that eliminate? Buyer’s remorse. That’s the number two fear,” he said.
Laura Madison, National Director
of Sales, Proactive Training Solutions and owner of LauraDrives.com
Laura Madison, the National Director of Sales for Alan Ram’s Proactive Training Solutions and owner of LauraDrives.com, talked to dealers about the importance of developing a personal brand.
She is a former car salesperson known as “Laura Toyota” and is best known for her use of social media and personal branding.
“I never was one for strategy,” she says.
‘I preferred action.”
Madison created videos, posted them to YouTube, and created her own website page to host and post her vehicle reviews. “When I create content, I have to create value. I have to create video people will want to actually watch,” she said. One review of a Toyota Highlander got her 26,000 views alone.
The goal? Become a friendly and trusted person that people want to buy cars from when they visit the dealership. “I needed them to come specifically ask for me,” she said.
Madison used the Internet to break down barriers and engender trust with potential customers, while providing valuable information they need. “We have to re-humanize buying and selling in the automotive world,” said Madison.
ROASTING DEALERS?
The next featured speaker was Grant Gooley, Founder and President of Remarkable Marketing & Consulting.
Gooley attempted to lighten up the crowd by delivering a “dealer marketing roast” that poked fun at some of the stereotypes that persist with regards to car salespeople.
“How do we stop the stereotype of the used car salesperson?” he asked. “It’s about creating an amazing customer experience. How do we change it?”
The focus for Gooley’s roast was mainly used car dealers. He tore apart much of what passes for “best practices” in social media and digital marketing, citing examples of dealers who are clumsily implementing some of the tactics to drive online leads and awareness.
Jeff Kershner, the founder of DealerRefresh and currently VP of Sales for HookLogic Inc., passed along his insights from his expertise in digital media and online lead management.
While there are a lot of complex solutions, sometimes it’s the simple ones that resonate well with customers. “We’ve implemented something that’s been huge for us,” he said. “That’s sending customers a walkaround video.”
Kershner said the dealership tracks analytics and finds customers watch a video two or three times, and sales reps sell three to six more cars a month when they use video.
Thompson said Kijiji surveys attendees each year and they adapt the speakers and activities based on their feedback. He said in October DealerTalk will be held for the first time outside Toronto, in Calgary, Alta.
CarProof was the event’s presenting sponsor.
For more information visit: www.dealertalk.ca
